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[Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 4:48 pm
by Arkash
43rd of Frost, 4621
It was a surreal thing, to wake in someone else’s home. Arkash drew a deep breath through his nose and filled his rousing lungs with the first scents of the morning; the scents of the Veir’s bedroom.
The rising sun barely peeked through the drapes in the lowlight of the room while Arkash gathered his senses, and gradually recovered the day prior. In a flash, he recalled everything from the emergency surgery he sought to perform on his first initiate to the emotional and impassioned warmth he shared with the eccentric Sil’Norai.
His pale eyes blinked slowly while he roused, then lifted his hand over his head to see his fingers as they flexed in the morning’s twilight. There were no claws or scales to speak of; Arkash was in the form of Derek Egon. He lowered his hand as he glanced to the left, then fully turned his head and rolled to the side as he set his sights on the shape of the elf. A smile began to creep across his features while he drank the older man’s sleeping visage, and he crawled forward an inch or so to press a gentle kiss to the man’s cheek.
His chest pressed flush to Degare’s shoulder, and he ran his hand along the length of the elf’s arm in an attempt to seize his hand while he basked in the glow of the morning after, only to find something unsettling. Rather, it was what Arkash didn’t find that startled him. Between Degare’s little finger and his thumb, there was nothing. Hesitantly, Arkash tapped the hardened blood that capped the stumps of his sundered fingers and lost most of the color to his cheeks.
That was right; he’d bitten them off.
He hesitated while he held his digits in that empty space, swallowed, then took a deep breath before he leaned in to press a second kiss to the slumbering elf's cheek, then began to untangle himself from the lavish fabric of the bedding. He made no noise as his feet touched the floor, and quickly made his way to the Piano room at once.
Tired eyes focused on the dark of the room and flit about the scenery before he spied those digits where he'd left them. Three severed fingers laid dormant on the piano, built from scratch by his hands. Though the sight of some discarded body parts, laying most casually on the top of a piano was rousing, Arkash didn't pay it more than a second thought as he closed the gap with his work, collected his needle and sickle, then began to chisel the last finishing touches,
The skin was woven completely around each of the three digits, and the details of lightly wrinkled joints were carved with the smallest sickle in his kit. Arkash stood at the Piano, hunched over some small piece of meat that he held close to his shining eyes for better clarity. One groove at a time, Arkash perfected the design. Then when it was time, he carved out a space for the nails and wove a specific sort of tissue for the bedding before he used the Sinew Gun to fill in the space of his nails, then carved it into an appropriate shape.
Though he moved quickly, he was diligent in his application of the tools. Wherever he made a perceived mistake, he filled it back in with Sinew Foam and tried again... Occasionally, he glanced to the door and listened as the sound of footsteps strolled by, then returned his focus to his work when he dismissed it.
Re: [Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2022 7:33 pm
by Degare
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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Though his sleep was light by now, the pale elf was still lost in his dreams when his lover awoke. His mind was on the edge of reality; he was receptive to touch and other inputs, though to a muted degree and with a complete lack of awareness.
Laying on his back with limbs only gently bent or splayed, he’s unresponsive when Arkash first kisses him, though a conscious Degare would’ve appreciated the gesture. His arm twitched ever so slightly when the man beside him pulled himself close. The warmth of the other’s body would be felt within the strange dreamscape of his mind; the ghosts of Arkash’s touches affected him in ways he would be unable to properly register. Even in this restful state, he did appear to become more relaxed when the smaller man touched him.
The second kiss would appear to have caused him to stir just a bit…but for now, he still did not wake up. Arkash’s movements were relatively soundless as he got himself ready to leave the room– even the close of the door was very soft. The Veir was rather late to rise under most circumstances; usually if he needed to be up especially early for any reason, a Valran would fetch him.
