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RESPITE CLINIC - MORNING
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Doc Plume finishes examining and re-dressing Baldwin's shoulder. "Looks like it's healing up fine. If the pain gets to you, chew more willow bark and apply a cool compress over the bandage. Don't get it wet though. It's still going to take time to heal up, so I recommend you keep using the sling whenever you can."
Baldwin rests a hand on his wounded shoulder and tries to roll it a bit, only to cringe as the injured muscles begin to burn from the effort. He nods at Plume as he reaches over to the side of the examination table and picks the sling back up. "Understood, doc. The pain isn't too bad, but it's starting to get a little itchy now that it's healing..."
Doc Plume nods a bit. "It will. I can take the stitches out in another week if you don't strain it." They help Baldwin with the sling and smile at him. "Honestly, the fact that you can still move the arm at all is a bit of a miracle." They move over to wash their hands at the sink in the back counter. "Anything else bothering you?"
Baldwin tilts his head curiously, though he's mindful of his horns. "Was the wound seriously that bad? I mean... I know I was aggravating it by moving it around while the arrow was still lodged in there, but..." He trails off as he hums thoughtfully, "Hm... well, other than the itching, nothing out of the ordinary."
Doc Plume frowns as they turn back. "It was very close to severing the tendon and the nerve, so yes." They walk back over to their desk and jot down their observations in Baldwin's file. "But that didn't happen, thankfully." They look up at the gazelle. "Would you like a cup of tea?"
Baldwin 's hand drifts back up his shoulder, a finger idly messing with the sling's strap. He nods with a smile after a moment. "That sounds nice, Doc, thank you." He sighs a bit as his smile slides again, "So it was pretty bad then, huh? Could have been worse, though, I suppose..."
Doc Plume puts on the kettle and nods to one of the chairs in front of their desk. "It wasn't, but it could have been, if that arrow slipped or hit a little more one way or the other..."
Baldwin jumps down from the examination table and goes to take a seat across the desk from Plume. "No, not exactly that. I mean... losing an arm would have been bad enough, but that arrow I took would have hit Captain Louma pretty square if I didn't get in the way."
Doc Plume smiles as they turn back, setting a tea tray on the desk between them and pouring two cups. "Well, a noble sacrifice, and one that will heal. I'm sure you wish you could be out there with Nesseth and all of them right now, though."
Baldwin hums, not really reacting to the praise outside of quiet acceptance. He waits patiently for Plume to finish pouring the tea before answering. "Well... I'd like to have been out there too, since I owe those fliers a bit of payback for what happened, but I'd just be dead weight with my arm near-useless. Some folks needed to stay back to guard the town, so I volunteered for that, so another more able guard could go."
Doc Plume nods. "Of course. It's the smart thing to do. They'll have enough to worry about out there without folks not at their best..." They sip their tea and look at Baldwin. "No offence meant, of course. I'm sure you'd still be useful for all your scouting skills."
Baldwin chuckles as he picks up his cup of tea and takes a careful sip. "None taken, Doc. I'm a decent enough scout, but an injured arm would cause more than enough problems out there to offset that, I think."
Doc Plume smiles. "Nesseth does speak highly of you, you know. And the fact that this is your first injury that I've tended..." They shrug a bit and laugh.
Baldwin smiles a bit more as he continues to chuckle. "Well, I don't really make it a habit of getting pincushioned, really. I'm not much of a hunter, so I'm not really in danger most times."
Doc Plume smirks. "So no falling into nettle patches like someone I could name?"
Baldwin grins and shakes his head. "Nothing quite like that. Maybe the occasional armor snag or tree branch poke, but nothing as impressive as that."
Doc Plume giggles again. "I'm sure Louma exaggerated the story in the telling..." They look at Baldwin with a more serious gaze. "So do you think... is it going to go well?"
Baldwin shrugs with a good-natured smile. "I can't really say for certain. I don't really take Louma to be the sort to tell tall tales." He pauses, then tilts his head, "You mean the rescue? Hard to say. They're going out as prepared as possible, but not a lot of folks in the guard have seen any major combat, myself included. I'm hoping they can solve things quickly, but I don't know."
Doc Plume gives a solemn nod. "Fingers crossed, then." They take another sip of tea and search for a new topic of discussion. "So how did you come to be in Respite?"
Baldwin hums in agreement. "Fingers crossed, though I think we'll find out soon enough." He settles into his seat a bit, then dips his head, "As for how I came around to Respite, well... Let's see..."
Baldwin starts to think back a bit as he talks to Plume for a while, talking about his arrival in town, along with things that have happened in town since he'd joined up with the guards. The two pass a fair bit of time in this manner, chatting amicably until Plume's next appointment arrives later in the morning.
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LOUMA AND MAYBELLINE'S HOME - LATE AFTERNOON
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Maybelline had had a particularly stressful and long day. She spent some portion of it taking with Jennica, some of it dealing with the new parts delivery, and the rest finding the root cause of a minor but particularly frustrating power fluctuation. Now, tired and a little stressed, she returns home.
Louma had spent a good chunk of the day doing little other than slithering in agitated circles within the house, tidying things up again, organizing the closets again, polishing the gift from Gareth again. The one thing she hasn't done is go out to enjoy the day, always finding something else she can do. Just as she's started thinking about taking a wander, she hears the door open and familiar footsteps enter the home. She slithers halfway down the stairs, peeking into the main floor. "Hello darling~"
Maybelline does feel some part of her stress instantly lessen at the sight of Louma's face. "Sorry I'm late, Love. It's been a but of a day. An unexpected power outage that I had to curtail, plus uh, Jennica is a kobold... So that was new. Hope I didn't keep you waiting."
