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THE PLAINS BEYOND RESPITE - AFTERNOON
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Xochi moves along with the somewhat rag-tag group of volunteers and guards. They left at first light that morning, traveling westward to retrace the path that Baldwin and his scouts and found, pointing them towards this 'Abyss' that Dorri had at last located. She wears a simple brown cloth over her torso, and no armor, but she is wearing a belt filled with various survival tools, rations, and a canteen of water, just in case. She's no combatant, but she's doing her best not to hold up any of the others. Her length making it easier for her to follow behind the others anyways, as she is one of the last folks in the marching formation.
Nesseth marches along with some of the volunteers and guards near the back of the formation, the rangers in general being scattered across a decent swath of land as they function as scouts and fast reaction fighters if need be. He's got his crossbow in hand, drawn and loaded, just in case, as he scans slowly left and right, as well as up towards the sky, thanks to Baldwin's warning of aerial attackers.
Xochi shifts her course carefully, slithering closer towards Nesseth as they continue along, dipping her head slightly, aware that although she is not part of the guard, on this mission she is to follow the command structure as best she can. "Lieutenant Nesseth." She hums, "You think they shall strike first, yes?"
Nesseth looks over and spots Xochi approaching, nodding as she draws up beside him. He tries to give her a bit of a smile, but it doesn't quite come out right, just highlighting the tensions of this trek. "Yeah... we're too many people marching across land with too little cover. If the watchtowers have scopes, we'll be spotted well before we reach this "Abyss" of theirs. If not, they'll still see us hours before our arrival at the gates. Either way, they'll probably attack first to try and drive us off."
Kira is part of the expedition, officially as one of the scouts but in her heart she's there to protect her friend and housemate Xochi. She flutters down to where Xochi and Nesseth are talking from her high scouting position, being only one of a few flyers in the group. "Lieutenant, we're approaching an area with more trees and outcroppings. We should take extra caution as we move until we pass them."
Xochi sighs, "Unavoidable, I suppose. Too much to hope that we shall avoid all bloodshed..." She smiles at Kira.
Nesseth nods at Kira as she approaches with her report. "Understood, Kira, thank you." He takes a moment to call out an order to the rangers nearby, telling them to keep eyes sharp as the group approaches the area in question. After that, and as the order disseminates through the rest of the guards, he looks back over at Xochi, "After what happened to Baldwin and his team, they definitely won't let anyone get near without a fight."
Kira takes a moment to land on Xochi's shoulder and take a drink from her tiny canteen. "Yes, but with caution we can be prepared for the attack rather than being ambushed."
Xochi sighs. "I shall do my best not to be a concern if... when this attack occurs. I know you will all be ready, and I will do what I can to avoid being in the way."
Nesseth hums quietly. "We'll be doing what we can to make sure you and everyone else stays safe if they try to attack early. You're our best chance for a peaceful resolution to this, so even if you were a fighter, I'd still prefer you staying somewhere in cover. I don't want you getting hurt... or worse."
Xochi nods. "...Captain Louma said something to me... about her captivity. It was water that has blossomed another thought growing in my mind. She believed she was taken to the city, and not the mines, because of her species... a feathered reptile. If... another feathered reptile were to be the one to approach them, perhaps it would increase our chances of peace?"
Nesseth tilts his head curiously at Xochi. "She'd mentioned she was taken to their city instead of the Abyss in her report, yeah... I don't remember if she mentioned the reasoning for that difference in treatment, though, so..." He pauses again, then raises an eyebrow as he catches on, "You're thinking about dropping the illusion for this? If you think it'll give you a better chance, then I'll follow your judgment. But... just remember that it'll make you a bigger target, too, if they don't care."
Kira whispers into Xochi's ear. "I'll protect you. Don't worry, friend." She takes off to resume her high scout position before the coatl can respond.
Xochi nods to Kira before she heads back off on her duty, then to Nesseth. "Captain Louma said much the same to me. I trust you and Kira both with that secret... Louma as well, and Plume. Many know. I am uncertain how many care anymore. If revealing my secret can buy peace... it is a small price to pay."
