Casting Pearls Before Swine [Goblin!]

[Bunbun]

Gods, is it really necessary for us to learn all of this? When on earth am I going to use any of it? I bet not even the people who wrote this damn thing can remember any of it...

Katarina's thoughts ran wildly off track as she idly flipped through the pages of the hefty textbook placed in front of her. Magic theory had never been a strong point of hers- she picked up on things much quicker through hands-on experience than she did through reading, and even then, her methods of using magic relied much more heavily on raw intuition than knowledge. She'd spent her fair share of time scanning through books, for certain, but she couldn't get the information to really sink in for the life of her.

Several other Airelos University students went about their business scattered in different locations throughout the study area, many of them forming small groups and discussing the material amongst themselves. It might have done Katarina some good to join up with a group of her own, but for whatever reason, people always seemed to be too exhausted to stick around with her for very long and weren't too keen on approaching her while she was studying.

The cat-eared student made one final effort to understand what exactly she was looking at before suddenly letting out a frustrated sigh and burying her face in her hands, apparently oblivious or uncaring of any odd looks she may have earned by doing so. How was she supposed to make sense of any of this? She'd never even seen that damn symbol in her life! What she wouldn't give for a good distraction right about now...

[GoblinFae]

Of all the asinine and heinous things, tripping and breaking a limb while being chased by a pack of common wolves was certainly up there. The only thing to make the situation worse for Tighearnán was the fact that he had secretly been in the form of a massive wild boar and as such had to transform back into his human form in order to return his rooms and seek medical attention. An albeit already excruciatingly painful process was just made worse by the fractured forelimb that mangled further upon needing to be shrunk and narrowed into his human form.

It had taken the young man the better part of an hour to just sit up off the dew-stained grass and collect his tucked away clothes. Looking at the arm had required another long pause and rest as the sight of the limb hanging at such an unnatural angle in at least two possibly three spots had sent a fresh wave of pain racing through him.

This was not going to be a simple splint and fix.

Being as the young Lord was not publicly out as a wereboar and tended to have a bit of an adverse reaction to some forms of magic, he was none too keen to head directly to the healing wards for care.

Of all the days, it had to be today as well!

He reigned in his irritation and used his winter scarf to make a supportive sling for his arm. Every step made him feel ill as it jostled the limb even the slightest. There was nothing for it though, he was going to require assistance, or at the very least an advanced spellbook with some of the more primitive forms of healing that relied more on pure ability over learned spellwork. AND he needed to get this all done before his post-lunch exam on alternative uses for deadly flora.

Tighearnán checked his pocket one last time for the sample of Death Apple sap he had collected for extra credit. Still there. Now all that was left was getting himself to the library and pouring through some dusty tomes for a solution to his current predicament. Easy.Easy at least until after a good half hour of searching the library revealed the book missing from its shelf and the young Lord was finding that the pain was having quite the adverse effect on him. This was the fifth time alone he'd had to wipe clammy sweat off his brow and the seventh he'd had to fight down another wave of nausea.

He looked out then at the inept students and their fruitless attempts to grasp the simplest of things when he caught sight of a pair of disgruntled cat ears flicking in irritation as their occupant groaned in frustration.

The healer cat. Perfection. Perhaps he could cut out the middle man entirely and just have her do the work for him. No reading, no fussing, no nosy healers. Bing bang boom.The upperclassman made his way to her side, silently waving away some of the nearby students for their curious looks.

"You look like you could do with a spot of hands on practice as opposed to dank bookworming. Interested in your first volunteer practical?"

[Bunbun]

Two fluffy ears perked up suddenly as a voice sounded out from beside Katarina, and she wasted no time in swivelling around in her seat to meet its owner- or rather, its owner's torso. There was a brief bewildered pause before she craned her neck up in order to make eye contact, staring blankly at his face for a moment before coming to a realization.

This was... er... that guy! She'd never gotten the chance to speak with him face-to-face, but a lot of the students she'd talked to seemed to have some kind of opinion on him. Gods only knew what someone like him was doing coming to her to ask something, but she wasn't about to throw away a perfectly good excuse to go and do anything that wasn't reading through a bunch of books for once.

She hopped energetically to her feet, producing a variety of quiet jingles from her various accessories as she did so and shooting him an excited grin. "Oh, thank the gods. If I had to read through one more page of that thing, I might have lost my mind. Anything to get away from it for a while..."

She trailed off suddenly, catching herself from rambling on for too long and potentially scaring off her newest acquaintance right off the bat. Instead, she glanced down towards his injured arm, giving a small nod before continuing in a quieter tone.

"Uh, right. That is, I'd be happy to help. I'm guessing you're probably looking for someone to help with that arm...?"

[GoblinFae]

Tighearnán blinked. And she was already exhausting. Well this was going to be a fun experience.