//
When his own eyes finally opened, the Ferrier was a bit dazed. The sunlight was brighter now as it was mid morning and a particularly radiant ray had crossed over his face at just the right angle to rouse him. The memories of the day before were at the front of his mind when amber eyes opened, filling him with a sort of emotional warmth that he was utterly unused to. Ever so slowly, he sits up.
The room is utterly silent and he notices that he’s alone. Brows furrowed in confusion, he looks around himself quickly to try and locate Arkash, but he is gone. With a shake of his head to clear his mind, he gets up, dresses and steps out of the room. As long strides take him down the halls, he passes a familiar face– Lucia, the one Valran he’d brought with him from his estate in Boghadar. They acknowledged one another with soft smiles, though Degare did note fragments of worry in her expression. He hoped that this meant nothing.
Finally, he reaches the piano room and taps lightly on the door with his knuckles; in case Arkash happened to be in there, he didn’t want to abruptly startle him. Now letting himself in, he does see the person he’d been hoping to find. “You had me worried for a second…I thought I’d somehow managed to scare you away,” his words are warm, delivered with a light playfulness that denoted he was joking. “I do appreciate you getting up to finish your work, though…how are they coming along?” Degare’s voice is mostly inquisitive, though there is the slight undercurrent of concern being that it really is important to him that all ten of his fingers function as they are supposed to.
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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"
Re: [Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 8:39 am
by Arkash
All in all, the fingers Arkash had crafted looked pretty much identical to the real thing. Surely, Degare would be able to tell a few minute differences, but Arkash was prepared to adjust anything if it was needed. He held a finger between his own, then gently bent the tip to test it before the rap of knuckles on the door stole his attention.
Quick as a whip, Arkash snatched the bloodshaped scalpel he’d fashioned the day prior and quickly unfurled into his True Form. Large claws extended from the tips of his fingers as a cruel scowl overcame his features. He lifted his arm to throw the blade while it stayed concealed by his body…
And then softened his glare when he recognized the elf to step through the doorway. Promptly, he lowered the scalpel to the piano’s surface, and began to assume his Humanoid form once more as Degare closed the door. A smile began to pull at his features as Degare spoke his fears, and Arkash quietly slid the scalpel away from his workspace. “Scaring me away would take a lot of effort,” he assured. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me,” he spoke with a smile.
Attention was brought back to the fingers he’d been working on, and Arkash blinked as his work was immediately drawn to the forefront of his mind once more. “Oh, yeah. They’re done,” Arkash explained as he returned his gaze to his work and collected each digit. There, he held them in the palm of his hand as he turned to face the elf fully, then closed whatever gap was between them with a few relaxed footfalls. There, he lifted his hand for Degare to see his work, apparently unaware of how sobering it might be to see his own severed fingers in the hand of another, stark in their fairness against the tone of his palm.
“If you want anything changed I can do it now, or I can put them on for you and see how you like them?”
Whether Degare answered or not, Arkash would take him by the hand, then guide him to the table he’d laid on the day prior. There, he set down the fingers, then splayed the elf’s right hand on the tabletop with his careful hold. Gently, he traced his fingertip over the knuckles of the severed fingers to indicate while he spoke. “I’m going to cut off everything from here down then suture the tissue and nerves with Sinew Threads… I’ll have to do the nerves first, but you might not feel everything for a minute or two after its connected. After that, you should be good as new,” he spoke quite proudly with a smile as he straightened up. “Any questions?”
Spontaneously, the Rath stepped away from the table and approached the kit that laid on the Piano. After collecting it along with all his other tools, he brought it to the table, and set it down beside the digits they were due to attach.
“I didn’t mean to worry you this morning, I just… I don’t know. I know how much this means to you, and I want to get it right,” he spoke after briefly meeting the Veir’s eyes, and began to unpack various tools from the contents of the bag.
