[Jessari]

It was a perfect day to visit the market, although the ever-present bandanna across her eyes kept Kisa from actually seeing it. For her, the beauty of the day lay entirely within her other senses. The wind that swept in from the sea played with her hair and wrapped her skirt about her legs. It was a cool, refreshing contrast to the heat of the sun that pressed against her skin.

She made her way to the marketplace, using her odd sixth-sense to avoid oncoming passersby or to step around a crate lying in the path. It was similar, she'd explained to Viktor, to watching an artist sketch out a drawing. When she tuned in to this method of sight, the vague outlines of nearby objects would begin to unfold around her, and if both she and the object remained still, more detail would fill in with time. Objects or people in motion were more difficult to 'see', but combined with her keen sense of hearing, it was possible to locate them in time to avoid running into them.

And then she was there amidst the stalls. Ah the smells! There was the ever-present odor of fish, of course, but once she dug past that, there was the salty taste of sea in the air. Her head tilted back slightly as she sniffed the air, a dozen different scents rushing to present her with their stories. As she passed a fruit vendor, she could smell the ripened peaches warming in the sun, and she couldn't resist reaching out an exploring hand to brush against their soft, round surfaces. "Don't squeeze them unless you plan to buy," the vendor said roughly. Kisa ducked her head, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks even though she knew she hadn't mishandled the fruit. "Sorry," she whispered. "I'll take two, please?"

The money she held out was snatched from her grasp, and two of the peaches were shoved at her. She could tell, by scent and by touch, that one of the peaches was overly ripe, most likely a bruised specimen that the vendor thought only a blind woman would buy. Her cheeks burned even hotter at the injustice of it. If Viktor was with her, he wouldn't have let the vendor get away with that. He would have stood up for her. But she had insisted on some measure of independence, and so she had to face this test alone. It would be easy to just walk on as if she hadn't noticed anything amiss, but she had to start holding her own sometime.

"Excuse me," she said, her voice wavering only a little, "this one is too ripe. I'd like to choose a replacement." As she spoke, she drew herself up to her full height, a very unimpressive 5'3", and held out the offending fruit. With a heavy, defeated sigh, the vendor took the peach back. "As you like." Drawing her fingers across the produce, Kisa quickly selected one that was nice and firm. Nodding in the direction of the vendor, she continued on her way, a small smile curving her lips.

A couple hours (and a couple shopping bags) later, Kisa found a quiet bench just outside the market to sink onto. She sighed as she situated her purchases around her legs. Who would have known that shopping could be this exhausting? Digging around inside one of the bags, she withdrew a peach, savoring the feel and the smell of it before putting it to her lips.

Before she could take a bite, however, it was snatched away from her. She gasped, recoiling as she called upon her second sight. Glowing lines appeared in the darkness, outlining the person who stood in front of her. There was a juicy crunch, then she could hear the stranger chewing. "Delicious," came a mocking voice. Male. Fear thrilled through Kisa, dousing her with adrenaline. "What? No greeting for me, sweet?" In a motion too quick for her second sight to catch, he reached out and took hold of her chin with fingers sticky with juice from the stolen peach. "Please," she whimpered. She wanted to run, but her body was frozen to the bench. "Please, don't."

Her words drowned out by his laughter. "Is that all you've got to say, my little blind beauty?" His outline disappeared as he moved, and when it re-formed, his face dominated her sight, mere inches from her own face. "But you're right. We shouldn't do this here. I know a place where we can enjoy ourselves without disturbing anyone. Come on." With that, he grabbed her by the arm with a grip strong enough to bruise and began dragging her away from the populated streets of the market. It was then Kisa found it in herself to struggle, but he was too strong for her to break away from. It was like being in a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.

[Jaykobell]

Despite the heat, Miroslav had settled for wearing a jacket. A thin sleeveless black shirt, arms covered with a black jacket, and completed with generic blue jeans. With his short black hair and his blue eyes, he looked like nothing special. His appearance described his personality to a T. As such, he blended rather well with the crowd, walking amongst the strangers as if he were one of them. He tilted his head slightly at the thought of being "one of them," but he pushed the thought away. Despite his generic appearance, he knew only too well that he was nothing like them. Perhaps not a freak, but certainly not a pure-blooded human. Even the nice weather couldn't convince him otherwise of the sad truth.

