Closed The Sniffles

[Ssezzkero]

79th of Spring, 515AV
11th Bell, Morning
Alements

"Meya!" Sezkero sighed, exasperated as the small child squirmed from her hand once more. But just like the last time, the girl only stood still. The two stood just outside of Alement's steps, and the snake has spent nearly half a bell goading and bribing the sick child to follow her. Meya did not turn to run, and Sezkero likely wouldn't have chased her if she did. She was not going to force these children against their will, but if they were sick, she would make sure she got them some care. A pitiful sniffle sounded in return as the silent girls stared up at her with the wide brown eyes that worked so well on the older woman. Ker melted and turned towards the girl, trying to explain to the reluctant child how this visit would benefit her.

"I promissssse you, Caelum is a very kind man. Ker knowsss him well, he will only want to help. Ssssome herbssss to eassse your throat, okay?" And your eyes, and your nose and hopefully we can get you a bath while we are at it. But Sezkero said none of these things, waiting for the girl's reaction. Meya was not like her brother Codin. Whereas the older sibling was doing everything in his power to get the two off the streets, his younger sister seemed to thrive as a street urchin, even rejected the idea of a roof over her head.

Eventually, the girl took a step forward, which Ker responded by opening her palm to the girl instead. Carefully, the ragged and dirty looking orphan nudged forward. Sezkero stepped forward too, and before the child could object she stooped to gather Meya in her arms. "Ooooooh! She pretended to groan under the child's weight as a trickle of giggles reached her ears. Taking two large steps, Sezkero pretended that it took much more effort than it actually did to carry the child in her arms as she turned back towards the front door of Alements.

"By Makutsssssi's feet, if you keep growing, you'll be bigger than me and your brother!" She grinned at the young girl, blowing on her nose once her words were done, as she hefted Meya up the stairs to the Alement's porch. The truth was, Meya could hardly weigh more than a feather. The child was small, much smaller than even Sezkero, which was a hard feat to accomplish, and thin as a twig. The girl ate what Sezkero and the others gave her, but the child was homeless, and at the moment, Sezkero had no power to do anything about it. Soon. She told herself, still showing her white teeth to the child and pretending to be struggling under her weight as she gently kicked the door open. The child only giggled, amused by the snake's theatrics, and enjoying the bumpy ride.

"Caelum!" It was no surprise to find Alements completely empty. Not even Elise was found inside, which made Sezkero think that the place was closed, until later in the day. But that couldn't be, the door was always unlocked when Caelum was there, so he must be around. It was so unlike the Ethaefal to forget something like locking the door, that it failed to crossed her mind. But no reply came. "Ssssay it with me, the magic-man only likesss pretty girlssss, I think." Sezkero murmured to Meya, slipping a compliment in in an attempt to restart the smile that had already faded from her tired and sick-looking face, but she only earned a sniffle in reply. It didn't help that this child exhibited all signs of the neglect of a homeless orphan. Boy would she have some explaining to give Caelum if he thought Meya was her own child.

"One, two, .... Caelum!" Again, no answer. Sezkero hugged Meya closer to herself, singing out the Ethaefal's name once more, as if the smaller voice would accompany her own. But Ker was in no way surprised that Meya stayed silent. She may have heard a total of ten words from the girl in the past two seasons, only half of which were meant for her. The snake wove through the empty tables, with chairs laid upside down on top of them with the intention of reaching the infirmary door, which was open. Unless Caelum was sleeping, or in his office, he would likely be in there.

"Oh." The single syllable escaped the snake's mouth when she reached the door to the infirmary. There was no welcoming sight of the gorgeous Ethaefal, lounged at his desk or sorting through his materials. Instead, the Iyvess' brown eyes widened for a tick at the utter surprise, before narrowing to meet the face of Kaveh. Wonderful.

