#i gotta draw her with a greatsword too. and unlike the staff i have a few in mind

[wantedplantlife]

Made this ref of my necromancer yariri for art fight this year

[rain0205-blog]

Terminal State

Summary:  She tried leaving, submerging herself in work to escape the horrors she had seen. The horrors she kept seeing. She never wanted to go back to that life. But when the Empire takes her home, she’s forced to face her past. Can she move on? Can she cope? Or will she require a bit of help? still bad at summaries, still working on it. ever so slightly more than slight AU gadioxoc

Uneventful

...

Gladiolus dismissed his greatsword, feeling a bit dizzy from the strike Crown Prince Noctis had managed to land on him. He could feel blood trickling down the left side of his face which he wiped away from his eye. There was minimal pain thanks to his adrenaline, and he was happy that the Prince was improving his skills. Stubborn as Noctis was about it, he had made progress over the years. Gladiolus shook his head slightly, seeing a few black spots. Ignis had walked over to administer a potion and have a look at his cut. He instructed the Shield to sit down and began to methodically clean the wound.

"First time in a while you drew blood," said Gladio to Noctis.

"I caught it all on camera," Prompto boasted.

"Not for long you don't."

"What? Can't let anyone see you lose?" teased Noctis.

"I ain't finished yet."

"It was a good show nonetheless," said Ignis, trying to avoid an argument.

The Adviser kept to his work as the other three in the room continued to talk about what had just happened. It was unlike Gladiolus to let Noctis draw blood, though none of them seemed to worry about it too much. As Ignis continued his work he could see that the gash was deeper than he'd anticipated; his efforts wouldn't be sufficient enough. The large man would need treatment from a proper doctor in order to heal properly. Once the potion wore off there was no telling how the wound would start to affect him. Just the thought of going to the Citadel clinic was giving Ignis a headache. Gladio didn't like others working on him and the Adviser considered himself lucky to have gotten as far as he did.

"I'm afraid you'll need to finish your examination over at the clinic," he said tentatively.

"It doesn't feel that bad," Gladiolus protested.

"Perhaps not. But as you know, I am not a doctor," the look on the large man was going to prompt another excuse, so Ignis hastily added, "It's just a precaution."

Gladiolus observed his friend's stern gaze. If Ignis was saying he had to go, then he probably did and the Shield knew it would be futile to argue. No matter what protest he made, Ignis would have already considered it and come up with a counterpoint. Gladio stood up and, accepted the towel wiping his hands clean of the blood he had gotten on them. Ignis took that as a sign of consent. Perhaps there really was something wrong with the man if he didn't put up much of a fight.

Gladiolus shrugged, "Fine."

"Now this I gotta see!" exclaimed Prompto.

The four men began their trek toward the Citadel clinic. The corridors were busting with Glaives, Crownsguard and staff busy with their work. Noctis did his best to hide his face, hating the attention he got while he was here, however, with a big man like Gladiolus wandering around it was fairly difficult to stay invisible. Prompto was even worse. His antics and bubbly enthusiasm were enough to draw dozens of eyes to them, a bundle of life trapped inside that tiny body and bursting to come out. Ignis often wore his look of grief at their shenanigans. For the most part, Noctis was able to make his way to the clinic with a minimal number of "Your Highnesses". After entering, a nurse immediately moved to escort Gladiolus. Seemed to be a slow day as usual. She led the injured man into an examination room almost immediately, followed close behind by the others, despite Ignis's protests. Prompto and Noctis were insistent upon seeing their egotistical friend actually admit that he'd made a mistake and been hurt, while Ignis knew it was best to leave him to be examined in peace. Maybe, Ignis thought, he should have suggested this course of action more strongly. Then again, how often did Gladio have an injury that required attention he didn't otherwise acknowledge? Curious.

