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RESPITE BARRACKS - MORNING
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Louma splits away from the scouting party after quiet thanks are exchanged. The trip back had taken another two and a half days, with their slower pace caused by careful movement and collective injuries. Thankfully they'd found plenty of antiseptic herbs along the way, though only enough in the way of water to scrub bandages after filling canteens. The scouts were sent off to the clinic, despite a little push-back that she quelled with a short order, and her word that she'd visit the clinic as soon as information was passed along. Their time not moving was spent talking, and a general idea of where relevant objectives lie had formed among the scouts and Louma. She slithers now, wincing as certain movements tweak certain injuries. Still naked, caked in dust, mud, and dark dry blood, she makes a vague swipe to preen her feathers as she bypasses a slackjawed receptionist toward her own office, the first place Baldwin told her to head. She hesitates ever so slightly before knocking on her own door, receiving a rather unwelcome flashback to the last time she'd had to do so, some four years ago. Taloned knuckles rap on the door a few times, leaving her waiting for a response.
Nesseth sits behind Louma's desk as he has been for the past two or so weeks, now, ever since she'd gotten kidnapped. He looks up from some rather mundane reports and calls out. "Come on in, the door's unlocked."
Louma turns the knob. She managed to keep her composure-ish before now, but the general relief against her injuries is leading her to bounce between giddy and not. Hopefully she can be forgiven for it, as when she pushes the door open she can't help but mention; "I hope so, I think I've forgotten my keys." She enters the office, snapping the door shut immediately behind her as she settles just inside the room.
Nesseth 's tired eyes immediately lock onto Louma's face as she enters, leaving him pretty well speechless as he stares. His expression is blank, almost disbelieving as he slowly rises up from his seat.
Louma pauses at the expression, turning her head slightly. She takes a deep breath, nodding. "Hey, don't look at me like I'm a ghost, Nesseth. Doesn't really help me believe I'm here."
Nesseth tilts his head slowly, his eyes wandering over Louma's haggard form, confusion etched clearly upon his face. "So... you're saying this isn't a dream, then, and I'm not still sleeping back at home?"
Louma slumps a little, shaking her head. "Gods I hope not. There are some things to discuss that would be useless once you wake up. I don't have the energy for that, and have one other very important errand to deal with today."
Nesseth stares at Louma for a few more seconds, then shifts his attention to his tail, which he grabs hold of and sticks the tip into an open drawer. He gently nudges the drawer shut, then winces a bit when his tail gets pinched. "Agh... right, so... I'm awake, then, good..." He sighs and shakes his head as he removes his tail and lets go of it, "Starting to have trouble telling the difference between awake and not, as of late..."
Louma watches Nesseth with mild surprise, shaking her head slightly. She shifts gears out of giddy again, knowing at least the beginning of the kind of stress he's been under in her stead. She slithers around the desk, putting a hand on his shoulder with a sad smile, then loses even that bit of composure as she tears up and leans against him in a hug. "I'm... I-I'm so sorry..."
Nesseth has roughly the same idea as Louma, and is already moving around the desk to hug her as she's moving towards him to hug him. He wraps her in a warm, though gentle hug, knowing she's been through the wringer. "N-no... no, don't apologize for anything, Louma. I'm just... you're back, and you're safe, and that's all that matters. Gods, we've been so worried about you and the others..."
Louma sighs into the hug, shaking her head. "I... Was not with the others. I was taken to th-their village... They were sent t-to some mines... I shouldn't have gone off on my own, had no idea they'd ambush like that... Baldwin's group saved me after I fled... Got myself sent off to escape... Some of them helped me escape... Not all are bad... The mines are somewhere along the mountains, we think..." she rambles quickly, finally pausing for a breath.
Nesseth just hugs Louma close as she rambles, letting her get everything out that she needs or wants to. Once it seems like she's pausing for a short bit, he replies. "That first caravan attack... the raiders were crafty ones. I don't think any of us anticipated an ambush like that, but I should have asked you to stay with the group." He tilts his head, leaning back just a bit to give Louma a curious look, "...Wait, some of your kidnappers helped you escape? And Baldwin's group found you?"
Louma nods, releasing the hug to wipe at her eyes. "Y-yes. The scouts are at the clinic. The village is like... Most. Their leader is violent, but many of their people just want to live th-their lives." She sighs, looking very tired after getting to vent even a little. "They... Will not stop until they can not fight any more, Nesseth. I... Promised the ones who helped me I would try to find a p-peaceful solution but..."
Nesseth takes a step back to give Louma a little space as she releases the hug, though his hand remains gently resting on her shoulder for support. "But after what the raiders did to the caravans and the outlying farms... yeah, I get it. Well... Xochi's volunteered to try and assist towards something peaceful, but we're still preparing for the worst, just in case."
