A Brush with Death (Sara/Aaron/Open)

[MP]

Aaron looked on in shock as Sara launched into furious rebuttal. He even flinched a little when she lurched to her feet violently enough to send the chair flying. As the silence fell, he could do little more than to gape at her, the cautioning words driven clean from his head. He saw her fists curl and, numbly, expected her to resume the outburst. Instead:

"I..... I'm s-sorry... I just... I c-cannae see it 'appen a-again.."

Aaron stared at her in hopeless confusion, too stunned to even recognize the excuse for what it was as she made for the door. As she reached for the handle, he managed a small sound, his voice choked and hoarse.

"Sara..."

Then, loud enough to send daggers stabbing through his chest, "Sara -"

But she was already gone. The door clicked shut, and Aaron lay alone in the room, his face the shellshocked expression of a man who had witnessed a bomb blast. Somehow he had said something wrong - the complete wrong thing - and all before he could voice what had really needed saying.

He cursed abruptly and moved without thinking. Monitors complained loudly as he struggled clear, edging from the bed in a painful, shuffling kind of log roll. An alarmed and very irate pair of nurses thundered into the room and caught him before he could so much as stagger halfway to the door.

Aaron resisted, protested, trying to explain that he was fine - had made a mistake, needed to set it right, though he was unsure what he had done in the first place. He finally gave in at the threat of sedation and allowed them to force him back into bed, in grudging agony and very much miserable.

[qhostqrowls]

Faolan was now informed of what had happened to Aaron, more or less. Spellwork had commanded his heart to stop. This conclusion had finally been reached after many visits from the WSDA crime department, among others.
The doctor was extremely grateful that they were working so hard to find the offender, but they had quite frankly been grilling Aaron for details, albeit patiently, and had only left after a polite, exasperated message from Faolan that went along the lines of 'he's my patient and he needs rest, please leave'.

He was only been a corridor away from Aaron's room when the commotion started, beginning with Sara's voice getting progressively louder, escalating to furniture crashing and finally to the frantic beeping of monitors. His eyes widened with concern and he hurried towards the room, heels clipping against the polished floor in a hasty metronome.
As close as he had been, he had only picked up snatches of the scientists rant. Something along the lines of Sara being very, very angry at whatever had almost killed the man, and then getting frustrated and even angrier at something Aaron had said.
The blonde concluded that the combination of lack of sleep and the palpable tension surrounding Aaron's case had gotten to the poor thing, and she had just snapped.
As he rounded the corner he almost collided with the shapeshifter, stumbling back a few paces, shrinking against the wall to avoid impact. She looked to be on the verge of tears, with red rimmed eyes and hands clenched into fists, tail swishing agitatedly behind her.

"Oh, Sara! Don't-uh, i mean, it's okay, it's okay," he soothed frantically, trying to not sound patronizing or unprofessional, but also wanting to console her. "Uh, what's wrong?"
Two nurses were already at the scene, and by the sounds of it were trying to shove Aaron back into bed. Faolan held back a sigh, he'd already given Aaron a firm lecture about not getting out of bed under any circumstances, but the officer was known for his dedication and, well, stubbornness. He'd just have to repeat himself with a little more conviction. The blaring machines settled down much to the doctors relief. Aaron's little bout of exercise could have worsened his condition significantly.

[tsukikoko]

In her mad haste, Sara nearly collided with doctor Faolan as he, presumably, headed towards the room she had just vacated. The woman practically leapt back, then threw up her hands and apologised profusely for nearly smacking into him. He tried to soothe her, but Sara shook her head and tried to wave Faolan off,
"P-please, ya don't need tah worry nowt for me. U-uhm.. could ya check that.. Aaron is alreet though? I uh.. I'll be, like, two seconds."
Without waiting for a reply, she hurried on her way, headed for the toilet facilities located further down the corridor. When she reached the door she practically fell against it in her haste to get the door open, a sound of desperate frustration escaping her when she couldn't get out of sight as quickly as she wanted to.

She had not wanted to yell at Aaron, or throw furniture around, nor had she wanted to be rude to Faolan when he only wanted to help. Sara silently instructed herself to apologise when next she saw both of the men, but first she needed to get a hold of herself.