"That is indeed the aforementioned practice. Perhaps we should take this elsewhere given your...exuberant enthusiasm?" The man was holding back so many words, he felt it was a miracle that his jaw did not crack under the pressure of restraining them. His head dipped some as he mentally dodged a whack to the back of his head from Ever Courageous who...was. Not. There. Riiiiight. It really was becoming a bit of a problem how his thoughts seemed to always drift back to him and expect him to always be at his side. A problem he would have to deal with when not quite so mangled.

"I believe the fourth floor, southeast wing classroom is still out of use and out of the way if you'd like to gather up all your," he eyed her mess on the table and carefully picked his words, "things."

[Bunbun]

Katarina simply smiled and nodded along as he spoke, clearly oblivious to any attempts made on his part to hold back his true feelings. Partly because she wasn't about to go second guessing the person offering her a chance to escape her boredom, but also partly because she didn't even fully understand what he did say (seriously, "exuberant"? Sounded like some made-up nonsense to her). What she knew for sure is that she was getting a chance to learn in the way that suited her best- no reading, no memorization, just pure hands-on experience. It wasn't too surprising, then, that she had almost immediately forgotten what she had been doing there in the first place and seemed genuinely a bit surprised when he suggested that she collect her things before leaving.

"Oh, right! Ahahaha..."

She spent a few moments hurriedly picking up her assorted items, stuffing them hastily into a bag and slinging it over her shoulder before lifting the hefty textbook into her arms and turning back towards him.

"Alright, that should be everything. I'm ready to get moving if you are!"

[GoblinFae]

He sighed heavily, staring impassively about the library as he waited for her. The pain in his arm was beginning to make him feel ill and he could already feel a headache brewing as a crushing band of pain across the front of his skull. Hopefully this would be sorted quick enough, Tighearnán still had that research assignment for Master Collinth to finish and his progress had been dismal to say the least. Perhaps the Garnersmith method might prove more fruitful?

His eyes snapped to her, eyeing her deeply before motioning with a very slight tilt of his head and brow towards the library entrance, sweeping his good hand out in a broader gesture to motion her forward first. He'd nearly used the wrong one and had to hide a wince as even that slight jerk sent a new excruciating wave of fire racing through his nerve endings.

Once out of the library he strode forward with long even strides, taking care to keep his arm carefully tucked in against his middle and his scarf sling to hopefully hide most of his predicament.

"How long do you imagine this should take to complete?"

[Bunbun]

Katarina seemed happy enough to take the lead, scurrying out of the library when he motioned for her to do so. Despite the lead he'd given her, though, it didn't take long at all for him to catch up with her as the difference between their stride lengths quickly made itself evident. Apparently, he was in quite a rush!

"How long? Hmmm..." She turned her head to face him as he walked up beside her, quickening her own pace to an awkward half-jog in order to keep up with his longer strides. "Well, I guess it kinda depends on how bad the injury is. I haven't actually gotten the chance to look at it, after all," she nodded her head in the general direction of his injured arm, seeing as her own arms were currently occupied. "Bigger problem means it'll take longer, obviously. But to be honest, I don't really have that much control over how the healing works or how long it takes. I sort of just... point the magic in the right direction and it does its own thing from there. If I had to take a guess, though... probably a few minutes? At least, to put things back where they should be. It's still gonna be pretty sore for a while afterwards."

[GoblinFae]

Tighearnán sighed. Of course, she had a point. How could she know how bad the break was without seeing it. Was the exhaustion of his night search and now the pain addling his brain this much? Hopefully it wouldn't affect his research after. He simply did not have time for a nap right now. There was still so much that needed doing.

"I suppose a few minutes is not so bad. I have known healers to take much longer while still in their studies. You must be quite accomplished. It seems I chose my savior wisely.

"Right this way," he added while holding open the empty classroom door for her. The room was a bit dusty and used more for storage and the odd couple seeking a dark corner to get frisky in. Desks and chairs were pushed to the edges of the room, stacked and waiting for a time when they might be needed. Names written in dust spoke of the others who had been in the room and thought themselves in love. The nobleman had to freeze his eyes to keep from rolling them out of his head at it all. This was why he preferred having his own room now. At least he didn't have to contend with sneaking into unused spaces just to do some questionable work like now.

"Ready when you are. Is there anything you need from me to begin?" He pulled his cloak off, revealing the badly mangled arm. Tighearnán turned rather green at the sight of the limb now three times the size it was when he first dragged himself out of the dewy grass that morning. The way it angled definitely indicated it was broken in three places and not two as he previously speculated. The man's lips turned white as birch parchment and he swayed slightly on his feet at the sight. He felt ill and it was as if seeing the offending injury brought the waves of pain in harsher more noticeable contrast.

"The sooner the better, yes?"

[Bunbun]

"Oh, shit."

