Icarus
insidious-shadow:
He could tell the young man was in pain, despite his best efforts to conceal his anguish, and Azrael felt a tug in the pit of his stomach every time he vocalized his discomfort. Still, he persisted in his task of changing the stranger’s bandages, noting that though they still looked quite raw and bloody, Rhey’lu was in better shape than he had found him in. The young man sighed, presumably as the ointment took effect, and Azrael allowed himself to relax, his shoulders sagging.
As he tended to the wound on Rhey’lu’s forehead, he was aware of the stranger’s crimson-flecked eyes falling on his face. In response, he felt his face grow hot, and he was grateful his work on the bandages gave him an excuse not to look back at the strange young man’s eyes.
There was a break in the silence, the man’s soft voice asking a question, it seemed. His long, pale fingers gestured to Azrael’s collar, and for a moment Azrael was not entirely certain of what he was referring to – the thick, inked black lines, or the angry violet ones? Instinctively he tugged upwards on his collar, not knowing if it helped his situation at all. He was leaning over the bed, hunched as he dabbed at Rhey’lu’s forehead with ointment.
“It is a long story,” Azrael murmured thoughtfully, placing a new layer of gauze on the injury. “Perhaps I’ll tell you one day, when you’re feeling better.” Tying the last bandage around the young man’s head, securing the gauze in place, Azrael took a moment to look over his work.
“That should do you for now,” he said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. “They… you’re healing well, so I imagine we won’t need quite so many next time. You should get some rest. That will help,” he added, gesturing to the mug on the bedside table. Nodding slowly to himself, Azrael took his leave, rubbing his collar anxiously as he limped through the cabin towards the door.
Azrael appeared discomforted by the attention brought to the markings, quickly adjusting his collar as he continued to tend to Rhey’lu’s injury. His eyes widened slightly the moment he did so however, noticing now the dark ragged lines that cut into his skin. What had happened to him for Azrael to sustain such a scar? The tone of his voice suggested it was a sensitive subject, one that he wasn’t ready to discuss. At least not now.
Once the last bandage was tied and secure, Rhey’lu glanced up at him as Azrael stepped back, looking him over to assess his work. He felt... a little better, admittedly, now that it was done. The ointment was soothing to his marred and inflamed wounds, and the bandages were just snug enough that he wasn’t needlessly uncomfortable, but was sure they wouldn’t come undone. He probably couldn’t have done a better job himself, he mused.
Rhey’lu managed a weary smile, nodding as Azrael spoke.
“Th..” He paused, the words coming to mind tasting just as foreign as they sounded, though he was sure they made sense. “Th-ank you.. again.”