Louma grimaces, lowering her gaze for a moment as her injuries throb painfully. She turns her eyes back up to him, her voice hardening to match her expression. "Of course, kill any that can't be subdued. We will defend our home and our people. Their fighters are vicious and merciless without an order to capture, they will get what they want to give."
Nesseth looks down at Louma's field-treated injuries, noting a couple of severe wounds from arrows on her tail. He furrows his brow a little and looks back up. "Louma... we should get you to the clinic before those get worse." He shakes his head a little, "Don't worry about the plans for our response. We're going to try a bit of diplomacy with Xochi, but also making it very obvious that we're ready to overrun them if they try anything."
Louma nods, turning toward the door. "The scouts needed to be tended to, as well. No sense in delaying the news reaching you while some are going to have to wait, anyways. I don't plan on returning to the job for a couple days, sorry to leave you in my place a little longer. Besides, you already have everything started, this is your operation."
Nesseth shakes his head a bit. "Don't worry, I'll be fine for a while more tending to things in the office. Besides, I'm only part of the larger operation." He gives Louma a slight smirk, a shadow of his usual cheeky teasing grin, "You'll, uh... have to forgive me if I rearranged a few things in your desk, by the way."
Louma pauses at the door, hand on the handle. Looking over her shoulder, she gives her head a slow shake. "That is the worst injury, Nesseth. You betray me so?" She cracks, giggling quietly before she goes silent for a few seconds. "I'll make sure Plume knows you'll be by this time, I promise not to mess it up again."
Nesseth laughs a bit, Louma's return already bringing back a bit of that pep he usually has, even if it's only a small bit of it. "You know what, the reports can wait, since the main ones are from you and Baldwin, anyway. I'm going to accompany you to the clinic, so I can make up a little for not being there to watch your back when it mattered the most."
Louma opens the door, smiling warmly at Nesseth. "It... It's good to be home... One request. I really, honestly can not wait, and I'd rather it doesn't happen by rumor. Get someone to bring May to the clinic, hm?"
Nesseth nods. "Sure, I'll send someone out to the generator on the way out of the barracks." He smiles, "It's good to have you back, Louma. Seriously."
Louma looks releived, nodding as well. "Thank you. I'll meet you out front." She leaves the office, her slither having a definite 'limp' to it, and each time she leaves a room intent on heading outside, she seems to hesitate ever so slightly. Enough that Nesseth would catch up to her before she's even left the building, heading for the clinic together where she and Baldwin can dump information on him properly.
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RESPITE GENERATOR - LATE MORNING
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Maybelline is simply waiting to get things finished to do the final install on the weather shield at the top of the generator building, a bit of a challenge for someone her size, as moving any of the equipment can be a challenge. To that end, she's waiting on Brunilda's help, meaning for the day, she has no truly pressing matters to attend to, other then working with Jennica on some tinkering 'for fun'. Or more for distraction, but same thing sometimes.
Jennica is fiddling with another small piece of scrap metal, her hands slightly glowing and her expression focused. Crafting has always been her 'escape', but lately she's needed it more than a bit. It keeps her mind on a problem she can solve, instead of a bigger issue she can not do anything concrete about. Keep calm, keep working, keep from thinking about Emmeline just for another moment. Her current creation is just a small local lighting-altering design, making any ambient light feel brighter than it is.
Maybelline has set-up a table of spare parts, bringing over another small batch to where Jennica is working. "Here's that conduit I was talking about. It's an older model, but it should work for what you're trying to do. Between Bracvar and Vix, I've got a pretty good supply of stuff like that, but most of it is too small for the generator."
Jennica looks over the parts, nodding slowly as her mind makes the connections: "Y-yeah, I can see those working..." She picks up one of the pieces: "...this could probably channel that mood-altering device I was talking about earlier. It's sort of the right shape, at least..."
Maybelline grins, "Well help yourself! I've just been working on pretty basic stuff with it myself. I've a few home-improvement ideas that I'm finally bringing myself to do. Just little life improvements, but I can make it work with any parts, mostly."
Jennica glances at Maybelline and smiles: "I don't really... know what to do at home like that. But... maybe I will learn." Her smile falters just a bit, but she's gotten better at keeping her composure and not completely falling into a crying mess every time she thinks of Emmeline.
Maybelline smiles, "Well, you could do more than I can. I'm doing whatever I can without the help of magic, so mostly it's just minor heating and mechanical stuff. I'm thinking of a heated blanket, maybe? A friend of mine has an apartment over the hardware store that's just filled with cool little gadgets... it gets me inspired everytime I think about it."
Jennica nods, thinking on this: "Maybe... it would be something to do more, at least." She lifts the trinket she's currently working on: "It's... it's no use me just sulking over this. Help the rescue however I can, and... and hope. Right?"
