Roller Derby Match

Josefina felt like crap. But she didn't let it show; she never did. She sat there in the arena dressed in her roller derby attire, having made sure to hide the wounds she received in her little run in with Music-Boy the day before yesterday. Her primary goal was to hide them. Protecting them? Eh... Not so much.

She stitched them up yesterday (yes she did it herself; she HAD to- nobody else would) and she wrapped them up tightly today so she was ready to go! She was still reeling from the effects of sever blood loss (blood loss is really a [CENSORED], isn't it?) and she KNEW that today was going to be a really crappy match. But, she was the Bermuda Rose, and she was here to kick [CENSORED]. So she would do her best to do so.

...Hopefully she wouldn't pass out before the match began, because she was looking sort of peaky.

Jackson walked into the roller rink, curious if Jo would in fact be in the derby today, she had been quite wounded two days ago, but after all, a lot can happen in two days. He pulled his Cincinnati reds ball cap down to hide his face, not wanting to draw any attention to himself and therefore have himself away. He had to remain hidden if he wants to check on Jo again. Walking up to the ticket window, he causally slid the ten dollar bill to the waiting attendant and received his change, and his ticket so he could actually view the dangerous event.

Jackson was still questioning himself on why he was tere, why he was checking up on a girl who was practically a bully. Well the reason was simple, it was guilt, as well as wanting to make a friendship, I mean even she needed friends, right? Everyone needs a friend in this harsh world.

The whistle blew and Josefina lined up at the starting line, surrounded by her team. It filled her with adrenaline and pride. Remember earlier, when she mentioned that there were only six people that tolerated her? Well... perhaps that wasn't entirely accurate. These other four people here (and the other nine that were sitting on the benches, awaiting their turn) Jo would go as far as to call them friends.

The whistle blew again. Time to start. Jo was the pivot; the last line of defense, preventing the other team's jammer from scoring. And how does one score? To score, the jammer has to lap any member of the opposing team. The role of everybody else? Stop her.

Jo cracker her neck- but frowned when she discovered how badly it hurt her shoulder. Her team's jammer, a girl by the name of O Hell No Kitty, flashed her a slightly-concerned-ish look; Jo only smirked.

She was fine.




















Actually, no she wasn't. It showed.

Jackson kept a close eye on Jo, squinting through his single eye viewfinder he usually used with his bow. The crosshairs were aimed at her, right at her shoulder, and could tell it still wasn't healed. However, the son of Apollo knew there wasn't much he could do and sighed, watching the teams get onto the like and await the start. All he could do was hope ah would be ok when he could tell clearly she wasn't.

He carefully picked his way through the large crowd to the railings and tucked his viewfinder into his pocket, but still watched her, then checked around her for possible monsters in the stands. He hasn't brought his bow to the match, so all he had was two knives, each a foot long an wicked sharp.

TWEEEEE!

The game, Mrs. Hudson, is on.

All ten skate-clad girls exploded into the rink. It was hard to describe without making it sound like some sort of animalistic event- Which it wasn't. No, Roller Derby was an art.

...Sort of.

The pushing and shoving and beating had already began, as the other team's blockers did their best to give the jammer a good head start. Five minutes in and the other team's jammer, Jackknife Jenny, was already coming close to lapping a blocker from Jo's team. With the blockers from her team being distracted by blockers from the other team, it was up to Jo- The Bermuda Rose, to save it.

And she did just that. Ramming into Jackknife Jenny, Jo managed to knock the jammer off balance. It caused her great pain, though and she had to slow down a bit.

The match continued just fine for a good amount of time. Then, something unfortunate happened. A blocker from the other team, rammed into Jo at just the wrong angle, wrenching her shoulder in just the wrong way. The stitches ripped open and blood was seeping through her shirt and all over everything. Jo grunted in pain and stopped, clutching her shoulder.

However, being the stubborn idiot that she was, she forced herself to get back into the game before the ref. noticed and pulled her out.

Jackson had been enjoying the match, having gotten himself some food during one f the laps and now was comfortably back in his seat by the rail, watching the match continue. He had thought Jo could take anything now, seeing how she was this far into the match with a wounded shoulder when it happened. He could see her shoulder twist in a very awful manner, and knew instantly she was bleeding, her wound open again.

His first instinct was to jump over the railing and help her, but he didn't for a few reasons. One being that he knew she wouldn't appreciate the interruption, and if the refffree didn't notice, then it was ok for now. But make no mistake, if she was carried off the track, he would catch up with her. He was already planning to catch her when she walked back to camp or whatever. But for now, he would sit and watch.

