dǫçţǫŗ şɭęęƥ (shone) wrote in valloic, @ 2020-03-10 20:17:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: allison hargreeves, ₴ inactive: dan torrance |
Who: Dan, Anders, Hawke, and Allison
What: HEALING DAT WOUND (aka, Allison no longer wants to be a cursed mermaid with no voice)
When: Evening, the 10th
Where: Hawke & Anders' apartment
Rating: PG for like, Feels idk
Status: Complete
When Dan asked Anders if he’d be able to heal Allison’s throat wound, and they’d set up a time for the second bedroom of Anders and Hawke’s apartment to be used, he didn’t think that a good chunk of her family would want to be there in that space. But he guessed he couldn’t blame them - they were here without their father or any of the same influences or problems from back home, they had to figure out how to actually be a family, and there were bound to be some...hiccups. Or Diego and the Knives™ which was sort of wince, but alright, overprotective big brother (even though he and Allison were the same age? That immaculate conception thing?). Dan understood. He really did. He assumed Anders would be uncomfortable with too many people watching him though, so any Concerned Bystanders were relegated to the living room, and Dan was in the second bedroom with Hawke and her healer partner. And Allison too, of course - he pulled a chair up to sit by the bed, reaching for her hand. This was now a bigger production than he’d been anticipating, so that meant his nerves were jangling and his stomach sloshed precariously, even if he put up a calm front. “It doesn’t hurt, right?” he asked, just to be sure. This was obviously par the course in the world Hawke and Anders came from, and he just didn’t know what to expect. --- It was a shame the Maker had turned His back on Creation; if He had been inclined to pay attention He could have had a bloody good laugh at Anders' expense, fate having decided that it wasn't enough pressure he should be healing the newfound love of one of his few friends here. No, Allison had to have a big dumb dysfunctional family of her own, at least one of whom was all-too-willing to turn violent if things didn't go to plan. Not that Justice felt especially threatened by several small knives, granted, and it wasn't as if he hadn't had difficult patients with overly protective family darken his doorstep before (one couldn't very well carve out a patch in Darktown without doing a few favours for the criminal fraternity as well as the suffering refugees) but it was the principle of the thing. The makeshift surgery was too small to pace effectively, and so his nervous energy had no real escape, his wiry form practically vibrating, fingers idly tapping as he considered the case before him, teeth worrying his lip as he waited for Allison to uncover the wound for inspection (it was important she be allowed to take her time, the part of him that remembered things like bedside manner insisted). "It shouldn't hurt, no. It'll feel odd, but…" He glanced over at Hawke. "You've a better read on it than me, love, given how often you need patching up." And how you're Actually Still Human he thought, but didn't add. --- For her part, Hawke was near the door of the room. Not to the point she was blocking anyone’s way, but close enough. She got it though because she’d hovered too the first few times Beth had needed patching up, but still, her protectiveness translated that if mister ‘I have more knives than anything’ decided to get too fussy she’d be in the way. She was sure that, in time, they’d trust just as she had. She had a few cups of both coffee and tea, along with some food, set on one of the bedroom dressers, passing one to Dan. She got his part too. Nothing was as bad as a situation you couldn’t get a grip on, and didn’t know enough about. Especially when it was with someone you cared about. “Rude.” She gave, but then shrugged. “Fair though. But no, it doesn't hurt.” She addressed both Dan and Allison. “It tingles a bit, kind of like an itch. If it was new it would be different but then it’d be more the whole thing about just having gotten hurt.” She took her own cup and sipped from it, leaning against the dresser. She gave Allison a smile. She wasn’t too sure how the other woman had gotten the wound but it seemed like luck she was still present. Throat wounds usually ended up the other way. “It’ll be boring, mostly,” she gave, trying for levity. “Because you shouldn’t move.” --- Allison’s siblings were annoying if she had to be honest, but she knew it was because Diego and Klaus and everyone was worried. She understood their concerns because they’d been her concerns, too. But like she’d said, she trusted Dan and if Dan trusted Anders, then so did she. She studied both Anders and Hawke. Most of the energy in the room seemed to be anxious energy, but she wasn’t sure if that was because it was or because she was anxious and so she felt like everyone else was, too. She smiled as Dan took her hand, letting it give her at least a little