The Return of Time

[meat_mooks]

As the Clock was destroyed, all of the stolen time rushed back to it's original owners, causing them to rapidly age back to normal. But as the crew would soon notice, it seemed that the stolen time didn't always go back to exactly the right place...

[[ooc: Time to get back to normal guys! This is basically a case of very rapid ageing - they'll

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[teethofneedles]

"Give me those," Karis snapped again and stood from the bed to virtually tank the pile of armor away from Sakura. She shot a glare at her - although really, she'd be helpful when she'd come in, but Karis didn't want to think about that. She'd been alive and whole and herself again, even if only for a few days-

She dropped the armor onto the bed and turned away from Sakura as she stripped the medical gown off. Let her stare, dammit. Karis' body was a bit dessicated - you could count her ribs through the dead flesh. Bits and pieces are still missing and there's a long, sealed wound that looks like it's never really healed up her left side. It's been stitched and stapled together to prevent the flesh from parting. She pulls on the clothing and underarmor first. A padded gambeson, some chain, and then the plate. Chest piece, pauldrons, bracers, arm plating. Then the legs and boots.

She stretched out one wrist as she slipped on her last gauntlet. Good. She felt whole again. Under the steel, cloth, chain and spells that kept her from harm and hid her from the rest of the world. She felt safe again. She finally, slowly turned to look at Sakura, eyes narrowed in a little glare.

"...thanks," she said, grudgingly.

[haruno]

For a moment, Sakura did. Beyond even the part of her morbidly fascinated with the impossibility of Karis, there's the analytically part wondering what kept her together, and what would work if anything in putting her back together should she actually fall apart. Or receive serious injury. Records said magic would be necessary, if evidence to maintenance being a more direct, older means of keeping her going were self-evident.

After that moment, Sakura turned to give Karis the illusion of greater privacy. Her eyes skimmed over medical, taking note of what she could. By the time she was turning to look back at Sakura, the other woman was concentrating on her mental double-check on who should be here, and everyone they should be checking up on.

Her surprised in hearing Karis's gratitude, grudging or otherwise, was genuine. Looking back toward her, she smiled impulsively. It wasn't much more than a upturn of her lips, with as tired and stressed as she honestly felt, but it was a smile. "You're welcome," she said, bowing her head. "Though if you don't mind one question. How old are you?" Not even meant idly, but as a check against her file.

[teethofneedles]

Karis grumbled, but finally answered as she absent-mindedly did one more check of the straps and buckles that kept all of her armor on. "...I'm twenty-nine now. Why?"

She'd 'died' about ten years ago. She kept track out of habit more than any real desire to track the passage of the years. Not like aging really mattered to her any more. The magic that held her together tended to slow down decay as well.

[haruno]

A mental check against what her records said had Sakura nodding again, pleased. "Good," wasn't usually the response one gave to an age confession, but in this case, it made sense to her. "That's as old as you had said you were during your initial medical examination. Your time's come back. Having the dragons destroy the clock worked."

And damn if she wasn't actually sounding happy about that fact.

[teethofneedles]

"Hooray," Karis ground out between gritted teeth, "Do we get punch and pie now? Or maybe we can throw a party?"

[haruno]

"We can always swing by the Drunken Dragon," she said conversationally, shrugging. "Might not be punch and pie, but it is something!"