( closed ) no mourners, no funerals.

[wraithes]

Who: Matthias Helvar, Nina Zenik, Inej Ghafa, and Kaz Brekker who shows up 15 minutes late with Starbucks.
Where: The outskirts of the Forest.
When: Post-arrival, pre-jump. Essentially, today.
Rating: PG-13, mostly because these teenagers are stupid. Also, self-injury!
What: Matthias can heal. Inej wants to test it. Nina is invited for emotional support. Kaz is also invited, and shows up late on purpose because he's the worst.

[ talking kaz brekker into anything he does not want to do is a difficult task. it had been a frustrating back and forth (you need to get healed and you need to see matthias and nina) before kaz finally said he would show up when he was inclined to show up, and not before, and inej took that small victory for what it was.

so, she packs up what she needs, and steals through the temple. sticking to the shadows, to the outskirts of the forest where she agreed to meet nina and matthias. close enough to the temple where kaz wouldn't have very far to walk, but far enough for some semblance of privacy.

she arrives in typical inej fashion -- silently approaching, before setting down her pack on a nearby stump, offering nina and matthias a slight wave in the form of raising her left hand in greeting. and, as a matter of explanation: ]

Kaz will show up when Kaz wants to show up.

[ it's said dryly; clearly indicating that the conversation was far more involved than that, but not offering any other details. and inej pushes back her hood to have a more personal conversation with the two. ]

How are you adjusting?

Comments

[adorned]

You can.

[Nina has no doubt of that, and not only because it's a power the witch gave them. Matthias is nothing if not determined.]

We're only talking about a little cut, anyway. Nothing serious. Don't look so worried.

[wraithes]

I have suffered far worse than a papercut. The worse that will happen is that I will need to bandage it.

[ in reassurance, and before she can give Matthias the opportunity to protest, inej shifts her arm from nina's, rolling up her sleeve. and, just as quickly, inej quickly draws her blade across her forearm. a shallow, superficial cut, which she does without so much as a flinch.

and then, she holds out her arm to Matthias, with a small, but encouraging, smile. ]

Mastering your ability will only help us, in the end. Nothing is gained without perseverance, right?

[ when in doubt, play on matthias' work ethic. ]

[antithesizes]

[ Matthias was about to acquiesce when Inej draws the blade across her arm and yes the cut is shallow, but-- ]

Inej, that is not a papercut.

[ And yet she's smiling at him as she bleeds. Matthias looks from her to Nina, knowing they've got him now. He's not going to just let Inej bleed and she's right. He could be helpful -- if he works at it he could do good things. So with one last huff of displeasure that she just cut herself, Matthias reaches for his canteen. ]

It has something to do with water. Do you think I should try to cover my hand again?

[ He's asking Nina, but Inej is free to respond. Just dumping water on her wound might not be the most productive method, but what does he know really? That's why they're here. ]

[adorned]

[Oh, Matthias. So protective. Nina is glad to see that his protectiveness has come to encompass all of them, though. It's sweet.]

That seems to be the way it works. It's worth a try.

[wraithes]

And I am not going to die from it; whatever we call it will result in the same end.

[ dismissively enough, and inej (indeed) doesn't seem bothered by the fact that she is bleeding. but as matthias talks, she is paying careful attention, and watches the canteen in curiosity. figuring out how this works will help them in the end, and prevent another instance like what befell kaz. had she known how to do this, he could have been healed (like it or not) on that first night. instead, they've had to take the slow path.

dealing with this, for a matter of moments, will be worth it in the end, to prevent that. ]

I believe that you can accomplish it, Matthias. And if you fail the first time, we will simply try again.

[antithesizes]

[ Inej... believes in him? Matthias blinks and nods at her, even as he unscrews the cap on the canteen. Alright. He'll try this, for her sake now as much as the sake of potential others.

He pours water slowly into his palm, focusing as best he can on that strange warm rush he felt when he accidentally healed Nina. And instead of slipping through his fingers, the water wells there, wrapping around his hand like a glove just like before. Matthias exhales softly, hoping it works on its own again because he still doesn't know what he did besides fear for Nina's safety. He reaches out for Inej's arm, settling his water-covered hand over the cut. Blood instantly tinges the "glove" over his skin, but nothing happens. It doesn't start to glow like it did in the tunnel with Nina. Hmm. ]

Nina, what should I be thinking of?

[ It's not Grisha healing, but it's not like they have any other experience to draw on. ]

[adorned]

[To be honest, Nina isn't sure what he should be thinking of. He's right—this isn't Grisha healing.]

Usually there's a lot of anatomy to keep in mind, but whatever this is seems more... intuitive?

[Or something.]

Try to picture the wound sealing.

