There was definitely a large wound below her chest, over her abdomen, as there was a good deal of blood soaking through her shirt there. She was trembling now that she wasn't in the middle of a fire, and the parts of her skin that weren't stained black with soot were dangerously pale. Despite her critical condition, she was clearly fighting for her life. She wanted to live.
Sebastian, although he was no doctor, took great care in tending to the woman's bloody wounds. He wrapped what he could, and, using the things provided in his first-aid kit, attempted to apply stitches where needed. He was surprisingly successful. Okay, so maybe he didn't do as good as a doctor, but he did his best, and his best was better than expected.
But that didn't mean he wasn't still worried about this girl.
He got warm, damp clothes and gently dabbed at the blood, trying to clean her up as much as possible. He used disinfectant on the wounds to try to prevent infection. He prayed to God– or any entity in the universe that would listen– that this girl would live, though he had never been religious.
He was unsure about any broken bones. He knew he'd have to get her stable before he could go to a doctor– and even then, he'd be forced to seek a doctor who didn't work at a public hospital. After all, he needed to lay low, if possible. Even still. But he wasn't about to let this girl die. Not if he could help it.
Some time passed– how much, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was only a few hours, but maybe it was many. He stayed by her side, trying to do what he could for injuries, using what knowledge he had. Would she ever wake up? Had he already screwed everything by not taking her straight to a hospital? If she died, it would be his fault.
She had to live.
After those few hours of ragged breathing and shivering, Celeste opened her eyes. The movement was labored and she was clearly still struggling, but she was awake. She groaned and stirred more, swearing quietly to herself as she looked around. "Mmm… who the he…" She forced herself up into a sitting position and grimaced. "Who are you?" She asked Sebastian warily, taking him in from where she was. "Where am I? Am I dead?" She coughed a bit and grimaced again, clutching her ribs.
Sebastian had been sitting on the floor near the couch, his legs crossed beneath him Indian-style, the first aid kit in front of him as he tried to think of anything else he could do for her.
"Oh– You're alive!" he breathed, relief flooding over him as she opened her eyes. He couldn't help by smile. Even if she was a complete stranger, he was grateful that she hadn't died– for his own conscience's sake as much as her own. "I thought you were dead. Well, I mean, I knew you were alive, but I thought you were going to die." He shook that thought away, unfolding his legs and standing up slowly. "But, no, you're not dead, thankfully. I was worried. Sorry, this isn't a proper greeting." He was talking faster than normal– something he tended to do when he got nervous or overexcited. Right now, he was the latter, overjoyed that she had recovered enough to wake and speak. He wiped the blood off of his hands– her blood off of his hands– with a nearby cloth. "My name's… Sebastian." He hesitated, as if trying to decide whether to introduce himself with his first, middle, or last name. He eventually decided on first. "You wrecked your spacecraft in the forest not far from here," he explained, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the woods– though she can't see which direction that is from within his house. "You obviously got beat up pretty bad. But, no worries. I have a first-aid kit." He picked it up, as if to show her, but the lid wasn't actually closed, so the contents dumped onto the floor. He just frowned down at them and said. "Oh."
Celeste glanced over at the wall when Sebastian pointed at it, raising an eyebrow at his clumsiness and general bumbling nature. "Celeste. Nice to meet you, though I suppose it would be better under different circumstances. I don't remember much about the crash, naturally, other than my engine stopped working. Either out of juice or a malfunction, I'd reckon." She looked down at the work up that Sebastian had done on her. Not awful, but not great. "Is this enough to support broken ribs?" She asked, glancing up at Sebastian as she gestured to the bandages around her torso.
Sebastian scratched his head. "Well, uhm, your ship is totaled. It won't be flying anywhere without being completely redone." His eyes averted to the bandages as his hands dropped to his sides. "Oh– I'm not actually sure. I… I'm not really a doctor." He must've realized how horrible that sounded, because his eyes widened a bit, and he quickly added, "But I can get you to a real doctor now that you're awake. I didn't want to transport you before because you weren't very… stable."
Celeste rolled her eyes. "Nah, I'm fine. I'll walk it off in a day or two. I don't have any money for medical bills anyways." She shrugged and lay back on the couch, staring at the ceiling. "Ribs can heal on their own. The arm will be fine, I'm sure. What I'm trying to say is that I'm pretty sure I'll turn out just fine without paying doctors to do nature's work."
Sebastian quirked a brow. "You'll walk it off? Those injuries are kinda… you know… severe. You don't wanna risk it. No offense, but I'm not sure you could just walk it off. And that arm looks pretty bad. I gotta say, I respect your resilience, but you're still in pretty rough shape." He bit his lip. "You don't have to pay for any medical bills. I know a guy who owes me a favor, and he could probably fix you up a little."
