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PLUME'S CLINIC - AFTERNOON
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Fiora knocks once before pushing open the door into the Doctor's office. She's holding an arm across her chest, as she's now wearing her more usual jogging attire, albiet rather sweaty. There's no sign of her armor or axe, as she made the wise, or at least prudent, decision to dismiss those before making the walk here. "Hello?"
Doc Plume is in the middle of an appointment with a patient, tending to a 30-something boar who most folks would recognize from the work he does helping caravans load and unload their bulk goods. The doctor is prodding at the pig's shoulder, which appears to be quite tender at the moment. They turn back at the sound of the door and give Fiora a once over. "Be with you in a minute, unless you have serious bleeding somewhere that I can't see." They turn back to their patient and continue with the examination for the moment.
Fiora chuckles, coughing slightly. She covers her mouth and glances at the back of her hand. "Not coughing up blood so... good sign. I can wait." She staggers to one of the nearby seats and flumps into it, cringing a little at the pain, but she doesn't appear to be unduly suffering.
Doc Plume sees to their current patient, finishing the examination and prescribing some rest and a topical salve to the worker. "Nothing but time is going to make that shoulder feel better, trust me. If it was something I could fix surgically, you'd feel much much worse..." The boar departs with a bit more quiet muttering, but has a look on his face that says that he's not going to disobey the doctor.
Doc Plume turns to Fiora and looks the giraffe over. "Fiora, right? Erika's cousin? What's troubling you?" They nod toward the examination table, which has just been wiped down with a towel and some alcohol.
Fiora nods, uncovering her chest, a rather raw looking bruise already making itself known on her breast and stomach, about the size of a good elephant-sized fist, "Right, Erika's... sister, actually. Half-sister... long story. Uh, point is, moderate chest pain, heavy bruising. Took a big hit right here... probably bruised a rib? I want to make sure nothing broke."
Doc Plume cocks their head at the revelation, but files that note away for later as it's not relevant to the current matter. "Interesting. What happened?" They very carefully poke at the area, nothing the large size of the bruise and the apparent force with which it was inflicted.
Fiora cringes, but not exactly because of the pain. "Weeell uh, had a... disagreement with someone? Words said... fists... oof... thrown." She sighs, shoulders slumping slightly. "I just stood there and took it..."
Doc Plume nods a bit. "I see. Does it hurt to breathe? Can you take a couple of deep slow breaths in and out for me?" They turn their head and press an ear tuft up against Fiora's chest to listen as she does so.
Fiora nods, "Just a bit, but not like, a bunch." She lets out a breath, then proceeds to take a few deep breaths for the Doc, having a bit of trouble breathing in, but nothing stopping her. The pain is clear on her face though.
Doc Plume hears the rasp and feels a bit of the quivering of a less stable diaphragm. They pull back and prod gently to either side of the center of the bruise, tracing out one of Fiora's ribs. "Sounds like a crack. Be glad it's not a full break."
Fiora sighs, "Heh. Probably deserved a full break, but whatever. I'll take it. Wouldn't be the first time."
Doc Plume steps back and looks Fiora over. "I would say to be glad you were wearing armor when it happened." They carefully begin inspect edges of the bruise, checking for signs of persistent internal bleeding or the like. "If you've had this before, then you know there's not much I can do for you right now but tell you to rest and let it heal up."
Fiora nods, "Yeah... not my strong suit... but not much else to do. And that is what the armor's for other wise Brun's hit would have definitely broken something, so it did its job."
Doc Plume nods, then blinks. "Brunilda did this?" They frown just a bit. "Do I need to know about what happened between you two? Is she hurt too?"
Fiora frowns, "Not when she left she wasn't. Hopefully no one else got hurt." She glances away from Plume, looking rather guilty. "Stupid... the whole thing, that's all it was."
Doc Plume nods a bit. "Right... I won't pry, then. Do you want anything for the pain or can you manage?"
Fiora shakes her head. "Nope. Pain's fine. Reminds me not to push myself. Deserve it anyways." She pauses a moment, then turns back to nod at Plume, "Thanks, Doc."
Doc Plume nods back to Fiora. "Come back if it feels any worse. If it's just normal pain, Erika can get you some willow bark or herbs." They walk back to their desk and start writing up a new patient file for Fiora.
