Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Bethany]

Okay! Turkey is resting, salad is made, bread is... cut and in a basket, sugared yams are done so... just a bit more for the gravy and killing my brother left. Where is he? No, no, smile, smile. Everything is fine. He's just a little late, he'll be here, he knows how much this means to me. It's fine, everything's fine. He won't abandon me again, it's fine. Taking a deep breath and ensuring her smile is firming in place, Bethany glides back out to the living room with the first of two bottles of cheap but decent wine she'd asked Seli to buy for tonight. 

"Right then, gravy just needs a bit more time to thicken- thank you so much for teaching me about rues, Missus Wynne by the way- and we'll be all set," she says brightly. This is fine, everything is fine.

[Tethras Clan]

"I'm glad to have helped," Wynne replies kindly. The snowy haired woman is dressed, as always, in a high necked, long hemmed dress that combines with her posture and demeanor to quietly radiate a sense of stern but kindly serenity. "Still no sign of your bro-" She pauses, eyes unfocused, and her head orienting to the backdoor. "Nevermind, I think I hear someone at the door now."

Seli looks relieved, both at not having to report one of them missing a check in and that Carver is safe home. "We'll be fine talking shop if you want to... catch your brother up on what he missed," the priestess says, hiding a smile at the look of sisterly anger the youngest woman present is poory hiding.

[Carver Amell]

Carver barely registers Bethany's anger when she first opens the door. His face is bloodless, his eyes almost seeming to see through her, and under his cloak, his hands are shaking. "B-beth," he whispers, a sigh of relieved tension. Then he focuses, seeing her anger and flinching back from her. "Sorry," he mutters. "I'm--"

[Bethany]

"Dolor misericordiae ablue!" The celestial phrase comes without effort or thought, the fruits of the last month or so of study and training pouring out of her and into Carver with a soft pale blue glow, the second she catches the scent of blood on him. As the healing energy, still weak and unfocused, the most basic healing spell there is, is cast, Carver can feel the echo of what his twin feels while she prays. There's mercy and compassion in it, sure, Bethany is a sweet girl, a kind woman. But more than either of those, her yearning, her hope, is for family. The spell is like gentle arms, home-cooked meals, comfortable, even boring routines and the simple certainty that you're not alone in life. There's a few other layers to it, but it's gone too fast to really notice.

"What happened? Are you- Wynne, help!"

[Tethras Clan]

As might be expected, Bethany's cry for help causes sounds of rapid movement from the living room.

[Carver Amell]

"No," he whispers, eyes widening. He shrugs the cloak to one side, showing her his hand -- an ordinary, human hand, covered in blood halfway to the wrist. "I have to--" I have to clean this, I can't get arrested, Bethany needs me.

[Bethany]

Bethany grabs his hand, uncaring of the blood. "Listen to your hea- listen to your sister," Bethany snaps, trying to tug him to the kitchen table so he can sit. "Please." I can't- I can't let you hurt yourself for me. Whatever's happened, whatever you did, we'll figure it out, together.

[Carver Amell]

Carver stumbles after his sister, stunned, sitting when pushed into the chair. "I-- I think that guy's dead, Beth." His voice is a small, horrified whisper. 

[Bethany]

Eyes widening, Bethany only has a second to process that before she hears footsteps in the doorway. Moving without her conscious input, she yanks the bandana of his head and kneels. "Does your leg still hurt, she demands crisply. As she does so, she yanks up his pant leg and starts trying to wipe the blood of his leg with the bandana.

[Tethras Clan]

"Carver!" It's Seli that arrives first and she quickly moves to assist- take over- for Bethany.

[Bethany]

"He hasn't said- just my name and that he's sorry about being late," Bethany says quickly, hand digging into Carver's arm for a second.

[Carver Amell]

Carver swallows, grimacing. "Sorry," he murmurs. "Sorry. I-- I was-- they didn't have those pears you liked," he adds, looking for something -- anything -- that wasn't this incident to talk about. He'd gone on his way to the hideout, but they'd been sold out anyway, so he'd stopped by for a bit. 

[Bethany]

"Fuck the pears," Bethany hisses. "Are you still hurt?" 

[Tethras Clan]

"Beth," Wynne reprimands her crisply. "Brother or not, you have to keep your bearing. A healer cannot afford to panic, ever."

[Carver Amell]

Carver shakes his head. "No. Just a drubbing. I'm fine now."