comfort. The wound had been practically brand new since she arrived, but she’d been here for a little bit. Her mom had done all the work to sew her neck up when she’d come back and she’d been out of it for the whole thing. Carefully, with her other hand, Allison took the bandage off. She’d spent more than enough time cleaning it every day to make sure it didn’t get infected. The suture line was clean. It was just the injury to her vocal cords that made things difficult. She didn’t know if it would heal on its own or if she’d always be unable to speak. It was part of why she was here. I won’t move, she thought, knowing Dan would pick up on it. And can you thank them for agreeing to help me? And also apologize for my siblings again. I know they’re kind of a lot sometimes. No one’s going to get stabbed. And I’ll probably stab Diego out of annoyance if he tries. But maybe don’t say that last part. --- Dan gratefully took the tea with a thanks, sipping from the cup; the scent of something sweet and earthy floating under his nose was soothing - if he drank coffee, the anxiety would just shoot up, mercury rising. So, calming tea it was. “She promises she won’t move,” he said, relaying what he heard in Allison’s thoughts to the rest of the room. When she took off the bandage, he braced himself - he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the wound looked clean and like her throat had been patched up expertly. She’d mentioned that her mother was responsible for that, so it made sense - androids didn’t have to worry about shaky hands. “And she wants to thank you both for helping her,” he added. “Also, sorry about - her siblings.” That was all from Allison, and he didn’t add the part about stabbing Diego, just asked her, Where are you hiding the knife on you? It was teasing, and he smoothed some of those perfect curls away from her face before he sat back and wrapped both hands around the tea cup. Though he didn’t stay that way for long, offering one hand for Allison to take if she wanted while Anders would do his thing. ---- Anders exhaled, releasing a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding; the wound was clean, and whoever had seen to it initially knew what they were doing, which put them two up on the majority of cases he’d seen in Darktown (three, if you counted how much easier it was to get decent anatomical information here in Vallo, between 3D models and Youtube footage of complicated operations and a million other technical advances he’d been acquainting himself with since Dan first posed the question). What was left was not exactly simple, but it would have been made even harder had the flesh been halfway dead and putrid, rather than flush with life and already starting to heal. “You don’t need to apologise.” He flashed Allison a brief smile. “Family being hurt tends to make even the best of us feel a bit stabby. Good news is, though, it looks like a clean cut, so this should be quick and easy, relatively speaking. Generally, the body knows what shape it ought to be. It just pays too much attention to the rules saying things outside the Fade are fixed in their current form. So I’m… waffling, shit, sorry. Specifics aren’t important. Okay.” He took a deep breath, rolling his shoulders as if limbering up for something nearer a bare-knuckle fight rather than a delicate surgery, offered a silent prayer to the Maker and reached out, hand settling over the wound, not quite touching the flesh - thumb and fingers arched, as if wrapping around the throat beneath, the kind of grip that would turn to a stranglehold if given license. Closing his eyes, Anders exhaled, and Justice stirred. The change was subtle - a straightening of the spine, a dissipation of the nervous energy which served no real purpose to the spirit, a sense of strength and certainty greater than his seemingly-fragile form would otherwise contain - and also really, really not, the raw energies of Spirit beginning their careful reconstruction of the severed cords, the air around Allison’s throat seeming to shimmer as if with a heathaze, rippling in waves not unlike a heartbeat.. ---- Hawke nodded to both Dan and Allison at the comment about the promise. She knew enough of Dan’s skills that it wasn’t too odd but she knew if it was her, it would annoy her to have someone else talk for her. At the apology she nodded at Anders’ words. “What he said and no need to thank me. I’m just support here. And, really, you should have seen me when my sister got hurt. Wasn’t even big I think, but I hovered so much she told me off for it.” She let out a low whistle then once she got a good look at the wound. Clean and well tended, but still. “Never had one of those.” Full of sage wisdom and advice, her. But she was trying to offer a bit of background noise, and she didn’t know another method. If she knew Allison better, she’d tease, but she restrained herself with just tossing Dan a smile, having seen his movement. “Pretty much everything else though.” It was probably