Fic: At the Healer & Awake (StP)
I feel as if I should add or subtract some words because this is kind of freaky...
Title: At the Healer
Prompt: Stains on the Carpet
Word Count: 666
Rating: PG
Original/Fandom: Original - Steetlight People 'verse
Pairings (if any) none
Warnings (Non-Con/Dub-Con/RPF etc): none
Summary: Tevan and Rika do a good deed.
Tevan doesn't like it when his schedule gets out of whack and it was fifteen minutes past the time they should have been at dinner. He'd proceeded to growl under his breath and move around so much that the chair underneath him was creaking ominously. She'd put up with it so far but Rika wasn't going to let him continue on like this all night.
"If you don't want to stay, you can leave. I'll stay here until she's conscious again."
"You'll be alone."
She tried hard not to roll her eyes as she looked around the well-appointed room. Most Healers lived in hovels, all their money going toward potions and brews, but this one had taken the time to pain the outer room and put up a few plants so the place didn't feel so unhappy. While there were stains on the carpet, the origin of which she didn't want to contemplate, the rest of the furnishings There was also a door with a lock that led to the street so she doubted very much that being alone was going to mean accosted and held at knife point this time around.
"Go get Ki to stay with me. You obviously have somewhere better to be right now." She let the words drip with hurt because, as much as she loved Tevan, he did not love her. He was nothing more than a self-appointed protector with more money than sense. Yes, she stayed by his side because it was better than the alternative, but it twisted her heart every time he looked down at her with that annoyed look that spoke volumes. He clearly wished that he was free of this obligation but wasn't sure how to get her away from him without coming off as a heartless beast.
For a moment, it looked like he might have been as hurt by her words as she was by saying them but the expression was quickly hidden behind the bland smile Tevan was more apt to wear. "Ki is an idiot. He'd let a trained assassin in the room just for something to do."
"Then bring Stere. He's meek as a lamb."
"Exactly. You could break him if you needed to. Not exactly the guard I want with you if I'm not around."
They lapsed into silence again. Tevan fidgeted, the chair protested and Rika took off her glasses to polish them on her sleeve just so she'd have something to do. They both looked up when the Healer came into the room, exhaustion evident with every movement. "She's awake. I want to render her unconscious again as soon as you get the information you need so make it quick. She's in a lot of pain and will heal faster if she's not moving around."
"Her hand?" Tevan asked.
"Fixed as well as I'm able. I'll know more tomorrow. She'll be able to keep it, though. That should count for something." He held out his hand and, as expected, Tevan filled it with coins.
"There'll be more when she has full use of it," he replied evenly, clearly irritated with the game the Healer was playing. If there weren't anymore coins coming, he'd let her leave only half-healed or, worse, not really healed at all.
Rika couldn't bear to think about what would have happened to this girl if they hadn't happened upon her when they did. She might have drug herself to another clinic that would have just chopped off the offending appendage without really looking to see if it could be fixed. There had been only a little blood but that had scared her more than anything. A clean wound will bleed and, most of the time, can be fixed by nearly anyone. This had all been internal and the blood had mottled the surface of the skin instead of being able to wash the wound clean. Whoever had injured this girl had known what they were doing.
And that scared her more than anything else today.
Title: Awake
Prompt: Shimmer
Word Count: 666
Rating: PG
Original/Fandom: Fandom - Streetlight People 'verse
Pairings (if any) none
Warnings (Non-Con/Dub-Con/RPF etc): none
Summary: Kilce wakes up just long enough to say things she's not sure are very wise.
My first thought is that I'm thirsty. I try to sit up to head to the sink but I can't lift my head. Has Pliya tied me down as a joke? When I try to struggle, my body rejects every attempt I make to move. Pain makes my vision swim as I try to get an idea of what is going on. There's a shimmer of magic around me that makes me blink several times.
"I'll go get your friends. Stay still."
I don't recognize the voice but I understand the sentiment. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure I can stay still because the intense pain that is coiling through my muscles makes them cramp until I want to curl into a ball. There's something keeping me from moving that much and I pant with the exertion that not moving is causing.
"Can you speak?"
