𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗈𝖿 𝗅𝗎𝖼𝗄?

𔘓 𝓛 ִִֶָ 𝗋𝗒𝗎𝗃𝗂𝗇 : simple ✿

she keeps conversation at a minimum as the two of them scale the stairs, offering up her apologies again before she turns and takes notice of kali tossing her dice up into the air. it's nothing profligate, but boreum's orbs widen in amazement. surely, if she tried to catch anything in mid-air .. well, she'd probably end up toppling down the stairs again. "w-wow.. you have great reflexes," she says genuinely, turning away as they reach the third floor, taking a moment or two to fish around for her keys from inside her purse.

" .. c-come on in," she says as they reach their journey's end, gently pushing the door to her apartment open after unlocking it. the entire trek took less than a few minutes - though it was probably a little longer given boreum was overanalyzing every crack in the stairwell. instinctively, she goes to hang up her bag and coat on the hooks nearby after gesturing to the other to take a seat on the couch some feet away. "please.. er, m-make yourself at home.. i'll go grab the first aid kit.."

when they reached the third floor, kali stepped into boreum’s apartment without hesitation, her eyes sweeping over the space. it was clean, neat, everything in its place. not her kind of setup, but she wasn’t one to judge. instead, she flopped onto the couch, draping an arm casually over the back, completely relaxed. "nice place," she commented offhandedly, her gaze already wandering. “don’t worry about the scratch. it’s nothing. seriously.”

she stretched her arm slightly to keep it from stiffening, her voice casual. “i’ve got enhanced condition. this kind of thing barely slows me down. i don’t have accelerated healing or anything, but i heal faster than normal. hit harder too. i’m agile, strong… i could probably lift you.” she gave a small shrug as if it was no big deal. but then, her curiosity sparked, and her eyes sharpened on boreum. “so, what about you?” she asked, more directly now. “got any abilities of your own, or are you just good at patching people up?” there was a playful lilt to her tone, but beneath it, she genuinely wanted to know what boreum might be hiding.

“kali park. but you can call me kali,” she offered when boreum finally introduced herself, her voice still nonchalant. “formalities aren’t really my thing, so don’t stress.” her lips curled into a small, almost reassuring smile, though her sharp features kept her looking intimidating. “but yeah, thanks for the help, i guess.”

"b-but.." boreum begins, brows knitting themselves together as her gaze flickers from the scratch to kali's face and back again. "i-i'm really sorry.. this is all my fault.." she trails off as the other mentions again that she really should be more mindful of where she's going and that she shouldn't make nearly plummeting down the stairs a habit. boreum's ears burn, and she nods vigorously. "i-it won't happen again.." so she says, but boreum has a difficult enough time not tripping over her own two feet standing still. "i'd hate to.. inconvenience you, er, more.. but c-can.. can i please get you a bandage?"

"seriously, i've had worse in training," she noted, her tone lighter but with the way boreum kept pleading, makes kali's defenses crack just a little. her hardened, no-nonsense demeanor softened, just for a moment and she let out a sigh. "alright, alright," she relented, rolling her eyes but stepping forward slightly. "if it'll make you feel better, fine."

"lead the way..." kali's boots clacked against the floor with each step, she normally wouldn't have given a second thought to someone like boreum, someone who seemed so fragile, so easily rattled and swayed. yet, she was following her upstairs for a bandage that she didn't even need. it seemed unnecessary... at least, that's what she thought.

her fingers absentmindedly fished a pair of dice from her pocket, a habit she'd picked up long ago. she rolled them between her fingers, the smooth edges clicking softly against each other with a flick of her thumb. it was a game she played by herself, testing her luck without ever really caring about the outcome. she tossed them once , catching them in midair, a grin on her lips as they landed in her hand again.

and today, like most days, there's no exception to boreum's blighted existence. though it seems like this time she's unknowingly involved someone else in her afflictions, feeling her body be pulled back the second her foot had touched the crumbling stairs. the whole scene happens so fast that it leaves her a little lightheaded, reeling at the fact that she had been saved before misfortune even had a chance to strike. she blinks, watching her savior separate themselves from her being, only for them to turn a moment later and forewarn her to be careful.

kali didn’t even register the faint scrape on her arm from the railing, the red line forming against her skin barely worth noticing. pain was nothing to her; her body was built to endure far worse. where others might flinch, she simply glanced at the mark, uninterested, as if it were little more than an inconvenience. she’d taken harder hits and blows before, but for kali, that was just part of her world. her muscles could absorb the strain, her bones withstand the impact, and her nerves seemed to shrug off pain altogether. a near fall? a scrape? nothing. she’d come out unscathed—at least on the outside. "trust me, it takes more than this to slow me down," she said confidently, a touch of arrogance in her tone. "so, don’t worry about me."