He usually didn't go to the market alone. As much as he was a good cook and relatively talented at taking care of the household, his shopping skills were lacking. Should he buy the most expensive brands? Should he settle for bulk offers? Perhaps discounts were the safest bet? He hadn't shopped often to know how to shop in the most effective way. However, his step-sister — who usually took care of said shopping — had business elsewhere today. Being the father figure of their small family, the chore had fallen onto Miroslav. What to buy...? The siblings had said nothing about dinner. He sighed inwardly.

Amongst the stands, he noticed a particularly irritable fruit seller. He also smelled the distinct, strong smell of fish. His siblings didn't fancy fish, but he had a secret love for the taste. It was so different, compared to the generic meat, chicken, and ham. However, since his siblings often settled for different dishes, he barely ever got to eat any fish. He was a bit submissive by nature, so if they wanted chicken, he kept quiet and cooked chicken. He shook his head to get rid of the smell — in vain — and continued down the stalls.

After some unsuccessful shopping, Miroslav left the stalls and decided to take a break. He sat down on one of the small benches, taking in the view. If he ignored the crowd, he could actually see a beautiful day in front of him. He could almost say that he felt at home in such a picture. The sea, the sun, the wonderful weather... But as he was admiring the scenery, something stuck out in the crowd like a sore thumb: a man, dragging a young woman by the arm. His first reaction was to stare and observe the two, if only because it ruined the nice picture. He hadn't thought about interfering, if only because his mentality was still stuck to, "let them deal with their problems." However, he didn't encourage violence by any stretch of the mind, and the girl was obviously struggling. It didn't take him long to put one and one together.

He got up from the bench and followed the two quietly, walking quickly, but not running. After a short chase, Miroslav grabbed the man's arm tightly and forced him to stop in his tracks. "I don't think the young lady is interested in going anywhere with you," he said in a soft-spoken voice, hardly anything intimidating. His eyes, although not aggressive or violent, were definitely peculiar. There was something to him, but it was hard to tell what it was.

[Jessari]

Kisa was crying now, the thick fabric of her bandanna absorbing the tears before they could run down her cheeks. Memories were running through her head as she struggled, images of the last time she had been held against her will. Those memories brought her almost physical pain, and she bared her teeth against them as she continued to fight. But the struggles of a small woman weren't enough to even phase the man who had taken such interest in her. He simply laughed as he dragged her further from the bench.

"I don't think the young lady is interested in going anywhere with you," came a new voice, and Kisa whipped her head towards the sound of it. "Help," she pleaded, desperation evident in her tone, "please, help me!" She was too distraught to focus her second sight, and only a few basic lines showed her where the new stranger stood. Life had taught her not to trust anyone besides Viktor, but her adoptive father wasn't here. She threw her body weight towards the newcomer, not that it helped much with the first man's steely grip about her arm.

Their forward progress stopped, and although his grip didn't loosen, Kisa felt the first man turn about. "What's this, then?" he sneered. "A knight who's lost his shining armor? Trust me, boy, you don't want to get involved here. Back off!" What Kisa couldn't see was the way his free hand dropped to his side, or the knife that suddenly found its way into his palm. Apparently he wasn't too particular about the type of thrill he found today, and if he had to let her go in order to draw some blood, he was more than willing to do so.

((sorry if this post is just a bit fail. I'm headed off to work.))

[Jaykobell]

[ Don't worry, that's plenty~ <3 ]

Well, he can't say he had expected the man to let Kisa go, granted. He hadn't expected the knife. He stared down at the weapon for a bit, an eye twitching slightly. "Isn't this excessive?" he asked the brute, genuinely wondering why the man was so determined to run off with Kisa.

He had to admit he wasn't very interested in getting injured for a complete stranger; for a human stranger. However, her pleading words had also surprised him, and he knew his conscience wouldn't let him run away from something like this. Human or not, it was heartless to let a young woman get carried away by a complete stranger. It didn't take a genius to realize what kind of things that man wanted to do to Kisa. Something nagged him in the back of his mind, saying how she wouldn't find him as heroic after she learned about him and what he was. Miroslav pushed the worry away as much as possible; this ordeal was all about doing the right thing, and he couldn't refuse those pleading, desperate words.

