cchxrliee

[cchxrliee]

"Just a little scrape, huh? In my experience that usually means it's bad but I don't wanna make anyone worry about it." Chuckling a little, Charlie gingerly took his offered hand in her own, studying the job he'd been doing himself. "I mean, you did pretty good for doing it on your own. Impressive. Charlie's perfect, and I think I'll go with Manny, it suits your face. Thankfully my luggage ended up on the beach itself. For how old and battered that suitcase is, it stays strong." Doing her utter best not to cause him any more undue discomfort than she had, dainty fingers unwrapped the strip of fabric, unsure really of what she'd find underneath. "Lucky for you... I happen to be an expert in on makeshift stitches, and I have a sewing kit on me... you know... depending on how scrapy it is under this." Tone a little teasing, it was easier to attempt a light hearted tone for the benefit of others than herself.

Was it, though? Despite their odds, they'd all wound up crash landing. But he supposed, it could've been worse, they could be dead. So, instead he simply nodded, not wanting to dread too much on the statistics and what could've gone differently. "Just a little scrape," Manu insisted with a small shrug, making an effort to move and wiggle the hand whilst masking the pain, though it was a clear struggle. "I would feel worse if you didn't. I'd offer you some some of my spare clothes, but most of it is still hanging up to dry." He insisted, hesitant to let the other look but figuring it was better than not doing so. "I'm usually better at wrapping things up, but it's never as easy on your own hand," Manu added slightly defensively, he did pride himself in his medical abilities. "I like Charlie, Lottie is nice too, but if you prefer Charlie, that's what I'll call you. My name is Manuel, most call Manu or Manny." Select few called him Lolo, but he preferred to keep that on the downlow when possible.

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Gaze going far away as she tried to picture what such an item would look like, what it would feel like to hold that much time in your hands. The pop itself took her by surprise, more at the almost audible sensation than by the pinch that came in with the motion. "Hey!" Giving it the tiniest of rolls, her face lit up with pleased surprise. "That's pretty good, it barely hurt at all. Now, the sharp stabbing pain was more of a dull ache, and she figured if she tied it up and let it rest a bit, she'd probably be fine in a day or two. There was even aspirin in her bag.

"You're honestly a miracle worker!" Without really thinking of it, Charlie turned and gave them a big, brief hug of a single tight squeeze of her good arm. Stepping back to test it out just a little once more, she all but melted in relief, instantly digging for her pack of cigarettes. "Seriously, my absolute hero, I cannot thank you, enough. For what it's worth you could so be a like medical doctor, you have the bedside manner for it."

Hands still working, they pondered the question. "It was a board game I found in Egypt, called Senet, around 4000 years old, circa 2000 B.C.. I'd graduated a year earlier, think it was my 4th dig that year. I didn't think I'd even manage to find broken shards and then that popped up. Not gonna lie, it was probably the saving grace of my career."

Pop!

With an inaudible pop, the shoulder joint slid back into place, Vala keeping their hands light. "I think that's it - how's it feel?"

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"Back home? Nah, no one. I was kind of just... I guess trying to find a new home, or maybe just experience things before I did." Maybe this place would become her new home, all their new home, who knew? She had no idea even where they were. Was this island even on a map? "Hey, maybe that's another silver lining, huh? How many people get to say that they were stranded on a deserted island?" Offering him a little smile and chuckle, she did her best to screw up her face in her best pirate impression. "Makes me feel like ol' Black Beard himself." Losing herself to a little peal of giggles, she shook her head and finally held out a tiny, pale, hand. "I'm Charlie, by the way. Or Lottie, heck even Charles... anything but Charlotte. Ugh I hate that name, makes me think of Charlotte's Web."

Making her way a little closer as she dug into her fanny pack, Charlie pulled out her pack of cigarettes, tapping one out and giving it a bit of a light as she let herself be put more at ease by the fact that there was someone else that was willing to search for silver threads in what was a dark tapestry of a situation. "Have you found your luggage yet?"

cchxrliee​:

“That was the first plane I’d ever been on… I was always too scared to fly before this… ironic, isn’t it?” Sitting on top of her mangled suitcase, back against a tree, Charlie stared at the still smoldering wreckage and gave a deep chested sigh as she cradled her new relocated arm in her lap and tugged her sweater tighter around herself. “I’ve never spent a night away from home, before…” Voice growing more quiet with each word, her eyes lifted to the sky above them. “Bet there’s gunna be so many stars, though…”

he understood. he remembered his first plane ride. his parents had taken him to disneyland, but even the promise of the best place on earth had been overshadowed by the terrifying great distance. his mother had suggested they drive, always quick to coddle her son, but his father had insisted, the plane tickets were already bought. he had kicked and screamed and thrown a fit, but after the initial take off, everything had gone fine. that’s what he had expected this time. the wheels lifted from the tarmac and he had settled into relaxation, only to be thrown into the ocean.

