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[Adnaj]

Winter 60th 512AV
Adnaj thought back on this letter which he had penned roughly a week ago.

Bright, young Eleret, I wish that I could say I have contacted you because of the blight. I wish that I could tell you that my patient presented with an overbearing burden which could only exist due to some sort of foul magic. I wish I could report of an illness that would no longer exist once this unnatural blight had passed. Sadly, this is not the case. Long after the blight is forgotten, this kind of mental degradation will plague hundreds more poor souls. I find myself in dire need of your assistance because I must care for someone who needs patience, understanding and compassion. Medicine and practiced techniques will only do so much for this patient. Please. This letter is my pleading for your assistance. She suffers from such a strange and peculiar form of delusion that I have had need to place her under nearly constant surveillance. I have now taken every precaution that I can conceive of for her personal living space. I fear that if I should leave her, even for one single moment, than she may irreparably cause harm to herself. I know of the physical body and I know of the physical brain but it would appear that my skills are useless here. Apparently, she needs someone who can communicate, someone who can reach her. I immediately thought of you, sharpening your mind within the halls of the University. For the good of my patient, the patient whom I seem unable to help...I beg you to come to my clinic and help me find, for her, the care which she desperately needs. Yours in gratitude, Dr. Adnaj

For now, Adnaj stared at the closed, red door which led to Cecily's room within the clinic.
"What are we going to do with you, Cecily?" Adnaj muttered.

It was not a sense of compassion and empathy which was tugging at Adnaj. It was his complete lack of ability to empathize. On top of the fact that his Nuit sensibilities viewed most of his patients as academic exercises rather than emotional beings, he couldn't imagine Cecily's particular sense of altered reality. Sure, the doctor had no real memory of his living life but he knew what he didn't know. He was able to recognize this gap in his interpretation of reality and operate within a world where that data simply didn't exist for himself.

Cecily, however, was trapped in a bad nightmare. Her sense of reality wasn't even close. It wasn't an alteration of reality and it wasn't reality through a foggy lens. Somehow, Cecily was somewhere entirely different. She was operating from an entirely different base than the rest of the world. The thing that had really driven Adnaj to frustration was the fact that this did not fit any model of pathology that he had ever come across before.

[Eleret]

It felt as strange to come back to Zeltiva, after the passage of years, as it had ever felt to return to Mura from her University studies. The passage of six years, to be precise; six years, at once very long and surprisingly brief, since she had last walked down this particular avenue. The street had changed in that time, without a doubt -- buildings remodeled, plants grown out or cut down, strange faces where familiar ones had once dwelled. But one address, the return address on the envelope in her hand, remained patently the same -- the same proprietor, the same purpose. Eleret smiled slightly as she considered the delivery address on the envelope, an address which hadn't been current for those six years -- though it was no doubt firmly associated with the Konti in Adnaj's mind. That didn't surprise Eleret; many people she knew, whether academics or the long-lived (or both!), tended to forget that things did change from year to year, decade to decade. Even when they knew the update. Fortunately, she still kept in touch with old friends at the University; one had noticed the letter languishing undelivered in the mail room, and knowing she was now in Zeltiva, arranged for it to get into her hands. And so -- here she was. Eleret paused in front of the building to give it a moment's regard. It at least still looked familiar -- not in the I still recognize it despite changes manner, but as a thing which on the surface seemed hardly different from her recollections. She smiled to herself as she riffled through some of those recollections; then the Konti stepped up to the doorway and let herself in. Paper crinkled in her hand as she slid the door closed and took a look around the interior. Not wanting to call out and disturb anyone, Eleret considered where she might find Adnaj. At work, of course -- but would it be administrative, or medical? Making an educated guess, Eleret moved to take a look down the hallway with the patients' rooms.

[Adnaj]

Introduced by the sound of a closing door, Adnaj turned a corner and saw Eleret staring down his hallway.

"Eleret! How terrific to have you back in Zeltiva!" He walked down the halls with his shoes clicking against the hard floors. "I should have realized that you were no longer at the University! I've been so wrapped up in my work, I didn't even consider the possibility that you might have actually moved on from your education!"

Adnaj approached her. Ever the social one, the Nuit didn't know whether to shake her hand or hug her or what he should do. He ended up half leaning in for a non-committed, awkward kind of hug.

