Private Finished A Fiery Start(Arthesia and Liun)

Liun and a few others of his colleagues were called about a fire. It seemed a neighbour had called about smoke coming from one of the rooms. By the time Liun actually arrived, a few other firefighter had headed in. He peeked to see if anyone was going round back but saw no one. He’d figured either there was no one there, or someone already checked. His own group were given a brief analysis, where they believed the owner of the house may have left something on in the kitchen that started the fire. They believed the owner was not in the house.

He jogged inside and found that the others were already making good progress on suppressing the fire. One of the fighters, one that Liun knew, turned to him. “Look who decided to show up. Could you get to the other side of the kitchen? There’s another room and we reckon we could get this done faster.” He patted Liun on the shoulder before going back to work.

Liun rolled his eyes as he removed his helmet and mask. His armour formed over his entire body, including his head. He wasn’t surprised, since his regeneration and armour meant he could run through with very little damage. Plus some of his work friends always owed him drinks everytime he did it. With that thought, he started sprinting and was able to slide into the living room in no time. His helmet faded away but the rest of the armour remained. He put the helmet and mask back on, and looked around.

That was when he saw a woman slumped by a window. His eyes widened as he jogged over. “Hey, hey are you alright?” He gently knelt down beside her, giving a brief lookover for injuries. He then turned on his radio to update the situation. “I’ve found someone in the living area, exits blocked by fire. No injuries but I don’t know how much smoke she’s inhaled.”

Liun looked down at her worriedly, and he only looked more concerned when she said she was sick. He looked around the room again, noting the smoke. If this woman had been stuck in this room since the fire started, with the smoke coming in then she’s likely inhaled a lot of smoke, and she’s sick. He didn’t even want to think about the possibility that she could be overheated as well.

He looked around again, seeing the windows. But seeing how the one Arthesia was at was unlocked but not open, and no one else was here, he assumed it was blocked. Well, this woman likely didn’t have the strength of a dragon. Liun went over to the window and attempted to pull it open, but it snagged. He pulled harder, only budged slightly. He pulled a little harder with no success. Then he yanked it, and most definitely broke it. He blinked but quickly bent down to gently pick Arthesia up. “Shit, fuck. Sorry about the window. I’ll pay for it, damnit.” He continued to curse to himself as he carefully climbed out the window. He made sure Arthesia avoided the shards, but he got a few scrapes.

As soon as he was out, he jogged to the front of the house still carrying Arthesia. He could breath a little easier knowing she was safe. He asked anyone around if an ambulance would be arriving, and was informed one would be soon. He gently placed Arthesia on the ground so she’d be sitting, and knelt down beside her. “You’re gonna need to take some deep breaths, ok? Just, try to stay conscious.” He had a calm tone to his voice, trying to reassure Arthesia.

Liun removed his helmet and mask again, when before it was to make it more comfortable with his ice helmet, this time it would have a better purpose. He placed the mask on Arthesia’s face, it being connected to a tank with compressed air. It would help with her breathing. “Take some deep breaths, try not to breath irregularly.” He held the mask for a moment before he would allow Arthesia to hold it for herself.

From how her face looked, he figured that she may be a bit heated, and likely on the verge of passing out. He couldn’t have that. Although his ice helmet had disappeared, the rest of the armour remained. He placed his hand on the back of Arthesia’s neck, with the full intent of it giving her a bit of a shock from the cold. It would at least wake her up a bit. “Come on, can’t have you passing out on me. If you’re feeling overheated, just tell me.” He offered a reassuring smile. He held his hand against Arthesia’s face. The gauntlet is made of ice, providing some help with the heating issue. It would also help keep her awake because of the cold.

Liun figures that an ambulance was only called when he had informed that someone was here. It wouldn’t take that long for it to arrive, but he didn’t feel that comfortable leaving Arthesia alone. The others had it under control, it wouldn’t take long to control the fire. “I’m gonna stay with you till the ambulance arrives, alright?” He maintained a calm tone, he figured it’d help her not freak out. That would be a good goal.

Liun was completely okay with it. It wasn’t the first time he stayed with someone until an ambulance arrived, and he doubted it would be his last. People were scared by these experiences, and having someone who was calm and experienced with the situation could help ease any worries.

He had kept his hand against Arthesia’s face to cool her down until she pulled away a bit. He knew not to overdo it, so he lowered his hand. At least she looked better now. Less heated, also more awake. Then she started coughing again and Liun wondered maybe she wasn’t as okay as he had started to believe.

He placed a hand on her back as she coughed, hoping to help even in a small way. He could tell she tried to speak, and he had a feeling she was the kind of person who didn’t like receiving help from others. “Take it easy. You’re not gonna be one hundred percent if you’re sick plus walking out of a fire.” He flashed a small grin as he spoke in a humorous tone. It was certainly his attempt at humour and easing the situation a little.

Liun had been so focused on Arthesia that he only noticed the sirens around the same time as she did. “They’ll be here in no time. You’ll be a-okay.” He smiled. Liun would stay by Arthesia, since he promised he’d stay with her until the ambulance arrived. He could tell the fire was getting under control now since he smelled a bit less smoke. Seems like it’ll be sorted pretty quick once Arthesia was taken to hospital.

Liun knew it could’ve been worst. She could’ve been unconscious for longer, or one of her neighbours wouldn’t have noticed the smoke until it was much worst. Perhaps even not at all. Morbid thoughts were kind of normal in this field of work, since Liun knew not everyone could be saved. Perhaps, he even knew that better than most. Didn’t mean he couldn’t try his damn best.

As the ambulance approached, he winced from the noise. It was something he was used to at least. But it also meant his work here was done. He would take the mask back from Arthesia and stand up straight as paramedics rushed over to Arthesia. After a brief lookover, they lifted her onto a carrier and started to take her towards the ambulance.

Liun stood and watched, holding his mask and helmet underarm. Before the doors closed, before Arthesia couldn’t see him anymore, he did a small wave with a smile. The same calm, reassuring smile that seemed to just say ‘everything will be fine’.
Once the doors were closed and the ambulance started to drive off, Liun sighed. Put his mask and helmet back on, then went once more into the house to control the fire.