[IC] [Mask or Menace] Contact Post

[dendarii]

"This is Miles. Leave a message and I'll respond to you at my earliest convenience."

The line has gone silent; any messages sent to this name only return an error.

Comments

[dendarii]

[ Many, many scars, primarily of the surgery variety; there's a history to every cut that was made, every operation endured. A long, fresh one bisects his face, starting at his jawline and ending somewhere near the opposite cheekbone. Freshly healed; freshly tugged back open. ]

By all means. [ A response to all of the above - privacy, Lucy, Kitty, all of it. He sends Gregor a faint apology over the link, promising to let him have as much as he likes as soon as Lucy has handled the rib, at least.

And then... he turns to face his father directly. A faint swallow as nervousness intermingles with his own guilt - that blackness intensifying to have such a perfect mirror - and he finds himself at a loss for what to say. He hadn't expected his father to turn up here. And he especially hadn't expected a temporally displaced version. At least the one he knew knows MIles in return ... this one only gets the result and none of the journey. Miles bows his head slightly, thoughts churning. ]

I know. I may be a terribly disappointing vision of the future, but you'd hardly have hurt me for it.

[use_everything]

[The flat, simple astonishment sliced through the black between them, nearly filling the space. It was echoed clearly on Vorkosigan's face, the mask falling to complete bafflement.]

Good god, boy. What would give you the impression of disappointment?

Let me know if this is too soon

[illuminescent]

[That's the sound of hooves outside, and then a knock on the door; she's somehow managed to translate her businesslike attitude to healing to the knocking.

Luckily it had been a relatively quiet day in the clinic, but she still looks more like a nurse than a queen, in scrubs. The only sign of her rank is the casual gold comb in her hair and the fact that her saddle is more a piece of art than it is useful, and it's very useful.]

Admiral?

how about Gregor-Lucy for a few tags with Miles-Aral in a separate thread and then melding?

[vorbarra]

[ Gregor goes to receive her, having an odd moment of anachronism between the horse and the scrubs that he resolves more easily than most given he's Barrayaran.

He ushers her in quietly. ]

He's laying down in the living room. Let's give them a moment first. [ Because Gregor is still tapped into the link, and can feel the roiling emotions of an important moment. ]

[illuminescent]

[She's not surprised to see him but she is surprised at being stopped-]

Most honorable-

[She looks puzzled a moment, and her eyebrows go up, confused. She does not at all look pleased.]

You asked me to come quickly.

[vorbarra]

[ Speaking softly, glancing at the door to the living room from the kitchen, ] Please, just a few moments.

The other man in there is the father of Miles's progenitor, from an earlier time point. In a very real sense, his father. It's their first meeting, and it was a bad misunderstanding. Healing their hearts is no less important.

[illuminescent]

[She takes a very careful step back, and turns to look at the door.]

I will wait a time.

[She's busy. Very busy. But she'll wait a few minutes because this is important.]

[vorbarra]

[ Thread continued below! ]

[dendarii]

[ Equal astonishment reflected back, as the moon reflects the sun. ]

What isn't disappointing? About all of this?

[ He gestures down at his twisted body. ]

[use_everything]

[Miles had likely had officers, sick with the implications of nepotism that looked at him with less hungry scrutiny than his father did at that moment.

Disappointment didn't slide into the wake.]

Miles... [His throat felt dry, but the name felt good to say.] It was yesterday. Just the day before, that you were born. I hired honest, plain men, as Betan as I could find on the planet. [He lets that thought spool out where it would, pain siphoning a bit of focus here and there. It was a petty thief at best.] It wasn't hard. It seems to be a side effect of that kind of brilliance... but I wanted to know what war you were facing.

[No disappointment. Wonder. Humility. Pride. Breathlessly so.]

You won...

[dendarii]

[ Oh. Oh. He's known, of course, that his father surely must have been proud of him; it's a different thing entirely to feel that pride, for nothing more than having survived for twenty years. He'd never thought of that being something worth celebrating. But it must look different to his father at the very beginning of a long and difficult war ...

It takes Miles a moment to remember how to breathe. He just basks in that pride for a moment, mentally tilting towards it as a plan turns towards the sun. ]

I ... for certain definitions. Yes. My bones are very brittle, but I assure you I can get into and out of trouble very much on my own nowadays. No invalid.

[use_everything]

So I noted.

[That dry, black humor that all of the family seems to share had a role of fondness with it, in this new correction.

More seriously, he begins:]

Just from what I saw -

[It is arrested as the muted conversation just at the threshold of the door carries.]

Ah. Good.

