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It was just a small injury. Nothing worth noting.
Collei thinks this to herself as her side screams with pain.
Tighnari sent her to the river to get some medicinal herbs for the Forest Watchers that are "more clumsy than her". Unfortunately, she just got impaled by an arrow.
"Stupid hilichurls," She pulls out her bow, charging her own arrow and smacking the thing so hard its mask snaps in half. Dendro clouds the air where she shot. Even though the hilichurl is dead, the problem is still very much present.
She takes out her hunter's knife and cuts the arrow as small as she can, adjusting her shirt to cover the wound. She doesn't need to tell Tighnari. Not only will he lose his shit and keep her inside for the next month, but she needs to learn how to heal her own wounds. The arrow sits awkwardly in her skin. She huffs, grabbing the last flower and making her way back to the house.
She closes the door behind her, counting the flowers in her hand. "Master Tighnari, I found six of the flowers you asked for-"
"Hi, Collei." Cyno waves politely from the kitchen table, "He went into his room. We were just talking about you."
"Ah," She flushes, nervously pulling her shirt down, "Well, um, could you give these to him? I- I'm going to the bathroom."
Her logic makes no sense, since she has to pass Tighnari's room in order to get to the bathroom, but Cyno dismisses it. Collei rushes to the bathroom, locking the door and lifting her shirt.
"Ew..."
She moves quickly, rummaging in the cabinets for the familiar tools that Tighnari uses whenever she gets injured. She can hear his lectures as she holds the gauze.
When she gets to work, it's fairly easy to use the products. She took the arrow out carefully, picking out any broken wood in her skin. She wrapped herself in gauze, cleaning the blood off her shirt.
"Easy peasy!" She laughs, then groans, "Uu... That hurt."
There's a knock on the door. She lowers her shirt, cracking the door open. It's Cyno.
"Hey, are you alright? You never came out," He tilts his head curiously. Collei squeaks.
"I'm fine!"
Cyno glances at her hand that holds the door open. "Why is there blood on your hand?"
She blurts out a response. "Um, lady things! Sorry!"
She slams the door, blushing severely. Cyno stands for a moment, blinking to process what just happened. That poor man. As soon as the door clicks, Collei darts to the sink to wash her hands. The water turns pink.
When she's done cleaning up, she leaves the room, humming to herself.
"Hey, Collei?"
"Hi, Master Tighnari!" She hops over to the kitchen table, giggling to herself. "Did Cyno give you the herbs I found?"
"What were you doing in the bathroom?"
Her and Cyno exchange glances. "Lady things," She says in her most honest tone.
"You spent fifteen minutes doing lady things?"
"...Yeah, why?"
She starts getting nervous. How the hell does this bitchless man know more about the uterus than she does?
Tighnari sighs, "Were you looking for something?"
"Um, no," She states with a bit of attitude. Maybe they'll leave her be if she acts grumpy- that's what they do with Candace, anyway, "I was doing my lady things."
He facepalms. "Collei, just tell us why you were in the bathroom for fifteen minutes. If I go in there, am I going to see anything out of place?"
She forgot about that. Tighnari is so crazy that whenever something is moved slightly while he wasn't looking, he can point it out. She stands up, hands on the table. "No! You won't, because I..."
Cyno crosses his arms, leaning back in his seat. "Are you hurt?"
Her heart fucking plummets, face going pale.
Tighnari looks at him quizzically. "What makes you think that? She always comes to me when she has injuries."
Yes! Convince him he's stupid and overdramatic!
"When she came inside, she was holding her shirt down like she was hiding something."
"That's natural for her though. She always fidgets when she sees you."
"Wow, making me sound like I'm a monster?"
Collei's eyes dart between the two as the subject slowly changes.
"That is not at all what I said."
"Uh-huh."
"Seriously?!"
"Collei, I won't ask again, are you hurt?"
Suddenly putting the spotlight on her, his tone is demanding, making Collei panic from the unfamiliarity.
She freezes, choking on her words with tears in her eyes. "It's not as bad as you think."
Cyno closes his eyes. "Can you show us?"
Reluctantly, she lifts her shirt. "I just wanted to do it myself..."
"What the hell, Cyno?"
"Okay, really? I just saved her from a a possible infection or something. You're welcome."
"Collei, why didn't you tell me?"
A teensy part of her says she shouldn't say the real reason, so she stays quiet.
"At least it wasn't actually her period..."
"Cyno!"
"What?! She had her bloody hand on the bathroom door!"
Tighnari stares at him, mouth hanging. Collei closes her eyes, gripping her shirt tighter. Embarrassment floods her face.
Tighnari clears his throat. "Well, take the bandage off. I'll tell you how you did."
"Oh, for Archons' sake-"
"Get out if you're going to throw a fit, Cyno."
"We are literally at the dinner table!!"
They all freeze, Cyno himself included.
"Right."
Collei clears her throat, holding her shirt down and taking a great interest in the floor tiles.
Tighnari exhales, pulling his ears over his eyes. "At the very least, did it hurt?"
"Well, duh. It was an arrow."
"A WHAT?!"
Cyno jumps out of his chair, grabbing his polearm next to the door.
"I- No, no!! A hilichurl!!"
He takes a very, very deep breath, letting gravity return him to his seat with a thud.
"Lord Kusanali, forgive me for the atrocities I just considered..."
Tighnari and Collei stare at each other with wide eyes.
"Anyways, the... you mentioned a hilichurl?"
"Oh, right! It shot at me from a tower, but I knocked it out just fine! I came back here right after that."
Tighnari exhales a sigh of relief, hands back to covering his eyes. "Collei, please tell us these things."
"I'm like, not a kid anymore, you know!"
"You're a kid until you're eighteen. And you're not eighteen yet." Cyno says half-jokingly.
"Ugh! You know what I mean!"
"No, I actually don't." The corners of his lips turn up into a soft smile as Collei gets more frustrated.
"I'm a teenager!!! Not!!! A!!! Kid!!!"
"Teenagers fall under the umbrella of kids."
Collei slams her fist on the table, making the seated two bounce. "WRONG!"
"Right."
"WRONG!"
He puts his arms behind his head, crossing his leg. "Right."
"Back to the point!" Tighnari yelps, sensing Collei's incoming outburst. "Collei, make sure you're more careful next time, okay? I'll send others out to do your tasks for the next few weeks..."
Cyno and Collei give each other an annoyed glance.
"Dad, you do this every time!"
Cyno snorts, folding his arms and squinting at Collei mischievously. "Yeah, dad, cut it out."
Collei lunges over the table, Cyno screaming and Tighnari falling out of his seat.