The nurse took Gladiolus's vitals thoroughly as he recounted what had happened. She wrote the details down on a clipboard. It wasn't a very long story and the nurse took a better look at the cut with a thoughtful frown. She left the room afterward, assuring them that the doctor would be in momentarily. Gladiolus wasn't impressed with Prompto's teasing though he knew that revenge, properly planned, would be sweet. Their bantering stopped as the doctor walked into the exam room. Gladiolus's amber eyes observed the slender female who looked to be swimming in her lab coat. She was reading his chart, her eyes flickering over the paper with her head down. Her pen was writing on top of what he could only assume were the nurse's notes. When she was finished, she sanitized her hands and put on a pair of latex gloves.

The doctor looked up at them. Her dirty blond hair was pulled back into the smallest ponytail ever, sticking straight out. Most of her hair had fallen out of the ponytail it was meant to be in, the loose hair spreading halfway down her neck. She was thin, pale and nearly sick looking. There were large, dark bags under her hazel eyes as if she had been working for days on end without a break - which was odd here in the clinic. Gladio noted the scar that ran down from her neck and he couldn't see where it ended underneath her pink scrubs. But despite the hollow look of her appearance, he was struck by the underlying soul she seemed very desperate to hide. He found he was unable to look away from her, something about her drawing his full attention to her alone. She walked over to him, grabbing his chin gently with her gloved hands. The Shield kept his eyes trained on her as she looked intently at his injury, the aroma of sanitizer with a hint of vanilla filling his nostrils while she moved it head carefully. She let his face go, taking a step back and looking him over again.

"Okay Mr..." she took a quick look at the chart, "Amicitia. Want to tell me what happened?"

"He wounded his pride, that's what," said Prompto quickly laughing at his own words.

"Prompto," Ignis warned before Gladiolus could retaliate.

"We were sparring and I won," explained Noctis.

He seemed quite proud of himself about that. Gladiolus made a mental note not to let that happen again. Despite all the commentary, the doctor was still looking at him expectantly, her calm hazel stare calling his attention.

"He got the best of me this round," he said in a neutral tone, "Iggy cleaned it up, but he said I was better off coming here."

"Well, Iggy was right to be careful. I'll also compliment him on how well he cleaned it," she smiled slightly.

Gladiolus saw a small light in her dull eyes which caused him to mimic her. She took her stethoscope and got it ready for use, placing it on the left side of his chest first. The doctor gave him instructions which he followed without hesitation. Keeping his gaze on her the entire time she worked made it easy for him to see that despite the obvious sleep deprivation, she was very passionate about her job. Everything she did was precise and her touches were gentle around his wound. When she was finished she reached out, once again taking his chin in her small hands and moving his head toward the light. His amber eyes were only focused on that face while it critically observed him. Again a small light shone in her dull eyes as soon as she looked satisfied with something that she was staring at on him. It was hard to look away from it, completely mesmerizing. Once she released him, however, he blinked and followed her every movement as she walked to the door with his chart and sanitized her hands once more. Gladiolus continued to study her while she seemed completely oblivious to his very existence despite being her patient.

"Mr. Amicitia-"

"Gladio," he cut her off.

She smiled tiredly at him, "You have a small concussion and that cut of yours will need stitches. I need to prepare a few things, but then I'll be back to patch you up and send you on your way."

"Thanks, Doc," he grinned at her foolishly.

She nodded once and then left the room. Gladiolus's smile didn't leave his face once she was gone, but he was distracted by the young man standing to his right.

"Lucky you, hottie Doctor," said Prompto.

"Easy boy," said Noctis.

"Awfully young to procure a position in her station. Something to be admired," mused Ignis.

Gladiolus crossed his massive arms over his chest, "Think she was a combat medic."

"What makes you assume that?"

"The scar on her neck. Definitely from a blade."

"Aren't you observant," noted Noctis sardonically.

"Is that love I see in your eyes?" Prompto mocked him.

"You won't see much of anything once we get out of here if you keep it up," replied Gladiolus.

"Bet you can't get a date."

He grunted, "She's not some floozy in a bar, Prompto, she's a Doctor."

"Yup," his voice was cocky, "Already defeated."

Gladiolus was about to retort when the nurse walked into the room, bringing a tray of surgical tools and placing it in front of him. She waited in the room and shortly after the young doctor came back. The Shield smirked slightly as she sanitized her hands yet again and put on another set of latex gloves. She hesitated a moment and then walked up toward him. He watched her every movement, as she grabbed a cotton swab and dipped it into some blue fluid. Gently, she ran it along the cut which caused him to feel some pain there and then nothing at all.