[dendarii]

[ Miles brightens too, recognizing that voice. A quick little nudge to Gregor across the link - We're ready now - as he raises his voice just enough to be heard. ]

Lucy? Is that you?

[vorbarra]

[ He's glad they hadn't had to wait too long; Gregor's no less urgent than he was before, and having to sit on that was, well, something he's used to, but that doesn't make it comfortable. Plus there's Lucy, perfectly justified in being eager to get in there and heal, when he's the one who used the word emergency...

He's utterly sick of Miles being injured under his purview and he does want it taken care of. Gregor nods at her once, then leads her in, retreating back into his usual role as observer when direct intervention isn't called for. ]

[illuminescent]

[She comes into the room, and looks at Aral for a moment, but clearly she's not interested in him. She smiles at Miles, instead, her usual sunny disposition shining through. Her impatience seems to have vanished in a cloud of smiles.]

Admiral, I see you have caused me work once more.

[She sits nearby him.]

And what of my good work have you reversed on this day?

[dendarii]

[ Bless Lucy and all of her everything. Miles melts a bit mentally having her kneel next to him, preparing to tend him. ]

Alas, my ribs are cracked again. That is the worst of it. The wrist can be put back into a cast if necessary.

[ His gaze drifts back towards Aral. ]

Please reserve enough for him too. I - ah - I stabbed him rather deeply.

[use_everything]

[Aral scowled, looking like he was going to argue for a long moment.

Whatever internal logic argued its part and won, he didn't share it. He gave a vague, dismissive gesture with one hand, but subsided.]

[illuminescent]

[She puts her hands gently on his side.]

Lord Admiral, I think you mean to offend me and my abilities, if you think me so poor a healer as that. And please recall I accept no orders from the infirm, thank you!

[But then the warmth of her healing is spreading over his ribs, her hand touching just under his shirt for skin to skin contact.]

Wrist, please.

[dendarii]

... Yes, your majesty.

[ Miles reluctantly - but gratefully - subsides. Having that healing spread over him is such a glorious thing... He sighs as it seems to sink into his bones, knitting his ribs together in an instant. All too grateful to offer his wrist as well for a similar ministration. He still aches (and will continue to do so for a while), but it is manageable now; besides, the warmth seems to linger, after, continuing to comfort long after Lucy is done. He's so relieved.

(He opens some floodgate on his end, offering up his pain if Gregor wants to take it again.) ]

[illuminescent]

[Once she presses her touch on his wrist, tenderly, she stands with a manner that suggests she's used to wearing skirts, and turns to Aral.]

And now you, sir, if you should please show me your would, I would be glad to give you my tender care.

[She looks very young. She is very young.]

[use_everything]

[Very young, but the "your majesty" and her entire bearing is not missed in the slightest. Regardless of her current garb, his own response is quite natural. When her attention turns, he inclines, a sitting bow.]

My apologies for the trouble, my Lady.

[Without delay, lifts his hand from where he'd been applying pressure. The wound is simple, uncomplicated, but deep, a single stab of a dagger to the upper thigh.]

[illuminescent]

[She gives him a nod back, and her hands are on his leg as she looks at the injury.]

You have the Lion's own luck, for the wounds such as this can kill a man far more quickly than any medic may heal.

[Her fingers find their way to skin, and the healing is almost instant; warm and soft, the wound closing up. She looks around a moment, and when she draws her hand back her fingertips are covered in blood.]

A handkerchief, please.

[To whoever is quick enough.]

[vorbarra]

I'll get one.

[ Gregor does not actually carry handkerchiefs in his casual clothes like this, but the house is small enough that he's able to quickly duck back into the kitchen and retrieve a cloth napkin, which he offers to her without comment.

He's hardly about to let Miles up to do it. ]

[use_everything]

Just so.

[He combines his answer to both the luck and the danger of a few inches to the left in one amiable murmur.

In truth, most of his attention is on the healing itself. Easily the first magic he'd experienced since arriving, it was nothing short of stunning. Nothing like anything they could offer through science and study. Gingerly and with some wonder, he tests the site where the injury used to be with his fingers.]

I would owe you a debt.

[illuminescent]

[She cleans her hand and looks up a bit sharply when Aral says that, but there is gentleness in her look.

And something diplomatic, too. That is not an expression many see from Lucy. Everyone in Narnia calls it Edmund's small influence. When Lucy recognizes the merit of saying yes to a debt. It's not common.]

I will gladly accept such a thing from you, my lord, as freely given as it is.

[There's an aura of sweet blue light around her head, and she smiles at Miles, then, presses clean fingers to his cheek.]

I ask very dearly you come see me soon, without being stricken with any injury, so that I may enjoy your company, Admiral. Would you please?