Once inside the toilets, she realised her vision was clouded from welling tears that she fought to hold back. She ran the cold water tap, splashed water over her face to wash the salty liquid away and finally looked into her reflection. For a few seconds she stared at the person looking back at her, then closed her eyes and sighed. She should have stayed, sorted the situation immediately rather than running away and potentially causing Aaron to injure himself in his attempts to follow her (if the beeping that had begun in his room was anything to go by). She should not have fled.
But then, ya always 'ave been good at that, 'aven't you?
As she thought this, the tip of Sara's tail clipped the edge of a toilet stall door, having jerked again as an involuntary reaction to her emotions. She was still quivering and took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

Aaron didn't need her to be like this, she thought. No, she would return only once she was calm again; until then, she gripped the edge of the sink with her hands and continued slow, even breaths, trying to bring her rogue limb under control as well.

[qhostqrowls]

"P-please, ya don't need tah worry nowt for me. U-uhm.. could ya check that.. Aaron is alreet though? I uh.. I'll be, like, two seconds."
Faolan opened his mouth to speak, but closed it silently at the expression on Sara's face. Crumpled with barley held back tears, in that stage of distress where a gentle prompt of 'are you okay?' was likely to make you cry. He could only anxiously watch her hurry off, and made a metal note to check up on her later. It was best to just give the geneticist some space. Having a fretful doctor hovering over her was probably last thing she wanted right now. With tha thought, he spun on his heel. Aaron was the one he needed to check up on.

The young doctor opened the door, his brows creasing at Aaron's breathless, desperate attempts to try to explain and escape. The man only stopped struggling and complied when the two nurses warned him of sedation, clambering back into bed grudgingly. As quickly and as efficiently as ever, the nurses checked the equipment, making notes and talking to each other, adjusting this and changing that. Faolan nodded at them, giving a genuine, thankful smile that changed to concerned disapproval as he turned to the officer, though he was more worried then angry.
"Aaron," his tone was strained. "Please, please, just stay in bed, that's all you've got to do right now." The doctors soft eyes hardened as he checked the heart monitor, 'tsking' under his breath, before turning to fuss over his patient. "I've explained this to you already! You've got broken ribs and a heart that stopped for a minute or two. You were dead, Aaron, and now you're trying to run around?" Faolan cut himself and pulled up short, ashamed of his brief outburst, running a hand through his hair tiredly. Aaron was just trying to comfort his friend.

"Ugh, I mean...just...just please, let your body recover, okay? You can go back to overworking yourself the second you're out of here." He flashed a brief smile and pulled up the chair, mouthing a 'thank you' as the nurses exited the room. He was silent for a second or two, studying Aaron's face carefully. Even though the two men knew each other, Faolan was hesitant when he spoke.
"Um, I heard Sara yelling, so I understand why you were up. But- I don't think you were the reason she was so upset. Uh, when I came to check on you before, she was talking, speaking her thoughts out loud." He fidgeted a bit, not wanting to disclose the redheads private thoughts, but then again, this might be the only thing that would keep the officer in bed and stop him from galavanting around the corridors, frantically apologizing for something he hadn't entirely caused.
"She was just worried, and felt bad about, um, her...banter, and about you not liking it. Also said something about you ending up the same as someone she used to know?" Faolan blinked suddenly, tapping at the armrests. "But please, don't tell her I said anything. Ah, damn, I really shouldn't have told you that..." he stood and paced around the bed to another machine. Everything was fine, he didn't need to adjust or even check the medical equipment, but it was more out of nervous habit then anything else. "I...I just wanted you to know that you weren't the reason she was so distraught, that was all. I wasn't trying to gossip."

[MP]

Aaron bore this second scolding in stone-faced silence. He'd stopped resisting the medical staff, did not plan to get up again after his original impulsive attempt. His chest alone was punishing him enough for that one, each breath feeling like a lungful of glass. Faolan's reprimand was perfectly reasonable, and he knew it was too early to be pushing himself. But still... A simmering, stubborn almost-resentment lingered.

He wasn't dead - that was the thing that everyone seemed to forget. Sara with her suicidal ideas of going after the perp. Faolan with his exasperated fussing. Aaron's heart had stopped because of spellwork, not some...some dormant flaw. It wasn't going to just give out for no reason, and he was going to be fine, memory gaps and all. These outbursts and breakdowns and worries were just unnecessary. If he were honest with himself, Aaron was embarrassed. He was uncomfortable at being caught in the middle of all this, helpless in bed while others fussed over him and and worked to clean up the mess.

Faolan's voice cut through the frustration then. "I heard Sara yelling, so I understand why you were up. But-"

Aaron lay in silence, the set of his jaw relaxing ever so slightly as he listened. So it hadn't been what he'd said. Not entirely. It felt...not better exactly - he didn't want Sara upset at all, whatever it was about. But at least he knew.

