Amanda, Kevin, & Darcy | Magical Healing
Jan. 31st, 2024 07:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsThe nerves in Darcy's hand aren't regenerating properly after the attack from Malice. When her only other option becomes a risky surgery, she keeps her word and consults Amanda for help. Kevin provides the energy, and Darcy provides the first of a few dinners as thanks.
Darcy was sprawled comfortably on one of the lounge couches, foot absently moving in time with the slow jazz Kevin had playing in the background. She'd finally adapted to cooking mostly one-handed as well, and there was a casserole in the fridge with the non-alcoholic mixers and drinks, waiting for Amanda as a thank you for whatever help she could give.
The room was lightly hazy from Kevin's cigar and occasionally he'd read a passage from his book out loud, but for the most part they were both just existing quietly in the same space. Vibing, as one might say.
"I'm nervous about this," Darcy finally said into the quiet. "I trust Amanda, but magic makes me nervous. It's funny, the idea of magic was so cool right up until I started seeing what could happen first-hand." Being a mermaid had been gross, but neat. But the weird anger rocks, the blood curses, the Book, Doug's magical allergy, and all the recent shit with Clan Akkaba. No, the idea of having magic wasn't something cool to her anymore. It wasn't quite up there with mind control, but it was definitely on Darcy's list of No Thank You I Don't Want This.
Kevin closed and set 'Middlemarch' to one side. "My life would be significantly less complicated if magic was relegated back to the pages of fiction and myth where it belongs. But, it's real, so we have to deal with it. More importantly, we need to find the right ways to use it when it helps us and how to stop it when it hurts." He said, his level gaze capturing hers. "While Sefton's history might read like Harry Potter as written by Irvine Welsh, it is clear she's the expert in this area. So we're going to trust her."
"Aw, I'm flattered," came an amused voice from the door, where Amanda had quietly let herself in. "And believe me, there are times I wish magic didn't exist myself." Closing the door behind her, she strolled into the lounge. "So what's a girl got to do to get a drink around here?"
"Ask Kevin nicely to mix it, unless you just want a beer. There's dinner for you after in one of the fridges too, all you'll need to do is reheat it. Enough for you, Ange, and Kane, at least." Darcy pushed herself upright with her good hand and grinned. "I was just telling this flatterer I'm a little nervous, even if I trust you. I'd be almost as nervous going under for actual surgery, given how many things can go wrong to fuck up a hand, so please don't take it poorly." And hadn't that been horrifying, reading about all the little areas that could get nicked or damaged while fixing the obvious issue. Even if she hadn't promised Kevin, she would've still been reaching out for Amanda's opinion.
"Oh sure, she gets the homemade kugel." Kevin fake groused as he set down his cigar and disappeared behind the bar for a minute to start assembling drinks. "So, why don't you walk us through this process? And please say it doesn't involve burning crystals or wearing healing sage or wishing on a star."
"Only if you really want me to," was the witch's reply as she approached Darcy on the couch and stripped off her jacket, tossing it over the back before taking a seat next to the other woman. "To be honest, there's very little mumbo-jumbo. No magic words, no dancing in a circle. " She gave Darcy a reassuring smile. "And definitely no blood. Unlike surgery."
"No gross potions that turn me into a mermaid?" She stuck her tongue out at Amanda. "That wasn't so bad, actually. It'd be better now, since I know a little more than basic hand-to-hand." While she talked, Darcy busied herself unwrapping the splint and sliding it off, then the softer material underneath she'd found to keep the splint from aggravating the cuts. "I delayed my last dose of meds, but the downside to that is I can't currently straighten my fingers out. Sorry." The cut was a lot less angry looking these days, but Malice's claws had dug in deeply and the tears in muscle and flesh were still obviously healing. Her fingers looked cramped, curled into an uncomfortable clawed form that varied from almost flat on the thumb and forefinger to fully curled in at the pinky. "I know you've seen the scans, but. Bitch had good aim."
Kevin was uncharacteristically quiet as he brought over drinks for all three of them, and took a seat close to Amanda.
"As you'd expect from Ms. Perfectionist." Amanda's reply was slightly distracted, however, as she looked over Darcy's hand, gently turning it this way and that and checking the range of motion. "Okay, so, here's now it works. I use energy - normally just mine since it's not a big injury, but I'm still short after DX so I'll use some of Kevin too, if he doesn't mind - and basically boost your body's own healing abilities. A bit like a healing factor."
