[ While this may very well be the least intimidating dog to ever exist, no one can fault him for bravery. Honestly though, Sougo's face is just lighting up at the sight of the little fluffball. He's not necessarily some big animal fanatic, but who doesn't find a tiny little dog like this cute?
Though the dog is quick to assess him and disappear back inside, which is a slight disappointment, and the grin that appears on Sougo's face drops away a little as he trots away.
Pets for another time perhaps...
The small injuries all over Mikasa take out the rest of his smile too, and he walks forward to both enter her house, and also see if he can't inspect those wounds a little better. He's not exactly an expert healer, but none of it looks completely out of his wheelhouse. ]
Mm, I've always had a pretty good sense of direction.
[ Honestly the number of times he's ended up in other times and had no problem at all finding his way around is startling. ]
[Don't worry Sougo. The open plan house meant that it was pretty easy to spot the small dog waddle and tackle a ball that was as big as his head. He was just chilling. This guy was less panic-inducing than the strange-smelling metal thing(Mettaton).
His response got a small sigh.]
I'm glad. Anything is better than someone telling you they'd found you by scent... [She might have been a bit rough and tumble, not bothered by dirt. But she still wasn't sure how to take that. Not until they'd clarified that it was an animal thing and not a weird way of telling her she stunk.
She stops looking at him when the smile fades though. That bad huh?]
It's not as bad as it looks. Just scratches. If it was bad the healers would have dealt with it.
[ That comment has Sougo doing a quick double take away from her ironically adorable dog, and blinking rapidly. ]
Eh?
[ Maybe it shouldn't be that surprising actually. In a city where half the residents (if not more) happen to be monsters, and a number of those monsters seem to have pretty good noses on them, it makes a lot of sense they'd be able to find someone by smell. For his very weak and still very human nose, however, he can't imagining pulling that one off.
As for the reassurance she gives him, he forces back a smile and shakes his head a little. ]
It's just a lot more than I was expecting.
[ He hesitates, before asking-- ]
Do the ones in your armor hurt?
[ Chitin, but Sougo's strong suit has never been science. He's not sure how much pain that area would or wouldn't feel too. ]
Mikasa waits though. Antenna giving a little twitch at the exclamation, then she's moving to sit. Rest that leg up. Even if she hated being so sedentary.]
They're not deep... [Really, it's mostly fine.]
The shell? [There's a small shrug. Don't worry Sougo, she didn't science either.] I can feel them, they sting a little but the coven have said it'd take too much magic to regrow. Because it's not really alive to heal. [Or something]
[ They're deep enough to hurt, despite her shell looking so tough. They're certainly deep enough to be noticeable, even if it doesn't get down past the chitin.
Sougo's not sure if he'll actually be able to heal them or not, but he's determined to at least give it a go, so he'll examine that propped up leg as he considers how he might be able to tackle this in the first place. ]
[She wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to describe how the chitin felt. Or how things felt when they touched it. The closest she'd gotten was it was something touching her fingernail. She could feel the pressure, but the texture and details were beyond her.
The leg... That was beyond healing, by him at least. The bone blade had gone straight through chitin and into the muscle underneath. The Coven's healers had managed to patch up that muscle, only to find there wasn't skin anymore to protect it. Only the chitin shell. Which would be a lot slower to heal up. If it could be called healing...]
Not really. It... [Describing things hard and she pauses, a hand coming up to scratch her cheek. Covering her hand in fae dust...ugh.] It's like scales, it sheds. I've got to wait until then though.
[ It's strange to hear anything described on a human body as scales, but Sougo had seem some pretty strange things on human bodies before. Maybe most people wouldn't necessarily consider the monsters here humans exactly, but that's what Mikasa had started off as before her transformations, right? So even if her body had changed some thanks to coming to this world, she was still definitively human in his eyes.
Just a human that had some extra parts he wasn't all that familiar with. ]
Maybe it's like a layer of dead skin then? So you just have to heal the layer under it?
[Mikasa does look away as he talks. Considering his words, pursing her lips as she thought about it.]
Maybe... I was told that this just goes straight over the muscle. So there wasn't any skin under it. [This wasn't gross to her. Not enough to get a reaction to it, she'd seen too many titans with no skin. But didn't that make the shell her skin in areas where there wasn't any? ...She let out a snort, dismissing that thought for now. That wouldn't help, would it?]
That's why I have to keep this bandaged until it regrows. [She tapped at her mid-thigh. Not that he could see the wrappings.] So the muscle doesn't just flop out.
