Summer continued cleaning my injuries for the next five minutes.
She stayed on her knees beside me while I sat on the dirt with my legs bent, letting her work through the cuts and bruises one by one. Every time I thought she had finished, she found another scrape on my arm, shoulder, or neck that I had not even noticed.
"You do not have to do all of that," I said, wiping sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.
The heat had not gone down much even with the sun getting lower. My tank top clung to my back, and dirt kept sticking to the sweat on my arms.
"Symbiote or not, you should not get used to pain and injuries just because you think you will recover," Summer said.
She cleaned a shallow cut near my elbow with a cloth, speaking without looking up.
"That is not a good way to think. One day, something might not heal as quickly. Or you might be too exhausted to notice how badly you are hurt."
"I guess…" I looked down at the dirt between my shoes. "Yeah. You are right."
