Pilgrimmage 005 ◘ Tali'Zorah ◘ Time: 1:00am [In person]

[quarian-bucket.livejournal.com]

[This evening probably could not be going any worse right about now. Whilst the NPC crew members had been dealing with the lifeboats and generally panicking, Tali had been going the opposite direction to the crowds. She had headed down into the ship in an effort to help anyone that needed it, though that was proving difficult, what with the NPC stewards locking all the doors and the gradually rising ice cold water causing the sensors in her suit to go haywire. Already finding it difficult to move through the waters, she had to make do with banging the butt of her shotgun against the wall to make noise as she called down the hallways]

Hello! Is anyone down here?

[When all that followed was a deathly silence and the lights flickering out, she curses under her breath, before heading back up to try again. On another corridor.]

Comments

[quarian-bucket.livejournal.com]

N-No, the tempreture sensors..they are damaged -

[Once again, her legs seem to lose all function as she half-falls to her knee's. Being held up helped, but only to stop her from 'hitting the deck', as it were. Come one, Tali..come on, this is nothing - you've been through worse! What would the commander think? What would Commander Shepard do??]

He would keep going, he wouldn't..stop

[Looking up at Dera, she motions vaguely towards the stairs.]

Why are you still here-?! You need to leave. Now

[This was happening too fast, far too fast..was she really this vulnerable..? It was only the cold for Christs sake! And yet, despite her frustration, she could feel her chest tightening and her pulse weakening, seemingly with every breath. Why wasn't he listening??]

[andsuddenlydynamite]

Woah! Sh-shit!

[He has to pause for a moment, as ALL OF HER WEIGHT was a bit much for the small teen to handle without warning.]

H-hey... I'm not goin' anywhere without you.

[He looks around a bit worriedly, no one to help. Fuck. He looks back to Tali and takes a deep breath before placing one arm under the bend in her knees and with a grunt lifts her into his arms and starts shuffling forward]

Hey, I'm warm right? C'mon Tali, y'gotta stay with me, okay?

[He makes it to the stairs, but as soon as he steps out of the water the effort of carrying the larger alien becomes much more taxing. While he had thought his leg was mostly healed, the cold was bringing back old aches and pains. Eventually his steps become too shaky and his converse sneakers slip on the wet ground. He wraps his arms around Tali, trying to shield her from the fall. He lands mostly on top of her, and she lands mostly on his arms.]

Sh-shit...

[quarian-bucket.livejournal.com]

[His efforts only made the entire situation seem that much more dire. By now most of her body was trembling, it was as if the sensors in her suit were working with the opposite effect; like the cold was telling them to cool her down. Her breaths are just coming out in rasps now, the icey air causing the nauseating feeling of hypoxia.

When he slips, she barely notices the fall itself. Instead, she weakly attempts to push him away from her, before settling with just clasping his hand as tightly as possible]

It's okay..it's okay..Just go, it's alright. You're..wasting..you're wasting time. Get to a boat, go

[andsuddenlydynamite]

[Dammit! He couldn't move now. Not when she was like this. He bites his lip and pulls her onto his lap, rubbing her upper arms with his hands, all in an attempt to warm her up.]

Tali, I'm not goin' anywhere, so you gotta stay with me alright? Please Tali... I'll carry you all the way to the lifeboats, you just gotta...

[He swallows the lump forming in his throat]

you just gotta stay alive alright? I'll do the rest. Th-that ain't so hard, right?

[He pauses trying to warm Tali up to take her hand in his]

[quarian-bucket.livejournal.com]

[Why was he still here..?? It was like he said, she wouldn't stay dead - he shouldn't be risking himself like this. She knows he won't be able to carry her, and she knows walking is no longer an option. If she had more energy, she'd be cursing herself right about now. She had only been trying to help..but that was at least better than not trying. Of course she wouldn't blame anyone who didn't stick around - how could she? But she had to think of the crew of Normandy, how they'd react. Perhaps she had been reckless, stupid...but had it been worth it?]

Heh...easier said than done..I'm afraid

[Okay, this was starting to hurt quite a bit..]

You can leave me, it's alright. There's no point in you drowning just to keep me company..

[She squeezes his hand]

..Keelah se'lai..

[A moment or two pass before her grip lessens, and eventually her hand goes completely limp]

[andsuddenlydynamite]

T-Tali? TALI?!

[He stares down at the limp body in his arms for a few moment. His jaw trembles, and his eyes started to shine with moisture. But he didn't cry. Men don't cry. So he couldn't allow himself to cry. And... and she wasn't... she wasn't dead. She's an alien, a superior race... she must have just lost consciousness while her suit was repairing itself or something like that...

He leaned his head down in the crook of her neck for a moment while he tried to compose himself.

It had to be that. He couldn't handle having someone else that mattered to him lay dead in his arms again. So she had to be alive.

The teen is forced to snap back into reality when the ship lurches again. He needed to get Tali out of here. He takes her arms and pulls them over his shoulders so that he could pull her onto his back. Slowly he gets back to his feet, and makes his way down the halls, if he could find that doctor or something, maybe he could help fix her or something...]

Don't worry Tali, everything is gunna be just alright... I'll take care of ya...