Re: [Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 12:54 pm
by Degare
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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At first, he looked a little startled when he saw Arkash in his true form, but when he abruptly shifted back, the Ferrier assumed that he had, in fact, freaked him out a bit with his knock. A light, amused smile appears on Degare’s face in response to this. “Stuck with you, huh? Can’t say I mind that.” He looks pleased with the concept, looking almost flattered that the other man had that much apparent interest in staying in his presence.
Degare had moved to be standing nearer to the center of the room when Arkash collected the fingers and mentioned that they were complete– meeting him there in a few quick steps, lifting his hand up with his completed work when he arrived. Degare tilts his head a bit at seeing the disconnected digits, though for all intents and purposes they did, at least, look right. His expression is still warm, though there is a more obvious presence of concern the longer he looks at them. “I just hope they function well enough,” he says with a bit of a nervous laugh.
When the necromancer mentions potentially changing them, he shrugs a bit, “I’m…not sure? I mean…they look right. I suppose it would make the most sense to just put them on as is and…make changes if there’s any issue with my ability to, ah…use them.” As he spoke, he lifted his damaged right hand and his gaze turned to something along the lines of forlorn.
However, he barely had the chance to even finish that sentence before his lover’s hand was on his own, pulling him over to the larger table that they’d used the day before. He followed without resistance, simply wanting his hand to be put back together again. Despite what Arkash was saying, he still took some enjoyment in the simple pleasure of the other’s touch. Canting his head a bit at the plan, he nods. “Sure…whatever you think is best. Out of the two of us, you’re the only doctor here,” laughing a bit at the end of that sentence.
The pale elf turns his head as the Rathor walks away to retrieve his tools, watching him move with curious yet concerned eyes. Admittedly, he was quite interested in watching the other man work. With a soft sigh, he pulses ether into his mural, a few tethers worth, to numb the pain with his mutation. He imagined somebody directly working with his nerves would be…unpleasant, and he didn’t really want to squirm or yank his hand away.
His expression now is a lot more placid, the worry appearing to have vanished as Arkash next speaks. A soft smile pulls at the edges of the Ferrier’s lips in regards to his sentiment as amber eyes meet the other’s misty gaze. “I found you quick enough…and I do appreciate how much care you’re putting into this, really. Your…interest means a lot.” The slow way he speaks indicates that he’s not quite sure how to translate his feelings into words for the moment. That, or he does, and simply doesn’t wish to say much more.
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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"
Re: [Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 7:21 pm
by Arkash
Arkash moved with little pause or ease, an enthusiastic smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, and his hands were occupied for the majority of the time that he spent walking Degare through the procedure. Needless to say, his diligence in preparing the fingers was accompanied by some air of excitement. For what? Only time could tell.
His smile intensified when Degare admit that he wouldn't mind being stuck with him, then withdrew a little when Degare voiced his hopes. "They'll function," Arkash assured. "I've thought of everything, right down to the wrinkles on the joints; there's plenty of skin for movement and flexing and the right amount of muscle between each joint. Bel, I'd go as far as to say you won't even notice a difference," he spoke in pride.
Though Degare appeared worried about his level of control over the digits, Arkash shared no such concerns. He was certain the proportions, nerves, vessels, and muscles were correct. There wasn't anything in his mind to inhibit Degare's control over them. So, he made a conscious effort to snatch the elf's wrist before the man could begin to fall into a sense of dread or self-pity, and proceeded to the table with haste. The longer he left the operation, the worse Degare would feel. It had to be performed that day, soon, in the minutes to come if he had his way. And with Degare's acceptance, it seemed he would.
"Doctor..." Arkash trailed while he gathered his tools, rolling the word off his tongue. "Doctor Arkash... Huh... I guess I am a doctor, huh?" The rhetorical question seemed to brighten his smile a few shades, and he glanced to Degare with a look of uncertainty, then smiled as he shook his head and finished unpacking the tools he needed.