It's okay," he said to the flustered doctor. "I won't say anything."

It was true, he planned to take the doctor's words to heart. Regardless of how he reasoned with her, he was in no position to stop Sara if she took it into her head to do something about the incident. Moreover, he was bound to step on glass eventually trying to maneuver around whatever it was that was really bothering her. He had never been able to make a compelling argument anyway. No, his best bet was to say as little as necessary. To keep his thoughts to himself and put all their worries to rest with a quick, quiet recovery. With that resolution, faced with the long, helpless wait ahead, the fight seemed to go thoroughly out of him. Aaron lay back with a tired sigh.

"Thanks," he said belatedly. "For telling me."

---

Out in the hall, lopsided footsteps echoed down the corridor. They stuttered. Slowed. Came to a stop in front of the now silent door, where a small, oddly-tailed ferret was wandering back and forth and all but tying itself in knots. There was a long pause as Yoon regarded the animal. Then with a sigh of cotton, the cracking of joints, and a faint groan, the stout man seated himself beside it. A faint, stale air of cigarette smoke accompanied the movement.

"Nice trick," he said after a moment. "Got to work on that tail, though."

Yoon glanced briefly toward the door, perhaps listening for muffled voices within, but showed no intention of getting up.

"Good idea, waiting." he said. "I go in there now and his heart really will stop this time. He thinks I quit." A small grin sideways, along with a 'what can you do' sort of shrug. The expression faded somewhat at the sound of Faolan moving around behind the closed door.

"He'll be alright," Yoon said suddenly, casually, as though commenting on the weather. "He bounces back fast. Always been a tough kid. So don't bristle like that. He's alive because of you."

[tsukikoko]

Sara had had everything planned out; she was going to stride back into the room, apologise and explain for her unnecessary, rude and completely over-the-top reaction to Aaron's suggestion that she leave his aggressor well alone. Unfortunately, between leaving the toilets and getting about halfway down the corridor, the doubt had set in, gnawing away at her confidence with needling teeth. What if she had gone too far, upset Aaron too much? Had her emotional investment been too much? Her colleague had never been one for enjoying shows of affection or allowing others to fuss over him when overworked, he was far too practical and - to her eyes at least - modest for such things. So, perhaps, her clear worry and then misplaced anger at potentially being denied defending him had only made Aaron feel even more uncomfortable.

All these thoughts and more raced around in Sara's head at about the same speed she was twisting her body in knots. She had barely noticed the change, too caught up in her frantic thought spiral to pay much heed.
"Nice trick," she squeaked, leapt into the air and turned to face Yoon, who she hadn't even noticed had sat behind her (good self-preservation instincts there Sara), "Got to work on that tail, though."
A turn to look over her shoulder, followed by a slight fluffing of fur and the closest thing to a pout a ferret's face could possibly make. She then followed his glance towards the door, sitting back on her haunches to listen to the older man's words. When he had finished speaking, the familiar red-haired woman appeared beside him, sat with her back to the door, tail stretched out along the floor. She glanced sideways at Yoon,
"Eee, 'e might be alive 'cause o' me, but I don't reckon that gives me any reet to make 'im feel like arse. Got so wrapped up in me own pig-'eaded idea of.." she let out a short, sharp laugh, "..hah, what even was it, ya know, maybe revenge, but I didnae even think about 'is feelings, like."
Somehow, the return of this man had grounded her again, reminded her of what still needed to be done. She needed to stop stalling. The woman placed her hands on her knees and pushed herself to her feet with the tiniest grunt of effort, limbs trembling ever so slightly. She couldn't remember when last she ate.
"Pardon me now Yoon, but ah reckon an apology is in order, ya know?" She gave the old agent a small smile, tapped the side of her nose, "Worry not pet, won't say nothin' about ya fag 'abit."
The woman then turned and gently opened the door back into Aaron's room.