[ It's not necessarily gross to him either, but it does make his shoulders tense up for a second. Having a hard shell instead of skin over your muscles should make them better protected and all, but if it doesn't heal up? That sounds kind of awful, actually.
It definitely sounds kind of dangerous to him, a full skin boy still. The look he gives Mikasa suggests no disgust, but a lot of pity for the situation she's in. ]
If that's the case they should work even harder to patch it up.
[ His hand hovers awkwardly over her thigh before he asks. ]
They tried... They put this stuff over it like a cast. [She peered up at him from where she sat, then broke off. Giving a huff. Most of the injuries weren't that bad. Just little chips in the chitin, not deep enough to get to that point. The leg wound though.]
If you want to try, the blade went through. [To the point that she'd been able to fly off with the bone sword sticking through her leg.] The nurses managed to heal the stuff inside but... [She started to shrug then pauses... Mouth setting into a line. As she slowly looked at him. Shoulders tensing before dropping.] Maybe you should try the small ones on my arms first?
[Guess who just realised she couldn't show the leg wound without taking her pants off? ... She should have changed to shorts when he agreed to help.]
[ Somehow this very thought has not yet occurred to Sougo, or at the very least it doesn't seem to have. Certainly he still looks vaguely concerned, and doesn't seem to be reflecting on the fact that he's asking Mikasa to strip in order to help out.
And he will unintentionally be insisting on that, because when she mentions the one on her arms he just shakes his head once. ]
If that one is as bad as you say, and it's really that hard to heal, then I think it's probably better if I focus on that one? If I don't have enough magic to do the rest of them, then I should definitely focus my magic on the injury that needs the most help, right?
[ He gives her a small smile in an attempt to reassure her, though his eyes widen as he seems to realize something.
Is the pants issue finally dawning on him. ]
Ah... unless the ones on your arms are actually worse than I realized?
My arms aren't that bad... I thought they'd be easier for you to heal if you didn't know as much magic. [That might have sounded condescending if it wasn't so matter of fact. Just her casually thinking of the people who had spent all their lives learning magic.
So she sighed. It really was unfortunate that she couldn't think of any way to put this. Other than-]
[ She's also not wrong about his lack of magical know-how. At least when it comes to healing magic, Sougo definitely shouldn't be anyone's go-to. He smiles weakly at the comment though, before it drops off his face at the second thought she has.
Like he's just touched a hot stove, he pulls his hands back comically to hang right by the side of his face. It reminds him a little bit about the time he kept questioning if she was injured before she told him off for unwittingly trying so hard to ask about her butt. ]
You probably don't need to! If I just know where the injury is maybe I can do it over the pants?
[ Though... ]
It's not that high, is it?
[ How awkward is this suddenly awkward situation going to get? ]
[Bro, he's moving that fast that even she flinches a little. Not out of fear or anything, just surprise. That might be the fastest she's seen him move. Staring at him for a moment, blinking. It really was comical, to anyone not them. Too bad no one was around to watch the level of dumb going on here...
So Mikasa dithers. Mouth opening slightly before she manages to speak.]
Maybe, I don't know how the magic works... [She could sense it, taste it in the air. With enough time and focus, she could work out enchantments. But a spell that was being cast, that was magic that was moving so constantly that she couldn't work it out. Not that it was important for now.
His question was though, so she poked at her mid-thigh. Where the chitin ended and it turned to flesh. It was still pretty high up, but if she'd been wearing shorts, he'd have been able to get to it without being flashed.]
[ A comedy that no one can really appreciate. He does appreciate the focus on the topic of magic though, because it allows him to focus on something else as he presses the palm of his hand to the side of his neck just for something to do with it that isn't putting it on her.
He manages to not look too flustered when he looks back down at her leg either. This wasn't meant to be anything awkward in the first place; it's just that Sougo took a misstep when it came to approaching this. He can probably still recover from it, right?
He frowns a little in contemplation at where she gestures, giving a short nod at that. It really isn't too bad to know where, but... ]
It kind of depends on the kind of magic, and I guess I'm not really an expert? Since I've only been learning since I got here.
[ He lets his arm drop away from his neck and down to his side. ]
It's probably fine as long as I know where the spot is.
[Mikasa was no stranger to being poked and prodded to be bandaged up but this was... different for some reason. Probably because she was fully conscious and able to get around even with the injury.
Maybe that was why it felt so awkward. Because she'd be aware of what he could see. The whole lack of urgency and everything.]
