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She ignored the cringing of those around her at the lolspeak. "Come on, anyone? Something good—something scary! That's what this holiday is about, right?"

"Ah, come on Ix! You're more competent than you think you are. And to hear Charlotte tell it, you're a pretty good healer. But... well, you were an Auror, weren't you? It makes sense."

He felt Thoth's hand clamp down on is shoulder. "Tom. I believe you should leave her be for now."

"Ah! Okay..." said Tom, Thoth's grim giving him noticeable discomfort. "We can talk about something else, I guess."

"I'm not a trained Healer, I can only do little cuts and things."

"She once fixed her own broken arm—"

"That's child's play—"

"And healed me up when my nose got broken in human disguise—"

"Any half-decent wizard can do that—"

"And fixed up those burns she got up her face from that dragon—"

"Charlotte!" Ix cried. "Just tell him to go to Medical! I can barely take care of myself, let alone other people!"

Charlotte nodded at Derik. "You tell that to him yourself, then," she said. At her words, Ix promptly clammed up and took a half-step to the side, putting Charlotte between her and everyone else.

Jenni withdrew completely, like a luminous green and blue anemone retreating into its dark column. She wouldn't have let anything bad happen, but he was right; she had no excuse to be projecting all over the place like a neonate. Cut off and alone in her mind again, she felt diminished, but at his ending words she raised her eyes, and their liveliness had returned.

"You're not so bad yourself," she said, smiling. "I'd say 'any time', but I'm under some pretty tight restrictions here. This was probably a once-off thing." She sighed and turned to Derik. "How's it feel?"

He'd been flexing his hand, testing it out, and he nodded. "Still numb, of course, but moving well. Strong. Thank you, friends. I am unworthy of you." At Charlotte's remark, he added, "The next time I do something that stupid, I'll come to Ix first, and spare everyone else a repeat performance." Even he wasn't sure how much he meant it.

"It is, in fact, done." He turned to Jenni. "Do try to keep a tighter grip on your aura in the future should we work together again. I am sensitive to such things, and the additional distraction makes it harder to keep my mind focused. I can, of course, do it, but there is no need to make the task more difficult. And I do not like to think of what may happen if my focus were to slip. Other than that..." He gave a short bow. "It was a pleasure to work with you. You are clearly quite skilled."

"You know, it would've been a lot easier for everyone involved if you'd just let Ix do that," she said.

The sensation wasn't painful, exactly; more of a deep itch as his tissue and bone knit itself back together at rapid speed. He watched in fascination.

Jenni did chip in a little, helping to sweep the excess lymph and the debris of broken cells away from the fracture site, to be disposed of properly by the appropriate organs. Mere janitorial work, really, but it gave her satisfaction to be an active part of the effort. It was good to do what she was meant for, and she was pleased with the painstaking job Thoth was doing, too. She shared her love with the others—all of them, for a brief moment, before she reined in her aura again.

"... Is it done?" Derik asked.

Thoth released the energy, keeping it tightly controlled as he pushed in into Derik, concentrating on the task at hand. He could not lose control, but to think as such was to do so. He kept his mind above such thoughts, focusing on what he was doing in that instant: bringing the bones together, sealing the cuts and scrapes, ensuring that his corrections did not cause additional damage.

He may have been, by the standards of the Pavoni, a poor biomancer. But he'd had 10,000 years to hone the craft channeling power from a more chaotic source. Well, more or less 10,000. Time was funny in the Eye. But he wasn't thinking about that, not now.

Merging a little more deeply into Thoth's consciousness, she could feel his concentration and concern, and liked him better for it.

~The body has everything it needs to heal itself, wanting only time and energy,~ she advised, ~but it tends to go overboard if left to its own devices. The trick is to restrain as much as to encourage... like a carefully pruned topiary. Though, that said, don't let's leave any bone matrix in the shape of dolphins or unicorns or whatever.~

It was a funny image, but she withdrew it and got serious, not wishing to undo Thoth's mental preparations. She laid a hand on his, just to reinforce that she was there, ready to help and guide if necessary. "Ready, Derik?" She put her other hand on his shoulder again, completing the circuit.

He was watching them, aware that things were happening beyond his ken. With his pain dulled by numbweed, curiosity surfaced and his resentment at being ganged up on receded. He nodded. "Yes."

Jenni nodded back. ~In your own time, then.~

He marshalled his thoughts, going through the Enumerations in his head, focusing his mind on the task at hand.This was a simple task, really, but he wasn't the most adept biomancer, and it wouldn't do to make a mistake now.