Katarina went wide-eyed as Tighearnán revealed his arm, clearly taken aback by the extent of the injury. That was... considerably worse then she was expecting, and for a brief moment she wondered if it was really something within her capacity to heal. But then again, she'd have to be fixing stuff like this eventually, right? And it wasn't as if she could make it any worse.

"Okay. Umm... It should be doable. But it's not going to be easy, for either of us. My magic is kind of... straightforward? It's going to try its hardest to make things how they should be and it's not going to be all that gentle about it. You're probably going to want to pull away or squirm around or something in the middle of it, which I really need you to not do, otherwise it'll just make everything worse. And... try not to scream? We'll probably both get in trouble if you do."

She paused to glance around the room, her eyes settling on something as she came to a sudden realization and scampered off to the side. There was a quiet but intense sneeze- apparently she didn't deal too well with the dust- before she returned a moment later carrying a chair, placing it close to Tighearnán before stepping back and offering it to him.

"Here, it's probably better if you sit down. Should be more comfortable for you."

And less dangerous if he faints, she thought to herself.

"Other than that, there shouldn't be any other preparations we need to do. I'm good to start whenever you are, so just give the word when you're ready."

With that, she lifted her hands up in preparation, revealing a soft glow emanating from them as her magic prepared to do its work.

[GoblinFae]

To say that he was less than impressed as understatement but beggars could not be choosers and he simply did not have the time to deal with this right now. Going to the healers would just result in more questions and troubles than Tighearnán was interested in dealing with right now. Besides, Ever Courageous was sure to find out and give him another tongue-lashing followed by worried fawning over being so clumsy and doing something potentially so dangerous. The girl healer was the best option. Bing bang boom, all done!

He sat down easily enough, waving his good hand lazily in a gesture of spoiled impatience. "Let's get this over with. You may proceed, healer."

[Bunbun]

Katarina offered him a brief smile as he took a seat, thankful that at least one of her worries had been lessened. She wasn't particularly thrilled with the attitude he had seemingly taken towards the whole thing, but seeing as it would be best for both of them to prevent him from getting too worked up, she decided to bite her tongue. For now, at least. Instead, she just gave a short nod and reached forward, gently laying her hands on Tighearnán's injured arm.

The moment her hands made contact, her magic kicked into overdrive as it set about to fix what had been broken as quickly and efficiently as possible. There was nothing subtle or gentle about the way it did so- bone fragments were urgently and forcefully pushed into their proper place, beginning the process of fusing back together with no regard given to the level of pain experienced by their owner as a result. Possibly worse, however, would be the massive spike of heat surging through his arm, presumably a consequence of the sheer amount of energy that was currently being transferred between the two. Katarina herself seemed to be unaware of this, her eyes shut tight as she struggled to concentrate and continue the channeling of her magic.

[GoblinFae]

His face paled and his stomach turned violently as white hot pain lanced through his arm radiating deep into his shoulder and ribs and down to his fingertips. He could not have been more grateful for the chair than in that moment as all effort to keep his knees under control was extinguished in an instant. All thought blanked from his mind as his body and mind warred with each other to process the agony and healing taking place all at once.

The heat however did not register immediately, the melding and moving of muscle, flesh, marrow, and tissue was somehow all too overwhelming. But, when it did register it stole Tighearnán's breath anew, hissing harshly out from his teeth as a deeper aching pressure followed building up deep in his bones.

Then all of a sudden a howling shriek escaped him as a sickening series of cracks echoed from his body and his flesh seemingly began to smoke all of its own accord. His bones snapped like thread knotted too tightly through parchment until it sheared clean through and his skin blistered as if aflame, spreading quickly up his neck and jaw across his chest and torso. More cracks of bone resounded before his own magic clashed up against hers and on instinct alone physically repelled her away in a blast of purple light that knocked her clear off her feet and into the far wall. Tighearnán collapsed out of the chair clutching his now completely shattered arm and shoulder while writhing in pain on the dusty, stone floor, the cool nature of it bringing his feverish body no relief.

[Bunbun]

His screams forced her eyes wide open with worry and instinctually she felt the urge to pull away, but apparently her magic was enough to overpower even her and she found hands locked themselves in place, unwilling to move until the job was done. Her grip was only broken when a burst of magic erupted between the two, easily sending her across the room and knocking her out cold in the process. Which might have been a blessing in disguise, because she probably wouldn't have wanted to be awake to experience the follow-through of her body crashing into a stack of chairs, slumping forward onto the floor, and subsequently being buried as the stack collapsed on top of her.

She wasn't out for long though, and when she came to a few moments later, the first thing she noticed was that everything hurt. The magical blast might not have done any visible damage on its own, but the energy from the burst seemed to linger, leaving her in an overheated state. Meanwhile, the back of her body had endured the majority of the blunt force trauma, aching with pain accompanied by what was by far the worst headache she'd ever had the displeasure of experiencing. Letting out an anguished moan, she weakly pushed a chair away from in front of herself, leaving a relatively clear path to her "patient" and revealing a strange, dark teal liquid slowly trickling down her forehead from somewhere beneath her hair.