An apology for his disappearance was delivered as he collected the blood scalpel, and gentle admiring eyes peered up at the elf with his appreciation. A stronger smile pulled at his features for a moment while he reflected, then moved his left hand to hold down Degare's thumb and little finger while he aimed the pointed blade of his scalpel. "Take a deep breath," he warned as he dug the edge of the blade into the skin with ease, and carefully cut through the flesh of Degare's knuckles, all the way to the bone, where he stopped.
It appeared to be a common theme, where the sheer sharpness of Arkash's instruments appeared to stall the elf's pain receptors, and any loss of blood was halted by the mysterious hardening of whatever discharge the wounds created.
Quickly and accurately, he sawed all the way through the top halves of the knuckles, then rolled the elf's hand over to carefully cut through the underside too. Then, after a lift of his brow, he looked up at degare and spoke a brief "brace yourself," before he gently tugged at the phalanges and de-socketed the condyloid joints from the metacarpals. The striking bursts of pain would run in pulses through Degare's entire body as the nerves in the area were cut though in a swift swipe of his scalpel, and the remaining stumps of his old fingers were removed completely.
Deep red craters rested where his knuckles had once existed, though Arkashdidn't let it persist long. Soon enough, all Degare's fingers were in line, and Arkash wove the nerve entings into the fingers with some maneuvering of his grafting needle. With every connection, an intense feeling of pins-and-needles began to rise in each of his fingers, reaching its apex of uncomfortable numbness around the time that Arkash had finished sewing the vessels together. "Don't move them," Arkash warned in passing. "I need to socket the joints," he explained.
Accurately, he squeezed the end of the phalanges into the condyloid joints of his metacarpals, then began to sew the appropriate ligaments into place on his opened knuckles.
A sense of feeling would soon clarify itself in the noble's hand as Arkash sewed the last pieces of opened skin together, and tugged the needle to solidify the bind.
All in all, the operation had taken almost thirty minutes to complete, and Arkash wiped a slight sweat from his brow as he set the needle down. "...Alright," Arkash said with an air of finality. "How do they feel? You should be safe to move them now," he said with a quickened nod, then looked up at the elf expectantly.
Re: [Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 8:35 pm
by Degare
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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The younger man’s enthusiasm was both refreshing and endearing; cute, boyish features alight with a bright smile and a glint to his misty eyes. When excited words gush forth from his lips, Degare can’t help but soften his expression, if only a little bit. There is still some semblance of concern reflected within amber eyes, but he does appear to be somewhat more relaxed. Arkash was so effervescent in his enthusiasm that even if something was wrong, the pale elf could at least trust that he’d do his best to fix it, if nothing else.
It was hard for the Ferrier to not mirror the Rathor’s blithe attitude despite his small pile of worries. His joy as the word doctor rolled off his tongue was apparent and Degare couldn’t help but brighten his own eyes a bit and return a soft smile. “You are at this point,” he chuckles a bit, “You’ve been rather diligent in your care of me, at least.” He speaks with a smooth, velvety timbre though there were the slightest ripples of anxiety underneath the words.
While his little lover collected his tools, the Veir slowed his breathing and set up his mentalism, bracing himself for the intensity of whatever was to come. He didn’t want to use so much ether that he’d be incoherent but he didn’t want to be in agony, either– it was a fine balance to strike depending on what severity of pain one is expecting. At Arkash’s suggestion, he closed his eyes and breathed deep as the blade broke skin, the reaction being delayed as before. His lip quivered a bit when it caught up to him and he opened his eyes, but he didn’t let the sensation of it manifest much beyond that. With slow, steady breaths he was fairly still through the first cuts of the blade.
