taxonomites | [Visual] EVERYONE I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE [also location: birdhouse]

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[Visual] EVERYONE I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE [also location: birdhouse]

For a moment the screen is at a crazy angle, and fingers smeared with blood scrabble over the glass, leaving red messy trails on the broadcast.

Paul Smecker rights the tablet, gives Taxon a visual of his face, paler than normal, dotted with sweat. The hand not holding the tablet is clutching at his neck, and blood is visibly welling out from between his white-knuckled fingers. His shirt collar is damp too, but the astute-eyed may see that it's mostly water, and not quite as bad as it looks.

He's sitting on the floor, leaned back against an overturned table-- a shambles behind him, signs of a struggle however brief. Paul sags against the table, tries to focus. Blood loss, his mind tells him, it's blood loss making him weak, shaky-- (not shock, not panic, not shameful fear over someone he trusted turning on him-- no, not weakness like that), but he has to focus, has to tell people.

"Dawn--" His voice is a croak, he clears his throat, tries again. "Anyone who's watching-- Dawn Summers's... a vampire. Attacked-- bit me..."

Yeah. Yeah, bit him, and the mere thought of that makes him start wanting to hyperventilate. Keep it together, Smecker-- but all he's seeing is an innocent face twisting into a smile out of hell, fangs gleaming. The strength, the speed-- how the fuck do you fight that? All his planning, and... he'd trusted her. Trusted-- stupid, fucking stupid.

"...hey.... Buffy?" Paul rasps. "So's you know-- holy water... works pretty goddamn well."

And then he closes his eyes, leans back against the table and tries to think. The tablet's heavy; he lets that hand lower it to his lap. His other hand is still keeping the pressure on the punctures on his throat; he tries to think, figure if he'd be better lying down or not. Elevates the wound, yeah, but doesn't let blood get to his brain either, hell. Handkerchief-- he's still got one somewhere, right? Pocket-- yes-- he folds the cloth, gets it over the holes in his throat, then lies down on the floor, taking deep breaths.

[OOC: So, I MADE A BOO-BOO, some miscommunication on my part. Paul's not as seriously injured as the initial tags would have suggested-- he won't be unconscious, and will be able to update people as to the situation. Anyone needing to alter their tags in light of that, I will offer you chocolate. Sorry!]

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Alexis is staring with a look of dawning horror at the visual feed. She'll process the whole 'vampire' thing later, but for the moment her only concern is for the fact that one of the few people in Taxon she knows is bleeding to death on the screen.

"Oh God." She stares for a handful of heartbeats, mere moments, and the tablet jostles as she picks it up along with a messenger bag. "Somebody please help him!" She's not sure who she's talking to, but she has to say something, hope ~~an adult~~ somebody will hear it and get there and help.

But just in case they don't, she's going to head down there anyway.

Cain's taking the flight of stairs two at a time as he ignores the mostly useless comments (to his mind they are). It isn't until he hears a familiar voice trembling with fear that he raises his bracelet to his wrist to respond. It's easier to keep his tablet there, like some kind of sadistic wristwatch.

"I'm on my way there." He doesn't like the thought of anyone, especially someone so young, to be out running right into danger. "Listen to me, Alexis," he says, using every last bit of authority he can muster while running to the nearest hatch. "I want you to stay indoors. Lock every door and window and stay put. Whatever you do, don't invite anyone in. Can you do that for me?"

She shouldn't risk her life, no matter that she thinks it's the right thing to do. No matter that he thinks so too. She doesn't need to see the blood any more vividly than on the tiny screen on the tablet.

The door to the apartment had already slammed shut by the time Cain responded, but at his words Alexis hesitated, her hand on the door. The sure authority in his voice seemed to quell some of the panic she felt and Alexis caught her lower lip between her teeth as she looked from her tablet to the hallway and back again.

Mr. Smecker's mention of vampires was starting to percolate through her mind, and the long, empty hallway started to feel irrationally sinister. She nodded, still clearly worried. "Y-- yes," she answered, backing up against the door. "Is there anything I can do to help from here?"

Paul couldn't hear the locked transmission between Cain and Alexis, but he can see Alexis scrambling and that jerks him back to attention, even though he'd been wanting to just turn the tablet off and lie down for a week or so.

Quick button mash for a reply.

