wнєn тнє ℓιgнтѕ ƒα∂є oυт ☽ αℓℓ тнє ѕιnnєяѕ ¢яαwℓ

[Cʀʏsᴛᴀʟ]

Kol grunted in pain, his hand pressed against the gash on his left side. Already, the blood had soaked through his shirt and was starting to seep through his fingers, and he was finding it more and more difficult to stay standing. "Damn it, I know there's an apothecary around here somewhere," he muttered. He knew the city inside and out, and he knew there was a healer in this neighborhood. He just couldn't find it.

He leaned against a nearby wall for a moment, trying to get his head to stop spinning. By the Lord Ruler, he was so tired. The huge red sun was setting, too, bringing darkness and the mists. Kol was one of the few who had never feared the mists, not even now that people told stories of it killing more frequently. The mists were his element, where he felt safest and most alive. If he didn't get to the shop before the mists crawled through the city, though, he might not get help. People didn't tend to trust strangers who came knocking at their down at night.

He took a deep breath and pushed away from the wall, stumbling to the other side of the street. The few civilians who were still out hurried along their way, rushing to get home before night fell completely. When he looked up and caught sight of the apothecary sign, he felt dizzy with relief. Or maybe that was the blood loss. Mustering up the last of his strength, he walked to the shop and pounded his fist against the door.

[echolight4eva]

Ava was behind her counter, using a mortar and pestle to crush some dried leaves into a powder. She was a talented herbalist who had learned well from her teacher. She heard the knock and looked up, surprised to hear this. The mists were almost out. She wasn't too uncomfortable with the mists, but she knew most everybody else was. She put down the pestle and wiped her hands on her white apron, rushing to the door. She opened it, and what else did she see? A poor, bleeding man. "Oh, goodness. Let's you get you in here." She supported him with her own shoulder and got him into the back room, laying him on the cot. "How in the world did this happen?" she muttered, ripping his shirt off and finding the wound. "This is one of those days I nee an assistant..." She grabbed some water and a cloth and started quickly cleaning the wound.

[Cʀʏsᴛᴀʟ]

Kol gave a short laugh and then winced as pain shot through his side. If he wasn't in so much pain and his vision wasn't blacking out, he might have made a joke about her ripping his shirt off. As it was, he stayed silent. He didn't care to explain how he'd gotten a deep, four-inch cut on his side, moving diagonally onto his abdomen.

[echolight4eva]

She muttered under her breath as she worked, cleaning up the blood around the wound before grabbing a small container off a nearby shelf and opening it. Before she put this paste on his wound, though, she threaded a needle and looked at him. "This will be quite painful," she said. Well, nobody ever said that Ava Ashwood ever sugarcoated anything. She stitched up his wound and then put the green paste on top, knowing full well that it would sting like ten bees. She then took a clean white bandage and brought it around his back, covering the wound, and then tying it tight. "There. How are you feeling?" The whole process had only taken around ten minutes.

[Cʀʏsᴛᴀʟ]

Kol clenched his teeth against the stinging, but other than that he didn't react. "Much better," he said. He even managed to force out one of his charming smiles. "Thanks, sweetheart. I think you saved my life." Actually, he was pretty sure she did.

[echolight4eva]

Ava raised her eyebrows when he called her sweetheart but decided not to comment on it. "You're welcome. So, what did happen to give you such a wound?" She leaned on the wall and crossed her arms.

[Cʀʏsᴛᴀʟ]

Kol strained a bit when he tried to sit up, but he managed to do it without fainting. Once upright, he pulled his legs up and rested his arms on his knees. "Oh, you know, the city's a dangerous place," he said casually. "I walked into a bad situation."

[echolight4eva]

"Ah, ah, ah," she warned him, pushing him back onto the bed to lay down straight. "You'll reopen that wound." She raised an eyebrow at him again and decided not to pursue the topic. "Very well. Anyways, you'll have to stay here until you're more suited to travel. That'll be perhaps two days, maybe more if you do something foolish like reopen it by moving too much."0

[Cʀʏsᴛᴀʟ]

Kol's eyes widened. "Two days? No, no way. I have to leave tomorrow morning." If he stayed here, there was a good chance that the people who gave him that wound would find him here, which would put her in danger. He couldn't allow that.

[echolight4eva]

Ava crossed her arms and gazed sternly at the man. "Yes, two days. I simply will not have you reopening it and dying of an infection. That simply will not do," she said, "and that is final."

[Cʀʏsᴛᴀʟ]

"I'll be fine," he said. "I heal fast. And don't you dare try to keep me here by force. It won't go over well." He gave her a sharp look to punctuate his point.

[echolight4eva]

Her eyes narrowed at his challenge and decided to calm him. She drew upon her powers and used them to soothe him, so subtle it would be hard to notice.

[Cʀʏsᴛᴀʟ]

When she didn't answer, Kol took that as an agreement. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. At that moment, he tapped into his store of bronze, just to check. If any allomancer was burning metals nearby, he'd sense them. He was mostly worried about his misting enemies coming to find him, but the last thing he expected was to find the woman beside him burning brass.

He shot upright again, probably tearing his stitches, but he didn't care. "Stop it," he hissed. "I don't need you to sooth my emotions. I'm quite alright."

[echolight4eva]

She looked at him in shock, her eyes widening. "Lay back down!" she replied, motioning frantically. "I do not feel like restitching you tonight." She paused, amazed that he had realized what she had been doing.

[Cʀʏsᴛᴀʟ]

Kol glared at her, but he did what she said anyway. "Don't you dare try and mess with my emotions again," he said.