[Steam rises around Carter's fingers and he hazards a glance at it. Clots hold in blood and the flesh is enflamed and hot to the touch. Her heartbeat registers to the touch and her skin is marred with steaming, complicated scar tissue that's healing away. It's a type of regenerating that he's never seen before. ]
Okay... This won't hurt a bit. Just tell me if you, uh, get dizzy.
[Carter breathes out, then inhales and closes his eyes. He thinks about Lily and how she made him feel. Healing her will be easy, Carter thinks. All he has to do is remember how she offered to take him in. She's kind. She's pretty. She's outgoing. She's strange like him. It's easy to summon empathy and with it comes a swell of power.
Carter lowers his head and lays his forehead against the back of her hand. A warmth starts from the point of contact, and with it a soothing, golden shimmer that works its way up her arm. The throbbing ache she feels immediately ceases, and instead Lily can feel a laugh bubbling up in her throat. It's not that she can't feel her arm and all the nerves in it, it's that suddenly loves everything. Even the pain. It's just a wonderful sensation amongst others in the choir of her sensory organs.
The pain is far away. It's not just far away, it's in total perspective. She's so much more than her mangled arm and anyway, that's being taken care of, so why not daydream about something more pleasant? Like maybe Carter standing up and hugging Lily? And then she's hugging all her family at once; everyone she's felt loved by is there and they each swarm around her like glimmering, almost-seen fish. Love bubbles up around her mind and supports her like a gentle bath. She's okay. Everything is okay. She doesn't have to DO anything, she just has to relax and feel okay. And feeling okay doesn't feel selfish, it feels giving because Lily can remember everyone and how she's connected and how she's still connected.
Her arm is healed now, but Carter's eyes are closed and he's concentrating on the feeling of family she shared with him. It's nice to stand there and share with her the relief and happy-sadness that the idea of other special-kid friends means. And then Carter feels her wrist go limp. He snaps his eyes open and darts forward to catch her and barely does. ]
Oh, Jesus. I went too far.
[The relaxation Lily has felt before is now out of control. Before it was pleasant, now it's all-consuming. Lily will be unable to feel her toes, much less walk, for some of the most joyous, happy hours of her life. Carter winces and gently lays Lily on the ground, her head resting on his calf. ]
Aw, fuck. She's in deep.
[And Carter settles in for a long wait while Lily goes off to live in a fantasy world where all her dreams come true.]
no subject
Okay... This won't hurt a bit. Just tell me if you, uh, get dizzy.
[Carter breathes out, then inhales and closes his eyes. He thinks about Lily and how she made him feel. Healing her will be easy, Carter thinks. All he has to do is remember how she offered to take him in. She's kind. She's pretty. She's outgoing. She's strange like him. It's easy to summon empathy and with it comes a swell of power.
Carter lowers his head and lays his forehead against the back of her hand. A warmth starts from the point of contact, and with it a soothing, golden shimmer that works its way up her arm. The throbbing ache she feels immediately ceases, and instead Lily can feel a laugh bubbling up in her throat. It's not that she can't feel her arm and all the nerves in it, it's that suddenly loves everything. Even the pain. It's just a wonderful sensation amongst others in the choir of her sensory organs.
The pain is far away. It's not just far away, it's in total perspective. She's so much more than her mangled arm and anyway, that's being taken care of, so why not daydream about something more pleasant? Like maybe Carter standing up and hugging Lily? And then she's hugging all her family at once; everyone she's felt loved by is there and they each swarm around her like glimmering, almost-seen fish. Love bubbles up around her mind and supports her like a gentle bath. She's okay. Everything is okay. She doesn't have to DO anything, she just has to relax and feel okay. And feeling okay doesn't feel selfish, it feels giving because Lily can remember everyone and how she's connected and how she's still connected.
Her arm is healed now, but Carter's eyes are closed and he's concentrating on the feeling of family she shared with him. It's nice to stand there and share with her the relief and happy-sadness that the idea of other special-kid friends means. And then Carter feels her wrist go limp. He snaps his eyes open and darts forward to catch her and barely does. ]
Oh, Jesus. I went too far.
[The relaxation Lily has felt before is now out of control. Before it was pleasant, now it's all-consuming. Lily will be unable to feel her toes, much less walk, for some of the most joyous, happy hours of her life. Carter winces and gently lays Lily on the ground, her head resting on his calf. ]
Aw, fuck. She's in deep.
[And Carter settles in for a long wait while Lily goes off to live in a fantasy world where all her dreams come true.]