not very comforting. She’d been with Anders long enough to notice the change and made sure she wasn’t in the way. Disturbing wouldn’t be great right now. --- I almost died. Not sure I didn’t, but Mom took care of everything with Pogo’s help. Pogo, the talking chimpanzee, but she didn’t feel the need to explain that. Diego had been the one to donate blood that kept her from suffering from too much blood loss. She appreciated it. She felt a little self conscious as people stared at her neck, but she knew it wasn’t because of something negative. It was just part of it. She stilled when Anders moved closer, trying not to interfere with whatever needed to happen. She glanced over at Dan out of the corner of her eyes, wishing that it didn’t require so much stillness, but she moved her hand enough to take his. She was nervous about everything, but she focused on breathing instead of the unusual sensation. She was grateful for what Hawke was attempting to do. I think it was the almost dying that made them so anxious because Diego and Klaus found me. So naturally they’re worried. She hoped that she could talk after this. But she also knew that would come with new problems. New-old problems, really. -- I know, it’s okay, Dan soothed, and he even projected some of that calm for Allison - like breathing in air with an earthy aroma, like they were on a beach admiring the last rays of the sun before twilight beckoned the stars; just something to help her nerves. The Shining had its uses during times like these - it almost reminded him of being back in hospice, with his own patients. No one’s mad that your brothers wanted to be here. He still held her hand, though he was watching Anders and the hand at Allison’s throat - the more it went on, the more fascinated Dan was. “That’s amazing,” he said, intrigued by the magic and what it looked like - it wavered and shimmered, like heat on asphalt. Not like he aimed to be in the way either - so he just did his best to ease Allison’s nerves; he kept that physical connection and watched, unable to really look away because magic. --- This, right here, this was what he was made for, a gift that came as easily as breathing. Spirit and Human working as one mind, to one purpose, in the act of imagining something to be true and bending reality to fit. All the many vices mortals had dreamt up were but fleeting pleasures, the power to touch the Fade, that was a thrill that defied description. He glanced up long enough to flash Dan an I know, I’m brilliant grin, eyes aflame, mortal swagger and inhuman surety in one, before returning to the crafting. (Of course this, an unkind but familiar whisper reminded him, was what so many would see him denied; how could anyone look upon this and think him a monster?) The Fade here was shallow, however. Nascent, he’d called it. On Thedas he could have drunk his fill (and paid for it later, certainly, but there would never have been a danger of running out, only of knowing how much was safe for the human form to take); here, there was no such luxury. The slightest tremor betrayed that how far-from-infinite this new wellspring might yet prove. “If you want to give them a try” the he-that-was-they said in more than one voice “we should be nearly there.” ---- There was something about healing magic that was always fascinating to watch. And, oddly, she was reminded of their first meeting. Anders had been doing something similar. The memory made her smile a little, although she kept a close eye on things. They had no lyrium here, and neither Anders or Justice were good on the whole ‘limits’ thing so she made sure he wasn’t pushing it too hard. “He is very good with his hands.” Because it wouldn’t be her if she didn’t make the most inappropriate comment she could find, even only to cut some of the tension. So she didn’t even try and hide her grin before she took the other two mugs. One she kept in her hand and the other she handed to Allison. “Drink this, it has some honey in it. Might help a bit.” Healed or not, it might still feel a little odd, at best. “Should be alright now.” She grabbed the food off the counter and looked at Anders. “And you’re going to eat when you’re done.” But holding stuff gave her something to do. “And y’know if your siblings are less prone to the whole stabbing thing both you and them should come by for Wicked Grace. Slightly less chances of getting stabbed seeing we’re not at the Hanged Man.” --- Allison took a small breath in and out. She took the mug from Hawke. This was the part that scared her more than the rest of it...because what if it didn’t work? “Thank you,” she said after a moment. Her voice was quiet, mostly because she’d been worried about it. It was a little hoarse, though. There was a moment of surprise followed by a very strong desire to cry. She blinked a few times to keep from crying. Yep. This was fine and totally okay. If she cried, who knew what her brothers would do. “They’re…” she felt weird now. Everything was weird. But