Crispy Ben is crispy. (dontcallmeleo) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2009-01-02 21:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! [1980-01] january, leoben yaxley, walden macnair |
Who: Walden Macnair and Leoben Yaxley
When: 2 January, 1980 - 6:30ish; after the takeover.
Where: Macnair Manor
What: Healing and some talking.
Rating: Eh. PG.
Status: Completed!
It hurt. Ben stumbled through Walden's doorway and into the sitting room. His head hurt, his ribs screamed for relief and his arm stung with every movement. But healing would have to wait. The night was only half over as far as their plans were concerned and it was Eva he was looking forward to. But not like this. In a foggy head, Ben hoped Walden would bring her to her own cottage and not back here. He didn't want her to see him like this. He carefully sat on the couch and pulled his mask and robe off, hissing in pain as the cloth rubbed against his burnt arm. Breathing hurt, his whole abdomen felt like there was too much pressure. It wouldn't expand like it was supposed to. So Ben could do little but sit and wait, slouched on the couch and about half-conscious. He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he heard the door open again. It had only been a few hours since he'd last been home but Walden felt as if he'd been away much longer. It had been a tiring week but it had all been worth it. He'd gone straight home after dropping his sister in a safe place and now he could focus on the other things that needed his attention. Walden entered the sitting room quietly but Ben was already stirring from the little bit of noise. "How are you feeling?" He flicked his wand and a dim light filled the room as he crouched down in front of Ben. "You look terrible." Ben groggily opened his eyes, finding it difficult to focus properly on Walden in front of him. Further inspection would find the back of his head caked with blood where he'd hit the desk, his skull almost surely fractured. "Terrible," he replied, taking a couple seconds to answer. "I think... those hexes broke my ribs," he added, trying to focus on just where the pain was coming from and not just the fact that it was there. "I feel like I can't... I can't breathe properly." Walden frowned. He wasn't a fully trainer healer but he had learned quite a bit from books and from some of his lessons with Antonin. In the back of his mind Walden knew that he could sufficiently heal Ben's injuries but the nerves from the day were mixing with the small cloud of doubt and so he felt unsure of himself. He took a brief moment to pull himself together and he looked Ben over carefully. If he could rally giants, help takeover the Ministry, and break a handful of Death Eaters out of prison then he could heal some bones, burns, and a few lacerations. "Are you able to move? This would be easier to do in a room with better light and a place for you to get a bit more comfortable." Ben started to nod and then quickly stopped, the movement sending ripples of pain through his head. Still. "I think so," he answered. He took a moment to gather his strength and then pushed himself off the couch. For a moment, he swayed, but seemed more or less upright. Once more or less steady, he blinked blearily at Walden. "Where to, then?" Walden offered an arm to the younger man and led him into another room near the back of the manor. The room was mostly unused but there were lamps and a larger couch that would make his work just a little easier. He helped Ben sit down and then Walden thought back to the way Antonin had taken care of his broken ribs after the fight with Al. "Remove your shirt. I need to see how bad he damaged you." Ben took Walden's arm, following with a few short stumbles but mostly doing all right. Still, sitting back down came as a relief. Obediently, Ben pulled his shirt off, biting back a whimper of pain as the movement stretched his broken ribs. He hadn't been kidding when he said he felt terrible - and here was the damage to prove just why. Various shades of blue, red and purple were stretched across his ribcage and stomach and his left side looked particularly swollen from the blast hexes that had come in contact with him. Ben tried for a deep breath, but it only ended up catching in his throat, his chest refusing to expand all the way for his lungs. "Clearly this is a bit worse than I'd thought. I should have had you go to Mungos..." Walden exhaled and then held his wand over Ben's torso and began muttering healing spells and various things he'd picked up from watching Antonin. He'd never really had the patience for healing but they had enough talk about that he was confident the time would pass quickly. "So aren't you going to ask me how I fared once we parted ways?" Ben could only sit back to let Walden take care of him. He could almost feel his bones putting themselves back together - an altogether odd and somewhat unpleasant sensation. But he could hardly complain. As the topic came up, Ben lifted his brow and looked at Walden more closely. "You look exactly the same," he said. "So you'll have to forgive me for being slightly more concerned about how she fared." Ah, a return of humour. Or at least as close as Ben