That's true. I don't think I'll ever understand it fully... [She'd worked out the basics. The things she needed to know to live, what the types of magic did. But being a monster, she didn't need in-depth knowledge. Nor could she tell how it worked. Even if she could feel the hum of magic in the air, it might not feel the same way for a witch.]
If it hurts, you'll know... [Because she'd probably knock him away if it felt wrong.]
[ For some Witches it seemed like magic was incredibly cerebral; there's a lot of studying that goes into magic, and a lot of information that you need in order to perform certain types of magic. Sougo is basically doomed to never excel in those particular fields of study, because he's never been a particularly good student. So much of what he does is based on his own intuition about things, and he's not about to suddenly get better at studying just because the subject is magic instead of science.
Weirdly, things like healing come a little bit easier to him, because it's a more tangible magic than most. Offensive and defensive spells used in battle are still the easiest for him, and something he picked up on quickly and wields pretty effectively, but he seems to be making some forward progress with healing at least.
So as far as having in-depth knowledge on the subject? He absolutely does not, but he's managed to poke around with his magic and make it work so far.
It's what he's doing now as he nods in understanding at Mikasa's statement, and puts his hand just a few centimeters above the spot on her leg that she indicated, furrowing his brow as he starts to mouth instructions he'd been taught, trying to walk himself through this process.
A soft purple glow emits from his hand, though how much good it's doing to heal the chitin is a hard for him to tell. ]
[Magic was hard... Mikasa didn't know if she'd ever get her head around it. Maybe if she lived for hundreds of years here like Eren had mentioned a fae could.
From what she could tell it was some part belief, some part knowledge. You had to have a good idea of what you wanted to do. Her illusions. She could craft them, but only simple ones. The moment it went beyond her creativity was the moment it started to flop.
Though for the time being, her antenna flexed. The healing, it didn't feel bad, just strange. Enough to make her leg give a twitch. Kind of itchy? But then again, weren't scabs kind of itchy? If he was healing then that would just be speeding up the normal process right? So it made sense, even if it made her lips purse a little. Must not itch...]
I think it's working...
[It didn't hurt so??? She couldn't check because of clothes.]
[ Some magic was definitely hard, and Sougo is impressed by the native Witches who have dived deeply into their particular fields of study. Even if he has an affinity for certain types of magic, it's not likely that he'll ever be as skilled in those areas as the masters who have been studying for years.
He doesn't plan to stick around long enough to really pull that off anyway. When the opportunity to go home arises, he'll be heading back in a heartbeat. It's not like he has a particular pleasant situation to return to himself, but it's an important one that he can't abandon forever.
For now though he can do things like this by helping out friends when they need it, and enjoy life for a little while longer.
Sougo looks pretty excited at the prospect of his magic actually working too, and grins widely at Mikasa, before looking back down at his hands. ]
[Mikasa meanwhile was frowning a little, then prodding at her leg. About mid-thigh, where she'd indicated and where he was healing. Eyes narrowing at her own pokes.]
I think it is? The...shell around it isn't moving.
[That was a good sign, wasn't it? It'd been like ice before. That one hole weakening the rest enough for pressure to make it creak and crack. Hence why she'd been given crutches, to keep the pressure off.
And with that, she looked up at him. Eyes creasing shut in an attempt at smiling.]
[ He watches her intently while he keeps that magic aglowing, face brightening a bit as she makes that comment. ]
That's good, right?
[ He's not really sure if shells are supposed to move or not, but he's assuming the answer is no. Besides, he thinks that's some kind of happy expression from her (maybe), and that's pretty exciting too! Mikasa doesn't seem like the kind of person to smile that often!
That or they've had a very rocky friendship since their first meeting, and he'd like to think that isn't the case. ]
It's not bending inward again... [Which meant it wasn't weakened and at risk of bleeding again.] Thank you. [A rarity, manners and a smile. Feel blessed.]
Are you learning to be a healer then? I wanted to do that... [But fae..]
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Though the dog is quick to assess him and disappear back inside, which is a slight disappointment, and the grin that appears on Sougo's face drops away a little as he trots away.
Pets for another time perhaps...
The small injuries all over Mikasa take out the rest of his smile too, and he walks forward to both enter her house, and also see if he can't inspect those wounds a little better. He's not exactly an expert healer, but none of it looks completely out of his wheelhouse. ]
Mm, I've always had a pretty good sense of direction.
[ Honestly the number of times he's ended up in other times and had no problem at all finding his way around is startling. ]
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His response got a small sigh.]
