"You're still getting local anesthetic," Devin counters firmly.

And suiting action to words, he wipes away the excess iodine, pitches the gauze, and reaches for a sterile package containing a needle and syringe. "Ideally, you'd still have someone else do your own stitches, but if you can stitch up other people then you can more or less do your own. It's useful to know in case you're out of range of a healer or a doctor. Always have a backup plan."

He lifts a small glass bottle once the syringe is put together and begins drawing out a sufficient dose of the numbing agent. "I've done a lot of my own sutures, except the ones I couldn't reach or were too serious. The Princeps is a friend of yours, I'm assuming? You're going to feel a few pricks," Devin tells her, holding the syringe above her wound but waiting until she's ready to begin.