To go back to the scene at hand, he didn't let go of the man's arm. If he did so, he would probably take the opportunity to run away. However, they were dangerously close. If the man lunged forward, Miroslav probably wouldn't have time to avoid a stab to his body. Despite the danger, his patience still favored diplomacy to violence. "I'm not interested in fighting you. Let the girl go." Despite being diplomatic, his eyes were slowly beginning to display aggressiveness. He would settle for diplomacy, but not for long.

[Jessari]

Kisa dug her fingernails into the man's skin, but he didn't seem to notice. Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease ran the litany in her head as her senses strained painfully to keep track of what was going on. The tension between the two men was easy enough for her to read, even without sight, and she didn't know what she was afraid of most: the chance that the stranger might walk away and save his own skin, or the chance that he might stay and find himself in danger because of her.

Violence frightened Kisa, perhaps even more than it did the average person. During her childhood, she had had more intimate experiences with pain than others would in their entire lifetimes. She'd known the small, almost insignificant twinge caused by a papercut or a skinned knee, known the sharp stab of heart disease, and repeatedly, the agony of gunshot wounds. Kisa had felt all these and more before her tenth birthday, and had somehow survived. The terror that shook her now was understandable.

"One man's blood is another man's wine," she heard her attacker chuckle just before he released her wrist. "I'll deal with you and then finish my business with the little darling. Can't be to difficult to catch up to a blind girl, eh?" The freedom of movement was so unexpected that she lost her balance and fell against the cobblestones of the old road. She stumbled to her feet then ran, only to stop once she had passed the bench. Her mind screamed at her to flee, to escape this madness, but she found that she could not abandon the man who hadn't taken the opportunity to abandon her. Kisa crouched behind the bench instead, lines of concentration forming across her forehead as her second sight showed her the scene in front of her.

With a violent twist of his shoulders, the attacker yanked his arm from Miro's grasp, using the shifting of his stance to bring his knife hand up and towards the other man in a blur of steel.

((M'kays, officially giving you permission to completely god-mod the attacker in any way you'd like. Fight him, destroy him, run him off or knock him out, Ere has no love or sympathy for the man. XD ))

[Jaykobell]

Stereotypes: they were funny to some people, Miroslav figured. Although he found the idiom to be of bad taste, it didn't really faze him. In his lifetime, he had heard worse things, mostly things concerning him. He sighed inwardly as he remembered the words of those scientists; a freak, an oddball, a weirdo, a monster; the list went on. Some were milder than others, but they were all as hurtful.

Miro was surprised to see the man let Kisa go, though his surprise diminished after that comment. He would just run after her after he was done with Miro...? Once again, the human-Hydrokuhna found himself sighing inwardly. He could understand his siblings's grudges when he met humans such as this man. You could say that some humans, quite simply, were heartless.

But the daydream caught him off guard; with a sharp twist, the man pushed Miro away, forcing him to let go of his hold on the armed man. Caught off guard and too close to react effectively — as he had feared — he let out a loud groan when he felt the cold steel sinking straight into his shoulder. He gritted his teeth as the pain pulsed through his shoulder and then through his body. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the man, grinning from a successful hit. This was a tricky situation for Miro; moving away would most likely cause the man to pull the knife out, which was bad. Still, there wasn't much he could do at such a close range...

Quickly taking a few steps back, the brute did as Miro had anticipated and pulled the knife out of the shoulder wound. Since he couldn't take his eyes off his attacker, Miro had to settle for letting the wound bleed. What in the world am I doing... he couldn't help but think as he felt his shirt soak up his blood. It took everything last bit of his self-control to not assault the man with his natural powers. If he showed what he could do, he would probably make a scene, and things wouldn't get any better. Still, he had to find a way to make this work. Those guys are usually scaredy-cats: they act tough and macho, only to run away the moment the tables turned.

When Miro saw the bully dash towards him another time, he had to think quickly. This was tricky every way he looked at it. Miro was a support fighter: he couldn't remember the last time he'd fought as a front liner. He always finished people off instead of starting the fights. Not to mention, he wasn't a physical fighter, either; so not using his powers was just as bad as using them. It was either getting beaten up, or making a scene from his powers. The latter was more appealing.