it was when she said she had never spent a night away from home before that he did not understand, usually doing everything in his power to stay out of his parents’ house for long as possible. he followed her eyes up to the sky. “there’s a silver lining to everything, huh?” he couldn’t help but chuckle at her optimism and not in a demeaning way. “who’s waiting for you back home?” he doesn’t know if it’s an insensitive question to ask. it’s good to talk about them, he thinks, keep their spirits up. there was no reason to resign that they would never see them again.

[cchxrliee]

"You know what, sure. Better than sitting here and doing nothing." Despite there still being a dull ache in her slung up shoulder, Charlie pushed herself up to standing and made her way through the sand to look down at the suitcase before them. "At least it's empty, right? That has to be a good sign." Whoever owned it had probably come to collect their things. "Mine's over there, thankfully it still managed to stay closed. There's a bunch closer to the shoreline over there, maybe some have their travel tags on them and we can find their owners?" If they were still alive.

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“That’s definitely one way to look at it.” She’d always been on to try and grasp at any hint of silver lining, and this one would do just the trick. “You know… I like that. Especially since chances are if we get rescued there will be some flying. Helicopters, maybe? I don’t know.” Hopefully boats. “I didn’t really get out much, I guess. There’s a lot of firsts I have some catching up on. I’m Charlie, by the way. Need some help there?”

—

          “If you don’t wanna look at it that way then I think there’s more than enough mopers an’ whiners out there that’ll keep you right down on the ground where they are,” he commented with a shake of his head. Most of the time, Banks would have been one of them — but there was too much not to do that he couldn’t afford to sit around and wait for help to arrive. If that was even possible at this point. Banks nodded, but kept that thought to himself as he kicked aside an opened and emptied suitcase that didn’t have anything in it. “Banks, an’ only if you don’t mind digging through people’s shit. I know some folks might have a problem with that.”

[cchxrliee]

"That's definitely one way to look at it." She'd always been on to try and grasp at any hint of silver lining, and this one would do just the trick. "You know... I like that. Especially since chances are if we get rescued there will be some flying. Helicopters, maybe? I don't know." Hopefully boats. "I didn't really get out much, I guess. There's a lot of firsts I have some catching up on. I'm Charlie, by the way. Need some help there?"

cchxrliee​:

“That was the first plane I’d ever been on… I was always too scared to fly before this… ironic, isn’t it?” Sitting on top of her mangled suitcase, back against a tree, Charlie stared at the still smoldering wreckage and gave a deep chested sigh as she cradled her new relocated arm in her lap and tugged her sweater tighter around herself. “I’ve never spent a night away from home, before…” Voice growing more quiet with each word, her eyes lifted to the sky above them. “Bet there’s gunna be so many stars, though…”

—

           “If you look at it this way, you’re one for one with plane rides an’ crashes so your odds are only gonna ever go up from there,” he called over to where the other seemed to be worrying and rambling while he scoured some of the unclaimed items on the ground. It wasn’t much, but anything was better than sitting around and waiting for his own suitcase to show up. He doubted it would, knowing his luck, but he needed to keep moving or else he’d only think about all the shit that kept going wrong for him. “It sounds like a first time for a lot of shit for you.”

[cchxrliee]

Filing away all this information for future reference, Charlie almost forgot that she was hurt in the first place, soothed by the conversation the demeanor of her new friend. "I haven't seen it yet, just the commercials, now if I ever get the chance to, I'll have to jump on it."

Nodding her thanks to the offer, she got a little wistful as she pondered over the idea of holding an artifact in her hand. "Oh no, I think that's so cool. I mean to hold onto something that has so much history and has seen so much time, it's amazing. Like being able to go back and touch a time that's so long ago it's like... forgotten. That's amazing. What's the oldest thing you ever found?"

Their smile grew at the mention of Jurassic Park. "Close - Drs Grant and Sattler, they were a palaeontologist and a palaeobotanist - AKA: fossils and ancient plants. God, I had the biggest crush on them both," they chuckled at themself.

The conversation was helping them relax, bit by bit. Almost there, then. Shifting their hands from deltoid to the upper shoulder muscle, they nodded down at their bum bag. "I have sunscreen in my bag if you want." Vala didn't burn easily but they always kept some on them. Just in case. "Bones: no. Artefacts: yes. It's usually pottery of some sort that survives after time, maybe wood, stone or bone carvings. I promise it's cooler than it sounds."

