Valkyrie mistakenly thought she could handle sticking around for the surgery.
She didn't even make it past Kenspeckle removing the bandage.
Fletcher left well before that point, ashen-faced and trembling. A few minutes later, Kenspeckle not-so-subtly suggested Solomon might deserve some privacy, but Valkyrie didn't even think about leaving until the doctor took that bandage off. Her stomach heaved, her emotions flared up, and Valkyrie immediately decided it would be a very good idea to follow Fletcher outside.
Merlin, to her surprise, came out after them. Neither Valkyrie nor Fletcher had known what to make of that, or known exactly how to treat the Ancient. But it didn't seem to matter; Merlin asked all the questions as they aimlessly wandered the Hibernian. He asked a lot of questions. Valkyrie and Fletcher did their best to answer, one of them occasionally lapsing into silence while the other talked. Valkyrie was actually happy about that. Fletcher had been too quiet lately. It was good to see him talking and being animated again.
Besides which, Merlin. They were talking to Merlin. He was fascinating. And way better than any teacher Valkyrie ever had. Everything he did seemed to hold extra weight, from the aimless walking, to his reaction upon meeting Clarabelle during their trek through the labs.
They were approaching the exam room again for the fourth time when Skulduggery and Gabriel came out. Valkyrie grinned and pulled ahead from the others, leaving Fletcher to field the remaining questions. "Skulduggery!"
The detective looked up, a little smile tipping the corner of his mouth as he caught sight of her. Valkyrie stopped in her tracks, wondering if he smiled like that a lot. His head was ever-so-slightly tilted; she tried to imagine the blank white skull that should be there, tried to remember if he'd ever tilted his head in that specific way before, and what it meant if he had. "Hm?"
Yep. That was definitely how his head tilted whenever he saw her. Valkyrie's grin returned, and grew. Skulduggery had a Valkyrie-specific smile. "Remember that troll who was in love with you?"
The Valkyrie-specific smile faded. "Oh, vaguely."
"Remember when I promised you I was never going to pass up an opportunity to tease you about it?"
The Valkyrie-specific smile disappeared. "Don't you want to know how the surgery went?"
"It's Kenspeckle Grouse," Valkyrie reminded him. "The surgery went perfectly, Solomon's going to be fine apart from voluntary blindness, and he's going to be sleeping for the rest of the day. Are you two actually - "
"You're wrong," Skulduggery interrupted her, probably quite deliberately. "Not for the rest of the day. He'll probably wake up very soon."
"Well, I'll go see him when he does. Are you guys seriously - "
"You don't want to know the details?"
"Good God, no. Are you guys - "
"Not even if I make it mandatory as part of your ongoing training?"
Valkyrie folded her arms. "No. Are you done coming up with stupid excuses?"
"Wonderful weather we're having," Skulduggery remarked in a very affected absent-minded tone.
no subject
She didn't even make it past Kenspeckle removing the bandage.
Fletcher left well before that point, ashen-faced and trembling. A few minutes later, Kenspeckle not-so-subtly suggested Solomon might deserve some privacy, but Valkyrie didn't even think about leaving until the doctor took that bandage off. Her stomach heaved, her emotions flared up, and Valkyrie immediately decided it would be a very good idea to follow Fletcher outside.
Merlin, to her surprise, came out after them. Neither Valkyrie nor Fletcher had known what to make of that, or known exactly how to treat the Ancient. But it didn't seem to matter; Merlin asked all the questions as they aimlessly wandered the Hibernian. He asked a lot of questions. Valkyrie and Fletcher did their best to answer, one of them occasionally lapsing into silence while the other talked. Valkyrie was actually happy about that. Fletcher had been too quiet lately. It was good to see him talking and being animated again.
Besides which, Merlin. They were talking to Merlin. He was fascinating. And way better than any teacher Valkyrie ever had. Everything he did seemed to hold extra weight, from the aimless walking, to his reaction upon meeting Clarabelle during their trek through the labs.
They were approaching the exam room again for the fourth time when Skulduggery and Gabriel came out. Valkyrie grinned and pulled ahead from the others, leaving Fletcher to field the remaining questions. "Skulduggery!"
The detective looked up, a little smile tipping the corner of his mouth as he caught sight of her. Valkyrie stopped in her tracks, wondering if he smiled like that a lot. His head was ever-so-slightly tilted; she tried to imagine the blank white skull that should be there, tried to remember if he'd ever tilted his head in that specific way before, and what it meant if he had. "Hm?"
Yep. That was definitely how his head tilted whenever he saw her. Valkyrie's grin returned, and grew. Skulduggery had a Valkyrie-specific smile. "Remember that troll who was in love with you?"
The Valkyrie-specific smile faded. "Oh, vaguely."
"Remember when I promised you I was never going to pass up an opportunity to tease you about it?"
The Valkyrie-specific smile disappeared. "Don't you want to know how the surgery went?"
"It's Kenspeckle Grouse," Valkyrie reminded him. "The surgery went perfectly, Solomon's going to be fine apart from voluntary blindness, and he's going to be sleeping for the rest of the day. Are you two actually - "
"You're wrong," Skulduggery interrupted her, probably quite deliberately. "Not for the rest of the day. He'll probably wake up very soon."
"Well, I'll go see him when he does. Are you guys seriously - "
"You don't want to know the details?"
"Good God, no. Are you guys - "
"Not even if I make it mandatory as part of your ongoing training?"
Valkyrie folded her arms. "No. Are you done coming up with stupid excuses?"
"Wonderful weather we're having," Skulduggery remarked in a very affected absent-minded tone.