scraped knees & a baby's tears --- [joshua]

[LISA SARAH GRACE]

Lisa didn’t pain well. At all. Nor was she good at suppressing any emotions, which would often leave her in tears—especially when she was angry. It was horrible. She’d be yelling one minute and her voice cracking the next, the angry tears sliding down her cheeks. She was hardly ever taken seriously because of it. She hated it.

But anyways, back to the subject of pain.

She didn’t mean to be clumsy person—it just happened that way. Sort of. Lisa just couldn’t focus at one thing at a time and she often zoned out, even in the most dangerous situations. For instance, crossing the street without looking both ways. Dangerous. Zoning out when Lisa’s mother is lecturing her about getting paint on the walls. Super dangerous. People around her were convinced that she needed to be locked up in a giant hamster ball or something—for her safety and for other’s as well. Lisa was a walking hazard, it was why she visited the medical wing so often during school. Unfortunately, it was winter break and the medical wing wasn’t open, so she had to patch herself up when she got hurt (and that was often). Lisa’s family wondered why she had so many band aids. She was clumsy; she was convinced it was in her genetics. There was no other way for someone like Lisa to be so uncoordinated without the help of genetics, but looking at her siblings, it was most likely her fault for zoning out so much on a daily basis.

Lisa was currently wandering the streets of Maple Hollow, not having any particular destination. She liked wandering, window shopping, and observing, especially on winter days like these. It was lightly snowing, the ground patched with white powder from the previous snow. It wasn’t intensely cold, but she could see her breath in the air. She stuffed her hands in her coat pockets and breathed in, the air crisp from the cold and she smiled. Winter had always been her favorite season. Not for the weather, but more of the feeling of winter. It was festive and family oriented—plus, there was a month long break! Even though Lisa was a smart girl and whizzed through schoolwork like a pro, it was still tiring having to force herself to really focus on the lesson and on the teacher. There was something about college professors and the way they’d have a monotonous tone when they spoke. It was perfect zoning out environment.

Like right now, when there were barely people around and the streets were empty. It was so easy to slip into zoning out mode (which she did) and ignore her lack of surroundings. It was also easy to slip on ice and skid your knee across the cement. Lisa instantly felt the stinging sensation, followed by a sharp pain in her knees. After the initial shock, she finally glanced down. Her tights were torn, her knees skinned and bloody. Long story short, it was gross looking, and the more she stared at it the more it hurt if that was even possible. Lisa swallowed, trying to get up onto her feet and limp to a bench or something—but when she tried to, the skin would stretch and open a fresh new wound, so she’d crumple back onto the ground. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry…

She cried. Hard. She didn’t care that she was sitting on the side of the street like a hobo—it hurt like a mofo.

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[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

As it turned out, driving was kind of difficult when your wrist was broken and your ribs were fractured. Sudden movements or even a simple sneeze were enough to have him in crippling pain and having only one hand was a lot more frustrating than one might assume. He supposed he was lucky in that it was not his dominant wrist they'd snapped but he sure as hell didn't feel lucky whenever he struggled to do something that was normally considered simple. Like putting on a shirt in the morning, for example. He was too stubborn to ask Nell for help with a lot of things and so he merely suffered through his temporary handicap as if he was as able-bodied as ever. In the end he walked out the door in the morning with his shirt on the right way and his car keys in his pocket, though he made an important judgement call and continued down the driveway on foot. I'll take a walk instead. Not that he wanted the walk, not when it was frigid outside and he had to walk along the side of the road due to the depth of the snow but the alternative was calling a taxi or calling Nell and asking when she'd be home to give him a drive.

I fucking hate this.

If he had not been a Fire elemental, he knew that the chill in the air would have stung and reddened his cheeks as he walked against the wind with only his jacket to protect his skin. As it was, the gusts did nothing but tousle his dark hair and cause him to squint on occasion. He was headed into the city for a trip to the library to return a stack of books that he'd checked out a couple weeks previously for some pre-medical school studies. He'd found most of them to be informative and exactly what he was looking for, some of the others were misses, but either way he needed to return them all before they started charging late fees. What would normally be a quick hop in the Lambo became a much longer walk. Bit of a waste to drive a sports car when you can't actually drive. Ugh. He knew that it was only temporary and that it was a lot better to walk than to risk an accident that would both trash his incredibly expensive ride and land him with another myriad of injuries but his damn dignity was smarting. The too-obvious cast on his wrist didn't help and neither did the newly reopened scar on his face. The facial scar had been bad enough to begin with and now he had to deal with it all over again. Months couldn't pass soon enough. He wanted the healing process over with.

He was tough, though, and he hadn't shed many tears at all throughout the whole ordeal. He never knew how to deal with tears—whether they were his own or those of someone else. He would much sooner ignore a situation in which someone was crying than try to comfort them and it had been the fact that he had been so willing to stick by Nell as she sat against the wall of the Academy with tears rolling down her cheeks that had told him she was special. So when he heard the sobbing through the rhythmic crunching of his boots, Joshua's first instinct was to walk right past the figure sitting on the curb. He did not allow his guilty conscience to take hold of him often and so Josh was confident that it would be no skin off his back to ignore what at first glance he assumed was a stranger. God, she's wailing, he thought with exasperation. And it was his judgemental glance over his shoulder that fucked him over—it took only half a second to catch a glimpse of her face, half a second more for the recognition to fire off signals in his brain. Josh blinked. Well shit. Lisa.

