ways_infirmary | (no subject)

Benny looks around the infirmary as he goes in, leaning slightly on Collins. "Huh. Yet another thing I didn't know about this place." He winces, wiping blood off of his face, then wincing again.

"It's full of surprises," Nita says ruefully, and gestures towards one of the beds. "Have a seat. I can run a diagnostic, or you can tell me what hurts."

"We're not the first to have a fight in here. Sara mentioned something about people going off and fighting wars on other worlds." His voice is clipped. "Hope you aren't expecting me to apologize--I've been wanted to break your nose for five years."

Benny shrugs. "I think I have a broken nose, some loose teeth, and my ribs hurt. Other than that... I think I'm alright." He turns to Collins. "Honestly, I think I deserved this. I was being an ass."

"Hm. I'll see what I can do about the teeth -- the rest ought to be pretty simple."

She grabs a towel and sits down next to Benny. "I don't know if you've got any experience with magic. I'm going to have to touch the injuries to fix them, and it might hurt while I'm actually healing you. It shouldn't hurt once I'm done, though. Do you have any questions, before I start? I'll be pretty uncommunicative when I'm doing the wizardry."

"Before you ask--yeah, she's serious. There are people here who have magic." Collins' voice is surprisingly dry.

"You were being an ass. So was I. So was Mark." Pure statements of fact. "But doesn't detract the truth from what we were saying and the points we were trying to get across. You fucked up royally, Benny. And it may very well cost you your life."

"Oh." Shamed as he is at the moment he just shrugs at Nita. "Do what you have to do."

He turns to Collins. "I... realize that now." That's... about all he can say.

Nita looks between the men and decides that . . . it's really none of her business.

"Okay. Hold still."

She uses the towel some of the blood away from his nose, which, thankfully, looks pretty straight, then lays her fingers on it as gently as possible. Clsoing her eyes, she starts to speak under her breath.

The Speech, depending on the person listening to it, sounds like their native language, with deep, powerful undertones. The words Nita's using are surprisingly pragmatic, though -- simple instructions to Benny's bones to knit together again, to blood vessels to stop leaking, and to nerves to dull the pain.

The whole thing takes no more than two minutes. She finishes speaking, opens her eyes, and sits back, rubbing her own nose. "How's that feel?"

Collins watches mutely. After it's done, he looks at Benny. "I...really don't have anything else to say right now."

He leaves.

Benny watches Collins leave before he says anything. When he does, he blinks a few times. ".... much better. Uh... thanks." He pauses. "How'd you -do- that?"

In a duh voice -- "Magic."

She smiles. "No, actually, it's wizardry. There's a difference. Basically, I just asked your body nicely to speed up the healing process -- and it did. Ribs next?"

"Oh." He blinks. "There's not much magic where I come from. Just books."

He nods, taking a deep, wincing breath. "Yeah. Go ahead."

"We can talk theory, if you want," she says, slightly distracted, "but my guess is it'll just make your head hurt."

She puts her hands on either side of his ribcage, closes her eyes, and repeats the process. It takes a little longer, this time, since she has to search out the fractures and mend them, but it's still not long before she opens her eyes and pulls back again.

Benny takes a deep breath and blinks some more. "Damn. That... feels a lot better. Wow." He seems a bit stunned. "Thanks."

A grin. "You're welcome. Want me to see what I can do about the teeth?"

"Yeah, if you can." He's more than happy to save the dentist's bill.

"Okay, can you point them out?"

Benny opens his mouth and points at a few teeth, mostly in the front, which are wiggling. It's not too bad, but they're definitely loose.

"Got it. Close up and hold still."

She puts two fingers just under his mouth, closes her eyes, and starts murmuring.

This one takes a while; teeth are complicated structures. By the time she finishes, she's a little hoarse.

"There." She clears her throat. "There. How's it feel?"

April, for her part, had no idea anything had gone down with her old roommates. She just wanted to see if Malcolm were here so she could maybe ask for some sleeping pills - she hasn't been sleeping well.

But when she sticks her head in and sees Benny, her eyes widen. "Benny, what happened?"

He runs his toungue over his teeth. "Much better, thanks." He pauses. "You need a drink or something. Or, uh, how much do I owe you?"

He then looks over at April. "Oh, uh, hey April. Ran into Collins and Mark." Shrug.

Nita shakes her head. "You don't owe me anything, trust me. Just -- pass the help forward."

She gets up, nodding to April, and heads back out to the bar.