The contradiction writes itself across her face, a moment of stubborn tightness in her jaw. But it remains quietly kept, turned over and over as Derrica lifts the alcohol-soaked rag and sees the first fresh trickles of blood from the torn flesh.

"It matters that you're hurt," Derrica tells her. Not a contradiction of what Ellie needs, but a reminder: Ellie is so, so precious. It doesn't matter that she heals, or that Derrica is able to knit her wounds back together. It matters that she's been hurt in the first place.

It terrifies Derrica that its something she takes in stride.