Common | Snake-Tongue | Tukant | Thoughts | PC/NPC Talking

[Kaveh]

Mornings were no longer strangers to the Chaktawe as he was already in a corner of the kitchen, hovering over a pot of berries soaking in water. Having worked at Alements for nearly a season, he had been forced to adjust to a typical work schedule and consciously weaned himself off the late nights. Naturally his family were overjoyed with the change and for once, Kaveh didn't feel like going against them. Despite their spats and arguments, he possessed a deep, loyal love for his kin that he no longer wished to deny. Perhaps he was finally growing out of that stage of rebellious youth.

Even so, he could probably still drink a few men under the table, despite their moans about the Chaktawe's unfair, biological advantage.

There was however, another reason he was in Alements at such an early hour, as he had forgotten to start on the salve the day before. One patient of his had a persistent case of an unknown skin irritation (possibly allergy induced) and had been cleaning out the shelves of their salves. As the cause of his irritation has yet to be found, the patient had been coming in at regular times to restock.

Since the berries were soaked in the water overnight, he only needed to prepared by stoking the fires and finding the pots he needed, filling one with water before placing it above the fire. When the berries were ready, Kaveh took a portion of the berries out from the water and shook his hands gently to allow any excess water to strain through his fingers. Throwing some handfuls into a fairly large mortar, he then lightly crushed them with the heavy pestle. Once a lumpy paste was created, he scooped the berries out of the mortar with a spoon into the empty pot. Stealing some olive oil from the kitchen, the healer then covered the berry paste with oil up to an inch above the level of the paste. The next step took the longest, hence his early presence at the tavern. Placing the pot with the paste on top of the pot now filled with simmering water, Kaveh left the two pots alone to allow for the oils to separate from the berries. In the meantime, he preoccupied himself with miscellaneous tasks such as a quick inventory count of the tinctures, salves, oils and herbs, washing any used equipment clean and general upkeep of the infirmary. Every once in a while, he would check up on the progress before returning to his filler tasks.

Eventually, the procedure was finished and he was rewarded with a mixture of oils and berry bits. Leaving it to cool for a time, Kaveh then discarded the berries in favour of the oils with the use of a strainer lined with cheese cloth, pouring the mixture through. In order to avoid waste, he also took the bits caught with the cheesecloth and squeezed the remaining oils out. Discarding the cloth's bundled contents, he then added a glob of beeswax before replacing the pot of hot water with the pot in hand. Helping the wax along, Kaveh stirred occasionally to allow it melt more quickly. Intermittently, he would take a small spoonful of the mixture and set the spoon on the counter to cool. Once cooled, he could press on this in order to check if the salve was hard enough and would add more beeswax when it was not. After some chimes, it was complete and taken off the other pot to cool. Finally, the mixture was then scooped into a container before being brought back to the infirmary desk to be labeled.

It was at this time that he heard something being shouted, Caelum's name maybe? Kaveh didn't let it distract him however, ignoring the noise as he remained seated in the infirmary, scooping the last bits of the salve into a container. However responsible the Chaktawe had become, he was still a victim of his bad habits, including forgetting to lock doors. However, the fact that someone may of wandered in didn't much faze him, as his boss had quite a few friends that would often search for him here. Once they realized that no one was in the tavern area, they would probably assume Caelum was not here and leave.

Dipping quill into ink, Kaveh began on the label, marking the salve's purpose as "Soothes skin". Below that, he listed the ingredients in smaller print and finishing with a date of creation. As the ink dried, he reached over for the bottle of glue and the brush. Again the visitor shouted, louder this time, but the healer continued to ignore them. Once he dipped the brush, he scraped the excess glue off the rim of the bottle before brushing on a thin layer on the back of the label. Then, grabbing the corners of the paper carefully with his fingertips, he moved the damp paper closer to the edge of the container of salve which was now covered and on its side. As he released the label on to the container, an "oh" caught his attention.

