Logs:Healing The Healer

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Cast

Vasily Tometchko, Little Fox, Leta Abbott, Liezel Richardson, Mei Lee

Setting

Arboretum of the Martyr's Tree

Log

It's a long drive back from Centralia -- even late at night, when the roads are clear, even if the vans are shrouded by Incognito Presence to avoid the speed traps along 76 and 476, it's an annoying hour and change -- and Fox hasn't talked to anybody yet. Mostly because no one -- at this point -- has been capable of speaking with beasts, and Fox hasn't wanted to not be a fox.

To be entirely fair, she's had a really rough day. All of the damage from her contained paradox healed by the time Dandelion carried her out of the graveyard, and the wounds from the Beshilu's teeth have started to close, but they still look nasty, and the blood on her matted fur has dried.

When the door opens to the van, Fox slides out of said van and slink-limp, slink-limp from the drop-off point to the arboretum, ears pinned back, low to the ground.

Vasha is loitering about, waiting for his own shot at murder and mayhem. He's all kitted out in his black tactical suit, bristling with weapons and ammunition in a manner that looks somewhat absurd to the casual viewer. Multiple pistols strapped to his legs, bags of gear and spare magazines on his waist, a bandolier festooned with hand grenades, a vest with multiple pockets for additional magazines. The fucking flamethrower and bag for additional fuel cannisters on his side. Rifles slung. How he intends to keep it all straight in the heat of combat is anyone's guess. And judging from how he's leaning forward, it's fucking up his balance more than a little. But when the odds are 25 to 1, you can't take chances.

He's not standing near the tree, it must be said. Not when an errant forces effect could make him explode where he stands. And he's not even smoking for once. But he does have an oversized t-shirt on over his armor and under his gear straps. It's got a waving American flag, a bald eagle head, and the words 'THESE COLORS DON'T RUN' on it. Yes, his wife got him this shirt. Yes she's crazy. She was born in May and has yellow eyes. And he loves her.

Because 'MURCA! That's why.

Inside the Arboretum, her satchel a healthy distance outside the proscribed radius from the tree (she has magicked things in the satchel, it's not good to bring near), Liezel is studying the tree in quiet silence. It's- almost meditative. She's seen it before. She doesn't expect anything to be different. But with her preparations done, and the rest of the strike team not quite yet ready to go, she has to find something to do, and studying the tree and pondering the possibilities she discussed with Master Fox is...

... about as productive as she's able to be at the moment.

She turns as she hears movement that isn't the rattling cacophony that is dear, sweet Vasha, spotting Fox and immediately recoiling visibly, shocked at how much blood adorns her fur, dried or not. She makes a noise- strangled and wordless, just shocked and afraid for Fox, and immediately starts striding in that direction, concern writ large on every line of her face.

Leta is currently wearing black cargo pants, and a grey tank top beneath the flak jacket Vasha gave her - and her messy blonde hair is tied back in a bun. The Mastigos lifts a pair of goggles from her eyes - which look ridiculous - letting them sit atop her hair, and in place of the shoulder strap of her messenger bag (which is notably absent at this time) she's wearing a bandolier of shotgun shells.

"How come you get the flamethrower," Leta peers at the veritable arsenal that Vasha is wearing, and then her gaze falls back to her own (comparatively) meager loadout. "I feel like we should've probably invested in more than one, considering the rats an-" She tears her attention away from the inane conversation with Vasha when she hears the noise from Liezel. "Oh, shit."(edited)

Slink-limp. Slink-limp. Low warble. Not even gekkering. Gekkering requires too much energy. Fox is hurt, yes, but she also just looks drained. Just like... emptied out. Liezel starts striding in her direction, and the little Thyrsus just sort of sinks down on the nearest patch of greenery and waits. She's done enough for right now, thank you, and Fox would like to stop for a little bit.

That's about the time when the attainment itself lets go -- Primal Skin, like all attainments, has a fixed timeframe, and it ends as she settles on the earth. She's wearing her backpack, as always, and her shoulder still bears the ugly, big lacerations of Beshilu teeth, but otherwise, the green-and-gold-eyed, May-born little creature doesn't move once fox-form becomes human-form. "Hi."

