Necessities (Reap)

“Doce, trece, catorce, quince...”Theresa counted off for the third time, somehow hoping if she kept recounting all the supplies more would magically appear. She brushed her hand through her dark hair and groaned. They needed more medical tape desperately; they were just about out of creams, and with the constant fighting with conduits the supply of pain killers had dwindled drastically. The clinic was fine on its own; it wasn’t Bayview Hospital but Terra could make it work. But without medical supplies the place was dead in the water.

Terra sighed and closed the cabinets doors, starting to make a mental list of everything she’d need. She hated going out but it was necessary. She walked over to the two patients she had resting on the medical cots, checking both their vitals and taking note of their progress in their charts. One of them had just barely managed to keep his leg and the other was lucky she just lucky she hadn’t been burned alive.

Terra lightly rubbed the burn mark on her forearm gazing sadly at the two. She couldn’t say she knew them well but she had a habit of feeling responsible for everyone that came through the clinic. It was a bad habit considering the mortality rate but one she couldn’t shake. She had to help somehow. Now doing that without being killed was the tricky part.
I could be in and out in three maybe four hours tops. No one would even notice and I've been out longer. And I could ask Merlok to check in on the patients. Easy peasy.

Resolute, she moved over to the small desk she worked out of and reached for a hair clip. It floated into her hand and Terra let out a quiet string of curses under her breath. Stuff like that had been happening more and more often and if she wasn’t careful she was going to get caught and then she’d really be in danger. Her hair began gently floating in her frustration and she let out another string of curses.

“Calmate...calmate..”she quietly murmured to herself, leaning against the desk. She could get through this. She took a deep breath and her hair fell flat once more. Easy peasy.

"Do you need some help?"

His words were like the hiss of ice cubes being thrown into a fire painted with a very, very faint Russian accent. Dmitri Quint leaned against the doorway, his arms folded and his dark eyes, appearing red by contrast of their color against the bright, unmistakable slashes of crimson paint over his lids, his brows and his cheeks... His tan vest sat only mildly folded over his red shirt, the bandages on his hands were dirty with blood that wasn't his own. The blood was a blemish, a mark of his work he had never given permission to be there. Before, he'd wrapped his hands to keep his hand from being hurt while he provided safety for his templars.

Now they were to keep his hands pure.  

Dmitri's narrow eyes rested in the hair ornament in her hand, his head slightly tilted back so he stared at her through glistening slits.  Then his lips upturned on one end, letting out a quiet 'hmph,' while lowering his head to look at her fully now.

"Did I startle you?" The Templar leader shifted his weight off of the doorway, his gaze never getting distracted from Terra's position by the desk as he stalked towards her, his shoulders back.

When he stopped he was well within the confines of what one would consider to be a personal space, enough that he had to stare down at her by tilting his head down to still keep her comfortably within his sight. His aura was stifling, claustrophobic even, in a way that made one feel suffocated and at the same time submissive. That fact wasn't difficult to understand, not when the man was close enough to kiss with minimal effort. It was unlikely that the woman below him noticed he took the hair clip out of her hand when he put his hand over hers.

Dmitri raised the hair clip between their faces, level and center between either's lips. His voice had turned from a hiss to a low, rumbling purr, his eyes half closing once more as he tilted his head back again.

He could have very well been holding a knife with that gaze.

"Allow me."

Terra tensed for a moment, eyes wide and breath caught in her throat. The room felt colder and suddenly her tank top and doctors coat felt insufficient to deal with it. She knew who it was without even having to turn around. Who wouldn’t? He always passed by the clinic and she'd been naive enough to think leaving the door wide open would be alright. She used to be able to act normal in front of him; she'd looked up to him and thought he was a charming visionary.

If he saw you move it you’d be dead already.

But now it was a different story. She forced herself to relax, taking a deep breath and turning around to face him as calmly as she could manage. She noticed the bloody bandages on his hands first before snapping up to make eye contact with him. She instinctively began to ask him if he was all right but faltered. He wasn’t the one that was wounded.

When he spoke again she felt the heat rising to her cheeks and finally looked away embarrassed, her gaze landing on the half empty medicine cabinet. She had intended to just leave to go scavenging but now she was stuck and acting like a trapped animal no less. She couldn't leave with him right there.

Stop acting so fucking nervous and say something!

Her eyes snapped back to Dmitri and any reply she had died on her lips when she noticed his proximity. She tried to move away from him only for her butt to bump into the desk behind her. She looked up at him not registering that he’d taken her hair clip until he held it up between them. It was a dark blue with little fake gems along the sides; a gift from her mother. It looked terribly fragile in his hands despite the fact that she'd used it to hold her hair back since med school.

At his demand, Terra looked at the hair clip warily before looking up at him again. She didn’t want to give her back to him but she was in no place to refuse.

