Second Reality

[anxiousgrace]

Action

[After the droids leave, Cayla is left, shivering slightly despite the heat, near the battledome. The same place she was picked up a few weeks ago. But she is more broken and confused than she was then. Is this real? Or were the things she's been seeing for the fast few weeks the reality, and she's lost hold of it again?

Looking at her hands, she reasons that there's only one way to find out. To know you're dreaming, pain works. Right? Of course, decision making skills aren't at their best when your system is full of drugs. Slowly reaching behind her, Cayla grabs a handful of feathers, and yanks...

She can't hold back a little shriek at the pain this causes. The black and white plumage is released to the air as she pitches forward, unconscious.]

Video

[The journal shows mostly sky, but also the edge of the battledome roof. There is a faint sound of movement, a yelp, and a thud of a body hitting the ground. Shortly after that, a single white feather with a small amount of blood on the shaft lands on the camera.]

Comments

[voice]

[herd_effect]

[Well, that's a disconcerting sight. Willock addresses her in concern, the clarity of his words a bit improved since his own arrival, but still sporting a slight lisp.]

Hello? Are you okay?

[video]

[anxiousgrace]

[There's no answer, but a few more of what seem to be feathers, this time black, are visible, floating on the wind above the camera.]

[video] -> [action]

[herd_effect]

[Shoot. He didn't get a good enough look to know who it is, but he can guess that the individual's unconscious. And wounded. The bit of building he was able to see looked like the battledome, so he sets down the sandwich he was holding--this being his lunch break and all--picks up a first aid kit, shuts the journal and heads out, shouldering his white coat.

In a few minutes he manages to find her on the ground there and immediately goes through the motions of checking her pulse and breathing and looking for injuries. Her wing doesn't appear broken, but it's bleeding pretty readily. He gently slides a hand beneath it to flush the wound with saline, withdraws a dressing from the kit and applies it as best he can. Once that's dealt with, he scoots back to raise her legs, trying to get her to regain consciousness.]

Ms. Reed? Ms. Reed, wake up.

[action]

[anxiousgrace]

[Her eyes open, slowly, but for a few seconds unfathoming. This isn't the hospital... is she dreaming?]

Hmmm?

[action]

[herd_effect]

Are you all right, Ms. Reed?

[He's more asking whether she's thinking coherently, really, as she's obviously not okay. And, judging by the New Feather dress, potentially suffering from some very odd series of post-kidnapping symptoms.]

[action]

[anxiousgrace]

[She's so confused. This feels awfully real for a dream. But at the same time her head is swimming. Whether it's real or not is still undecided, as far as she's concerned. But this pain... A vaguely familiar voice derails her train of thought, and Cayla looks up.]

Doctor...?

[action] Annnd cut to the other thread!

[herd_effect]

Yes, I'm here. I'm going to take you inside the clinic now and see if I can help you feel a little better.

[With that, he slides his arms beneath her, lifting her up to carry her through the door. He's not terribly strong and his back aches with the effort, but he manages to get inside without straining anything.]

video;

[menial]

... Uh--Cayla-san?

video;

[anxiousgrace]

[She doesn't answer. But a few black feathers flutter in the wind, over and past the camera. It's not a good sign.]

video;

[menial]

[...Okay. He'll try and see if she can tell wherever she is from the surroundings, then.]

Re: video;

[anxiousgrace]

[That's fine. She's not going anywhere. The high, round edge of the battledome roof is visible above the journal.]

action;

[menial]

[All right, all right, he'll go over to the battle dome. As unbattly as he is. Takes him a while, but he'll get there...]

action;

[anxiousgrace]

[She's lying behind the battledome, close to the forest. One wing is lying limp, but not broken, a good-sized area of feathers just... gone. It's bleeding slightly where it's been plucked. Some feathers are still on her hand, tucked between the fingers and stuck to her palm.]

action;

[menial]

['....

Oh, no, that doesn't look good at all... and she did that to herself...?'

But he knows where she lives, after all. And she's not entirely too heavy for him to lift. He's done that before. So he'll try to lift her and take her back to her room.]

action;

[anxiousgrace]

[When he touches her, she twitches away slightly, but her eyes don't open. The movement makes the bleeding accelerate. She's really screwed herself up this time.]

action;

[menial]

['Oops. Shit. Okay, maybe not her room... Maybe the clinic? Yeah, there's the clinic. That's the right place. It's not too far.'

That way, then...!]

action;

[anxiousgrace]

[Probably a good idea. She writhes when she's touched again, but once he's picked her up, she's very still. Moving hurts. And the bleeding isn't stopping-- she must have pulled a pinfeather.]

[action]

[frost_jewel]

[Mia spots Cayla being brought into the battledome clinic and, finding her free time suddenly quite occupied, follows to direct her helper to an empty room.

It is Cayla she tries to talk to first.]

