Hana rushed through the house, her sights set on the kitchen. This weekend marked the release of WoW's 500th expansion pack, and she was meant to host a charity stream. But, in order for 72 uninterrupted hours of MMO bliss to take place, Hana would need snacks, and lots of them.
When she turned into the kitchen, she immediately forgot all of her plans for video games. Her focus was wholly devoted to the newest addition to the OverHouse. Efi was sitting on the floor and clutching her knee in pain. Blood oozed from a scrape on her leg, which she tried to contain with her hands.
"Oh my God, are you okay?" asked Hana, rushing to Efi's side.
"I think so," said Efi. "I was going to grab a glass of water before returning to the lab, but I tripped over this." She held up what was undeniably one of Junkrat's Steel Traps. "It was not armed, thankfully, but I skinned my knee on one of the teeth."
"I'm going to give Jamison a piece of my mind, leaving his crap around like that…" grumbled Hana. "But first, let's get you patched up." Hana reached into her pocket and withdrew a standard-issue Overwatch holographic tablet. "Let's see… Lucio and Mercy are in Dorado, Zen is back home for the weekend… Ha! There you are." She tapped on the tablet, having to wait no more than three seconds before the line connected.
"Yes, little one?" said Ana. "What's the matter?"
"Little Efi scraped her knee on one of Fawkes' traps," said Hana. "Could you patch her up, Mama Bear?"
"Of course, my cub, bring her up!"
Hana shoved the tablet back into her pocket and gently hoisted Efi from the floor. She flipped her around, piggy-back style, and carried her through the house. She carried her up the stairs, eventually stopping at a door at the end of the hallway. Efi knocked gently, at which point the door slid open with a puff and allowed the girls to step in.
Ana's room was immediately captivating to Efi. The four-poster bed was draped with scarlet drapes, bleeding out elegance into the rest of the room. On Ana's nightstand were several sticks of burning incense, which blanketed the room with a calming, almost spiritual aroma. It was different than anything Efi had experienced but, strangely, it made her feel at home. Sitting at a desk, flipping through documents, was the healer herself.
"Ah, Little Efi, it's about time we've met," said Ana, turning from her work. "I apologize for my scarcity around the House lately, I've been rather busy helping Mercy prepare for the annual examinations… Bah, but that's no excuse! What seems to be the issue, dear?"
"It's my knee, Ms. Amari," said Efi. "It's bleeding quite a lot."
"Set her down on the bed, Hana," said Ana. Hana did as she was told, then turned to see the faint trail of blood that had followed them from the kitchen.
"I better go clean that up," she said. "And kick Jamie's butt while I'm at it."
DVa rolled up her sleeves and marched out of the room, no doubt to find Junkrat and give him a piece of her mind. Ana chuckled to herself, a smile creeping to her lips.
"She reminds me of Fareeha…" she said softly. Ana cleared her throat, then rose from her seat to inspect Efi's leg. "Just a tiny scrape, nothing to be concerned about." Ana noticed that Efi was staring slightly, her gaze focused on her eyepatch. "Is there something on your mind?"
"I'm sorry. I did not mean to be rude," said Efi, immediately looking away.
"Oh, you're just too polite, little one. Understand, Efi, that manners should never stand between you and knowledge," said Ana. "If you want to know about something, the best way is to ask." There was quiet for a moment while Efi tried to get her question straight in her head. Despite Ana's assurances, Efi still didn't want to come off as disrespectful. Her parents had taught her well that she should respect her elders and her superiors, and Ana Amari fell into both categories.
"If I'm not overstepping my boundaries by asking, ma'am, I'd like to know," said Efi sheepishly. "What happened to your eye?"
"When I was still a soldier, I had a face-off with a rival," explained Ana. "I hesitated, and they made me pay for it. I lost that day, but that's okay. It taught me a valuable lesson."
"A lesson?"
"It taught me that my skills and talents are better spent helping people, rather than hurting them." Ana pulled a footlocker from beneath her bed and flipped it open. "And, speaking of helping people… Let's fix you up."
"Thank you, Ms. Amari," said Efi. "I'm glad I got to meet you today. You remind me of my mother."
"Well, little one, I'm everyone's mother here," said Ana. She grabbed her Biotic Rifle from the footlocker and aimed it at Efi's leg. "Now hold still."
Ana had been healing the Overwatch team for so long that she had become accustomed to certain things. She had become used to healing her allies in active combat, where her rifle made perfect sense. She had forgotten that the average civilian, like Efi, wasn't aware that technology like the Biotic Rifle even existed. She had forgotten that the only information Efi could gather from the situation is what she could see, and what Efi saw was a strange old soldier pointing a large gun at her leg.
So it made perfect sense for Efi to burst into panicked, frightened tears.
"No! Please, don't! I'll just get a Band-Aid!"