"Come, let me show you around!" Adnaj guided Eleret through a tour of the facility. He took her through the various treatment rooms and displayed the various resources and tools at his disposal.

There was, however, something that Adnaj had forgotten about. He had entirely forgotten the fact that Eleret didn't know that he was a Nuit. To him, Eleret was a fondly remembered acquaintance but he had kept secrets from her.

The last few weeks had been particularly difficult and so he hadn't put a great deal of emphasis on hiding his true nature. There was an ever present risk of Eleret learning his secret, especially considering the fact that he had brought her in because of her propensity to detect mood and emotion.

[Eleret]

Eleret smiled at the warmth of his welcome, waiting where she stood as he approached down the hall. "It is well," she replied, still smiling. "I return this season, and it is almost as I never left. Except I am not student, now. I am to travel." She returned Adnaj's embrace with somewhat less awkwardness, but was mindful of courtesy -- not to hold any more than he did. Which made for an awkward hug on all sides; but no matter. It was taken only in the spirit it was meant. Of course, the Konti took away somewhat more from the embrace than welcome alone. Part of it was positive: the 'scents' of lavender and apple, the sincerity of Adnaj's joy and relief at her presence. But incongruous with that was the more physical chill she felt; his skin had always been cool to the touch, even to hers, but it seemed more so now. And he looked more fatigued than Eleret remembered the physician being, even with the long and irregular hours he had always kept. "You are not ill, Adnaj?" she asked with some concern. "It is not help to the patients if you take a chill," she chided, hoping that argument would have more impact on the physician than one focused on his own health. Then a rueful quirk to her lips, a wry smile which did little to clear the worry from her eyes. "I do not want to have to make you take care of yourself," Eleret concluded. And in truth, Adnaj wouldn't want that either, albeit not for the reasons she thought.

[Adnaj]

Adnaj seemed a bit nervous at Eleret's question. Perhaps not nervous, maybe surprised was better. It was like an important chore, which he had completely forgotten, had suddenly made itself known.

"No! No, no," He laughed, disarmingly. "Thank you for your concern though. That compassion and perception is why I thought of you when I sought aid. No, its true that I'm a little tired and a little ragged but aren't all of us healers so during these hard times? No, I'll get my rest when the Blight is over."

"But now for the matter at hand. Adnaj turned to look at treatment room number 3. "Cecily is the most difficult patient whom I have ever had to handle. She is prone to fits of strong emotion. Sometimes its fear, sometimes its rage. Sometimes its even genuine, unhampered bliss. Her pattern of psychological pathology does not resemble that I have come across before."

Adnaj began to walk in the direction of Cecily's room, gesturing for Eleret to follow. She can be made to stay quite content and peaceful without a whole lot of stimuli. You are new so you're going to shake her up a bit. It's a necessary setback, however. You're introduction will be nothing but a boon to Cecily's well-being, I'm sure of it.

They arrived at treatment room number 3 and Adnaj opened the door at a speed which would almost seem painfully slow. Such quiet and careful measures were extremely necessary, however, with Cecily.

Inside the treatment room was a blonde haired woman who looked to be in her early thirties. Her eyes were unfocused and her mouth was slowly moving, making the shapes to have formed words but without any actual sound. Her hair was disheveled and messy, as if it hadn't been attended to in days. There was a very slight smell that was not overtly unpleasant but was certainly indicative of the fact that Adnaj had been unable to coax Cecily into any motivation to care for her hygiene. She was slumped on the floor in the corner of the room.

"Hello, Cecily," Adnaj greeted her, sounding as warm and inviting as he was able.

"Hi Dr. Uldr! Cecily seemed to light up when she said this, seeming a bit more energetic in her greeting. Her body and posture didn't change but her eyes focused on the two people who had entered the room.

"Who is that?" She suddenly asked, not with overt hate or fear, but certainly with a sense of concern.