He hesitated, knowing she hadn't seen him, wondering if he should keep going anyway. Not like she'd know. He could continue on his way to the library, which was only a few blocks from where he now was, and the next person who happened upon the Earth elemental would have to make the same decision on whether to stop or not. Sighing in resignation, he hefted the bag on his shoulder and approached her, clearing his throat to get her attention. "Uh, hey, you all right Lisa? What happened?" Much as he tried to hide it, the awkwardness was present in his tone. He also stayed a little bit back from her—much farther than most would have, about four or five feet. He didn't notice the state of her knees quite yet, so he asked, "Did someone do something to you?" He felt a weird rush of protectiveness. Lisa was so... well, she was exactly the type he expected people to wound but that didn't make it okay.

[Josh is injured because he got jumped by the mob, FYI xD]

[LISA SARAH GRACE]

Sigh. This was one of the few times Lisa wished she had a cell phone. Sitting here bleeding wasn't going to do much for her, but it's not like she can get up and walk home. It was painful enough with her sitting; she didn't want to even think about walking. Lisa cringed at the very idea, just like she initially cringed at the idea of having a cell phone. She didn't like technology, period. But she had to admit it was probably useful in times like these where she was crying on the curb with no one around. It'd be nice to have her big brother here and carry her home like a sack of potatoes. Darned ice, was all Lisa was thinking about right now. Especially when she glanced at her knees; they were scraped horribly and bleeding horribly, too. It'd probably be a good idea to get them disinfected but it was near impossible when a wuss like Lisa could barely deal with the pain right now.

She sniffled, looking around with tears blurring her vision. It was hard to distinguish between the blobs of color at this moment and she believed enough in people to hope that someone would spot her and offer help. People still did that, right? Help people, even those they didn't know. It was common courtesy--certainly people just didn't pass by without a care. That was just...that was just...

Lisa's thought process was cut off once she heard a voice. It was quite familiar, actually. She blinked, staring blankly in front of herself wondering if she was going blind, when she realized the voice was behind her. Lisa turned her body slowly to look at the person, her vision still blurred from the ferocious amount of crying she had done, and shook her head, hiccupping slightly. "I-I d-don't like the i-ice." What she managed to get out was probably too vague for anyone to understand what could've happened to Lisa—probably could also seem unrelated, but she figured the blood was a dead giveaway. Taking a deep breath, Lisa wiped her eyes with her sleeve and looked up again, finally realizing the person she was talking to was Josh, one of the few friends she had. Lisa beamed at him, now slowly turning her whole body towards him. “Oh, why hello, Joshua. Fancy meeting you here.” For now the pain subsided (probably the cold numbing the wound), but she could barely feel her face from sitting out in the cold too long. That was evident as small shivers began to make its way down her small frame, but for now, she’ll greet Josh like an old friend she hadn’t seen in a long time because that’s what it felt like—Lisa could practically feel the awkwardness seeping out of him. And he called her Lisa. She practically shuddered at the thought, but at this moment she was too preoccupied as she stared at Josh. Something was off—which was a feat for Lisa to notice. She hardly noticed anything.

Ignoring his question, Lisa slowly began to stand up again, wincing at the pain but her body at least managed to be somewhat vertical. “I can ask you the same thing,” she finally answered, limping towards him until they were arms length away. She looked up at him, tilting her head curiously. “Did you get hurt, Joshua?” Lisa frowned. Josh was a big fella, she knew he could take care of himself, so knowing he got hurt unsettled her.

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[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

All Joshua could do at first was blink in confusion, glancing around the snowy streets as if he was wondering how they could possibly reduce someone to tears. "I'm not that fond of it myself." It wasn't so depressing that he'd cry about it, though. Was that really all that was the matter? It seemed a bit silly to him. She was his friend, he wasn't going to openly poke fun at her for it, but that did not mean that he understood. He'd hated the winter since he was a kid but never had he felt so overwhelmed by this hatred that he felt the need to collapse on the side of the road and start sobbing about it. Then again, Joshua wasn't much of a tear-shedder. The last time he'd cried without the help of an excruciating pain had been at his wedding and even that had been more of a watery-eyed, how-the-hell-did-I-get-here kind of moment. He'd been happy then. And before that he was pretty sure it was all the way before Nell's trial when he'd thought that he was going to lose the first person he'd ever fell in love with. Tears were such a rarity that they normally disgusted him when they did break past his defences. For how dare they shatter his composure? In other people, however, tears were much more forgiveable, if not incredibly awkward. He didn't hate people that cried, it was more like he had absolutely no idea how to handle them half the time. Especially when they were crying over the ice. Who does that?

And then she stood up.

Oh. His gray gaze instantly snapped to the state of her knees and that solved all of the confused questions he'd been saving up to ask her before the Fire elemental could so much as open his mouth. He was glad of this, too, because he didn't know how he'd have worded any of them without sounding a little put off or insulting. It was a part of his personality and he couldn't help himself but that didn't stop it from ruining perfectly good friendships in the past. Whoops. "Jesus," was his first reaction, shaking his head. "Wish I could say the same." It wasn't that he didn't mind running into her—more like the circumstances were a little, um, negative. He'd rather see his friend smiling and joking around than sitting and crying on the curb because she'd tripped and banged herself up a bit. "Are you sure you should—" She was already moving though, walking toward him in obvious pain as she winced with every step. She was limping, too, and her injuries only seemed less and less appealing as she drew closer. Sure, she wasn't missing an arm or spraying blood everywhere but her knees really were in a rather terrible state and he'd skinned his own enough in childhood to know that they got all manner of dirt and rocks embedded in them, too. That always hurt. His father would always make him disinfect them, too, and the sting of the stuff poured over the injuries had always hurt more than the injuries themselves.