Under the pressure, Miro's thought-process went for the ridiculous solution. Instead of avoiding the second knife assault and then countering, he just took the attack head-on. This resulted in the blade sinking into his arm, and Miro couldn't help but flinch from the pain. It was a small knife, so the blade hadn't pierced through his arm, but it certainly had suck in pretty far. Only after the deed did Miro realize he could've simply avoided the attack. Still, the strategy had worked. Quickly, Miroslav grasped the bully's wrist before he could retreat and charge again. This had lasted long enough for a simple skirmish.

As soon as he'd grabbed the wrist, the man's hand and arm slowly started to shrink. The effect happened extremely quickly; starting at the grasped hand and arm, it spread to the other arm, the legs, the chest, the face... In less than a minute, the man's body shrunk, as if he were going through severe dehydration. Water: his element, the curse he had gotten from his father. This was a power he never used, since it was virtually useless, unless Miroslav could latch onto the enemies. Still, he knew dehydration would cause the bully to flee. Signs included dizziness, fatigue... as well as an acute sense of fear. Miro did his homework; when he learned about his power, he had no clue how to use it effectively. It was only while doing research on dehydration that he learned about the possible side-effects he could create.

Needless to say, just watching his body shrink was enough to scare the heck out of that bully. Miro had to suppress a smile. Despite the pain still burning within his arm and shoulder, he was rather satisfied with the outcome. Letting his knife drop to the ground and letting out a cry of shock, the man just ran off. Miro watched as he wobbled and sometimes lost his balance as he ran away. Only then could Miro break a satisfied smile, as well as a relived sigh. The people who'd been watching gasped when they saw the bully shrinking, so many kept their distance from Miroslav. Ah, well...

He picked up the abandoned knife — so that no one else would pick it up and do it something harmful with it —before heading off to the nearest bench; coincidentally, the same one Kisa was hiding behind. Since he'd kept his attention on the man, Miro hadn't seen where Kisa had ran off to; to him, she'd just fled to get to safety. He sighed slowly and deeply. "No shopping done for tonight, and my arm is going numb..." Needless to say, he hadn't planned his day to unfold like that.

[ Hope this post is A-OK. XD; If anything's wrong, poke me and I'll edit it~ ]

[Jessari]

Kisa tried to watch the fight, but the two men were moving to quickly for her second sight to get a fix on them. They were nothing but blurred lines against the solid outlines of the buildings behind them. She had to settle for straining her ears towards them, cringing at each sound. It didn't seem like it was going well for her would-be rescuer, and when the lines paused, the men standing close together, she feared the worst.

Then, to her surprise, the attacker turned and ran. The clattering of his fallen knife upon the ground was music to her ears. The stranger who had come to her rescue came towards her, and Kisa reflexively ducked her head down behind the bench. She heard the quiet creak of the boards as he settled into the seat. Then he spoke, talking to himself it seemed, and his words concerned her. He had been hurt after all, and it was all her fault. If she hadn't insisted on coming to the market without Viktor, if she hadn't tried to find a secluded place to enjoy her fruit, if, if, if. And now he sat there, with nothing to show for his bravery other than an injured arm. Her sensitive nose picked up the tang of iron in the air, and she knew he was bleeding. Bleeding because of her.

The thought of what she had to do frightened her almost as much as her attacker had, but she knew that it wouldn't help to dwell on it. Rising from her hiding place, she rounded the bench to sit on the edge. Turning to face him, she stammered, "Th-thank you so much." Where another person would have said, 'how can I repay you?', Kisa said instead, "I'm going to repay you". She considered trying to explain, but he'd probably think she was crazy and run off. Instead, she said simply, "Just don't...don't freak out, okay?"

With that, she reached up and lifted her bandana, her soft blue eyes blinking hard in the unfamiliar light of the sun. As her eyes focused on him, Miro would feel a warmth creeping over him, a numbness in the injured areas as the pain (as well as the injuries themselves) seeped away. In contrast, Kisa shivered as if brushed by a cold wind, grimacing as the wounds that had previously belonged to him opened up in her shoulder, in her arm.

As the full effect of the pain hit her, she whimpered and leaned forwards, grasping the back of the bench with her uninjured arm to steady herself. It took her a few moments of gritted teeth to get her breathing under control, then she lifted her eyes to him, the bandanna still sitting just above her eyes. "H-help me bind them?" she asked matter-of-factly. Her eyes held a far different question: now that he knew what kind of a freak she was, would he curse her, run away from her, try to kidnap her himself? But Kisa had had to take this chance. It was the least she could do for one who had put himself in harm's way for a complete stranger.

