closed.

[tender]

WHO: Derrica + Ellie
WHAT: Patch job.
WHEN: August-ish.
WHERE: The Gallows
NOTES: Discussion of violence, will update as needed.

The Gallows is not a small place, but it manages to be insular. Things don't go unnoticed for long.

And so that is why they're here now, in Derrica's room, with her satchel open across the bed. She'd corralled Ellie, pressed her into sitting upon while Derrica drew a chair up in front of her. The shutters have been pushed open to let in the sea air, cooling the space.

Derrica hasn't asked what happened, not in so many words. There's a way to draw that out of Ellie, but she doesn't know how to say it. Not yet. So she's examining her with very gentle hands, careful as she takes in every bruise and scrape.

"I can ease most of this," she tells Ellie. "If you like."

Because that's important too: what Ellie wants, what she'd like Derrica to do. It's always important that someone makes the choice to ask for her magic, rather than the bandages and ointments in her satchel.