Vasha waddles his way forward with the rest of them, dragging his kit along behind himself. "Because I thought to buy a flamethrower. I've tapped out all my cash and all of Zoya's cash on hand. If you'd like to provide more money, we can have more weapons. I asked for the additional funds and nobody stepped up." Vasha shrugs his shoulders and leaves it at that. He did what he could. He ends up taking a knee beside Fox, not really paying the injury she's suffered much mind. She's a Thyrsus after all. "You look like shit," he states flatly. "Are you going to be okay? What do you need?"

"I am Obrimos," mutters Liezel at Leta as concerns for quantity of outgoing fire are voiced. "We will have plenty of fire. AND air to replace what it consumes." She blinks, and looks to Vasha. "Which reminds me. Master Pavilchenko, could you provide me with the chemical formula for flamethrower fuel? I can refill them if I know what they burn. My unit never had them, so I did not look it up." She sits back, visibly relaxing as Fox returns to her own- well, one of his own- forms. "Those aren't as bad as they looked when you were smaller. But you are-" Liezel's eyes narrow, then widen a little. "Sapped. To the bone. Master Fox, your reserves are not small. Did all go well? Have you checked yourself for di-" She cuts off, scolding herself. "Of course you have checked for diseases, you are not some calf-eyed apprentice." Pause. A glance at Fox. "... do some of the Orphans have calf eyes? I do not mean to be rude."

Leta delicately leaves behind her shotgun -- like one might lay a small child into a crib -- atop the nearest flat surface before following after Vasha. She doesn't kneel beside Fox, but hovers awkwardly peering over his wounds, attempting to assess any possible damage that ought to be attended until they have enough energy to heal themselves. "Don't military-grade flamethrowers use napalm - or at least substance functionally identical to it? So. Petrol or Diesel, and a thickening agent made from naphthenic and aliphatic carboxylic acids?" Beat. "... and I would hope you weren't supplied with one - didn't the United States stop supplying infantry with Flamethrowers in, like, the 80's?"(edited)

"I feel like shit," Fox answers, and then Liezel explains, and she nods her head once, scooting in a little closer to Vasha out of instinct. "I ran myself out. I was the only one of us there. I went in with a vampire named Finley. He's not a bad dude. Ran off in the middle of a fight, but I think that had something to do with the fire. Vampires, not good with fire, I guess." She reaches her uninjured arm up and loops it around Vasha's neck, heedless of the bristling firearms, and the flamethrower, and the everything. "Dandelion and some kid named Calamity, we got them out. I guess he's a Sleepwalker, too, because she was talking to him about -- who I am, and identifying the healing as coming from me, when she couldn't see me yet. And Auntie isn't -- you know. Auntie wouldn't break Laws like that."

On account of, y'know, Factotum. Fox's belief in people can be charming, sometimes. Or perhaps naïve. Take your pick. "I need potentia, is what I need."

"There is a hallow here, though we are not supposed to take its potentia. Can you perform an oblation? I think the arboretum probably counts for you. Can't imagine a much more wild place than the Martyr's tree." Vasha glances over his shoulder at the tree, then back to Fox, leaning in to offer her a quick kiss on the temple. "If you can do that, we can just leave you in peace. Once you've had a chance to meditate and heal yourself, you should be right as rain. I can help you meditate, too, if you like?" Vasha then asides to Liezel, "Truth told, I don't know the chemical composition of my fuel. Anthelion may be correct. Probably you can just analyze one of my spare canisters and we can hope for the best. I'm anticipating things will be rather exciting once the fighting touches off."

Leta's input leaves Liezel blinking rapidly, obviously startled, and nodding faintly. "Well- well, yes. I meant it more as a joke. And that sounds... about right. I will check later, but it is a start." She nods gratefully to Leta. "You know much about the military?"

Hearing Dandelion has been retrieved leaves Liezel's expression briefly beatific, transparently delighted to hear that Fox has brought her to safety. It lasts but a moment, and then she nods, expression controlled once more. "Thank you. Thank you. Are there any captives yet remaining, do we know? It will be material when we move."

She watches Fox's lean into Vasha, the kiss he favors her with, smiling ever so slightly to herself. It's relieving. "Oh, that isn't a problen, Vasha. I may just replenish your store part-way through, increase the amount instead of generating it wholesale. That might work better."