Sara poked her head through the gap and looked around, the nerves already creeping back into her gut. But she quelled them, pushed forward and hurried back over to her friend's bedside, being mindful not to let her tail send anything flying this time. The whole time she was unable to look Aaron in the eye, afraid of what she might see in his facial expression. Instead she looked to Faolan, flashed him a small smile and a brief nod. She might have asked him to leave, but she was worried that if she stopped to address the doctor she might not recover the courage to say what needed to be said. Only when she had reseated herself on the makeshift bed did she manage to tear her gaze up from the suddenly fascinating tiles on the floor and settle it on his face.
"A-Aaron, luv, ah wanted tah say, I'm sorry. I should not 'ave yelled. The.. ah, assessment ya made, that I shouldn't be thinkin' of garn after.. it, ya were well reet, ya know, an' just wanted tah keep me safe. I got so caught up in -" she broke eye contact again, buried her hands in her hair and made a sound of frustration at herself. She was utterly terrified of saying the wrong thing, of what her friend might be thinking of her after the display she had made, but she pushed on, " -so caught up in wantin' tah protect ya, defend someone I care about, in 'ow scared I was, that I didnae even think about 'ow ya feel, about 'ow I might be makin' ya feel... an' I don't mean just today.. But I.. I am sorry."
She felt like she was rambling, fell silent and waited for her friend's response.

(OOC: I would just like to mention that a fag is slang for cigarette!)

[Pearl Dragon]

A strong chill chased up and down the sidewalk that stretched across the front of the WDSA building.  It had been hours since Sara had left for work, and Bruse had remained at her home as usual.  He'd been striding through the surrounding woods when a familiar distant signal came to him, for the second time.  Unlike the first time, there was no pain, but it still bothered him and he found he was once again leaving in a hurry to try and find his companion.  This time, however, he hoped he knew exactly where she was, more than likely still close to her work...he didn't want a repeat of the previous incident.

He'd formed a bond.  Something he hadn't thought would happen ever again, and it had been thousands of years since he'd ever felt a connection to a mortal.  It was weak, very weak and small, but he was sure of it.  She had opened her home to him, certainly that must've been what triggered it, and now that it was formed, he couldn't ignore it.  Of course, he hadn't told Sara about it yet.  He wasn't sure how she would take it if he did.  Would she be mad?  Would she be afraid?  He didn't think there was any harm in telling her, but still he hesitated.  Even when he'd been pulled from his meditation with a start weeks ago, mind throbbing with a small pinpoint of distant pain and fear that was not his own, he knew right away that it had to be Sara.  He'd gone looking for her that night, racing through the dark forest in as many directions as he could, but without a solid connection and with the bond so new, he couldn't begin to guess where she might have been.  All she'd told him was that she was more than likely going to go for a hike in the woods later that night.  But that was all he knew.  The forests and mountains of Wathais were far and deep, it would take days for him to score every inch looking for her, and he feared most that it would be too late.  But still he searched.  When night drew into day, and the sense of pain he felt coming from wherever she was began to grow ever more distant, he'd returned to her home, ravaged with anger and distress.  How could anyone dare to hurt someone as kind as Sara?  Bruse had spent the rest of the time pacing all about the house, mane wild and eyes aglow, his scar visibly dripping thickly from his body in a deep-red liquid mist.  It wasn't until he saw a strange car pull up and help Sara from the side passanger seat, tail a bloodied bandage and numerous other wounds on her shoulder and body.  Bruse bristled, but then remembered his current situation and quickly tried to get himself under control.  She was ok, she was alive.  That was what mattered.  Once he'd found some solace in that, he waited eagerly for the other agent to help her inside and see their way out before he immediately greeted her, and pressed for information.  She had been somewhat compliant, answering most questions about where she'd been, the fight that had happened, but no other details.  No names, no identities, no lead on where Bruse might be able to find her attacker.  He wanted so badly to hunt them down, after what they had done, and his hunger had flared violently with every stretch of her story that briefly described the "creature" that had attacked her.

Now, he felt a different pain.  An emotional pain.  He followed it like a scent, but it was like a directionless scent, never a clear path.  All he could go off of was where he knew she was last, and as he approached the WDSA building, he'd known she was there with one quick sweep of the building.  As soon as he found her, he quickly retreated, not wanting her to know he was there just yet.  But, pacing along the sidewalk, he wanted more and more to go to her side, to make sure she was ok.  Perhaps it had something to do with the previous incident, perhaps it was the bond.  He'd been oddly vigilant of her as of late, hovering and wanting to follow, and it took effort to restrain himself from revealing too much about why he wanted to do so, and to give away the small secret he was keeping from her.  It wasn't until her outburst and sudden retreat to the ladies room did he finally decide to seek her out.  Gliding swiftly to the floor he'd last seen her on, he passed through the walls and into a wide medical wing hallway.  As he touched down, he carefully stepped about the closed doors, want to look in each and every one.  A quick sweep of red hair caught his attention, and he soared quickly to follow after them as they disappeared into a doorway.  As Bruse passed through, he found himself in a woman's restroom, and a woman with reddish hair was doing her make-up in the mirror.  Though she seemed familiar, up close he could see clearly that she most certainly wasn't Sara.  As the woman looked up from her powdering, she glanced in the mirror and let out a rather ear piercing scream.  Spinning on her heel, she launched her make-up at the massive shadow she'd seen in the mirror and watched in silent shock as the make-up struck the wall and clattered to the floor.  There was nothing there.  Bruse, on the other hand, was now huddled in the far end of the restroom, away from the mirror, eyes wide and staring.  He hadn't meant to manifest in his excited hurry to find Sara.