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okeeeeeeefe: HBD BB!!!

[cchxrliee]

"Won't hear any complaints from me, Vala." Nodding her head in acknowledgement of their...extenuating circumstances, it was accompanied by another light giggle. "No, no it's perfectly fine. I feel like we're probably getting more acquainted like this than with a shake anyway." Committing the doctor's name to memory, Charlie listened with interest, especially at the mention of archaeology. "Like that guy in that dinosaur movie?" Grinning at them, it shook just a little when the question of the flight turned back on her.

"Oh well... I'd never really left home at all before, so... I though it was time to strike out on my own and finally see something new. I figured this would be nice because I like the sun, you know? Guess I'll be getting more of it now than I expected. I didn't even bring sunblock." Keeping her tone light, she did her best to gloss over most of the details while still being honest. She'd never been a good liar. "Have you ever found a real dinosaur bone... or like... ancient artifacts?"

"Well, it's me, so there's plenty more where that came from," they chuckled. "I'd shake your hand but, uh..." They nodded at their current situation. "Regardless of our circumstances," their hands shifted from bicep to deltoid, "it's a pleasure to meet you, Lottie, and, please, call me Vala."

"I'm actually an archaeologist. That's why I took the damned plane. I got invited to a dig site for the first time in a year - actually got a research job too! - and then, this." They shook their head. "Still, could be worse. We're both still alive, that's what counts." What was done, was done. All they could do now was smile and move on. No matter how hard that might be.

"How about you - what brought you on to the devil plane?"

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Eyes closed as she focused on the soothing tone of their voice, Charlie did her best to remember to breathe, while also refusing to let this quiet moment force her to face the actual weight of her situation at large.

It wasn't until the introduction that she opened her eyes to glance over at them with a small but genuine smile. "Nice to meet you, Dr. McMahon. I'm Charlie. Or Lottie... anything but Charlotte." Chuckling a little at her rehearsed little shpeel, the newfound acquaintanceship seemed to put her yet more at ease. "The rambling's okay, by the way, it helps."

They nodded, tentatively placing their hands on her sore arm. Cunningham, it is, then. "See, the way it works is," Vala kept their voice soft as their hands begun moving, "getting the bicep, deltoid and upper shoulder muscles relaxed. That way, the shoulder sets itself like its supposed to, minimising pain and muscular damage. Just jamming it back in can mess with your tendons." They could feel the stiff muscles under their hands relax slowly, minute by minute.

I'm fixing someone's dislocated shoulder and I haven't even introduced myself. "Sorry for the rambling. I'm Dr Vala McMahon, by the way. PhD, not medical."

[cchxrliee]

Honestly, neither open sounded all that good, though she hadn't been aware that there was any other option other than yank and turn. It was always how she'd done it with her brothers when some fight or another would lead to a shoulder or two out of place. Mulling it over as she watched them get themselves settled, Charlie took a deep and settling breath, despite her internal battle.

"I-... Oh man, I don't know... the idea of doing it a way that doesn't hurt sounds like the way to go..." Taking one more preparatory lungful, she grit her teeth and bit back a whimper as she lifted her bad hand onto the other's good shoulder. "You know what... I'm ready... yeah... totally ready just... just do the massage thing and I'll just... I'll close my eyes."

"Luckily, this shouldn't really hurt much. I just need you to sit down and relax as best as you can." Taking their hat off and bracing it on the stone, they tried to relax themself. Given the neighbours they'd had in the US, they'd had to pop the kids' shoulders back in on more than one occasion. This should be a piece of cake, then. Right-?

"I can try two things but it's up to you which one I do. The Cunningham method doesn't hurt at all but it takes longer - I'd need you to brace your bad hand on my shoulder opposite it and me just massaging the right muscles should pop the joint back into place on its own - or there's the Fares methods. It's plenty faster but hurts a little; I'd basically just be rotating the joint back in."

"Which would you prefer?"

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"That was the general idea." Usually with at least one brother around, when things went south there was an extra pair of hands at the ready, but here, she was on her own and pressing her shoulder against a hard surface had been her first and only idea. Plausible at least? Did it matter? Clearing the nonsense away from her thoughts and forcing herself back into the moment, helped greatly by another sharp jab from her injury, the offer finally sank in.

"Really? Oh that would be wonderful, honestly. I can't tell you how much I was questioning on if this was a good idea or not." Sagging visibly with relief at the prospect of helping hands, her entire tiny body rested on her good side against the boulder. "Just... just let me get my breath first..." Lifting her good hand to her mouth, Charlie used her teeth to grab a hold of the cuff of her sweater, pulling it down further past her fingers. "Something to bite down on, you know? I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to stuff pain."

