on the malevolence of reality

Crux rolled his eyes as his brother stuck his tongue out at him, it was on the surface a teasing gesture but his words belied his irritation. "My patient my rules." He quipped back but in truth Crux was more focused on the task at hand. "Unless you'd rather I fetch Halo." Crux didn't know at this point if that would have been preferable for Stratum. Sure it wasn't like he couldn't understand feeling that being tended to by your family was almost more humiliating but Crux also frankly wasn't sure that even the generally kind and timid Halo wouldn't have knocked Stratum out at this point instead of deal with his bullshit. Crux didn't have that luxury, not when his patient was his own brother.

Crux kept his expression neutral as Stratum rattled off the locations he'd gone to "rest", instead keeping his gaze swapping between his brother's leg as he gently applied pressure and his brother's face, searching for the clear signs of pain. Still he couldn't help the irritation he felt rising in him. Was Stratum this stupid? Did he not see what he was doing to himself? Did he not realize what he was risking? And somewhere deep under his concern for his brother was irritation at Stratum for throwing away something Crux would have killed for... Mobility.

His assessment completed, luckily it seemed nothing had shifted to badly out of alignment and certainly nothing a splint couldn't nudge back into place, Crux sighed. If a wolf could pinch the bridge of their nose, he'd be doing it. "Stratum I know you don't like being told to stop walking on your leg but-" But you're an idiot who doesn't even realize how lucky you are that there's still time to fix it! "There will be a point of no return. If your leg sets wrong the only fix is to break it again." As he spoke Crux finally pushed some lady's slipper towards Stratum to help with the pain as he set about preparing to splint his brother's leg again. "Worse the longer you delay a proper recovery, the more your muscles atrophy, the higher the chance not even physical therapy will see you back to your full strength." Crux was no stranger to having to work his own leg, stretches were a daily routine and he on occasion would do other more active exercises to ensure the health of the parts of his leg he did have some say over. But if Stratum just couldn't fucking stay still for a week there was every chance that not even his own collection of exercises would help. "I can only encourage your leg to heal ultimately you're the one who's gotta choose if it will or not. I'd consider if you really understand what's at stake here."

With all his supplies together Crux finally looked back up at his brother. "It's much harder than I make it look." Yeah, because he'd been doing it since he was born, he didn't know any other way of being, including modeling himself so that those who didn't have his disability would find him palatable. Stratum had no idea just how much Crux kept hidden, the bad days, the frustration, the pain. He had no doubt his brother was strong but the strength Stratum possessed wasn't the strength needed to function in Crux's lived reality.

"Speech"