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Despite her reassurance, his fingers were gently brushing the bandage-free skin without him even realizing it. Square-root brows were knitted together as his mouth pulled into a scowl. "Who?" he demanded to know. "Arrow? A reaper did this to y'?" Already he was trying to run through his memory of reapers in the school who might be in possession of a weapon that shot arrows. So far, the closest he could come up with was Mot and he knew the cowboil'd rather die than harm a ghoul.

"Ain't alright, not to me." he stated, voice barely over a whisper as he studied the plague doctor's handiwork. It was exceptional work, actually, and Petro made a note to find the undead and thank him mightily. Huh. What did one get a plague doctor as thanks? Perhaps Riley would know... He quickly pushed that thought aside to focus on the more important task at hand, "'M sorry. Promised y' I'd be there for y', and I wasn't..."

He didn't regret accompanying Needle but he promised both Sisters after all. And even though Lattice wasn't blaming him for not being there to protect her, his honor was demanding he make it up to her. Somehow. He felt her rest a hand on his arm and automatically he closed his over hers. "Are y' sure y' oughta be walking around already?" he asked, tone thick with concern.

"No it was no Reaper. I heard them being called False-Reapers or even Hunters. I call them idiots," she said her tone almost dismissive. She didn't make him stop touching the skin as she just stared up toward him simply accepting of the wound, "I just know...I was fighting to get back home so I can be with Needle again and of course you."

Everyone else she cared for had been on the trip with her so these two became her main concern in the end.

She let him give his retort and she simply reached up with both hands and cupped his face with the needleless palms of her hand so that he would stop to look at her especially after mentioning his promise to her, "Petro. Please. Do not beat yourself up over it. You cannot be in two places at once no matter how much you desire to be." She adored her large stubborn friend.

Lattice blinked behind her mask before she shifted her uninjured shoulder, "I am fine there were many that suffered worse injuries. I am just happy to be back here again..." She wasn't sure if she should mention the fact that she had gotten captured it'd only upset him more.

"False-Reapers? Hunters?" Petro immediately stiffened, it was his entire body mind, not simply isolated to one spot. He remembered his time on the island, "These... false-reapers, did getting hit by their weapon make y' feel drained?" he asked, he sounded like he knew who she was talking about. And his hand slowly came to rest against his side because he didn't want her to feel him clench his fists so tight his tanned knuckles paled. If these were the same Reapers he and other others encountered on the Island...

The horse boil wanted to pull away when she cupped his face but he didn't. He couldn't. Looking into her face and hearing her comforting words made it impossible for him to tear himself away.

A long, tension-filled sigh slowly escaped his lips and he let his shoulders go slack. He closed his eyes and leaned forward, gently resting his forehead against Lattice's, the way he had with Needle. "Y' and everyone must'v been amazing to watch fight." One more thing he was sorry for. Jack damn it, he really did wish he could be in two places at once. "Next time. Next time, not even these "Idiots"'ll be able to keep me from being there for y' both."

"Naw," was all the confirmation Petro would make. What point would it be for him to bring up the actual events? He had performed... horribly at best especially by his own standards. He was supposed to be made of stronger stuff than what he'd displayed and the humiliation of those visions. No, no, he wasn't going to burden Lattice with talk of his failures.

He focused instead on leading the ghoul to one of the mats he kept out for guests to sit on. "She's gotten her hands on a Teen Scream magazine though. Thought y' might wanna know that." Again, his brows knitted together in concern, this time because of the tremble he felt from her. "'S something wrong? Does y'r wound hurt?" He didn't realize or even think it could possibly have anything to do with the ritual Needle recently gone through.

This disturbed Lattice but she didn't ask further questions about it at least not right now. Lattice wasn't sure what she would have done with the knowledge if it was even offered up to her with any sort of prodding.

Lattice moved to sit down on the mat her smile widening a bit, "Her curiosity is insatiable, and if you are not careful she gets answers from any source she can get her hands on. I am sure you figured that out now," she chuckled slightly.

The Engraver paused at his question and uttered a light chuckle, "Right now it hurts all the time," she said simply. The slow dull throb that she refused to take pain relievers for no matter how annoying it was but then she suspected the medicine she had had some in it built in otherwise it could have been worse.

"Petro...The fieldtrip..." She uttered quietly no longer feeling right to keep things from him, "I...I want you to tell you things but I do not wish to upset you..."

A wry chuckle and a nod, oh yes, he certainly learned that about Needle. Best he not mention the exact topic he had to clear up with the other ghoul. Especially when it became apparent Lattice had more to say about other things.

"Sometimes the healing hurts more'n the injuring." He remarked, in his own way of trying to comfort Lattice. Was he speaking from experience? Probably. He'd gotten hurt during spars a whole mess of times. But he knew this wound was different, the same way the cut from that false-Reaper's axe had stung differently and deeper than the other injuries he'd gotten. He sat down on his heels beside her, placing a warm, calloused hand on her shoulder, "'S alright, Lattice."

He was torn. He wanted to know every single detail, every blow, every strike, every moment she and the rest of the students spent. He wanted to know just how much payback he needed to dole out should he ever come across those bastards again. No one but no one would get away with laying a hand on his friends.