Nesseth gives Kira a little salute as the moth takes off back to continue her aerial patrol before turning his attention back to Xochi. "Well... I think I mentioned it to you before, when you first arrived, but people come to Respite for many reasons, usually to get away from elsewhere in the world and start anew. I don't think anyone will bat an eye at it, but..." He sighs a little, "Are you sure? There's always a chance that word could get back to Orela."
Xochi takes a deep breath, "I believe I am. I think the ages have passed over my time. At the worst, if those in Orela come, than they will find that I died here in Respite without regret, as myself. And I will be happy if my time here brings some small bit of good."
Nesseth gazes at Xochi for a few seconds as they continue to march with the larger company, then sighs and nods. "Then... just let me know when you're going to do it. I'll try to be nearby, just to make sure you're safe."
Xochi bows her head, slithering alongside Nesseth. "I shall. Once we near this... Abyss, I think. If we are given a chance to speak to their leaders... then, I shall meet them unveiled."
Nesseth hums quietly. "Hopefully we're given that chance, at least. Most likely, we'll end up dealing with some kind of forward scouting party, first, though. It shouldn't be too bad, unless they bring in a lot of those raptor mounts."
Xochi nods, "Then we shall hope they do not. I know little of battle, Nesseth... but if there is anything I can do to help, please just let me know."
Nesseth thinks for a few seconds. "Well... even in combat, it pays to have awareness of what's happening elsewhere. If fighting breaks out and you're not in danger, maybe try to coordinate with Kira to help advise movements of the fighters? Faster response times makes it more likely to win."
Xochi thinks for a moment and sighs, "A shame my illusion magic were not better. But I shall do my best, and keep my eyes open."
Nesseth shakes his head a bit and gives Xochi a smile. "We do the best we can with what we have, right?"
Xochi nods, returning the smile. "Yes, with what we have. Thank you, Nesseth."
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PLUME'S CLINIC - LATE AFTERNOON
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Maybelline walks down the street after locking down the Generator for the day, making her way through the market to pick up a few extra bits, before she makes her way to Plume's to pick up some more of the prescribed tea for Louma. It's towards the end of Plume's office hours as she steps into the waiting room to look for the Doc.
Doc Plume is just doing their usual end-of-day routine, tidying the compounding ingredients cabinet and their various tools. At the sound of the door, they turn and smile at May. "Ah, hello May. What brings you by?"
Maybelline smiles back, "Louma's feeling much better, seems the pain is down quite a bit, though she still gets a little bit of soreness after she's out moving. Was hoping to get some more of the tea you gave her... but maybe like, a smaller doseage of the painkiller? Whatever you recommend, really."
Doc Plume finishes with the task they're on before turning their full attention to May. "Of course. How is her sleep? And she's not supposed to be out moving much at all. The wounds are deep and if anything gets into them whille they're still healing, it could get infected really easily." They sigh a bit. "I know it's a lot to ask for someone like her to sit back at home, if it's for her own good..."
Maybelline sighs slightly, "She's been stretching, but she's promised not to overdo it. And she's been sleeping fine for the most part..." She pauses, looking a little pensive. "As for her sleep... She's been through a lot and I think it's still weighing on her... but I'm doing my best to help her through things. For the most part, it's been fine."
Doc Plume gives an acknowledging nod, then turns back to start selecting ingredients for the tea. "All right. I trust you to keep her in line for me." They take the ingredients over to the counter, then move over behind their desk to select the tea base for the mix. "Anything else on your mind while I'm working on this?"
Maybelline sighs, "Not much. Been a weird week. I'm just trying to be there for Louma, get the weather shield's final installation up, and prep up the habitat for Mayfeld... he's a new pet we adopted... long story." She chuckles.
Doc Plume nods. "Ah, well good luck with the pet." They turn back after pouring the tea into a satchel and handing it to May. "There we go... she should only take it when she's really in pain, though. I also added a bit of sedative. Should maybe keep her from aggravating things and might help her sleep better."
