Rejoining the world
Dani winced as he forced stiff and tender limbs into his uniform jacket, and sighed in relief as the garment settled across his shoulders. It was nice to be mobile again, he thought. He nodded thanks to his nurse, Auva as he proceeded to do up the buttons. His hands had healed well. That was a relief. His clothing hid the remaining bandages, tied thick and secure around his abdomen and legs, and more lightly across his arms and chest - they too were almost healed now, leaving behind angry patterns of thick scar tissue. He adjusted the collar, a small frown on his face. It felt tight.
Auva nudged his shoulder, catching his attention. The black-haired woman held a hairbrush in one hand and held it out to him. Her other hand was on her hip, as it usually was.
"Brush your hair before you decide to rejoin the world of the living, yeah?"
Dani took the brush silently, as he did many things these days, and ran it a few times through his mane, several inches shorter than it had been a week ago. It no longer fit into a ponytail. He found that rather saddening. He stared at himself in the room's mirror, marveling as he often did at how unchanged his face had remained - aside from some minor burning, his whole head had avoided much injury. He couldn't imagine the look on the faces of his friends should that have changed. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen either David or Candice at all since the failed sortie. Of course he'd felt them come and go from time to time, but had never had a chance to speak directly with either. Well. "Speak."
Finally he turned away from the mirror and headed for the door. His movements were stiff and slow, but he needed no help getting around. Nevertheless, Auva followed barely a pace behind. At the threshold of the door, Dani sighed. He wished he could return to bed and sleep away his aches, but he was needed for now. That, at least, gave him comfort. He palmed the door to open it and quietly stepped out, grabbing a passing handrail and zipping down the hallway.