Their friend was sent to rehab after caught, yet again, self-harming. The first time was passed as accidental. The second time was the warning that their friend needed help. They visit their friend in the rehab center and hold their friend through the tears. -- Anon Guest
Rescue Humans can have all possible quirks. Not all of them at once, that would be what is technically known as "A Mess".
Human Shae was almost wholly within the 'mess' category. He remained food insecure even once he was made aware of the food printers. He jumped whenever someone approached quietly from behind. And he anticipated far worse reprimands than he actually did.
Lately, he had been purposely hurting himself.
It didn't take long for Companion Fytz to recognise that Shae's 'accidents' were not as accidental as they seemed. All it took was a little less caution than he'd been taught. Deliberate measures to injure, but not maim. Enough to deliver pain, but not incapacitate. Enough to be allowed to heal naturally, rather than receive immediate amelioration.
Thrice, as some were wont to say, was a pattern.
Fytz appealed to the captain to head for a therapy resort, as their Deregger expatriate needed more help than they could give. Fytz also took care to have extra Companions around to help prevent harm to their Ships' Human.
Small actions, like ensuring that all the safety guards were in place, that essential switches were switched. That Shae was far away from moving parts.
He started biting parts of his own hands two days before they came to the most essential port. A habit that Fytz attempted to quell by holding them.
"You have earned safety and comfort," Fytz insisted. "We owe it to you. And we owe it to you to make sure you know that."
"But I'm wrong," said Shae, a repetition that was almost a mantra. "You keep correcting me. I'm making mistakes."
"You're learning. It's a process, not a state of existence," Fytz kept Shae's hands in hirs. "Pain is not necessary for the process."
Shae repeated, "But I'm wrong."
He would get the help he needed, soon. One day, he would see how these behaviours were unwarranted.
[Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash]
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