Ben stopped his quips for long enough to get serious, and by the time he was finished Ari’s anger had evaporated slightly, the concern in his chest dulled to something - manageable. So he hoped.
“Anything life-threatening, and you just have to be in the thick of it,” Ari murmured quietly, sighing as he took Ben’s hand - well, wrist, in case anyone walked in - and bent over his arm to inspect the bruising. Of course Ben had tried to save people before getting out of there; it was what he’d done with the troll attack in the park years back, what he would do in any situation. It was part of his being such a good auror, part of his being such a good friend.
But if anything happened to him, Ari would never be able to forgive himself. Benedict Sterling had made himself something of Ari’s responsibility.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he admitted, with a furrowed brow and a hesitant shake of his head. “I -” He trailed off helplessly. Brains. No wonder this was a Department of Mysteries calamity; nowhere else in the Ministry would be investigating such things. It was not something Ari would have said to any other patient - he would have not wanted to damage anyone’s confidences - but not telling Ben the truth felt intolerable. There were strategies already reeling through his mind of how he might treat this, but it would take some consulting, and experimenting, and he would have to focus. Perhaps he would call Bax to consult on it, if Bax wasn’t overwhelmed by anyone else coming in.
The leg he could deal with - or at least the effects of the fall. If the damage from the tentacles was the same on his leg as it looked on his arm, Ari couldn’t be completely sure what side-effects might be yet to present themselves, how bad this really was. But he would do what he could, as long as he kept a clear head. Speaking of keeping a clear head... he gazed at Ben again, still worried. “How do you feel?”
“Anything life-threatening, and you just have to be in the thick of it,” Ari murmured quietly, sighing as he took Ben’s hand - well, wrist, in case anyone walked in - and bent over his arm to inspect the bruising. Of course Ben had tried to save people before getting out of there; it was what he’d done with the troll attack in the park years back, what he would do in any situation. It was part of his being such a good auror, part of his being such a good friend.
But if anything happened to him, Ari would never be able to forgive himself. Benedict Sterling had made himself something of Ari’s responsibility.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he admitted, with a furrowed brow and a hesitant shake of his head. “I -” He trailed off helplessly. Brains. No wonder this was a Department of Mysteries calamity; nowhere else in the Ministry would be investigating such things. It was not something Ari would have said to any other patient - he would have not wanted to damage anyone’s confidences - but not telling Ben the truth felt intolerable. There were strategies already reeling through his mind of how he might treat this, but it would take some consulting, and experimenting, and he would have to focus. Perhaps he would call Bax to consult on it, if Bax wasn’t overwhelmed by anyone else coming in.
The leg he could deal with - or at least the effects of the fall. If the damage from the tentacles was the same on his leg as it looked on his arm, Ari couldn’t be completely sure what side-effects might be yet to present themselves, how bad this really was. But he would do what he could, as long as he kept a clear head. Speaking of keeping a clear head... he gazed at Ben again, still worried. “How do you feel?”