“Of course.”She replied with a small smile though after meeting his gaze she was sure if she didn't look nervous before she looked nervous now. She turned to face the desk, noting she’d bump into his chest if she leaned back far enough. Her bag sat ready to go only two feet in front of her and she longed to reach out for it and run. But she knew better and instead stayed perfectly still.

The apparent gentille of his touch is surprising. Rough fingertips swept along the nape of her neck as soon as she'd submitted to him, scooping up her silken dark hair and wrapping it into the hairclip. His fingers move slowly, pulling through and feeling the smooth texture to free her hair of any loose knots. There is pain--minimal, the sort you get from pulling one's own hair back in such a fashion, though somehow it feels sharper as breath exhaling from his parted lips tickle the fine hairs lining Terra's delicate neck.

The mild amount of pressure near the crown of her head signals her hair has been stylized as she had hoped it would be.

"You seem uneasy," Dmitri comments, laying his hands on her shoulders. His large palms are hot to the touch. His lips are beside her ear, dark eyes focusing on her perspective from his vantage point. "I know this life is hard. You are doing well, doctor... You should be recognized further for your capabilities than you are now. I'll see to it soon."

His hand lifted, the back side of his calloused index finger grazes her face tenderly, rubbing at her cheekbone. As he did, his chest pressed to her shoulder blades. The smile he offers is warm.

The man smells like rust and vanilla.

Terra lightly touched at her hair, satisfied with how secure it felt. Her earlier panic had subsided some with the gentle treatment but she still felt nervous. The hairs on the back of her neck were still standing.

He’s dangerous. He knows somethings off.  

“You don’t have to do any-“ she took in a sharp breath as he pressed against her, heat rising to her cheeks instantly. Having had his hands running through her hair had been stimulating enough and now with his warmth and smell hanging over her she almost felt dizzy. Terra lightly leaned against him catching sight of his smile out of the corner of her eye and began to smile slightly in return.

One of the patients let out a loud cough and Terra almost jumped out of her skin. She straightened up almost hitting herself against the desk, her head snapping in the direction of the cots. There was another small cough and then after a short while the slow telltale breathing of someone asleep. The room fell back to silence and Terra let out a sigh, glancing wearily at the medicine cabinet once more.  

“I...I need to go out. To scavenge. And soon; we’re low on pain killers. And medical tape. And antibiotics. And I don't know how well I can handle another emergency without them.” She sounded more hesitant than she’d intended but it would have to do. She glanced up at the taller man over her shoulder, her amber eyes staring into his dark ones. Sneaking off was no longer an option and after what had just occurred she needed to be much more careful.

Hearing the cough as the small woman jumped in his arms, Dmitri's gaze lazily trailed over him, observing the fit before the wounded stilled. Then his eyes drifted back to her as she explained her needs to him.

"Hmm..."

The tall, dark haired man rested his hands on the doctor's waist, his fingers tight on her form, before his bandaged palms pulled away from her. Dmitri took a few long, exaggerated steps up to the cabinet, his fingers grazing the inside of the cabinet. Empty, as she had promised. His shoulders, broad, pushed back while he tilted his head up. His exhale was deep and shifted the dust particles with a heavy nature to them. Dmitri's nose twitched.

"Are you using a new anti-septic...? ...Nevermind."

His marked eyes turned and scanned the patients nightstands for anything resembling flowers, finding nothing. His lips twitched, then he turned his gaze to Terra.

"Meet me in my room after getting Merlock to cover your shift. We'll intercept a few First Sons shipments today and it would be best if you were there so we could know what we need most."

He pivoted on his heel, his gaze lingering on hers a moment longer than necessary before stepping out of the clinic and down the dark corridor, his footsteps audible no matter how far away he became.

Terra nodded along with what the tall man said, her gaze following him as he'd moved around the clinic.

Anti-septic?

She thought it best not to ask. She was going with him and she didn't want to push her luck even though the question seemed odd to her. She quietly watched him leave, only turning to begin packing once he was a decent distance away. She was not going to risk a repeat of what had occured with the hair clip. The blush on her cheeks and the feeling of his hands on her waist lingered in her mind.


Terra checked over her patients once more same as before, only now she had a barreta strapped to her thigh and jacket on instead of her doctors coat. A few of her hairs had fallen out of place with all the running around she'd just done to get the clinic in order.

Merlock sat behind the desk with a bored expression, disregarding her repeated thanks for covering her shift with a wave of his hand. If Dmitri wanted it, it would get done.

She had one last look around the clinic, shoulder bag in tow, before exiting her little safe haven. Her steps sounded heavy as she made her way through the repurposed  prisons hallways, nodding to other templars in greeting  along the way though trying her best to avoid conversation.

She made it to Dmitris room in a short time. She'd been in there before but she still hesitated for a moment. She was nervous again, whether from the knowledge that she'd soon face a few First Sons or being alone in his room again she wasn't 100% sure.
Terra knocked lightly on the door.
"Dmitri?"