Golden Thorns: Chapter Eleven
Just standing was painful. The corridor was bright in the late afternoon sun and it burned into Coran's eyes. The only thing keeping him upright was Dev, taking some of his weight on his shoulders. Outside, standing there were his teammates. Jo looked surprised. Marie had a look of utter horror. Coran realised that he must look a mess. Feeling was starting to overcome the numbness and the dull ache was beginning to become searing pain. He felt liquid running down his face and arms. He looked down and saw flecks of blood, leaking from flayed knuckles and a thousand tiny cuts and splinters along his skin, mixing with sweat and forming small puddles at his feet.
He was vaguely aware of a crowd of people forming. "Nothing to see here boys and girls," Dev called to the students, "just taking this guy to the med centre, okay? Coran needs a shower. We'll see you all tomorrow." He started walking, Dev helping him along. Eventually they reached the nurses office. In fact a fully kitted out surgery. "I guess in a school of warriors they need to be ready for anything." Again Coran felt his mouth twitch at Devlyn's joke. He was set down on one of the beds and passed out.
The next morning Coran woke to find his arms and head bandaged. He had a piercing headache but was propped up on a mountain of soft pillows. He ached all over but was acutely aware of a pressure on his hand. He looked down to see Marie, asleep, head resting on the mattress beside him. Her honey coloured hair falling across her face like a golden waterfall. Heart skipping a beat. He looked up to see Jo, snoring in a chair, and Dev curled up on the floor.
A nurse in purple scrubs had opened a window and a cool breeze filled the wardroom. She said to him quietly, "they insisted on staying here. There wasn't a lot I could do to stop them." She smiled warmly at him and hummed her way to each bed in turn, fluffing up the pillows and neatening the sheets.
The snoring stopped. "Coran?" Jo said groggily. Instantly Marie was by his head, feeling his forehead and asking him how he felt.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he protested, but she had already pulled him into a tight embrace that warmed him to his very core. "Ow," he said loudly into her ear as she crushed his chest. She let go immediately, concern showing on her face, but she relented when she saw his smug grin. Dev was slowly stretching in the sunlight from the window. Jo walked up the other side of the bed.
"You didn't half give us a scare there, bud." She said as she leant casually on his voluminous pile of cushions, "do you have any idea how much damage you did to yourself?"
"A few cuts and bruises?" he asked curiously.
"Try fractured knuckles, cracked ribs and a mild concussion. Oh and you also pulled pretty much every muscle in your body. You really should limber up before you go on a murderous rampage next time." She said with a wink.
"I'll remember that. So got off lightly then?" he said. He did feel very stiff.
"You're under bed rest orders for at least another couple of days." Said Devlyn, still warming up in the sun. Another side effect of his particular brand of Faunus. Slow wake up time. One of the reasons why he was almost always late to morning appointments such as class.
"You're probably wondering why I went all psychopath, aren't you."
"That is one of the many things I've been wondering about over the past couple of weeks, yes." Said Dev. Finally coming over to the bed.
"You may want to make yourselves comfortable. This could take a while." They all pulled up chairs and sat around as Coran began to tell his story.