(purrfect, m'dear. No editing needed. :3 Likewise, lemme know if my post needs some tweaking/rewriting)

[Jaykobell]

Staying on the bench really wouldn't do him any good, so Miroslav figured he had to go get some bandages. He would use his shirt, but the thing was nearly all drenched in blood. He sighed at the thought of losing this shirt. He doubted he had anything back home to wash blood off...

As he was about to leave to find bandages, the girl he'd saved suddenly appeared from behind the bench. Since he hadn't expected that, Miro jumped with surprise and even put a hand over his chest. She hadn't ran away to get to safety? She was still so close to the scene that the guy could've found her, had anything happened to Miro. "Ah, you're..." He looked back at her when she spoke, but he had no time to really say anything. It seemed Kisa had an idea of her own, and before Miro could ask anything, the girl went along with it. He had no clue what he was supposed to think about the last comment: "don't freak out." He was used to uncanny people, but he had to wonder why the situation had brought up the comment.

The first thing that surprised him was her eyes. The bully had said Kisa was blind, but seeing her eyes, she looked perfectly healthy. Of course, he knew nothing about blindness and if someone's eyes looked any different when affected with blindness. The second thing was the strange feeling he got when Kisa revealed her eyes. It wasn't unwelcome, especially since the pain of his injuries was slowly dissipating. At that point, the fact the injuries had completely healed was unknown to him.

The third thing is what truly surprised him. He could only wonder why Kisa was shivering when the sun was shining so brightly above them. Only then did Miro realize exactly what Kisa had done, once again putting two and two together. It wasn't too hard to realize that she had transferred the wounds from his body to her own. Right away, he had to wonder why she had done such a thing. A simple thank you would have been enough, he thought as Kisa whimpered and steadied herself by grabbing onto the bench.

His first reaction was to try to touch her and help her get back her balance. However, he refrained from doing that, since everyone reacted very differently to touch. Instead, he just settled for doing as she'd asked. "Of course," he replied just as matter-of-factly as she had. He had no bandages, but... well, his shirt was already ruined. He got up from the bench and turned around so he could take his shirt off. His arm and part of his chest were still covered in blood, but nonetheless, he put his jacket on and zipped it up. Ah, he wasn't the type of man who could walk around with a bare chest. While most men liked showing their manly six-packs, Miroslav liked his intimacy. Not to mention he was average, so he had no six-pack to show off, anyway.

"I don't have any bandages, so let me rip this up..." He preferred to state the obvious and to keep Kisa updated than to keep quiet. He knew, from experience, that just speaking could help others feel a bit more comfortable. With his arm healed, he had no trouble ripping the clean parts of the shirt so he could wrap Kisa's — or rather, his own, really — injuries. "They're deep, so cleaning them with water would hurt you even more," he admitted as he wrapped the cloths around her injuries. It was a bit makeshift, but it would at least keep Kisa from bleeding. "We're nowhere close to Medicai, but there's probably a small clinic nearby..." He paused for a minute. "I'd feel better if I could escort you where they can treat you properly." He was no doctor, nor was he really that comfortable messing with people's bodies in that fashion. Those wounds might need a few stitches, and he wasn't going to do anything that drastic. Not to mention, doctors have pills and the right tools to treat injuries, whereas Miroslav — and the stalls around in the market — didn't.

There was another short pause from him. He also messed with the ripped shirt, his hands getting soaked just a little bit with blood. Er. That wasn't very smart, was it? He needed to throw it away in the nearest trash can. "I have to say that's a rather dangerous power you have there..." He had to admit his curiosity was tingling... along with his conscience. "I feel bad. A simple thank you would've been enough for me."

He still acted and talked as if Kisa's power were something you saw everyday. Still unknown to her, he could relate to her. At that point, he could understand her comment about not freaking out, and he could relate to that, too.