The woman shakily picked up her make-up and spun around to swipe her belongings into her purse.  She half ran, half stumbled out of the bathroom in a blind panic, breathing hysterical and squeaking in half scream to a nearby nurse "Th-there's something in the bathroom!  What the HELL was that thing? There's something in there, I saw it!  In the mirror!  Go look!"  She obviously wasn't accustomed to seeing strange things, judging by the ruckus she was making. 

[MP]

Aaron looked up as the latch clicked, though he carefully averted his gaze when he saw a familiar shock of red hair. That brief glimpse of Sara showed a stiff posture, an almost tremulous look that did not fit on the normally lively face. He wanted to give her the privacy to ignore or address him in her own time, on her own terms. He didn't know what to expect at this point, but all he had to do was listen. Then - he hoped - things would sort themselves out.

But as Sara began to offer a stammering apology, his resolution to keep his head down began to dissolve into disorganized waves of panic. Clearly some response was needed. She sounded, well, almost scared of him. Never mind the fact that this apology was unnecessary in the first place. As she took a frustrated pause for breath, he scrambled to word a response, debating how much or how little he should say. Before he could even begin to get his thoughts in order, she started again, and the little he had fell to pieces. He wanted to say this wasn't necessary. He wanted to say it was fine.

But it made a difference hearing this.

Sara had always been friendly to him, but well...she was friendly to everyone. Universally. He admired her for it. Considered her a friend in his own gradual, cautious way. But when her whole world was enthusiasm and pleasantness, it was easy to just...assume you were part of the background. Even her bedside company, her outrage on his behalf, he had believed on some level was just Sara being Sara. The realization of just how hard she was taking this, of how sincere she really was, squeezed his throat shut for a moment. Aaron stared carefully up at the ceiling, feeling overwhelmed and uncomfortable and moved and trying to think through it all to work out which rambling point of Sara's to tackle first. He didn't trust himself to look over at her. It was a long while before he could even manage speech.

"You...you don't need to be...It's fine. Really."

He listened to his own, colorless words emerge with a sinking feeling. Was that all he was going to say? Yes. It seemed it was. Mingled thoughts of anxiety and wordless gratitude seemed to stick in his throat, and to speak them from this helpless position was more than he could bear. Try again. Do something.

He managed a twitch that might have been a smile.

---

The screaming in the hallway, in contrast to the goings on in the tense little room, was met with an immediate, decisive response. The woman's hysterics were interrupted by quick, uneven footsteps, and a soothingly authoritative voice. It was a brief conversation, consisting of gentle questions interspersed with the occasional hyperventilating response. The footsteps continued towards the restroom, where a weathered hand creaked open the door.

"Hey, I don't want to come in there," someone called from the entrance. A careful ear would notice that the voice was a shade too loud for such a small space. Beneath the words was a faint sifting sound, like sand sliding through fingers. "So would you please get out of the mirror? It's more comfortable in the hall."

The voice retreated for the moment, though the door remained invitingly open - held by a shabby shoe. As the echo faded from the cramped restroom, the only evidence left of the speaker was a thin line of salt in the doorway. A passing nurse, spotting this new mess, glared daggers. Yoon answered with a blameless, shrugging smile.

[tsukikoko]

"You...you don't need to be...It's fine. Really."
Pleasantries interspersed with anxiety and uncomfortableness. The words did nothing to assauge the feelings of tension swirling around in the depths of Sara's gut. But she wasn't here for Aaron to make her feel better about herself, she was here to keep him company and raise his spirits. So far, doing badly on that front.

