31 Mar 2020, 23:31
First Step to Healing
Interacting with @Flash Holmwood
Hex Code: #259986
Backdated: March 20th, 2020
Anxiety was generally not a feeling that Willow felt a lot. Fear? Definitely. But an impending sense of worry building up in her was something new for her. When Willow had finally made up with Flash she came clean about everything, letting him in on every vulnerable aspect of her life that she had kept so neatly locked away. She had, foolishly, told him about what the crew of witch hunters had done to her over break leaving what could be a permanent jagged marking of "WITCH" upon her back. She had become very skilled over the years of tending to wounds, naturally developing into a healer from how much she had to take care of herself. A talent that she didn't think she would have now unless it were for the constant torture she faced under eight prepubescent boys looking for some fun.
For most of the morning she had stayed silent, not unusual when she was around Flash but the reason for her silence was new. Her energy thrummed with an anxiety, she had barely touched her tea despite it being one of the strongest calm brews she has ever made. Something about showing the mark felt different, like at any moment it could reopen letting the pain flood in again. Even though she had only known Flash for a short amount of time she trusted him more than anyone, possibly even her family which was a thought she wasn't ready to fully process. She felt a safeness around him, a warmth that she had been craving through her whole life and he was happy to give it. Something about the whole situation left his normal effects on her to become nearly nonexistent.
She had tried to push it off, regretting accepting it soon after the words had been pulled out by the care and determination that Flash held for her. She had never accepted help with her wounds, it was something she wanted to battle privately. For once Flash had been explicitly firm with her to let him help instead of letting her slowly wear down to go along with him. At breakfast she rolled an orange around the table rather than eating it, letting her Slytherin do most of the talking at the table that morning. A couple people asked if she was ok but she just waved it off as not sleeping well, which wasn't exactly a lie. This was obviously something tearing her up.
As they walked to a classroom that Flash had assured her was rarely used she thought of all the protests she could do to get out of this, but she knew they would fall upon defiant ears that would only push back harder. She slowly entered the classroom, as if she was walking towards her death. The pit in her stomach sure felt like it. She walked over to a table pulling the necessary items that she had in her pocket out. One was a small tin labeled as lotion to throw her parents off of what it was truly for since it was a salve she had experimented with and created, and a piece of cloth and some medical tape to put over the salve to make sure it didn't get wiped off by her clothes throughout the day.
Slowly she put her robe over a chair and undid her tie and laid it over the back of the chair. She turned towards Flash, a new type of fear in her eyes. Not that he would hurt her, but the fact that she was about to bear her worst secret to him, and he was going to help her continue to conceal it. It almost felt wrong. But she needed it off of her body, the memory would always be etched into her brain and that was enough of a scar for her. Wordlessly she reached out for him, making grabby hands for a hug. She needed all the strength he could lend her to get through this. She leaned into his chest, focusing on his rhythmic heartbeat and gentle rising and falling of his breath. Her voice softly spoke, "Please be gentle with me." Her hands clutched his robe tightly, as if trying to grasp for the last pieces of herself she had left.
Last edited by Dorion Anderson on 3 Apr 2020, 16:47, edited 1 time in total.
"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
1 Apr 2020, 01:03
First Step to Healing
Willow had always been stubborn, even for seemingly trivial matters, so Flash expected her to act like their conversation hadn’t happened. As though there was a chance he would forget, or let it go. Perhaps it worked on people who cared less, or were too self-involved, but Flash’s world revolved around other people. When she didn’t bring it up, he did, making sure she didn’t worm her way out of getting the help she needed. Fear often clouded self-interest, at least that was a conclusion he was coming to around all these under-developed children.
There were plenty of places where they could have their privacy. It was important, since she was going to have to be exposing something extremely personal. The gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on Flash, but similarly he had to underplay his impatience about it. He had to accept that even though he and Willow were very close to each other, it had still only been a short amount of time that they had been together. It felt like a lifetime to him. But for normal people, there were natural boundaries that had to be crossed with respect, rather than barreling through them.
With that, he tried to be as patient with her as possible, but as some could already attest to, his fuse wasn’t actually that long. Since she had already agreed to let him help her, he didn’t want her to go back on her word. She was only just nervous. He liked to think once this barrier had been surmounted, he would be able to enjoy an even more devoted relationship with Willow. He wondered where the closeness would finally stop. How close could two people become?
