[open post!]

[ravkanwitch]

Nina misses Ketterdam.

Make no mistake, she is Ravkan through and through; her pride for her country is one of her largest defining features (and she has many delightful defining features). But when she allows herself a moment to think, it is the hustle and bustle of Ketterdam that she misses. The ships in the harbor, the vendors hawking in the Barrel, the shops, the friends, the noise, the friends--

There’s always a weariness to the initial dance of friendship. Of her new acquaintances, only two are aware of her abilities and only one of them - Shen Qingqiu - even has an inkling of their full extent. Fortunately, that also means there’s room to grow…

She’s found hot chocolate and now she’s seated somewhere, sipping at it and reminiscing about Ketterdam, wondering what Inej and Jesper and Kaz and everyone must be doing right now.

Comments

[onthewillowsthere]

His thin, pale face probably reminds her of Kaz's; his jawline is sharp as a knife. The similarities end there, though. "I burned myself." It sounds almost like it could have been an accident. He's very calm now.

[timebethine]

"I knew not how to tend his hurts," says Laertes, a little desperately. "Nor how grave they were. Please, if you know where we might find any help--"

[ravkanwitch]

They do remind her of the Crows, getting into this scrape or that scrape and coming to her for help afterwards, back when she had-- She swallows, redirecting her attention to the matter at hand.

"I don't think I know of any..." She trails off, narrowing her eyes a little. "A burn? What happened with that bandage? May I take a look, please?"

[onthewillowsthere]

He offers his bandaged hand without comment (it still hurts, very much, and he still thinks he might throw up again, but it's a good reminder. Fire hurts).

[timebethine]

"The bandage is my fault," Laertes says in an undertone, watching Nina work (hoping that she knows the physician's art better than he does). "I knew not what else to do."

[ravkanwitch]

She gently takes the bandaged hand in her own. "You can't wrap a burn wound this tightly; it needs air to breath, in order to heal," she mutters furiously, half to herself, slowly and carefully unwrapping and untangling the bandage. The wound slowly comes into view and she winces slightly - then looks up at Damien, expression gentle. "What happened? What burned you?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"Fire," quietly.

[ravkanwitch]

"I can see that," she says, also quietly, "and if you don't want to tell me what happened, that's okay. I'm not a H-- not a physician, but let me see if I can find something to rebandage your wounds just for the time being."

Luckily, she remembers seeing some clean cloth and perhaps some ointment in the closet of this room and she starts to rummage through it. In the meantime, she tries to recall what she had been taught in her brief classwork about treating those who had been burned by Inferni. Assess the extent of the burn, keep the patient alert, treat the burn. She's already one step behind, but she needs to find supplies first.

"I'm Nina, by the way," she tells Damien, finding the clean cloths and hoping she'll find some sort of ointment or salve next.

[onthewillowsthere]

"I'm--" Silence, sprawling out, far past the point when he should answer. Finally he says, "I don't know."

[ravkanwitch]

Nina has found everything she needs and now takes a deep breath. If only she was still truly a Corporalki. Even if her original training wasn't in Healing, this was nothing, not even a small obstacle for what she could have done to help. But now, her powers are twisted. Not necessarily useless - but different. Not as human. Not as kind. Sometimes, she doesn't feel as kind as she used to be. She takes another breath, shakier-- then notices the ointment.

"What is this ointment?" She snaps at Laertes.

Then she turns back to Damien, assessing the fact that his clothing is burnt as well. But the hand first. "As long as you're physically okay, that's all that matters."

[timebethine]

"It was called 'burn cream,'" Laertes answers, as though that matters. He ought to have known better.

[onthewillowsthere]

For the first time he shows some emotion, pressing his thin lips together. "He helped."

[ravkanwitch]

Nina sighs. "He did, I know - I'm sorry, my temper is sometimes-"

She gingerly touches his arm, intending to take a closer look at the burn and maybe apply some salve on the wound on top of what Laertes had applied - but gasps, pulling her hand back. It's cold. Freezing. "The blood," she whispers. She can no longer feel the blood. She's no longer connect to the warm, coursing, living flow within - and she feels like she's lost a limb. Everything is cold.

Then back at a normal volume, she clears her throat, "D-did you lose any blood? You're so cold."

