Re: Closer to 12:45am
There she was... alive and bloodied and limping, but alive. He was too relieved to see her that he didn't think much about the storm suddenly coming to an unusual halt. He heard his name, though it was muffled with his clogged ears. He ran toward her and threw his arms around her, ignoring the pain that shot through his muscles and bones. "Thank god," he breathed, refusing to let her go. "Thank god. Are you okay." Cupping her face, he pulled back to examine her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay," she answered, not entirely sure if that was the truth, but it was good enough for right now. She wasn't going to fall over dead, which meant she must be okay-- no broken bones or serious bleeding, at least that she knew of. "You-- Are you okay?" she asked, trying to check him over, though she knew that he must be. If he wasn't, somehow she'd know, right? Now that she had him, now that it was all over, she didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to slow down and it hit her, hard. "I was so scared," she said, voice shaking. "I couldn't find you."
"What?" Her voice was still muffled and he lifted a hand to his ear again, feeling the blood still flowing from it. Mother fuck. He turned his head toward her, leaning in as if he couldn't hear her very well. "I'm okay, I think... I think I am. We need to get inside... out of here." He pulled her into another tight hug. "I'm here, and we're both okay. We can't stay here. We need to figure out what the hell happened... get somewhere safe." If there was such a place.
Somewhere safe? Only a few minutes ago, she couldn't have gotten somewhere safe if she tried, and she had tried. But now that she had him, and the boat had stopped rocking, the opportunity was there. "You're bleeding," she said, tearing up as she lifted a hand to his head. She didn't know what to do about it, though instinct told her that stopping the bleeding would be a good thing and that that was usually done with bandages. "Maybe we should... find a first aid station. Or a doctor..."
"Yeah... you are too," he pointed out, wincing when she lifted her hand to his head. It didn't hurt, but after having things flying around at him, it was instinctive. "We'll find something to clean ourselves up... and see what the fuck is going on." People could be hurt inside, or worse. He slipped his arm around Zania. "Can you walk? Or do you want me to carry you?"
While Zania would have loved to have been carried, Stefan was the one person she wouldn't ask that of when he was hurt. Especially since he was hurt. She was far more worried about him than herself. "I can walk," she said as she nodded. "Just... stay like that." His support helped and she appreciated it, making it easier to avoid putting all her weight on her twisted ankle. "Let's go," she said. It would be a slow journey to find medical attention, but at least she had him there with her. That was all that really mattered at the moment.