"Not specifically, but I certainly know a lot about firearms at the moment - the history, development, and use of which is pretty intrinsically tied to the military and it's history. Especially given that all modern flamethrowers trace their lineage to one specifically designed by Richard Fiedler in World War 1 for the express purpose of-" She shakes her head as she catches herself slipping down the rabbit hole, waving a hand to refocus herself. "TLDR: I did a magic and now I know how to gun."

She crosses her arms over her chest and a sigh of relief escapes her - she'll let Liezel tackle the questions about whether or not there're any captives remaining in Rat Town, and focus on ensuring that Fox is taken care of. Not that she gives a shit or anything. B-baka. "Is there anything, specifically, that you need from us at the moment?"(edited)

Vasha's kiss to her temple lets the little Thyrsus relax a bit, as if she requires this to feel better. (She does.) "The other team met us in the graveyard," Fox agrees. "Amity and Hearth and Harmony, and... someone else, I forget." It's been a long day, so is it very surprising that Fox doesn't remember who all was in the other team? "Also, we ought not to call it a 'rescue', it will make Dandelion very cross, she corrected someone once on the way back."

Her eyes half-lid, and she tips her head to look up at Leta. Her expression sort of wobbles slightly, as she's quite tired. Maybe she takes that as 'jeez, what do you need from me, you whiner' or something. "... Attention, I guess. I'll heal. I just have to wait. Help meditating, as Vasha said. I can't -- my mind is not quiet." She does have blood on her that isn't hers, mind, because she flung her fool ass into a corpse as a Yantra earlier.

The realization that Leta is operating with knowledge that's not hers, for whatever reason, leaves Liezel with a brief, but intense, look of discomfort. "Oh." That's all she says. Just- oh. And she turns away from the Mastigos and back towards Fox and Vasha, pushing her professional face back into place. Which... lasts all of the time it takes to look at Fox's wounds again, at which point it melts and worry resurfaces all over again.

"I'm sorry, Fox. I don't know how to move Potentia yet. I'd share mine if I did." Small words. Clipped. Uncomfortable. It's not hard to tell she severely dislikes being so unable to help remedy the things Fox is dealing with.

"Oh. Not the rescue. The tactical insertion to facilitate strategic withdrawal of personnel and assets, then." Liezel nods. Translating into militarese is easy enough. "How can we help you relax? Do you want to clean up? Would us meditating with you help?" Her hand fidgets, twisting the seamless steel ring around her other wrist over and over. "You have my attention. What should I do with it, Fox?"

If Liezel's discomfort is noticed - or cared for - it doesn't show outwardly on Leta's expression or body language - simply giving herself the skill she needs to function and thrive in any situation is just second nature for the Mastigos. Her mind is hers to mold and control.

"I can assist you with that - calming your mind, I mean - if you would grant me your express consent to dabble inside your head for a moment," her brow furrows, and her face scrunches into a frown when she notices the change in Fox's demeanor. "It was not my intention to come off as terse or... inconvenienced? I'm asking because I would legitimately like to provide comfort to you however I can - not because I feel obligated to." Beat. "... and if you like," she continues in (hopefully) a less robotic manner. "I can also clean up some of the blood - though I'll have to do that with my hands and a towel, rather than a snap of my fingers."(edited)

"Yes. We were the ... we were that," Fox agrees with Liezel, leaning on Vasha as he's quietly supportive. It's a strange look for him, but, you know, sometimes it happens! She goes quiet, hanging on to him and huffing quietly. "I should probably clean up. I flung myself into the dead body of a Beshilu because I didn't have time to change back to being a human in the middle of a fight and so I couldn't High Speech, so I needed blood."

"Orphans take blood from our kills as a Yantra, sometimes," she explains, letting out a slow, steady breath, and looking up at both of them. "Should clean up. Should meditate. Help." And then she smiles a little unsteadily at Leta. "You can quiet my mind."

Whatever her personal feelings for what Leta's got going on, at the very least, Liezel doesn't seem to expect any changes in her demeanor or behavior- it seems to be more a personal reaction, not some judgment on what Leta should or should not be doing. She nods to Fox and moves back to her satchel briefly, returning with a bandana and an absolutely beautiful cup of gleaming, shining aurum. Fox and Vasha know Zoya, and if she's been showing off the tools she made, they'll immediately recognize the Orichalcum from her own set.