[Eleret]

Eleret looked slightly dubious of Adnaj's assurances, in a good-humored way. That he was made uneasy by her question, she recognized, picking up a blend of licorice and a sharp scent she'd never identified, scents familiar all the way back to the day of their first meeting. He hid something, something she thought must relate to his health, but the Konti was too polite to press the matter -- and it didn't seem something likely to hurt anyone else, if it was a question of his own well-being. So she let that issue lie, and turned her attention to the present one. She nodded somberly as Adnaj described Cecily and her symptoms. A condition of the mind, fits of emotion, perhaps a need for quiet and peaceful surroundings. Eleret noted these things away, and waited patiently as Adnaj eased the door open. The condition of the woman inside wasn't a complete surprise to Eleret; it seemed that people with problems of the mind frequently let superficial concerns like hygiene slip. She didn't appreciate it, but she did her best not to dwell on it. Beyond the faint ambiance of not-quite-kempt human, the Konti noticed the dichotomy of a faintly floral scent and a sharp astringency: Cecily's welcome of Adnaj and her caution towards his companion. Keeping careful attention on the woman's mood, Eleret stepped into the room, but stopped only just to one side of the door, staying politely clear of Cecily's personal space. "I am Eleret," she offered to the woman, a distinct accent coloring her Common. Her tone was quiet and warm, amiable without venturing into attempts to soothe or reassure. "Sometimes I help Dr. Uldr in the clinic. Do you mind if I stay and talk with you for a little while?"

[Adnaj]

"So you help Dr. Uldr?" Cecily asked innocently. "Very interesting. I would have thought that he does his work alone. And you actually trust him?" She immediately followed her first question with this second one.

Cecily's mood and manor changed quickly and without warning. "You're lying." She stood, although she made no motion to approach, her face seemed fierce and powerful. Her gaze seemed much wiser and yet full of rage and anger. "You are a daughter of Avalis! You..." This anger and all of her terrible power faded as quickly as it appeared. She slumped back down again, looking just as confused and pitiful, now, as she had looked fearsome a mere moment ago. "But a child of Avalis has no reason to lie... She looked as though she was trying, and failing, to put the pieces of a puzzle together. "And so poses no threat to me..."

She stood again, this time seeming utterly childlike and full of wonder and curiosity. In truth, she looked, now, like she had when the two had first entered the room. This was the same smile, with which, she had greeted Dr. Uldr in the first place.

She ran over to Eleret and threw her arms around her in a tight, warm, happy hug. "How nice to meet you, Avalie. My name is Sagallia!"

Adnaj, who had remained silent, to allow Eleret to work, threw the Konti woman an amused smile as if to say, "indeed, strange names for everyone, including herself." His smile did not make light of the situation. He simply found himself chuckling easy after the last few weeks of mourning over his inability to help Cecily and after the first, tense seconds when Cecily met Eleret.

[Eleret]

The woman didn't offer a direct answer to Eleret's question, but abruptly rose, her apparent scent changing as quickly as the motion. Eleret stiffened slightly at her transition to anger, but remained steady and alert. Just as suddenly, the woman returned to quiescence, her chameleon mood a tangle of impressions in the sense of the Konti's gift. In the end, Cecily seemed to settle on her initial state -- cheerful, curious, childlike. That, at least, Eleret could handle. Eleret tucked the woman's volatility away to mull over later, returning her embrace in kind and with a warm smile. "Sagallia," she echoed, nodding towards Cecily -- and all the while thinking hard, trying to put together what pieces she had. Avalie. It was simplicity itself to see where that name derived from, to know how it fit with herself. Knowing that cast the others Cecily used in an entirely different light from Eleret's first impression. Dr. Uldr. Eleret glanced towards Adnaj. Uldr and the undead; Adnaj and his perennial hollowed eyes, the coolness of his skin, his neglect of sleep. If that connection were equally true, it made much sense. But the last... Sagallia. "It is good to meet you also," Eleret echoed, stalling for a moment while she racked her brain for what would be best to say next. The woman seemed to connect things with the gods. She seemed to abhor lies -- not that Eleret would tell any, though it didn't necessarily follow that Cecily would believe her even so. And not just abhor -- the word she had used was threat. Threat, danger. And Sagallia, from Sagallius, god of manipulation, the meddler. But did she do the manipulating, or was she the one manipulated? That seemed to be an important question to have answered. If Eleret followed the name relationships through to the end, they would suggest Cecily did the manipulation. But surely a manipulator would not feel threatened by lies -- surely they would come as a matter of course. Yet -- those conclusions resulted from applying external sense to madness, which could be entirely in error; it could just be Cecily's insanity speaking. Either way, Eleret wasn't going to touch the subject of trust. That seemed like it would only invite Cecily to try and drive in wedges where she might. Lies and truth would lose them in a muddle of philosophy at best. Which left... the names. "Is Sagallia a common human name?" Eleret wondered aloud to the woman, hoping to prompt her into saying more about where it came from -- why Cecily referred to herself so. "It is not like the names I am used to. Konti mostly give their daughters short names."

