[ daan is lighter than he ought to be. kaveh knows - he is an architect who builds houses for people. people weigh, is the thing. their combined weight influences building material, it influences joinery and use cases and the amount of load walls and floors ought to be able to bear. a man of daan's height and build should not weigh as much as he does, even with all the flesh stripped from his arm. kaveh thinks - no wonder this man knows midnight. he had been correct after all. birds of a feather flock, even if it means the birds die together in the same, self-made storm.

the fury leaps again, untenable in kaveh's chest. it's a useless thing. he tamps down on it as he considers this. no, it's the better alternative. kaveh wouldn't know how daan was to live through another circle - if it's a gradual healing process, then it simply is the closing of a grievous wound. that is still not in kaveh's wheelhouse, but kaveh can understand it. ]

Yes, you have to bear it. Yes, it's because you must live. But simply existing isn't the same as living, and right now, you are merely existing with the pain. And what manner of doctor are you for being worse off than the patients you treat? I ought to take some of the choice words I have for Midnight and apply them on you instead. [ the words come, but the heat isn't quite there. kaveh breathes. ] If the belt at your shoulder is cut, will you bleed out? And your entire arm is mere bone - will it be alright out in the open like this?