She stops by one of the fountains to fill it with water, moving to settle back near Fox, wetting the handkerchief and starting to clean the blood off of her body. Could the Matter Master just- unMake the blood? Absolutely, that's not even in question. But Fox didn't ask to be cleaned.

She asked for attention.

"Then I shall endeavor to take good care of you," Leta begins, taking a few notes about Fox's state before stepping away from the group to fetch a cloak from her pile of currently unequipped equippables - which she then drapes about her shoulders on the way back over. She removes her handy dandy casting tool from where it's currently strapped to her leg, and mutters a few words in high speech. She places a comforting hand upon Fox's shoulder, and there's a brief, disorienting flare -- the Mastigos's nimbus -- and an odd force distorts the air around her, leaving behind a soft, glowing corona in the shape of her silhouette.

Suddenly, a stillness falls over Fox's mind. The anxiety, the troubled thoughts, the vivid memories of the night's events seem to deaden, leaving behind only clarity and calm in their wake -- and when those thoughts threaten to return, Fox has no trouble with brushing them aside.(edited)

"... I can cast a similar spell for you, Vasha." She adds as an aside, giving the Acanthus a look. "Just saying."

When Vasha steps away to take care of the rest of the prep for The Mission, he also goes to make a requested call to Mei, since Fox is thinking -- if not straighter then at least more clearly -- and remembers that, oh, hey -- her former apprentice is Life-accomplished. For a moment, she begins to say 'my apprentice,' and then stops, because Mei isn't anymore.

That brief, disorienting flare followed by a brief respite from the trauma is a lot like being in the middle of a hurricane and watching the eye open up overhead. Yes, the wind and rain will later return, but for a moment, the air is still and calm, and sunshine pours in from above.

She stretches her arm out toward Liezel, and there's a moment where her hand brushes against the other woman's wrist, a small touch. Otherwise, she sits still and lets herself take in the attention. A rare thing for her to just ... be quiet. "Thank you, Elizabeth."

Color leaks up into Liezel's cheeks. It's not hard to suss out that she's reacting to- well, something, but whatever it was, she's just blushing and staying at her work, blood coloring her cheeks while she takes it off Fox.

"I made that ring for her that we talked about," Liezel murmurs off-hand. "I Perfected it, too, because it was small and I felt I might as well. Obrimos tend to like Perfected things, after all. Or at least I do. I hope she has liked it." She glances at Leta, checking to see she's doing, routinely checking on how everyone seems to be doing, even while she works.

"If you need anything else, please let me know. I'm going to step back so you don't feel crowded," Leta mutters, removing her hand from Fox's shoulder. Having finished casting her spell -- and noted the appropriate change in Fox's demeanor -- Leta retreats back to her pile of guns and ammunition. The cloak is removed, her iron rod is returned to it's holster, and her notepad is tucked into one of the many side pockets in her cargo pants before she silently takes up ensuring that the weapons she's bringing are combat ready for their encounter with the Beshilu.(edited)

"Just don't go far," Fox answers Leta, tipping her chin up and watching the Mastigos retreat a little. She takes in a small breath and lets it out, lounging a little closer in to Liezel and allowing herself to be washed; her face turns a little toward Liezel when she's cleaned. The blush brings a small, subtle smile to her face, and she nods a little bit. "I haven't seen it yet -- the ring. I look forward to seeing it. I think it'll make her happy."

It's Mei! She comes inside not very long after she got called. Someone might think she was a Fate mage for how she just happened to be on her way to the Arboretum for her own reasons when she got the call to come help Fox. Since there wasn't panic when she was contacted she doesn't come running in at top speed in a panic or anything, she jus strolls in and looks around before she asks, "what's going on?" The sight of Fox makes her a little worried, but not too much so.

"I think so, too. I made it into one of the revolt shekels she showed me before I formed it into a ring. It seemed important to her and it wasn't hard to do." She looks up at Mei's voice and offers a smile, waving her over. "Fox helped with a tactical insertion to facilitate strategic withdrawal of personnel and assets from the Beshilu and got hurt in the process. She's healed a lot of it but could use some help with the rest." Her eyes flick to Leta falling back as she mutters, frowning faintly, that tone of voice the first hint to her that anything is less than perfect. She glances back to Mei and Fox, her confusion evident on her face- she's not even sure if speaking up would help or hurt.