The expression on the Rath’s face elicited an inquisitive quirk of his own brow, but before the elf could really register exactly what he’d meant, he busied himself with desocketing his joints. Brows knit together in an effort to hold in his reaction, his jaw tightened and teeth gnashed together. Even with the mentalism, it was a strange, alien sensation that was more uncomfortable than anything else. The worst part was as he expected it to be, though. With the cutting of the nerves, Degare hisses sharply, left hand tightening into a fist and a tremor, as if struck by lightning, pulsed through his whole body. The radiant pain woven pleasure was white hot in its intensity and much as he tried to restrain his movements, the jolt of his arm was a reflex he could not suppress. In the aftermath, his jaw slacks and he exhales through his mouth, head tilting back and eyes drifting towards the ceiling. His breathing is notably more strained from here on out.
Forcing himself to watch the whole thing, he wills himself to tilt his head back down and watch as the necromancer continues, lining up the fingers in front of his stripped knuckles. His tongue rolled in his mouth uncomfortably as the fist held in his left hand would tighten and loosen repeatedly while the nerve endings were reconnected to the new fingers. A rumble of a groan is drawn from his chest fading into a soft shudder– again, while this wasn’t horribly painful, it was deeply uncomfortable. His lips pressed together forming a hard line and then he bit the bottom one as the static of near-numbness sparked through the nerves. It was clear that while the pain translated well into pleasure, he hated this; it was not converted into anything positive.
With a soft but raspy exhale, he nods to the smaller man when he’s instructed not to move. The Ferrier’s eyes twitched a bit as he forced himself to keep them open when the joints were pushed into place. The stimulation provided was a mess of pain, pleasure and intense discomfort that made him almost ill. Shaking his head once the bones of his phalanges were properly socketed within the condyloid joints, he exhales slowly with a few rapid blinks. It’s clear enough that he’s trying really hard to both not move and not react at all.
Breathing slowing back to a more normal rate as Arkash sewed the final pieces of skin together, the numbing discomfort slowly began to fade into the neutral regularity of one’s fingers. He stares at his hand for a second as he readjusts himself to the feeling of no longer being mutilated. With a deeper breath, he closes his eyes and disperses the ether in his mural as the other says he can now try and move them.
Standing there almost frozen with fear, he hesitates for a few moments, fingers slightly shaking with his evident anxiety. Lifting his hand off the table, he turns it over a few times just to look at it before finally attempting to bend and move the newly installed digits.
Something was wrong.
It would appear that they wouldn’t bend properly, tensing up when he tried to flex them. Brows knitting together with concern and a bite to the inside of his lower lip, he tries to move them around more, as if miming playing notes on the piano. Unfortunately, they did not respond the way they used to; no, they lacked a significant amount of the dexterity he had grown to expect.
The bit of anxiety he’d held onto welled into a rotting crater as alarm bells rang in his head the more he tried to move them and failed. Amber irises reflected a notably more crimson hue as his lids opened wide and eyes became glassy, quivering the slightest bit. His breathing becomes short and choppy again as an expression of despair paints itself on otherwise already forlorn features. “What...?” His voice is not much more than a whimper, he sounds pathetic and deeply sad. The Veir is trying his best to swallow his emotions and not collapse at that moment, but it’s very clear he’s very upset.
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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"
Re: [Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 2:56 am
by Arkash
Of course, the faces and noises Degare was making through the operation brought him to smile while he continued his work. His focus was intact, regardless, and he wove seamlessly through flesh and tendon so that the attachment was perfect. If the nerves weren't wired correctly, it would disrupt his control over the joints and bring about issues with sensation. If the vessels weren't connected properly, it would cause them to wither and decay as the various cells in the hand were deprived of oxygen, and if the muscles and skin weren't attached properly, there would be more control issues as well as discomfort. So, he paid the utmost attention to the connections, the saddling of joints, and weaving of nerves and vessels.
After a certain point, Degare's noises and quickened breathing withdrew from the sweetness he enjoyed to something less satisfying; shortly after the connection of his nerves. Arkash furrowed his brow at the observation of Degare's reaction but didn't say anything while he was absorbed in his work.
