faderift | Sticks and stones

Entry tags:

abby,
{ glimmer }

Sticks and stones » Closed

WHO: Abby and Glimmer
WHAT: Abby helps with an injury
WHEN: The afermath of a rescue mission, mid-Harvestmere
WHERE: En route back to the Gallows
NOTES: Mentions of wounds and wound tending, blood, injury, possible delving into past traumas around parental death

Glimmer had been fierce in the short, rough fight that had broken out between the Venatori and the Riftwatchers. She'd blazed away with magic and spell and they'd come away with their prize--the rescue of the two being pursued. It hadn't come free of a cost, though. Glimmer had been charging in, her usual reckless style of fighting--and as a result, had caught herself an arrow from the marksman she hadn't seen. It wasn't serious--or at least Glimmer insisted it wasn't serious. It had plunged into her left side, ablated by the thickly padded armor she wore, then stuck itself between two ribs. She'd been lucky it hadn't gone any deeper pierced an organ. The shaft had been snapped off except for the last few centimeters and a crude bandage wrapped around her midsection to help stem the bleeding.

Now that pursuit seemed to be unlikely, there had been time for a breather--and for Abby to get a look at Glimmer's wound. It hurt, of course, and Glimmer's left arm was held in a stiff, unhappy way--when she tried to move it too much (move anything too much), the arrowhead dug against her flesh and bone, radiating pain. That she'd been able to remount her horse like this now seemed like a minor miracle. Maybe just the adrenaline.

Sitting on a convenient rock, Glimmer winces a little, looks over at Abby.

"It didn't... " Ugh. Her head swam a little. "...it didn't feel that bad at first," she confesses weakly, trying not to look at the short, jagged bit of wood still sticking from her and no doubt still connected to the steel arrowhead.

"I'll be okay," Glimmer insists with more bravado than she should probably have right now.

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Abby spends the rest of the fight with a thread of thought fixed on that arrow in Glimmer's side, hoping it has no reason to push further into the skin before she can look at it. Today, they're lucky. The horse ride could have jostled her but what's left of the shaft still sits exactly where it struck. Abby crouches down beside her to look.

"You will," she confirms. It's true, but it's also to give Glimmer a boost of confidence. She sounds shaky now that the adrenaline of the escape is wearing off.

Abby has her pack, she always does. She pulls it from across her body, digging into it. Her flask she fishes loose, and shakes. It's mostly full; she offers it to Glimmer without a word, pressing it into her hands to give her something else to focus on for a moment.

Because the arrow shaft is going to have to come out, and there's not a lot for Abby to grip. It's going to be painful. Hopefully the point isn't wedged into the bone.

"You want the good news first, or the bad news?"

Glimmer accepts the flask and takes a large swig from it, winces as the pain in her side intensifies when sher runs expand. Ow. Owww. She winces a little and does her best to focus in on what's being asked of her. Glimmer's breath is shallow, trying to avoid more of that unhappy pain that comes from moving too much.

"Good news, please?"

"Their arrow-heads aren't barbed," Abby provides, watching the shaft of the arrow shift with her movements. It's... sort of good news? Means it won't tear up any skin on the way out, at any rate.

She's got her little leather pouch inside her pack that contains things she's taken from the infirmary (and noted down in the book to say she did, thanks, don't at her Gideon). Abby takes it out. Her plan is to get what's left of the arrow, pack the wound, and bind Glimmer up for the rest of the ride home. Then, they can see somebody who can smooth the rest over with magic. Easy.

"And," she adds, as Glimmer makes an unhappy, pained little sound under her breath, "I've done this a thousand times before. From– before, so. I know what I'm doing."

"Okay, well, those are both good." Mostly. Glimmer winces and tries to lift her uniform coat aside so that the wound can be got at more easily. Which of course lets in chill autumn air. Can't win, can she? NExt comes her undershirt, which she stuffs up under her armpit.

"So what's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that there's an arrow in you."

Can't get any worse than that. Bad joke, bad joke, she knows.

"I'm gonna pull it out," she continues after a beat, glancing up as Glimmer pulls every scrap of material out of the way in preparation, "You okay with that?"

Glimmer actually starts to giggle a little before the pain catches up with her and she has to force herself to stop with a wince.

"Ow," she mumbles, then gives a little nod as Abby prepares to pull the remains of the arrow free.

"Y-Yeah. I mean, no. But let's just get it over with? It's gonna hurt either way."

"Pretty much."

There's so little left of the arrow shaft. Abby stares at it, thinking, realising she might have to pluck it out with index finger and thumb–

She makes sure everything she needs is within reach before she steadies her other hand on Glimmer's waist, holding her still.

"Breathe in deep," she instructs, and when Glimmer finally exhales after the fact, she pulls– and the entire thing comes out in her hand smoothly, with little resistance. The point must have been anchored in the bone just enough to keep it steady in there.

