aww, you're a sweetheart

[ "I'm sorry." Why was he saying that? Guilt, that was the only thing it could be. ]

This won't fix anything. [ She was doing this for science, her own curiosity, not misplaced penance.

This will hurt him --

But that was fine. He'd given himself up for this. For a moment, she smiles at him, in a way that could be pleasant if not for the circumstances -- ]

Thanks for the tip.

[ -- And then that smile disappears into a furrowed look of concentration as the scalpel once more touches skin, higher and away from the artery.

This time, there is no hesitation to pierce his arm, slowly cutting to expose the layers beneath.

It might not even be a desire to learn now, but a determination to prove she can do it. ]