"It was me and a vampire, and I did a lot of heavy lifting, magically." Fox turns her attention toward Mei, smiling a little bit when her former apprentice arrives, and he turns his shoulder toward her, showing the partially-healed Beshilu bite. "I'm ... pretty tapped out. Finley isn't a bad person to have with you in a crisis, zhe's smart and zhe thinks things through quickly, but ... I did a lot, to make sure we got out of there quickly, in one piece, and didn't leave any soul jars whole when we left." She clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth, looks over toward Leta again, and offers her a small smile. "Anthelion helped settle my mind, which I appreciate very much."

Mei takes a moment to process things but not very long. "I was going to ask why you're not just fixing it yourself, but let me guess. Out of potentia? I can do some healing," she comes over to take a closer look. "You can probably do more with the same energy, though. Do you want me to transfer some of mine to you? It will only cost me what I give you, but healing you directly would take more out of me." She smiles over at Anthelion and finger-guns her way. "Abbott," she says. "Good to see you. Hi Liezel. Sorry, I got distracted by Little Fox being injured."

"Parhelion," there's a nod and a wink from Leta as she gives her bandolier a tug - testing whether or not the thing is securely fastened. Fortunately, it seems like her loadout is secure and prepared, and - with her preparations complete - she hops up onto a nearby crate to sit, letting the Benelli lay flat across her lap. "Nice to see you too - congratulations, by the way." Beat. "... and you're welcome, of course, Fox." She offers a small, but sincere, smile.(edited)

Liezel is hard at work cleaning away the blood off of Fox, and smiles faintly at Mei. "It is okay. I got distracted too. And yeah. Fox is super tapped out." She lets Fox decide how she wants fixed and keeps cleaning.

"What is the difference between Parhelion and Anthelion? What do they mean?" She asks, looking between Leta and Mei.

"Yeah," agrees Fox to the question about why she didn't just heal herself. "My body will heal itself over time, much faster than yours will, but it's still... " she winces as she moves to accommodate Liezel's cleaning of her skin. "... not great. I'd like to be able to heal myself." And then she smiles vaguely. "Or to be healed, whatever is most convenient to you, Parhelion." That little smile gets returned to Leta, and she winks one of her green-and-gold eyes over at Leta. She's feeling better, clearly. No explanation is given on the matter of the names, as they're not her names!

The first thing Mei does is spend a moment casting a spell. Trying to cast a spell. The first time she tries it the effort comes to naught, and it takes another few seconds before it happens. To anybody not using Mage Sight there's not really much of anything to see, but to someone who's watching, the power of a fair chunk of Potentia flows out of her and into Little Fox when she touches the Thyrsus. "Let me know if you end up needing more than that," she says, before answering the question directed at her. "A parhelion is an optical phenomenon. The sun refracting off ice crystals in the air, making what often looks like a halo around the sun. Parhelion are often called sun dogs, too. My nimbus looks like parhelion. And some other things mixed in." Leta can answer about her own shadow name!

"Similarly, the anthelion is a similar optical phenomenon -- both are classified as 'halos' -- though the thing that causes anthelia to form is still dispured amongst scientists." Let shrugs, leaning back and kicking her legs. "The main difference - for a casual observer - is where the halo is positioned in the sky. Unlike the parhelion, the anthelion appears opposite the sun." She adopts a wry look, flashing her teeth. "So. Parhelion and I are functionally the same - we're just situated in different places. Apparently."

The movements to accommodate her tending leaves Liezel smiling faintly, and redoubling her gentle work. Mei explains, and she can't her head, listening, considering what she's taught- first my Mei, then Leta, looking to the latter. "Opposite the sun? How? Wouldn't that be on the other side of the planet? Or am I misunderstanding?"

When the Potentia flows into Fox's body, she lets out a near-ecstatic sigh of contentment. She was low and it really scared the shit out of them in a way she isn't good at articulating. "Thank you so much," Fox sighs, and her eyes lapse close as her Nimbus flares -- it smells green in here, greener than just the arboretum would give rise to, and a feeling like looking into a faithful dog's eyes comes with it, too. The Thyrsus's skin knits closed smooth and perfectly, healing itself as though there were never any break to it at all. She won't scar unless she wants to. The matter of parhelion v anthelion is left alone, still.

