PM to join Finally someone immune to the effects of the blight(Theia)

[Adnaj]

Winter 43rd, 512 AV
For a moment, Adnaj didn't know if he was at the Hearthside Clinic, nestled in a bustling city or was in a makeshift medical tent on a battlefield. It could be argued that he was surrounded by less death while he was back at Sahova. It was even beginning to make him question his abilities as a healer. He had been studying and practicing medicine for years. Why now? It wasn't him was it? Deep down, he knew that he wasn't at fault but it was hard to totally avoid self pity and guilt while so helpless in his craft.

He had just lost two more patients this week. The problem was that the clinic was now empty. These two were his only two patients. With their passing, he had lost the only two patients for which he was responsible. Again, guilt and self doubt were constantly crowding in over his clinic.

For now, he wandered outside and collapsed against the outside wall. He leaned on it for support as he tried to gather his thoughts and focus his mind. He was going to need a different strategy. He would need to utilize some other skill outside of medicine if he was going to be proficient during this blight. Adnaj realized that it was time to get a little unorthodox, he just didn't have any inspiration.

[Theia]

OOCSorry, I took so long. I'm thinking we mark this in the 40th somewhere? Also, she is visible but flickering right now, using too much soulmist and getting tired, etc. Something was...different. Her usual walk was halted because she could not figure out what it was. And honestly, why it was such a big deal was a mystery to her but it was. East street always seemed so crowded with bodies of all kinds lately she couldn't help but notice the kind most common were not the living kind. What was she supposed to do with that? No rumors of sickness had reached her ears but her mind tugged at a faint memory. This had happened before, hadn't it? Bodies had begun piling and there had been so much crying, she thought, how had she forgotten? But Theia didn't stop her feet from moving towards their previous destination, she had work and the thought of not going made her queasy. But if she was sick...fine, fine just a quick check up and then she would go tell her brother. If she could even find him! To Theia, each step was lead that settled in her stomach, weighing her down but she continued on, no point in bothering with a feeling she couldn't help. It would just be a short detour from the usual, that's all. Stranger still the rest of the city seemed to fair no better, beginning to look like East street was spilling out and consuming the rest of the city. Beside her people coughed and below her people stumbled, they all looked more like Nuit now than anything else, even the air smelt wrong. Perhaps different and strange were not the right words then, wrong. There was something very wrong in Zeltiva. Her thoughts lead her to the clinic, no one paying any mind and people milling about both in and outside. But no one paid Theia any mind, and even through a surge of panic she calmed herself, reminding herself that of course they would't not with some many patients. She was there, she thought, no reason not to be. But thinking it made her tired today, it brought no reassurance, just a feeling of helplessness. Or perhaps it was just her sudden realization of the city catching up with her too quick. Angry and sad patients milled about the room, some being taken off of beds...the room stunk of decay and salt, from either tears or the natural air but Theia kept going towards the nearest available persons. And elderly gentleman, looking much like the ill himself, he should not be working it seemed but his robes and stance said otherwise. «Excuse me, if you have a minute I'd like a checkup...just a precaution.» There were no smiles for this this not seem like the smiling moment nor was there a hand outstreched for if she was sick she didn't wish for it to catch. Yet something in her mind called her a liar.

OOCIgnore the bottom text my phone is a jerk lol





short detour from the udual.

[Adnaj]

Adnaj couldn't believe his eyes. He had never seen a ghost just wandering around Zeltiva. Sure, he had come across the idea in Sahova but this was such an unexpected palce for the undead....Well for the undead that weren't 'him' anyway.

He opened his mouth to speak but then froze. This couldn't have been a good omen. Could she have been attracted to this place because of all of the death here? Afterall, people were dying all over Zeltiva and they were coming to places like these, to clinics, before death. Maybe all of death and decay was changing this place for the worse.

Either way, he had to do something about this situation. As a Nuit, he could really only be so frightened by the presence of a different type of undead creature. The humans, however, would be like a herd of sheep spotting a wolf. He had to get this under control.

He didn't know if the ghost knew its identity, or where it was...or especially whether or not it realized it was dead. Therefore, he started simply with a non-committal greeting.

"Why hello there," he opened after taking a few steps toward the fading creature. "What brings you in to see us at the clinic, today?" he started.