When he was done, he set the apparatus down and gave Degare the greenlight to move them. Despite his confidence in his work, Arkash watched with keen interest as Degare flexed the fingers for the first time, then grew a touch paler when they didn't bend all the way. The little finger continued to curl to a point where it touched the palm while the joints Arkash had created couldn't nearly reach the full ninety-degree bend he sought.
He didn't panic.
His mind raced as he thought of issues and potential screw-ups but he didn't panic.
"Oh!" Arkash started as an idea struck, and a smile pulled at his lips. "You know what it is? They're probably just stiff because they were left out overnight; slightly decayed," he said with a nod, quickly followed by a scoff and a shake of his head, followed by press of his palm to the space above his eyes. "That's so obvious! I don't know how I forgot." Arkash grinned in reassurance as he took a step to the doctor's bag and retrieved the Shapers Pen; a small rod with an opened tip. "Yeah... Yeah, just hold still for a moment," he said with a nod, and pressed the blunt tip to his own chest for a second or two, then took the elf by the wrist once more and guided his hand to the table.
Arkash offered a grin of reassurance before he bent down, aimed the pen, then activated it. A pale, heatless flame of focused intensity was ejected from the tip as Arkash began to invigorate the decayed flesh with fresh vitality, steadily refreshing the otherwise partially decayed meat with each pass of the flame.
When he was done, he let the elf's hand go. "Alright..." He said with an obvious look of concern in his features as he set the pen down. Carefully, he recollected the elf's hand and gently pressed a thumb to his palm while he looked the man in the eyes from below. "Go ahead and bend them," he said with a hopeful glint in his gaze.
Re: [Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 3:25 am
by Degare
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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It was hard to quell his rising panic. His heartbeat had quickened to a fairly swift thrum under the surface as his mind spiraled. While there were tiny echoes of logic in the back of his head trying to reassure him that worst case he could find the necromancer most in his family had always used, there was something about his hand physically not working in front of his eyes that incited this irrefutable emotional distress. He’d relied on full use of the dexterity of both hands for a really long time for comfort; his instruments were something he’d always been able to fall back on in times of stress.
When the little Rath reacted, his head snapped his gaze onto the smaller man and he blinked a few more times as if trying to stabilize his expression. “Please…just…do something.” Degare didn’t even properly internalize what Arkash had said, he genuinely just wanted him to do anything to make it better– the exact methodology of which was far from important at the moment. When he stepped away to go retrieve another tool, the pale elf stood there motionless; perhaps he was even a bit paler than usual.
Not super familiar with the tools of necromancy, the Ferrier wasn’t sure what this was but from the fragments of Arkash’s speech that he had managed to hear properly it was meant to restore vitality to decaying flesh. When the younger man took his wrist, it would be notably limp as the elf offered little resistance. The tip of the pen felt strange against his fingers, but not bad. It was an energy all of its own, a similar sensation to heat but it wasn’t warm.
Having never let go of Degare’s hand, the Rathor speaks again, telling him to try and bend his fingers again. It was true that they felt a bit more responsive this time, but bend they did not. At least, not all the way. They curved at the joints a bit but it felt way too tense, way too tight. He was unable to close his hand into a fist. “I…can’t…?” His words at this point are suffused with sadness and not much more than a low murmur. “Arkash…please.” His hand would have a slight shake to it in the other’s grip with eyes alight with fear, irises flitting between his companion and their hands.
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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"
Re: [Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 5:36 am
by Arkash
The anxiety in the elf's aura was almost tangible in the air. He was unresponsive, wholly fixated on his hand and the stiffened joints of his fingers. As was Arkash, but with the added weight of the elf's despair atop his confused mind. The invigoration of Degare's fingers only seemed to work marginally, which was to say that he'd found a problem, but there was more than one.