Cayla? Can you answer me?

[[ooc: Look continuity! Actually if Kyon or Willock or whoever wants to jump in on this too that would be really cool if you are up for it I don't even know striketext.]]

[action] Sorry for the delay!

[anxiousgrace]

Mmm. [She makes a vaguely affirmative sound as Willock carries her into the room. All this is making her uncomfortable. Her vision is clear one minute, and wiggly the next, and her head fells like it was emptied carefully, scrubbed with bleach and steel wool, and then refilled haphazardly. Overall, it's not the best day she's had in a while.]

[action]

[herd_effect]

[Willock sets her down on the bed, taking a moment to stretch his back before turning to Mia.]

I think she just returned from a kidnapping. She was unconscious when I found her, and some of her feathers had been pulled out. I dressed the wound, but we ought to give her a full examination to see if anything else might be wrong.

[action]

[frost_jewel]

You're right about that. If you will give me a moment, I can see about any physical injuries; there is nothing my abilities can do about her wing, even if it is just a few feathers.

...At least she answered. [Kidnappings break all the rules about changes in consciousness and how someone feels. It's frustrating. After a minute or two of looking her over without doing much, Mia casts Ply just once - something small, but enough to tell her if Cayla has anything serious wrong with her while the low-grade healing Psynergy takes hold.]

Re: [action]

[anxiousgrace]

[There aren't any severe physical injuries, just a tiny, partially healed wound on the back of her hand that seems to be where a shunt was placed. More concerning, if Mia can sense them, are the many drugs concentrated in Cayla's body. Between their initial effects and their interactions, she can barely tell up from down. The Malnosso were careful -- they didn't want to kill her. But they've left her with less visible injuries.

The only really worrying things a basic once over will reveal are a few feathers, stuck to her palm and between her fingers. Cayla is not lucid enough to hide them or explain them.]

[action]

[herd_effect]

[He applies some antiseptic to the wound on her hand--who knows how sanitary the Malnosso decided to be about that puncture?--and palpates for bruises and signs that anything might be broken. Indeed, aside from that apparently self-inflicted wing injury, she isn't in such bad shape physically.

He doesn't interrupt Mia, letting her do her part as he does his, putting an arm around Cayla and shifting her into a sitting position to take her temperature and listen to her breathing. The thermometer reading's low enough to elicit some concern, and her breathing erratic enough to make him start considering some unpleasant possibilities. Infection, possibly. Drug overdose, more likely. When Mia seems no longer occupied he regards her.]

What do you think? It looks to me like the Malnosso probably drugged her.

[action]

[frost_jewel]

[A short nod.] Everything feels slow. [She can't tell specifics. Even the potency of whatever they used is beyond her. Every time someone comes back drugged like this, it throws her for a loop because there isn't one excellent solution.]

But she isn't hurt. No head injuries either. Losing the feathers might contribute to making her feel...disoriented and ill.

Re: [action]

[anxiousgrace]

[It's so bright. Where is this anyway? Wings. They mean something. Something bad. It's hard not to spiral into that bad thing. She shouldn't be here. Here is where the bad things are. But what are the bad things? She can't remember. But it's so bright...

Fugue states are interesting things.]

[action]

[herd_effect]

Well, she's hypothermic and not breathing very well. I'm going to take her blood pressure, and then see if I can put her on some fluids and oxygen. If your magic can help at all, keep that going.

[He brings a blanket over, draping it across her, and fits an oxygen mask over her face. That done, he attaches a cuff around her upper arm, watching it inflate and deflate. If he could frown, he would at the numbers that come up on the digital screen.

Fluids it is, then. He leans through the doorway, then points questioningly at a room halfway down the hall.]

Is the dispensary that way? [He's not as familiar with this clinic's floorplan, after all.]

[action]

[frost_jewel]

Unfortunately there's nothing I can do with Psynergy to help her now. And yes, you're going the right way.

[While he's gone, Mia intends to see if she can't help warm Cayla up any more. Nothing they try may work. It depends on what the Malnosso chose to do.

At the very least, she can try to talk to her while they wait and see if anything they're doing helps. Let her know she isn't alone here.]

[action]

[anxiousgrace]

[She just lays there, and stares into the light above her, shivering from time to time. When she blinks, she does so slowly. She's tired, so tired, but also scared. It's no time to sleep. Not yet. Hopefully soon.]

[action]

[herd_effect]

[He takes off down the corridor, returning promptly with an IV pole and bag of saline. A brush of antiseptic and a needle-jab later, and the liquid starts dripping its way into her bloodstream.

Willock checks over the equipment, eyes her unblinkingly for a few moments, then reaches out to tilt her head away from the light. It can't be pleasant to stare like that, after all.]

[action]

[frost_jewel]

We can dim the lights for you. [Mia has kept a hand on Cayla's free arm, wary that their patient might get the idea of escaping from the people who were actually trying to help her.] You should start to feel better soon.