[ Blah blah blah yada yada yada. So rambly. :| And I'm assuming Kisa's power doesn't clean the blood... If it does, poke me and I'll edit that little part out. XD; But don't you look manly and macho, Miro, half-covered in the blood of your enemy. Oho. :u ]

[Jessari]

It was just as she'd remembered it, the pain that sprung from her arm and licked across her chest, her neck. The fear, however, had grown quieter now that the moment of decision was past, leaving her feeling almost peaceful. Although her lips were pressed into thin, pale lines because of the pain, her eyes were filled with wonder. Her gaze flitted about, first to the smallish buildings surrounding them, then to the cobblestones beneath their feet, then to the sky, greedily eating up the detail and the colors. After being confined to finding her way with her second sight (which operated only in black and varied greys), she craved colors with an almost physical hunger.

All the while, her eyes kept returning to Miro then flitting away again shyly. He was the first person she'd seen with her normal sight in years. Well, besides Viktor, and because he insisted she wear her bandanna even around him, she had to sneak in and look at him when he was sleeping. It just wasn't the same. But Miro... She'd already taken all the pain he had to give. He was a real, breathing human being that she could safely look at without worrying if he had some kind of disease that would be funneled into her body. It was almost like, after years of being told that fire would hurt you and actually getting burned badly several times, you found that you could hold it safely in the palm of your hand.

Despite being freed of that worry, Kisa still felt very awkward as he deftly bound her wounds. She'd always hidden in Viktor's shadow, and being the focus of someone's attention was an uncomfortable feeling. "Words without actions are meaningless," she said softly, her eyes flickering to his and then away, as she pretended to inspect the bindings. "You risked your life for mine, so the least I could do was take away your pain. I've survived worse, anyway." Kisa attempted to make the situation sound trivial, but she couldn't hide the tremor in her voice. Her entire body throbbed in sympathy with the sharp pains in her arm and shoulder, and although he had bound her injuries soon after they'd appeared, she worried about the blood loss.

She bit her lip, considering. "I'm...not sure a clinic is a good idea." She studied a little beetle that crawled along the back of the bench, marveling at the metallic green colors of its carapace. "We've never...I'm not sure what they'd find. You know, in my blood." She and Viktor had always avoided hospitals for that reason. There was the chance that she'd appear completely normal to their tests, but Viktor had never thought it worth the risk of having any anomalies discovered. It was just too dangerous for her. "You're not afraid of me?" she asked, raising her eyes to Miro and studying his face curiously.

[Jaykobell]

He was a bit perplexed. He was honest when he said that a simple thank you would have been plenty. He also had to admit he had never imagined the girl to do such a thing. He hadn't expected any reward beyond "thank you." Perhaps he was just simplistic? His siblings always teased him about being so easy to please. He also didn't quite like her last comment. "That's no reason to hurt yourself." He had suffered from worse, too, back in his childhood. Still, that didn't mean they had to go around getting injured. "I don't expect people to give me generous rewards for doing the right thing." He wasn't arguing very hard, or even passionately, about the issue. He was speaking with a tone of, "don't you agree?".

Her refusal to visit a clinic also put Miro in a very delicate situation. He was no doctor, and he didn't know any doctor, either. Well, he knew one scientist, who could possibly do something like stitch simple injuries. He crossed his arms then. "I'm not a doctor, and the shirt is really makeshift," he admitted with a perplexed frown. "I doubt they would need to do any tests. I would really feel better if you got proper medical care," he repeated, insisting that he didn't want to just leave her like this. Miro's goal had been to keep that bully from attacking Kisa, but then she ended up taking his injuries for him. The ordeal brought Miroslav back to square one, so he had to redo the "saving the victim" all over again. In any case, that was the logic his head had opted for. "If you insist, at least give me your consent to go to a pharmacy. I could buy the proper things, so I could disinfect and bandage them properly." Infection was the most troubling problem at this moment. If the worst had happened, that exposure to the ambient air could have been enough to infect the injuries, and if Kisa did get an infection, he would really feel bad.

When she asked if he were afraid of her, Miro blinked slowly at her question. "Your power is intriguing, but not unsettling." He paused for a moment, staring down at Kisa as she studied his face. "I've seen a lot of people like you," he finally added as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "If you'd like, we can talk a little more; but first, would you rather be escorted to a small clinic or to a pharmacy? I'm sorry if I sound... pushy; but I would really feel better if you would agree to proper medical care." They could dwell in their past later; right now, he just wanted to make sure she would be fine. He couldn't make those injuries disappear entirely, but he was literally the only one who could make sure they didn't get infected or worse.