"Please be still," she instructed, holding her tools in her hands.

He complied and she began to work, only feeling some pressure where his would was. Gladio studied her face as she worked, her eyes completely focused on her what she was doing. He wasn't seeing things, there truly was a small light shining in them. Completely unaware, he held a small crooked grin at it though she didn't seem to notice - not even when his eyes rolled over toward the scar. The rest of it was hidden by her scrubs, but it was definitely made by a blade. Not one that he could identify from Insomnia, but without actually knowing he could only guess. It was thick, probably bled a lot and could have killed her, definitely not something that happens by accident inside of the city. Gladio was curious as to how far down it ran, noting the small bumps that started to form on her neck. Odd, the temperature in here was overly warm and yet, she was cold. But his thoughts were interrupted by her moving away from him, coating his wound with that same blue liquid and then writing down a prescription.

"You're all set. Take this for the pain and try not to exert yourself for the rest of the week," she offered him that same tired smile.

"Thanks, Doc," he repeated himself, his fingers brushing against the plastic of her blue latex gloves. She nodded at him, turning her back and getting ready to leave. Damn you Prompto, "You wanna grab a beer?" he blurted the first thing he could think of.

His smile grew at the shock on her face as she whipped around to face him, but only if looked at closely could it have been caught.

"Sorry, I don't date patients," she didn't even laugh at him.

"I'm discharged, remember?" he held up the paper in his hand.

She smiled as she took off her gloves and sanitized her hands once more, "I don't date Crownsguard," she spoke in the same voice, closing the door behind her before he could say anything else.

"Oh, swing and a miss big guy," Prompto laughed at him.

Gladiolus's eyes grew thoughtful. That was an interesting thing to say. She wasn't even turning him down, merely his profession.

Challenge accepted.

Somehow, he would break down her walls to at least figure out what she had against them.

...

The sky was red in anger, the wind blowing heavily and piercing her skin. There was devastation all around her, the ground shaking with every bit of fire that flew from the sky and hit the ground. She had trouble keeping her balance but managed to stay on her feet, running toward her comrades. Her bag was clutched to her body as if it were her life force - and in many ways, it was not only hers but those she was meant to treat. Legs pumped as fast as they could despite wishing to give out at the pure exhaustion coursing through her body. It was hard to maintain a pace, narrowly missing the oncoming attacks. She took a quick scan around her and pressed on.

She wasn't so lucky as to avoid everything. Something had finally managed to catch her and her body was sent flying across the ground, skittering and hitting every single bump along the way. Another body stopped the trek, the smell of blood and rotting flesh filling her nostrils. Screams echoed in her ears but she kept that bag clutched to her body. She coughed the dust that occupied her lungs, choking on the very air she needed to breathe. Pain exploded from head to toe but she forced herself to her knees, checking the pulse of the nearby body. Nothing. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she noted blood falling down her head and out of her nose, coughing once more in another failed attempt to breathe properly. She looked around in a haze, her eyes trying to focus on what was around her. Debris hit her from every angle but she could no longer feel it. She began to run again, high on her own adrenaline. Her vision blurred in front of her but she could hear her target. Just as the trail was ending she was struck by something unseen, knocking her to the ground and the wind out of her. She coughed, grasping for any sort of air to reach her. Arms trembled while being forced to push her up but they only let her collapse once more. More shots fired, her vision clearing up as she began to catch her breath. With the last of her willpower, she forced herself to her feet, her legs shaking as they struggled supported her own weight. She had the bag, hugging it to her body. The target was finally in sight and she took in a sharp breath, wincing at the pain.

A dark shadow blocked her way and at the speed she was going there was no way to stop herself from colliding with it. She nearly fell but managed to catch her balance. Her head snapped toward the source of another tremor, looking in horror at the gleaming red eye that was unleashed from the sky. It bore down upon her, shrinking her resolve. But she couldn't stop. The shine in her peripherals captured her attention away from the real threat. What a nuisance, there was no time for this. Weapon in hand, she took a defensive stance but her injuries were impairing her reflexes. It was a losing battle, her body barely able to handle the simple commands she gave it. She was nowhere near full power after all the damage she had taken, still only focused on the monster rampaging its way toward them. The gleam of an enemy blade was the last thing she saw as her body went limp.

