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RESPITE FALLS CLINIC - LATE AFTERNOON
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Doc Plume finishes making notes in the file of their last appointment for the day and closes the folder. After collecting the others from earlier in the day and filing them away, they turn to their end of the day tidying, which is quicker than normal. Once that, they return to their desk and turn on the flame under the kettle, take a seat and--
Doc Plume realizes after a few moments that there's nothing more to do today. There are no patients in the ward, no more appointments, no more paperwork for the guard or the town adminstrator, nothing. Even the saur encampment outside the town has their own healers' tent up and run efficiently. There is just nothing more to do... for the first time in many many months.
Doc Plume takes a deep, relieved breath and then turns to turn off the kettle, as it won't be needed. They then move to the front door, step outside, lock up the clinic and take a relieved seat on the bench outside, just happy to enjoy the moment.
Nesseth makes his way along the lane to the clinic, deciding to make good on his talk with Mirriam the other day. He's been sleeping about as good as he has been the last couple of weeks, which is to say kind of badly. As he approaches the clinic, he tilts his head when he catches sight of Plume resting on the bench on the porch outside. He doesn't call out until he gets closer, though. "Plume? You actually got a chance to take a break?"
Doc Plume has been just gazing off contentedly into the middle distance when Nesseth approaches and doesn't notice him until he speaks their name. She blinks and looks up at him. "Oh, hello handsome. Yes, I did. In fact... I'm out of work for the day. Everything is... taken care of..." They shake their head and laugh. "Feels so strange to say that." They hop up to their feet and wrap
Doc Plume Nesseth in a double hug, resting their beak on his shoulder. "It feels quite nice, though."
Nesseth hums softly, hugging Plume warmly once he gets close enough to do so. "I'm glad you've finally got a bit of time for yourself after all of this chaos. From the outset, I had a feeling you, Tarbin and Melia were going to be the last ones to really get any sort of break, since you had to take care of all the wounded on top of the usual clinic visits and such."
Doc Plume leans up and kisses Nesseth on the lips gently. "Mmm. Not to mention helping Tizza and the other healers get set up in the saur camp... but even that is running normally now..."
Nesseth smiles softly as he kisses Plume in turn, the warmth of their embrace soothing him quite a bit, indeed. "So I've been hearing. The Saurs are settling in nicely, and with a construction crew hired on to help build stuff, they'll be settled in pretty well soon enough." He chuckles a bit as he smiles warmly at Plume, "Tizza and the others might still need your help getting a proper clinic set up, of course."
Doc Plume nods. "Yes, but they know that they can send anyone beyond their care to me. Hasn't happened yet, though." They squeeze Nesseth warmly. "I'm just glad that you've had Erika to keep you company lately, considering how busy I've been..." There's the tiniest hint of jealousy in their voice, but their words are honest.
Nesseth hums and nods. "She's been really nice to spend time with, yeah..." He sneaks another soft kiss on Plume's beak, "I'm just glad she was able to help me persuade you to take tea breaks here and there. I didn't want to distract you from your work, but I know you've been stretched really thin even with Tarbin and Melia helping."
Doc Plume blushes a bit and nuzzles their beak under Nesseth's frill. "Well, there was so much to do and food can wait usually..."
Nesseth flexes his frill a bit and drapes it warmly over Plume's beak. "Yeah... there's a lot to do, and I know you're the expert when it comes to medical stuff..." He sighs quietly and hugs Plume close, "But I still worry about you, dear."
Doc Plume just gives a little nod and squeezes Nesseth closer. After a few moments, they give a happy sigh and pull their head back to look him in the eyes. "So... what are your plans for the evening?"
Nesseth chuckles as he meets Plume's gaze. "Well... I was coming over to see you tonight. Either to try and pull you away from work for a bit, or just... spend time." He pauses a bit and glances aside a bit, "And... well... maybe talk a little, and get a medical opinion."
Doc Plume cocks their head, then moves a hand down to squeeze Nesseth's butt. "Well, your butt is still perfect in my opinion..."
Nesseth wiggles his rear a bit, his tail swishing slightly as he returns the favor with a bit of a grope of his own. "So is yours, dear, but... well, it's not anything physical." He holds Plume's gaze, the lingering exhaustion clear on his face as he lets his expression settle into a soft smile, "A friend of mine said I should talk to you about this, since it's... probably something I got coming out of the war."
