where art thou? why not upon-eth me?

The grasses parted to reveal the Queen herself. Finch's eyes glazed over as they scanned Calliope's wounds, cataloguing each one and the best course of treatment she had available in her perilously small borrowed satchel.

Calliope's wounds were dreadful. Open, red weeping skin. Scrapes and cuts and bruises. It was ghoulish.

She was still the most compelling thing Finch had ever seen.

A twisted smile spread across Calliope's face before she collapsed in front of her. Finch gulped. She'd eased Theory and Thalia through their births, but Jay had been there. This would be her first time tending to a patient truly alone and she needed to be up to the task. This was an alpha. This was Calliope. Her Calliope. The mutual claim still felt fraught and tenuous, but Finch clung to it. Calliope trusted her with this and she would see it through. "Missed you? Of course, but I kept busy," she said, her tones low and soothing. Finch manipulated her carefully to expose the worst of the burns so that she could treat them first.

"What great adventure did you have, Callie?" The nickname slipped easily. It felt too small for Calliope, but Finch liked it. The name made her smaller and softer all at once. Finch could care for Callie without the fear of permanently marring Calliope, the Raiders' Insidious Queen. This would keep her steady, her actions sure and swift. Wordlessly, she emptied the bag and laid out a jar of aloe gel and the wad of bandages she'd dipped in cool water. They were more ambient air temperature now, but Finch thought anything would feel like relief compared to Callie's blistered skin. Another wax-sealed vessel held some strong-brewed poppy tea to relieve some of her pain. Finch broke the seal and pressed it close to her lips. "Drink this," she murmured, hoping to keep her mostly lucid through this process. Not blinded by pain, but not so drugged she'd fall asleep. Once the tea took effect she would begin her work.

"speech"