that was her life. What else was new? “Usually not so annoying.” They were adjusting to being siblings again. But she tried not to be too annoyed. Or she was trying not to. It was a work in progress. --- It did sort of invoke those dilemmas about Justice and Anders - Dan could read Anders pretty well by now, getting a sense of who he had been and who he was today. While this was undeniably good, he couldn’t help but still believe that a long-term arrangement wouldn’t turn out for the better. Maybe if they were all someplace else, and free to leave if they wanted - maybe then Anders and his friend in the mental guest room could set up a clinic and do this sort of thing, and be content. But they weren’t free. And that was not something a Spirit would accept, most likely. It just - wasn’t worth the risk, as much as it pained Dan to not have an easy solution for this. However, he focused on the moment now, on the fact that a certain someone was talking. “Allison,” he laughed a little, smoothing her hair, leaning in to kiss her forehead. “You sound great.” The honey in that tea would definitely help (and it would help Anders, to replenish with food; it was wise of Hawke to be prepared) - maybe her throat was still feeling a little raw, but she could talk. Emotion washed over him in a wave - he could only imagine what she was feeling. --- Maker be praised. Not that Anders had doubted, of course - with Justice so close to the surface, certainty was almost as heady a draught as the spellworking itself - but there was still that overlong-moment before she spoke when everything rested on what could rapidly become a literal knife-edge (which, as previously noted, didn’t pose much of a threat to him, but he wasn’t the only one between the brothers and Allison). And then the words came, and he sighed in relief, letting the working drop, the Spirit retreating back to its more usual haunts, Anders seeming to shrink as it did so, reaching out to steady himself as his vision swam and head spun. When he spoke, it was just the one voice - tired and ragged and entirely human. “Great. Good, that’s… Everyone’s good and nobody needs to get stabbed, right? Right. Excellent.” He grinned, crooked and weary,. “I’d suggest taking it easy for the first few days - hot drinks, thick scarves, no screaming your head off in celebration just yet; the cords are going to feel tight until you break them in, and if you push them too hard you’ll risk snapping something. Any problems - anything doesn’t feel right - you know where we are and you call, yes? No toughing it out beca” - he stifled a yawn behind his hand - “because you don’t want to be a bother.” ---- Between Dan's reaction to hearing Allison's voice and Allison's own reaction she wasn't to proud to admit she got a little choked up. So she just smiled, and wondered who Dan was trying to kid. But that was glass houses, and instead she went to grab Anders as he swayed. She knew the signs. "S'alright. I got you." Her voice was low, but the love there was undeniable. She spared Allison a smile. "As an overprotective sister, we're kind of meant to be annoying like that. Comes with the territory." She had one eye on Anders and gave a nod to the words. "He's right. Trust me you only need the lesson of 'disregard the healer' once." She gave Anders a look then, "and c'mon pot. I'll deal with the crowd. Rest." She smiled at Allison again, "and really. No trouble. Glad you're alright." --- She nodded at Anders’ words. If something felt off, she wouldn’t let some misplaced pride keep her from showing up or calling. She was worried about him a little, though. It seemed to take a lot out of him. But he had Hawke to look after him. “No screaming and no overdoing it. Got it.” But she wasn’t really in a mood to scream. She took a sip of the tea, considering she would just spend the next couple days drinking tea instead of coffee. And just getting used to being able to talk again. She turned her attention to Dan, smiling as she moved herself a little closer to him. “Hi.” She was fine for a moment longer before she finally did cry, wiping at her eyes with one hand. She was sure it was fine. She could just tell Diego to shut up and he’d know she was fine. --- Definitely tea instead of coffee. Dan would look after Allison too, make sure she was recovering fine. He might even be something of a hovercopter, driving her nuts, but he was just concerned. She was healed but it was important she rest so as not to negate any of those effects. “Hey,” he chuckled, swiping at a tear with his thumb. “Now we don’t have to just sit in silence whenever I have waffles with your family.” And this was quite an interesting foray into meeting the family - speaking of which, they were out there and probably wanted to hear (and see) for themselves that Allison was fine. So he’d give it another minute or so, and head out when Allison was ready. The biggest hurdle had been leaped over, anyway, so he considered it a pretty big win on all accounts. |