Blood Bond [Invite]

[attr="class","castleonthehill"]It would have been easier if Kitai had taken the offer to dull the blood coming from her ear. By the time they had reached the medical wing, she was drunk with pain; silent and still, but not without a lifeless smile on her face. Somewhere in that time she had torn off the sleeve of her shirt to use to pat against her ear so that maybe she would not drip blood everywhere, but with a wound such as this, it was inevitable. The cloth only helped for a short time. And yet, Kitai couldn't help but think that it were better than even breaking a leg; this injury would heal quickly. Ears did not move and were not a major organ, so if it could be attached back on then it would not have been any different than before. A scar would be left more than likely, but otherwise there would be no difference.

The woman tried not to stumble as they walked, and had to lean on the counter by the time they'd reached their destination. To be honest, at some point she didn't even know where they had been going. That thought was gone with the blood pooling from her ear. The thoughts she did have were unusually short-lived and she had been blinking just to stay awake. One of the first things she had ever learned: never fall asleep when you're bleeding.

The other thing that kept her going was that she had never gotten a stitch before. At her home island, they had special wrappings they would use if someone was gravely injured, or those who chose to study healing techniques would burn the skin back together - a painful but rather useful process in a pinch or when a life was threatened. If she were there, there might be no hope for getting her ear attached again, so some part of her mind was curious as to how stitching even worked. Her ear was nothing more than a piece of flesh, getting cooler by the moment, she realized. But, really, wasn't everyone made of flesh?

There was some goofy, half-assed smirk on her face when they were walked into the operating room. Their time in their was spent watching them stitch up the lieutenant in a dazed interest while biting her lip as they cleaned around her own ear. The cleaner burned, but it didn't prepare her for the needle that pierced through her skin to reattach the torn-off ear. She couldn't see her own ear being stitched back on, but she watched what she could, silently, until she realized Bigby had been speaking to her. The doctor paused, and Kitai slipped a touch of her ear before she responded, wincing. So then stitching, apparently did not also mean it made the pain go away...

"Far from here. They told me I came from an uncharted island in a place they called 'South Blue'," she said, partially watching the doctor finish his work - as well as she could, at least. The cold of the ear felt strange against her skin, but she gave it a few seconds, focusing on it. Through the pain and numbing agents they had used, Kitai could feel her body heat already beginning to transfer to the ripped off flesh. 'The body is a great healer. Any wound can be fixed, so long as it's kept clean and given time.'

She blinked at Bigby, tilting her head. "Is that something I should say 'thank you' to?" She already knew that she was.. unusual. Her birth had marked that. Otherwise, she was the same as everyone else: She had some skills that superseded others', but she wasn't abnormal from what she could tell. Or maybe he was talking about her interactions with others. Or perhaps this was his way of courting? It was a strange way, if it were. For now, she chalked it up to him being nice and left the thought for later. First and foremost, Zernebog deserved an explanation as to why he had ended up with two ears in his hand.



Kitai was still testing her ear, trying to understand how the stitching worked. They gave them a vague understanding of what they would need to do from there on: 'Keep it clean', 'Don't pull on it' (something Kitai had already been doing), 'If anything happens or you have too much pain, come back', etc, etc. By the end of their rules she was getting a headache, but she calmly listened and kept a mental list of what they were expected to do before they were released into Zernebog's arms, now that she could actually keep a coherent thought.

As the two Marines stepped out of the operating table, Kitai finally stretched out her body. Everything felt so.. clean here. Annoyingly clean, she realized - even moreso than most areas. She itched to be back outside, at least where there was air from Mother. Her first response to seeing Zernebog was a calm smile, and she wasn't given a chance to speak before Bigby began explaining. She listened, rather than trying to force out her own explanation at the same time and cause even more confusion for the captain. By the end of Bigby's short speech, Kitai was laughing.

The lieutenant had called Zernebog 'Captain' - more than in just a typical fashion. More like someone talking to their commanding officer. Wouldn't that be wonderful? She'd taken a liking to Bigby. Maybe it was just the medicine in her veins or the fire water that was still there, but Kitai's laughter was probably louder than it should have been, but it was definitely purely jolly. "Is there something that you've to tell us as well?"

She was much more laid back than Bigby seemed to be - tense, worried. Kitai patted Bigby's shoulder as she said, "I have to thank you for your efforts, though you did not need to come to my rescue." He seemed the type who wouldn't have it any other way. She gave Bigby a bright smile and nudged him. "I don't believe I have another 'commanding officer', do I?" her smile turned to Zernebog. Her face became less bright, more serious but still held her own version of a respectful look. Frowning at another - like many people seemed to be used to - was not regarded as a friendly exchange.

"Would it be an understatement to explain that I believe it was a miscommunication?" Her head tilted, switching between Zernebog's eyes as she searched for the right words to explain more what she meant. He knew about her, a little, at least. That she wasn't born to the people in the same world. That much most could see from the first time they met her. Her eyebrows raised when she found the right words. "There are still many customs here that I was uncertain of. Sharing concerns was customary in my tribe, regardless of age and standing; I did not realize it was similar here."