Jackson sighed and leaned back, sipping on his cole as he watched her.

When it came time to switch up the teams, Jo was nothing but relieved. Her shoulder was killing her. She was moments away from tears, it hurt so bad. ...Not that she let it show or anything.

And so, for the rest of the match, she sat on the bench all curled up on herself, trying not to pass out or cry or something.

OOC Sorry for the short post. I guess I'm just trying to get it moving, y'know?

OOC: it's ok

BIC: Jackson kept a close eye in her, and carefully made his way as close as he could to the bench and got a better view of te wound. It was bad, infected perhaps. He wanted to help her, but didn't want to interrupt her and provoke the angry girl inside.

Slowly, Jo's body began to relax. She couldn't help it, she was exhausted: She fell asleep. Paler than usual, due to blood loss, she looked sort of sad and pathetic and... out of place. She was sick; it was obvious from the way she shook as she slept.

Jackson couldn't stop himself anymore and swung ver the wall, going to her. After quickly explaining to her teammates he was a medic and a 'friend' of Jo, he carefully began to see what was wrong, finding a rather gruesome infection. "Damn..." He muttered as he poured some nectar on the wound, hoping to ease it for a bit longer until they had a better location to look at it.

When she sewed the wound shut... perhaps the needle wasn't as sterile as it should've been: The wound was looking rather angry. And Josefina didn't wake, yet.

Jackson waited until the end of the match and had her teammates ell him move her to the locker room. Once inside the locker room he pulled out his first aid kit and examined the horrible wounds.

Silence. No sound came from Josefina. The rising and falling of her chest (which was supposed to be normal and uneven) was slow and steady- too steady and much, much too slow.

Jackson finally sat back, watching. Then he thought of something and slapped her good and hard across the face, hoping to revive her.

Josefina's face twisted in pain and something akin to fear. She didn't wake. She didn't want to. She didn't want to face the horrors of the world anymore.

OOC I have a brilliant idea.

OOC; what?

BIC: Jackson laid her on the bench again and tried to revive her "come on Jo! Wake up! Don't let this defeat you!" Jackson rubbed more nectar on the wound.

OOC She's sick, right? What if she had a fever? like one that was maybe bad enough to make her delirious?

BIC Finally, at long last, Jo cracked one fever-hazed eye open.

OOC: right, so?

BIC: Jackson smiled "your awake! Can you understand me?"

OOC So... She blurts out everything she's been hiding- and becomes a little more vulnerable. It's just an excuse to get her to warm up to him, and make her a little less hostile.

BIC Josefina's eyes were very distant. They were bright, and hazy and didn't focus on Jackson when he spoke- they didn't focus at all. She narrowed her eyes in confusion and disorientation. By this point, the roller derby match had long since ended. All of Jo's roller derby friends had left (feeling secure that Jackaon would help her), and the rink began to shut down. Lights flickered off; did the staff know that Jo and Jackson were still there?

Jo's head rolled to one side. Her forehead was covered in a sheen of sweat and her eyes glazed with fever.

OOC: ok! Sounds good!

BIC; Jackson opened up his bag again, igniting a small lamp, giving them just enough light in the locker room for him to see within five feet around her. "You'll be ok" he whispered, checking ok her bandages and keeping both his and her weapon closely in case they were assaulted and attacked by a monster during the night. He wondered how long they would have to be stuck with herC but he knew he wouldn't leave until se was ok.

"Come on Jo...speak to me please, I want to know if your ok or not" he said kindly, slowly giving her a little more of nectar.

OOC Actually, she doesn't carry a weapon.

BIC Josefina frowned when something was poored into her mouth. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't trust it. Her tired brain wasn't working right and she spat it out.

For the first time, she noticed a shadowy, blurry figure looming above her. "...Who are you...?" She croaked.

OOC: sorry

BIC: "I'm Jackson, remember?" He asked as he answered her question. "I saved your life, I'm a healer from camp, we are...somewhat friends" he explained. "Do you feel alright?" He wasn't sure exactly what to do, but at least she was talkig

Josefina's eyes were glazed, and looked distant again. It was doubtable that she even heard him. "Hurts..." Was all she could say.

He nodded, quickly examining the infected wound. "I know it hurts but your gonna be ok, I can help you. Alright Jo? I'll help you, just hang on" he told her as he managed to remove some of the pus from inside if the infection. "It's going to sting for a momet"

"NO!" Jo cried. "You can't help... Dad won't let me," She babbled incoharently.