"One tick." He returned, his eyes still fixed on half on, half off label. Once he finished laying the other half down, Kaveh then placed the container back on its bottom before casting his gaze upwards. Dressed in vibrant clothing much like their first meeting stood Sezkero with a young girl in her arms. Surprised, but likely much less than the Iyvess, the Chaktawe simply lingered for a moment. "Yours?" He asked immediately, pausing momentarily before he shook off his surprise. Despite the way their encounter ended, Kaveh held no negative feelings of the Dhani, his initial interest in her now dulled due to the passing of time. As she spoke, he continued on his task, carrying the salve over to the shelf on the far wall before filing it away. Should she huff or lace her words with any venom, Kaveh would simply chuckle in response. "Take a seat" He offered, though with his natural tone of voice it sounded more like a command. He then approached the two, hair looking a bit disheveled and clothes gently wrinkled from the early rise. Joining them at the table, Kaveh sat closer to the side of the young girl as it seemed clear that she was the patient in question, what with her raggedy clothes, small, thin frame and odour. A street urchin probably, an orphan he guessed. Knowing his appearance can be frightening to children, the healer kept a comfortable distance away from the girl and kept his smile light whenever she did look his way.

"So, are you going to introduce me or what?"


oocSorry for the delay!

[Ssezzkero]

"Nope." Sezkero popped the 'P', stepping into the room to take advantage of the former stranger's surprise. The frail child in her arms had looked worriedly at her guardian, suddenly aware of the woman's tense pose. To ease the perceptive child of of her trail, the snake twirled into the infirmary, gliding over to the nearest cot to deposit the child on it. Meya released her grasp on the snake once she could sit on the cot, and Sezkero slid into the seat beside the child, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, trying not to worry too much. Where was Caelum?

The snake only watched the man for a tick, easily falling into the feeling of belonging in the Tavern, as the sleepy child let Sezkero support her weight. It wasn't until he had finished stocking something on the shelves that Sezkero had put together that Caelum had left this man in charge. Which meant... Was Kaveh a healer? When Kaveh returned to them the snake felt Meya shrink into her at the man's proximity.

"So, are you going to introduce me or what?"

"Meya," Sezkero looked down to address the child, who was hiding her face in Sezkero's chest, effectively smearing dribbling snot over her clean shirt, but the snake hardly noticed. "Would you like to ssay hi to Kaveh?" The child peaked out to look at Kaveh for a few ticks. Sezkero knew that Meya was not unused to the Chaktawe eyes, having met a Chaktawe orphan within the city before, but the child was far too shy for her own good. The barely perceptible shake of her head answered Sezkero question. It was not surprising.

"Sso you are a healer." An almost protective tone fell over her voice as she looked at the man, speaking her conclusion. "And Caelum left you here, alone. To heal." Suspicion laced her tongue as golden brown eyes squinted at Kaveh's colorless orbs. She was processing it through her head, still uncertain to trust this man with Meya. Could she just leave and wait for Caelum?

No. Sezkero knew next to nothing about medicine, and she was not going to be the reason that Meya stayed sick, if it was within her power to help her. Shifting the girl beside her so that she could expose her face, Sezkero rubbed her shoulder, still protective of the human. "Will you help usss?" Her voice lowered, softening in defeat of her inner battle against the man. Meya needed care, and it wasn't her job to complicate that.

Common | Snake-Tongue | Tukant | Thoughts | PC/NPC Talking

[Konrad Venger]

Nice job! Your work has pleased The Sloth! Sezkero XP: Persuasion - 2 Observation - 1 Interrogation - 1 Lore: Persuasion: Coaxing a Child Meya: A Child of the Streets Kevah: Unlikely Healer Click Me! : Kevah, PM me when ya get back and pay yer Winter Expenses, and you get your booty, too! My favorite part of this was that awesome little "popped the 'P'" tool you employed. I actually sat here and did that, and it worked, ha! Really enjoyed Sezkero's compassion and her WORRY, here. Her genuine concern for her little charge. Oh, and please make sure you go back and edit your post in the Request Thread to reflect the fact this one is now done and dusted. PM me with any questions and later 'tater!