[March 23]

[sicparvasmagna]

Nate's been hit before. Nate's been hit a thousand goddamn times but this time he's pretty sure his entire face is broken. He'd known the guy was tall, he's not a complete moron, but there's a difference between tall and apparently made of fucking stone. He'd been impulsive and stupid and Sully would probably chew his ear off if he were here, but Nate doesn't need a verbal lashing because the physical one has been lesson enough.

His hand is broken. He can't move his fingers and the pain shoots up through his wrist and to his shoulder, throbbing harshly. He's broken bones before but this is somehow made worse by the embarrassment of it all, by the fact that he was put down quickly and without preamble, his ego as bruised as his fucking face. Which, is also broken. Nate's broken his nose before, been punched by enough steroid-loaded goons that it was just about inevitable, but this is worse. His cheekbone is fractured, swollen up around his eye so that he can hardly see out of it. Breathing hurts, talking hurts worse, and Nate's spat enough blood out onto the sidewalk to draw stares.

He needs to get off the street. That's the first point of call. He should probably go to the hospital, but he's nursing a hurt ego and a chip on his shoulder that steers him in the opposite direction instead. He just wants to go home. He wants to go home, cover his face in ice packs and then drink until he passes out, probably. He should text Sam, but his right fucking hand is broken and Nate's always been pretty useless with his left. The thought of trying to type anything legible is a lost cause, so he doesn't bother.

Instead, he picks himself up off the ground, blinks blood out of his eye and starts walking. At least his goddamn legs aren't broken.

Comments

[seekmyfortune]

"He told you to lick his shoes" Sam demanded. "He actually said those words? What the fuck." He shakes his head, pulling out his cigarettes to light one up. "Glad I wasn't there; I'd probably look as bad as you."

[a_littlefaith]

"Yeah, I wanna bet," she answers with a grin, glad to hear him laugh and relieved to have him challenging her like this. Maybe it won't stop her worrying, not completely, but he sounds like himself in that challenge and that's an incredible relief. Whether or not they actually do it doesn't even matter, because if they make plans, if they have this conversation, she's pretty sure that will be more than enough to just keep her worry in check.

Which is probably exactly what he wants, too.

"We can start with guns and then see if you're any good with the crossbow," she tells him with a self-satisfied smile. "Maybe even a bow and arrow." Kili's is really too small for either of them to use, but they might be able to find something else, and she wants to keep shooting because it makes her feel closer to him. He'd always loved it and he'd loved teaching her, which is why she'd taken the bow and arrow after he disappeared.

"Ten bucks says I hit the target more often than you do."

[pushbackthedarkness]

"Sit," Marcus says, more than happy to do exactly what Nate has just suggested so long as it means his new friend manages to relax just a little. Despite most of the injuries being healed, he has to still be in a bit of pain and Marcus goes into the kitchen to root around in some of the cupboards, coming back a few minutes later with two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. Maybe he shouldn't be encouraging Nate to drink, but he has a feeling he's going to do it one way or the other, and as long as he's here to keep an eye on him, it shouldn't be too dangerous.

He uses the nearby table to pour them both a drink, then heads toward Nate, passing him one of the glasses before he sinks down on the couch.

"Still wanting that ice bath?" he asks with a lifted brow, trying not to look too amused before he takes a sip of the whiskey. For a man who's not particularly used to drinking, he's gotten fairly good at it over the past several months and is more than happy to engage in the activity whenever it presents itself.

[best_thief]

Lila's concerned when Nate leans against the wall and closes his eyes, but then he speaks and it eases a little. She's almost positive he has a concussion, and she's pretty sure you're not suppose to fall asleep or pass out when you have one of those. She doesn't doubt she can bring him right back to consciousness with her magic, but still. A knock to the head is rough. "Good boy."

The elevator pings to her floor, and she helps Nate to her apartment, not bothering to dig around for the key. She opens her door with her magic and guides him over to the couch. "There you go," she says, plopping down next to him with a sigh. She shrugs her coat off and brings out a small knife from under her shirt sleeve. "This is probably going to be weird for you."

Lila hasn't done a whole ton of healing with her magic before, so she cuts her arm deeper than usual to bring up more blood. Gathering it on the pads of three of her fingers, she presses them Nate's broken hand. "As Hasari." Heal.

It's a slow process, and she keeps her fingers in place as the spell works on mending him.

