Avery waved her left hand about. "Don't apologise," she said quickly. "It's okay. I don't tend to advertise the other side of my powers. Really only my handler and some of my closest friends know. You're part of an elite group of secret-keepers now." She smiled a little, wanting to reassure Dove - who looked worried now - because really, it was okay. "It's a small price to pay for being able to help others."
The question around the serious wounds was a good one. Avery frowned a little. "I- It- I'm not sure entirely how my powers work. If it's a stab wound or something then I don't get it. I just feel it. Bruising's all that shows on my body, but I feel the other pains. And then they go away like I just sort of absorb it? I dunno." She wet her lower lip and took a sip of her cooling coffee, grimacing at the bitter taste. It always seemed nicer when it was scalding hot. Blech. "And the worse the injury the more tiring it is to heal? I guess? I mean I've handled people who've had lacerated spines and been on the brink of death and I didn't nearly die, save for taking on the pain which I wasn't too fond of. I've passed out a few times. But like I said I- I take it because it's all I can do."
It was a strange conversation, the notion of innocent people being locked up for nothing more than being born was one that she'd had a number of times, a conversation - a back and forth of ideas - that seemed to never be going away. And perhaps it shouldn't. Perhaps it was meant to be like this, a constant, consistent dialogue that challenged people's preconceptions, those for and against the Regime.
The more people that Avery spoke to about it, the more that she learned how others felt who hadn't grown up in the Regiment, the more she found herself questioning her own beliefs. Was that a good thing?
"I guess not," she agreed, "We don't have much say now but if the SEA passes then you might be free to go. That'd be good, right?" She wasn't sure how it would impact her though: she couldn't drive, she had no higher education or even high school diploma. She had no marketable skills. She'd not survive a day out there. "I hope the SEA is everything you guys want it to be, though."