#lifeline apex | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

burntortilla · 4 months

Text

Pomegranates and Flesh

(Tw: Can1bal1sm, Pomegranates but it’s also flesh)

Just a silly thing I wrote for lifeline and octane after current events, planned to post it on Ao3 but I’ve got no beta readers.. so how about you all tell me how it is and what I need to change?

2,853 words

“He was biting and eating down as much as he could so the flavor could linger down on his toungue for just a while longer, just enough to last him as much time he needed to process everything.”

Hunger could rise on many different forms; whether if it came from the pit of someone’s starving stomach or the lack of any kind of senses, it was always fulfilled by something or someone.

When not extremely high or recovering from some injury, Octane often enjoyed recalling happier times from his shared childhood with Lifeline, both sharing the same hatred towards their own families for different reasons yet with the same meanings; It was something he’d never thought would matter as much as it did now.

Hot air blew through his arms and body as he was instantly launched up high on the daylight sky, the adrenaline that the vial stuck on his arm provided him for a momentary rush of pure bliss and delight, posing to the camera that captured his every-day movements for the ongoing stream before feeling the weight of his entire body start to crash down to the thick grass in Psmanthe, a loud crack and a small gasp on the background as footsteps began being heard near

For a moment, the stream’s chat began going crazy, some spamming in worry and other users in surprise, until a very familiar drone-like medical robot began whirring blue substances to Octane’s broken smile, a large tube pumping him back to health as Lifeline slowly pushed him to sit up on the soft grass.

“Vieron eso?!” He exclaimed, “That is no challenge for Octane, gente!” The male spoke with a bit too much enthusiasm, raising up his balled fist with his pinky and index finger upwards with great energy, a grin spreading through his half- masked face as Lifeline went over to retrieve the lower-half piece of Octane’s mask with a sigh.

As much as she loved to partake on the other’s activities, there was also a lingering sense of dread that was always followed on with the aftermath- what if she never got to see him properly back up on his feet again?

It wouldn’t be the first time- considering he quite literally did not have feet, but rather robotic legs -But the unnerving lingering feeling of something going awfully wrong still sat down with Lifeline almost everyday.

The day when Octane blew his legs off had already dragged her down by her feet; the gruesome process of nursing him back to health was something she never wished on anyone- All she wanted was for the other to one day just stop for a moment, even for just a little.

“Ey.. Chica?” Octane spoke up, interrupting her from deep thoughts as green-lenses goggles peered from a few meters, distress seemingly having been plastered on Lifeline’s face for long enough for Octane to notice “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, yes..” She sighed, returning back to where the male sat as he placed back on the lower-half of his mask, Lifeline peering into the camera with a change of both tone and voice to something more exciting, “And that’s the closure for today!”

“Oh chica, you must be kidding right?” Octane spoke, looking over at Lifeline with a pout she just knew was hidden behind that mask.

“Octane, you dislocated your arm and are in a need for a checkup-“ The daredevil suddenly interrupted, earning a thin line on Lifeline’s face “But that’s what D.O.C is for! It can patch me up all good and new instantly!”

“ ‘Sana sana colita de rana’ sort of thing, see?” He spoke, moving his supposed healed arm around dramatically as he tried to ignore the leftover stinging pain, Lifeline inmediatly halted the other’s movement with a disapproving look, hand firmly gripping the other’s arm.

Octane wasn’t sure what made him give in, whether if it was Lifeline’s genuine concern for his well-being or the spamming of the concerning messages from the chat, he wasn’t sure.

“Alright, Fine! You win chica.” He spoke with teasing exasperation, earning a grin from the medic; “You’ve heard the daredevil!” She smiled as the camera was taken from Octane, the view of the recording having risen up for the multiple spectators to see them both them in frame; Octane sitting down on the grass hunched over with that someone would imagine a pout under his mask, and Lifeline standing up and recording them both.

The transmission eventually ended, earning a small sigh from Octane; “You know I’m fine! We’ve done this a thousand times before, why cut it short when we can do more?” He asked as Lifeline sat down next to the other, carefully taking his arms with her steady hands as she inspected the other’s half-healed injuries.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt, O.” The medic replied simply. Wether if it was from past experience or not, Octane had noted her a bit more paranoid ever since their little meeting involving the rabbit’s foot being proudly worn on his vest like a trophy.

And why wouldn’t he be wearing it? It was a nice little detail the other had given to him.. Something he had quite missed, honestly.

“But you’re here, always to patch me up doc! Nothing can go wrong when you’re besides me.” Octane spoke proudly, gloved hand playfully grabbing Lifeline’s shoulder.

“And you know what happened last time, I got these bad boys settled up by you.” Octane gestured to the robotic legs, “Do you think you would install me some large and buff arms if I were to loose them too-“

“Octavio.” Lifeline sighed.

