nothing but my words belong to me, everything else is gene roddenberry's, bless him.
A/N: combination of two separate pieces folks. anything's wack let me know
_no beta but me
_all vulcan and related vulcan stuff is from memoryalpha or VLD
Spock looks over at the Vulcan, who wiggles dirty fingers in semblance of a wave. The sehlat crashes down, throwing a thick layer of sand over them and doesn't move again. The sand rages in its confines, adding to the hard wind, before it drops down to the ground. He jerks back as he feels movement against his arm, and raises his dagger to the Vulcan's throat.
"Are you going to sit here all day?"
Spock stares at him, uneasy with his proximity and the le'matya that he was sure was atop the cliff and could not see, "There is no where else to go."
"Sure there is. A ways down to the north," the Vulcan gives a flippant gesture to the side, "lots of caves down there."
Spock is going to answer, when the le'matya gives another yowl and he glances up, sees it prowling. It will eventually find a way to its prey.
"Are you certain?" he asks.
"I know these parts and before you ask—yes you can trust me." the Vulcan gives a one armed wave, the other clutched firmly to his chest.
Spock glances up again and towards the dead sehlat and stands quickly sand running off him. the Vulcan stays splayed below him, eyes glass bright in his dirty face.
"You called yourself M'Bones," Spock says, looking down as he sheathes his dagger.
The Vulcan stills, eyes just so widened for a half a second, before smiling up at him, "Yeah, I did say that; didn't think you caught it."
M'Bones looks down and then up. "Mind helping me up?"
He lifts his left hand and Spock takes it with his right as he heaves M'Bones up, and they stand chest to chest. Spock steadies M'Bones by the arm, his blue eyes nearly rolling back into unconsciousness. He looks down at the Vulcan's attire, noting the tears in his unusual gold shirt and black slacks. He looks back up; the eyes are staring at him, watching him.
"You are injured. Are you able to run the short distance to the caves." he gives in answer to the unspoken question.
M'Bones looks down at himself, and then back, "I had a sling for my arm." he says, dry throat catching. He shrugs his right shoulder, indicating his arm, still tucked close to him.
"I probably lost it before I got near here though." he says. "But I can run."
His eyes are hard as he says this, and they stare over Spock's shoulder, out into the dust-storm. Spock nods once, and drops his hold, jogs over to the entrance to the crevice, where the blistering wind smacks the hot rock face. He hears M'bones uneven gate as he walks over to him.
"The storm has been ongoing for three hours and four minutes already, it should abate soon." Spock says, leaning away from the wind.
"Rather than later, huh?"
Spock looks over to him; he is crouching near the trail of items that he had found earlier. He chooses not to reply to M'Bones sarcasm, "Those are yours."
"Hm? Yeah, looking for some extra shirt or something." M'Bones replies, throwing something that is more sand than anything else to the side
Spock watches as M'Bones looks between a length of rag and himself for a moment, before he eases himself onto his rear. He sticks his leg out and attempts to tear a black trouser leg. He frowns at his inability to tear it for a moment before his eyes hesitantly seek out Spock.
"Would you—"
Spock is already walking over to him, "I would not mind."
M'Bones watches him come closer, and Spock takes out his dagger and because he does not trust him he keeps it as he crouches near the outstretched leg.
"Where do you want to cut, M'Bones"
M'Bones slowly blinks and shakes himself, "Near my knee should be good."
Spock returns attention to the leg and reaches out to tighten the fabric. It slides against his fingers and is rougher on the outside than on the in. He traces the off world fabric for two point five seconds before he pinches the fabric between his fingers and slices it open. M'Bones lifts his leg as he reaches the bottom and goes around to complete the cut. The fabric flutters in the wind before M'Bones snatches it.
"Thanks."
"'Thanks' are unnecessary." Spock replies, watching M'Bones tie the two rags together with some sheathes his dagger and standing, half turns to the crevice opening. Half turns to the dead sehlat that the le'metya prowls on the ridge above. Spock turns back to M'Bones, who has gotten the rags around his left shoulder as he tries to tie a makeshift sling.
"We must hurry, the le'matya has already fallen closer." Spock says. He walks over to M'Bones and takes the rags from his one hand over a grunt of derision and wraps them around his arm. He slows near the hand because he sees the full extent of the damage done to M'Bones. All of his fingers are crudely broken, and beginning to swell with blood.
M'Bones shifts under his scrutiny, "It's nothing, really. Just hurry up, okay?"
"You are Vulcan; it is not 'nothing'." Spock says, looking up into M'Bones steady glare.
"I'm fine." he repeats, muscles stiff with an almost stomp and he agitatedly gestures to his hand, "We gotta teethy lion thing to run away from, so that means you gotta hurry and just wrap my fingers. That is why you came over here, right?"
Spock stiffens, and looks back down and restarts with the thumb, before he ends with wrapping the whole hand and steps away from M'Bones. The many definitions of 'fine' circulating through his mind as he turns towards the crevice entrance.
"Understood," he says to the crevice entrance. "The winds have abated currently, we should begin."
He hears a sigh from M'Bones as he gives affirmation. Spock moves aside as M'Bones limps past him and pauses at the entrance looking west and east. Spock's left hand itches where it is exposed to the sand wind and he wipes against his thigh. M'Bones gives a half-hearted back hand wave, and moves from his position, away from the crevice. Spock walks out into the dust-storm after him. The wall of wind is thick with blustering sand and bludgeons into his body, causing him to seek some stability near the cliff wall. M'Bones is right beside him, eyes narrowed as he shifts close to shout in his ear.