"So a kickstart, not a miracle? I'll still have to do the work in PT to get fully functional. Good." Her voice was low, almost savage. "I'd like to reserve any chances at a miracle for actual life-changing or death defying level situations, not because my ex decided to toy with me and got in one semi-debilitating hit."
"Oh lord." Kevin rolled his eyes. "If I still have some kind of penance I'll trust it. Jesus, Darcy, I thought I was the worst Catholic here."
"Just for that, I'm gonna give one of the kids your kugel, Boss." Darcy arched an eyebrow at him, half amused and half exasperated. "It's not penance. I don't want to start looking at magic as a shortcut. And you know perfectly well that I'm Jewish."
"Oh, there's no chance of it turning into a shortcut. 'Least, not nowadays. Back when I was a student, yeah. But these days, with the energy needed, not at all. It's a cliche, but I keep telling my students, magic has a price. There's always a cost. It's what I told Laurie when she..." She paused and winced. "She asked me to grow her a new arm. I told her I couldn't, not without killing someone for their energy. She... wasn't impressed."
"There's a shock." Kevin said from behind his glass as he took a gulp. "Take what you need for the hand. Little Miss Lewis hasn't figured out yet this is selfish. I don't feel like training a replacement for her right now, so I need her healthy and field ready."
Amanda snorted and held out her hand for Kevin to take. "I've never used a 'shifter before for this, so I'm not sure if it will have any side effects. It's mostly like donating blood, I'm told."
"Ever donate blood in 1950? Nasty. It was like them putting a sap shunt into your arm." Kevin said, taking her hand and another drink in that order.
"I think Topaz said something similar when Laurie had me ask her. That there was a cost, and it could just be energy and limb for limb from a willing person, but it also could be a whole human sacrifice or worse. The price was... I would have done a lot for Laurie, then. But that was too steep to pay for something she could learn to live without, even for me." Darcy shrugged the shoulder of her good hand. "Even still, it's going to be a while before I'm at full health with it, but surgery would've taken what'll probably be a few months and made it at least half the year, possibly permanent if they nicked the wrong spot. And as you saw during the stuff with Death, I can still do fieldwork, I just pay for it in pain later."
"Oh, it'll be less than months. Think hours. That's the magic part." Amanda's hand and arm were tingling with the energy she'd taken from Kevin and as she reached out for Darcy's injured hand, her eyes glowed gold. "Just relax. This might feel a bit... weird." And with that, she released the energy she'd taken, combined it with her own and wrapped it into a healing spell, focusing on knitting the tendons and muscles together.
'Weird' might be an understatement, Darcy thought to herself as the contradictory pain and tingling numbness she'd been feeling the last several weeks started to fade into a warmth and gentle pulling sensation that she'd swear if asked felt like edges being pulled together for mending. Tension she didn't even realize she'd been holding started to fade once the pain had dropped from a certain level, and she ended up slumped sideways against the back of the couch they were on, eyes fighting against drowsiness. "'s good," she murmured. "Warm, 'slike hemming."
Kevin took a sip from his drink, feeling the energy drain but in ways he was used to. He paused to top up his drink and motioned the shaker to Amanda before setting it back.
"Sleep, if you want to. 'S all good here." Amanda's voice, by contrast, was a little tight with effort and her skin had paled. But only for a moment more - she reached the point she was comfortable with and let go of both hands and the spell, the light dimming from her eyes. "That should do it."
"S'not safe. Gotta be in m'box." It'd been nice, napping wherever she wanted while they were in Muir, but this wasn't Muir. Wasn't safe to just drop off anywhere. She kept her eyes closed for a few more moments before sitting upright and blinking them open. "Thanks. It's feeling better already." Darcy stretched her fingers out a little experimentally, giving Amanda a tired grin when the pain that jolted up her arm was much better than it had been. "Still hurts, but it's much less sharp now... I'd forgotten what it felt like to not be in constant agony." She stood, slipping the brace back over her hand as a reminder that she still wasn't at 100% yet, and held her good hand out. "C'mon, we can get you and dinner upstairs so you can get some of your energy back."
"No, we're going to get you back to your room first so you can sleep. Sefton, same goes for you. I'll come back and bring the food around once both of you are deposited within falling distance of your bed or couch or pile of pillows or however the hell you sleep." Kevin said and cut them both off as they tried to speak. "You don't like it, appeal to Colbert. I'm sure she'd back this." The loss of energy wasn't really affecting him, it seemed. He felt... solid in a vague sense that he couldn't place. A bit rigid maybe, and not in the usual places. "Let's go."