Fiora nods, carefully standing back up. She watches Plume for a moment, looking torn between wanting to say more, and leave. She closes her eyes. "You... got anything to prescribe to cure chronic stupidity? Cause I definitely need that right now."
Doc Plume looks up from their desk. "Other than recommending against alcohol? Not much, I'm afraid. We're all still slaves to our impulses at times, I'm afraid." They give a warm smile to Fiora, some of their professional shield dropped for a moment. "But I've found that most stupidity is reversible if acted on quickly enough."
Fiora chuckles, cringing slightly at the pain of laughing. "I worry maybe it's built up over a very long time now. Ugh. Appreciate the thought, though."
Doc Plume smiles. "If you need someone to talk to, I'm happy to listen as long as you haven't hurt anyone or put anyone in danger."
Fiora looks away again, expression dropping. "...definitely done at least one of those..."
Doc Plume frowns a bit. "Just now? Is it something the guard need to know about?"
Fiora shakes her head. "No... I just... I've hurt a lot of folks over the years. And it's always been the right thing to do. They deserved it. Scum bags, criminals, monsters, folks who put others at harm. And I was making a difference, right?" She sighs, tapping her chest lightly. "Brun disagreed. ...What if I've been wrong this whole time? That's... ugh. Complicated. Why is it all so damn complicated!"
Doc Plume looks down at the desk and taps their quill pen against the inkpot as they think. "Those all sounds like things that Brun would care about and approve of. What happened?"
Fiora lowers her head, staring down at the floor. "We got a bounty for a local thief. Stole some experimental tech out of Sarn, or something. Big bounty to recover them. I brought in Brun, you know? She's cool, strong, fun to hang out with and spar with. She's kinda lost too, like I used to be. A guard who doesn't want to be a guard. I just thought... she'd make a good companion on a job."
Fiora: "But she knew the mark. Made it personal. They tried to run. Brun tried to stop us. Gareth caught the kobold, and Brun tried to fight him, but I stepped in... I couldn't betray Gareth... couldn't let Brun get hurt either. Fucking mess... I figured, let her take out her anger on me. Let Gareth get away... but she wouldn't fight me much beyond the first few hits, and then ran off to pursue Gareth... I came here."
Doc Plume listens and nods, then frowns again. "Kobold... Strix? Strix isn't a thief. He's an odd one, but his work is done honestly from what I know. At worst, he's a bit cranky and paranoid..."
Fiora sighs, "Yeah... Strix? I think that was him. Well, if he can prove he's not the target, Gareth should find out. If he complies, anyways. Whole thing was a mess. Cherry on top of the damn sundae if he's not even the guilty one. Just like Brun said."
Doc Plume just nods. "All right. Well, it does sound like a mess... Not sure what I can suggest beyond trying to work things out sensibly. You can't un-stupid, but you maybe can reduce the consequences of it."
Fiora lifts her gaze from the floor back to Plume, "Yeah... I guess. A lot depends on Gareth and Brun now. I didn't want to see either of them get hurt."
Doc Plume clacks their beak quietly, lost for what to say for a long while. "Well... you know where to bring them if they are..."
Fiora nods. "I'll make sure of it. I... thank you. You're being a hell of a lot more patient then I deserve."
Doc Plume looks up at Fiora. "You're hurting, and I don't have the training to take that pain away effectively, so I'm just doing what I can. I care about everyone in this town. It's my job. My duty... and it gives me purpose, you know?"
Fiora gives Plume a sad smile, "Y-yeah, I respect that. I'm just an idiot who likes to fight... I dunno. It's a bit of a relief just to say it all out loud though, so thanks for listening."
Doc Plume laughs a bit. "If you were an idiot, we wouldn't be having this talk. It sounds to me like you need to talk to the other two more right now, though. Good luck, Fiora."
Fiora nods. "Probably gonna have to. I'm already puttin' in too much work to try and make Respite some kind of home to just cut and run. I uh... thanks. For everything too, I mean. The whole duty and all... I know how hard you worked for Erika too."
Doc Plume just nods to Fiora. "Of course. You're welcome. Seeing her healthy and happy is all the thanks I need for that."
Fiora sighs, "Well, rest for the first and... I'll figure out the second." She gives Doc a wave as she turns to head back out of the office. "Take it easy, Doc."
Doc Plume waves in return and then sits quietly making notes on the visits after the troubled bounty hunter leaves.