Falling From The Sky (Aidara)

[Gossamer]

Timestamp: 1st of Fall, 512 AV Purpose: Aidara's Gnosis Quest Location: Throughout Wind Reach - The Infirmary The first raptor was brought in to the Infirmary close to mid morning. It wasn't the first such creature Aidara had seen, nor was it going to be her last. It was a Skybolt Falcon, and a lovely example of one at that. White on top and sky blue on the bottom with feathers that were patterned like ice breaking up in whites and faint black patches zigzagging across its feathers. The swift falcon was laid low by something clouding his vision and making him weave on his perch. He seemed to pant too, holding his beak open and gasping for breath as he weaved. The owner, Sima Tuva, had no idea what was wrong with him nor where to take him. The truth was there were no real vets in Wind Reach because when something sickened it was either eaten or cast out for the good of the group. But Skybolt falcons were rare and Aidara could honestly see why this one was brought to her first. He'd bred in the summer and given a female, equally rare, a clutch of three eggs that had hatched out. Sima was gifted like that, good with small birds, though she was no Endal nor did she have an eagle of her own. Instead, she was painter, well renowned for her painted feathers that were often traded for as much value as some of the glass. Most would consider her an Avora, though she only modestly drew Chiet wages and supplemented her own meals with her hunting birds. "Aidara, are you here? I was told to bring Zinger to you. Half my birds in my mews are sick with whatever he has and I've lost two already. Can you look at him?" She asked, looking frantic. Said bird was up on her wrist, and frantically balanced by her free hand because he was indeed in danger of falling off. "I don't know what is going on, healer, but many of the little ones are sick. Has there been any Wind Eagles feeling the effects? They cough, get clouded vision, then can't seem to breath. None of them can hunt either and they have no interest in their food." She said, looking around, still searching for the healer but confident via rumor that Aidara was in the Infirmary. It seemed empty enough though, so she could have been mistaken.

[Aidara]

At the very back of the Infirmary was the Office. Leaving the door ajar in hopes of tempting a breeze into the tiny, sweltering room, Aidara sat with her head in her hands as she read over page after pager of tedious reports. None of them needed her dire attentions, but the healer had to read them anyway. She had asked Micquel and Keah to take notes on the patients when she was away from the Infirmary; who came in with what, what medicines were given, how long they had stayed for and what procedures were done to the patient while they were in the Healers' care. Apparently, a lot of people had been sick lately, because the reports just went on and on and on... And then there was a whole other stack of papers that was what supplies they were running low on. Her assistants took good notes. Almost too good, since at this rate she'd be here all day.

Making a mental note to talk to Micquel and Keah about the sheer amount of notes she had been left to sift through, Addy picked up the report she had been reading and set it in the small pile of those she had finished. Yep. It was going to be a long day. The worst part was none of the sickbeds were filled (technically, that was a good thing but..), leaving Addy with no reprieve from the work. What she wouldn't do for a distraction, the little woman couldn't say. Heaving the forlorn sigh of someone who just didn't want to work, Addy closed her eyes for a rest before she continued.

"Aidara, are you here?"

The distant voice made the woman sit bolt upright. Was she hearing things? Glancing down at her stack of papers and the unsightly puddle of drool that stained the pages, Addy realized that she had fallen asleep. The combination of the heat, boring work and no patients had gotten to her.

"Crap." Shoving the chair back and springing to her feet, the little healer swiped her hand across her mouth to remove the last remnants of her impromptu nap. Hoping that she didn't look too disheveled and hurrying from the room, Addy strained to pick out what the voice was saying. From what she could catch as she scurried, the woman had a problem that needed urgent attention; so urgent, she couldn't even wait for Addy to make an appearance before giving her the rundown.

"Hi! Hi, I'm Aidara. I'm afraid I was in the back working.." It was hard, but she managed a straight face. Down underneath her jawbone, she felt a bit of drool that she had missed hardening on her skin. Charming. "I'm afraid I only caught part of what you said. Would you mind repeating?"

As the woman obliged, Addy let her gaze wander over her face. She had recognized Sima instantly, having always envied her seemingly magical touch with the birds that both women treasured. Used to seeing Sima happy and enthused the couple times they had met, it was difficult to see anything but stress and frustration etched in the lines of her face. This couldn't be good.

"I haven't heard anything about the Wind Eagles being effected or sick." Sira most certainly would have mentioned something about a mysterious illness sweeping through the great birds. She possibly might have even begun to show signs herself, though Sira wasn't a very reliable comparison at the moment. Being pregnant had changed more things about the Kelvic than Addy had been prepared for.

