Mayblade 2023 day 20: Scars
Moonlight poured into the room through the open window. The cool, midnight breeze rippled past the curtains, ruffling Tala’s unbound hair. Under the faint luminescence, his skin appeared even paler than usual, casting the blood and the scars on his back into sharp focus. Kai found himself staring at the long, narrow gash that ran across Tala’s back, red and garish. The bleeding had stopped, more or less, but still, it was no pleasant sight. It’d leave a scar for sure.
Tala winced as Kai swabbed the injury with a cotton roll laced with antiseptic. “Stop using that much disinfectant. It hurts like a bitch.”
“That’s not my problem,” Kai muttered. “Shut up and sit still.”
Tala said, “Who died and left you in charge, shithead?”
Kai scowled. “Wish it was you.”
“Yeah, same. I’d rather die than get nursed by you.”
Kai didn’t point out that Tala could’ve actually died. Tala had crashed his motorbike, and the bike had fallen right on top of him. It was a miracle he hadn’t sustained any fractures.
“Then you should've gone to the hospital,” Kai said. “Afraid they’ll stick needles into you, Tala?”
Kai knew that wasn’t the reason. His eyes strayed to the other scars on Tala’s back. Some of them had faded, but they were still very much visible. These were scars from the Abbey, that they all bore, but Tala had more of them than anybody else. Kai knew Tala hated it when people stared at his scars or asked for the stories behind them. The worst of it was when strangers offered condolences, as though they knew the first thing about the Abbey. Even nurses were prone to doing that. It was really no wonder Tala hadn’t gone to the hospital to get the wounds fixed.
Tala scoffed. “Yeah, right.”