Maybelline smiles as she takes the tea. "Thanks. I'll let her know. I think she's been weaning off of it anyways, but it's nice to have just in case. So, how about you? Been awfully busy, what with... everything. Got any tool malfunctions I can help with?"
Doc Plume shakes their head, smiling. "No. Everything has been behaving lately. I was almost out of firegas, but then Froge showed up with a fresh batch, so that's taken care of." They look around, double checking. "OH! I do have one thing..." They walk over to their desk and open one of the lower drawers. "Got a special delivery, but with everything happening, I haven't had a chance to talk to you about it yet. Also, it's not really a priority." They take out a book from the draw and push it across the desk at May. "You ever worked on one of these?"
Maybelline takes the book curiously, but her eys go wide rather quickly as she reads the model number. "An OSC-04? I didn't even realize these were in production! I'd read up on the prototypes but that was...." She flips through the book rather quickly, searching for something. "...AMP compatible."
Doc Plume cocks their head. "Hmm? Oh..." They look a little crestfallen. "Is it not going to work with your generator?"
Maybelline continues to read through the manual. "Well... not initially at least... it might take an adaptor? That might be hard to rig up but... it's possible..."
Doc Plume nods a little. "Oh, all right. Well, I'd like you to try... and I believe you can do it. I mean, the crates aren't going anywhere..."
Maybelline blinks, looking up from the manual. "You still have the crates too? Do they have any spare parts maybe? That could be a bit help."
Doc Plume laughs. "I don't know? I mean, it's all still sealed. It didn't come assembled." They stand and nod toward the boxes lining the wall across from the beds in the recovery ward. "I'm a bit surprised you didn't notice them when Louma was here."
Maybelline blushes, "Oh uh, I was a bit... distracted." She glances over at the boxes, walking closer to examine them with a giggle, "Unassembled cutting edge tech~. Mmmm."
Doc Plume gives a grin. "Just let me know when you want you to get to work on it. I don't have much free space here, after all. And maybe we should wait until everything with the current situation is done?"
Maybelline sighs, "Probably... though it is pretty exciting. I always love this kind of thing. I'll start thinking about an adaptor first too. Mind if I hang onto the manual for that? It should give me the info I need for the necessary power requirements at the very least."
Doc Plume nods. "Of course!" They take a seat on the edge of one of the beds. "I mean, I'd rather it get working than just sit there taking up space. Right now it's just another reminder of my family."
Maybelline frowns at Plume's tone. "And not a welcome one, I imagine?" She lifts a hand quickly, "Err, sorry. Not my place to pry."
Doc Plume points out the Silver-Talon brand on one of the crates. "Mostly just not fond of the reminder. I mean, imagine you had a whole giant trading company peeking into your life suddenly."
Maybelline runs a hand over the logo, "I don't know much about them, though I guess it'd be like if the Sarn Engineering Guild did an audit of my work... and also they were my parents. Complicated and not very fun."
Doc Plume laughs. "Yeah, well, I mean, there's reasons I don't use my real name." They stand up and look out the window. "I don't really hate them, though... it's just really complicated."
Maybelline nods slowly, "I guess that's kinda like the way it is with my Dad and my Uncle... a lot of history there that just makes it... complicated."
Doc Plume moves over to May and rests a hand on her shoulder. "Anyway, I am grateful for it. This thing is worth a small fortune. Only big hospitals and the like have them in Vamas..."
Maybelline nods, "Yeah, it's cutting edge tech... I imagine once it's working, it'll go a long way to helping save some lives here."
Doc Plume nods. "Saves exploratory surgery too, and makes sure bones are set correctly. The osteoscope is... frankly, it's magical."
Maybelline giggles, "Well only partially. But I know what you mean."
Doc Plume laughs. "Right, but you see..." Plume proceeds to go into detail about all the benefits of live imaging with the Osteoscope, which leads May to start in on the technical aspects, and soon enough an hour or so has passed and the time comes for the two to part ways.