"Alexis-- no, you-- stay wherever you are," he says through a grimace. "I appreciate the fucking sentiment,"(apparently Paul stops self-censoring when injured) "--but the best thing you can do for me right now is stay put, okay? I'll be alright, not the first time I've been banged up on the job."

Paul hazards what he hopes is a 'reassuring' smile at the tablet and the young woman on the other end of it. Reassuring really isn't his strong suit. How are you supposed to do that? Tell them it'll be alright? Oh yeah. There's vampires, but it's gonna be peachy, kid.

"....shouldn't you be telling me vampires don't exist, little budding miss science?"

At Mr. Smecker's voice, Alexis' face appeared back on the tablet, an expression of pure relief overcoming some of the panic. She's still in the hallway of the apartment building, but she isn't barreling down it or into the city proper, so... that's something, right?

She doesn't like being told (again) to stay put, but between the two adults, her natural inclination towards rule following was starting to win out, and she nodded. She even managed a little weak smile at his question. "I was thinking that maybe the vampire thing was the blood loss talking," she admitted.

"I wish," Paul says with heartfelt sincerity. He squints at the screen.

"You're in the hall? Back inside home, wherever it is you're staying," he says brusquely. "They can't get into homes they don't have an invitation to-- but that's homes, not just halls."

He shifts, trying to get comfortable and keep the pressure on his neck and keep the tablet steady at the same time.

"Anyway, yes, they're real, and... and I'm sorry I haven't mentioned them yet. Taxon's... there's so much to try and tell people, and..." I didn't want to scare you? "...guess that one got missed."

Homes. Alexis glanced between the door she'd just shut and the one across the hall. "Um... does that mean the place where I'm sleeping or the one where I'm most comfortable?" she asked. Her bedroom was still in the apartment Kate and Dr. Reid shared, but Alexis found herself growing more and more comfortable in the apartment across the hall, where she'd set up her books and things, and where she spent most of her time.

She offered Mr. Smecker a wan, scared little smile and a shrug. "Vampires weren't exactly on my list of things to ask about. Or study."

"I don't know," Paul had to admit with a grimace that was as much for his own ignorance as it was his current discomfort. "It's been described to me as the place where you live. Try and err on the side of caution."

He tries to offer a smile of his own at Alexis's trying-to-be-brave face.

"Mine neither, before I got here. Look at this way, you're getting a hell of an education in all sorts of crap, huh? I'll be okay-- I used to get shot at in the line of duty all the time, this is just a flesh wound, so don't freak out, alright? No doing anything to deprive the next generation of a brilliant forensic mind."

Truth to tell, Paul would take being shot at over this, this right now, any day of the week ever and twice on Sunday. He would take bullets over vampires, happily. But he's trying to be reassuring.

"I don't think Stanford gives AP credit for Vampire 101," she answered weakly. Alexis looked away from the tablet for a second, looking indecisively at both doors before she took a breath and chose the one to Kate and Dr. Reid's apartment. Maybe it would be enough that it was somebody's home.

She ducked back inside and shut the door behind her. "I'm back inside, in Kate's apartment" she said, maybe a little unnecessarily. "You need to be okay, Mr. Smecker. Somebody has to tell me about the vampires or I'll just read all the vampire fiction in the library as research."

"Good. Good, stay there," Paul said a little vaguely. He'd met the woman in question but at the moment he couldn't connect 'Kate' with Detective Beckett, so this was just general advice from him that sounded good.

"I told you, I'll be fine." Ah, bright cheerful lies for civilian population. "How much blood does an adult human body hold, Miss Science?"

When at a loss, distract the other person.

Alexis didn't look a hundred percent reassured, bu certainly more than she had been a few minutes ago. The distraction helped, or at least kept her thinking rather than spinning out fanciful, grotesque theories and potential scenarios. "Somewhere between five and six liters," she answered grudgingly, for the first time really having an appreciation for just how much blood that was. Especially if it were spill-- no, bad Alexis. Stop thinking about it.

"On average, at least. It's mostly plasma and red blood cells, but there's white blood cells and platelets too. They keep everything clotting unless you're a hemophiliac or something."

When in doubt, ramble about science.

"Very good, give the girl a.. shiny, shiny quarter," Paul said, shifting to try and get more comfortable. Jesus, he can't remember the last time he just wanted to sleep so much. He keeps talking for his own benefit as much as Alexis's.

"How much can a person lose before blood pressure drops and you lose consciousness, do you know that one? Or how about how much can be lost before going into shock?"