I'm glad. Anything is better than someone telling you they'd found you by scent... [She might have been a bit rough and tumble, not bothered by dirt. But she still wasn't sure how to take that. Not until they'd clarified that it was an animal thing and not a weird way of telling her she stunk.
She stops looking at him when the smile fades though. That bad huh?]
It's not as bad as it looks. Just scratches. If it was bad the healers would have dealt with it.
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Eh?
[ Maybe it shouldn't be that surprising actually. In a city where half the residents (if not more) happen to be monsters, and a number of those monsters seem to have pretty good noses on them, it makes a lot of sense they'd be able to find someone by smell. For his very weak and still very human nose, however, he can't imagining pulling that one off.
As for the reassurance she gives him, he forces back a smile and shakes his head a little. ]
It's just a lot more than I was expecting.
[ He hesitates, before asking-- ]
Do the ones in your armor hurt?
[ Chitin, but Sougo's strong suit has never been science. He's not sure how much pain that area would or wouldn't feel too. ]
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Mikasa waits though. Antenna giving a little twitch at the exclamation, then she's moving to sit. Rest that leg up. Even if she hated being so sedentary.]
They're not deep... [Really, it's mostly fine.]
The shell? [There's a small shrug. Don't worry Sougo, she didn't science either.] I can feel them, they sting a little but the coven have said it'd take too much magic to regrow. Because it's not really alive to heal. [Or something]
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Sougo's not sure if he'll actually be able to heal them or not, but he's determined to at least give it a go, so he'll examine that propped up leg as he considers how he might be able to tackle this in the first place. ]
They don't heal on their own though, do they?
[ They certainly don't look like they would. ]
some body horror
The leg... That was beyond healing, by him at least. The bone blade had gone straight through chitin and into the muscle underneath. The Coven's healers had managed to patch up that muscle, only to find there wasn't skin anymore to protect it. Only the chitin shell. Which would be a lot slower to heal up. If it could be called healing...]
Not really. It... [Describing things hard and she pauses, a hand coming up to scratch her cheek. Covering her hand in fae dust...ugh.] It's like scales, it sheds. I've got to wait until then though.
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Just a human that had some extra parts he wasn't all that familiar with. ]
Maybe it's like a layer of dead skin then? So you just have to heal the layer under it?
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Maybe... I was told that this just goes straight over the muscle. So there wasn't any skin under it. [This wasn't gross to her. Not enough to get a reaction to it, she'd seen too many titans with no skin. But didn't that make the shell her skin in areas where there wasn't any? ...She let out a snort, dismissing that thought for now. That wouldn't help, would it?]
That's why I have to keep this bandaged until it regrows. [She tapped at her mid-thigh. Not that he could see the wrappings.] So the muscle doesn't just flop out.
[Charming.]
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It definitely sounds kind of dangerous to him, a full skin boy still. The look he gives Mikasa suggests no disgust, but a lot of pity for the situation she's in. ]
If that's the case they should work even harder to patch it up.
[ His hand hovers awkwardly over her thigh before he asks. ]
Okay, I should start with this, right?
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If you want to try, the blade went through. [To the point that she'd been able to fly off with the bone sword sticking through her leg.] The nurses managed to heal the stuff inside but... [She started to shrug then pauses... Mouth setting into a line. As she slowly looked at him. Shoulders tensing before dropping.] Maybe you should try the small ones on my arms first?
[Guess who just realised she couldn't show the leg wound without taking her pants off? ... She should have changed to shorts when he agreed to help.]
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And he will unintentionally be insisting on that, because when she mentions the one on her arms he just shakes his head once. ]
If that one is as bad as you say, and it's really that hard to heal, then I think it's probably better if I focus on that one? If I don't have enough magic to do the rest of them, then I should definitely focus my magic on the injury that needs the most help, right?
[ He gives her a small smile in an attempt to reassure her, though his eyes widen as he seems to realize something.
Is the pants issue finally dawning on him. ]
Ah... unless the ones on your arms are actually worse than I realized?
[ No, it seems it is not yet. ]
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So she sighed. It really was unfortunate that she couldn't think of any way to put this. Other than-]
I can't roll my trouser leg up that far.
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Like he's just touched a hot stove, he pulls his hands back comically to hang right by the side of his face. It reminds him a little bit about the time he kept questioning if she was injured before she told him off for unwittingly trying so hard to ask about her butt. ]
You probably don't need to! If I just know where the injury is maybe I can do it over the pants?
