Night 64: F-A Block Hallway

[ninelivesonce]

[from here]

She wasn't planning to go looking for the cure. She wasn't ill, and she was no expert. All she'd do is get in the way -- if there was anything in the medical wing other than trouble, which she doubted.

But, for all that she'd been built to deal death, she could heal a few things. Or, at least, carry around a pocket-sized universal first-aid kit. It was better than synergine for propping someone up long enough to get them somewhere else, since it could actually slow blood loss, though it hadn't been able to stop Rita from dying in the first place. Still, she was curious to see how much it could do, in a less-urgent setting.

[Rita]

Comments

[overlimit]

[from here]

Fortunately, Rita didn't have to go far before finding the person she was looking for.

"Good - you're here," she commented, which would have to suffice as a greeting given her usual social graces. Rita drew closer, walking with a slight limp. She stopped when she was just within arm's reach. Taura appeared well-armed, and for a moment she wondered if the woman had made plans. Well, whatever. If she wanted to talk about that, she would. They didn't have much time to waste on chitchat.

"Did you bring the stone?" No one could say Rita wasn't one to get straight to business.

[ninelivesonce]

"Yeah," Taura said, digging it out. "D'you want me to use it, or ..." She trailed off, delicately. She would rather use it here, and put it away, since none of them ever knew if they would come back, but Rita's record was better than most. But she was also still limping, which meant she was probably hiding worse injuries.

So she just shrugged. "Up to you. I don't know how much good it will do, but it can't hurt."

[overlimit]

Taura was willing to use it on her? Rita supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised by that, but gestures of kindness always seemed to catch her off-guard. “... If you don’t mind. Don’t forget that it’ll drain your energy, though.” If Taura was planning on going anywhere, weakening herself first seemed like a bad idea. One use probably wouldn’t hurt her much, though.

“I’m not expecting a full recovery or anything,” she added to assure Taura she didn’t have any unreasonable expectations, “but if we both take a shot or two with it, it should speed up the process a lot. I want as little downtime as possible.” And, in fact, she didn’t plan on taking any breaks.

[ninelivesonce]

Or Rita could have been planning to use it right here, and worrying about her carrying it off could have been completely baseless. Taura's shoulders drooped a bit, although her expression didn't change.

"I never made plans -- I fell asleep after breakfast, and I just woke up." Now she did scowl, at her own fallibility. At least she could do something. "Here goes nothing." She held out the stone, and it glowed from within. It didn't change temperature, but Taura could almost feel warmth draining out of her fingers.

[It's casting a Final Fantasy CURE 1 spell, and it'll do four per NS. Heal accordingly.]

[overlimit]

The warm light washed over Rita, mending flesh and bone and easing some of the pain she was feeling. When the spell faded, the mage ran a hand over her ribs to examine the changes. It was no miracle cure, as much of it still stung at the slightest pressure, but there was a sizeable improvement. The swelling was down, and aches that had previously persisted with or without aggravation had been relieved.

"Not perfect, but not bad," she reported. "My turn."

The mage took the stone from Taura's hand, held it close to her chest, and focused. The stone's magic was reliable, and immediately the warm light enveloped her a second time. As one who never practised healing magic herself, it was a peculiar feeling to be the one to mend her own wounds, although it was also a rather good feeling.

In her weakened state, Rita quickly recognized that consecutive spells weren't an option if she wanted to get herself anywhere. She passed the stone back to Taura. "I guess you'll want to hang on to this." Perhaps she was just projecting, though; Rita could be possessive when it came to rare magical items. The next word to come out of her mouth was slightly muffled, as though it were used so little that she wasn't sure how to even pronounce it. "... Thanks."

[ninelivesonce]

She couldn't tell what the magic had done, but Rita was standing straighter, and moving with more of her usual grace. Even more so after the second round -- the pain had lessened more than it had tired her, obviously, and Taura smiled.

Taura took the stone and tucked it back in her purse. "I...yeah. It's stupid, but I keep worrying that if I lend it to someone, they'll be the next to disappear." People she cared about kept disappearing; the History Club had crumbled, and if Okita was still around, he was too caught up in whatever had caused him to disband it to say anything on the board at all.

It was superstition, that was all, but she'd seen herself how that could run rampant through the barracks, and just because this wasn't a spaceship and they weren't all fighters didn't mean the pressures weren't similar.

"Just go out there and don't get killed," she added, ignoring Rita's hesitation over thanking her. She seemed surprised by the kindness, and Taura knew what that was like. "Let me know if you find anything interesting, eh?"

[overlimit]

It was a reasonable concern, Rita had to admit. If someone was released while borrowing something valuable, there was a good chance the item would be gone forever, or that it would fall into the hands of a roommate who didn’t care to return it.

“I won’t die,” Rita replied firmly, partly to reassure Taura, and partly to reinforce her own resolve. She’d survived this much, and while she knew her body was in a fragile state, she simply wasn’t going to allow herself to die from anything. If that meant retreating from danger, then that was what she was going to do.

It looked like Taura already figured Rita wasn’t planning to spend a quiet night in her room. She appreciated that the woman knew her that well, at least. “Sure. See you around.” With a small, casual wave, Rita walked to the block exit, and turned into the next hallway. This time, she didn’t limp.

[to here]