second ☕✨ text (opening a clinic & a game!)

[cadeuces]

Guete Morge, everyone!

I will try to keep this brief. I've posted once before but I imagine it's more likely that if you know me, you've met me in person or know a mutual acquaintance; my name is Angela Ziegler. I'm the doctor that has opened the Second Nature Clinic on level 2. It has officially been set up and I've worked up a preliminary amount of basic medications that should be familiar to most such as allergy medication, pain management, decongestants, and other such things.

More importantly, there is no charge for any of my services if anyone ever needs to come by or contact me. I'll also gladly come to you if you're not comfortable in medical facilities or don't wish to leave your apartment. I think we all know by now the effect we can have on others, depending on the time of the month. I want everyone to know that they're welcome, for any reason, whether it's for questions, concerns with the moonblessings this place bestows upon us, medical aid, or simply for a cup of coffee and some fresh pastries for the company. We are all here on our own and it's the least that I can offer to support others.

( You know, Understatement Of The Century™️, but moving right along. You can practically read the warm little smile like to be on her face if she were speaking this aloud. )

I've seen countless posts here seeking commiseration on feelings and effects people have experienced, worries, concerns— and nowhere else to put them. I hope you're all well and have found the answers you need. While I am primarily a surgeon and combat medic, I never mind listening or offering another perspective if you ever wish for something more private and a touch professional. You could call it part of my job to assist others in shifting their typical way of thinking into something a little more positive after a life-changing injury and its recovery.

I do plan on joining the trip so that a medic is present, so the clinic may be closed for a few days. If anyone wishes to post their contact information on the door for others remaining in Prismatica, please feel free to do so! I would rest easier knowing that there are eyes out for all of us, across both places.

And if you wish to know me a bit better, why don't we play a game? Two truths and a lie. Let's see, I'll start...

1. I once won a spider-catching competition.
2. I've spent more time camping than living in my house.
3. My favorite color is yellow.

Comments

action!!

[torsion]

[ It does take a little longer, just as she'd suggested that it might. It's difficult to not be side-tracked by your surroundings when you're somewhere new, tough she's still prompt and doesn't linger for long. There's still a lot to learn regarding the lay of the land, including if the city limits are just that. Is there anything beyond the city and is it worth investigating? She'd rather rough it, she thinks, than take up an apartment or something like that. It wasn't that big cities bothered her it was just... She had to gradually grow used to it. Time. It would take time. That's all.

(Is she trying to convince herself of this, is it actually possible? Or is it all just negativity? Or--)

Her head hurts, but she doesn't show much of a sign of it upon arrival, taking in her surroundings. It's strangely more comforting in here, however clinical and bright it is here. It's something familiar, something she knows rather than something so stacked against her with fantasy that she doesn't quite know where to begin. Admittedly, the weight comes far more from the urgency of returning home than general frustration or her injuries. She has something to fight for. No. It's someone.

Minor trepidation in each step, she finally calls out with a calm voice. ]

Hello? Is anyone here? I have a... sort of appointment?

[ Something like that anyway. Just a strange woman in a battlesuit standing in the lobby!! NBD!! ]

[cadeuces]

( The reply Jill had received to her text was continued interest, "fascinating!" and weak attempts to mask her horror at the very concept of weaponizing a virus that reanimated the dead or mutated the living to the point they also died and came back, because it isn't difficult to imagine some government would find the thought appealing. Soldiers that never slept, never ate, never disobeyed orders. She acquiesces to having an elder from a younger time with good humor in an attempt to change the subject and offers a "when you get here", sure to continue the conversation once they've met in person.

Still, Jill arrives quicker than Angela anticipated, even if it felt slower by the other woman's clock. The windows are tinted on the outside to maintain privacy inside, the warm white lights more of a comfort than a stark fluorescent and set into strange little pocketed moon covers, diffusing the light. The important part is that it doesn't smell like a clinic. It's clean, yes, but there's no harsh smell of disinfectant or sickness, no cleaners, no nitrile gloves. If the little diffusers in the walls are any indication or the soft scent that follows her as she pops around the corner and walks right up to Jill with a smile and an offered hand, the place just smells like her. Her perfume, yes, but a little bit more. It's just clearly her space. )

Hello! Miss Jill, is it? You're quicker than I thought you'd be; I was doing laundry. Can I get you a cup of coffee?

( Angela's taking her appearance in with her peripheral, but blue eyes don't leave the other woman's and her smile's as soft as her voice, curled up at the ends with a slight accent. Her hands are just a bit cool to the touch, if taken. )

[torsion]

[ She kept it short and sweet -- texting isn't the most popular thing back in 2009, let alone 2006 -- and she'd rather not leave her hanging. It's just a simple "if you'd like to know more, I can tell you in person," and something about her makes it clear she has no preference either way and won't be offended if she only has a few questions, fifteen, or none. It's something she didn't fully understand as it most certainly wasn't her specialty. People didn't herald the ones behind the scenes working on vaccines; they made movies about people on the front lines. She supposes they make for more fascinating hour, hour and a half films but she definitely has a deep and personal appreciation for anyone in an office or lab.

Jill, quite frankly, couldn't do jackshit without them.