"Okay, that's some progress! We're getting closer to fixing it, it's okay!" Arkash called triumphantly but held little to no hope that his optimism might reach the elf. Carefully, he lowered the elf's hand and peered into his eyes. "Okay, Degare? Listen to me. Look at me," he said with budding severity in his tone, and reached to hold the man by his cheek while his left hand gently brushed over his new fingers with the thumb. "I will not rest until I fix it, okay? If I don't finish before nightfall, then I'll stay up all night. Before tomorrow comes, you'll have your fingers back to normal, I promise."
"You can feel my thumb, right?" Arkash asked while he continued to run it along the skin he'd crafted on those digits. "I know I didn't butcher the nerve connection three times, so I know it's not that. It's a problem with the joints, or how I designed them. I'm going to make some test fingers and experiment with the elasticity of the tendons, the muscle mass, the range of movement with the joints, even the placement of the blood vessels if I have to," he continued in hopes of rousing the man from his despair. "It's just a few more hours, okay? Maybe even an hour... As soon as I figure out where I went wrong, I can fix it really quickly. Okay?"
He looked down then at his own left hand while he cradled the elf's, and a flash of recognition filled his gaze. "This hand, right here," Arkash said with a slight change in his tone as he swapped the hold of Degare's hand with his right, and held up his left for the man to see. There, he flexed all his fingers in a wave-like roll to demonstrate the coordination and dexterity he possessed. "I've used it to chop wood, win fights, save lives, and pick locks... And recently, I held your beating heart with this hand." Arkash continued while he held it up and maintained his gaze on the elf's eyes. "...This isn't the hand I was born with. A Necromancer rebuilt everything from the elbow down about a year ago, and it hasn't failed me once. I know I can fix your fingers, I've seen it done before and I carry the proof with me everywhere," he assured as he came to hold Degare's right hand with both of his, and cradled it between his cautious palms.
"I can help you... Just... Don't give up, okay?"
Re: [Couronne] A hankering for hands
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2022 6:24 am
by Degare
TIMESTAMP: -
NOTES: -
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Arkash’s words were delivered quickly, rushed, but he slowed when he requested Degare meet his gaze. Turning his head when the smaller man touched him, he obliged. His breathing was slow, deep, but the pace of it was steeped heavy with his despair. The smallest of smiles pulled at the Ferrier’s lips when the younger Rathor tried to reassure him. “...thank you…” was really all he could say if he wanted to avoid his voice breaking mid sentence, the warmth of the other’s touch granting him just a bit of peace.
At the question, “...Yes.” In that regard, they were fine, at least. The numbness had faded entirely and they perceived stimulus exactly as his natural fingers did. Arkash speaks quickly, as if trying to troubleshoot out loud. Heavier eyelids weighed down, closing his eyes about halfway as reddened irises scanned around the room in thought. “...Okay. Have you, ah…ever dissected a hand before? Cut apart fingers?” His voice quivers and shakes a bit, but overall he manages to hold it fairly steady given his mood. “You can use my other hand to…look at how it’s supposed to be…if you want…” It was the only thing he could think of since his other hand obviously worked fine.
When the little Rath brought his own hand to the elf’s attention, he turned his gaze to it with careful curiosity as the other spoke. Arkash’s sincerity was tangible in his voice and written all over his face. For the briefest of moments, the memory of his still-beating heart clasped in the younger man’s hand as he lay beneath him flashed in his head, eliciting a small laugh– slight warmth returning to the elf’s colder features. “I’ve seen necromancy work…I know it can…it’s just…with my hand in front of me, as it is right now…I…” It’s clear he’s having trouble translating thought to word. Promises that it’ll work in the future don’t seem to be doing much for him, though. He swallows, then speaks again, “The second time…why did you do that, by the way…? Hold my heart like that?” He’d been meaning to ask, and despite his poor mood, he is, ever and always, a slave to his own curiosity. To his understanding, you don’t need to touch the heart at all to repair a punctured lung– especially since at that point, the lung itself had already been fixed. “I’ll…try to be patient,” words spoken softly, a gentle flicker of a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.
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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"