#eighty-three

Yakekoge pulled a face at the nickname but guided the door open, stepping inside the pseudo-doctor's office that was Tori's bedroom. Sparsely decorated and painted in soft blues, her dresser, bed, and personal possessions taking over only half the space while a second bed and a small side table taking up the other half. Closing the door behind him he stepped up beside where Tori sat next to the bed Xerox lay on. Averting his eyes when he spoke, "Has the kid woken up at all?" His voice was uncharacteristically quiet, betraying both his worry and his guilt over the current situation.

Tori shook her head at both Yakekoge's choice of words and his question. "He isn't really kid anymore but no, not yet. His wounds are starting to heal without signs of infection. I'm still keeping an eye out for it though. I've been working on a couple potions that will help the skin and muscle grow back quicker." She shared folding her hands neatly in her lap and letting out a tired sigh. Exhaustion wearing on her after three days of the boy's constant care. "This will leave some nasty scars however, no matter how quickly they heal." At her side she could feel Yakekoge flinch at her words. Concerned she rose to her feet and rested a hand on his shoulder. The muscles surprisingly tense under her fingers and only relaxing when she gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

"Yakekoge, are you okay?"

Yakekoge folded his arms close to his chest and dipped his head to run a hand through his hair. Looking for a moment like he would dodge her question, "Even if we had been fighting I shouldn't have gone so far away from him. Just maybe if I had actually kept an eye on him like I was supposed to this wouldn't have happened." He finally said raising guilty eyes to her meet her gaze as he spoke.

Tori pursed her lips, seeing both the truth in the words and the emotional pain he was causing himself. Simply shaking her head she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him in for a tight hug. A gesture he returned a little tighter then most would consider comfortable. "Come on, no feeling guilty alright? No matter why it happened it did and you both are alive. So," She said in a steady tone, pushing the fire-user to arms length and smiling. "no beating yourself up about it anymore. He'll heal, you two can go back to bickering and everything will be okay. I Promise."

Yakekoge looked shocked for a couple seconds before letting out a tired laugh. Settling his hands on his hips and replying in a stronger voice than before, "No one is allowed to mope around you are they?"

Tori broke the contact and turned to chair towards him in a silent offer. "Nope, especially not here in my room. I need to go eat and since you're already here..." She trailed off, already leaning toward the door.

Yakekoge rolled his eyes at Tori but took the chair anyway, turning it around to sit in it backwards. "Go eat, I'll keep an eye on him."

Tori clapped her hands together, thanking him and opening the door to duck behind it. On the other side she paused and poked her head back in the room, "Just remember, he'll heal. It will just take some time."