Hidden Wounds - Caution, self-mutilation within

[Auburn]

**The silver-furred otter peered at the wooden door quickly, checking to see it was locked. Satisfied that no one could intrude onto her privacy without alerting her first, Silver fished into her apron pockets, pulling out a small, sharp razor. It had been a stressful week and she needed some peace and quiet, some time to reflect. The sickbay was the perfect place. No one would think twice about the medic sitting here by herself, seemingly to be waiting for the next patient. It was the perfect cover and the perfect opportunity.

The maiden lifted her left sleeve, revealing a criss-cross of thin scars that marred the gray flesh. Some would call if self-mutilation, proclaiming her instantly as insane and mentally unstable. Perhaps it was true, but not to the otter herself. Silver thought nothing of it, just another form of relieving stress, same as maybe fighting or reading.

She lifted the razor and set it against her flesh, the dull metal almost bending into her fur. Pressing the tip in slightly, she drew her paw quickly, wincing slightly as a narrow, red slash appeared on her wrist. The wound began oozing blood, the red liquid standing out clearly against her fur. Silver made several more cuts, each progressively deeper than the first, none superficial wounds. Finally, when the tip of the blade was stained red, crusted with blood, she set the razor aside and tightly bound her bloody arm with a roll of white bandages, the bound seeping through the pristine cloth quickly. Hearing the rusty knob of the wooden door turn, Silver shot up to her paws, rolling down her sleeves to hide the blood-soaked bandage and dropping the piece of metal back into her apron pocket.**

[Linx Exotic]

Archon had no idea where his gloves had ended up. Yes, this entire trek all over the fort was about... Gloves. He hadn't seen them since his time spent in the sickbay and it seemed like the best place to look for them, seeing as he had kept all his clothing there while recovering. As the mouse swung open the door and stepped inside, his eyes adjusted to the dimmer light to show him an otter... Silver, yes, that was her name, standing there idly, perhaps waiting for someone... Looked kinda pale, that was clearly visible through her fur. Any curiosity that might have accompanied that observation was pushed aside by the issue already occupying his mind.

"Hey... Silver..." The young mouse had never been exceptional at remembering beasts' names, but this one was certainly easy to remember. All he had to do was see a silver-furred medic and he'd know what to call her. He chose his words as soon as they appeared in his head, more busy looking over the maiden and trying to get more about the situation than sounding eloquent. "I'm looking for my gloves, I think I left them here... You seen them anywhere? Black, leather, silver buckles."

[Auburn]

Out of all the beasts in the fort, she didn't expect him. While Archon had been housed in the sickbay for a short duration, Silver had been preoccupied and had never had the chance to tend to him. So, to have him out of everybeast to almost catch her with her deepest, darkest secret was a bit unusual. She had expected someone different, like another one of the medics.

But, the otter knew she had to pretend that everything was normal so he would have no reason to suspect anything at all. Pasting a grin on her face, she nodded and turns towards the cabinets, "Yes, I just saw them in the cabinet. You must've left them here while you were sick." Turning, she headed towards the cabinet, careful not to use her left arm as she opened the cabinet and pulled out the aforementioned gloves. While closing the heavy cabinet doors, the maiden accidentally brushed her bandaged arm against the frame, causing her to pause and wince slightly. Just as quickly, she straightened her features and smiled, hoping Archon had noticed anything unusual. Turning back to the mouse, Silver smiled and handed him the gloves, "Here you go!"

[Linx Exotic]

Archon had spent more than enough time being mentally off himself to notice when someone else was. That little wince was more than enough to clue him in that something was amiss and arouse his curiosity. Maybe this one was doing something self-destructive... When he had been in the wild for three seasons after his family's house burned down, he had dealt many an injury to himself and the position had once been somewhat understandable to him. Social contact upon finding the fort proved that he could do any sick thing he liked in his spare time and when it was time to talk to the normal beasts he had no difficulty... And that smile just irked him.

"Thanks, uh... Your arm OK there?" It was either a false alarm or a fatal blow. Either way, it was certainly worth mentioning as the mouse gladly took and put on his gloves, relishing the sensation of the cold leather against his flesh before it warmed up from his body heat. He never could figure out why that feeling was appealing to him... Perhaps for similar reasons to why some enjoyed inflicting damage to themselves. Of course, one of those was harmless, the other was not... She sure wasn't using her left arm for anything there.