Dr. Virum took a deep intake of breath, shaking out of her dream. Hands immediately went to her neck, the pain still fresh as if it had really happened. There was nothing there, no blood gushing out of it. With a sigh of relief, she rubbed her eyes before looking around her. She was in the doctor's lounge, at work. Looking down at her watch she sighed, noting her break was over and pushed herself up off the couch, swung her legs down, and stood up just a little too fast. Pushing through her head rush, it was evident she still needed a moment to fix herself so she went straight to the bathroom. The doctor observed herself in the mirror, noting that her eyes were a little bloodshot but the dark bags that usually hung beneath them were smaller than she had seen in a long while. Perhaps some of that sleep did a bit of good despite being troubled as usual. Gathering what resolve she had left she exited the room, ready for the remainder of her shift.

Putting on her lab coat, she walked into the emergency department of the hospital and straight toward the nurse's station, her hazel eyes scanning the room for the charge nurse on site. It was a quiet night, not unlike two weeks ago when she was shipped away to the Citadel. Virum logged into the computer, looking for anything outstanding. There was nothing. It was no wonder she was able to sleep her entire break, all was quiet within Insomnia. The resident nurse came back to her desk, busying herself in her own work. The doctor logged out of the computer, looking at the girl expectantly. She was an older woman, grey wisps of hair starting to poke their way out from the scalp. The glasses hung onto the end of her nose, her eyes focused on the chart in front of her. Crows feet surrounded the edge of her eyes, deeper lines in her face. Her scrubs were green and clean, showing how calm the evening had been.

"Doctor," the nurse looked up, handing her a chart.

"This might be the last time we have charts," she spoke dryly, looking over the paperwork.

"I'm surprised it's taken them this long."

"This is E.D, the highest turnover of patients, it's hard to replace it all digitally like they have everywhere else. Even the Citadel wasn't updated yet."

"How'd they get you in there anyway? After..." the nurse was uneasy about finishing that sentence.

"I was just doing an old friend a favour."

"You do too many favours. Take care of yourself to."

"No promises, Tash," Virum smiled, leaving the station and walking into the room.

56 year-old male, shortness of breath, coughing, sneezing, flu. Antibiotics. 27 year-old female, severed femur. Administered pain medication, mended bone. 2 year-old male, runny nose, scratchy throat, flu. Antibiotics. 39 year-old male, stage four lung cancer. Admitted, sent up to oncology. 87 year-old female, seizure, renal failure, cardiac arrest. Time of death, 19:03, organ donor. 22 year-old male, alcohol detox, small ethanol drip. Observation for 24 hours.

And thus the night went on like that. Only two of their rooms were ever full, no one was waiting for any sort of treatment. She knew what that meant, that this was simply a calm before the storm. There was a shit show coming and she was hoping that it would hold off until she was done her shift. Virum yawned as she finished filling in her paperwork and handed it off to the nurse. Only one more hour until her shift was over and she could maybe try sleeping again. Lady luck on her side, she was still only getting hit with more patients showing flu symptoms. It was that time of year when the temperature changed. She was given another chart by Tash, looking it over quickly and heading toward the room the patient was waiting in. She opened the sliding glass door, pulling back the curtain before stepping inside. The doctor routinely put on her latex gloves, looking up at her patient.

Virum recognized the young man, looking at her chart. 20 year old male, likely a sprained ankle. With a brow raised, she looked at the right ankle in question. It was definitely swollen, bruising surrounding the flesh that changed it from normal pigments into deep purples. He had it elevated on the gurney, the nurses issuing their exam before calling her in. His vitals were normal, everything was okay thus far. She walked over to the patient, gently touching the swollen and bruised area.

"Okay Mr. Argentum, what happened?" she asked, looking into his blue eyes.