Despite her inner uncertainty and misgivings, Sara let the corners of her mouth turn upwards. The smile settled into place, almost too easily, like a well worn mask. She didn't want to force him to converse on topics he was not comfortable with, better to just pretend the words he used had been enough.
"Well, I sure am glad tah 'ear -"

A scream from the hallway tore her attention away, made Sara spin in her seat to look over her shoulder in alarm. The faint sounds of uneven footsteps moving away from the door. The woman turned first to the doctor, raised her eyebrows in a quizzical look at him, then faced her friend once more, relaxing just a touch,
"Soundin' like ya mate got it covered, like. Cor blimey, wonder what gave 'er such a fright?" A small chuckle as she held her hands up in mock defence, "It weren't me as a mouse this time!"
For a moment, Sara's attention turned back to Faolan. She was unsure whether to say anything to him, apologise for throwing furniture around and nearly colliding with him in the corridor, but she didn't really want to draw attention back to her previous conversation, so she let it be. Instead, she piped up with,
"Eeee, what ya reckon doc? Super give 'er a spook, like?"

The loud shriek had been a welcome sound, in a way. It was easy to turn the conversation away from topics Aaron was clearly not ready, or willing, to engage in. Yet there was something, a nagging pull in the back of her skull almost, that drew her back towards the hallway. She put it down to her innate curiousity, shook the feeling off. Despite that, her thoughts did briefly turn to Bruse, her ethereal housemate, though she wasn't sure entirely why; she hadn't been home in a while and considering how upset and protective of her he had become since the wendigo incident, she was a little worried he would be pacing about their home again, wondering where she could be. Sara decided she should check on him once she had smoothed things over with Aaron.
"Anyway, luv, what the powers that be say any'ow? Gunna let ya back in the office or 'ave I gotta keep ya under 'oose arrest, like?"

[qhostqrowls]

The room felt crammed, and Faolan had been edging towards the door as Sara and Aaron exchanged stiff, nervous apologies. He knew he was intruding, and had been mentally rehearsing his excuse to leave without interrupting, when a scream echoed through the corridors. The blonde jolted, eyebrows furrowed in worry. Why was she yelling? Medical emergency? Spilt her coffee? It could be any number of things, and each scenario grew worse the more Faolan stressed about it.
"Eeee, what ya reckon doc? Super give 'er a spook, like?"
Sara's words snapped Faolan out of his flustered haze, and the doctors eyes flickered between the door and his patient uncertainly.

"A super? Oh, right, dammit-" his words tripped over each other, panic flooding his eyes. He was new here, he couldn't let anyone get hurt on his shift."uh, right, I-I'd better go check-" The short man rushed out of the room, ticking off each ward he passed. There weren't many patients in the hospital, so that narrowed down the list of supers and humans causing the ruckus considerably. His pace slowed, slightly relived, as he neared the bathroom. A distraught redhead was hiding behind a weathered officer, squeaking something about the mirror and fanning herself with her hands a bit theatrically.
Faolan watched, confused, as the officer inconspicuously trickled a line of salt between the bathroom door and the corridor, calling into it carefully. A passing nurse glared at the mess, sighed under her breath and approached the woman, leading her off to the waiting room before anything else could happen.
"What's wrong?" Faolan asked quietly, staying a safe distance away from the bathroom. The officer had been talking with Aaron before, and Aaron seemed more comfortable and relaxed with the man then anyone else so far.

[Pearl Dragon]

Bruse tensed as the sound of a male voice caught up to the hysterical woman and began to question her.  The exchange was unclear to Bruse, but from what he could gather, it was more than likely someone trying to get details about what had just happened.  If the woman had been deemed crazy or overreacting, most mortals around her would've dismissed her and perhaps led her away from "whatever scared her", talking with a gentle, soothing tone.  But this one sounded different.  Interrogative.  And soon after, the bathroom door began to open, pushed by an old hand just enough to speak through without revealing who was on the other side.

"Hey, I don't want to come in there,"  The voice said, sounding as if the owner had a few years on him in age to match the look of his hands.  He was unafraid, calm.  "So would you please get out of the mirror? It's more comfortable in the hall."

Bruse reminded himself of where he was.  This woman may not have been too familiar with spirits and their appearance, but perhaps this individual was.  This was the WDSA afterall.