Maybelline takes a deep breath and nods. "Y-yeah. That's basically all we can do. That and... I don't know... it's silly but, something Doctor Plume told me kinda resonated, so I've been thinking a lot about-" Her ears perk up as there's a knock at the service door. She shrugs, "Sorry, Jennica. I am still technically on duty, after all."
Jennica gives May a small smile and nods: "Sorry, yeah. Don't let me stop you from that." She shuffles aside, turning her focus to another slightly unfinished trinket.
Vandal: stands at the door as Maybelline answers. "Ms Maybelline? Are you busy?"
Maybelline blinks, glancing back at Jennica, "Oh uh, hey Vandal. No, not busy if there's something I need to take care of? What's the problem?"
Vandal: can't help but grin, knowing full well the reaction his message is going to garner. "Lieutentent Nesseth has requested you meet him at Plume's clinic." He leans down a bit, "Captain Louma has returned, and she wanted to see you as quickly as possible."
Jennica perks up at this, looking at Maybelline: "...uh? Oh uh..." Her heart skips a few beats at her hope, barely daring to say the words out loud: "D-did anyone else r-return?"
Vandal: turns towards Jennica, having not really expected this. "Err... a good portion of the scouting force we sent, but I haven't heard the reports yet. All I know is they brought Louma back with them."
Maybelline blinks, in confusion at first, but then with a growing excitement, "Oh. OH!" She practially spins in place back to Jennica, not really having heard what the Cow was asking, "I... J-Jennica! I have to go... I... I can trust you in here, right? T-to um, lock up and everything? Please?"
Jennica swallows, her heart and mind going through several emotions in an instant. After a moment of puzzled silence, she belatedly nods at Maybelline. "Y-yeah. I-I'll... yeah." Her mood starts going down like a marble in a vat of honey.
Maybelline is out the door before Jennica can finish, practically sprinting towards Plume's clinic.
Vandal: is left standing at the door in a somewhat akward position. He glances at Jennica and clears his throat, "Err um... anything I can do to help, Ms?"
Jennica looks at Maybelline go, stunned. She swallows, then turns to Vandal: "N-no... i-if it was just Louma who c-came back..." She sniffles and waves her hand: "I-I'm s-sure you have other d-duties..." She's not exactly being believable, but offering an 'out' regardless.
Vandal: scratches his head, definitely uncertain. "I could... at least help you clean up... or...? Uh, sorry. If you'd rather I just leave ya alone... I didn't... didn't realize."
Jennica swallows again and looks aside: "J-just... just go." It's pretty obvious the cow is in no mood to talk, and her words waver as is.
Vandal: stands at the door just a moment longer before giving Jennica a sympathetic bow, then closes the door. He leans against the wall outside the generator and sighs, having signed up to bring some good news today, he finds the actual result a mixed bag.
Jennica leans against the wall, sighing. She slowly feels her resolve crumble, falling down to sitting. "It... i-it c-can't be..." She starts losing it, crying helplessly with her head against her knees as her hope feels crushed for the moment.
Jennica gets up after who knows how long, standing on shaky legs. Grief gives way to anger in the bovine's mind. "They c-can't... they... can't!" She gathers all her anger into a single movement, hitting the wall next to her hard enough to briefly shake the wall, screaming with all her voice. A moment passes. Dumbly, she stares at the sizable fistmark she just made, not certain what is even true and what is not anymore.
Jennica eventually makes her way back to her crafting, though the tone and intent of her trinket subtly changes as she does. What was once a good-mood altering trinket turns into something far more sinister as she crafts her anger and fear into her creations.
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RESPITE CLINIC - LATE MORNING
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Doc Plume ties off the last sutures on the arrow wounds in Louma's tail, the area looking red and angry because of the need to pare back the scales around them to better close the wounds. Once iodine paste has been applied over the stitches and a gauze bandage fixed in place over them, Plume looks up and smiles at Louma, adjusting the reflector on their forehead so as not to blind the captain. "There you go..."
Louma started out the appointment well enough, but now she breathes a sigh of relief and lets the cloth she'd been chewing on drop onto the table. "No amount of painkillers... I wish I could have come to visit you in better condition, Plume. Thank you."
Doc Plume washes off their hands in the sink and sets the reflector aside, finally done with all the folks from the scouting mission. "Yes, well, you're here. That's what's important. And you're in one piece. You should be back on you... tail?... in no time." They walk back over and smile at Louma. "I missed you, Louma, speaking as your friend." They give the coatl a gentle hug.
Louma is surprised by the show of physical affection from Plume, but doesn't hesitate to hug them back in kind. "Thank you. I missed everyone, so much... I hate to say, I had it easy... Compared to those in the mines. I hope we can get everyone back."
Doc Plume doesn't hold the hug long, feeling a bit akward about doing this while on duty. "Yes. We will. We'll even make sure all the dead get proper burials so their families have a place to visit to remember them." They cock their head a bit. "Hmm. A memorial might be in order. When this is all over, remind me to talk to the administrator about that."