After that, it's easy. A roll of homemade gauze comes to hand, little scraps of clean cloth that she rubs over a dab of salve in a tiny metal container before packing gently into the wound. The blood is red, and clear, which is good.

"Keep breathing," she murmurs, focused, "Nice and steady for me."

Breathe in deep, Abby says and Glimmer does as she's asked even if the expansion of her rib cage hurts and she wants nothing more than to go back to the shallow, more comfortable breaths keeping her from experiencing too much discomfort. Then she exhales and the sound turns into a half-gasp, half-sob, half-yelp of pain as the arrow is pulled free of the wound. There's a pained little keening sound and she has to resist the urge to double over.

"Fuck," she says, because what else do you say when an arrow gets pulled out of you? Tears spring to her eyes and she trembles, the color that drained from her face at the pull slowly returning.

"I'm not dumb enough to forget to breathe," she mutters, though it's meant to be good natured.

"Ow."

"I know." More to remind her to keep it even; the pain might tempt her to hold a breath or two. There's a measure of understanding in the words too. Abby can empathise with this agony all too well, "I know. You're doing well."

She works methodically, and Glimmer's discomfort doesn't seem to bother or distract her: she tunes it out. Does what she can. She's got a measure of old cloth that she can use as a pad to keep the pressure on the wound, and she binds it to her as tight as Glimmer's ribcage will allow, giving her a good amount of support.

"Does that feel like it'll hold until we get back?"

Glimmer makes an experimental twist of her torso and winces. It still hurts, but there's no arrowhead grinding against her rib every time she moves and already the pain has started to fade from a sharp, stabbing sensation to a dull and unhappy throb.

"Yeah, I think. so." There's a weak smile.

"Thanks, Abby."

"'Course."

She's just glad she can do something. She's feeling her lack of magic more keenly than ever and trying to prove herself is frustrating.

With the bandage tightly wound and secured, Abby plucks a little clipping of elfroot out next, and crushes the leaf in her palm. She spreads it over the bandage. It should seep through, and provide a bit of relief from the pain.

"Okay," she says, and gives Glimmer's leg a pat, "You're good to go."

"Thanks," Glimmer says again, blinking back against the sting of inadvertent tears. She might be doing her best to be tough but sometimes they just happen, okay? She leans forward (winces) and throws her arms around Abby in a hug.

"I mean it, okay? Thanks for helping me out." You're a good person, she doesn't say but she sort of wishes she could and not make it sound weird.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back to the Gallows and my bed."

Abby blinks. Her hand drops awkwardly to Glimmer's back, and pats before settling.

"I wasn't gonna leave you like that," she protests, but she's silently pleased upon further inspection of what she's feeling. Been a while since she's had a hug.

Anyway. "Yeah," she agrees in a huff, leaning back with a flicker of a grin. "Think you've earned it. Was that the first time you've caught an arrow like that?"

"I didn't think you would," Glimmer says with a wry little smile. She's tired, though, so some of her usual vim and vigor are lacking. Probably the getting shot thing. She steps back, glances back to her horse because riding even with a bandaged injury is. Ow.

"And yeah. Not the first time I've gotten hurt in a fight, but first time I stopped an arrow personally."

She notices that glance.

"First minute's the hardest part," she says idly, "once you get used to where it hurts, you adjust your weight. Helps." A tiny bit, sure, but– you do what you can.

Abby gives her a gentle thump on her shoulder with her fist. Her version of a hug.

"You did good, out there." She's impressed. Glimmer was holding back in their training sessions; obviously neither of them were about to go all out in practice. It was cool to see her really dig in.

"Yeah," Glimmer agrees absently. She's sure Abby is right but that doesn't mean she's looking forward to it anymore than she was a minute ago. She glances up as Abby thumps her shoulder and smiles.

"Thanks. You did too." She exhales.

"Just glad no one else got too banged up, you know?"

"Thanks." She thinks she did okay, considering she felt at a disadvantage for most of the fight, "Yeah. I know."

We were lucky. They had Derrica, things couldn't have gone too terribly, but Glimmer was a stark reminder of how quickly everything curdles. Abby gets to her feet, and glances down at herself. All the dirt, and blood (not hers) spattered across her armor, up across her face. In her hair... yuck...

"Definitely getting in the baths once we're back."

"I mean, same. Assuming they'll let me in the baths with a hole in me that's not supposed to be there," Glimmer replies in a grim sort of joke.

"I'll scrub your back, as a thank you."

Abby's nose crinkles in amusement of both statements, "No, you– can't get that wet."

Might be sponge baths for a while, Glimmer. "Especially not with communal bath water." Gross.

"Boo." Glimmer looks disappointed by this revelation.

"Well. I'll figure out some other way of saying 'thank you' I'm sure," she says.

"I owe you one."

A shrug, her hand wrapping around the pommel of her saddle so she can haul herself back up.

"Don't mention it."

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