#Shrike is an alt universe version of Doc Melody

[atonalginger]

WIP Wednesday

@therealgchu reminded me it was Wednesday and Wednesdays are for WIPs!

I've got a little bit of writing and some strategic edits of a picture I finished yesterday. Strategic crops to be precise...like this one:

oh hey! That's the Frontier's hab. Wonder what's going on in there that warrants cropping...Guess we'll see under the cut? any way I've also got a snippet of writing from Lyssa Shrike's story as she clears the lab on Kreet with Constellation!Del there for the assist. It's a touch longer so I'm going to toss it under the read more to save space and as a bonus there will be three crops of the Delyssa art I made last night that features activities later in the story...

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Delgado took the flashlight from his mouth, switched it off, and dropped it into the box. He pulled an analgesic poultice from the mess of supplies and set about smearing it onto the holes and burns from bullet grazes, “almost done. Wasn’t so bad, was it? Chica dura.”

“You didn’t need to do all that.” She looked back into the lab at the quick carnage. Most of it, once again, hers. For a moment she thought about checking IDs or pulling off helmets to see if she knew any of them but shoved the thought from her mind. The memory of the carnage would be enough punishment.

“What did I say?” he asked. His voice was softer now, closer, his warm breath on her ear. She could feel him bandaging her arm, her bicep still mostly numb from the dual trauma packs, which she was grateful for.

“I don’t play well with others,” she closed her eyes and hung her head.

“Clearly,” he chuckled, “but you’re smart, you can learn.”

She barked a laugh, “oh, fuck you.”

“Maybe in the Fleet everyone is ready to shiv one another over some Chunks but Constellation isn’t like that. We look out for one another.” She could hear him digging around in one of his suit pockets, “taking care of your arm now means less risk of infection later. Those pelotudos mentioned reinforcements, who knows how many more we need to fight through.”

“So you numbed my upper arm,” she finally turned and look at him, surprised to see how close he was as he patched up the tear in her suit, “which means my ability to fight went down.”

“You don’t need to do everything on your own,” he glanced over, his amber eyes twinkling in the overhead lights. He flashed his cocky smile and winked at her, “you’re in good hands.”

“And what will I owe you?”

He tossed the empty tube over his shoulder and sat back on his heels, looking uneasy, “this isn’t tit for tat. You don’t owe me anything. We’re a team right now, we’re working together.”

“You keep saying that,” she looked back at the carnage again.

“Because I mean it,” he sighed and set about closing his medkit and stuffing it back into his suit pocket. He stood tall, stretching his back and letting out a slight groan, “you fight like a fury, you know?”

“So I’ve been told. What of it?”

He held out a hand to help her stand. She stared at it, debating on slapping it away but deciding to restrain herself and accept the assistance. Play nice, Jamie, She thought. Don’t bite the hand that heals. After she was up Delgado lingered in the touch, pulling her in closer than necessary, his eyes once again flicking to her lips before slowly trailing back up. Pretty shy for such a big talker.

“That fury carry over to…” he leaned closer, his voice a husky whisper that caused another flutter in her stomach, “more fun activities?”

Lyssa rolled her eyes and looked away, throwing up another aggressive wall to hide her desire for the smooth talker as she tried to shove him back, “you want to fuck in a blood soaked lab? Here I thought I was the savage of the two.”

Delgado took a step back to steady himself, quickly recovering and reaching out to catch her waist with his hands, “didn’t say that.” He pulled her body against his and leaned in close enough to brush his nose against hers, “but I can see you’re interested.”

“That so?” Lyssa growled. She placed a hand on his chest and pushed back, regaining the upper hand, “and you probably think your ham-fisted flirts all afternoon did something?”

He let his head fall back as he laughed, “ouch! You wound me.”

“I wasn’t named Shrike for shits and giggles,” she leaned closer, her nose brushing his neck, “foolish to play with an animal you don’t know.”

He laughed again, showing no signs of moving. She bit his exposed neck, sucking on the skin for a moment as he let out a surprised moan. When she released and pulled back he caught her lips in a hungry kiss, one hand on the back of her head and the other still gripping the waist of her suit. Lyssa ran her fingers into his hair, the flutters spreading through her body as the two fought to devour the other where they stood.