"Eh…" She shrugged again, wincing a bit this time. "Not really worth it, but if you really want to, I'm not exactly in prime condition to stop you. How did you get me here?" She asked, looking back over at Sebastian questioningly.
"I put you in a vehicle and… drove." He was a little disappointed at how underwhelming his response was, but he wasn't really sure how else to put it. "I saw the spacecraft fall out of the sky, so I went to check it out. You weren't conscious. Obviously." He paused awkwardly. "But I think you should let me take you to get some actual medical attention, because if you have internal damage, there's no way for me to fix that." Sebastian looked down at the ground. "Random, I know, but… where'd you come from? It's not everyday I see someone crash a spaceship near my home."
Celeste nodded, considering. "If it gets worse, I'll let you take me. As for where I'm from… well, have you heard of Thruil?" She asked, fidgeting with her hands. "Long story short, a not-so-friendly asteroid has ensured that it no longer exists. I think I may be the only one who escaped."
Sebastian's eyes widened. "It's destroyed?" His shoulders dropped a little, his expression sad. "You're messing with me, right?" If wasn't, that meant a lot of people died. He hated the thought of it, the thought of countless people being wiped out. "Geez… That's horrible. I'm… I'm so sorry." That was pretty chintzy considering the severity of the situation, but Sebastian wasn't sure what else to say about it.
"Completely gone. Boom. Donezo." Celeste repeated, sighing softly. "Lots of fire. Some of my injuries were sustained just during that, but the more severe ones were due to the crash. It was… difficult to watch, to say the least."
"I can imagine. That's– that's– horrific." He tugged at the scarf around his neck, looking down at the ground a moment, down at his feet– his real one and his cybernetic one. "So your– your family?" he dared to ask, swallowing hard. "Were they–" He couldn't bring himself to finish the question.
Celeste nodded. "As far as I know, yes. My sister, definitely." She said dryly. She didn't seem to be the emotional type, though if she was, she was doing a good job of hiding it. "I don't live- well, didn't live with my parents, so I don't know for sure about them."
"I'm– I'm so sorry–" Sebastian already said that, yes, but he felt the need to say it again. She seemed fine, like she didn't even care, really, but he knew what it felt like to lose family. It sucked. For him, anyway.
Not to undermine the horror she had probably just endured, but he needed to change the subject. His mind was about to go down a rabbit-hole of depression, and now wasn't the time for that. "Well– uhm– after all that, can I get you anything? Like, something to eat or drink?"
"It's not your fault, Sebastian…" Celeste lay her head back on the pillows and sighed softly to herself, letting her eyes fall shut. She was a little bit in shock at the moment, actually, which could explain why she didn't seem as distraught as she should be. She just wasn't entirely sure what was happening.
She considered for a second at Sebastian's question before replying. "Some water would be nice, I guess."
"Alright. I'll be right back." Sebastian hurried off to the kitchen, where he could be heard fumbling around for several seconds in search of a good cup. His kitchen was so cluttered– not dirty, just cluttered– with random stuff (mostly technology-related things that don't generally belong in one's kitchen), and, since he never had any visitors, he didn't really bother cleaning it up. He found a clear glass and filled it with ice-cold water from his fridge. "Here you go," he announced as he delivered the drink to Celeste. "So, about that doctor… You should definitely be seeing one."
"Thanks…" Celeste accepted the glass and quietly sipped the water, glancing up at Sebastian when he spoke again. "If you say so, I guess. I can't exactly move super well in order to get there, but I guess you're probably right." She shrugged, drinking more of the water. "I'm fine, though. I can deal with the pain."
"It's not the pain you have to worry about." Sebastian stooped down to clean up the stuff he had spilled out of the First Aid kit earlier, gathering up a roll of bandages and some gauze. He shoved it forcefully back into the kit. "It's the infections, or internal damage. What if you have internal bleeding? It doesn't matter how much pain you can take if you're not gonna live long enough to take it." He struggled with the kit's lid, mostly because the contents didn't want to cooperate and stay inside where they belonged.
Celeste shrugged, seemingly not too concerned. "If I die, I die. If I did, I guess it would just be a sign that I wasn't supposed to escape in the first place." She sighed and took another sip of water. "I'm too exhausted to even care much at the moment, to be honest."
"That's a terrible mindset," Sebastian mumbled, aggressively forcing the lid on the kit down until it latched shut. "Well, I care, because it's my conscience that this'll be weighing on if you don't make it." He stood up, sighing as he brushed dirt off of his pant legs. "So, if it's all the same to you– I can take you to see a doctor like, right now. You don't have to get up or anything." He glanced at her foot, chewing his lip. "I'm not sure you could on that ankle, anyways, but we'll ask an expert."
"Alright, alright, you can take me to the damn doctor…" Celeste sighed, laying back on the couch. "All my money's on fire, though, so I can't exactly pay you back. You understand that, right?" She asked, raising one eyebrow questioningly.