[Theia]

“I—“ now she felt awkward because most people in the clinic were sick. The clinic was filled with sickness, and the healers but she wasn’t sick. “I wanted to get checked to make sure I don’t have whatever…this is.” Theia gestured around her and lowered her head, what was it that made this scene familiar? She knew she was forgetting and she really had other things she should go do. No, enough of that, she was being too whiny and wish-washy lately. “I want to be sure because I live with my brother. What is it anyways?” Purposely she kept her eyes trained on the older man. Anywhere save for looking at the room. It made her think back to the Djed storm, only this seemed more precise and there were so many dead. The year was simply not going well for the city and she was afraid to actually focus on it for too long. And what would she do if she was sick? It didn’t seem like this was an easy fix and her mind taunted her with the thoughts that it wouldn’t be fixed. “How long would someone have if they were sick? Maybe it’s just a spring cold…” But she didn’t remember this happening before spring so why did she still remember it happening before. Gods, the day was already going to wrong. Theia wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the old man. “Can we just…?” She gestured to herself then him, her arms snapping around her body as soon as she finished. Honestly, now she just wanted to wait for the day to be over and restart tomorrow.

[Adnaj]

"Well," he silently thought to himself. "You certainly don't have any special kind of knowledge about the Blight.

Despite the fact that she couldn't provide him with any aide against the Blight, he took a special pity in her. He recognized her dazed sort of confusion. Her perpetual sensation of feeling lost and out of place.

She had no idea that she had passed, this stirred a philosophical sadness in him. Should he slowly convince her or should he continue to let her wander the streets of Zeltiva? It was a question to which he did not yet have the answer. He wasn't trying to come up with that answer, either. Not yet, anyway. For now he softened his expression and tone and beckoned her to sit.

"You're not sick," he told her truthfully. He then gave her as strong a smile as his generally expressionless, subdued face could generate. "Not even a little."

He sat on a nearby stool and beckoned her to do the same on the bench which was near it. The stool was near a window in the clinic and, due to patient privacy concerns, was one of the few with a view out into the busy Zeltivan street.

"You just seem a little confused, is all. Come and rest. Take a moment and see if you can gather your thoughts.

As much as Adnaj told himself this was a genuine emotional exchange, this was not deeply true. Sure, he felt a philosophical angst as he wrestled with the patient-related implications of a creature with a memory lapse. However, this philosophical inquiry echoed Adnaj's deeper, subconscious motivations here. He had spent his entire life studying the inner workings of the living. This creature, this ghost of a human female awoke a new, exciting venue. He had never turned that microscope on his brethren.

Now, he wanted to explore the psychology of the dead. It was the emotions of the restless, the existential, the eternally bored expired beings. His experiment would be to see if this ghost could figure out where and what she was and what motivations drove her forward through this city of the living.

[Theia]

“You didn’t even check,” Theia protested, her hands fluttering anxiously, whether because the man didn’t actually check or because she was eager to leave she wasn’t sure, “No, no I don’t want to sit. I need to…” Actually she had no idea what she needed to do, which was just brilliant, really. Theia didn’t want anything though, she knew she was supposed to be going somewhere that was not here but everything was foggy, like a dream. The longer she stood there the more unclear it was becoming. “Is there signs that you don’t see? What are the signs? I have a brother he might have it. Why is everyone sick?” The questions weren’t really directed at the doctor but Theia had needed to say them aloud to make them real. Now she was beginning to shift for foot to foot, the room made her uncomfortable and what if this man was just too old and couldn’t tell she was sick. Being sick would explain why she felt so strange. But that is doubtful, she thought, because she had been confused before arriving here. Tired and confused, Theia let her head drop, eyes watching the ground. Right now she should be at work for if she finished early her brother said she could look for a dress. At this particular moment she wanted nothing more than to just sink into the ground, and for her feet to stop looking like they were missing in some spots. “I think there is something wrong with my eyes.” It was said as a sigh because there was nothing wrong with her eyes or with her feet and this was all just madness. The room was just getting to her, Theia missed when she didn’t really understand what was going on though how she had missed it in the first place was still baffling. So that she didn’t have to focus on her feet, her gaze turned wearily to inspect the room once more but since the sight was more depressing than her vanishing feet she returned her gaze to the ground. Theia never did care for clinics and this was just reinforcement.

[Adnaj]

"Everything is going to be fine, I promise," Adnaj reassured her. "You're in a health clinic. If something happens, anything, then we are equipped to immediately respond. You are totally safe, here. Now tell me, what can I help you with? Where were you off to before stopping in here? What is it that you need, today?"