She didn't answer his question (probably because there was no answer) but instead asked one of her own, a question that immediately caused his walls to be thrown up. He was guarded now, wary. He didn't like being questioned, not even by friends, because in Joshua's case it usually meant coming up with some kind of a lie. He thought of Skye and how he'd eventually slipped up as he said, "Uh, yeah," and tried not to add obviously for fear of sounding rude. It was in his scathing, sarcastic personality but he'd learned over the years that people didn't appreciate that all too much. "A car accident, actually. Drunk driver. It's not too bad, just snapped my wrist and broke a couple of ribs." Then there were the bruises all over his chest from when they'd kicked him while he was down but his shirt covered those and prevented a need for more excuses. Car accident was what he'd told people the first time. The scar on his face was reopened, it didn't look much like car accident material, but he hoped like hell she would take his words at face value and not doubt him. "I'm all right though. You're not looking quite as hot. Can I... help, somehow?" He sounded uncertain, not sure how much help he could be nor what she would prefer. "I mean, I'll do my best. Whatever you want." He liked to help people when they needed it, especially friends.

[What's her favourite nickname? <3]

[LISA SARAH GRACE]

Lisa’s sobbing finally leveled down to quiet sniffling, which was probably to Josh’s relief. If this were any other day where Maple Hallows was busy, there would be no doubt people would be staring, and Josh would feel more awkward than now. At least, that’s what Lisa figured. She could practically feel the awkwardness radiate off the Fire like heat waves and she cracked a small smile, wiping her eyes against her sleeve. It was probably a good thing she didn’t wear make-up or else she’d look like a hot mess sitting on the street corner. Or just a prostitute that had just encountered a less than friendly encounter. Lisa couldn’t help but think Josh would’ve avoided her all together if that were the case—but they were very nice friends. He, despite being a Fire, was very patient with Lisa. She found that to be a little off at times but she was thankful nonetheless. Even a few Earths couldn’t handle her. “G-Good. I t-think I’ll swear off s-snow cones f-from now on.” Lisa nodded once at her proclamation of boycotting snow cones, feeling a sense of ridiculousness as the words left her mouth. But she was in pain, dammit! She couldn’t think straight with the stinging pain shooting up her every sense. Lisa was surprised she could even talk at the moment.

All Lisa did was crack a smile when she heard Josh’s reaction. The man worked at the medical wing at the Academy, right? So for him to even react the slightest to her injuries was quite… amusing. She would’ve felt accomplished if it wasn’t at the expense of her knees, but her clumsiness was rather laughable. Tripping over everything and nothing was a skill, her mother once told her. Lisa couldn’t have agreed more—nobody could be this uncoordinated. A small frown then formed on her lips, though she quickly replaced it with a smile as she understood and looked down at her knees. “Ah, of course. I look frightful, don’t I?” Lisa twirled her skirt in an attempt to distract from her knees. “Unless you’re secretly a vampire, then I must look delicious.” She blinked and tore her gaze away from her knees, looking up at Josh with curious eyes. That’d be quite a secret. If that were the case, she’d be scared to death for her friend, Nell. Though, she’d also be fascinated, you know, if vampires did exist. Lisa faintly wondered if he sparkled in the sunlight. She was always too into her own world to ever notice. And if she was focusing, Lisa would probably think it was normal.

She waited patiently for his answer, shuffling through her purse for her mini first aid kit. Yes, she owned one. It was for occasions like these that seemed to happen so often. When Lisa finally grabbed it though, Josh mentioned “car accident” and the first aid kit went flying into the air as she rushed towards him, her words coming out into worried slurs. “Drunk driver?! Please don’t tell me Nell was in the car, too! Oh, no! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?! I would’ve visited! Oh, once I get my hands on that driver…” Lisa trailed off into angry grumbles about how she’d hang him from a tree branch and stuff vines down his pants as she manipulated them to grow—all very comical stuff, considering how tiny Lisa was. Now that she thought about it, Josh was a whole foot taller than her, so she struggled a bit on her tip-toes as she inspected him. Lisa’s face was laced with worry, swallowing back the lump that formed in her throat again. God, she hated the thought of her friends getting hurt. Especially by cars. She hated them. Ever since her older brother, Gelo and his little sister, Hero got into a car accident a few years back, she sworn off cars. Refused to be in one. There’s just… too many risks. That’s why she walked everywhere. “You are not fine!” she declared, tears pricking at the sides of her eyes. Lisa blinked rapidly to prevent them falling, but her vision soon blurred and she was crying again.

Sigh.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She calmed down enough to walk over to the first aid kit she thrown into the air, but the tears still slipped down her face. Man, it was a wonder how she managed to have so many tears after all these years of being a crybaby. “I have band aids!” Because from her experience, band aids made everything better; and, the pain faded a little faster. Lisa walked back over and hugged Josh’s arm silently for a brief moment before opening her small kit. It was filled with multicolored band aids (most of which had cartoons on them) and grabbed a few along with antiseptic before placing it back into her purse. “Come here, Joshua.” She limped over, peeling open a bright pink band aid and stuck it crookedly on his face. Offering a small smile, Lisa wiped her tears with her sleeve. “There. It won’t hurt anymore.”

[lissy<3]

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[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Trying to be polite, Joshua did his best to avoid looking relieved when Lisa finally started to quiet down. Was it wrong to be put off by the tears of a friend? It's not like it's personal. Far from it. The Fire graduate was studying to become a doctor so that he could make a living out of healing the sick and injured but yet he cringed at the sound of crying. He never knew what to do with someone when they were sobbing and wailing. Was he supposed to comfort them or simply act like they weren't crying? Which was more offensive? He supposed comfort would be the better option if he was half decent at sympathizing with people but his blunt nature got in the way a great deal of the time. His lips pulled into an awkward smile when she boycotted snowcones thanks to the incident, unsure of how else to react. Despite his uncertainty around her, it was mostly in a desire to avoid being rude and had nothing to do with his liking for her. If he did not like her, he would not have stopped. Snow cones are good. Now he wanted one. Thanks, Lisa.