"Let me see Zinger. Come here, pretty boy." First picking up a small towel and wrapping her hand in it, in loo of a proper glove, Addy cooed softly to him as he transferred hands. "Wow, he is gorgeous." Lifting him as close to her face as she dared, the healer ran a gentle hand down his feathers while she looked into his eyes. The fierce, penetrating glare that the birds normally had wasn't present in Zinger, and sure enough after a few moments he wobbled in her grasp.

"How long have they been sick, and how fast did it catch them?" Addy thought Zinger felt hot beneath her fingers, but then again she wasn't completely sure and decided to keep the information to herself. She carefully prised open his beak and looked inside his mouth and the opening of his throat, gently pressing along his esophagus for anything that could have gotten lodged; she doubted this was the issue, since it was unlikely that multiple birds would get something lodged in their throat at the same time. "Could their feed have been changed? Were they all fed off the same rancid meat, perhaps?" Sima was right, Addy was no vet. But she had been around Val's animals enough as well as sick humans to at least be able to eliminate problems, even if she couldn't formulate a diagnosis.

"The symptoms point me towards the flu, much like the human version. That or a respiratory infection." Still gently holding Zinger, Addy pinned Sima's gaze and fixed her with an honest look as she shrugged helplessly. "But honestly, I have no idea.".

[Gossamer]

Zinger's clouded blue eyes looked blind to Aidara as she looked in them even as the bird gasped, seem to cough, and then let out a line of spittle that looked more mucus than water all over Aidara's gloved hand. "It doesn't seem like the flu, Aidara. He's not off his feed. He'll eat. But I doubt he can fly or see to return. He's not overly warm. And he was completely fine this morning. The other birds have all fallen ill in the last twenty four bells, two of which have already died. Oh, I said that already." She said thoughtfully, looking worried. "I've kept birds for a long time. So has my family. I've never seen anything like this. I'm keeping them isolated except for him to bring him to see you... but I'm scared. I've been wracking my brain to find out what might have caused this, and because of the rain I haven't been flying. I bought meet in the market for them - a whole juvenile mountain goat I could hang in my warren and let cure - and it looked like a good prime animal though slightly small. I went over my time in the market, thinking of anything I could... and other than it falling on the ground once.. which shouldn't be a big deal, nothing else happened. It fell because a man ran into me while it was slung over my shoulder and I wasn't paying attention. But surely bad meat would smell and I'd have noticed it. The Endal that sold it to me skinned it right there and it was still fresh.. really fresh." Sima gave his name, someone Aidara recognized and who knew sold good meat when he had excess. "The glazed eyes are something I've never seen before... same with the muscus. And the weaving... I just don't know whats going on. And if he doesn't' feel better and dies like the rest? I still have chicks... I don't know what to do." The woman seemed on the verge of panic even though her voice was calm.

[Aidara]

"Calm down, it's okay. Come on, lets sit. Take a deep breath." Ushering the woman towards the chairs that lined the waiting room, Addy gently pushed her down into one before perching on the coffee table in front of her. Zinger was still cradled against her chest, a hand absently stroking his feathers, hoping to comfort him as he wove back and forth.

"Now, the worse case scenario is that this is an airborne disease. Those are very hard to control, but would explain why all the other birds fell ill so quickly." Addy said this slowly, the tone of her voice carefully measured in hopes of keeping Sima calm. Years of dealing with the public had taught the healer how to wear a mask of confidence; even if she didn't feel it, showing patients how concerned you really were never made them feel any better. They came to the infirmary, to her, for her level of knowledge, for her expertise to make them feel better when they could not to it themselves.

Sometimes, people just wanted to be told that everything was going to be okay. Unfortunately, this was not one of those times, though Addy would do anything to change that. Instead, she tried to break the news as carefully as possible. "You also may be a vector. If the disease that is effecting your birds is a strain that only shows in the avian species, you could be harboring it without any symptoms.... unintentionally spreading it around." Reaching out a hand, Addy showed her where Zinger had covered her glove in mucus. [color=#FFFFF]"Do you remember getting any of this on your face directly? Or maybe your hands, and you just wiped it off instead of washing, mouth or nose after? It could be a helpful clue if you noticed any change in your own mucus."[/color] Yummy, but as was the life of a healer. Addy had delt with much worse than snot.

"Actually, I'm going to try something..." Was all she managed to explain, as she began to pull what she thought of as the blanket of calm around her, beginning to block the outside world. It only took a few moments for the complete meditative state to consume her; Addy tucked away the different parts of her mind in their metaphorical boxes, leaving her awareness blissfully blank and empty. Sima would simply see the woman close her eyes, slow her breathing and cease all movement when she found her center.

