A little from column A, a little from column B. Here, take this -- save the shirt a little extra grief.
[ Good, bad, he's the guy with the gauze. Which he does, in fact, have in hand! He holds it out to Mathilda like a peace offering. ]
I asked because you might not be able to move it, if you'd tried. [ He peers at her palm now, examining the wound. When his fingers follow up his touch is very light: cool, clinical, but not yet invasive. ] And then we'd have a problem. Extremities like hands and feet, the whole network's just under the surface. Part of the procedure is checking to see if there's any nerve damage or cut tendons, muscle -- not that it looks like you've got any of that, so far.
[ He's telling her the truth; it's deep, and it'll definitely need stitches, but he can't see any significant damage to the structures underneath. Not that even that would be much of an obstacle, space medicine being what it is. Which is a shame -- Brian much prefers to do things the old-fashioned way. It's usually got more of a kick to it.
His focus shifts back up to her face, so he can address her more directly, then returns from whence it came once it becomes clear there'll be no eye contact. He's nothing if not pragmatic. ]
But I need to examine it more closely before I can tell you anything definite. Do you want a local anesthetic first? [ The anesthetic in question is prepped and ready on the tray, right next to a little cup of topical goop that smells vaguely like menthol. If it really mattered he'd just stick her without asking, but the girl has something of an attitude which he might as well humor -- and see whether practicality or toughness wins out. ] Standard procedure.
no subject
[ Good, bad, he's the guy with the gauze. Which he does, in fact, have in hand! He holds it out to Mathilda like a peace offering. ]
I asked because you might not be able to move it, if you'd tried. [ He peers at her palm now, examining the wound. When his fingers follow up his touch is very light: cool, clinical, but not yet invasive. ] And then we'd have a problem. Extremities like hands and feet, the whole network's just under the surface. Part of the procedure is checking to see if there's any nerve damage or cut tendons, muscle -- not that it looks like you've got any of that, so far.
[ He's telling her the truth; it's deep, and it'll definitely need stitches, but he can't see any significant damage to the structures underneath. Not that even that would be much of an obstacle, space medicine being what it is. Which is a shame -- Brian much prefers to do things the old-fashioned way. It's usually got more of a kick to it.
His focus shifts back up to her face, so he can address her more directly, then returns from whence it came once it becomes clear there'll be no eye contact. He's nothing if not pragmatic. ]
But I need to examine it more closely before I can tell you anything definite. Do you want a local anesthetic first? [ The anesthetic in question is prepped and ready on the tray, right next to a little cup of topical goop that smells vaguely like menthol. If it really mattered he'd just stick her without asking, but the girl has something of an attitude which he might as well humor -- and see whether practicality or toughness wins out. ] Standard procedure.