His reaction had little to do with the injury itself and more to do with the person who'd received it. The man had a strong stomach for gore and could watch surgeries without batting an eyelash but seeing a friend hurt struck a chord in him that he could not ignore, especially when that friend was someone as sweet as Lissy. He blinked, uncomfortable. Would it be rude to agree with her? "I just wish the circumstances were a bit different, is all." There! That was a sufficient way around the question. He was blunt and often insensitive but he tried to avoid being a total prick if he could help it. "Vampires are bound to be terribly unhealthy. I mean, blood drinking. Do you know how many diseases you could contract from that?" He made a face and shook his head. Realising something, his lip twitched into a small half-smile. "Not that I'm calling you diseased." He didn't get the appeal of vampires. Then again, Josh was the type of guy so firmly rooted in reality that he barely even read fiction, let alone fantasized about it. The world of tween girls swooning over sparkling vampires was like an alien planet to the Fire. He would stick to his own.

He paid little attention to the way that Lisa rifled through her purse, assuming that she was checking for her phone or something similar. When she pulled out a first aid kit he would have made a comment on it if not for her unexpected reaction to his 'car accident'. "Lissy, Lissy, relax!" he said hurriedly, lifting his hands to caution her against the panic. "Nell is fine, don't worry. I'm fine, too. I was barely in the hospital long." That was the truth, at very least. They'd kept him overnight to make sure that no complications developed thanks to his broken ribs such as internal bleeding but he'd been free to go in the morning. Her concern was sweet even if he didn't know how to express this to her. He appreciated the way that she felt rage toward the driver that didn't exist but did not know how to properly give thanks for it. He wasn't good with feelings. He also wasn't good at telling the truth. What would she do if she knew what really happened? "I am absolutely fine," he stressed, shaking his head, not wanting her to make too much of a fuss over him. It always made him feel vulnerable when people got too worried. He liked to be the strong one.

She was crying again and he held back a groan. Oh, dear. "Hey, it's all right," he said, a bit of an awkward strain to his tone. Comfort wasn't his strong point but he was going to make an effort for a friend. "Don't cry, please. I promise I'm all right." He wished that he didn't have the scar on his face or the cast on his wrist, silently arguing his point. I am fine. His thoughts were stubborn. Even Josh didn't like the fact that he was hurt. He wanted to be fine. "Besides, I'm more worried about you right now. I've got all this treated, it's healing. Your knees, on the other hand..." It was the curse of the doctor that had him thinking about how the injury could become infected if she didn't take care to clean it out. At least it wasn't a cat bite. Those were nasty in terms of infection rate and he was always careful to teach his own kitties not to be aggressive. When she mentioned band-aids he did not realise that she was still worrying about him and so he latched onto the idea. "That's good, that'll—" He stopped and furrowed his brow when she told him to 'come here'. Me? Why? She was already limping toward him before he could properly react or take a step forward and he blinked at the bright pink bandage that she fished out of her first aid kit.

He did not quite know how to react at first to having the eye-catching bandage stuck to his cheek. He knew that it wouldn't do him any good thanks to the length of the scar and the fact that there were already stitches in it but there was something about the way that Lisa was so innocent and optimistic about it that made him hesitate to say quite as much. She was a friend and, well, if it made her feel better about his injuries so that he could convince her to get hers treated, so be it. He was manly enough for pink, anyway. The thought amused him. "Thanks, Lissy," he said, wrapping his good arm around her in a return of the hug she'd given to him. "Now that I'm all set, though, what about you? I don't think you should leave those untreated, they might get infected. I don't suppose you have any unopened water in your bag?" He wasn't optimistic. What would anyone carry water around for if not to drink it? He knew first aid and all that but a street in the middle of Maple Hollow was a much less ideal place than the medical wing. "Where were you headed, anyway? It's awful cold for a walk." He hated the cold. Hated it.

[omg they're so adorable xD he's like -awkward turtle- and she's just swedftrghyujk so sweet and innocent xD]

[LISA SARAH GRACE]

The overall numbness of Lisa’s body was starting to worry her. She could barely move her cheeks and although she was thankful she could barely feel the stinging pain from her knees, the pain of numb fingers were starting to replace it with a new kind of pain. Lisa wasn’t the type to complain though, so she stuck her hands into her pockets, wishing she had brought her hot packs. Lisa always enjoyed playing with those things. “No need to be polite, Joshua,” she said as she dusted off her skirt. “I’m a lot stronger than you think~” Lisa grinned at him, placing her hands on her hips as she tip-toed, trying to make herself look taller. It was near impossible when Josh was a whole foot taller than her and she was shorter than the average. She blamed her mother for passing on her short genes to her. At least Gelo was tall. Though, she kind of understood why Josh was beating around the bush with his blunt nature. Lisa has heard him use it, so she knew he was going soft on her on purpose. But, she was a crybaby, much to her dismay. So she guessed it made sense. “Oh, way to ruin vampires for me!” she giggled, finding it humorous the way Josh turned something supernatural into a medical problem. “They’re dead anyways, so I don’t think it’s a problem.” Dead things can’t get sick; they’re already dead. A big ‘duh’ in Lisa’s brain, but she couldn’t help but think about it. Huh. Josh did have a good point though. Can the dead die twice?