Having achieved the nothingness she sought, Addy reached for the power that had been instilled within her upon birth. She imagined it to be within the deep core of her mind, a glowing, golden, coiled mass of power. When she reached for it, it lept into her hand like a puppy that had been stuck inside for too long, and wanted to play. Handling her gift with an ease that only comes from constant usage, the healer envisioned Zinger as he had been before she closed her eyes: Perched on her hand and cradled against her chest.

Since healing was a hands on job, Addy found it easier to envision using her gift as if she were just using her hands, like any normal procedure. So she extended a fistful of glowing power towards the raptor, stretching it like a string so that she could feed it into his nostril. It was a crude way of getting inside, but it worked. Suddenly, Addy was within the bird, so to speak. Adept in anatomy, she was able to distinguish where she was by careful observation.

However, what she encountered was far beyond anything that she had seen before. To her minds eye, Zinger was filled with a dark, pervasive substance. It almost completely coated his insides, seeping through his internal organs. His nasal cavities were shrouded in black, as well as his lungs. Great dark patches of the stuff covered his stomach and liver, though some living tissue could still be seen. Finding his heart, Addy was able to take a little breath of relief, as none of the stuff had made it there yet; a good sign. But the life giving muscle was completely surrounded. It was only a matter of time.

Addy pulled herself back out of the bird, landing back in the real world with a large weight in her shoulders that hadn't been there previously. Rek'keli, help me. I am no animal doctor. Never having been notably pious, when the woman did throw a prayer or two towards the skies, it was usually to the Goddess who marked her, rather than Priskil, whom the rest of Wind Reach worshiped. The face of the goddess who marked her was a mystery; she had never seen the deity who had apparently chosen her before she could even walk or talk. Addy found it hard to fell like she owed this unknown entity anything... what if these deities they all worshiped weren't even real?

Opening her eyes and meeting Sima's intense gaze, Addy sighed and felt her shoulders slump. She was in over her head, though she could never admit this to a patient. Quickly, the birds symptoms were run through her head against the catalog of diseases that she knew well. The results were disappointing. Give me strength, at least was the final plea to the goddess before Sima was finally addressed.

"I think you need to take me to the other birds."

[Gossamer]

Sima Tuva picked Zinger back up off Aidara's wrist, for she had a proper glove on and nodded. She'd obyed everything the Endal healer had said and answered her questions as best she could. "I've done nothing different in my routine, Aidara. I swear to you. And I have not been feeling ill myself. I've just been painting, working with the birds, and last week I went on a collection trip on foot with some of the other Avoras. We needed more pigments for our paints and a special clay additive. We went to all the usual places. The only thing different was a rockslide had uncovered a cave we ended up visiting where we found a bit of some ruins... not uncommon and nothing really that we could see... though we did collect white powder to make paint with.. talc from the site. That's the only deviation from my usual routine. And that's not much of one, honestly." Sima Tuva said. "And I swear. I've been feeling fine. No coughs. No aches or pains or weaving. And I haven't been off my feed." She said, leading the Endal through away from the healing facility to her own quarters in the warrens. As her status merited, Sima Tuva had a large set of suites, one half of which was turned into mews for her birds. She bred Skybolts and had two smaller eagles as well as a whole host of other falcons. Some of the birds seemed ill. But others looked perfectly fine. The ill birds had been isolated, but there was no rhyme nor reason to which got sick and which didn't. There were healthy individuals and sick ones all of the same breed. Age didn't seem to be a factor. And the area was meticulously clean. Even the bird waters were crystal clear. It was true Sima Tuva kept a nice mews. Based on what she saw with her gnosis, Aidara might expect to see dust on everything. That's how the illness read. But there simply wasn't anything to see. Clean wood and stone gleamed. Sima spoke again. "Maybe the man that bumped me. Maybe he was ill. I didn't recognize him but I was sure he was a Dek." She said softly, not wanting to accuse anyone of ill to an Endal, but not wanting to eliminate the possibility of it either.

[Aidara]

With each bit of information that Addy gathered, the further her confusion thickened, a knot settling deep within her stomach as Sima lead the little healer to her quarters. Churning the information over and over in her head, the path from the infirmary passing by unnoticed as Addy lost herself in her thoughts. If nothing had changed, and if nothing new had been introduced…

“Talc?” Stepping carefully into Sima’s home, Addy deferred to the other woman so that she could lead the way to the birds. “Did the birds get any of the powder? Or did you paint the mews with it? If they had ingested some..” Sima opened the door to the warrens and gestured the little healer inside, Addy having barely placed her foot firmly on the floor inside before her eyes were skittering this way and that.