Admittedly, he was venturing a bit deeper, here. Deeper than a doctor would be inclined to examine but everything he said was soft and comforting. In his body language and in his tone, he wanted to be soothing and relaxing. He genuinely wanted the ghost to feel more at ease and to lose some of her panic and restlessness.

Sure, the reason for his manner was mostly that he wanted to be able to explore this creature's psyche but much of it was also true empathy for her fear and concern. To this end, he pulled a chair up toward a nearby desk and sat down. With the additional chair, there would be two chairs in front of the desk so that when Adnaj, next, took a seat, there was nothing between himself and the chair to which he was inviting his guest.

"My name is Dr. Adnaj," he introduced himself. What is your name?"

[Theia]

His words didn’t soothe Theia but she was at a loss in what she wanted to do. The day was already not going the way it was supposed to. She rubbed her arms anxiously, feeling more awkward as the seconds went by. She moved to take a seat but a niggling in the back of her mind warned her against it so she ended just moving beside it and closer to the doctor. “I’m not sure. Just came for the check-up I guess.” She started haltingly, “But I was on my way to work, seeing everyone sick made me nervous. It happened before, right?” The woman needed conformation that she wasn’t just going crazy. That her hazy memory and feeling of dejavu was founded and not some strange story her brain cooked up. Her own questions and his placating tone did nothing to ease her, if anything it made matters worse, her anxiety upping. Her moods were swinging dangerously and she couldn’t stop them. Deep breaths, she told herself, just deep breaths. “I’m Theia without the doctor.” Theia went for a smile but could feel her face twist as if it was physically impossible to do so. Her teasing sounded strained even to her own ears but as soon as he answered her questions she would leave. Then she would force her brother for a check-up and never step foot in a clinic again.

[Adnaj]

Adnaj recognized the ghost's discomfort. All of his questions were doing nothing except making her confused and irritable. His sense of curiosity was starting to come at Theia's expense and the healer recognized that this was unfair. He had to stop prodding about what she couldn't remember and focus on her current settings which she could see and interact with.

"Why don't you stay here in the clinic for a few days? Adnaj suggested. The reason that you feel ill is because you do, in fact, have a... complex.... health condition but don't be confused. You are in absolutely no immediately danger, I assure you. I give you my word, as a healer that you are not suffering the same blight as these people."

He stood back up and walked toward the room's doorway, peering out into sick ward. "There is something bad going on, in Zeltiva. Something the likes of which I am not convinced we have seen in a long time." He turned back around to face his guest. "But this is not your problem. This isn't your concern, you're condition is far less immediate and tumultuous. You're suffering from something that works...more slowly.

He had to figure out a way to hint toward the fact but not overtly blurt out that she was dead. He needed her to figure it out but to figure it out slowly, not in a singular flash of horrifying revelation.

"Theia, are you hungry?" Adnaj suggested. Perhaps your spell of weakness and confusion is coming from a bit of hunger. When was the last time you have eaten? We have plenty of food, here at the clinic for you."

[Theia]

Whatever grip on the faint grip on the situation Theia was holding slipped exponentially at the man’s words, her mouth opening and closing in shock. Her hands fell loosely to her side and whatever had been fueling the emotion slowly slipped away too. Gods, she was so tired, tired of all the confusion and this doctor confused her as well. Was she sick or not? “Stay here? In the clinic?” Theia’s own voice surprised her it sounded like an faraway echo and another selfcheck of her persons told her she was missing something. Why couldn’t she see her damned legs? Maybe there was something wrong with her eyesight. Maybe that is what he meant. She watching him go to the door, silently trying to see what he seen, trying to figure out what was happening. She couldn’t just stay at the clinic, sick or not. But what if it spread, she thought, what if what she had would touch others. But his next words sent a spur of something but the words sounded flat, broken and misplaced even to her own ears. “Of course I got to worry, this is my city, my friends, my family, I don’t want to see it like this. If what I have is different it doesn’t make it any difference, am I contagious? And I’m…not hungry? I ate yesterday though.” She stared at Adnaj nervously now, so she was sick with something but there were too many things going on for her to really feel it. She felt calmer than she had before but it wasn’t a good calm and Theia made to finally take the seat, letting out an odd groan when she apparently missed the chair but didn’t bother to stand. Theia gazed at Adnaj again, even he seemed healthier than her at this moment, “I don’t want to stay in the clinic I want to…get better.”