I remember this voice. It's pitched low but it's the same one that I remember from earlier. In that instant, the memories from before come streaming back. My breath catches as I realize that I've screwed myself because there's no way I can escape if I've gotten myself into more trouble. Tears must be streaming out of my eyes because someone traces the trail from my eye to my ear.
"It's okay if you can't. I know you must be in pain. Don't try to move, though. The Healer has a spell on you right now. It'll only tighten if you try to work against it. Ki had the same thing on him last year when he ripped open his leg. It wasn't pretty but he's as good as new now. We didn't take him to this Healer but he looks the type to get the job done thoroughly."
Her words make little sense to me but that's okay. It's enough that there's someone to concentrate on instead of myself because I remember being broken and, if I concentrate, I have a vague recollection of the Healer working on me.
Once again, the finger traces a new track of teardrops but I can't make myself stop crying, not even when she shushes me in a low croon. It's so like Pliya that I begin to cry harder. "Who are you?" I whisper, needing to know a name I can use so that thoughts of my roommate get shoved away before I lose my battle against the sobs that are pushing to get out.
"My name is Rika. My friend, Tevan, and I found you. What's your name?"
It's such an odd question because they should just be able to scan my ID. As hard as I've fought to get that card, I don't care if everyone in the world scans it. It's so nice to be verified without having to deal with the searches and evasive mental scans. But then I remember rough hands yanking at the chain.
With a sob I can't hold back, I answer, "Kilce. I'm in Yuna Ja."
"So am I. Why haven't I seen you before?" She hovers just out of my eyeline so that I have an impression of dark, multi-colored hair curled in a cloud around a pretty face. She has glasses on. It's been so long since I've seen anyone who goes for such extravagance that I'm taken aback. "I know everyone. Or I thought I did. Who are you rooming with?"
"Pliya Gustav."
Another indrawn breath and she is gone. Well, not gone. I can feel her beside me but she's no longer hovering over me. With a few deep breaths, I'm able to find a bit of self control that pushes away the fear and nausea. "I take your reaction to mean that you know her?"
"I do. Did. Once."
That seems to be the only answer I'm going to get because she leaves the room and the Healer is back at my side. With a wave of his hand, I'm floating out of my body again and everything is right with the world.
This entry was cross posted at dreamwidth - where the cool kids hang out.
Title: At the Healer
Prompt: Stains on the Carpet
Word Count: 666
Rating: PG
Original/Fandom: Original - Steetlight People 'verse
Pairings (if any) none
Warnings (Non-Con/Dub-Con/RPF etc): none
Summary: Tevan and Rika do a good deed.
Tevan doesn't like it when his schedule gets out of whack and it was fifteen minutes past the time they should have been at dinner. He'd proceeded to growl under his breath and move around so much that the chair underneath him was creaking ominously. She'd put up with it so far but Rika wasn't going to let him continue on like this all night.
"If you don't want to stay, you can leave. I'll stay here until she's conscious again."
"You'll be alone."
She tried hard not to roll her eyes as she looked around the well-appointed room. Most Healers lived in hovels, all their money going toward potions and brews, but this one had taken the time to pain the outer room and put up a few plants so the place didn't feel so unhappy. While there were stains on the carpet, the origin of which she didn't want to contemplate, the rest of the furnishings There was also a door with a lock that led to the street so she doubted very much that being alone was going to mean accosted and held at knife point this time around.
"Go get Ki to stay with me. You obviously have somewhere better to be right now." She let the words drip with hurt because, as much as she loved Tevan, he did not love her. He was nothing more than a self-appointed protector with more money than sense. Yes, she stayed by his side because it was better than the alternative, but it twisted her heart every time he looked down at her with that annoyed look that spoke volumes. He clearly wished that he was free of this obligation but wasn't sure how to get her away from him without coming off as a heartless beast.
For a moment, it looked like he might have been as hurt by her words as she was by saying them but the expression was quickly hidden behind the bland smile Tevan was more apt to wear. "Ki is an idiot. He'd let a trained assassin in the room just for something to do."
"Then bring Stere. He's meek as a lamb."
"Exactly. You could break him if you needed to. Not exactly the guard I want with you if I'm not around."
They lapsed into silence again. Tevan fidgeted, the chair protested and Rika took off her glasses to polish them on her sleeve just so she'd have something to do. They both looked up when the Healer came into the room, exhaustion evident with every movement. "She's awake. I want to render her unconscious again as soon as you get the information you need so make it quick. She's in a lot of pain and will heal faster if she's not moving around."