"Gods... damn it... told you to... sit still... fuck's sake."

Her voice was strained and dull, a stark contrast to the chipper tones it had taken previously. A reasonable person might have figured that Tighearnán "not sitting still" certainly wasn't the root cause of the problem, but Katarina was in no state to be thinking clearly. It was already taking nearly all of her concentration and energy simply to stay conscious, pushing through her exhaustion and pain as she began to sluggishly drag herself towards the blurred figure across the room.

[GoblinFae]

Words failed him as he could only offer her a withering look from where he lay panting and moaning on the floor. It took every fiber of his being to gather the strength to dislodge his tongue from the roof of his mouth to speak. 

The words hisses through his teeth and felt heavy as if his tongue had swollen. With the copper taste in his mouth he would not be surprised that perhaps it was. With the amount of agonizing pain he was in, he would not be surprised at all to learn he had bitten down on it. 

"I did not move!"

[Bunbun]

"You did something wrong," she hissed back at the figure who was currently fading in and out of focus. She continued to crawl forwards, painfully slowly but unrelenting like some sort of undead creature.

"Just... stay there. This time I'll fix it."

Her hands once again began to glow with energy, but there was something clearly not right this time- the magic swirled and twisted dangerously, crackling like a storm cloud about to unleash a bolt of lightning. She pulled herself up to her knees, squinting as she strained to make out the details of the crumpled form before her.

[GoblinFae]

"Oh sure blame the victim!" He snarled at her venomously. "What's the point of those giant fucking ears if you can't even use them properly?"

Tighearnán howled once more as her magic cracked around them. He could not say whether it was out of pain or fright at this point as everything within him was screaming in agony and even the sensation of her own breath puffing on him made him want to tear her throat out just to get it to stop.

"STOP! You've fixed enough." His breaths came out ragged with pauses between his words. "Some healer you will be, can't even fix a broken limb."

[Bunbun]

His shouting was enough to snap her out of her sudden state of rage, stopping her in her tracks as her vision finally cleared enough for her to take in the full extent of his injuries. She gasped, hands reflexively moving to cover her mouth as she assessed the damage.

"No... that's not supposed to happen. I swear to the gods that's never happened before. It shouldn't even be possible!"

She slumped backwards, fighting desperately against unconsciousness as a combined wave of exhaustion, shock, and nausea washed over her. Her magic died down within moments, leaving the two in relative silence aside from their laboured breathing. She looked into his eyes, tears welling up in her own as her own pain and emotions began to overwhelm her.

"Let me try again. Please? I can't just... leave it like that."

[GoblinFae]

"Not a bleeding chance!" He rasped hoarsely, physically recoiling as best as he could across the cold stone floor. Every breath felt raw and haggard and not enough. He feared looking down at himself even to assess just had badly he'd been injured if only to avoid the new waves of pain that would follow once his brain caught up with the shock.

Slow, measured breaths that still left him wanting to gasp for air helped steady himself enough to truly look at her. Through pained, watery eyes he beheld not only the horror and desperation in her face but also the pain. She needed medical care as well. 

"Healer, heal thyself. Go to the ward and seek treatment. Speak of this to no one. Your magic failing was your own doing. While there you can steal me some bandage and salve. It seems I shall be here awhile until I am well again since you cannot be trusted to fix this now."

[Bunbun]

She wanted desperately to fight back against his words, to prove that whatever had gone wrong wasn't her fault and that she was perfectly of healing him, but for once in her life she simply couldn't find the words to argue with. She knew that he had a point- she was in no state to try and fix him up at this point, through magical means or otherwise. Instead, after hastily wiping the tears from her eyes, she wordlessly got to her feet and gathered her things before making a swift exit from the room, very narrowly avoiding colliding with the door frame as she went.

---

It wouldn't be until the next day that Katarina would return, apparently having been held in the ward for quite some time. Eventually, though, Tighearnán would hear a quiet knock at the door, followed by a voice as a familiar pair of ears poked through the frame.

"Hello? You still in here?"

[GoblinFae]

Tighearnán spent the night in agony, shivering and groaning on the cold, dusty stone floor. He passed in and out of consciousness as he felt his breathing become shaky and his heart race. By the time she returned he was covered in cold, clammy sweat, pale, and oh so very thirsty.

His eyelids fluttered at the sound of her voice, eyes feeling like they were dragging over burlap as they moved to look towards her. A low, hoarse croak bled from his lips as he tried to speak to her. His body felt as if it was on fire and in ice all at once. The witch better have good reason for being late. At this rate, it was a miracle he was not dead.