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TOWN CLINIC - MORNING
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Doc Plume watches as May goes through her daily hand and arm exercises, taking a few notes and making a few adjustments to the tasks as they go. "Good, good. You're doing so much better today..." They smile a bit as they take the soft rubber ball back from May. "Are you feeling better as well? I know it's not perfect, but you have twice the range of movement from last week and your grip strength has more than tripled..."
Maybelline lowers her arm back to her side, no more signs of shaking anymore when she moves it. She seems in good spirits as well, less mopey then she's been on some days. "Oh yeah, feels a lot better. I mean, the digits are still hard to move, and that might make work hard. For now, I'm just happy that it doesn't hurt lifting my arm anymore."
Doc Plume nods. "Good. Well, I think all signs point to you being ready to go home today." They close May's file and bring over the crutches. "If you're feeling up to it, of course."
Maybelline nods eagerly, "I'm feeling more than up to it. I mean, no offense. But ugh, I just... I've got so much work to do."
Doc Plume nods. "I understand, but you're still recuperating. Can I trust you to not push yourself too much? I don't want to see you back here in a week having pulled a muscle in your arm or something worse..."
Maybelline scrunches her nose a bit, then sighs. "Yeah. I promise... sorry if I've been a bit too stubborn."
Doc Plume shakes their head. "Trust me, i understand... but you also need to remember that if you can't feel part of your body, it cant tell you if you hurt it more, so you need to be careful." They pause for a moment as a thought comes to mind. "Speaking of home, though... did the explosion damage your living quarters at all? Do you need a room at the Minnow?"
Maybelline sighs, looking down at her leg, which is still rather shakey, trying to lift it up and down, only to (mostly) fail. She shakes her head, "Eh? Nah, the explosion was pretty contained. It's all fwoosh and burn, but no boom. My quarters are fine... assuming whatever Strix did hasn't harmed them."
Doc Plume nods a bit. "All right. Well, we can go check together. I need to make sure you're set up at home anyway. And I'll come over and check on you every few days, just to be sure." They smile a bit. "No need to rush out of here, though. Take all the time you need to gather yourself and just let me know when you're ready."
Maybelline nods, "Will do. Not like I have a bunch of stuff to pack up, but... yeah. I'm pretty good and ready. Uh, you know, and... thanks, Doc. I mean, I literally wouldn't be alive without you. I can't... I can't even fathom that, still. I really, really probably shoulda died. But here I am. And I don't even think I said thanks before now."
Doc Plume shakes their head. "I appreciate the thanks, but I'm really just doing my job. You're just lucky that I had so much experience with ICEE burns..." They smile at May. "And honestly, the most thanks you can give me is by staying somewhere else so I can sleep at night without worrying about you and Brun down here." They laugh a bit, but the laugh betrays a deep wearyness from the last couple of weeks of constant care.
Maybelline frowns slightly, then nods. "Sorry for being so much trouble then." She lifts her hand, steadying it and presenting the palm to Doc, "I swear, on my family name... no more exploding. At uh, at least as best I can manage. You deserve the rest. I'll make sure Nesseth knows too."
Doc Plume smiles. "Thanks May. And no need to promise me. I'm sure once was more than enough for you, though. If you do explode again, I'm dutybound to patch you up but I'd rather not it come to that." They lean in and give May a loose hug. "I'm just glad that you're on your feet again, with all four limbs intact."
Maybelline lowers her arm to hug Doc back. "I... me too. And... I'm still allowed to bother you as... as a friend right? Once you've gotten some sleep?"
Doc Plume nods. "Of course. I definitely prefer friend-May to patient-May." They hug a bit tighter before standing up again.
Maybelline chuckles, "Well, Friend-May is still new to me too, so forgive me if she's kinda awkward and, uh, whatever." She takes hold of her crutches and carefully climbs down off Doc's table, steadying herself rather quickly, then looking up to give Doc a grin.
Doc Plume smiles back. "No apology needed, Friend-May. Learning anything takes time. I'm hardly a paragon of friendship advice anyway, but I have to deal with folks in my day to day, so I'm good at the getting along part at least."
Maybelline tilts her head, "Oh uh, you know, I kinda suck at names. I just call you Doc, and I remember Plume, but like... what do you prefer I call you? That's probably a dumb question..."
Doc Plume laughs. "Oh, uh... just Plume is fine when we're talking as friends. I think I've spent enough time as your doc for a while..."
Maybelline smiles, "Okay. Perfect. Well, no thanks necessary for Doc, they're just doing their job. But... thanks, Plume. For... you know. Uh, yeah."
Doc Plume laughs. "Of course." They take the file and walk back to their desk. "Anyway, I have an appointment in a few minutes, but after that, we can see about getting you home, all right?"
Maybelline awkwardly tries to take her hand off the crutch to give Plume a bit of a salute, but jumbles everything around a bit before she can recover, "Gah. Uh, right. Yeah. I'll go make sure I'm all good to go, and then we can go!" She hobbles a bit, experimentally at first, then with growing confidence with the crutches.
