OOC: bah, not a problem, dear! <3
His banter was genuine, and she'd offered a soft laugh to each reply, even blushing slightly at his retort to her name. The poor fellow may have been a bit of a wimp, but he had more than enough charm to ooze around such a flaw of character. It seemed that his pain brought forth a surprising mixture of sarcasm, humor and bitterness, which surprised the young healer as much as it amused her. She'd doctored all manner of patients - the silent ones, whom sat grinding their teeth till the dirty work was through; The howlers, who made all sorts of crude noises but none legible nor intelligent; even the masochistic, who sniffed at the thought of a healer's help but had pain enough brimming in their sneers. But this Mr Strel, he was a unique one, to be sure.
Unfortunately, unique was really not enough to save him the pain. After pulling out the first needle he seemed to recoil, the sharp bark of pain and the gritted sentence enough to have her own features cringing in sympathy. This was going to be more difficult than she'd first assumed.
" Well, Sir... Almost. There are only a few to go..." The white lie felt bitter on her tongue. Four, the poor sod. Four left to go, " But stay calm, now. They'll be out before you know it."
She pressed the wad of material against the first wound until the bleeding slowed, then slowly retrieved it, careful to keep the ruby-dashed scrap out of his line of vision. It would not do for her to have a catatonic mess going on here, not with all these potential hazards scattered around the room. She settled her gaze on the next needles, for two were clumped rather close together, and began to gently massage the paw around it, cautious not to apply too much pressure. Her eyes lifted to Strel's once more, and she forced the calm, merry facade to blanket pretty features again.
" Tell me more about this new friend of yours, Sir. You were making him a gift? How generous!"
As she spoke, the young healer gently soothed his paw, making circular motions with her fingers over the flesh. Each circle brought her just a little bit closer to the pair of offending tools, but she continued to gift him with a warm smile, those strange inverted eyes constantly checking the dilation of his pupils for signs of shock. What a curious sort this Mr Strel was! Momentarily distracted, she let her eyes caress the room, soaking up the odd assortment of materials and items that littered it. Sewing indeed!
" Might I ask, do you do this often? I myself am in need of some clothing, and though I've little to trade, I'm sure I could find something..."
She paused for the briefest moment, her eyes flecked with peculiar interest, her maw pursed as if it wished to ask more. And then she tugged firmly on the two needles, felt them slide free of his foot. With rapid grace, she'd already pushed the wad of material against the two new holes, making a soothing and apologetic sound deep in her throat. It was much easier to do this when he least expected it, when there would be the least amount to muscular stress and tenseness for her to work with.
Speak think walk
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