[Adnaj]

"No more common than Avalie, but we're a special lot, we three, aren't we?" The girl presented her question with utter politeness but also with a sort of pride.

At this point, Adnaj stepped forward and injected himself into the conversation. "As you can see, Cecily has developed a bit of a penchant for the fantastical. She clings to stories about the gods, coming up with important, divine names for everyone she meets. She seems to base this naming scheme on her gut-reaction to first impression and a person's appearance." He forced a chuckle. "In your case, she seems to have caught on to your Konti heritage. He paused and his speech almost seemed to slow and become more deliberate. "And me? Well I haven't quite recovered from treating the overwhelming numbers of those taken ill by the plague which just passed through Zeltiva, so...you could say that I'm still looking a bit ragged."

Eleret would have been able to detect an odd shift in Adnaj's mood. He wasn't being truthful about something. The shift would have occurred at "she seems to base..." Not in a diagnostic sense, was he being deceitful. He was accurate in everything that he had said about Cecily. It was something else. Obviously, it was nothing malicious. Keeping his secret wouldn't hurt Cecily and it certainly wouldn't hurt Eleret. He simply didn't want to create an unnecessary rift between him and herself. Unfortunately, however, Adnaj was now in and he was in deep. Because he hadn't been immediately honest with her, he had to commit to the lie. After all, a Nuit who is suddenly "exposed" as a Nuit rarely has good intentions...If she found out on her own, in a place full of the dead and dying no less, it was only going to appear one way...

Cecily's reaction to his statement was quite animated. "My assessments are neither superficial nor inaccurate!" She suddenly pointed at Adnaj and issued a command. "Tell her that I am right!"

Cecily's rage seemed to come, not from Adnaj's statement but from the lack of compliance that he had shown. Her anger seemed odd though. It wasn't the anger of a stubborn child who wanted others to bend to her will. It was more frustration then it was rage. It was as if she had failed to accomplish something which she would normally have considered quite easy. Furthermore, after pointing and commanding at Adnaj, she seemed more confused than ever. With a soft, exasperated sigh, she slinked down to the floor and stared off fore a few seconds before forgetting that the exchange had ever occurred.

[Eleret]

Eleret kept one eye on Cecily, noticing her shifts in attitude, but after Adnaj interjected into the conversation, the patient receded to second place in her own attention. He was... distinctly uneasy, still, more so when he endeavored to justify the names Cecily used for them all. Because she was listening for it, she heard the way his speech changed, the careful deliberation of an intended lie. Or at least a masking. One which didn't directly bear on Cecily's diagnosis -- yet it clouded the issue of why she chose those names, and Eleret still thought that might be important. Glancing to the doctor, she felt a moment's frustration, even bordering on anger, that the patient knew what Adnaj tried to conceal yet he kept it from his erstwhile assistant. But it would be rude and disruptive and unhelpful in all ways to express as much, so Eleret only drew in a cleansing breath and let it go. Besides, if his secret was what she thought, he had cause to be cagey. She reminded herself of that, and let her attention shift to Cecily. "Peace," she said to the woman. "It will be well." Not that Cecily appeared to need that assurance, as she huddled down on the floor and seemed to lose all awareness of the conversation. Eleret also felt frustrated that she wasn't able to do more to help the woman now -- that whatever progress she had made, if progress it had truly been, seemed completely eradicated in the wake of Adnaj's interruption. But again, raising tension in the room would not aid Cecily, nor herself -- and she had to presume that Adnaj, with his greater experience, knew better than she what progress actually was in this situation. Turning away from Cecily, Eleret inclined her head towards the door. "Let us take this outside," she prompted, her tone quiet but firm. Regardless of what Cecily might or might not comprehend, or retain, she refused to carry on a private discussion where the woman might hear.