Page 75 of Throwing Fire

“Sure,” I say.

Kez is closer and she fetches it for him. He sets it down on the workbench and peers at it. I wonder what he sees. I’m pleased with it. But I’m not sure what it looks like to an outsider.

The fish-doc runs his fingertips over the flimsy. “This is beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I say.

“What, may I ask, is it?”

Kez and I trade guilty glances. I shake myself. There’s no reason for either of us to feel ashamed. “It’s a brand,” I say.

“I thought it might be.” Doc Gray taps the design. “I assume this is for Miz Kerryon.”

He’s examined Kez more than a few times, so he’s probably noticed the marks I’ve left on her. He’s too polite to mention them, though. “Yeah, an’ for me.”

“Have you branded anyone before?”

I shake my head. Feel my shoulders tighten. He’s a meddie, and he’s spent a lot of time healing me and Kez. I can see why he might object to us purposely injuring ourselves. Or me giving Kez more scars.

“Heat the brand to five hundred Celsius. Hold it on the skin for no more than two seconds. Any longer, you’ll burn into the muscle. Just touch the metal to the dermis. For permanent scarification, you need to keep the wound open for several days. I’ll provide you with a gel for that. I do not recommend debriding the wound as that can result in uneven scarification. There’s a substantial risk of infection with the wound open, so if there’s any heat or excessive redness, I want you to see me immediately.”

Kez and me nod like v-school kids. The knot at the back of my neck loosens. I should have known that someone who has modified himself as extensively as Doc Gray wouldn’t object to whatever alterations we wanted to make to ourselves.

“This will make a beautiful scar. I’ll look forward to seeing it as it heals.” Doc Gray hands the flimsy back to Kez.

She smiles at him. Tucks the flimsy away. Then she takes off her top and climbs up onto the workbench so he can examine her. I watch with interest. I was with Kez for the first of her regen treatments,which was mostly Doc Gray doing tests. She’s gone by herself since then.

Doc Gray carefully examines the scar, which looks a lot better, even in the bright morning light, than it did the first time I saw it in darkness. He gently stretches the pink, ridged skin between his webbed fingers. Watching, I remember my first impression of Doc Gray: his cool hands working inside my shoulder.

“How is this side feeling?” Doc Gray asks Kez, concentrating on the left side of the round scar. “Are you experiencing any increased flexibility?”

“Some,” Kez says.

“The overgrowth is reduced, but not as much as I would like. I’d like to vibride this side one more time.”

“Okay,” Kez shrugs.

Doc Gray opens the bubble-pack he’s set on the floor next to my workbench and takes out a bulb of clear goo and a machine no longer than my finger. One end bristles with tiny needles so fine they look like hairs. I grimace to think of that being applied to my kitten’s tender skin. I move around to the other side of the workbench where I can look Kez in the face instead of watching what he’s doing to her back.

She winks at me. “I stopped watching after the first time, too.”

“Do you feel it?”

She shakes her head as Doc Gray fires up his little machine with a sound like a cat purring. I watch her face to see if she flinches. Which she does.

“Thought you said it didn’t hurt?”

“That’s the gel. It’s cold.”

“Apologies, Miz Kerryon,” Doc Gray says. “The water is still cold this time of year and my pack is not insulated.”

“No problem,” Kez says. “It’s fine now.”

The purring sound goes muffled and I know that’s because the fish-doc has stuck all those tiny needles in Kez’s skin. She doesn’t show any sign of pain, though. Guess the chilly gel has done its work.

“Whaddo you think about while he’s doin’ this, kitten?” I ask her, curious as to how she feels about the procedure. She was reluctant to have the scar regenned, and I’ve never understood why. I see it as a badge of honor: a medal to her ability to survive. But I know she doesn’t see it that way, so there’s no reason she’d want to keep it.

“Being able to run without feeling like there’s a drawstring in my back.”