ever really got. "Nice to see that your head wasn't knocked around." He smirked and continued to mutter things as he moved the wand slowly over Ben's chest. He wouldn't be able to heal the bruises but those wouldn't take too long to fade, especially if Ben was careful. "She's fine. She's perfect, actually. She's safe and sound and thrilled to be out. I didn't see anyone else because everyone was getting out and I didn't want her in there one second longer than she needed to be. I imagine she'll be ready for visitors before long." He was smiling now, clearly thrilled by his news. "I cannot believe we did it, Ben. We actually did it." "It certainly feels as if it's been knocked around," Ben commented wryly, but left his complaining at that. Walden's report on Eva was far more interesting after all. And he couldn't have been happier at the outcome. She was going to be okay. Perhaps she already was okay. "Good," he said finally, letting his eyes drift shut for a moment. "Yes, we did it. Things can be different now. Better, by far." Somewhere in the back of a slightly foggy head, he wished he'd been there, that he had done better. He hadn't lasted long in combat and Ben despised feeling inadequate. That would have to change. He didn't know what the future had in store for them now - they had accomplished so much. But if he knew anything, it was that there was always work to be done. There would be some sort of next time. And Ben wanted to be better prepared for it. "I suppose it would do to wait until we're sure," he mused softly, his mind wandering back to Eva. "I haven't even asked her properly yet." And suddenly there was that worry that she would reject him, that her answer would be 'no'. Ben sighed and then winced as a pang ran through his chest. Walden watched Ben's facial expression change suddenly but the boy did well to hide his emotions as he normally did, though Walden was getting far better at reading him. He pretended not to see the worried look and instead focused on the last bit of healing on Ben's chest. There would still be slight pain and discomfort there but it would get better with the days. Now that Ben was able to breathe Walden prepared himself to take care of the head injury. He put a hand on Ben's shoulder and pulled slightly. "Can you lean forward so I can see the back of your head? Don't do anything that's going to hurt you, just find a comfortable position that works for both of us." Ben took several deep breaths, finding a certain amount of relief in the fact that he could take deep breaths again. Stretching his diaphragm had never felt so good. It hurt a bit, but nothing that was going to stop him from leaning forward. His rested his good arm on his knee and bowed his head for Walden to look. His right arm throbbed with the burns, but he was honestly more concerned about his head. It had been pounding since the fight, and there were bits and pieces of the event that he couldn't remember. He didn't imagine that that was a particularly good thing. Walden used his wand to cast a glow over the area and he frowned at the injury. He didn't know much about this part of healing but there didn't seem to be any real swelling and though there was a skull fracture it looked minimal and nonthreatening. He pulled in a deep breath and then began a similar process on the broken skull and torn skin on the back of Ben's head. Walden would worry about cleaning up the bloody hair and surrounding areas once Ben was on the mend. Right now his attentions were focused on fixing. "I wish that I would have been in your place, up against that Auror. I would have killed him and you wouldn't be in all this pain. That boy I was dueling was...aggravating. I should have just killed him." Ben sighed absently rubbed his eyes whilst Walden tended to the back of his head. "I don't know what went wrong," he said after a moment, a touch of irritation bubbling just under the surface of the words. "I suppose he was just too fast. And then I was frustrated and..." Ben sighed and made a vague motion with his hand. "This has to stop," he said finally. "I didn't even touch him." For once, a flash of emotion. It was a rare occurrence from him, normally so subdued and calm. But lurking behind the words was a dangerous mixture of anger and disgust - mostly with himself. "Don't get frustrated, Ben. He's an experienced Auror and I would have had trouble against him. He's been with the department for years and he knows exactly how to handle chaos situations like that. He's trained to do exactly what he did. Once you're healed we'll do more training. It's partially my fault for not working with you more but I will fix that." Walden stopped speaking so he could go back to casting healing charms and making sure things were fusing together correctly. After a few more moments he was confident with his work and he moved himself to Ben's side in order to take a look at the burn stretching over the young wizard's arm. He was lucky that he wasn't worse off. "You couldn't just settle for ribs and skull fractures? Did you really need to add burns to the equation?" Ben nodded, finding it hurt less this time. They would work and he would improve. And next time, he wouldn't be the