But the other part of him, the cowardly part of him wanted to remain ignorant because he wasn't there with them. How could he hope to ever understand what it was they went through? He didn't think he had the right. But... but he was no coward! He was a tikbalang and his Clan did not run from anything. No matter how much it hurt! "Can't right promise I ain't gonna be upset. But, I'll listen to whatever y' wanna tell me."

Petro didn't know what he would have done if he'd been there in person to see his friends in cages. Actually, he did: He would lose it. He would go mad from anger and fury as if someone was trying to tame him, only this time his rage would be focused on multiple targets rather than one specific rider. Of course, that might have caused more harm than good to the horse boil and his fellow students but given how he hadn't been there, dwelling on this served him no purpose. Other than further adding fuel to the fire.

He let out an agitated snort when he felt his chest tighten. He couldn't stand to see Lattice like this, to hear the pain and fear in her voice, and he didn't know what to do to fix it. He didn't know if he could even fix it, or if there was anything to fix at all. Lattice was a strong ghoul, because here she was telling him of the horrible things she'd been through, forcing herself to relive them in order to give him some peace of mind.
So even if his fists itched to bury themselves innards-deep in some squishy meatbag's body, even if his hooves wanted nothing more than to stomp and mangle and maim, he forced himself to remain stock-still and listen. There were names being mentioned. And Petro took note of these names, deciding to later thank them for watching over Lattice and protecting her in his stead. Not that she nor any ghoul needed his protection but he'd promised the Sisters and his honor demanded it of him.

And then Lattice spoke of Red. Petro felt hopeful for a glorious narration of their Gym Professor's prowess in battle. And so far, it was proving to be something worthy of epics, "Sounds like an amazing battle took place." There was a small grin to his lips, not knowing just what the ghoul meant by fearsome beast. Their teacher was a werewolf wasn't she? Surely she meant Red's shifted form was something to behold.

She heard him snort but she said nothing about it though Lattice was beginning to tremble as emotion started to overtake her again and her head bowed forward. She wasn't sure what to say and what to do she didn't seem to want to remember the rest of her time at the cages. The horrible outcries, the terrible machinery sounds she had heard, and the horrible taunts of the Hunters toward herself or the others in the cages.

It was sad. It was terrible.

"She...didn't know who was friend or foe anymore...It was...frightening, terrible. She attacked everyone to get at the leader that was there," she explained quietly as her as she tried to still her own trembling, "in the end she...she died. She said we cannot die. But those back at the cages and then Professor Red."

...It seemed Lattice was struggling with this concept. Struggling hard.

Petro was not expecting the rest of the ghoul's story to turn out the way it had. He was anticipating a grand carnage as their teacher led the students who'd gone on the trip in a wild, all-out massacre of Hunters. Square-root brows furrowed, first in confusion as to what sort of blind-rage would Red ever allow herself to fall prey to. Then in disbelief at the revelation of death and the conflicting information from the werewolf's declaration of not being able to die. And finally in concern because Lattice was trembling again.

The tikbalang unclenched his other fist before he took Lattice's hands into his own. His thumb brushed over her knuckles while he lightly squeezed her fingers, trying to comfort her however he can when he couldn't embrace her to still those tremors that rippled through her body. Guilt continued to eat away at Tro, even though the guilt was for something he couldn't have done anything about even if he had been there.

"Tama na," he murmured, the foreign words a gentle plea for Lattice to stop. He couldn't bear to see her continue to hurt.

Immense relief flood Petro at Lattice's question. He was worried that Lattice wouldn't approve of the action and was even more worried that she would press him for all the details the way he was certain his own relatives would.

"Y're not mad I made Needle feel better when she's s'pposed to be in pain?" It was something he didn't dare bring up with Canvas, lest he be barred from entering their village ever again. And then the rest of Lattice's words sunk in. "What part'v Freya's body did y' kiss?" Unlike the sisters, Tro had been exposed to kisses at an early age.

He was the recipient of most of these kisses, usually from aunts who decided to dote on him as punishment. But he'd also witnessed his cousins kissing each other, usually females, which might have possibly removed any thought of using such displays as means of arousal.

Petro's words made her pause and she shook her head, "I am not angry but I am worried? This could mean...bad things if certain parties found out but," she shrugged a little, "I will do what I can to help," she said softly. Her Sister's joy meant a lot more to her than 'rules'. Needle was one of the few she would put above the Clan's laws.

As far as the kiss went she smiled a little, "On the lips, she did it as she was rescuing me from the cages, it was a bit hectic," she murmured softly. It was touching in a way but until now she did not think much on it.

"I was surprised when it happened," she touched her fingertips together. "After all I kiss others on the cheek all the time so it was no different, right? It is how I can have...contact with others since I cannot hold them..."

Again the boil nods, recalling the older Engraver's warnings about respecting their practices. "No one but y' and Needle knows about it," he assured her. "But if it's gonna be a problem for either of y', 'm gonna refrain." From what exactly? Being their friend? No, no way. He'd sworn to them and he was more than willing to lay down his life on his word.

He rubbed his chin, however, as Lattice elaborated on the kiss. Nothing too unusual about that either, and coupled with the Engravers' condition it made sense. But that put Needle's definition of what a kiss meant into question and Tro wasn't so sure if he and the ghoul attached the same meaning to it. But that was a different matter and he was with Lattice right now. "Y' can always hold me whenever y' need or want to," he offered.