“Ey, ey! Es una bromita! Small joke, si?” Octane spoke, trying to laugh off the worry and annoyance on Lifeline’s expression, “You know I wouldn’t do it intentionally, chica.”

“And you know I don’t believe it. Now, count to three for me?”

Lifeline’s grip suddenly grew firmer as visible confusion transposed the layers behind Octane’s mask, head tilting slightly at the sudden request from the other, “Count? For what, Che-“

A loud crack followed by a scream let out by Octane was followed, the forced movement of a bone to be right back on the socket was a feeling that Octane wasn’t exactly a stranger with, although it was certainly never welcomed with open arms, “At least warn me first, niña!” Octane yelled in light-toned frustration as he rubbed at his shoulder, a grin spreading on Lifeline’s face.

“Your shoulder was all wrong. See why you can’t always trust D.O.C?” She smiled, Octane nodding bregrudginly.

“Now, how about a light snack? I brought some pomegranates for us.” She spoke as a small compartment was opened on the shell of D.O.C, Two sandwiches and a few pomegranate seeing produced as she took them out, giving the robot a small pat.

Lighthearted smiles were shared until a flash of concern ran through Octane’s head as he removed his gear, the moment of shared horror both the moment where he had jumped from his jump pad and a high as he could and when Lifeline seemingly froze as she went to retrieve one of the pieces of his mask- he had rarely seen her express such concern for something, it somehow shook him further.

Lifeline seemed to catch up to the sentiment quickly, looking over at the male with a confused and worried look on her eyes as he removed his goggles and mask, “Is everything alright, O?” She asked as she picked at the skin of the fruit, a bit more nervously than usual.

“I should be the one asking you that, chica.”

She blinked, “What do you mean?”

“The look on your eyes, It was all.. weird?” Octane questioned mostly to himself as he watched Lifeline’s expression switch into something he couldn’t quite recognize, “You seemed worried, but more than you normally look as.”

Lifeline’s expression shifted into a small sigh before forming a small quiet and worried smile, a small line of guilt and relief washing over her like pouring rain, “I was just worried. I’m always worried whenever you’re out there.”

“You’re always out causing trouble and all, I just wonder if one day you’d be finally be able to go too far to just.. never come back.” The medic mumbled as she looked down at the fruit, Octane looking over at the whole pomegranate and sandwich he was handed over.

Delicate hands gently pried open the pomegranate, slender fingers gently pulling the rich seeds on the napkin laying down on the gentle grass, eyebrows furrowing when the gentlest of the fruit’s crimson juice broke free into her fingers, dripping down like a scene he had repeated on his day-to-day life inside of the games.

Except that this time, no bullets were involved.

“Chica, you know you’re never loosing me.” He spoke, finally an odd gentleness simmering on his voice, a rare occurrence for the daredevil, “We are together on this, always.”

“You wouldn’t be able to get rid of me even if you wanted to, you know it doc.” Octane spoke jokingly with a small smile, earning a jab at his shoulder by Lifeline’s elbow, who was now smiling back as the lingering weight slowly lifted off her shoulders “What? I’m serious!” Octane smiled.

“You promise?” Lifeline asked uncertainly before Octane nodded, one hand grasping at the small rabbit paw dangling from his chest, the view simply made for all hurt even worse for Lifeline.

“Promise.”

Quiet moments like these that followed were something Lifeline was most drawn to when meeting someone; only certain people were able to make silent scenes not awkward but rather comfortable, and something about simply peeling open a pomegranate while watching the cloudy sky besides the one person you trust the most just made it feel so much more relaxing, even if Octane was usually the opposite of it.

Wether if Octane was holding back from running out and doing something stupid for the sake of the peaceful momentum, Lifeline would never know. And quite honestly, she preferred it that way.

Until she saw the mess the other had become.

“Ay, pinché fruta-“ Octane grumbled, catching Lifeline’s attention as she tried to hold back a chuckle.

Velvet was spilled everywhere; the once pearly white interior of the fruit that accompanied the small red globes of flavor was now tinted a rouge pink that spread out all to Octane’s fingers, mouth and green vest, a smile with crimson juice stuck to the victim’s teeth was shown with an akward grin, a chuckle being reciprocated from Lifeline as she grabbed some of the nearby tissues produced by D.O.C, gently dabbing away the juice from Octane’s mouth.

“Did you try to open it with your teeth again?” Lifeline asked, eyes being glazed with a knowing look watched over Octane’s, “What can I say? I’m impatient and hungry, chica.”

“You’re not supposed to open it roughly, It needs to be all nice and kind for so none of the contents spill out.” She spoke, cradling the neglected and abused piece of fruit from Octane’s hands into her own, prying off each meat-surrounded seed into Octane’s willing palm, “See? Nice and slow.”

“Hah! Just like people!” Octane smiled, making the other look over at Octane in confusion.