[Though it may not be the first time they've done things together, Mia has a sharp eye on Willock now.]

You're very efficient. [No word on what her opinion on that opinion is.]

[action]

[anxiousgrace]

[She feels the needle jab, and gives a slight whimper, but there isn't much she can do about it in this state, under their watch. And then, someone pushes her head, and the light's not in her eyes. Which is nice.

She can hear them. it's like they're a ways away, but she knows what's being said. When Mia offers to dim the lights, Cayla gives a slight nod, even though it makes her a little dizzy.]

[action]

[herd_effect]

I try to be. [He offers a shrug of his shoulders in lieu of the smile he can't give.] Best to intervene quickly in cases like this.

[He steps around and seats himself on a stool beside the bed. Not much to do but wait, now, and check her blood pressure again in a few minutes to see if the saline's helping at all.]

[action]

[frost_jewel]

[Mia doesn't sit. She turns down the lights to a level where they aren't blinding anybody, and comes back to stand where she was, taking Cayla's hand this time instead of her arm.]

I know you're still awake. It's all right to try to sleep if you can. You'll be safe here.

["Safe" as one could get, in this world, anyway.]

[action]

[anxiousgrace]

[Safe. Safe is good. And she knows these two, she trusts them. They've helped her in the past. She can open her defenses here. Before long, she's asleep; not deeply so, but still resting. She'll probably wake up if touched.]

((OOC: If nothing happens to wake her up by my next turn, feel free to skip me.))

[action]

[herd_effect]

[Willock lets her sleep for a little while, rising after a minute and washing his hands. He manages to track down a record form and takes some brief notes about her condition. It occurs to him midway through that he's finally worked himself out of the habit of abbreviating much of what he writes--a realization that makes him reflect on just how long he's been in Luceti. Over half a year, now. Strange to think that that much time has passed.

Eventually he takes Cayla's arm to sample her blood pressure again. Her numbers are a bit higher this time, which is encouraging. Not enough for him to feel comfortable leaving the room yet, though.]

[action]

[frost_jewel]

[It must have been something of a difficult transition when none of the rest of them (or most, at least) could decipher his shorthand. Mia senses an antsy-ness in him while they wait and she has a guess as to what it's about.]

It is all right for you to go, if you need to. I will stay with her.

[action]

[anxiousgrace]

[Though Cayla stirred when Willock did the test, her sleep has deepened; she really needs the rest. She seems stable enough like this.]

[action] Sorry for late ;;

[herd_effect]

I think I'm going to wait a few more minutes.

[It's not that he necessarily thinks Cayla's suddenly going to take a turn for the worse, nor that he doesn't trust Mia--he's worked alongside her long enough now to know she knows her stuff. It's just the degree of paranoia that comes with having a patient drugged with something unidentified. He leans back against the counter and decides to strike up some small talk with Mia, figuring it'd allow those minutes to pass less awkwardly.]

How have you been doing, by the way? Have any interesting patients?

[action]

[frost_jewel]

I have been all right. Whenever I'm working, my hope is that nothing interesting happens at all. Everyone staying unhurt and healthy is more important than having an exciting day. I like it when it is quiet.

And what about you?

[action] Art says Cayla's sleeping right now, so~

[herd_effect]

Good point. I've become gradually less fond of the interesting cases myself, especially after coming here. The difficulty in treating them starts overshadowing the novelty after a while.

You know, I can't believe I've been here about six months. It's been long enough for me to get used to certain things I never thought would seem normal. [He gives a light sniff of laughter, recalling his initial shock over the likes of microwave ovens and antiviral drugs.] Time sure flies.

[action]

[frost_jewel]

[Mia had her own microwave incident upon arrival. Since then she tries to avoid it.]

It does. It has been more than a year for me.

[action]

[herd_effect]

[He's grown rather fond of microwaves due to their convenience, though yes, he's had his fair share of problems too. Like when he tried to heat up soup still in a metal can. Whoops.]

Wow. [And something he's been wondering about in general:] Did you ever celebrate your birthday? I've been sort of curious as to how I should do that. Whether it'd make more sense to keep going by my calendar back home, counting the days since I showed up here, or to just conform to Luceti's.

[Because he was pulled from August into January, and his is in September. He's not entirely sure whether he should identify as 29 or 30 right now.]

[action]

[frost_jewel]

Ever in my life? Yes, a few times. [Teasing. Before her parents died they would have a special dinner, for her birthday and for Alex's. After that, Alex was kind enough to always try to do something for her. Her most recent birthday "at home" was spent on the ocean, sailing for a new destination she had never seen before, but it was enjoyable in other ways.

And thus she did not count her last birthday in Luceti.]

Well...when it comes up again, I will probably choose the equivalent day on the calendar here, if we are not too busy to think of celebrating.