one walking away with broken bones and bad burns. In fact, if he had his way... they wouldn't be walking away at all. In the back of his head, he remembered the mans face and silently promised a bit of revenge. This damn burn was going to scar by the looks of things. He sat back up and examined his arm as well, wincing as he turned it to inspect the damage. His forearm to his bicep was deep red and the skin below the elbow was blistered and shiny, leaking fluid. The whole area radiated heat. Cracking a bitter smile, Ben shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time." "Not a good idea in case you ever have the thought again." Burns were a little more complicated and something that he was not very skilled at. He rose to his feet with a groan, discovering that he was suddenly starting to feel his own exertions, and crossed the room to one of the bookshelves. He scanned the various spines and did not find what he was looking for. He grumbled and then left the room quickly, striding down the hall to the small library that got very little use. He'd been meaning to update it for the longest time but had just never gotten around to it. After a few moments in the dimly lit room he found a book of healing that Antonin had given him and he returned to the room where Ben was still slumped over. "I just don't want to do something wrong." He flipped through the pages to a section on burns and he held his wand close to Ben's arm as he started muttering as he read. "I think I've probably learnt my lesson," Ben replied. When Walden left, he sighed and examined his arm more closely, idly running his fingertips around the less blistered parts, feeling the heat coming off of it. It all stung and throbbed, but he trusted Walden. Even if he had to check on the books to make sure. "Right, thanks for that," he said. "Your sister might be displeased if you managed to make it worse." It was a deliberate tease and the smile that lingered on his face made it quite plain. Ben didn't actually know if she'd be displeased or even care. But from his previous worry, he'd gone to reassuring himself with their kiss on the balcony. "Yes well I'd hate to have her angry with me for disfiguring her future husband's arm, thus the double checking of the spells." He intensified the healing spell coming from his wand as he flipped the page in his book. It made him happy to think that Ben and Eva might be married in the future. There was a small part of his brain that scolded him for speaking as if it were already something that was definite but he'd seen the two of them together and if he knew Eva as well as he thought he did, and he was confident that this was true, she was quite taken with Ben and would say yes upon his asking. "When do you plan on asking her?" He was being nosy and he didn't care. He was anxious. Future husband. Ben deliberatly stared at the floor to his left, down and away from Walden's face. He brought a hand to his face and pretended that his temple itched. Really. And he was all but damning himself as Walden went on, turning a bright red that all but matched the burn. He took a moment to compose himself, trying to force his brain into thinking this was a business deal and had no room for silly things like emotions. Oh, to hell with it. "I don't know," he said finally, dropping his hand and turning his face slightly more toward Walden. "I need to get in touch with her and then... leave it up to her as to when she wants to see me." Ben fell quiet and watched Walden work on his arm, hoping he wasn't glowing as much as it felt like he was. Walden was not shy about his amusement and he grinned as he watched Ben's reaction to his comments and question. He loved his ability to create awkward situations, even with his friends. He hadn't even been trying to embarrass Ben but he had. He was just too excited about the wedding that he didn't quite think about how comfortable (or not) Ben was talking about it. "She's going to be staying at my mother's in London for a day or so, I believe. I'm not even sure when she will want more company than that. I'll hang back until the start of the week and then I'll start pestering her to have lunch. I doubt it will be long before she asks to see you." Perhaps, just a little, a touch of protectiveness. "Don't pester her," Ben said softly, still not looking at Walden, but sounding much more sure of himself and assertive. "I don't want her to feel as if she's being pushed into anything. Especially after spending two months in that place." His face had lost some of the colour that had suddenly filled it, and as he finished the sentence, he actually glanced up to catch Walden's gaze (if it wasn't focused on his arm or the book). Walden admired Ben's need to protect Eva and if had been any other person Walden might've been a little touchy because of it, but he instead gave Ben a small smile as they made eye contact. "What sort of big brother would I be if I were not harassing her the second I had an opportunity?" He glanced up from his book again after he paused. "That was rhetorical, by the way. I will leave your name out of it and let you do as you will but I don't know how to leave well enough alone." Once again he dropped his