He lay his hands gently upon Derik's arm, feeling the damage, finding the best ways to correct it.

+Yes. I can hear you. I am ready.+

"I don't know if that's a thing," Jenni added, "but anyway, I am." She popped open a case on her utility belt and produced a small, brown glass jar that contained a creamy white salve.

While she gently rubbed a dollop into Derik's knuckles (numbing her own fingers in the process), she opened her mind and tentatively reached out to Thoth, just brushing the edge of his awareness. ~Testing, testing... is this thing on?~ She glanced up and gave him a wry half-smile. She was nervous, and a little embarrassed to be nervous, and she let him feel it. It wasn't personal, it was just a sort of bitter aftertaste, a dissonant semitone, that was woven into the fabric of his universe and set her on edge. It scared her, not so much because she felt threatened, but because she felt tempted to address it. What might a being like herself accomplish in sweetening what was bitter, in tuning the clashing chords, and bringing redemption and hope where there was only tragedy and despair?

Not enough, and yet too much.

(( Jenni: Freelance Power of Healing and Second Chances. Or something like that. Just to be clear, the Chaos Gods would eat her for breakfast. ))

"An additional psychic on hand would lessen the risks significantly," he said. "If Derik would give me his hand, we may begin, provided you have numbweed on hand."

Tom shrugged. "Sounds fine to me."

"Ugh," Gall groaned in exasperation. "Quit sulking and give over already, or I'll come over there and 'fix' it."

That prospect was alarming enough to shake him. "All right! Do what you're going to do. I don't care who."

"Drama queen," Gall grumbled.

"Shut up!"

He held his hand out a little way, and that was enough for Jenni to seize the opportunity, and it. Derik gritted his teeth through her examination. At a particular wince, she nodded grimly.

"Uh-huh. Fifth metacarpal neck fracture. I'm not surprised." She sighed. "The Flowers still get twitchy if I do anything too overtly supernatural, so here's what I propose: I slather this with numbweed, your buddy Thoth drives the psychic bone-setting engine, and I keep a hand on the steering wheel just in case. Is that all right with everyone?"

(( I know Ix could probably do it, but I wanna make the mutually-slightly-distrustful psychics collaborate. ∗puppy eyes∗

(( ... Do you think the Ironic Overpower counts as a Chaos god? ))

"If you would like me to fix it, for Charlotte's sake, I am quite capable. The Great Ocean surrounding Headquarters is extremely calm. In fact, since the... retcon, I believe it was called, I am not entirely certain it is even the same Great Ocean across all dimensions. If The Four are present, they are far less powerful here."

Tom sighed. "All the same, I wouldn't risk it myself. But it's your choice, Derik."

((I THINK that's accurate. The Warps of Fantasy and 40k were severed, so it doesn't cross dimensions anymore.))

Charlotte folded her arms uncomfortably. "You and Ix both, actually? Because I haven't fed in a while and the smell of blood is making me really thirsty. I'd rather not turn this Halloween party into a full-fledged horror show."

Ix blanched and hurriedly pulled out her wand to heal her own hands. "I'm so sorry, Lottie, I didn't even think—"

"It's fine," Charlotte said. "You've been a bit distracted, that's all."

Derik just scowled at Charlotte and turned himself around again, holding his swollen right hand to his chest.

Jenni couldn't take it anymore and knelt by his left side, one hand on his shoulder. "Would you please let me do something with that?" she murmured, sotto voce. "Or Ix? Or him, even?" She pointed her eyes at Thoth. She didn't trust the idea of 40K warp-sorcery at all—and that was the way she imagined the Astartes had meant to help—but she'd force down her own raised hackles if it got the job done.

Derik would have preferred to be left alone entirely at the moment, and only felt more humiliated by the nurse's concern for his idiotic self-injury. Shockingly, it turned out that punching a wall, even with a mirror on it, might not have been such a good idea after all, but he'd be dashed if he was going to admit it when he'd already been made to look a fool. He leaned away and growled something incoherent along the lines of "push off."

Willfully oblivious to this by-play, Gall turned back to Thoth. "So, before that hilarious interruption, I asked you a question. Got a story for us, or do you admit that I'm rocking your sad, repressed world?" She grinned at him, well aware of exactly how full of it she was.

