calligraphy

[isthisart]

Linya is working on a massive flowchart-like diagram of a planned software project for Dr. Cheung. It's laid out in every color and in three dimensions with sprawl of its little writing that takes up most of her office and keeps fading out at the edges and in her shadow when she moves around, but reappears when she turns or approaches.

Comments

[greatcomposure]

"Oh, dear."

[isthisart]

"I'll be fine. So, reportedly, will Miles. But sometimes I am glad I play an instrument."

[greatcomposure]

"It helps?"

[isthisart]

"Yes."

[greatcomposure]

"I'm glad."

[isthisart]

"What do you usually do?"

[greatcomposure]

"Remind myself that Miles is an amazingly capable young man, and try not to dwell."

[isthisart]

Linya nods.

"It is better than not knowing, at least."

[greatcomposure]

"Sometimes I'm not so sure... but yes, it is. It's just hard to know that he's been hurt and still have to wait for him to come back."

[isthisart]

"Simon didn't say exactly what injury it was. I wonder if he's going to have more emergency bone replacements."

[greatcomposure]

"Reading between the lines of Simon's failure to say what injury it was, I'm guessing yes."

[isthisart]

"Well, at least there's a finite number of times that can happen."

[greatcomposure]

"I'm not sure I find that very comforting."

[isthisart]

"I will actually feel somewhat better once he is no longer particularly breakable. Certainly there are other things which can also go wrong, but at least he will no longer be so plainly handicapped."

[greatcomposure]

"Maybe it's too much to hope for that he won't need any more emergency bone replacements..."

[isthisart]

"Oh, I'd prefer that, certainly - the ideal would be that he'd get the rest of his bones swapped for plastic models on a schedule without breaking them all first."

[greatcomposure]

"Ah. I have no hope whatsoever of that. I know Miles too well."

[isthisart]

"Well, maybe some of them he'll manage it with. He did his legs that way."

[greatcomposure]

"Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised."

[isthisart]

"Maybe."

She's still playing; she brings a phrase to a resolved chord and stops.

[spacetobreathe]

Ten days later, Elli Quinn escorts Miles to the surface of Barrayar, as he is pretty much incapable of moving.

[isthisart]

And Linya inquires, when she hears that he's arrived, when he'll be able to receive visits.

[thisvorlunatic]

It turns out that he is having his ribs and sternum replaced, and will not be available to visitors for another week and a half.

[isthisart]

Well, that sounds thoroughly unpleasant.

Linya waits. There is piano involved.

[as_i_remember]

A week and two days into that week and a half, she gets a pen message from Illyan.

Miles badgered his doctors into summoning me to his hospital room so he could inform me of how disappointed he is in the scope and accuracy of my pre-mission briefings. It's possible you could convince them to let you in as well, although 'conscious and able to swear inventively' is the best I can say about his condition when I saw him, so you might be better served to wait until official visiting hours later this week.