"Went for a run and stepped on it funny," he explained in a light tone.

She looked at his hands, noting that there were scrapes and gravel on it.

"You fell."

"Yeah it kind of took me by surprise," he let out a small, nervous laugh.

"Do you fall often?"

"He's a regular clutz," a gruff voice answered from behind her.

Curious as to who walked into the room without her hearing it, she turned around only to meet the smiling face of Mr. Amicitia, her last patient two weeks ago. He was leaning on the frame of the door with a smug smirk on his face, arms crossed over his chest. She had to crane her neck to look up at him as he was quite massive at his full height compared to her. Instinctively her eyes went to the laceration she had stitched up, satisfied that it managed to heal even better than she thought. Virum met his amber eyes and his smile only grew, but it was for only a moment as she turned back toward her patient waiting expectantly for an answer. She noted that he shied away from her gaze and she wondered if it was because of the presence of his friend towering behind her.

"Mr. Argentum?" she inquired again, getting him to focus.

"Uh, n-no, I don't," he returned his attention back toward her.

"I'm going to take an x-ray of your ankle, can you please lay flat."

Prompto nodded at her and followed her instruction. The doctor called in a nurse to pull in the portable machine, Gladiolus being forced outside of the room. Virum and the nurse put on their protective apron and then took the picture. She observed the image, handing off her gear to the nurse and the machine being pulled out of the room. Gladiolus returned inside of the room and went to stand beside the patient, his eyes on her the entire time. She ignored him, bringing the digital image onto the screen before her while continuing to study it intently. There was no break so that was something good at least, the streak of her easy night continuing. She took some cleaning supplies, grabbing his hands and cleaning up the dirt from them in order to examine them better. He had minor scrapes, nothing serious at all. When she was done with that, she moved toward the ankle. Prompto grunted in pain as she applied pressure on the swollen parts. The doctor went to gather ice packs and placed two of them on either side of the ankle, and one on top and underneath.

"I'm surprised you didn't just go to the Citadel clinic," she spoke.

"You do remember me!" he exclaimed in happiness. She gave him a small smile, preparing her wrap for when the swelling had reduced somewhat, "I'm not Crownsguard, just an ordinary citizen."

"With well-placed friends. Good for you," she complimented absently, focused on her work.

"Uh, thanks," he seemed uneasy.

"You always hiding in the hospital?" asked Gladiolus.

"I wouldn't consider work exactly hiding," she answered without looking at him.

Virum removed the ice packs and then began to wrap up the ankle securely.

"Explains why you haven't been to the clinic."

"Yes I'm sure you spend a lot of time there," her voice was dry but her face still focused, "I work here in the E.D. Clinic was understaffed so I was just helping out. One time thing."

"That's a shame."

"Depends on who you ask," she finished her wrap and went back to her chart,

"Okay Mr. Argentum, we're all done here. You sprained your ankle, there's no break. Just stay off of it for a couple of weeks and you'll be good as new."

"Thanks," he nodded at her, sitting up.

The doctor smiled at him, taking off her gloves and throwing them in the trash. As always, she sanitized her hands and walked out of the room with the chart under her arm. She went straight to the nurse's station, knowing she had picked up a rather large tail. She was hoping it would go away as she finished up her paperwork and handed it to Tash.

"Hey Doc," Gladiolus called to her as she began to head to the lounge to avoid him.

"Yes?" she turned to face him, her hands in the pockets of her lab coat.

"Still waiting to grab that beer."

"Still don't date Crownsguard," she replied, turning her back on him and walking away briskly before he could say something else.

Gladiolus smiled at her retreating back. At least he knew where to find her now - not that he really spent a lot of time looking.

"Can I help you sir?" asked one of the nurses.

"Yeah, who's that Doctor?" Gladiolus pointed in the direction of the woman who had just treated his friend.

"Her? That's Dr. Virum. Did you need something?"

"No," he said instantly. He smiled as he looked back in her direction, "Thank you," his eyes were distant.

The nurse was still looking at him quizzically and he just gave her a small smile, nodding at her before taking one last look in Dr. Virum's direction before going back into Prompto's room.

...

thanks for reading