[ Though... ]
It's not that high, is it?
[ How awkward is this suddenly awkward situation going to get? ]
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So Mikasa dithers. Mouth opening slightly before she manages to speak.]
Maybe, I don't know how the magic works... [She could sense it, taste it in the air. With enough time and focus, she could work out enchantments. But a spell that was being cast, that was magic that was moving so constantly that she couldn't work it out. Not that it was important for now.
His question was though, so she poked at her mid-thigh. Where the chitin ended and it turned to flesh. It was still pretty high up, but if she'd been wearing shorts, he'd have been able to get to it without being flashed.]
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He manages to not look too flustered when he looks back down at her leg either. This wasn't meant to be anything awkward in the first place; it's just that Sougo took a misstep when it came to approaching this. He can probably still recover from it, right?
He frowns a little in contemplation at where she gestures, giving a short nod at that. It really isn't too bad to know where, but... ]
It kind of depends on the kind of magic, and I guess I'm not really an expert? Since I've only been learning since I got here.
[ He lets his arm drop away from his neck and down to his side. ]
It's probably fine as long as I know where the spot is.
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Maybe that was why it felt so awkward. Because she'd be aware of what he could see. The whole lack of urgency and everything.]
That's true. I don't think I'll ever understand it fully... [She'd worked out the basics. The things she needed to know to live, what the types of magic did. But being a monster, she didn't need in-depth knowledge. Nor could she tell how it worked. Even if she could feel the hum of magic in the air, it might not feel the same way for a witch.]
If it hurts, you'll know... [Because she'd probably knock him away if it felt wrong.]
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Weirdly, things like healing come a little bit easier to him, because it's a more tangible magic than most. Offensive and defensive spells used in battle are still the easiest for him, and something he picked up on quickly and wields pretty effectively, but he seems to be making some forward progress with healing at least.
So as far as having in-depth knowledge on the subject? He absolutely does not, but he's managed to poke around with his magic and make it work so far.
It's what he's doing now as he nods in understanding at Mikasa's statement, and puts his hand just a few centimeters above the spot on her leg that she indicated, furrowing his brow as he starts to mouth instructions he'd been taught, trying to walk himself through this process.
A soft purple glow emits from his hand, though how much good it's doing to heal the chitin is a hard for him to tell. ]
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From what she could tell it was some part belief, some part knowledge. You had to have a good idea of what you wanted to do. Her illusions. She could craft them, but only simple ones. The moment it went beyond her creativity was the moment it started to flop.
Though for the time being, her antenna flexed. The healing, it didn't feel bad, just strange. Enough to make her leg give a twitch. Kind of itchy? But then again, weren't scabs kind of itchy? If he was healing then that would just be speeding up the normal process right? So it made sense, even if it made her lips purse a little. Must not itch...]
I think it's working...
[It didn't hurt so??? She couldn't check because of clothes.]
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He doesn't plan to stick around long enough to really pull that off anyway. When the opportunity to go home arises, he'll be heading back in a heartbeat. It's not like he has a particular pleasant situation to return to himself, but it's an important one that he can't abandon forever.
For now though he can do things like this by helping out friends when they need it, and enjoy life for a little while longer.
Sougo looks pretty excited at the prospect of his magic actually working too, and grins widely at Mikasa, before looking back down at his hands. ]
Does it feel like it's healing?
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I think it is? The...shell around it isn't moving.
[That was a good sign, wasn't it? It'd been like ice before. That one hole weakening the rest enough for pressure to make it creak and crack. Hence why she'd been given crutches, to keep the pressure off.
And with that, she looked up at him. Eyes creasing shut in an attempt at smiling.]
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That's good, right?
[ He's not really sure if shells are supposed to move or not, but he's assuming the answer is no. Besides, he thinks that's some kind of happy expression from her (maybe), and that's pretty exciting too! Mikasa doesn't seem like the kind of person to smile that often!
That or they've had a very rocky friendship since their first meeting, and he'd like to think that isn't the case. ]
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It's not bending inward again... [Which meant it wasn't weakened and at risk of bleeding again.] Thank you. [A rarity, manners and a smile. Feel blessed.]
Are you learning to be a healer then? I wanted to do that... [But fae..]
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Huh? Uh... Not exactly.
[ Sougo looks down at the leg, still keeping the magic going. ]
I don't think I'll ever be that good at it, but it seemed like a good idea to at least learn this much.
[ You want a flesh wound healed? Sougo has you covered. You want anything more complicated? Go to someone else... ]