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Kix moves swiftly and silently between the rows of pitched tents. Most of the men are settling down for the night cycle, with only the sentries, Command staff, and comms officers still awake. Kix stumbles slightly in the gloom, the fog clinging to the valley floor, muffling the sounds of his brothers around him. His side protests the jostling of his body with a spike of pain that steals the breath from his lungs.
Kix pauses for a moment, hands clamped tight to his flank as he tries to suck in a careful breath. He reassures himself with the thought that it's not far to his tent and the tantalising promise of a warm sleeping bag. He's not going to even bother removing his boots tonight.
Unfortunately, whilst he has stopped to rest and try to karking breathe without his nerves erupting in lines of fire, Coric has caught up with him. The medical staff are of course still awake with how this campaign has been. Kix silenting curses his lapse in judgement.
The man stands in front of him, hands on his hips and a concerned frown drawn across his features. "Kix," his fellow medic says with a sigh. "Where do you think you're going?"
Kix does not scowl at his brother. He doesn't.
"I'm going to bed," he says sharply around the breathlessness.
Coric hums nonchalantly. Steps closer. "Going to be able to sleep like that?" he asks, gesturing at Kix’s hands clenched to his side.
Kix forcefully drags in another breath and straightens. "Yes," he hisses between gritted teeth.
Coric looks at him for a long moment before sighing. "Come on, vod," he says gently, stepping towards Kix and carefully easing Kix’s weight onto his shoulder. "Let's get you some pain relief."
"We haven’t got enough, Coric," Kix protests as Coric nudges him delicately forward. "You know how low on supplies we are. I can manage."
"And whilst you were sneaking out I got a comm from the Captain to notify us of an inbound supply drop.
I would have been able to tell you sooner," Coric continues, "if my fellow medic was not such a terrible patient and hadn't slipped out without appropriate medical attention."
Kix grumbles wordlessly in response as Coric helps him towards the medtent. Though he's very much relieved that they are finally being resupplied - it's long overdue and takes a huge weight off of the medic's mind. They've been struggling to help their brothers without it, and battlefield creativity can only get them so far. Their brothers should not be dying due to lack of basic supplies, no matter that the Senate thinks they can manage without.
"I have a healthy fear of medics," Kix eventually says as he gingerly settles onto the medcot.
Coric snorts as he preps the hypo. "Takes one to know one."
"That," Kix admits and then adds with a smile, "and I know full well all of us are bastards."
When Kix finally makes it back to his tent, he's grateful that his side is no longer giving him grief. He's not so impressed to find a certain Lieutenant stealing his sleeping bag, however.