"Nice to meet ya, Charlotte! Tom Andrews, Computational Demonologist and Floater, and this is my partner, Thoth, Tricksy Conniving Schemer and Sorcerer, formerly of the XVth Legion Astartes."

Thoth frowned. "Tricksy Conniving Schemer?"

"You're a Thousand Son. That title comes with the territory."

((Got your email, Nesh. I responded in my typically overly-dramatic fashion, going into the highlights of what the fic did Horribly Horribly Wrong from the 40k side of things.))

She turned to Ix and grinned. "See? Tolja he wasn't mad at you. And I'd bet anything Jenni was telling you the same, but you didn't believe her. Am I right?"

Ix's face reddened and she looked at her feet.

"Right then!" Charlotte clapped her hands together. "I probably shouldn't forget my manners. Charlotte Webb, Ix's partner. Hello!"

A lot was happening to him all at once. He'd just noticed the wet splash on his costume when it went away, there was Ix going off in one ear and Charlotte being sarcastic in the other, Gall still snickering at him, and everybody else staring. His head swung from Charlotte to Ix and back again in befuddlement.

"What?" he finally said. "Yes! At least I thought so until just now! Was I wrong?" Again the bewildered looks back and forth, like a kicked dog that doesn't understand what he's done to incur his master's wrath.

(( Thoth, didja get my e-mail? {= ) ))

Charlotte pointed to Derik and Ix in turn before giving a slightly sarcastic thumbs-up.

Ix, cringing, pulled out her wand and cast a drying charm on Derik, apologizing profusely as she did so.

What actually happened was that one foot went out from under him so that he keeled to the right, caromed off Thoth, spilled water on himself, and landed on his ass. But at least he was facing Charlotte now.

Gall burst out laughing.

Derik blinked and massaged his right hand. He'd banged his knuckles again, because of course he had, and it bloody hurt. "Sorry. Didn't catch that," he growled.

And...

Jenni shared Ix's trepidation, if not quite horror. At the commotion, though, she winced hard. "Ooh. I'd better go referee." She trotted back over.

(( Yay for un-splitting the party! ))

"The way he looked at me when he saw me..." Ix swallowed. "I think it's the costume—I should've known it would be sensitive for other agents, I should've just worn my robes and said I was Mad-Eye Moody and they wouldn't suspect a thing—"

Charlotte put her hands on her shoulders. "Ix. Hon. Breathe."

Ix sucked down several deep breaths.

"You want me to go over there and clarify with wossisface that he's not mad at you?" Charlotte asked. "Because I can totally do that."

Ix swallowed. "If—if you want," she began, knowing there was no arguing with Charlotte. Before she could finish, Charlotte had zipped over to Derik and gently tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, hi, sorry to interrupt. Just heard there was a bit of heated words exchanged over my girlfriend's costume. You cool with her now?"

Ix looked at Jenni, terror in her eyes.

Derik's lip curled. "Or a singer. Or, scorch us, all bloody three." He took a deep drink from his cup and was once more disappointed that it was only water.

Gall wished she had a drink at all, but, though she'd never admit it, her stomach still wasn't quite right after her one taste of mjød. So she settled for teasing Thoth some more. "Just to be clear, Jötun: are you drinking to forget my charms again—cuz don't think I didn't notice that the first time—or is it that you've got a sordid tale of Sueage for us?"

Concurrently...

Jenni added her voice to Ix's: "No, no, no, please don't set him off again." She continued, "It wasn't even anything he said, really. At least, I don't think so." She tilted her head at Ix. "Was it?"

(( I'm honestly not sure if he'd give ground or explode in the face of Charlotte's wrath. Probably the former, but with him it could always go either way. {Also, Derik, what horror did you just conjure? O_o ∗goes to inspect 40K crossovers just in case∗ }))

Charlotte sighed and rested her chin on Ix's shoulder. "Whatever it was he said, he was just being a jerk," she said. "Want me to go talk to him?"

"No!" Ix pulled back. "No," she repeated. "It's fine, really. Like Jenni said... I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"You sure?" Charlotte said, turning to glare at Derik. "Because I—"

Ix grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Please, don't," she said frantically. "You'll just make it worse."

((Ix hasn't gone to FicPsych yet. She really should, but she doesn't want to. Ix, your Rina is showing, stop it. And whenever Charlotte mentions Ix, it's "My girlfriend is so pretty and perfect and our relationship will last forever and it's wonderful and there's absolutely nothing wrong with us yay!"))