Overreacting—one of Lisa’s many talents. She didn’t pay attention to most things and could sometimes be called “careless” because of her way of zoning out, but she cared. A lot. Especially the friends that stuck around after witnessing her strange behavior and habits. Josh was one of the people she cared about, so the very thought of him being in pain sent her into a panic. The panic subsided at least when he reassured her everything was fine, but she felt the tugging in the pit of her stomach that made her believe that it wasn’t. Not entirely. “You still should’ve called,” Lisa grumbled, sniffling. “I would’ve kept you company. Hospitals are no fun!” she insisted, looking up at him. Lisa remembered the day her brother and little sister got into a car accident. It was a scary experience, having to wait outside in the waiting room while she waited for news. The overall atmosphere just made her skin crawl, so she made a point to visit her siblings every chance she could. There was no way she’d let them feel lonely for a second and besides, hospital food was disgusting. “I can’t imagine you having to eat hospital food. I-I could’ve made you soup.” Homemade cooking made everything better! Lisa faintly remembered all the days she’d stay home sick and her mother cooking soup for her. It was like medicine for the soul. “Are you sure?” Lisa asked, staring up at him with wide eyes, as if silently telling him to tell the truth. She wasn’t the greatest person at detecting lies, but it was worth a shot.

Lisa had to count with both her hands and feet to count how many times she had to be comforted whenever she cried. She was a crybaby, she would admit to that much, but it doesn’t mean she liked to. The tears just spilled whenever they thought it was appropriate (and half of the time, they were wrong). Sometimes letting them spill was better than trying to hold them in because when that happened, she was rendered speechless. The lump in her throat would hinder her speech. “A lot easier said than done,” she sniffled, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her sleeves. “But as long as you’re really alright…” Lisa offered him a small smile as a confirmation she was going to try to stop crying. Try. No guarantees because her tear ducts were like loose pipes held together by duct tape. She furrowed her eyebrows when Josh said he was more worried about her and for a split second, she forgot the horrendous state her knees were in. Lisa glanced down, looking like a child who realized all too late that her shirt was covered in mud after playing outside. “’Tis happened before, don’t worry about it~” Lisa limped over to a nearby pole and leaned against it, folding up her skirt slightly to see the actual damage. She grimaced when she did. “Oh, I’ll never get this blood out of this skirt…” Because her skirts were more important than potential scarring of her knees.

Lisa smiled brightly when Josh thanked her, relishing in the warmth she lacked and stepped away after their hug was finished. “No, unfortunately. But I have this—” she held out a bottle of antiseptic, “—does this work?” Lisa almost cringed at just the thought of the feel of antiseptic on her open wound. With the hundreds of injuries she gave herself, she’d think the stinging sensation would be something she was used to. It wasn’t—not by a long shot. “Huh?” She blinked for a moment when Josh asked where she was headed. Where was she headed anyways? Lisa tilted her head, searching her mind for a reason, but all that came up was a blank. “I was taking a walk, actually,” she said, her eyes slightly glazed over. “The air is refreshing, don’tcha think?” She grinned at him. Lisa loved winter.

[-reduces josh into an awkward turtle puddle- ]

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[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

It had been a long time since Joshua experienced the chill of winter in the same way that others did but he still recognised the signs of a friend suffering from the winter. "You look cold." Some friends would offer their jacket but Josh could do better than that. Without asking her, figuring that she wouldn't mind, he flicked his wrist and allowed a pulse of warmth to sweep over their immediate area. The snow on the ground seemed to cringe away from the heat like shadows from the sun and the puddles left from the melted flakes vanished right before their eyes. He offered her a brief smile but said nothing else.

He was not used to people telling him that he shouldn't be polite. It was usually the opposite, in fact, as the Fire graduate was quite a blunt and irritable person. He looked troubled for a moment as he made an attempt to hide his confusion. "You're my friend." It was all he could think to say on the matter. He liked her and so he didn't want to upset her. There was nothing wrong with that, right?

His lip twitched faintly in amusement when Lisa giggled. She had a point, he supposed, not that either of them would ever know for sure. Vampires, like so many other supernatural creatures, were not real. For the sake of discussion and debate, he thought up a response. "The dead aren't meant to be up and walking around. If they can do that, why can't they catch an illness the same as you or I?" There were a lot of scientific reasons that vampires would be an impossibility but Josh wasn't going to bore his friend by launching into a more literal discussion. Not everyone was as much of a bookworm as he, especially not for the specific subject of biology.

It was sweet that she cared so much about him but it also made Joshua uncomfortable. He didn't like feeling like his friends had any reasons to feel sorry for him. "I wasn't completely alone—Nell was there. It was only overnight, I wasn't bedridden for weeks or anything." Though he was lying about the car accident, Joshua often threaded the truth amongst his lies to give them a more solid base. It was a lot harder to get caught if you didn't have to fabricate your entire story. He chuckled. "Me, hospital food? Don't forget who I'm married to! She takes good care of me." His tone was a tad softer as he spoke fondly of his wife. He loved Nell more than anyone else in the world. "I appreciate the thought, though." His words were genuine. Once upon a time there wouldn't have been many people that cared about him when he got into a fight or wound up in the hospital but now he had friends worrying over him left and right. He might not have liked all the attention but it was heart-warming to know that he had people in his life who were there for him.