"Her hand?" Tevan asked.
"Fixed as well as I'm able. I'll know more tomorrow. She'll be able to keep it, though. That should count for something." He held out his hand and, as expected, Tevan filled it with coins.
"There'll be more when she has full use of it," he replied evenly, clearly irritated with the game the Healer was playing. If there weren't anymore coins coming, he'd let her leave only half-healed or, worse, not really healed at all.
Rika couldn't bear to think about what would have happened to this girl if they hadn't happened upon her when they did. She might have drug herself to another clinic that would have just chopped off the offending appendage without really looking to see if it could be fixed. There had been only a little blood but that had scared her more than anything. A clean wound will bleed and, most of the time, can be fixed by nearly anyone. This had all been internal and the blood had mottled the surface of the skin instead of being able to wash the wound clean. Whoever had injured this girl had known what they were doing.
And that scared her more than anything else today.
Title: Awake
Prompt: Shimmer
Word Count: 666
Rating: PG
Original/Fandom: Fandom - Streetlight People 'verse
Pairings (if any) none
Warnings (Non-Con/Dub-Con/RPF etc): none
Summary: Kilce wakes up just long enough to say things she's not sure are very wise.
My first thought is that I'm thirsty. I try to sit up to head to the sink but I can't lift my head. Has Pliya tied me down as a joke? When I try to struggle, my body rejects every attempt I make to move. Pain makes my vision swim as I try to get an idea of what is going on. There's a shimmer of magic around me that makes me blink several times.
"I'll go get your friends. Stay still."
I don't recognize the voice but I understand the sentiment. Unfortunately, I'm not so sure I can stay still because the intense pain that is coiling through my muscles makes them cramp until I want to curl into a ball. There's something keeping me from moving that much and I pant with the exertion that not moving is causing.
"Can you speak?"
I remember this voice. It's pitched low but it's the same one that I remember from earlier. In that instant, the memories from before come streaming back. My breath catches as I realize that I've screwed myself because there's no way I can escape if I've gotten myself into more trouble. Tears must be streaming out of my eyes because someone traces the trail from my eye to my ear.
"It's okay if you can't. I know you must be in pain. Don't try to move, though. The Healer has a spell on you right now. It'll only tighten if you try to work against it. Ki had the same thing on him last year when he ripped open his leg. It wasn't pretty but he's as good as new now. We didn't take him to this Healer but he looks the type to get the job done thoroughly."
Her words make little sense to me but that's okay. It's enough that there's someone to concentrate on instead of myself because I remember being broken and, if I concentrate, I have a vague recollection of the Healer working on me.
Once again, the finger traces a new track of teardrops but I can't make myself stop crying, not even when she shushes me in a low croon. It's so like Pliya that I begin to cry harder. "Who are you?" I whisper, needing to know a name I can use so that thoughts of my roommate get shoved away before I lose my battle against the sobs that are pushing to get out.
"My name is Rika. My friend, Tevan, and I found you. What's your name?"
It's such an odd question because they should just be able to scan my ID. As hard as I've fought to get that card, I don't care if everyone in the world scans it. It's so nice to be verified without having to deal with the searches and evasive mental scans. But then I remember rough hands yanking at the chain.
With a sob I can't hold back, I answer, "Kilce. I'm in Yuna Ja."
"So am I. Why haven't I seen you before?" She hovers just out of my eyeline so that I have an impression of dark, multi-colored hair curled in a cloud around a pretty face. She has glasses on. It's been so long since I've seen anyone who goes for such extravagance that I'm taken aback. "I know everyone. Or I thought I did. Who are you rooming with?"
"Pliya Gustav."
Another indrawn breath and she is gone. Well, not gone. I can feel her beside me but she's no longer hovering over me. With a few deep breaths, I'm able to find a bit of self control that pushes away the fear and nausea. "I take your reaction to mean that you know her?"
"I do. Did. Once."
That seems to be the only answer I'm going to get because she leaves the room and the Healer is back at my side. With a wave of his hand, I'm floating out of my body again and everything is right with the world.
This entry was cross posted at dreamwidth - where the cool kids hang out.