Stepping forward cautiously, Bruse made his way towards the door.  He kept silent for the time being, unsure if he should try to speak to the owner of the voice, or try to find out more about them.  If they couldn't see him, he could probably just slip past them and be on his way.  No harm, no fuss.  He wanted to find Sara, not get mixed up in another WDSA fiasco.  However, as he approached the door, a rather unsettling feeling began to buzz in his head.  He stopped and looked at the door quizzically, before deciding to try and make a run for it.  Leaping forward, he made to pass through the door and make a swift escape down the hallway, but what met him instead was a blindingly painful wall, an invisible barrier that shocked and repelled him backwards like a heavily charged electrical fence.  Bruse flew back to the other end of the bathroom, sending paper towels shooting from their holders in a fluttering mess and all four sinks cranked themselves to full blast as if on their own.  Bruse lay on his side, sprawled across the wider stall area, before he picked himself up and looked back at the door with brightened eyes.  The man had used salt!  The feeling was familiar, it had been used on him in the past by ghost hunters and the like, looking to purge or protect a space from spirits.  Only this time, he was trapped.  The effects of the salt would have encased him in the bathroom, and although a spirit of his caliber could break through, he wasn't sure if he should risk the effort, since the man on the other side could be an officer.  And possibly have more tricks up his sleeve.  

The lights overhead flickered in a dizzy strobe before shutting off entirely, dowsing the bathroom in pitch black.  Bruse sent a wave of icy air washing through the bathroom towards the door, a display of sorts.  He wanted the man on the other side to know exactly what he was dealing with.  He didn't want to fight, but if this individual meant him any harm, a proper threat was in order.  

With the energy gathered from the darkened lights, Bruse focused on a message, audibly manifesting it into a deep whisper that echoed through the stalls and the small bathroom space.  The effort was more than he'd anticipated, but he wanted to make sure the man heard him.

"Release......."  There was a moment of silence, as if the message had been broken off, but was soon attempted again. "Release me....Sara....Where...." With the draining barrier about him, Bruse could not manage more.  Though it was a broken message, he hoped at least the audible pieces would be clear enough.  Still, he waited, holding on to what energy he had left in case he needed it.

[MP]

At Sara's question, the first flicker of real aggravation crossed Aaron's face. He looked away towards the far wall, wishing for at least a window, and huffed out a low breath that sent a pang through his ribs.

"To be determined," he said. "A month or two at least. No good if I can't remember half my work, right? Take it easy, they said."

He fell silent, hoping not to continue the subject. Barely through his first day and the thought of complete inactivity and mental quiet was already maddening. He needed to be out of here. To be doing something. Even if he couldn't remember what it was yet. The waiting, the stark white and the disinfectant smell of this place, the almost funerary hush - that was worse than anything. He'd always hated coming back here.

The last thought bobbed to the surface of his mind like a corpse in a kelpie pond, and he spoke without thinking. "I just..."

No. He hesitated and fell silent, jaw clenched. He shouldn't complain after everything Sara had done. This was just whining, and that never sat right with him. A week. That's all he had to put up with, and they'd discharge him, surely. Focusing on that happy thought, he refocused his gaze on the ceiling. He thought he should say something. Anything to move away from this line of thought.

"Is Yoon alright out there?" he asked after a minute. 

----

Yoon turned his head as Faolan came up behind him, but he kept the door in his peripherals. There was a vibrant energy in the old man's frame now, though he spoke reassuringly as ever.

"Probably nothing," he said. "But there's some kind of shade in the mir-oop,"

He turned as paper towels flew in all directions and the sinks screeched to full blast. Yoon put a sheepish hand to his head, surveying the damage.

"Sorry about that," he called. "I didn't think you'd mash your face in it. Hey, hey -" The man put up his hands placatingly as the lights flickered and dimmed. As if to replace the warmth, the faintest tongues of flame danced over the man's palms. "Don't do that. Salt's just a precaution. I'll move it once we know you're alright. Can't go around bothering patients, right? No one wants the nurses angry."

The nurse behind him looked, if anything, more offended than ever with this new comment added to the indignation of the salt. In her cold outrage, she ignored the faltering voice almost entirely. Yoon, however, folded his arms, snuffing the embers in his hands.

"Sara? The tail lady? Yeah, she's with a friend. And his heart's kind of iffy right now, so can I ask what you're here for?"

[tsukikoko]

Sara let Aaron speak without interruption, wanting him to voice his thoughts, no matter what they might be.
"I just..." came the beginning of a sentence and Sara leaned forward a touch as a subtle, non-verbal encouragement for him to continue, before he cut it short with a tightening of the jaw and a steely glint to the eye. He was finding the whole situation very difficult, but didn't want to voice his complaints; she knew this, but didn't press him further.
"Is Yoon alright out there?"
A deflection. She had expected this too and made sure to play her part.
"Eeee, the old chap should know 'is way round a little super incident, if that's what it is, like, but I'll 'ave a skeg, make sure he's alreet."
Sara rose, gave her friend a warm smile and turned for the door. Truth be told, she would rather have stayed, but as she walked, the spark of a delicious idea rose up within her mind. Before she left the room, she called back,
"Try not to mope too much luv, I've got an' idea, trust me, like!"

