Doctor x Doctor (S'Essy)

[Simeon Aytak]

6th Day of Fall, 514AV

Following over two decades of slavery and indentured servitude, and very narrowly losing his life within the first day of becoming a free man, Simeon had finally managed to settle into a fairly peaceful routine. After making a good initial first impression on the locals of tent city, he found himself a permanent resting place come nightfall. In the daytime, he ventured out onto the streets along with a myriad of other street vendors, and started setting up shop in the Seaside Market just as the sun started to rise. There he remained for most of the day, packing up as darkness started to swallow the sky.

This morning was no different from the rest. Simeon setup his tent, spread out his blanket, and scattered a wide assortment of herbs across it for easy access. Then he started a fire under his brazier, and made several trips to a nearby well to fill it up. This was the most important thing for a herbalist. To have a ready supply of clean, boiling water. It was no exaggeration to say boiling water was about 50% of every single herbalist's remedy... or poison. He usually made nothing in the brazier, leaving only hot water in there. To have a brazier's worth of anything was pretty much overkill. Unless you were curing the entire population of a small village, quite unnecessary, also wasteful. He had a smaller iron pot he used to scoop up water from the brazier, and in it make individual remedies tailored to the specific needs of each client. The brazier's large surface was, however, useful for him to plaster drenched pieces of cloth upon, so they were quickly available on-hand for packaging poultices.

As the sun fully rose into the sky, the earliest of the shoppers started filling the market. He sat, affixed a semi-permanent smile on his face, and waited patiently. In a city like Sunberth, there was always somebody who needed medical attention at some point in the day. Usually the victim of a mugging, granted. Sometimes, the mugger who picked on the wrong target, too.

[S'Essy]

Morning didn't went smooth for the Konti. She woke up early around the 5th bell. Another nightmare, she was sweating and she couldn't sleep back, she just lied back next to Markus and was waiting. Nightmares were frequently for her ever since. She didn't know what was going on but she couldn't continue like that. For her to be able to heal she had to calm herself down. She was only staring at the ceiling. She had to do something, she must stay healthy and fine, she was a Healer. If she wasn't fine, how could she heal? She had to do changes, she hasn't done meditation for a long time.

When the morning came she sat up the bed. Didn't go anywhere yet. She had to calm down and find a way to fill her energy up. Little walk maybe, she didn't feel meditating would help her. She couldn't focus, she couldn't ease her body. She had to find another time for that, when she found the inner peace. She took on her clothes, put her bandanna on her forehead, then grabbed her cloak and put it around her body. Also her hood. She felt silly walking around like that always, but she didn't really want unwanted attention and if that was the way, she would do it.

She walked out the streets and checked the street vendors first. Maybe they had something to offer for her. Though she didn't know how some of them got them, she didn't care really. No judging. They had to get money somehow. No judging. Though a particular tent interested her more. There was a pot under a fire, which contained water. There were herbs all around. A herbalist? She went there and checked out what he had. Not much she could tell unfortunately. She knew little about herbalism. She was just staring at the products, not paying attention to man.

[Simeon Aytak]

The herbalist watched as a woman approached him - a tall woman, the slenderness of her form little concealed by the cloak which wrapped almost skin-tight around her person when the wind blew strong enough; it was the indigo shade of her eyes caught his attention the most: they matched is own vivid violet-blue irises, which twinkled against his darker complexion like an oasis in the desert. A hair reached up to stroke the scruffy beard that dominated the lower half of his face as he watched the otherworldly woman inspecting his herbs. Simeon was content with letting her browse in silence for a good five minutes - during this time, he watched the wide-eyed stare, the limited blinking, the nervous gait - all common signs of anxiety, which he had learned to pick up in in a city like Sunberth, where nearly everyone was on edge.

Wordlessly, not even caring if she was watching, the Benshira herbalist reached for a sprig of lemon balm, its lightly-colored green leaves smelling of citrus. He scooped his iron pot into the brazier of boiling water, and then set it aside, tossing the lemon balm in it, and then chopping up a piece of ginger and emptying the pieces into the pot. He then picked a handful of dried basil leaves, which crumbled in his fingers as he scattered them over the pot, then used a ladle to stir the mixture. A lemony, therapeutic smell wafted into the air within the minute, the smell alone enough to permeate the woman's senses and give her a sense of calm, relieving her of her anxiety to some extent. With an indifferent nod of his head towards the iron pot, Simeon said, "For you. It will be ready in ten minutes or so, and after it cools, it should help with your troubled state of mind." He didn't mention how he picked up her ailment, nor did he mention a cost. In fact, the herbalist surrounded himself with a facade of indifference, his eyes showing only a calming serenity when looked into.

[S'Essy]

Her eyes were just moving one to another, she was just really bad at herbalism, she didn't know if she could use any of them. Maybe it would be time to ask like the last time. But what? Did she really need them? She didn't even use the ones she had with herself. Though it's better to be safe, she only used her gnosis to make people's life better. Although it got a bit awkward for her, just standing there, browsing and saying or buying nothing. And before she could decide if she wanted herbs, the man took the action instead of her.

He grabbed some of the ingredients, took them aside. S'Essy looked up curiously now. He put some of the herbs into the pot, chopped other herbs. The Konti was just blinking, he clearly knew what he was doing unlike her. Then she finally knew what was this about and her eyes widened and was not sure how to answer. "But I.. really.." She didn't know how to continue. That she doesn't need the potion? It was too late. And she also couldn't say that her mind wasn't troubled. Maybe this little drink would done her some good and she could spare a little money."Thanks... how much is it?"

[Simeon Aytak]

Simeon cocked his head in observance of her indecision. The way her eyes roamed the herbs on display, unable to commit to any of them, showing flickers of recognition and a pained repression of a desire to ask, but displaying a passive wariness for strangers that was not uncommon in Sunberth. Hers, however, was not so much practiced as it was forged. It felt like the silvery-haired woman was merely acting the part of a cautious individual, as opposed to one who was cautious because of their time in the lawless city. His suspicions were confirmed when she watched him at work with unfeigned interest, and then, quite innocuously, offered to pay him and looked prepared to drink the solution just because he said it would help.

Granted, Simeon didn't conjure up a toxic solution to poison her with, but in most cases people were suspicious of drinking things randomly offered to them by street merchants. Though, in the case of medicinal peddlers like Simeon, there was much more to lose, since a single customer who came away from your stand the worse for wear meant your business was irreparably damaged. "You don't owe me anything yet," Simeon replied with a quick smile. "Drink it, and if it makes you feel better, then we can talk about payment."