“You keep a clean place.” Always a neat freak, the red curls bunced as she bobbed her head in satisfaction as she took in the state of the room, easily spotting the sick birds kept away from the rest. “It’s obvious that they didn’t fall ill due to neglect.” It was clear the falconer loved her birds dearly. If Sima had painted since the birds had fallen ill, Addy would carefully inspect the indicated areas, taking mental notes of everything that she came across.

It was the mention of the Dek that brought the healers inspection of the mews and the individual birds up short, green eyes narrowing as her head whipped around to face Sima. The Skybolt that she had been inspecting, his wing pinched carefully between her fingers, shuffled nervously on his perch, uttering a sick warble of distress thanks to the healers sudden movements. “Shhh, shhh…” Calming the bird and stepping away, edging carefully around the room to make sure she stayed clear of those raptors that hadn’t fallen ill, Addy beckoned the other woman closer.

“How long after contact with this Dek did the first one fall ill, even if you didn’t show any symptoms?” A simple bump shouldn’t have done this to the poor creatures, especially if the contact was brief. Had they fallen and been tangled for long moments but… obviously this wasn’t a normal sickness, which meant that whatever was causing it didn’t have to act normally either. A brushing of cloth against cloth could have been enough. “Do you remember if you touched him with your bare hands or your clothes? If whatever this is came in contact with your skin, it could have easily been transferred onto other parts of your body just by the normal actions we do all day, like touching our face or hair.”

Speaking aloud as much for herself as for Sima, Addy consciously kept her hands hanging loosely at her sides, making sure not to touch her clothes or any other part of her body now that she’d had contact with whatever this was. Giving the other woman a moment to let what she said sink in, Addy’s voice was quiet when she spoke next. “Do you think you could point this man out to me, Sima?”

[Gossamer]

Sima shook her head. “No way. Nothing but natural stone for the birds. We don’t paint in here. The fumes would irritate them to no end. And they like the warm darkness in here. My studio is in another part of my suites. I can show you that next if you like. We use talc a lot in paints, its nothing new. Just the supply was new. But even then, its not unsual for us to bring in pigments from various sources.” She said, chatty but with an edge of nervousness. It was clear the plight of the birds was worrying to her. Sima seemed to ponder the situation for a moment. “It was a few bells. Maybe three or four? It happened fast so the skybolt had to be sick before he came into contact. I had gloves on so no he didn’t touch me. But he bumped the bird, touched Zinger even.” Sima said, she looked at the bird and then at Aidara. “I mean, I know Dek are dirty, but one touch shouldn’t have done it. Zinger didn’t bite him or anything. They just brushed against each other. The Dek didn’t seem sick. I mean, they never seem really really healthy, but he didn’t seem any worse than the rest of them.” She affirmed, watching Aidara inspect her holding. Aidara was a frank kind person, but in her Sima saw someone who was as equally neat. She couldn’t stand filthy quarters, mews, or a filthy person. Clean was easy and clean was what she did. The artist and falconer looked thoughtful at Aidara’s last question. “Sure. For one thing he had unusual hair. It was red, like the rest of us, but down one side was a white streak.. a white lock of hair I think, fairly big.. maybe as wide as my palm. “ Sima said, looking thoughtful. She started to speak again. “Was it from an old scar? That happens sometimes. He was rail thin, gaunt almost, and a bit taller than I. He wasn’t big, but then none of us are really. He had a smaller waist than me, but he walked with an odd shuffle, like he didn’t quite pick his feet up off the ground when he moved. And this is sort of weird. He… he looked me in the eye when he bumped me. An Avora? A Dek looked an Avora in the eye? Who does that?” She added, almost surprised as if she’d forgotten that detail. Sima glanced up to meet Aidara’s eyes. She’d been speaking while staring at Zinger, looking more internal than external. “We need to find him don’t we? We need to ask him questions. Aidara, I’ve never seen anything like this. They are all sick, you know? This group here.” She gestured, glancing fearfully across the room at the birds that weren’t ill. “But its almost like they are all sick with something different. One’s loosing or pulling feathers. One has a goopy eye. One acts like his joints hurt him. I don’t know whats going on. I really don’t.” She added. “I can’t even move the healthy ones out because what if they are already sick? I need to keep them all here… just in case. But what if I loose them? The eagles are irreplaceable. They aren’t Wind Eagles, but they are sacred nonetheless.” Sima said, an edge of anger to her voice.