grounded ashes

3

It's been a month. Nothing has happened with Paintbrush so far. They're still too hot to touch with bare hands. Their breathing is still hot and rasping. Test Tube insists that she take a look at them and check on what little progress has been made, and Lightbulb reluctantly allowed it, until she was asked to leave the room.

She began to argue, standing in front of the bed with her arms spread to attempt to prevent TT from getting near them.
"I can't leave them!" she'd argued, "What if something happens?! I can't risk it!"

"They'll be fine. I know what I'm doing."
"But what if you do something wrong on accident?!"
Lightbulb had started to raise her voice, pushing Test Tube away when she tried to get close. "I can't risk them getting hurt!"

"Lightbulb, calm down-"
"Calm down?! I can't leave them, and- and you're ASKING ME TO DO EXACTLY THAT!"

By now, she'd started crying and shouting, pushing TT a lot rougher. "I don't want to hurt them. It's best if you leave-"

"IT'S NOT BEST IF I LEAVE! THEY NEED ME!"
"I assure you they'll be fine."

Two voices appeared at the door, asking what happened at the same time. Knife and Fan, who were the only ones that heard LB's shouting and wanted to do something about it. They arrived just as Lightbulb shouted something in Spanish and roughly shoved TT against the wall, sending a spiderweb of cracks across her side as she hit the dresser.

She was only a little dazed, stumbling into Fan's arms as Knife pushed his way in and grabbed Lightbulb, dragging her out of the room as she shouted and cried and fought and called for Painty.

Test Tube recovered after a few seconds, standing up and telling Knife to keep a hold on Lightbulb and help calm her down while she looked over Paintbrush. He nodded and pulled Lightbulb away, turning her around to face him and speaking to her, keeping a hold of her arms.

She and Fan went into the bedroom itself. Paintbrush was still there. Lightbulb apparently moved their arms to be crossed over their chest. She smiled a little, wondering if Lightbulb did this so Painty could feel like she was holding their hand.

TT grabbed a thermometer out of her bag, suddenly quite aware of Fan. He had his phone out, taking a video of everything she was doing, seeming downright terrified of the unconscious object before him. (She didn't ask.)

"S- so... what'd they do?"
"I have a feeling they tried to set a wood pile too big for them on fire. That's how we found them, anyway, laying by a burning wood pile... Their abilities have limits, and I believe they found those limits by their own means."

She placed the thermometer on their cheek, watching the reading rise, stopping at a temperature that was just barely an eighth of a degree away from what could very likely kill them. She took a sharp breath, furrowing her eyebrows and picking up the thermometer. "... We need to cool them down."
"But how?"
"I don't know... Get a washcloth and a bucket of water, preferably cold. Maybe with ice."

Lightbulb was a little distressed seeing Fan run out of the bedroom, but Knife kept talking to her, telling her about this one time when Pickle dared him to do something stupid- and of course he took him up on the offer...

When Fan came back, Tube put the cloth into the water and then on Painty's forehead, hardly bothering to wring it out before doing so.
She checked their breathing next, relieved to find that it was normal. Next, and she had to use her fireproof gloves for this, she checked their pulse by pressing on their wrist. Also normal. She breathed a soft sigh of relief, noting an extremely slight tense of the muscles when she touched Painty's arm.
"There's a bit of progress. I think I felt them tense up when I grabbed their arm, but I'm not sure."

She grabbed Fan's wrist just before he touched their leg. "Don't touch them. They're hot."

Fan chuckled a little before he got punched in the arm, quickly apologizing while still laughing a bit. He leaned a bit closer to them, resting one hand on the bed beside their leg. "I feel bad for them."

"They'll wake up soon. If... if they don't..." Test Tube shuddered. "I don't even want to think about what Lightbulb might do."
"Yeah, me either. That's why they have to wake up soon."

She moved Painty's hands back onto their chest, making sure their right hand was holding their left, like Lightbulb had placed them before she came in.

"... Fan, go get Lightbulb from Knife, I'm finished."
"Yes ma'am."

Fan went out into the hallway, seeing Knife keeping Lightbulb close and letting her cry on him. He saw Fan and narrowed his eyes at him.
"Tell anyone about this and I'll push you down the stairs."
"Not planning on it. Lightbulb can come back in-"

He was interrupted by Lightbulb running past him and almost knocking him over in the process, watching her climb onto the bed and kneel beside Paintbrush as Test Tube left with a small, sad glance back to her. "Wake up soon, Paintbrush," TT muttered as she looked back, "She's counting on you."

Fan followed, hesitating for only a second, calling after Test Tube so he could talk to her as he walked.