It was an interesting question, testing the limits of human interaction was always on the top of the stack when it came to pondering thoughts. He was deeply interested in what made the mind do as it would, it was a rabbit hole with no bottom, it seemed people would continue to surprise each other until the day the last one died. At least many of the surprises were pleasant ones.
Others, like the word written on her back, were the cost of knowing too much. The things you found when you began illuminating the dark, hidden corners. His brother Valerius had made a distinct point in underlining the importance of his own wisdom on the subject: The more you know, the more you will hate the world. You have to choose to love it instead. It was worth the pain of knowing.
Once they got in the room and closed the door, Willow started to silently take off a few of her articles of clothing. Flash looked at the tin she brought with the salve. As he brought it closer to his face, the wafting smell of some kind of citrus-- likely orange and lemon-- arose his curiosity. She had said she made it herself, and if it worked well, he was quite impressed. He hadn’t met anyone their age who was able to create healing salves. Though it was a skill borne out of necessity, she had honed it into an advantage. Flash would always try to attach himself to people like that-- people with great determination of will.
”You don’t have to rush yourself, Willow.” Flash caught her nervous face out of the corner of his eye, but was grabbed into a hug before he could say much else.
Willow needed hugs, it was a part of her vocabulary. It took some time for Flash to get used to, but he became adept at receiving them after realizing its importance to her ability to communicate. It was like the touch gave her energy, like screwing in a lightbulb. She couldn’t be fully open until the connection had been made. He didn’t know how that worked, or why that helped her, but he tried to master the art of hugging anyway.
Still scared. These moments that Flash dreaded, just like with Opeila, where he held a broken heart in his arms, powerless against its sadness. He would take it away from them if he could. In this situation, however, he didn’t feel altogether incapable. That was the point, he was specifically trying to help. She ought to just accept it.
”You don’t have anything to worry about.” Once she pulled away from the hug to look at him, he smiled at her. ”This is more efficient than doing it yourself. There’s no downside.”
Even with Willow, logic usually wins.
@Willow Anderson
There were plenty of places where they could have their privacy. It was important, since she was going to have to be exposing something extremely personal. The gravity of the situation wasn’t lost on Flash, but similarly he had to underplay his impatience about it. He had to accept that even though he and Willow were very close to each other, it had still only been a short amount of time that they had been together. It felt like a lifetime to him. But for normal people, there were natural boundaries that had to be crossed with respect, rather than barreling through them.
With that, he tried to be as patient with her as possible, but as some could already attest to, his fuse wasn’t actually that long. Since she had already agreed to let him help her, he didn’t want her to go back on her word. She was only just nervous. He liked to think once this barrier had been surmounted, he would be able to enjoy an even more devoted relationship with Willow. He wondered where the closeness would finally stop. How close could two people become?
It was an interesting question, testing the limits of human interaction was always on the top of the stack when it came to pondering thoughts. He was deeply interested in what made the mind do as it would, it was a rabbit hole with no bottom, it seemed people would continue to surprise each other until the day the last one died. At least many of the surprises were pleasant ones.
Others, like the word written on her back, were the cost of knowing too much. The things you found when you began illuminating the dark, hidden corners. His brother Valerius had made a distinct point in underlining the importance of his own wisdom on the subject: The more you know, the more you will hate the world. You have to choose to love it instead. It was worth the pain of knowing.
Once they got in the room and closed the door, Willow started to silently take off a few of her articles of clothing. Flash looked at the tin she brought with the salve. As he brought it closer to his face, the wafting smell of some kind of citrus-- likely orange and lemon-- arose his curiosity. She had said she made it herself, and if it worked well, he was quite impressed. He hadn’t met anyone their age who was able to create healing salves. Though it was a skill borne out of necessity, she had honed it into an advantage. Flash would always try to attach himself to people like that-- people with great determination of will.
”You don’t have to rush yourself, Willow.” Flash caught her nervous face out of the corner of his eye, but was grabbed into a hug before he could say much else.
Willow needed hugs, it was a part of her vocabulary. It took some time for Flash to get used to, but he became adept at receiving them after realizing its importance to her ability to communicate. It was like the touch gave her energy, like screwing in a lightbulb. She couldn’t be fully open until the connection had been made. He didn’t know how that worked, or why that helped her, but he tried to master the art of hugging anyway.
Still scared. These moments that Flash dreaded, just like with Opeila, where he held a broken heart in his arms, powerless against its sadness. He would take it away from them if he could. In this situation, however, he didn’t feel altogether incapable. That was the point, he was specifically trying to help. She ought to just accept it.