Louma smiles as she nods to Plume. "A fine idea, yes. I wish we didn't need it, but well..." She sighs, carefully removing herself from the examination table with a little hiss. "That's to be arranged when we've resolved everything, anyways. One thing is for sure, we will not let anybody be forgotten."
Narrator: The sound of the front door can be heard rapidly opening and closing, and a familiar voice rings out from the front of the clinic, a loud, albiet slightly out of breath stoat, "L-Louma? Nesseth? Plume?"
Doc Plume smiles at the sound of May's voice. "Nesseth had to go back to work, May. But Louma's right here." They rest a hand on Louma's shoulder. "By the way, I'm keeping you for observation until the evening at least, just to make sure nothing comes up."
Louma snaps to the door, moving away from the table toward the voice. She pauses at Plume's touch, looking to them briefly. "Ah wh-ah y-yeah... I... Alright." She looks back to the door, calling out. "In here sweets! In... In here!" She lowers herself in preparation for the stoat's entrance.
Doc Plume laughs and moves back to their desk to give Louma and May some space. "Just keep the volume down a bit. Baldwin is resting in the ward."
Maybelline pushes through the door rather quickly, she's mostly fine, albiet definitely looking stressed and out of breath from the frantic run to the clinic. A faint brown tinge has begun to creep into her fur as her winter coat makes way for her summer coat. The moment her eyes lock onto Louma, the dam of emotion breaks and she rushes forward to grab Louma tight around the waist as she bursts into tears, not finding any words in the emotion of the moment.
Louma wraps her arms around May, their cheeks pressed against eachother as she returns the hug with just as much desperation. She's done pretending anything at this point, shuddering as she sobs happily. "I-I'm sorry I didn't come s-straight to you, Maybelline... I'm sorry I-I left you alone!"
Maybelline nuzzles against Louma, laughing between her own sobs, "N-no! D-don't be sorry... I'm just gl-glad you're back. I m-missed you so much, love."
Louma picks May up and curls her tail under her as best she can, setting the stoat to sit on the coil. "I missed you too, my love. It was such a stupid mistake... one I wont make again." She wipes a tear from May's cheek before kissing her.
Maybelline blushes, having missed Louma's strength and the feel of her scales and coils against her body. Once she's set down, her hands reach down to keep hold of Louma, and she leans into the kiss, feeling relief wash over her. "I love you, Louma." She breaks into a giggle, "I missed saying that too. I missed you. And Plume will have to drag me away if they want to get me away from your side tonight."
Doc Plume calls over from their desk. "You can stay, May. I figured you would."
Louma giggles, blushing as well after the kiss. She nods, hugging May again. "I love you too, and if you're fine sleeping in the clinic tonight, I would want nothing more than you at my side." She smiles at Plume. "Thank you, doctor~"
Maybelline squeezes Louma in response, "Plume doesn't want me causing any trouble. I... I could sleep anywhere, so long as I'm with you, love. So, no more apologizing. I already told you, you're not alone, even when we were seperated, you had to know my thoughts were all upon you." She shifts back, still teary eyed but giving Louma a more careful once over. "H-how hurt are you? Are you alright? I... probably should've checked before I just ran up and hugged you."
Louma laughs despite her tears, pecking May on the forehead. "Only severely my love, not enough to keep me away from you~" She sighs, shaking her head slightly. "Nothing serious, but a lot of that. Might have some scars for a few sheddings, I hope you don't mind."
Maybelline shakes her head. "I don't care, just so long as you're okay." Her eyes go up towards Louma's bill as she pecks, and she blushes once again. "My winter coat is going away, so you'll have to deal with a brown stoat soon enough."
Louma giggles, nodding. "White or brown, as long as you'll have me it doesn't matter. If anything, it'll be easier to find you among my feathers~"
Maybelline giggles as well, "Well... I feel the same about the scars. You're beautiful no matter what. And I'm honored to have you and be had." She blushes, leaning in to whisper, "I don't mean um... well... not Here. Not until you're better." She sighs, so much worry and pressure off her shoulders now that Louma is here. Is home. "I'm just glad you're safe."
Louma blushes brighter, giving May a saucy wink before devolving into a giggling fit. "Either way, we should probably move to the other patient room instead of hogging the examination room, sweets~"
Maybelline nods, lifting a hand up to take Louma's and hold it tight. "R-right. Sorry. I just... wherever Plume wants us."
Doc Plume is already on their way over to the ward. "Just in the back corner there." They grin at the pair. "And again, don't bother Baldwin too much. His shoulder needs lots of rest."
Louma holds May's hand as she slithers with the stoat on her tail to the other private room, where the two manage to catch up on a month of cooing and hugging. They also discuss everything that's happened around both of them while Louma was away, at least in bullet points.