The door clicked shut behind her, when Sara felt a peculiar prickling across her skin. It reminded her of static electricity, not only in feeling but in how the hairs across her forearm began to rise. How strange.
Sara....Where...
Now the woman was alert, looking all around herself in a near-frantic fashion. Had she really heard that? If she didn't know any better, it sounded... no, that wasn't right, she hadn't really heard it, rather it had felt like Bruse, for lack of a better way to describe it. He couldn't have been the cause of the scream... surely?

The patter of Sara's footfalls was accompanied by the ever present drag and thump of her tail as she trotted along the corridor, catching sight of Yoon near the woman's bathroom she had been in not too long ago. Sara moved behind him, her gaze flickering to the white granules scattered across the floor, folded her arms across her chest and coughed to draw the man's attention,
"Ayup, that me friend in there, like? Big, round 'orse type with teeth, maybe a bit like a potato." She raised her voice a touch, "Bruse, luv, that you, ya alreet?"
She did actually need Yoon for her idea, so it was helpful to have found him, but first she wanted to know why her ghostly housemate might be here and, on that note, why she had felt his presence long before she got close enough to feel the normal cold atmosphere he radiated.

[qhostqrowls]

Even as the officer spoke, the 'shade' they were discussing decided to try and barrel its way out of the bathroom. Paper towels exploded from the dispensers and the sinks blasted to full force, the salt clearing repelling it, whatever it was. Faolan, for once, didn't even flinch at the supernatural disturbance. He just exchanged a weary look with one of the nurses, but was inwardly kind of proud of himself.

He did take a step backwards, however, as the bathroom lights flickered and abruptly turned off, accompanied by a freezing gust of wind. The doctor moved to stand behind Yoon, looking at the salt line anxiously. He had never been too fussed on the idea that he had to put his confidence in a sprinkling of sodium chloride.

The old officer calmly addressed the spirit, and after a a brief stretch of silence, a resonating, broken voice replied from the depths of the darkened room.
"Release me....Sara....Where...."
Faolan, at hearing the voice, gave a small, relived smile. He knew this super, it was the ghost from the lake! Or at least, it sounded like him. He couldn't really see the spirit. The patter of footsteps and the thud of a tail alerted him of Sara's presence, and at hearing her description of a 'potato horse with teeth' confirmed that he knew the ghost. Memories from the lake resurfaced; glowing, dripping blood, a jagged maw and transparent hooves. A 'potato' wasn't the first adjective he would have used to describe the spirit, but close enough, he supposed.

'Bruse' had been friendly at the lake, and seemed to have some sort of tie with Sara, so definitely wasn't a malignant spirit. Faolan gave a look at Sara, curious.
"You know him?" The doctor ventured, glancing between the bathroom and the shifter. "I've met him once before. Um, not under the best circumstances, but yeah, he was very helpful with the..uh, demon problem." The man trailed off at the end, giving a shrug and stepping back, giving the experts some space.

[Pearl Dragon]

The old man outside of the bathroom continued to question Bruse's purpose within the hospital.  Bruse wavered, feeling ever weaker from the barrier as the salt remained in place, mildly absorbing the energy within the room the same way it might absorb moisture.  Bruse lowered himself to the ground, feeling tired and hazy, and as the man on the outside questioned him, he remained silent.  He suddenly felt unwilling to answer, at least until Sara's voice broke through, echoing down the hall outside of the doorway.  

Bruse perked up slightly, sluggishly pulling himself to his feet to lumber towards the door.  Water in the sinks now began to flow over the edge of the porcelain counter, spilling out from clogged drains that were thick with wads of the scattered paper towels.  The water splashed onto the ground, pooling at the spirit's feet, creeping towards the bottom of the doorway and under the stalls.  

Stopping just before the barrier, Bruse tried to speak, but his words would not carry.  He slumped to the ground again, wanting only to rest in the dark bathroom.  Instead, he listened for Sara's voice again, and allowed for his mind to wander in a half meditative state induced by the effects of the salt.  Outside of the barrier, he could faintly feel a connected tether from Sara to someone else in the hospital, someone who was more than likely her friend whom she had come to see, and perhaps the same person that the old man had referred to with the weakened heart.  'Weakened'.  Bruse's thoughts lingered on this word for no particular reason, morbidly amused by it.  The salt was doing its work perfectly; a simple, yet effective means of containment and spiritual nullification.