IC Contact Post - Scorched

[justice_is_blond]

[It clicks on and there's a pause.]

And now... Hello? I'm assuming you're trying to reach me. By the Forge. So you talk now, or not now, you talk when I'm done talking, and then I'll get the message and I'll respond as quickly as possible.

[There's another pause.]

Oh! Anders. I'm Anders. You have reached Anders, please leave a message for me.

[There's another click as the message ends.]

Comments

[brewglory]

[When he arrives, he does what he can to keep out of sight until he spies Anders. It isn't embarrassment about his injury, but rather a lack of desire to interact with the reason he has an injury in the first place.

(Oh, all right. There's some embarrassment about his inability to heal himself. But that has been a persistent problem that he has for many years considered rectifying, but never quite got around to it.)

The injury in question is a slice to his palm, hidden by a bit of cloth he saw fit to ball up to staunch the flow of blood. He doesn't think it's bad - but he doesn't want it seen. He doesn't want questions. He uses the uninjured hand to flag the mage down.]

[justice_is_blond]

[The motion catches his eye and Snape's message comes back to mind. Anders comes over, giving him a rather curious look.]

Did you need me for something in particular?

[brewglory]

[Severus gives a sharp glance about in search of persons he might not wish to encounter at the moment.]

Is there somewhere we might conduct this discussion privately?

[An exam room. A broom closet. Anything.]

[justice_is_blond]

[Anders nods.]

Of course. Back office, exam room, take your choice.

[brewglory]

[Without waiting to make sure Anders is following, he makes his way to one of the exam rooms and, once the door affords them some privacy, he peels off the cloth wrapping his hand to reveal a gash in his palm.]

Get rid of it.

[There's a beat here before he adds, as though he realises he has been rude, a hollow:]

Please.

[justice_is_blond]

[Anders' eyebrows are both raised at the demand, but at the please he begins closing the gash with ease.]

You'll explain.

[It's not a question. Martha could do this, and Anders isn't in a habit of following orders.]

[brewglory]

[When the wound closes, he turn his hand over to inspect the back, then again to examine his palm, then flexes it before turning his attention to the other man.]

I could lie.

[After all, what reason does he have to tell the truth? Not that it's a particularly thrilling tale to begin with.]

[justice_is_blond]

You could.

[He takes the cloth from Snape, discarding it.]

But there's little point in it. You came to me to get healed, and not Martha. That means something. Either, A, you got this from her by being a git, in which case if I ask her about this she'll go after the both of us for me healing, or B, you're hiding this from her, and me asking will make it backfire on you.

[brewglory]

[There's a moment - just a moment - when he allows his irritation to bleed through into his expression. His lips press into a thin line and his newly-healed hand flexes, betraying with body language what he won't say. It doesn't happen when Anders guesses the reason for his presence, but rather at the first, incorrect assumption.

It's the second time someone has wrongly accused him of mistreating her since this business between her and Lucius began.]

Am I to understand that you believe I deserve whatever injury I might receive from her?

[justice_is_blond]

[He's a little tempted to be a jerk, but Anders decides to go with honesty.]

No. No one deserves an injury done by a loved one. Even if you act the fool at her, there's no cause for harm.

[Anders frowns.]

Did she do this? Only the Mist isn't in the city, and that doesn't seem a particularly Martha thing to do.

[brewglory]

[Severus glances at the door, though it's simply a way to avoid meeting Anders' eyes rather than ensure no one is listening in on their conversation. If Martha was there, she would have burst in by now and demanded an explanation.

It's only a second or two, time enough to concoct a half-truth, before he returns his attention to the mage.]

It was my own doing. I came to you because I hoped you would leave no scar.

[It's close enough. What he avoids saying, of course, is that she was uninvolved, or that he wished to avoid worrying her.]

Vanity, shall we say?

[...Right.]

[justice_is_blond]

[He's not sure that Martha's gotten as precise as him yet, so that... could very well be true. The need for privacy still seems off, but Anders has nothing else to go on.]

And, as demonstrated, no scar. Though I'd say you may have a little too much vanity if you're demanding privacy for something as simple as that.

[Probably a shot at the dark, and Anders is no expert at reading people. He's curious, though.]

[brewglory]

[He says nothing at first, his expression carefully blank while he wonders just how much Anders might know - and how much he'll want to know before allowing Severus to leave.]

We have, in my world, something known as doctor-patient confidentiality; wherein a doctor - or healer - may not disclose personal information about their patient. I assume the clinic operates with some similar rule in place?

[justice_is_blond]

[Well, that's a dodge if he's ever heard one. Anders rolls his eyes.]

It's not a rule, but that's generally how we do things. I'll not just go around telling someone. Don't ever order me to heal you again, though. Ask, I'll do it. Order, with something non-life-threatening, and you get to wait for someone else to come along.

[brewglory]

[For a moment, he considers arguing. Under any other circumstances, he might have done - but just now, he suspects it's a fair price to pay for silence on the mage's part.

So, finally, he gives a slight cant of his head.]

My apologies. It won't happen again.

[It isn't the heartfelt apology he offers only a few, but it's something, particularly considering the source.]

[justice_is_blond]

[Anders nods. It's about as good as he can expect, considering the source.]

Right. You're fine, then. And I'll not talk about it.