[anchor=OptionFive][/anchor]
Searing 12th, Year 117
It all seemed to happen pretty fast for Linden between entering the swaying car and moving to the front. The woman leaving rather quickly without any eye contact as he looked out the windows while wondering why Kotoru kissed his cheek. For Linden, it was embarrassing as the color of his cheeks reached his ears and he turned to see the man in the front hunched over to the side as if asleep. Finally dawning on Linden that this man was the one from earlier that he ran into at the station. Then another thought came to him. What did this man do?
Hmmm... I should have asked what his crimes were, but Kotoru did say the man was dangerous.
Staring at the man, their eyes were closed and appeared to be sleeping. One hand appears to be applying pressure to their side which is probably why Linden smelled blood when entering the car. They were probably still bleeding. Walking over to them, Linden knelt down with a worried look on his face. They were already pale at the station so for all he knew this was their normal complexion.
"Sir?" Linden says gently and reaches out. "Sir?"
A gloved hand grabs his wrist and twists that caused Linden to hiss in pain. The man glaring at him with the one good eye, "what do you want?"
"Are you injured?"
The man's eyes narrowed as he sneered. He was already jumpy and probably wanted to kill Linden right then and there.
"I'm a doctor, sir," Linden says quietly as he looked at the man in the eyes. "When I got to the front I could smell the blood in the air and wanted to make sure you are okay."
The man twisted Linden's wrist a little more as it forced his body to move to help alleviate the pain. "You got a good nose on you, doc," he growls and leans forward. "Now why is someone like you roaming around, hmmm?"
"Well it's simple. I've never been on a train before," Linden says truthfully. "I wanted to know if the front can lead you to the front of the train, which it doesn't, and did you know there are two luggage carts, four cabin cars, and three regular seated cars?"
Linden's heart was beating fast when the man released his wrist with a "tch" and sat back too hard. They winced as Linden reached out again and was backhanded. This time LInden grabbed the man's wrist and glared at him. "I'm trying to make you don't die because of your pride," Linden says loudly that had the man's eyes widen for a moment. "I don't care what caused you to get it, but I remember you. I ran into you at the station and you smelled like blood back then too. You have a light sheen of sweat on your forehead and your right hand is applying pressure to your side. If you want to die quietly in your sleep while up here then that is up to you or you can come with me to my cabin where I have my medical bag and we go to the luggage cart area where there are no windows. After that, I don't care, but I would have done my civic duty to ensure life continues on."
"You got some balls on you to grab me suddenly, kid-"
"You hit me and I don't like getting hit in the face."
"If I say no to leaving? My stop is almost here and I will be leaving quickly."
"We have roughly another half-hour and by then you will not last another hour. You will begin to start getting lightheaded and grow weak. Your vision will begin to blur as you feel cold. You will attract more attention than if you let me treat you, give you something for the pain, and you can walk out with your dignity intact."
Linden may be mild-mannered, but what told the man was true. He doesn't like getting hit in the face and his continuous assaults with his eldest half-brother haven't gotten better with time. Linden wasn't a fighter like they were, but dammit! He wasn't going to let someone smack him around especially when they were injured! Unless it was his half-brother... He might let them suffer a little bit before helping.
"My name is Linden from Atinaw. Now," Linden releases the man's wrist. "If you are interested then just follow me to my cabin to allow me to assess you. If you don't follow then that is fine too. Just know if you collapse later and or die, just remember someone did try to help you."
Rubbing his cheek with his palm, Linden stood up and flexed the injured wrist as he walked out of the car. Not turning around once to see if the man was following him at all. The occasional glances to some of the passengers told him that he was being followed. Some of the women had the look of being unnerved as they looked away.
Damn he has a strong backhand, Linden thinks to himself while opening and closing his jaw as it popped. Adrenaline fading and a part of him internally screaming to be so bold with a dangerous person who he doesn't know what their crimes were. I wonder what classifies someone as dangerous? Bandits. Raiders. Killers. Thieves. They are all dangerous... Traitors?... Serves me right for not clarifying and just offering myself up like this.
