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[Dave arrives not too much later, his sword Caledscratch slung over his shoulder, in its broken form for the time being.]

Jade...

So you're really here, then...

[He walks up to her and holds out his free hand to help her up.]

C'mon, we'll get some band-aids, I'm sure they've got something.

[ She doesn't have any weapons; there were none in her trunk when she arrived, and her rifle had been lost in the sand a month ago, deemed irreparable. But she hesitates at taking his hand.

She's impossibly skinny and shivering. Jade doesn't have a lot of clothes to go off of right now, and her feet are bare -- her shoes that showed up with her are missing almost all of their soles. ]

If I take your hand...are you going to disappear?

[ Looking up at him warily. This might be a dream. ]

[Dave frowns and looks her over with a concerned expression; it's rare for him to have any expression at all, so this is a bit of a shock.]

What? Of course not, what are you talking about??

You don't look too good, Jade. I mean I know you were pretty distressed the last time I saw you...

Let's not talk about that...

But you weren't wearing that, definitely.

[ She sits up. For the first time, she actually notices the difference between her clothing and anyone else's -- sleeves and skirt torn, blood, dirt everywhere. ]

I...

[ Jade looks at her hands in her lap instead of at Dave. She's too embarrassed to even apologize. When she speaks again, her voice is small. ]

I haven't talked to you in four months...

Four months....?

[Dave looks seriously confused. Obviously the time didn't match up at all, and she wasn't a Hero of Time so it wasn't conceivably possible. Unless...

He looks over her clothing, a very uncharacteristic look of dread on his face.]

You're from a doomed timeline...

[ She nods. ]

That's...what Rose said. I never got into the game, so I wouldn't really know.

[He looks ridiculously distressed now.]

Oh god...

What happened in your timeline?? How did it become doomed?? I didn't cause it, did I...?

[He knows he's caused at least two doomed timelines by totally screwing up paradox space and the alpha timeline with his time powers... He didn't like doing it... people ended up killed that way...]

No...! No, it was my fault, Rose said it was John but--

[ She gets off of the couch and flings herself at him, fragile body protesting as she wraps him in a hug. ]

Don't be sad any more!

[Dave freezes up in surprise oh god, he's never had a legitimate hug before in his life. Not one that he can remember, anyways. He takes a deep shuddering breath before wrapping her arms around her gently.]

I... I'm not sad...

So you've talked to Rose? You... you must be from Davesprite's timeline... Where John was tricked into being killed by his Denizen? Jade, that wasn't your fault, you know, it was partially my fault for not stopping John...

[ She doesn't mind. Actually, Jade's been daydreaming about hugging Dave Strider for months. All of her friends, really.

And it's just as nice as her dreams. She sighs. ]

I don't know who Davesprite is, but...that's what she said. I don't think it was your fault, though. John was just trying to help.

No, John was being stupid and was listening to an alien girl he's never met over one of his best friends...

[He sighs and hugs her even tighter, though he's a little hesitant both because he doesn't wanna snap her thin body in two, and also because he's never hugged anyone before.]

Davesprite is the Dave from your universe, if I'm correct...

Jade, we should get you to the infirmary...

Oh...

[ She's silent for a moment. The Dave from your universe -- the sad one, with the crying eyes. The doomed Dave, the fragile one. She thinks.

She's not entirely sure. But she buries her head into this Dave's shoulder anyway. ]

Okay. Do you know where it is?

It's the second floor. Come on, we'll get you patched up, okay? Then we'll get you some food in the cafeteria...

[He reluctantly pulls his arms away from around her and takes her hand.]

Can you walk alright? It looks like you haven't eaten weeks...

I can walk fine, Dave... [ She sticks her tongue out at him slightly, giving his hand a weak squeeze. ]

I'm hungry again, though. I can't really keep anything down..

[Dave looks away from her, becoming suddenly interested in the floor to his side as red tints his cheeks.]

Did you eat any oatmeal yet? You have to eat that crap first before you can keep anything else down. No one really knows why.

I tried. But...

[ Also looking away, for different reasons. She's afraid to admit that she couldn't quite eat all of it. ]

[Dave sighs and tugs her along.]

Come on, we'll get you to the infirmary first, then we're going to the cafeteria, getting you to eat that shit, and then you can eat however much of anything you want, alright?

You need to eat something...

[ Oops, she realizes she's been dragging her feet and picks up the pace a bit, catching up to him. ]

Okay. I like oatmeal, it's just...really, really weird after only having pumpkins and stuff.

You survived off of pumpkins? Owch, that's rough...

[He lets out a bit of a sigh, squeezing her hand as he takes her down to the infirmary.]

I'm sorry that... Rose and I didn't realize you were still alive... I mean it's silly for me to be apologizing for something a me from an altnernate timeline failed to do but...

[God he can't help but feel partially responsible...]

[ She bumps against his shoulder, a small smile on her face. ]

Don't apologize. It's no one's fault.

[ But my own. ]

And it's not so bad, they just kept disappearing. So then I'd have to look for another.

You had to search for pumpkins that randomly disappeared? God that sounds both confusing and hellish.

[He carefully leads her from the steps to one of the many many hospital beds strewn all over.]

Here, take a seat while I get some bandages, there's plenty in here.

It was, it kind of sucked.

[ She sits down on the edge of one of the beds, staring at the clinical feel of it all. She hasn't seen this in months, not since her own infirmary exploded. ]

Okay-- [ A yawn. ] Sorry.

Don't know what you're apologizing for, Jade...

[Dave shuffles through the various medical supplies, pulling out band-aids and gauze bandages at random, plus some disinfectant before walking back over towards Jade.]

Thank god this place offers at least this much. Here, let me see your hands and arms.

Just for being me, I guess.

[ She holds out her arms to him. Her hands are the worst; they're covered in deep cuts and burns, as well as shallower injuries. Her arms show signs of more scratches, some deliberate and some not. These, however, are fading. ]

I could do it myself, I think...but I guess bleeding on them would make it worse, wouldn't it?

I'm not exactly sure why you'd apologize for being you, there's nothing wrong with you being you.

[Dave grasps one of her hands very gently.]

It's probably a good idea if you, y'know, give your hands a break.

[He starts putting disinfectant on the cuts as cautiously as he can. While on the inside this is vastly freaking him out, to see one of his silliest and more naive friends so badly cut up all over, he's not showing it. His face is rather calm.]

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