[wraithes]

[ as they discuss this, inej is considering how fortunate they are that kaz refused to tag along and be healed by matthias, because inej could only imagine the fury that kaz would have, seething underneath his skin, at the conversation happening right now. inej, for the most part, is patient - the pain is next to nothing, and it is a shallow cut, done purposefully to minimize damage.

still: ]

What were you thinking of, when you healed Nina? Try to focus on that.

[ she's bleeding here matthias ]

[antithesizes]

[ Matthias isn't happy about the fact that they're chatting about mechanics while Inej sits there bleeding, either, but he's doing his best. He breathes out, turning back to the task at hand and trying to focus. What was he thinking of...? He'd been thinking about keeping Nina safe, about wanting her well. Maybe he needs to focus more on Inej than the cut itself.

He closes his eyes, and though it isn't the most pleasant thing to be considering he tries to channel the worry he'd felt for her back home, to feel a deeper sense of urgency. This wound might not be so bad, but he does want it gone. Healed. And though he can't see it, the ladies will notice that as he drums up those protective feelings his hand does start to glow, cut knitting closed beneath it. Inej will feel a warm tingling, gentler than the insistent itch of Grisha healing as it slowly seals up... and Matthias feels something, too. It's strange, almost like an adrenaline rush but then it's drawn out of him, the energy leaving through his touch.

When the wound is totally healed the connection breaks, water spilling over Inej's arm to hit the ground with a splash, startling Matthias into opening his eyes. He peeks under his own hand warily, then pulls it back to reveal the skin whole again. ]

...Djel. It worked.

[adorned]

[Nina's face lights up, and she leans forward to peer at Inej's palm, inspecting his work.]

Matthias, that's amazing.

[ketterdamned]

[ kaz does not want to be here.

which seems a bit of an understatement, all things considered. this world and this witch and these games have been old since they begun, and they are not getting any more interesting. horologium was a different story entirely, but it's behind them now. kaz can move, at the very least, and he has taken advantage of that fact to have some semblance of freedom.

except for the fact he is in an inordinate amount of pain. it doesn't help that his leg has been acting up because of the lack of use, doubling the pain and making each and every movement he makes a thing of effort and focus.

it is nothing you have not suffered before he tells himself, even though he knows it's not all true. he's been stabbed before, yes. but he's also had employ of grisha healers to speed the process along. and the people who had actually stabbed him had never been inej. the fact he's standing at all is telling enough of her lack of focus, her lack of control. but none of that matters, really. he is alive, he is walking, they have left that saints forsaken ship, and they are back at the temple to start again.

and - to make matters more complicated - nina and mattias are here.

inej had come to him with the prospect. nina and mattias are here. mattias has some form of healing. i want you to let him help. it had been a simple request, a logical one, but all kaz could think about was helvar's hands on him and he'd nearly wretched on the spot. inej had seen his reaction, hadn't really needed him to respond, but she had asked again. and again. he relented after another few moments, saying he would at least meet with them. nina has already contacted him, which had given him a fair amount of ease. she's better, she's through the withdrawls, she's okay. and with mattias around, too, she will most likely remain that way, what with how this place can turn things on their head.

he'd never admit it aloud, and inej most likely knows without him saying as much, but he does feel better know they are there. that they both are safe. but in that same realization comes the heavy weight of knowing they all shouldn't have to be and he needs to find a way to get them back.

but he agrees. he will show. on his own time, yes, but he will come. inej takes that for what it is - a compromise - and heads on her way, and kaz takes the time to collect himself. to bring himself to a place that he can walk without any other tells of the pain he feels with each breath and each movement. granted, his limp is worse, and there isn't much he can do about that visible tell to his pain, or the way his face is still a bit drained of color, the stiff, awkward way he walks, but he arrives all the same. just in time to see the glow of matthias' hand and the spill of water over inej's arm. ]

And the Drüskelle becomes the Grisha.

[ oh hey matthias, hey nina. how are you, welcome to the temple, etc etc etc. ]

[wraithes]

[ she hears the familiar footsteps (the limp, and the sound of the cane) as matthias heals her arm . . . and inej glances over, past nina and matthias, to see kaz approach. he looks . . . suitably terrible, but stubbornly put together. and present, which is more than inej expected, truth be told.

her eyes meet his, and there's a message, there: you should sit. but inej doesn't say it out loud. instead, she stands, graceful as ever, freeing up the place she was sitting if kaz wants it, under the pretense of approaching him, her tone neutral: ]

The power works.

[ as she moves toward him, offering her arm to show. not expecting anything outside of a casual glance, but all the same. and, as she glances over at matthias, she offers a faint smile: ]

You did well, Matthias.