Taking deep breaths, they took in the woman on the other side of the rock. She's just a lady. The silence had almost made them think of monsters hiding in the trees. Fool thoughts. "Sorry for scaring you - I just didn't expect anyone to find me yet." Giving the stranger a smile back, Vala took in their almost sheepish request and clucked, hopping off the boulder at once.

"I hope you don't mean to just jam it back in," they motioned to the woman's limp arm. "I don't mean to intrude or anything- I've just had a dislocated shoulder more than once and, this one time, there weren't any ambulances and my dad was a paramedic so he just put it back in himself and he taught me how to do it." They were almost certain they were rambling at this point. "My point being, I might be able to help, if that's okay, that is."

[cchxrliee]

"That's a relief." And it was, she'd much rather herself than a bunch of other people far less deserving of this turn out than she was. Glancing over at the him, her eyes fell to his hand as he wrapped it, brow furrowing a little at the obvious injury. "You're hurt." Tone as well as expression painted in concern, that faded away into surprise and then a hint of a smile as she gave a little nod. "It may... but... I couldn't take your sleeping bag." Even if she didn't really have much herself to keep warm. "At least not just outright... why not see if I can help you with that?... Your hand... I mean." Shifting a little to move closer with a hint of a wince in the movement of her shoulder, her free hand held out in offer of his own injured one. "I'm Charlie, by the way. Or Lottie. Anything but Charlotte, really."

"Well, that's a damn shame, because I can assure you they don't normally end up like this," Manu spoke out in the midst of wrapping hand in a ripped up piece of fabric from one of his flannel shirts. He was surprised that was all of him that was injured aside from the scrapes here and there, but glad, even if it prevented him from being at the top of his game in regards to helping others in the way he normally would be. But he did help where he was able to. "Let's hope for all our sakes, though that it isn't your last flight.." he tried to slip it out as a joke, but the humor in his tone was lacking. "If you'd like, dunno if it'd help, I've got a sleeping bag that you can borrow. I packed quite a lot of clothes, so I should be fine without it. It's not the same as home, but it may help."

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Pausing in her efforts to lug her suitcase and it's half missing wheels through the sand toward a more stable plot of land, Charlie glanced over to the sound of a voice in her direction, stand up to raise a hand in greeting. "Um... no... I don't think so, I um..." Brushing hair from her face with her one working arm, she glanced around the area before snapping back around at the mention of parents.

Eyes flicking from her to the children at her back, her entire heart falling into the pit of her stomach as the implications hit home in a way that almost physically hurt. Kids... of course. No... she couldn't let on in front of them, and instead she put on a smile the felt heavy at the corners. "Um... you know what, there's a lot going on and I'm sure they're around here somewhere. Maybe um... maybe I can help you look, but could you guys help me get this out of the sand? I sort of only have one arm."

Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! That's all that was running through Büşra's mind as the plane crashed, and as she came conscious after. Well that, and that she had to save the kids. So an instinct, call it a maternal one if you want but she was surely not their mother, kicked in and she immediately made sure to get all 4 kids lined up in front of her and exiting the plane. She didn't look back for Kathleen or Stephen, to make sure they were also behind them or even if they had already left. She was as close to them as she was the kids, but it was always clear that the kids would come first in an emergency situation. And well, if anything was an emergency situation, it was this.

She found some shade under a tree, close enough to other people but far enough away to grant some calmness to the children, and waited there for what felt like hours. Hoping to see them at some point. And thinking about the butterfly effect, what butterfly flapped it's wings that lead her to be here? Honestly, the time she waited may have been hours. Things had started to calm down, if that was even possible for things to do the same day an actual plane crash happened. And they still weren't anywhere to be found.

So, she got up and approached someone who she saw walking by, asking, "You wouldn't happen to have seen a Kathleen or Stephen Hall would you? He's brunette, brown eyes. She's blonde, blue eyes, both about eeeyyy tall." She said, raising her hand and shaking it quite a few inches above her head. She was certain she already knew the answer, but she didn't want that to be the answer. She then followed up her question by, "They're um," Looking back and the kids then looking again at the person in front of her, "They're the parents of those kids."

[cchxrliee]

"That was the first plane I'd ever been on... I was always too scared to fly before this... ironic, isn't it?" Sitting on top of her mangled suitcase, back against a tree, Charlie stared at the still smoldering wreckage and gave a deep chested sigh as she cradled her new relocated arm in her lap and tugged her sweater tighter around herself. "I've never spent a night away from home, before..." Voice growing more quiet with each word, her eyes lifted to the sky above them. "Bet there's gunna be so many stars, though..."

[cchxrliee]