Louma gets most of the way down the stairs before pausing, her tail continuing to bunch up behind her for a few moments as she processes that one bit. "Jennica is... Not normally a kobold. Why is she a kobold?" She resumes her original intended path toward the stoat, leaning down to facilitate a hug.
Maybelline reaches up to hug back, "Strix. Although it's certainly not his intended result. Jennica said it was some potion he cooked up to 'make her healthy'." She nuzzles against Louma's chest tiredly. "She's handling it better than I probably would."
Louma giggles a bit at the nuzzling, kissing May on the forehead before responding. "I don't know why I'm not surprised that Strix experimenting with potions would go a little sideways."
Maybelline giggles. "Yeah... I almost tried one myself, but thought better of it. Don't know what you'd think of coming home to find me like that."
Louma sighs, hugging May again, her tail curling in a wide circle around the two. "I would miss your fluff, but you would still be my brilliant Sweets."
Maybelline blushes, giving Louma a squeeze. "I... That's... Love you too, no matter the shape." She takes a moment to compose herself, smiling wide. "I meant to cook tonight but, work and all... You feeling up to going out for dinner?"
Louma nods, straightening up a bit. "I would do anything to get out for a little bit. Couldn't ask for a more pleasant reason~" She blushes a bit, thinking about it. "I should have thought to cook something hen it was getting a little late, I'm sorry."
Maybelline shrugs, giving Louma a wink, "We've not had a proper date in awhile~." She dislodges her heavy work boots from her feet, stretching her toes a little before turning towards their bedroom. "I could use this as an excuse to show off a little something else I was given too~."
Louma giggles again, smiling from May's wink and watching the stoat walk toward the stairs. "Oh? Did you want to surprise me, or am I to follow~?" She knows that they both know following might mean skipping dinner, so she initially assumes the former is true this time.
Maybelline gives Louma a mischievous look over her shoulder, "Let's settle for surprise right now. If you're still feeling alright after dinner, then we'll see about helping me get it off~." She scampers up the stairs and closes the bedroom door behind her.
Louma blushes a bit brighter, gaze following after May as she goes. She lets out a sigh after the stoat is out of sight, muttering to herself. "Too lucky, Louma..." She takes the time that May is changing to adjust herself, though she can't really get dressed up at the moment while May prepares her surprise.
Maybelline emerges from the bedroom several minutes later, her blue jumpsuit gone, and in it's place is a sheer blue ruffled top, the spider-silk piece gifted to her. She's wearing it along with the tan pants and a simple white undershirt underneath that makes the blue outfit pop. May walks up to the edge of the stairs and poses a little awkwardly, defini not used to the outfit, "Well? How uh, how's it look?"
Louma blinks up at May, smiling warmly at her. "You make that outfit look beautiful~" She slithers to the bottom of the stairs, getting a better look at the garment. "I thought you said you had no eye for fashion, though, sweets."
Maybelline blushes at the compliment, "Oh, I definitely don't. But Annika does. And she introduced me to Lthl, the tailor, and between the two of them... Here we are." She lifts her arms as if poorly imitating a model walking a runway as she comes down the stairs towards Louma.
Louma nods approvingly. "Lthl? Oh my, that's a genuine arachnid piece, then?" she looks May up and down before leaning down and kissing her. "Well there is certainly a story there, right? Let me get dressed to match and we can go~"
Maybelline leans up to return the kiss. "Only a little bit of one. But it can wait. Go get dressed, Love~. For once I won't be a fashion disaster on your much lovelier arm."
Louma giggles, winding her way up the stairs and setting to change. It seems to take her a bit longer than normal before Louma returns to slither down the stairs, looking a bit stiff with a hint of embarrassment in her eyes. She's wrapped herself in a scarce blue scarf, similar to her other 'dress', though the color almost perfectly matches May's top. Around her waist where her feathers transition to scales, though, she's donned a long white shawl of sorts, held in place by a belt and covering her recent scabs and scars as best she could manage.
Maybelline has been fiddling with her outfit in the meantime, still not fully comfortable in such an outfit. She turns back towards the stairs as Louma emerges, only to sigh. "Shoot. I was wrong. You're much more beautiful than I am~. But at least we're color coordinated. You look... Stunning as ever, Dear~."
Louma blushes, though her smile fades a bit as she glances toward the shawl. "Thank you, love. I hope it's good enough to stand by you~" She offers a hand to May. "Where did you want to go?"
Maybelline giggles, "You can stand by me in anything and look lovely. I was thinking that little noodle place just south of the Market." She tilts her head as she notes Louma's smile fade. "Only if you're up to this. I don't want you to feel like you have to for my sake."
Louma smiles warmly at May, shaking her head slightly. "I want to go anywhere with you. And not just because I haven't left the house all day, but honestly, that might be more than just a sliver of the reason." She heads for the door, holding it open for the stoat.
Maybelline nods, heading back out the door. "A good reason, I'd say. Two, in fact, since I feel the same... About going anywhere with you." She turns back towards Louma once she's outside and extends her hand out towards her.
Louma locks the door behind them after drawing her tail out of the house. She looks to May, taking her hand with a gentle squeeze. "So we have a bit of time between here and dinner. Will you regail me with the tale of that outfit?"
Maybelline giggles, smiling up at Louma, "Like I said... not much of an epic tale, but I'll do my best to make it interesting. See if I can stretch it out to last the whole walk there."
Louma and May make it to the noodle shop just as she finishes filling Louma in on the spider's generosity, settling in to a welcome warm meal with equally warm company. A much needed break from routine for the two, if for slightly different reasons for each.