[sicparvasmagna]

The door opens with magic, and Nate follows her inside, doing his best not to bleed on her floor. Most of the blood is starting to dry and he doesn't think it will be a problem, but Lila is a vengeful enemy so it's better to stay on her good side.

He sinks into the couch and breathes out heavily, leaning back. She pulls a knife out and for a moment Nate tenses, though why it even occurs to him that she might want to hurt him, he doesn't know. He's about to tell her he's seen weird and whatever she has planned probably won't measure up, but then she's slicing into her arm and he makes a noise of protest, leaning forward to shake his head.

"Hey, woah, no," he argues, looking for something to tie the cut off with. There's nothing lying around so his next thought is to rip his shirt and tie the material around her arm, but before he can she coats her fingers in blood and presses them against his hand. He's seen Lila do magic before but not like this. He resists the urge to flinch at the first press of her fingers, but then he can feel it, feel the bones resetting and mending.

It doesn't hurt but it feels absolutely cringe-worthy and Nate makes a face as he watches his hand heal, but it's still better than going to hospital. "That's a handy skill," he tells her, talking to keep his mind off what she's doing more than anything else.

[best_thief]

Lila glances up, a little surprised at Nate's concern. Maybe she should have told him what she was about to do before diving in, but she's always been an act first, explain later type of girl. And with a hand as mangled as his she has to imagine it hurts like hell.

She gently covers his hand with hers as the magic works to help keep him from watching. She remembers how unsettling it had been when she'd first experienced it, but by now she's so familiar with the magic it's like second nature to her.

"It beats wearing a splint or cast. So if you ever find yourself in trouble again, you can come here if you want," she offers, a little awkwardly. She isn't used to being the one to help, or dole out kindnesses, but Nate isn't one she'd want to see suffer.

[sicparvasmagna]

She covers his hand with hers but he can still imagine it, picturing the bones moving under his skin and everything knitting back together. It's both kind of cool and horribly unsettling at the same time.

When he feels like he can move his fingers again, he pushes her hand gently away and looks at it. There's still some bruising around his knuckles and blood has dried in spots on his skin, but the bones are healed and he can move it. He wriggles his fingers, huffing a small laugh. "Really handy trick," he notes, glancing back up at her.

She seems hesitant all of a sudden, a little caught out, and Nate wonders if she's ever made that kind of offer before. It's not like he plans to go and get himself beat up again, but he supposes it's helpful to know that he can come here instead of the emergency room should he need to. "I don't plan on taking you up on that," he says, shaking his head. "I kind of thought I'd try and keep my bones not broken for a while, but thanks."

[best_thief]

Lila can't hold back a smile at his praise, or at least that's how she takes it when he studies his own working fingers, repeating his earlier comment about how useful her magic is. It's far from a trick, though, it's power. It's her favorite part of herself, the best part.

"No more picking fights?" she asks with a raised eyebrow. Not that she has any ground to stand on, she's picked more fights than she can count. "What'd they do, anyway, to get you so pissed?"

[sicparvasmagna]

At the very least, now he'll be able to hold an ice pack on his broken face without hurting his hand, so that's nice. He doesn't know exactly how much juice she has in her and there's a chance he'll still need to go to hospital to get his nose set, maybe, but his hand is a good start.

"Can't promise that," he admits. Elena has asked him to make that promise time and time again, and he always comes up short. He doesn't mean to pick fights, but apparently Nate has the kind of face and attitude that invites punching, who knew? "He kept talking like I was some kind of slave," Nate answers, and he'd wrinkle his nose in distaste if he didn't know that would hurt like hell right now. "Told me to lick his shoes."

It's not even the worst that anyone has ever said to him, but it rubbed him the wrong way, hit a nerve that hasn't been struck in a long time. Nate worked hard to get himself off the streets and try and make something of himself, and he's not about to let some douchebag throw it all back in his face and treat him like he's nothing.

[best_thief]

Lila's expression sobers, her whole body going still. Her run-in with the guy looking for Bramford is still fresh on her mind, having only just happened earlier in the day. The way he'd talked to her, like she was beneath him, and the volatile way he'd reacted to her magic. He was giant, muscled, he could have easily done this to Nate. Could it be the same person?

"Wait a minute," she says, frowning now, "was he really tall, gold eyes and hair?"