Healer

Healers' Home

The blankets were warm.

Jimin listened to the voices beneath him, staring out the window at the trees beyond the balcony. Their yellow and red leaves fluttered in the breeze, glittering in the sunlight. The low murmur from the first floor soothed him, lulling him back into a half-asleep state every time he opened his eyes. The sunlight danced on the ceiling and the far wall as a gust of wind tossed the branches of the trees, and he rolled onto his back, stretching out his arms gingerly.

The voices stopped. Jimin stared at the light dancing on the ceiling and waited for them to begin again, but instead, he heard footsteps on the stairs.

Someone knocked at his door. "Jimin? Are you awake?"

"He's not going to respond, stupid," someone else grumbled, "Poke your head in, quietly."

The door opened, and Jimin looked over in time to catch a glimpse of a familiar face before it pulled away.

"He's awake. What now?"

"Well, we should show him around the house," the other stranger chuckled. "Open the door, let's see how he's doing."
The door swung open, and the face Jimin had glimpsed before reappeared, along with the rest of the person.

"Hey, Jimin," Hoseok said, "it's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Jimin sat up, startled, and had to pause, squeezing his eyes shut as his body screamed in protest. The person behind Hoseok hummed.

"Sore, then?"

Jimin blinked, grimacing as he reached up to grab his neck. Hoseok and the newcomer had come in, all the way across the room to the bed. The newcomer sat down, placing his hand over Jimin's.

"Hey. Look me in the eyes?"

Jimin knew his voice. He sucked in a deep breath, looking up. Why do the heavens hate me? he wondered, feeling a new pain radiate outward from his chest.

"It's been ages," Yoongi mumbled, frowning, "The monks said they couldn't do anything more for you. I hope your room isn't too crowded...?"

Jimin shook his head. Besides the large bed, there was only the closet, a desk, and a chest of drawers, all placed around the edge of the room to leave the center as open as possible. It was different from the monastery, but not as bad as he'd anticipated.

Yoongi relaxed, smiling. "Good. want to see the house?"

Jimin nodded.

Yoongi helped him out of bed, and Hoseok led the way out onto the landing. They showed Jimin their rooms, then the outside balcony that wrapped around the back half of the house, the herb garden, the stairs down to the backyard, the rest of the bedrooms, the kitchen, the living room, and a small room Yoongi hesitated to show him, which turned out to be their workroom, complete with all sorts of medical tools and a long, thick mat that covered most of the floor.

Yoongi wasn't anxious to remain in that room. Jimin didn't blame him. It brought back too many memories for all of them.

They found themselves back in the living room, where Jungkook sat on the couch, one leg crossed over the other as he mouthed the words to the book he was reading.

"Kook," Yoongi called, "Want to check him over now or later?"

Jungkook looked up, dog-eared his page, and closed the book. "Now," he said. "Jimin, mind sitting down?"

Jimin took a deep breath. He had been expecting this, but some part of him still hoped it would be the one and only time he would have to submit to it. He sat down next to Jungkook, closing his eyes as Jungkook sat up and placed his hands on his neck.

The young man's touch was soft, almost hesitant. Jimin felt a low vibration in his throat, and Jungkook hummed to himself, shifting his hands up and down.

"There's some damage," he said, sighing, "I don't know how to explain it. It's like... like they ripped it apart..." he took his hands off Jimin's neck, frowning and looking away.

Jimin swallowed, reaching up to rub his neck. How could it be hurt that bad? he wondered. I didn't scream that much. Not after the first night...

"Speech would be too painful right now," Jungkook said softly.

Yoongi nodded, shrugging and rolling his eyes as if he wasn't surprised, but Hoseok didn't look so sure. "But we can't, I don't know, heal it now?" he asked, folding his arms and glancing at Jimin with a worried look that Jimin remembered all too well.

"It's not much use if he can't trust us," Jungkook said softly, "For now," he looked back at Jimin, frowning, "are you tired? Hungry? I heard them dragging you around. Have you met Jin-hyung yet? Namjoon-hyung's around here somewhere, as well..."

Jimin shook his head, still rubbing his throat. Jungkook smiled, shaking his bangs out of his eyes, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Well, I guess there's still..." he trailed off, humming. "Taehyung, do you want to take him to the grove?"

Jimin looked up. Taehyung sat on the couch across from them, a book sitting binder-up in his lap. His eyes were on Jimin, and they were narrowed. Jimin looked away, shrinking under his gaze.

"Taehyung?" Jungkook asked.

"Hm?" Taehyung looked over at him, raising his eyebrows. "What is it?"

"I was asking if you'd--nevermind," Jungkook rolled his eyes. "Where's Yeontan?"

Jimin looked up. Yeontan? he thought. Wasn't that--

"Out in the backyard," Taehyung said, "he'll jump all over Jimin if we let him in, so--"

"Well, better get it over with. This isn't going to be a short stay."

Taehyung frowned, heaved a sigh, and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Jimin flinched.

"Don't mind him," Jungkook sighed. "It's been an eventful day."

Jimin bit his lip, looking up at Jungkook through his bangs. The younger man gave him a hesitant smile, quickly looking down at his feet.

"It'll probably take some adjustment, but it'll be fine."

Jimin's heart clenched, and he looked down at his hands, barely aware of his bangs sliding forward to hide his eyes. Adjustment, he thought, and the word hung heavy in his mind. An adjustment.

Is this really going to work? 

I've learned that most problems with people come from a misinterpretation of words or a lack of communication. 

To be honest, Jimin's attacks are a mix of what I've felt during anxiety attacks and what I saw when a friend of mine at a summer camp had a panic attack during a simulation debrief-- on steroids. ;-; 

Most of you probably know already, but the difference between the two is the time it takes to reach the highest point of the attack-- anxiety attacks usually take longer and are almost undetectable in their first stages if you don't know what to look for. It's probably the only reason I noticed something was wrong with my friend before the rest of the group did. Attacks suck. I've tried to refrain from fantasizing them, but if any of you notice details that I could use to improve the reality of it, please let me know. I'm lucky enough that my anxiety attacks are pretty rare, so I assume they're more mild than those of people who have to constantly deal with them, and it would make sense for me to miss stuff--obviously when I have an attack, I'm not sitting there counting the symptoms and waxing poetic about how it feels. :p

Hope this finds you feeling healthy and relatively stress-free!