”You don’t have anything to worry about.” Once she pulled away from the hug to look at him, he smiled at her. ”This is more efficient than doing it yourself. There’s no downside.”
Even with Willow, logic usually wins.
@Willow Anderson
For we dreamed a lot//And we schemed a lot//And we tried to sing of love before the stage fell apart
Sta: 9 ★Eva: 5 ★Str: 7 ★Wis: 15 ★AP: 3 ★Acc: 15
1 Apr 2020, 02:37
First Step to Healing
Interacting with @Flash Holmwood
Despite Flash's words of comfort to take her time there was really no use in procrastinating the inevitable. As she pulled back from the hug and looked up at him, his smile seemed to dissolve the protests that sat on the tip of her tongue. While he was right, there was no downside having someone to help rid herself of the ugly scars she couldn't help but hesitate. Her walls were continually coming down but the foundation that she had built them on was starting to shake and that was the most terrifying of all. The foundation told her to stop, not let him any closer. To push him as far away as possible. It was an instinct she had to continually fight against, especially with Flash.
With a heavy sigh she finally released her hands from Flash's robe and moved to the supplies. He had already looked at the salve but she didn't really know his experience in wound dressing. "Um, a little goes a long way. So you just have to put a little bit on your finger and just put it over the scar itself. Certain... rougher areas, will probably need a little bit more. After you've covered everything then you just do like small circles over it to massage it into the skin. Then you tape the cloth over it with the tape. One piece on each side should do since I don't have Quidditch practice today or anything." Her eyes lingered on the salve, a creation of research and labor, the perfect amount of ingredients. Yet it was her least favorite one she had created due to the necessity it was born out of.
She took one last look at Flash, gaining the final bit of strength she needed. Her back was turned to him, a weakness in a prey turning to a predator. She slowly drew up her shirt, finally tucking it in front of her shoulders making it to where the front of her was still covered. She pulled her long hair to the front so it wouldn't get caught in the oily salve. A shiver came over her body as the cool air passed over her back in the classroom. Between her shoulders was the dreaded word. "WITCH" sat squarely on her upper back, stretching over her shoulder blades where it seemed like the damage was the worst because of how close it was to the bone. It almost looked like the idea of it healing was hopeless. Moving her shoulders contorted it further, stretching and contracting it as the label moved with her, it was a part of her. The letters and lining of the scars were jagged, definitely the handwriting of a twelve year old boy who didn't know his way around a knife.
Her shoulders seemed tensed up waiting for the initial reaction. She hadn't looked at it since she had gotten it, scared of what it looks like. She passed the judgment onto Flash, "Is... is it bad?" She knew the amount of pain she had been in as they committed the atrocious act, and she was sure that translated into how hideous the healing had been being that she couldn't have taken care of it in the first place. It was a miracle that she had been able to hide it from her parents.
A breath got caught in her throat as she felt Flash's hand on her back beginning to trace the wound. She had an instinct to run, her body tensing up even more as he made contact. Grounding. She had to ground herself. Her breathing slowed and her body slowly unwound. She tried to focus on the feeling of Flash's hand on her back, ignoring the letters that he was writing in salve. On the God and Goddess, she wished she could be anywhere but here, she wished she didn't even have to do this. But here she was, with her brother helping her care for her wounds and it almost felt... nice.
"I don't know whether to cry or scream or do both. It feels like I've done more than enough of both. And it feels like I haven't done enough." - Mason Deaver
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
Stamina 12 ∴ Evasion 12 ∴ Strength 5 ∴ Wisdom 12 ∵ ArcPower 10 ∵ Accuracy 15
3 Apr 2020, 15:38
First Step to Healing
Willow revealed her back, the word clearly legible, though written crudely. The marks were deep and assured. Certainly this Xavier, able to cut into skin with a blade with no hesitation, was a psychopath. Well, that wasn’t the scientific word for it, but there were people born into the word with no conscience. No inherent ability to empathize. How else could he explain the torture he put her through, the steadiness of his hand as he carved her? It wasn’t as if Willow had done anything to deserve it.
She had earlier explained the application process, but Flash’s eyes just looked at the letters, seething with anger. Parts of the words, mostly the part right between her shoulder blades where it would be hardest to reach with her own hands, had started to be replaced with collagen-- keloid scarring. Would her salve be able to heal that too, or had the damage already gone too far? She asked him if it was bad.
”Yes.” He couldn’t lie. It was terrible. Still, he wasn’t there to make Willow feel worse. ”But we’ll fix that.”