"You're welcome," Mei says with a smile. "I'm glad I could help. I'm curious why you couldn't scour your pattern for the potentia. Did you already tap that out? Are you going to be alright?" At the moment the only way that Mei has for getting more potentia is scouring her own pattern, so naturally that's the first thing she thinks of as a solution. She does tell Liezel, "usually a parhelion forms when the sun is near the horizon. The anthelion forms on the opposite horizon." She points one direction, and then turns and points the opposite way too illustrate.

"Exactly," Leta confirms. She had been gesthring vaguely overhead, tracing a sphere around herself in preparation for her explanation, but drops her hands back to her sides when Mei answers faster. "The anthelic point is opposite - but at the same elevation as - the sun on the parhelic circle," she reiterates with a grin - just a slight variation on Mei's explanation. Which, for those paying attention to her previous goof, is just a continued goofing in the it's the same, just slightly different vein.

She takes a deep breath, and her phone makes a loud brrrrrink noise. She fetches it from one of her many pockets and taps at it a few times before shoving it back into place.

Liezel finally seems relaxed enough to settle down and stop fussing over Fox- the fact that they're clean and no longer wounded surely helps a lot. She simply settles back onto her heels where she is and refocuses on the conversation, nodding faintly as Mei explains precisely what Leta meant, a clear look of understanding crossing her face. And with repetition and a snarky grin, Liezel catches onto what Leta is doing, and finally smiles along. It just took a moment or two. The phone gets a glance when Leta prods at it, and then Liezel looks to Fox. Mei asked a question and listening is easier than making conversation on her own.

"Oh, I think... I just didn't think about it, because I was overloaded," confesses Fox. Or maybe she just didn't want to be hurt for the purposes of mending herself, or... "I feel a little silly, now," she adds, and when she's all clean, she curls up and puts her head in Liezel's lap, toying with the bracelet on the seated Obrimos' wrist like a tired kid playing with a toy to self-soothe. She stays human, though, at least for now. "I want to see your ring, Mei. Liezel said she made one for you."

Mei laughs and admits, "actually, Little Fox, that makes me feel a little better. I know that you're an absolutely capable mage who has been doing this a while, and can run circles around me magically. If you have an occasional derp? It makes me feel like there's hope for me yet." She reaches out and ruffles Fox's hair, because now she's not an apprentice and it's mildly less inappropriate. "It's an interesting coincidence. Hopefully it's a coincidence, because when things aren't around mages I start to worry about who's pulling the strings, exactly."

"Well," Leta follows up. "We share many skills, similar personal experiences..." She trails off, offering a shrug and leaning back - propping herself up on outstretched arms. "I don't believe in coincidences to begin with, but there're many more besides just our shadownames."

She mimes putting pins on a corkboard like some kind of crazy conspiracy theorist, and then wiggles an eyebrow at Mei.

Liezel's cheeks erupt when Fox tumbles headfirst into her lap and plays with that boring steel bangle around her wrist, lowering a hand to mimic Mei and fuss with Fox's hair. She doesn't seem to take issue with Fox's location, or Mei's hand, and looks up to the latter, nodding. "Yes. Coincidence is- reassuring as a Mage. Its lack becomes worrisome. At least in theory. Thankfully, seeing coincidence is not a burden I bear."

"Other coincidences?" Liezel tilts her head at Leta. "Like what? May I ask?"

"Well, I was very tired, and I was hurt enough that I almost passed out in Dandelion's arms when she was carrying me, and I was fighting an uphill battle against Paradox... so, yah, I forgot, and that happens," sighs Fox. She flashes a little sharp-toothed grin at Mei when his hair gets ruffled, and continues to absently toy with Liezel's bracelet like that sooths her. "Coincidences are good, when they're good." ... thank you for that tautology, Fox.

"We are also both exceptionally attractive," Mei points out to Leta like this is an obvious fact that everyone should admit. "So there's another coincidence." Something comes to mind then and she asks, "oh, Liezel! Did you finish the ring that you were working on for me?"