Darcy was sprawled comfortably on one of the lounge couches, foot absently moving in time with the slow jazz Kevin had playing in the background. She'd finally adapted to cooking mostly one-handed as well, and there was a casserole in the fridge with the non-alcoholic mixers and drinks, waiting for Amanda as a thank you for whatever help she could give.
The room was lightly hazy from Kevin's cigar and occasionally he'd read a passage from his book out loud, but for the most part they were both just existing quietly in the same space. Vibing, as one might say.
"I'm nervous about this," Darcy finally said into the quiet. "I trust Amanda, but magic makes me nervous. It's funny, the idea of magic was so cool right up until I started seeing what could happen first-hand." Being a mermaid had been gross, but neat. But the weird anger rocks, the blood curses, the Book, Doug's magical allergy, and all the recent shit with Clan Akkaba. No, the idea of having magic wasn't something cool to her anymore. It wasn't quite up there with mind control, but it was definitely on Darcy's list of No Thank You I Don't Want This.
Kevin closed and set 'Middlemarch' to one side. "My life would be significantly less complicated if magic was relegated back to the pages of fiction and myth where it belongs. But, it's real, so we have to deal with it. More importantly, we need to find the right ways to use it when it helps us and how to stop it when it hurts." He said, his level gaze capturing hers. "While Sefton's history might read like Harry Potter as written by Irvine Welsh, it is clear she's the expert in this area. So we're going to trust her."
"Aw, I'm flattered," came an amused voice from the door, where Amanda had quietly let herself in. "And believe me, there are times I wish magic didn't exist myself." Closing the door behind her, she strolled into the lounge. "So what's a girl got to do to get a drink around here?"
"Ask Kevin nicely to mix it, unless you just want a beer. There's dinner for you after in one of the fridges too, all you'll need to do is reheat it. Enough for you, Ange, and Kane, at least." Darcy pushed herself upright with her good hand and grinned. "I was just telling this flatterer I'm a little nervous, even if I trust you. I'd be almost as nervous going under for actual surgery, given how many things can go wrong to fuck up a hand, so please don't take it poorly." And hadn't that been horrifying, reading about all the little areas that could get nicked or damaged while fixing the obvious issue. Even if she hadn't promised Kevin, she would've still been reaching out for Amanda's opinion.
"Oh sure, she gets the homemade kugel." Kevin fake groused as he set down his cigar and disappeared behind the bar for a minute to start assembling drinks. "So, why don't you walk us through this process? And please say it doesn't involve burning crystals or wearing healing sage or wishing on a star."
"Only if you really want me to," was the witch's reply as she approached Darcy on the couch and stripped off her jacket, tossing it over the back before taking a seat next to the other woman. "To be honest, there's very little mumbo-jumbo. No magic words, no dancing in a circle. " She gave Darcy a reassuring smile. "And definitely no blood. Unlike surgery."
"No gross potions that turn me into a mermaid?" She stuck her tongue out at Amanda. "That wasn't so bad, actually. It'd be better now, since I know a little more than basic hand-to-hand." While she talked, Darcy busied herself unwrapping the splint and sliding it off, then the softer material underneath she'd found to keep the splint from aggravating the cuts. "I delayed my last dose of meds, but the downside to that is I can't currently straighten my fingers out. Sorry." The cut was a lot less angry looking these days, but Malice's claws had dug in deeply and the tears in muscle and flesh were still obviously healing. Her fingers looked cramped, curled into an uncomfortable clawed form that varied from almost flat on the thumb and forefinger to fully curled in at the pinky. "I know you've seen the scans, but. Bitch had good aim."
Kevin was uncharacteristically quiet as he brought over drinks for all three of them, and took a seat close to Amanda.
"As you'd expect from Ms. Perfectionist." Amanda's reply was slightly distracted, however, as she looked over Darcy's hand, gently turning it this way and that and checking the range of motion. "Okay, so, here's now it works. I use energy - normally just mine since it's not a big injury, but I'm still short after DX so I'll use some of Kevin too, if he doesn't mind - and basically boost your body's own healing abilities. A bit like a healing factor."
"So a kickstart, not a miracle? I'll still have to do the work in PT to get fully functional. Good." Her voice was low, almost savage. "I'd like to reserve any chances at a miracle for actual life-changing or death defying level situations, not because my ex decided to toy with me and got in one semi-debilitating hit."