Josh nodded, settling his good hand on her shoulder and meeting her gaze steadily with his own. The gray eyes revealed nothing beyond what he wanted her to see. "Positive." As long as he projected an image of being fine, she was sure to believe it eventually. That was what he hoped. The tears made the back of his neck feel hot and he wished that they would stop. He was fond of Lissy but that didn't mean he was any more equipped to handle the crying. "I am," he told her for what felt like the millionth time. "No use crying over spilt milk, you know?" He was injured, it was done, there was no amount of tear-shedding that could fix that. Much as she might have wanted to be, his friend was not Fawkes the phoenix.

The Fire graduate suppressed a sigh when she told him that this had happened before, not wanting to offend her. He worried about people like her. "That doesn't mean I'm going to ignore it." His tone was gentle but firm. The man was going to become a doctor, the urge to help people was deeply ingrained. Especially when these people were his friends. He pressed his lips together to avoid commenting when she seemed more concerned about the skirt than her health. Some people.

He blinked as she produced a bottle of antiseptic. "Well, yes, that'll do it," he said. "I suppose I'm just not used to people carrying that around." He chuckled and cracked a brief smile. Josh didn't even carry antiseptic around with him. Then again, he wasn't nearly as accident prone as Lisa seemed to be. "It would still be better to clean it out with water first but since neither of us have any I guess we'll need to make do." She told him that she'd been out for a walk and he pulled a face. "In this weather? It seems a bit cold for it. For you, at least." Walking wasn't an issue for Joshua but that was because he was a Fire elemental. "I was headed to the library myself. I need to return some things and I didn't feel like driving." And of course, 'didn't feel like it' was more like 'couldn't'.

[Changing format a bit for the sake of muse, I hope you don't mind! <33]

[LISA SARAH GRACE]

Lisa stared back at Josh, rubbing her hands on her cheeks as he commented on her being cold. Well, if the pink nose and more-than-usual rosy cheeks didn’t give it away, she would’ve nodded in response, but before she could, she felt a wave of warmth wash over her and grinned, looking up at Josh with a look of gratitude. “Why, thank you, Joshua~” She flexed her fingers in front of her face, satisfied. She could feel them again! “It must be nice being a Fire,” she mused, watching as the ice melted away from their feet. It was like having your very own heater everywhere you go. “But aren’t friends also rude to each other?” she laughed, raising an eyebrow. There came a point where friends were comfortable enough to joke around and be sarcastic and understand that every single jab was just a sign of affection. Lisa was capable of that, but she didn’t really know the extent of which Josh’s “insults” could be. He was always so nice to her; she figured it wouldn’t be all that bad. Right?

She scrunched up her face as Josh began explaining his own standpoint and she sighed. Her brain hurt. “Because they’re all supernatural… and stuffs…” Lisa trailed off, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She didn’t know how to answer his question. It was like the winter froze her ability to think properly. Or maybe it was too much thinking in general that Lisa just wanted to tune it out. Yup. That was probably it.

“They only kept you in overnight?!” Lisa’s hand flew to her cheeks and she shook her head furiously. “They should’ve kept you in longer than that! How are you supposed to heal!?” She then paused, looking up at him with wide eyes. “Why are you walking around! Wait, how long ago was the car crash? Joshua Donovan Dale, you should be in bed right now, resting!” Lisa placed her hands on her hips, trying her hardest to look serious. Was it working? How serious could a 5’2” girl look? After a moment, she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. Stress. Stress made her tired. “Very true,” she sighed again, then grinned, her serious demeanor vanishing. Lisa always found it fascinating the way Josh talked about Nell. He was like a whole new person. “How romantic,” Lisa swooned, nudging him lightly. She and Nell were also good friends and she saw and heard the way her friend talked about her husband. It was the kind of love found in storybooks. Sacrifice, even if it meant turning your whole world upside down. “I’m jealous~” Lisa wanted love like that, but it was sort of hard meeting guys that could accept her for the way she was.

Lisa stared back at Josh, wide eyed, trying to search for any lies that could be laced into his features. “… fine. But please do tell me if you aren’t feeling well. I’d hate it if you were hurting.” She frowned slightly, though she quickly smiled at him as to not worry him. Another thing she hated: worrying her friends over unnecessary things. Unfortunately, that was a bad habit she tended to do. A lot. She couldn’t help that she was so clumsy, though! “Well, I guess… unless you had the greatest cookie in the world in your hands, then I say it is a good reason to cry.” She nodded once seriously, wiping away any traces of tears.

She glanced back and forth between the bottle in her hand and at Josh before grinning back at him, slightly embarrassed. She got hurt a lot. End of story. It was just easier to carry it around. “Well, welcome to the life of a girl who cannot walk safely even if it depended on her life~” Lisa popped open the bottle, shaking it a little before holding it out to Josh, not feeling up to causing herself even more pain by spraying the antiseptic. “I love the winter, though~” She smiled, stretching out her arms. The snow, the crisp air, everything. Okay, maybe not everything—she hated how ice seemed to form everywhere she stepped. But other than that, she loved it wholeheartedly. “To the library?” Lisa glanced in the direction and nodded. “I’ll keep you company until then!” Nevermind that she can barely walk without a limp.

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[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

He enjoyed using his powers to help his friends during the winter months. He might have been irritable and intimidating most of the time but he truly did care about those he was close to. He'd never had a lot of friends in youth and so he'd grown into the habit of treating anyone who tolerated him like solid gold. Unless they upset him, of course, in which case his signature temper would be set alight. There was no helping it. He nodded as if to say 'No problem' and then twitched his lip. "Not going to lie, it's pretty great." She probably won't trade her powers, though. Most elementals wound up happy with what they could do. He certainly was. Nell's gift (and, therefore, Lisa's) of Earth had always amazed him but it was more of an admiration than a feeling of jealousy. "Only in jest. It doesn't really count if you're kidding." That's how he looked at it. Of course, most people couldn't figure out when Josh was joking around and so it lead to him offending a lot of people.