“Remember that time when we see little, chica? Éramos niñitos, when our parents had meetings and we always had to attend?” The male spoke, gaze settling up high at the sky

“I was always confused on why no one wanted to talk to me, until you did.” He spoke, “One day you told me I was too aggressive and fast and had to slow down, and that it was why nobody liked me.”

“Octavio, we were kids back then.” Lifeline sighed, Octane’s grin just got wider.

“I know, I know! But you told me that, and even if I slowed down no-one came and talked to me, so you stocked with me and look where we are now, chica!” The male suddenly got up from the ground, spreading his arms around as he looked back down at lifeline, “Look where we are!”

“You know I hate slow and steady, but just like that pomegranate- I squeezed people out too hard to where they broke down and bled away, si? But you on the contrary- you went all nice and slow, and it worked.” He smiled so brightly, it almost burned Lifeline’s expression into shame as the crude reminder shaped like a rabbit’s foot dangled right in front of her on Octane’s vest, “Always had a go with me, yeah? And we’re still friends.”

Octane plopped back down next to Lifeline as his arm wrapped around her shoulders, giving her a firm squeeze, “So.. People like pomegranates, ay? Never squeeze them too hard or they might pop!”

“It also goes with the games pretty well, except that you at least see three heads pop open from headshots-“ Lifeline suddenly interrupted with an uneasy chuckle trying to mask shame and guilt behind, “You made yourself clear, Octavio.”

Pomegranates were meant to be pried open by gentle hands, each different bump containing precious bitter material having to be separated carefully by skilled and caring hands, the juicy meat surrounding the pit was a tears that was often short-lived, causing the one being fed to desperately savage in for more so one’s thirst could be quenched.

Sweet, sweet bitter juice flowed down from one’s hands if the fruit wasn’t properly savaged, such material going to waste was often something people did constantly; underappreciating the fruit just to get a quick fix of it.

That’s why the fruit was handled with care on Lifeline’s hands, everything did not go to waste within her range; wether if it was medical supplies or pomegranates, she always made sure for it all to be favored and used correctly and with the most utter respect once could have with the hard work the plant paid off to produce such bitterly sweet offspring to feed everyone.

And yet, she had taken all of the precious seeds from these dear pomegranate she had taken from Octane and crushed them all with a single movement.

And Octane couldn’t understand why.

Red crimson flowed down from his hands, a mimic from her own actions as red lighting blared around every single corner; There on his bare arms, laid the lifeless corpse of a man he had once willingly and lovingly considered his father as he now wished for something from the massacred older male.

He wasn’t sure wether if it was from the shock of having someone he had cared for dearly on his arms, or if the blaring alarms and the multitude of revenant clones were crawling around like roaches searching for the summer sun, but he couldn’t find it on himself to cry.

But the bright red from the other’s body crawled something inside of him, a familiar resemblance to some sort of comforting scene he had recently lived yet was unable to recall.

Slowly and carefully, Octane leaned in and bit down on the bright red liquid, an explosion of familiar bitterness and metallic-like undertones sent him back to various familiar scenic moments on the few past months, crimson poured and poured as he gnawed at the freshly cold flesh of a rich pomegranate, its now pale complexion slowly dripping down into the floor as all of the noise slowly drowned out, leaving only the soft sounds of teeth tearing into pure flesh and skin of the one thing he had cherished and appreciated for so long.

Octane was unsure of what he was doing, but simply couldn’t stop. The slow chewing of the large fruit around the pit slowly became erratic, raw tears of anguish pouring down the broken sides of his green-leaned goggles now also stained with the crimson liquid, the fruit that he had been told to eat with care constantly now being ravished by an animal; by a thing that simply wanted to consume more and more like a drowning man reaching out for oxygen on his unwilling collapsing lungs.

He tore into the skin further until he reached the pit, teeth struggling yet managing to break it down enough for his throat to ignore the roughened edges to pass through, gulping down as he searched for something, as if he was trying to remember the flavor thoroughly by memory, almost to merge himself to be one with the delightful piece of fruit laying still on his arms to be remembered by memory.

He was biting and eating down as much as he could so the flavor could linger down on his toungue for just a while longer, just enough to last him as much time he needed to process everything.

He wanted his grandfather, father or whatever he was to last a little longer; whether if it was on his toungue, or his soul.

And all Lifeline could do, was to stare with wide eyes as Octavio tore down into his own father with tears of regret and longing drifting down his eyes, watching how the pit got destroyed bit by bit.

Octane liked pomegranates, he enjoyed the bitter flavor and aftertaste of them.

Lifeline hated Silva, and wretched at the view of someone willingly giving into the first bite of the old man’s cold neck.

#canibalism #pomegranate #lifeline #octane #lifeline apex legends #octane apex legends #duardo silva #apex legends #apex fanfic #cannibalism #as a way of coping #lifeline apex #octane apex #octavio silva #ajay che

6 notes · View notes