Taking a small amount onto his fore and middle fingers, he did as she had instructed, using a tight circular motion around the infected area. At first she jumped at the touch, but slowly she began to relax again. The process, even with the bandage, would likely not take very long, but the silence between them was only illuminating the sorrow of the event. He didn’t want her to remember that day as something horrible. It was supposed to be good.
”This reminds me of a story, actually. It’s a fable, maybe you’ve already heard it…” Flash began, continuing his work but deciding to multi-task. ”There was a lady knight, who fought in countless battles. She would be injured time and again, returning home with so many scars that one could hardly tell where one began and another ended. ‘I only need to rest’, she would say, ‘and they will all disappear like magic.’ Sure enough, the next morning she would be perfectly well, and ride off back into battle.”
Naturally this wasn’t the end of the story, the premise had only been set. Not being able to see Willow’s face, he couldn’t tell if the story meant anything to her. It had its basis in a short story Flash had read once, but he co-opted it to make it more fitting for his purposes.
”Fearing nothing, she would rinse and repeat. Her enemies marvelled at her apparent indestructibility. Then one day, an arrow lodged into her heart and she collapsed on the battlefield, unable to return. Once word got to her sister at home, she rushed to the spot, the bodies still freshly scattered across the castle.”
Flash realized the imagery was perhaps a bit dark before he had time to censor it. He had never been limited on the content of the books he read, so he sometimes forgot what was appropriate. He moved on, starting to bandage since the application process was done.
”Finding her sister fallen, she went to her side and stroked her hair. ‘It wasn’t magic that healed you’, she said, admonishing her careless warrior, ‘it was love.’ With that, the wound in her heart began to heal over, bringing the life back into her body once again.”
Flash sighed, looking at his handiwork. It should have been more than enough to stay through the day. Such a simple procedure, it wouldn’t be a problem to simply continue the work until progress was made. He really wanted the salve to work.
”Alright, there you have it.”
@Willow Anderson
She had earlier explained the application process, but Flash’s eyes just looked at the letters, seething with anger. Parts of the words, mostly the part right between her shoulder blades where it would be hardest to reach with her own hands, had started to be replaced with collagen-- keloid scarring. Would her salve be able to heal that too, or had the damage already gone too far? She asked him if it was bad.
”Yes.” He couldn’t lie. It was terrible. Still, he wasn’t there to make Willow feel worse. ”But we’ll fix that.”
Taking a small amount onto his fore and middle fingers, he did as she had instructed, using a tight circular motion around the infected area. At first she jumped at the touch, but slowly she began to relax again. The process, even with the bandage, would likely not take very long, but the silence between them was only illuminating the sorrow of the event. He didn’t want her to remember that day as something horrible. It was supposed to be good.
”This reminds me of a story, actually. It’s a fable, maybe you’ve already heard it…” Flash began, continuing his work but deciding to multi-task. ”There was a lady knight, who fought in countless battles. She would be injured time and again, returning home with so many scars that one could hardly tell where one began and another ended. ‘I only need to rest’, she would say, ‘and they will all disappear like magic.’ Sure enough, the next morning she would be perfectly well, and ride off back into battle.”
Naturally this wasn’t the end of the story, the premise had only been set. Not being able to see Willow’s face, he couldn’t tell if the story meant anything to her. It had its basis in a short story Flash had read once, but he co-opted it to make it more fitting for his purposes.
”Fearing nothing, she would rinse and repeat. Her enemies marvelled at her apparent indestructibility. Then one day, an arrow lodged into her heart and she collapsed on the battlefield, unable to return. Once word got to her sister at home, she rushed to the spot, the bodies still freshly scattered across the castle.”
Flash realized the imagery was perhaps a bit dark before he had time to censor it. He had never been limited on the content of the books he read, so he sometimes forgot what was appropriate. He moved on, starting to bandage since the application process was done.
”Finding her sister fallen, she went to her side and stroked her hair. ‘It wasn’t magic that healed you’, she said, admonishing her careless warrior, ‘it was love.’ With that, the wound in her heart began to heal over, bringing the life back into her body once again.”
Flash sighed, looking at his handiwork. It should have been more than enough to stay through the day. Such a simple procedure, it wouldn’t be a problem to simply continue the work until progress was made. He really wanted the salve to work.
”Alright, there you have it.”
@Willow Anderson
For we dreamed a lot//And we schemed a lot//And we tried to sing of love before the stage fell apart
Sta: 9 ★Eva: 5 ★Str: 7 ★Wis: 15 ★AP: 3 ★Acc: 15