Katie's Hellion

When it'd finished, she felt little pain, and the heat was completely gone.

"That's amazing, Lankha," she voiced.

"Amaaaaaaazing," it agreed. "I'm the oldest male healer in my guild. There's one female older. Your body is stubborn, but you will heal."

Male, she noted mentally.

His hands traveled up her legs with the expertise and gentleness of a doctor, all the while spreading the soft coolness through her. His touch lingered on bruises, and he retrieved a small tool when he reached the hem of her dress. He sliced through it, and she pushed his hand away.

"You're hurt," he said, surprised.

"I don't have any other clothes! You can't be cutting up the only set I do have."

He looked concerned and stood again, retrieving something else from his bed. He dropped a leather jumper similar to his on her lap and then returned to his cutting. The creature across the hall growled. She didn't let herself think too much about what it might be, how she ended up in Hell, or why she'd just let some otherworldly creature with fuzzy hands cut off her clothes.

Lankha's hands remained on her ribs for a long, long time. He appeared satisfied at last and touched her breast. She slapped his hand away, and he looked at her, confused again.

"What are these?"

"Just ignore them and finish up."

He obeyed. He finished at long last and replaced all his things in his satchel. She pulled on the jumper, not expecting it to fit and surprised to find the leather-like material as flexible as spandex. It fit snugly, though it was so thin, she still felt exposed.

"What do you do?" Lankha asked, sitting back.

"I'm in the food industry. I help them with marketing, which was my major until I quit school."

"You make vegetables? There's a marketing guild?"

"Oh, no," she said, realizing his meaning. "I don't do anything…special like you."

He frowned.

"Rather, doing nothing is my apparent talent," she clarified.

"You are not a normal mortal human."

"No. I'm, um, apparently unaffected by the…talents of other…guild guys, unless they're, like, really old."

"Ooooohhhhh. Old like me, oldest in my guild."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Very nice talent," he said. "Very rare. Not good for you, though."

"Why not?"

"The Ancients are very rare. I've been in Heeeeeeeeeeeell forever, and if I wasn't here, I couldn't heal you."