gaze to the book, another new page flipped open in front of him. Ben's arm was already starting to look better but Walden knew that he would not be able to heal it completely only time and proper aftercare could do that and even then it was probable that there would be a bit of scarring. Ben almost stared. The truth was, well... he had no concept of sibling relationships. So he was a bit relieved when Walden clarified that it was an entirely rhetorical question. He wouldn't have a proper response even if it wasn't. So instead, he just muttered, "Thank you." He didn't particularly want to dwell on this topic right now anyway. While the bone and skin had bene repaired, his head was still throbbing. It was dangerous to be pondering such serious topics when physically hurt. It muddled the thought process and polluted decisions. In any case, his arm did feel a bit better and perhaps he shouldn't try to be stupidly brave toward the man who was healing him. Walden smirked to himself and went about finishing the last bit of healing. After another few minutes he sat back and crossed his arms as he inspected his work. He wasn't about to take up a job as a healer but he hadn't done too poor of a job. "How do you feel? Like you're going to live, I hope." Ben turned his arm to look at the improvement. "Better. I think I might survive, yes." Sure enough was he, that he flashed a small smile. "Would you mind terribly if I stayed here for a day or two?" He looked much less sure about asking this particular question. "I mean, if it would be any trouble, of course I'll go. Only there are a few people wandering about the neighbourhood that would wonder why I couldn't write properly. It could lead to awkward questions." "I was going to suggest it myself, actually. I have more than enough space for you and I would welcome the company. I can also keep an eye on the burn and make sure it doesn't get infected. I'm going to wrap it and then give you some potions, if you want them. Then I think we should both try and get some rest. The world will still be here in the morning." Ben nodded. "Yes. But it will be our world this time." He felt better about that. Waking up and being the ones in power rather than the "terrorist organisation" might feel much different. He was rather looking forward to it. "Sleep sounds about right. And I certainly wouldn't refuse a headache potion." Walden nodded. "I can manage that. Maybe a light sleeping draught as well or are you able to drift off on your own?" As he talked he closed his book and then waved his wand, summoning his small box of medical supplies from the nearby washroom. This got far more use than the library and was much more stocked. He opened the lid and pulling out the bandages and picking out a few potions to offer to his patient. "Let me know if this is too tight." Walden wound the bandage around Ben's burn carefully and used his wand to fuse it together. "And just like that you're almost back to normal. Except for the bruises. And the burn. And your head." "Couldn't hurt," Ben said, in response to a sleeping draught. Normally he would fall asleep just fine, but physical discomfort was never exactly helpful toward a restful night. He drank the potions without complaint while Walden wrapped his arm. In all honesty, he was somewhat relieved that he wasn't going home tonight. He had no doubt that he could make it on his own, but the house elves were so nosy. And if he was home, then he would be expected to stick to most of his appointments, which he certainly didn't want to do for the next week. He supposed he would have to send letters of apology and cancellation to his business partners tomorrow. They would all get rescheduled. Ben chuckled softly. "It'll heal," he said with a yawn, the sleeping draught already flooding his bloodstream. "Thank you," he added after a moment. It was much earlier than Walden had thought but the idea of sleep struck him as a brilliant one. He'd probably head to bed and then end up laying there, wide awake, but at least he would be awake and comfortable. He'd bring his journal so he could keep up on the celebrations and whatnot that were going on. It was hard to hold back the enthusiasm. "Come then. I'll show you your room before that potion kicks in." Walden smirked because the moment he spoke Ben began yawning. "Didn't mean to bore you. And you're welcome. You are welcome here anytime. You've done more than you know over the past two months and I appreciate it." Ben nodded and pushed himself to his feet. He was much more steady this time, what with his head mostly better and in much less pain. He imagined he still looked a bit of a mess, bruises over the majority of his chest, bandages arm and flecks of coagulated blood clinging to the back of his head. But he felt better and now he didn't want to do anything but sleep. He followed Walden up the stairs and into what looked like a guest room. The sight of a bed had never been more welcome. "Sleep well, Ben. Thank you for your help tonight." He watched Ben head for the bed without hesitation and so Walden nodded to himself and left the boy to his sleep and headed off to his own bedroom to try and do the same. It had been one hell of a night. |