"Oh lord." Kevin rolled his eyes. "If I still have some kind of penance I'll trust it. Jesus, Darcy, I thought I was the worst Catholic here."
"Just for that, I'm gonna give one of the kids your kugel, Boss." Darcy arched an eyebrow at him, half amused and half exasperated. "It's not penance. I don't want to start looking at magic as a shortcut. And you know perfectly well that I'm Jewish."
"Oh, there's no chance of it turning into a shortcut. 'Least, not nowadays. Back when I was a student, yeah. But these days, with the energy needed, not at all. It's a cliche, but I keep telling my students, magic has a price. There's always a cost. It's what I told Laurie when she..." She paused and winced. "She asked me to grow her a new arm. I told her I couldn't, not without killing someone for their energy. She... wasn't impressed."
"There's a shock." Kevin said from behind his glass as he took a gulp. "Take what you need for the hand. Little Miss Lewis hasn't figured out yet this is selfish. I don't feel like training a replacement for her right now, so I need her healthy and field ready."
Amanda snorted and held out her hand for Kevin to take. "I've never used a 'shifter before for this, so I'm not sure if it will have any side effects. It's mostly like donating blood, I'm told."
"Ever donate blood in 1950? Nasty. It was like them putting a sap shunt into your arm." Kevin said, taking her hand and another drink in that order.
"I think Topaz said something similar when Laurie had me ask her. That there was a cost, and it could just be energy and limb for limb from a willing person, but it also could be a whole human sacrifice or worse. The price was... I would have done a lot for Laurie, then. But that was too steep to pay for something she could learn to live without, even for me." Darcy shrugged the shoulder of her good hand. "Even still, it's going to be a while before I'm at full health with it, but surgery would've taken what'll probably be a few months and made it at least half the year, possibly permanent if they nicked the wrong spot. And as you saw during the stuff with Death, I can still do fieldwork, I just pay for it in pain later."
"Oh, it'll be less than months. Think hours. That's the magic part." Amanda's hand and arm were tingling with the energy she'd taken from Kevin and as she reached out for Darcy's injured hand, her eyes glowed gold. "Just relax. This might feel a bit... weird." And with that, she released the energy she'd taken, combined it with her own and wrapped it into a healing spell, focusing on knitting the tendons and muscles together.
'Weird' might be an understatement, Darcy thought to herself as the contradictory pain and tingling numbness she'd been feeling the last several weeks started to fade into a warmth and gentle pulling sensation that she'd swear if asked felt like edges being pulled together for mending. Tension she didn't even realize she'd been holding started to fade once the pain had dropped from a certain level, and she ended up slumped sideways against the back of the couch they were on, eyes fighting against drowsiness. "'s good," she murmured. "Warm, 'slike hemming."
Kevin took a sip from his drink, feeling the energy drain but in ways he was used to. He paused to top up his drink and motioned the shaker to Amanda before setting it back.
"Sleep, if you want to. 'S all good here." Amanda's voice, by contrast, was a little tight with effort and her skin had paled. But only for a moment more - she reached the point she was comfortable with and let go of both hands and the spell, the light dimming from her eyes. "That should do it."
"S'not safe. Gotta be in m'box." It'd been nice, napping wherever she wanted while they were in Muir, but this wasn't Muir. Wasn't safe to just drop off anywhere. She kept her eyes closed for a few more moments before sitting upright and blinking them open. "Thanks. It's feeling better already." Darcy stretched her fingers out a little experimentally, giving Amanda a tired grin when the pain that jolted up her arm was much better than it had been. "Still hurts, but it's much less sharp now... I'd forgotten what it felt like to not be in constant agony." She stood, slipping the brace back over her hand as a reminder that she still wasn't at 100% yet, and held her good hand out. "C'mon, we can get you and dinner upstairs so you can get some of your energy back."
"No, we're going to get you back to your room first so you can sleep. Sefton, same goes for you. I'll come back and bring the food around once both of you are deposited within falling distance of your bed or couch or pile of pillows or however the hell you sleep." Kevin said and cut them both off as they tried to speak. "You don't like it, appeal to Colbert. I'm sure she'd back this." The loss of energy wasn't really affecting him, it seemed. He felt... solid in a vague sense that he couldn't place. A bit rigid maybe, and not in the usual places. "Let's go."
