A Tall and Small Collection | Soren

Negotiations

"This deal seems really one sided," she grumbled. Soren's breathing increased rapidly. A new wave of nausea swirled inside him. [She's not going for it. I knew it – I...] "I have a slight counter-offer which should work for both of us. For your first point, you said I can't ask any questions about you. Does that mean all questions? Like, for example, how are you feeling? That's a question about you. What if you're in severe pain from your leg and I can get you medicine or something that will help? A question about you prompts this, right?"

Soren had to admit that no questions about him did jeopardize his recovery. He knew enough about first aid to patch up scrapes, bruises, and busted noses; legs and arms were more difficult.

"My proposition is this," Ashlynn continued, pulling a reluctant Soren into negotiating. "I get to ask you questions, but you don't have to answer them. Or, better yet, if I listen to your requests without incident, then I get to ask a question – like a reward. You don't have to answer, but I still get to ask. What do you think?"

Soren bit his lip as he contemplated quickly. All things considering, it was a minor request which mostly adhered to his initial rule about asking personal questions. There was no way around it. Even though he suspected he could say no, Soren wanted to ensure each interaction was a smooth one. Seeing no reason why Ashlynn couldn't ask and he avoid responding, Soren nodded.

"That sounds fair enough," muttered Soren. Ashlynn nodded in return.

"Good," she said softly. There was a buzzing sound, which jolted both of them out of their unspoken staring contest. Her attention was instantly redirected to a strange, boxy device. She held up a finger and gestured to the door. "I have to take this. I'll be back. Oh, just so you can mentally prepare, we'll need to check your bandages and make sure your leg is healing straight."

With that, Ashlynn left the room with the device and Soren was alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soren didn't like the idea of being handled or touched, but the thought of dealing with his leg himself was slightly more unnerving. He had a limited knowledge of broken bones and, from what he could tell, Ashlynn had more resources and wherewithal to do it. He could hear her in the other room speaking loudly. Whatever was going on, it was angering her.

[Do I really want to say no to an angry human? Not really. Do I really want an angry human working on my leg? Not really.] Concluding it would be in his best interest, Soren reluctantly made up his mind to allow Ashlynn to help him with his leg. Just as he did, Ashlynn entered the room with several large containers – at least, large from Soren's perspective – and set them on the bed. Soren could see hooks and scissors and rolls of cloth as long as his leg.

"Alright," sighed Ashlynn. As Soren looked at her, he could've sworn that her hands were shaking slightly. "Question of the day, would you like my help in changing your bandages and checking your leg?" Soren nodded, feeling a sickening acid in the back of his throat. Ashlyn gave him a hard look.

"You know, you can say no if you want," she said softly as she turned her gaze away.

"I know," replied Soren. "But if it's as bad as I think it is, I..." Soren didn't need to say anything else. Somehow, Ashlynn knew how Soren wanted to finish his sentence and approached cautiously.

"It's okay. If you could, I need you to uncover your leg," instructed Ashlynn.

For a human and for being an angry human not too long ago, Ashlynn had a very delicate touch. Soren couldn't help but recoil as her looming hands and outstretched fingers reached for him. It was pure instinct, shying away the way he did, but Soren had to admit he expected worse. His head swirled and his breath was rapid, body screaming for him to get away. He resisted the urge, barely.

The way it went was simple. There were a few places Ashlynn left so she could easily remove the bandages. Soren, after several unintentional flinches, elected to lay on his back, close his eyes, and wait for Ashlynn to finish unwrapping his leg before looking. Each flinch sent a nauseating pulse coursing through him and his leg ached and throbbed. Laying back and closing his eyes seemed to alleviate her nerves despite feeling the occasional pressure of Ashlynn's finger-tips on his leg.

When she had unwrapped his leg, he managed to catch a glimpse of the injury for the first time. Based only on visual appearance, it was not the worse injury he possessed. The area was bruised and swollen, but nothing protruded from his leg. There was a bandage near his shin where it had been pinched under the bar and had broken skin. The air itself stung his leg, making it feel like tiny needles.

Borrowers were sturdy – Soren was well aware of this fact – and injuries tended to not last long on him or any other Borrower he encountered in his life. Still, the damage done would leave him out of commission for longer than he wanted.

With Ashlynn's help, Soren helped reinforce and stabilize the brace. Ashlynn explained, while wrapping his leg, that she was hesitant to wrap his leg while he was unconscious because she didn't want to cut off blood flow from his leg. Now that he could provide feedback, she could reinforce it and make it stronger. More importantly, it was reinforced to the point he felt confident enough to put pressure on it.

Soren, the entire time, tested limits. He paid attention to Ashlynn's reaction when he winced or asked for a moment. Each time, she retracted her hands and patiently waited for the go-ahead; which Soren gave after a few seconds. Something else happened while he and Ashlynn worked in tandem – she didn't seem overly uncomfortable or surprised that someone his size existed.

Soren dared not bring it up, but tucked it away. It made him wonder though; was he the first Borrower Ashlynn had ever encountered?