She seemed more shocked than he was anticipating when he told her how long he'd been in the hospital. Brief alarm flashed in his gray eyes and he blinked before quickly recovering and shaking his head. "I wasn't in critical condition, they needed to make room for other patients. I was fine with it, really. I know how hospitals work. I wouldn't have been happy confined to a bed for weeks, anyway." He was too proud and independent to commit to bed rest, which was why he pulled a brief face when she continued. "Less than a month ago but Lissy, relax. I only got a little banged up, it's not like I lost an arm. The doctor told me that I'd be all right as long as I took it easy." And he was, however reluctantly. He wanted to take the stubborn route and try to go back to his previous life as quick as possible but it was not wise to play tennis, do heavy lifting or mess around with the guys when he had a broken wrist. It needed time to heal. So he was obeying the doctor's orders as best as he could and even walking to the damn library. Really, he felt that people should have been proud of him, damn it! He met her serious gaze with one of his own, expression rigid. There was no budging him.

He almost looked a little sheepish when she commented on how romantic the couple were, a soft smile tugging at the edge of his lips. He loved his wife more than anything and it was strange to think that others could see that. He was not ashamed, however. He wanted everyone to know that they cared for one another. The ring on his finger was symbol enough. He blinked when she said she was jealous, uncertain of how to respond. So he didn't, in typical Josh fashion.

Joshua nodded, already knowing in advance that he would not be telling her any such thing. "Of course." Not, he added. The only way anyone would figure out if he was hurting was if there was some visible sign of it, like the scars that marked his skin or the cast on his wrist. He was glad to change the subject away from his injuries and onto something more innocent, like sweets. "Cry? Hell, I'd eat it." No use letting a cookie go to waste.

Having never been particularly clumsy himself, Joshua could not relate to those who couldn't walk down a sidewalk without stumbling over the cracks. He had decent balance and enough caution that he'd only really gotten injuries of the sort when he was a child, falling out of trees, crashing bikes, running too fast. That sort of thing. In adulthood he was fairly healthy and safe if you ignored the fact that the mob had their sights set on him. "I hate it." His voice was devoid of tone, expression one of distaste. He'd never liked the cold and snow. Typical Fire. "It'll sting a bit... though I'm sure you knew that." It was habit for him to warn people after working in a hospital and then a medical wing. They tended to freak out if they had no heads up. He sprayed the antiseptic on the wounds and then straightened up, handing it back to her. "There you go. That should stop any chance of infection, hopefully." Not minding the idea of company, he nodded. "You're welcome to." He started walking, keeping a slow pace so that his long legs didn't put him miles ahead of her.

[LISA SARAH GRACE]

Lisa wasn’t jealous of Josh’s powers (no, she was much too fond of her own) but she wondered how nice it would be to be warm all the time, especially during the coldest of winters. She cringed, though, at the thought of summer. Maybe he didn’t mind the heat too much, you know, with being a Fire and all, but Lisa wouldn’t be able to stand it. She’d probably pass out from the heat. She agreed with him though and was suddenly amused by her own thoughts. “How lucky. You don’t even need to purchase a heater!” Lisa frowned. Her family’s electricity bills shot up during the winter time. Sometimes she wished she had a Fire sibling. “I guess,” she laughed, shrugging, then she poked him gently on the forearm to be safe. “Have I ever told you that it’s hard to tell with you?” Lisa looked up at him innocently. Josh was nice; very nice. He stopped to check on her. That said something, right? And thus far he hasn’t made any sarcastic jabs at her.

No matter how many times people tried to comfort her, Lisa, without fail, jumped to the worst conclusions. She just worried a lot about her friends. She had a… maternal instinct? Is that what it was called? Point was, she worried. Even though Josh was a year older than her and more than capable to taking care of himself, she still worried. As shown. “Okay…” she sighed, defeated, and took another breath to calm herself. “I guess all that matters now is that you’re alright.” She grinned at him, patting his arm, though she frowned slightly when he told her when the accident occurred. Even though Josh said it wasn’t a big deal, Lisa felt bad for not knowing about it until now. They were friends, right? She should be there when friends are hurt, no matter how small or big the injuries. She didn’t comment on it though, not wanting to make Josh start to feel annoyed, and settled for a small smile to replace her frown. “Taking it easy, huh? I imagine that is difficult for you,” she giggled. Josh was quite stubborn, and in her years of being friends with him, he hadn’t once asked for help. He kept a lot of things inside, something Lisa could never do, so she wasn’t sure if she admired him, or worried about him.

“Thank you,” she sighed in relief, grinning slightly. “It’s the least I can do~” After injuring herself so much, she could perform simple first aid, or at least numb the pain a bit and hopefully not cause anymore. Looking at his face right now, Lisa couldn’t tell, so she dropped the subject, though it was still in the back of her mind. “You can do that, too,” she giggled. Well, no use in wasting a good cookie.

Lisa blinked at Josh after he expressed his dislike for winter. Well, she should’ve expected that one. But the way his face was blank and his voice so emotionless, it made her freeze for a second. Even after a few more years, she didn’t think she’d get used to it. “I know too well, actually.” She grimaced, staring at the bottle as if she was meeting an old on-and-off boyfriend that held bitter feelings. It was kind of like that; the sting of the antiseptic on open wound was like the stinging sensation after a bad breakup. Lisa bit her lip harshly when he sprayed it on the inflicted areas, wincing a bit. No use in throwing a huge fit. “Thank you, Joshua.” She placed two large band aids on her knees, both with characters of Adventure Time obnoxiously drawn on, and she grinned up at him, trying to catch up with him. “Do you reckon they have a book on how not to be clumsy?”