That was... actually not helping, because the questions just made Alexis want to look things up, and check what the books said against what she was seeing in front of her. She looked worriedly at Mr. Smecker. "That depends," she answered, concern clear in her voice. "What's your blood pressure now?"

"Good enough to be talking coherently to you," Paul says with more smart-ass sass in his tone than he really feels right now.

"I'm not in danger of passing out and I'm not dizzy--" (anymore) "--so do you know what my priorities should be, hm?"

"Getting out of there?" Alexis asked hopefully.

That got a laugh from Paul, although the laugh made him wince a little. Ow.

"Actually... given I've broadcast from here, got people's attention... last thing she's likely to do is come back for me. Too many bright lights here now. Speaking metaphorically.

"Sides, I have friends coming to make sure I'm okay," he reassures. "Medically speaking do you know what my priorities are, little miss smartass?"

Alexis cringed a little at his wince. "Sorry."

She looked thoughtful, however, at the question. "Get cleaned up? Keep the wound elevated and bandaged?" A pause, and Alexis blinked, curious. "Do vampires carry toxins or bacteria or anything like that?"

Paul dismisses her apology with an irritated hand-wave-- it's the sort of gesture that should have a cigarette in hand, but he doesn't think he should be smoking right now.

"Good guesses-- cleaning the wound is always good, even if it's a 'clean' cut like from a knife-- which is messy as hell, don't let the terminology fool you. Always a risk of infection so yeah, any open wound you douse with antiseptic..."

Paul is using the conversation to distract himself as much as Alexis; it's something to focus on.

"Elevating the wound is normally a good thing. But this is a neck wound, which for all intents and purposes is the same thing as a head wound in terms of where in the body the blood flows. See, when you cut your leg or whatever... you want it elevated to make blood flow out of the leg, back into your body, and especially to stay in your head, to keep you conscious.

"But I elevate my neck, I can't do that without my head going up too, right? So I lose blood from my head, stand a good chance of passing out."

Paul pauses, takes a few deep breaths. "...anyway... the bandaging is the same as keeping pressure on the wound. Which yes, you want to do. And, anytime you've had blood loss, you should rehydrate, and re-sugar-- eat sweet things, drink liquids."

As for toxins... bacteria... Paul doesn't know that about vampire bites, and is sort of wishing she hadn't brought it up. Another thing to fucking panic over. He refuses to show that, though-- it was a good question, good thinking.

"As far as toxins: that's unknown data so far. But antisepticking is still a good idea, since infection can happen from just dust blowing in the wound too."

If Alexis had realized that her question had just made things worse, she'd have apologized again. As it was, she just frowned, and fished around off screen for a piece of paper to scribble notes on. Her way of dealing with things? Research. And mothering people. "Then you should do all that," she said seriously. "Besides just giving me a lesson."

A few more scribbles. "So we don't know anything about toxins... should I do some research? I've got some books here, some fiction too, maybe there'll be something in there about toxins or vampire bites. Maybe about vampire bat bites." Alexis laughed a little, just a little bit hysterical. "I did think vampires were fiction until a few minutes ago."

"I've got pressure on it," Paul reassures. "And the people on the way will bring me food and liquid."

He offers Alexis a rueful smile at her laugh, hearing the edge to it. "Look at it this way-- you're currently handling it a hell of a lot better than I did when I heard."

Another weak smile back. "Only because you kept asking me questions," she answered. A pause, and the smile grew stronger as she recognized his plan. "Thank you, Mr. Smecker."

"I'm a pro," Paul says with an only slightly pained smile. "You learn this on the job too-- reassuring civilians. Something to think about you still wanna poke around with dead stuff for a living."

He half-sat-up, then grimaced. "Okay, I'm starting to really hate having to concentrate right now. I'm going to let you go now-- don't do anything freaking stupid, if you feel you have to be productive you can, I don't know, try and make a list of information we need about vampires, okay?"

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[Visual] EVERYONE I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE [also location: birdhouse]

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[visual | locked, because Cain's slightly paranoid in times like these]

[visual | locked, because well... she's panicked and following an adult's lead seems safe]

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[visual] derp aderp

[visual] - I saw nothing

[visual] you are wise

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[visual] <3 <3

[visual] <3!

[visual] mah tags are so long sorry

[visual] I should be the one apologizing for super-short tags!

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