The etiquette of knives

TW: Self harm for a God Quest

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Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best place for working on his quest for Ludo, but Tal couldn't help it. Almost as soon as the Peregrine was flying again he'd loaded up the packages from the Kaiholo Courier depot and headed north on the next leg of his route. He was eager to get back to work, sure... and he definitely wasn't running away from that too-vivid nightmare about Starfall. A brief stop at the Climb to drop off some packages for some Ancients had barely slowed him before he braved Halo's Deepfrost in his newly-repaired vessel. She held up beautifully, and within a few days he'd made it to the Citadel once more.

With the parcels delivered he should have gone to visit his sisters at the family home-and-store where he had sent Boreal on ahead, but instead his feet had pulled him to the snowy Shrine once again. This time he wasn't giving thanks in the form of prayers and food, though.

He was making an offering in blood, to a god who enjoyed messing with him way too much.

"Alright, Ludo. I hope you're payin' attention," the courier grumbled as he knelt in front of the altar. He had his Dagger in one hand and the other was clenched into a fist, a golden ring shining on his middle finger. His sleeve on that arm was rolled up above his elbow as he rested his forearm on the cold stone and took a few quick, shallow breaths. "Right. On three. One... two... fuckingfuckityfuckerfuckfucks!" The litany came out in a strangled growl as he brought the blade down onto his arm, stabbing it half an inch into the muscle of his arm before the pain jerked him to a stop and he curled forward, breath turning into a steam-kettle hiss as he bit his lip against the shock of the metal in his flesh.

Elizabeth

I am not a product of my circumstances.

Clutching her new book close to her chest, Elizabeth hummed softly to herself, more than satisfied with her purchase. It had been a productive day of shopping with the highlight being a lovely conversation with the bookshop owner. They'd fueled her addiction without a second thought, pleased to procure a new regular. 

As she thought passingly about which book she needed to read next to shorten her pile, a string of shouted curses sent a shock of electricity through her body. It seemed to have come from the shrine and she quickly shuffled her way in its direction. What she found was a man knelt at the alter (not unusual) - with a knife in his arm (very unusual).

Elizabeth paused for a moment to assess the surroundings for a culprit, but she didn't see anyone else around. Had they escaped? Or...? She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, even as she pushed the thoughts away. It was possible there was another reason, even if his hand was gripping the handle...

Approaching the man with obvious concern, she tried to distract him. "Hey! Take a deep breath. We're gonna get you out of this." Without dislodging the knife, she gently placed her hand over his to provide support and prevent further injury. Meanwhile, she searched for any supplies to dress the wound. She could investigate the preceding situation after. For now, she needed to address the literal knife in his arm.

Elizabeth

I am a product of my decisions.

He wasn't paying attention to anyone else coming into the shrine at the moment on account of the searing pain in his arm. White teeth had latched onto his lower lip in an effort to distract himself from the wound that was already welling up with blood around the place where the blade had gone in, and Tal realized belatedly that as soon as he pulled the knife out it was going to bleed a lot more.

Fuck.

A gentle hand covered his and the courier flinched in surprise, jerking his head just far enough to the side to see a stranger - not a stranger, someone he'd seen before, somewhere - with worried eyes and a kindly face bending over him. "Ah... yeah, I know I just gotta... pull it out," he wheezed through gritted teeth. Now that there was someone watching him he really couldn't afford to cry, even though that was currently at the top of his 'To Do' list.

But, taking her advice, he managed a slightly deeper breath before jerking the blade out in one sharp motion--

And immediately activated his Ring of Mending.

Frey's gift couldn't entirely fix the damage he'd done to himself, but the worst of the sliced muscle knit back together and the bleeding slowed to a persistent ooze as the deep stab wound healed to the size of a nasty cut beneath the pearlescent glow of the magic. "Ah... thanks... Got some bandages in my Bag," he said, still wincing as he dropped the bloody Dagger on the altar and instinctively pulled his wounded arm in close to his chest. "Holy fuck that hurt."

I am not a product of my circumstances.

Pulling it out was the last thing she would have recommended, considering all the blood being contained by the blade. Yet the man seemed prepared as he removed the knife and activated his ring to close the majority of the laceration. Elizabeth felt confirmed in her suspicions and looked to his face to see the thinly veiled pain there. If he knew there would be so much pain, why did he do it? Was it a form of self-punishment? And why did he look so familiar?

Placing the thoughts in the back of her mind, she found his bag. She would deal with the details after she confirmed he wasn't going to die of blood loss or get an infection. Rifling through produced a roll of gauze. Just more evidence that this was premeditated. Gently holding his hand, she encouraged him to extend his arm, giving her enough access to dress the injury. 

His curse was met with only a small level of sympathy and a moderately concealed level of sarcasm. "Yeah. Well, stabbing yourself in the arm is supposed to hurt." She let the statement hang between them to give him an opportunity to contradict her, but Elizabeth kept her head down to allow him some privacy to make the decision. It wouldn't help to appear accusing and sometimes people found it easier to confess when they didn't think anyone was paying attention. So Elizabeth kept her eyes trained on the wound as she securely wrapped the bandage around to apply pressure.

Elizabeth

I am a product of my decisions.