Gavin sat on the edge of the bed, slowly rolling a warm, peeled egg over his left eye.
Cordelia sat propped against the pillows, both hands resting neatly outside the covers. For once, she looked a little guilty.
"Um..." she asked cautiously. "Does it still hurt?"
Gavin took the egg away. A dark bruise had formed around his left eye, giving him a spectacular black eye.
"What do you think?"
Cordelia stared at him for two seconds, then burst out laughing.
"Sorry." She tried to suppress her smile. "You look kind of funny right now. A little like... like that panda we saw together. Really."
Gavin pressed the egg back against his eye.
"You're way too strong for someone who was about to die." He touched his still-numb eye socket. "I think I'm the one who needs emergency treatment now."
Cordelia pouted, gave a huff, and turned her head away.
After a while, she spoke softly, sounding a little hurt.
"I really thought... I wouldn't survive today..."
Gavin stopped rolling the egg and smiled.
"Don't worry." He looked at Cordelia. "Now that I'm back, that won't happen."
Cordelia gazed at him. Seeing his confident smile, she slowly smiled too and gave a firm nod.
"Yeah! I believe you!"
She looked down at her arm.
"But what do we do now? Do I need to have it tattooed on like you? Will it hurt?"
"No." Gavin started rolling the egg again. "That was the poor man's, or the prisoner's, solution. I didn't have enough materials back then and couldn't get more, so I had to prick it in bit by bit with a silver needle. I made it permanent."
He nodded toward the six bottles of Dragon Blood on the table.
"You're rich and beautiful. No need to suffer through that.