“No, no not too short. Just the ends, but I’ll have to even it out or it’ll be choppy and… yeah…” Jack sighed as he picked up the first clump of burned ends and worked the scissors through the hair.
He worked onto the other burned pieces, focusing on cleaning those up, before he realized she’d loose at least three inches of her hair at the ends because she’d lost so much to the flames and if he left them as is, it would be too noticeable.
“It’s all right Katelynn.” he whispered as he carefully snipped at the ends, trimming her hair gently. “It’s still long, it’s still lovely, just not as burned anymore…”
She remained quiet, allowing him to work and watching the pieces fall away around her to slowly tumble to the floor. Her head felt lighter without the weight of her long hair but had much preferred that weight.She watched him work through the mirror, her eyes filled with sadness though her face wasn’t as tear streaked thanks to the slight shower. She had gotten used to the cold of her powers that now weakened as she was, her body temperature rose slightly and she shivered. The water on her body was getting cold, her tattered clothing sticking to her like a second skin.
“Okay, okay…” he set the scissors down and ran his fingers through her hair which, now, came to the base of her back rather then spreading all the way down to her knees like it had been. “It’s not so bad,” Jack said. “It’s still long, and now you can tie it up easier.” he hoped he was saying the right thing, or done a good job.
He opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out some cream for burns, and some bandages. “Let’s get you cleaned up… the burns don’t look too bad but you should see a doctor about them. This will, this will help until you see them.” he said gently as he began to rub the soothing creme on the burns along her arms and back.
“…I’m going to be taking some lessons, soon.” he told her, since he didn’t want to keep things from her. “Self defense. Ways to help me become stronger, and more confident in myself.”
Jack Maple 