The cabin car that Linden belonged to was empty and most of the occupied ones had their blinds down. Stopping in front of the one that was his cabin door, Linden counted to five and entered before closing the door. Going to his satchel and began to pull out a few things before feeling his body hitting the cabin floor. Linden didn't even hear the door open and close, nothing. A strong hand grabbed his hair and pulled him up enough to expose his neck. The injured man looking down at him with constricted pupils as something pressed against his throat.
"That was... Really not called for..."
"Who are you helping?"
"Huh?"
The pommel struck his lower jaw as the man jerked him again. "I said, who are you helping?"
"No one," Linden croaked out. That pummel was no joke and it bloody hurt.
"Who are you helping?" The man says again.
"For the - I said no one! Don't let delirium make you paranoid too and if you strike me again I will let you bleed out."
"Oh? How will you do that if I slice open your throat?" The man grinned and pressed the cool blade against heated flesh.
"Because there's an artery in the inside of your thigh and given your condition, you will bleed out in less than two minutes most likely. So even if I die, you are coming with me."
The man paused as he felt something sharp touch his skin between his legs and looked at the young doctor. The grin turning into a smile as they laughed and dropped Linden onto the ground with his hand coming up to cover the side of their face. "What a doctor you are," he states and glances to see a master-crafted scalpel in Linden's hand. "Okay then, doc. Treat me and depending on my mood, I may not kill you in the end."
"Hmph," was Linden's response as the removed the last of his small kit out of his satchel and opened it up. Motioning to the bastard to open his coat and lift up the shirt.
The shirt underneath the coat was soaked. Peeling away the bloodied cloth and Linden could tell that it was deep and made with a narrow blade. Shaking his head he walked over and looked at his needles and sutures. "Change of plans. I am going to give you something for the pain and we are going to ransack someone's luggage. You need a proper bandage and I don't have that, but first. I am going to clean this area and sew you back up. I am going to ask you to take something, but it will taste quite disgusting. So as long as you have a strong stomach and no real gag reflex, you will be fine."
Carefully Linden took out a small, hard case from his satchel and removed a couple of vials. Holding them up to the light and giving them a shake and setting it down. Taking out a needle and syringe to draw up one of the vials before removing the needle. Walking over to them as they looked at him suspiciously.
"It's called-"
"If you start giving me a lesson I am going to stab you."
"Well, in that case, open wide and swallow," Linden says annoyed as he dispenses the syringe inside of their mouth as they swallowed while gagging and coughing. "Give it a few moments and we will move to the luggage cart after the quick sew up to help with the bleeding. Once we reach our destination, you need to find a proper clinic to disinfect the wound and suturing of your injury... Are you even listening to me?"
"Yes. Just get on with it and what is wrong doc? Don't want to ruin your nice clothes and that's why you are going to take me to the luggage cart or perhaps for something else?"
"You are an odd one," Linden replies as he gets the needle and thread ready and begins to work on them.
"So what did you give me?"
"Atropa."
"A what?"
"Atropa. It's a plant that mixed with another will aid with pain, inflammation, and can be a muscle relaxer."
"I see."
After a few more minutes, Linden was finished as he gave a frown. Wrapping up his needle in a cloth to be washed later if he can see if the train sold any alcoholic beverages for him to soak it in. After buying the bottle of course.
"Well, let's get going to the luggage cart and see if I can find you something to apply pressure because yes, I don't want to use my clothes on you."
Linden didn't like the fact his hands were growing tacky with some of the other's blood, but he had his own mission to do. Motioning for them to follow as the duo walked side by side. Something small and sharp was in their hand when they grasped Linden's waist. The man telling him that if they feel that Linden was up to something, then they were in for a rude awakening.
With a nod, the two enter the luggage car. It was dark and there were some slivers of light coming from above and from the sides where the large sliding doors were for loading and unloading. The back was fairly shaky as it rattled loudly and Linden stepped away from the man.
"I never caught your name."
"Why do you need it, doc?" He asks while turning the brass ring on his finger to hide the poisoned needle and tucks it away before drawing his dagger slowly. "Not like you are going to need it."