It thankfully holds more comfort than where she'd previously been. Not astringent and cold and certainly accentuated in the opposite direction by the dear doctor herself. It's a relief to her to find something that doesn't reach for her with a stranglehold of repressed memories. With that, she's able to take a fully gloved hand -- attached directly to what she wears, it seems -- and clasp the other woman's. It's less of a shake, more just a simple hold. Despite that, it's not an attempt to garner control or show superiority. Not so quick it holds more discomfort than if it lingered, she lets her hand fall wayward when they part. ]

Just "Jill" is fine, if you're comfortable with it. [ She understands professional situations well enough. ] ...ah, though, that would be nice. Been a long time since I've enjoyed a hot cup.

[ Almost too eager; there's brightness in her eyes. Paler blue without much of a pierce to them, though the way she seems to spread her expression from them suggests a different kind of piercing at times. ]

You've got a beautiful place here. Definitely the kind of place that would make an office more popular if it was widely preferred in style.

[ But she got it. Even her own office at the BSAA had those sharp lights, buzzing with intent to keep her focused and awake. ]

[cadeuces]

( It's a hand Angela covers with her other for a moment and a half, giving her a gentle little squeeze as her smile only warms further for it and her head tips to the correction. )

Jill then, of course. Then I'm just Angela. Go ahead and find somewhere comfortable and I'll get you that cup— cream, sugar?

( It's a start to the meeting, at least, even as she furtively gives her a once-over for any signs of injury. Perhaps a headache...? There's a bit of tenderness about the eyes to the lighting, even softened as it is. And she won't immediately accost her with questions to pick their conversation back up— first she wants her at ease. Her main observation: she's lovely, and she looks like she can more than hold her own, as her story had already suggested.

The espresso maker's a bit loud even as it waters it down further to something closer to a regular coffee's strength, and all the cups are a bit mismatched but clearly within the same "line". Organic, hand-dipped in glaze, flecked in gold. It's hard to find non-lunar items around here, sometimes, but these were the closest she could get. They're almost spherical in the hand and comfortable, though. That's what mattered. )

You're kind to say so, thank you. I try to keep it friendlier and a bit cozy. I have a fair handful of skittish patients, not that I can blame them after our induction to this place— they're quite invasive in their questions! But they're excited; I can't fault them too badly. Have you been settling in here well enough?

we can handwave, lot of events and new month tags! (not that i'll turn down one of your tags!)

[torsion]

[ Her bedside manner leaves nothing to be desired. It's soothing without effort or force. Some people were just born for it, though they were few and far between. It's not quite the balm that would heal Jill, but nothing outside of her partner was capable of truly closing her wounds. A thought that passes in embarrassment. Redness tinges for a number of reasons varying from the uncommonness of being touched to her own internal struggles. ]

I guess we're already blurring the lines of doctor and patient, then. [ A mild joke to ease up the tension -- even if it's all on Jill's side. ] Black is fine by me.

[ Jill is limited to exhaustion, which is better than one might expect from being hit with the brunt of a rocket launcher blast. Another few feet and she might not be here at all. It's a small comfort among all the chaos and string of worries that file in a row without limit in her head. Infinite, repeating, often ending with her partner. The world... it was important. Of course it was, but she had always forsaken her duties for him. This time was no different.

The guilt weighs down on her. Sickens, almost. What place does she have in protecting others if she's going to play favorites?

Regardless, she vaguely watches Angela without scrutiny. Her gaze is blurred over in thought of other things in between, her mind incapable of silencing the worry and frustration she feels. Still, it's difficult to not let her eyes catch the mug. Perhaps a unique individual piece, beautiful even to someone less inclined to art like herself. It fits the doctor, she thinks. ]

Doctors unnerve some people regardless. [ But she's polite and lightly humorous, almost a teasing laugh to her voice. ] I'm as comfortable as I can be, though. I'm used to a lot of travel, rarely settling in.

[ She wants to pry a little or at least discuss more but she understands this is a business visit. There are certain protocols. ]

Unnerving in some ways -- no magic or anything where I come from -- but anything beats being dead. I can't complain.

in case u haven't noticed I'm Stubborn

[cadeuces]

( Even if it may be the case that Angela's care won't completely heal the other woman, all she can do is try. Some degree is better than none, in any case, even if it's just packing a wound to stop hemorrhaging before someone else can sew it up proper. More importantly is that she doesn't mean to make her blush with something as simple as a sandwiched hand to hold, letting her touch ease back. )

Just a little bit. I don't like being referred to by a title outside of scenarios where the distinction is immediately necessary. I know I'm a surgeon and you know I'm a doctor; that's enough, wouldn't you say?

( Her amusement's still curling her lips as she nods to the coffee preference and goes to get her a mug, returning with it to set on the coaster before her and taking a seat opposite, where they can still look one another in the eye. She's within arm's reach even so. )

I'll still try to mitigate the discomfort however I can. It is at least easier to accept a similarly-harangued person to turn to than it would be to go to the scientists here, I suppose. You may have to get used to settling in here at least for a minute. I've been here for almost six months, already. Few enough people seem to have been able to return home without any warning. Even the scientists here can't say what happened; they just know that the devices cut off and the knights can't find those who have disappeared and noted activity spiking with the energy of the moons. We can only assume they're sent "home".

( Prying is fine in reverse! It's Angela who will be trying to match pace. )

Nearly anything is better than being dead, though, you're right. So what is it that I can help you with, Jill?