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That wiped some of the amusement from his face.

I reached for his shoulder, then stopped with my hand a few inches from him. "Here?"

He nodded. "Yes."

Only then did I touch him.

The damage wasn't complicated. Old scar tissue had formed where the muscle had been torn badly enough to leave a slight restriction, while the ribs had healed with tiny irregularities that didn't affect function but weren't necessary either. His knees were mostly accumulated strain, the sort of thing that would probably become an actual problem years from now if he kept throwing himself around training halls with the enthusiasm of a person who had never considered consequences.

Healing light spread beneath my palm as I corrected the shoulder first.

Alex went very still.

I moved through the old damage carefully, easing out the scar tissue without altering the healthy structures around it, then repaired the ribs and cleared the inflammation around both knees. It took less than a minute.

When I stepped back, Alex rolled his shoulder.

Nothing clicked.

His eyes widened.

He rolled it again.

Then a third time.

"Oh, that's disgusting."

I frowned. "What?"

"It doesn't make the noise."

"You wanted me to fix it."

"I did. I just hadn't realized how used to it I was." He rotated his arm again, then bent one knee experimentally. "You could have done this two weeks ago."

"Yes."

"You're cruel."

"You didn't ask."

"How was I supposed to know?"

"You could have asked if there was anything I could heal."

"Who asks another person to inspect them for old injuries?"

"Someone with an annoying shoulder."

Halver's mouth twitched.

I pointed at him. "Your turn."

Unlike Alex, Halver didn't argue. He set down the pack he'd been carrying and crossed toward me, stopping close enough that I could feel the old damage more clearly. There was plenty of it. An old break through one forearm, scar tissue along his side and a badly healed strain through one shoulder that had probably come from a shift rather than his human body.

I listed what I'd found. He didn't make me finish the offer.

"Yes."