Doc Plume cocks their head and frowns a bit. Their wings retract and their hands move up to hold Nesseth's sides. "What is it, then? Should we go into the clinic?"
Nesseth smiles and shakes his head a bit. "Nah... I think we can just chat out here, enjoy the afternoon sun a bit, you know?" He nods over at the bench Plume was just sitting on, "But, well... after I recovered enough to go out and about from the ward, I've been sleeping... kind of badly. Restless, nightmares, things like that, way more than usual."
Doc Plume frowns a bit as they escort Nesseth back to the bench, sitting both of them down on it. "Ah, well, you've been through a lot.. it makes sense. Sounds like some sort of battle fatigue..."
Nesseth hums softly as he takes a seat next to Plume, his tail slipping around behind them to gently cradle their backside. "Yeah... yeah, I guess. You know I sleep like a log most times, and barely have any nightmares normally... I guess it was my first real time in battle like that."
Doc Plume drapes a wing behind Nesseth and around his shoulder. "Yes, I imagine hunting a beast is different than killing an intelligent creature..."
Nesseth leans a little against Plume, nodding at their comment. "It is, yeah. All the time I was with the guards, it's always been warning shots at most. A bolt near the feet makes most everyone immediately stop in their tracks... Never had to shoot to kill before, outside of hunting for game."
Doc Plume frowns as they lean in against Nesseth in return. "I wish I could make everything ok. I could give you something to make your sleep deep and dreamless, but using it too much dulls the senses..."
Nesseth bobbles his head a little at that. "Mmh... I don't really want to have to rely on anything like that, since I need my senses as sharp as possible." He sighs a bit again, and smiles, "But I know I tend to sleep better near you, Vix and Erika. I might wake up in the middle of the night sometimes right now, but... if one of you is close by, I usually can get back to sleep after a little bit."
Doc Plume gives a little sigh, their brain whirling as they try to think of what they could do to help the situation. "That's good, but we need to find a better answer. There has to be one."
Nesseth shrugs a little and pecks Plume on their beak again. "Maybe, but... I just wanted to hear if you had any thoughts on it. I'll be fine for now, but what I want is for you to take some time to unwind now that things are settling down." He smirks a bit, "I can already see the gears in your head turning, dear."
Doc Plume gives a little caw as their wings ruffle in indignation. They kiss back before giving Nesseth an only half deadly glare. "Come now, you can't ask my opinion on something medical and not expect that..."
Nesseth chuckles and spares a hand to teasingly tickle Plume's side through their clothes. "I know, I know, I'm just teasing, dear... I would like to figure out how to fix this if at all possible."
Doc Plume squirms and laughs a bit at the tickle. "Fine, I'll put it out of mind, but I'm giving you a full examination first thing in the morning."
Nesseth smiles warmly. "Deal. Now that things are calmed down, I won't feel bad about distracting you for myself. Come the morning, you can do whatever you think you need to."
Doc Plume blushes a touch and giggles. "All right, so how are you going to distract me, hmm?" They lean in and kiss Nesseth again, this time holding it as their hand runs across his back.
Nesseth hums softly as he meets the kiss, his teasing hand instead lightly rubbing against Plume's back, between their wings. He's content to let the kiss linger for a few seconds, before he pulls back to answer. "Just... occupying your time, making sure you're relaxing... getting you some good food and snacks for dinner, and then maybe I could give you a physical later in the evening, hm?" He grins a bit, "I might look tired, but you can bet I have plenty of energy to make sure you're getting the R&R you're due."
Doc Plume melts into the embrace and just leans fully on their lover, holding fast to him as their body loses tension that it had been holding onto for weeks. "If you insist... I wouldn't want you to... push... yourself too hard."
Nesseth just holds Plume close, knowing they need the comfort just as much as he did when he first got back, if not more. He nuzzles into their neck feathers, letting them snuggle against him. "I won't push myself too hard, I promise. I love you, dear."
Doc Plume nuzzles under Nesseth's frill again, just letting all their worries melt away in the embrace. "I love you too..."