[onthewillowsthere]

His gaze flicks to Laertes, then back to Nina, almost guilty. Lying is a skill that no self of his has ever had, let alone practiced. Nina's distress doesn't help.

He's silent again, for another miserable moment.

"I was on fire," almost too quiet to hear.

[ravkanwitch]

Nina picks up his hand again, starting to apply some salve to the burn. Her hands are warm and callused in some places from her recent difficult journey through the Fjerdan woods.

"I see," she says, the wheels turning in her head. Could he be an Inferni? Or something similar? A lot of Grisha don't understand what's happening to when they first discover their abilities -- but even if he was from her world, which he doesn't seem to be, he's slightly too old for the initial discovery. Her mind turns more practical again. "When I'm done bandaging your hand, do you think your friend could check you for any burns on your body? It looks as though you might have burned yourself badly..."

[onthewillowsthere]

The warmth of her hands is as comforting as any of the warmth he's felt lately: he likes the slight roughness of her fingers, the firmness of her grip.

He thinks of the warmth of skin and the heat of the fire and the light white-hot in the kitchen and struggles not to jerk himself away.

"I'm not hurt," still quiet, speaking mainly for Nina. "That's why I burned myself."

[ravkanwitch]

She doesn't respond to him quite yet and keeps her hold on his hand until she's neatly bandaged the burn. That, at least, she can do. She wishes she could do more. "There," she says, stepping back to look at her handiwork. "That should heal well. Not fast - but well."

She looks up at him now, ready to respond. "Did something happen? Did you... somehow burn your clothing but not your skin?"

[onthewillowsthere]

The unhurt hand he drops to his side, his fingers twisting in the burnt fabric. "I--" As frightened as he is, it feels stupid to keep saying the same words that no one understands. I am a weapon, I am a sword, I am a flame. He feels as if he's speaking a language untranslated.

He feels ashamed.

He hurt Laertes, then let him go on the wild errand of managing the burn by himself, then let him be scolded by Nina. He snapped at Lan Wangji. He wept all over Shen Qingqiu. He feels like a child throwing a fit, letting everyone else manage his hurt feelings.

If he tells her, she'll try to help. Everyone has tried to help. Everyone has been kind.

He is a stumbling wild animal, with a power he doesn't understand that could leap out of him at any moment, and the self who knew what was going on is still locked away. He's as naive as Damien and as much a danger as Galahad.

His shoulders sink. "I made a mistake. It was nothing. Thank you for looking after me."

[ravkanwitch]

Nina does not believe him. Even without being able to feel his heartbeat, without sensing it increase, she knows that this is a blatant lie - especially with what she’s seen. She frowns. But what is she to do? She can’t force this young man into telling her the truth.

“You’re welcome,” is all she says.

“Sir,” she says, turning to Laertes now. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. I… I was panicked. What’s your name?”

[timebethine]

"My name is Laertes, and I know not how his clothing came to be burned," says Laertes. It had not at any prior moment achieved top priority in his concerns about Damien; the moment it had occurred to him to ask, several other fire-related priorities arose rather precipitously. "He has ... forgot himself, and all the world besides," says Laertes reluctantly. "He forgot that fire burned. I fear the lesson was a hard one."

[onthewillowsthere]

He relaxes just a little. He had forgot, the first time, and if Laertes thinks both times were forgetting, then perhaps he can just be thought ignorant.

"Laertes is hurt too," he says. "He tried to stop my hand."

[ravkanwitch]

“We all forget things,” Nina says, easily, turning to Laertes. “Can I see your hand, please?”

[timebethine]

"It only smarts a little," Laertes says, but offers his hand anyway. There's a fine, fat blister rising on one finger, and a smaller one on the next, but it's not much worse than the kind of burn one might get from handling a hot pot carelessly.

[onthewillowsthere]

He'd actually forgotten, until just now when he said something, all about the fact that Laertes was also burned, and he's relieved to see the result of it isn't bad. And Nina will know what to do; she knew what to do for his hand.

[ravkanwitch]

“Let’s see,” Nina says, taking a look. “Good news is that it’s not bad at all. I think we should still put some salve on it though. I know the burns were a… mistake, but… is everything okay in this house? Nothing burned down?”