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[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Lisa's comment on heaters brought him back to a conversation he'd had with another special Earth elemental long ago and his lip twitched briefly in response. You're like a space heater. There was a certain softness to his gray eyes as he chuckled. "Are you kidding? I love the heating in our house. Saves me a lot of energy!" Living in a mansion had its benefits. They could control the heat separately for each room and the insulation kept it in with ease. There were no awkward cold spots or drafty areas nor windows that let in a slight breeze. It was certainly a cozy place to spend the winter.

Josh blinked as he was poked in the arm but did not otherwise react. He'd once had an aversion to being touched by anyone that was not his closest of close friend but it had faded over the years and so he was comfortable in their conversation. Though his expression remained stoic, placid, he felt the amusement at her remark. "You haven't," he replied, "though I've been otherwise made aware." He'd always had a rather dangerous sense of humour—dangerous in that he did not bother explaining that he was often joking when he appeared serious. Some people would get offended and he certainly didn't help the situation when he refused to explain himself. Lisa was lucky in that she'd never gotten upset and cut ties. Their friendship had lasted and she seemed to have adapted to and accepted who he was as a person. He appreciated that. Such patient people were few and far between.

The Fire graduate gave a single nod in confirmation that he was all right. He wasn't, not truly, but he was perfectly content in letting her believe that all was well. He felt more comfortable that way. Always fine, even when he wasn't. Dark brows lifted slightly at the question. "You know me well." He sounded a mixture of entertained and impressed. It had indeed been difficult for him to abstain from certain activities. Intimacy was the most annoying—what did they mean, he shouldn't do anything strenuous? Heavy lifting and driving were seconds, though certainly not close seconds. He didn't like to ask people to carry things for him and getting a rid made him feel like an inept teenager once again.

He offered a sympathetic twitch of the lip before spraying the antiseptic, knowing that it was going to sting. He could tell by her expression that it was unpleasant but she was admirably calm and kind enough to thank him afterwards. "If only half the patients in the medical wing were like you," he said, only half-joking. "I can't wait until I have to actually work there in shifts." He rolled his eyes with a sarcastic tone. No, he was looking forward to it, but he wasn't looking forward to the whiny patients. Some of them cried, which made him uncomfortable but was bearable. No, it was those that snapped and snarled and made his overall job difficult that bothered him. Oh joy. "Is balance a thing that can really be taught, I wonder?" He'd never been particularly clumsy. Chuckling, he said, "Well, no reason you couldn't ask!"" Things felt much more relaxed and light-hearted now, which he liked.

[LISA SARAH GRACE]

Lisa smiled brightly at him, studying his eyes. They were more… gentle. Soft. As if he was recalling a memory, and her mind immediately went to one person. Man, they were adorable. Lisa always liked observing people in love. They had a certain tenderness to them that she admired. Even the ones you’d least expect to be like that—they were often the ones who loved the best. “Well, that’s a waste of electrical energy!” she giggled, patting him lightly on the arm. “A big waste!” she repeated, flinging her arms out as if it’d tell him the precise amount. Though, she figured he had a point. It’d be torture to constantly use your powers, especially in this cold weather. Can’t she just have a mini Josh to carry around in her purse?

She blinked back at him, her own face slowly forming into one the mirrored his own—it felt weird, straining, and she wondered how Josh managed to keep a straight face all the time. “Well, I have now~” she said, a grin replacing her poker face. She hesitated, though, and added, “… should I not have?” Lisa understood the frustration some people had when things were often repeated to them. Hell, she was often called weird, that she should pay attention, among other not-so-clean things. It was something she disliked to hear, but over time she’d gotten used to it. It still made her a bit frustrated, and Lisa wondered if it was the same case for Josh. She frowned a bit, suddenly feeling as if she’d done something wrong and instantly apologized to him. “I won’t say it again, I promise.” She nodded once, making the motion of zipping her lips. Lisa was good at making promises—well, sort of. Only the ones she actually remembered. Did that make her a bad friend?

“Of course I do!” she replied enthusiastically, smiling. “I make it a point to know all my close friends well. That wouldn’t make me a good friend if I didn’t, now would it?” And that was true, actually. She just didn’t have a lot of friends, so it made the task even easier. Though, sometimes, she wished it wasn’t. She wanted a challenge. That meant Lisa would have a lot of friends. Boy, was that a depressing thought or what? “I’d probably be still going on about your health if I didn’t,” she giggled, ducking her head slightly in shame. She worried too much, she knew that. But Lisa just had a natural maternal instinct, even to those who really didn’t need another mother figure in their life.

Lisa scrunched her nose slightly, shaking her head. She figured he was talking about the way she reacted towards the antiseptic, but the way he worded it also could mean a number of other things. “Imagine, multiple Lissy’s running around~” she giggled at the thought, shaking her head again. “Wouldn’t that be horrid? I’d get terribly confused.” And she would, thinking that she had run into a sick alternative universe in her head. Though she did perk up a bit when Josh showed his enthusiasm (okay, sarcastic enthusiasm) for working at the medical wing. She bounced on the heels of her feet, grinning. “Won’t it be fun, though? It’s your dream job!” At least she thinks it is. Josh always looked comfortable and happy in the medical wing. Heh, they’d probably be seeing each other more often when he did start working there, whenever it may be. Probably after Lisa graduated, but it’d still be a nice sight to see. “Of course not! You think they’d look at me strangely?” she giggled. It wouldn’t be the first time.

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