Doc Plume watches May go back to her cot with a smile before taking the file for the next patient from the pile on their desk and flipping through as their focus shifts to the coming visit.
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GUARD BARRACKS - MORNING
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Louma is sitting in her office within the barracks, door closed and quill in hand, though she's not exactly getting anything done. Morning is the only time she likes being in her office, with the morning sun streaming in through the window behind directly onto her coiled tail. She sits in near-nap bliss, mind almost completely empty.
Brunilda knocks and then directly opens the door: "Captain? You asked me to come in when I was able to move again."
Louma starts, leaning back as she shakes the sleepiness from her head. "Buh huh oh ah good morning Brunilda. Please, come in, and close the door behind you." She sets the quill down next to the ruined letter.
Brunilda nods, stepping in and closing the door softly. She then turns back to Louma, curious: "What's this about, then?"
Louma blinks, the hint of smile in her voice from earlier absent now. "Pardon me, guard Brunilda? We're not in the clinic right now, if you'll recall."
Brunilda blinks, then does a quick salute as she winces slightly: "Pardon me, Ma'am."
Louma nods, her expression softening slightly after returning the salute. "I had a look at your file after we first met." She glances at the cabinet to her left, sighing. "Are you still considering a different career?"
Brunilda pauses, not really relaxing much: "I... I don't know. Probably."
Louma nods, leaning back into her coils slightly. "That's going to present an issue, then. You reside in the barracks, correct?"
Brunilda blinks again, not quite getting it: "Yes?"
Louma: "Unfortunately, the barracks are for guards without homes in Respite only." She tilts her head. "The moment you quit, you're evicted. No exceptions."
Brunilda frowns, sighing: "...oh, yeah."
Louma sighs in turn, straightening up. She opens the drawer next to her, having to shift her coils to get at a clean sheet of paper. "It's simply policy, nothing against you." She discards the ruined page and dips her quill, beginning to write a new letter as she speaks. "But hold on for a minute, please."
Brunilda tilts her head, curious now: "Oh?" The elephant is clearly still a bit nervous, not used to taking big life decisions (and their repercussions) to her own hands.
Louma quickly, but neatly draws out a letter of resignation, leaving space for Brunilda to sign it at the bottom. Her quillmanship could betray her past if she hadn't rushed. She blows on the ink, then turns the page to face Brun for her to peruse. "Don't sign this."
Brunilda looks at the paper, reading it. "This... wait, don't sign it? What do you mean?"
Louma smiles at Brun, "The moment I see your signature, you're officially free of the uniform. So don't sign it until you've found a place to live."
Brunilda blinks, then looks at Louma, a small smile coming as the comprehension dawns: "...oh. Thank you, Ma'am."
Louma nods, setting the quill aside. "I do want to help you as much as possible, but that said, there is one problem that I can't really do anything about..."
Brunilda looks at Louma curiously: "What problem? I mean, I'll find... somewhere to live, I'm sure."
Louma shakes her head. "Not about that. We cannot pay you for time you are not working. While you were in the clinic, the guard paid Plume for room, board and care." She tilts her head down, looking directly at Brun. "Unless you take up a quiet post in the interim, you'll be coasting on whatever you have saved up."
Brunilda frowns, hesitating: "But... I... I can't even wear my armor right now. What if something happens in that 'quiet' post?"
Louma nods. "I'm well aware that you're not ready for duty, Brunilda, I wouldn't want to force you to do something that may cause you injury." She leans back against her coils again, hand under her chin as she thinks.
Brunilda looks aside as she thinks: "...there's got to be something..."
Louma glances where Brun is looking. "...How is your reading comprehension?"
Brunilda blinks, then shrugs: "Fair enough I guess. Wouldn't be able to learn magitech otherwise."
Louma laughs heartily, smiling at Brun. "You're right, I should have put that together." She leans against the desktop, tapping her fingers on a stack of reports neatly untouched. "As much as I feel like it, wearing armor isn't required for reading reports..."
Brunilda raises an eyebrow: "...you mean you would need help, in here?"
Louma levels her gaze at Brunilda, sighing. "I had no idea how many hours I'd be cooped up in this office when they offered a promotion. See this?" She straightens up, spreading her wings as far as she can, the tips folded as they meet walls.
Brunilda looks at the wings in slight awe for a second, then nods: "...yes?"
Louma folds them back in, glaring comically at the pile of reports. "This pile of paper stops me from being out on patrol, where I can actually be useful." She looks to Brun, grinning. "But if it disappears quickly, there's little reason for me to remain in here. You'd be doing me a massive favor, and still earning a guard's pay."
Brunilda nods slowly as comprehension finds a location in her head once again: "...I could do that, I think."
Louma settles back a bit, dropping her grin to a smile, realizing that she is already getting too comfortable with Brun. "If you'd like, anyways. Of course, the hours are going to be shorter than a day at the gate."
Brunilda allows herself a small smile: "...that's something I can deal with, I think."
Louma nods, feeling the morning sun slip off her tail. "Excellent, then allow me to explain the thrilling world of guard reports." She spreads the files across her desk, the two spending the rest of the morning ploughing through a dizzying pile of poor grammar and boring non-events.