Helps the Medicine Go Down
Log Info
- Title: Helps the Medicine Go Down
- Emitter: Irshya
- Place: Hayatiento Aerie
Nearer the mountains, the mists disappear, giving way to blue skies and light breezes. From above, the excited sounds of one small Goblin, strapped to the back of a familiar rust-red and white Egalrin.
As Slixvah comes in to land near the entrance of the Aerie, other Egalrin pause to look up, as Irshya talks excitedly about the journey here. "Everything looks so small! Do you get wet if you fly through the clouds? How long can you stay up in the air if you ride the thermals? Are there other Goblins in here? Do you ever just like... float around above just watching the ground below... and find yourself somewhere new? Does it get colder the higher you go? Am I too heavy?"
Slixvah in the air is much, much different that Slixvah on the ground. She's entirely cocky, and entirely in her element. Those beribboned wings hide their true, massive fourteen foot span, and each dip, bank, and flap sends them soaring faster, cutting through the air.
Her wings flare out as she comes to a sliding stop, talons scraping along the stone ground. There's a look of surprise from the other Egalrin, the bad luck charm came back after her outburst. Slix just laughs, her reaching up to unfasten Irshya and help her to the ground. "Yes. Several hours, until my back hurts. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And no," she rattles off answers, snickering. "Welcome ta the Hayatiento Aerie. This entrance is where my aerie, Sliabhgeiko, reside. The Hayatiento were very kind ya 'em come here. Was th' ride alright, hon?"
The Goblin is wide-eyes, grinning broadly, with her little tail swinging back and forth under her robes. "Oh yes, the ride was FUN!" Irshya leans into Slixvah and hugs tightly. "Almost as fun as swimming!" The wee priestess takes a step back, to look around, waving at the other Egalrin nearby, and marveling at the activity. "So there are technically two big families living here? Gosh, so many of you." She giggles then, "Several hours, that must be amazing. You can see so much from up there."
Irshya's exuberance seems to calm then, her expression growing serious. "So. Let's be about helping everyone get better, shall we?"
Slixvah smiles warmly as she gives a whole hearted hug to the gobbo. "I'm glad, it's tons of fun! It's fun ta get on top of the Mountain Road and fly down ta the TarRaCe!"
She looks about, the Egalrin curiously looking on, but they quickly look away as Slixvah affixes them with a stern glare. "Sorta. An Aerie is mo' like a town. Mine was smallish, the Hayatiento is way, way larger. Just thankful they got loads of housing underneath, unused."
She shakes herself off, beak grinding as she sets her eyes on a set of houses built into the stone. A temporary sign rests above it in Trade and Auran: 'Healer's Ward'. "Yeah. Let's get it." She strides forward, and throws the door open.
Inside is several abodes that are strung together on the inside, walls left open. Hanging ropes and curtains cordon off many filled beds. One doesn't have to see them to hear the coughs and groans, several healers running about getting cooling rags cleaned out. They've got strips of cloth wrapped around their nose holes, as well as scarves covering their beaks. Slix dons similar attire.
"Ah, you must get there fast!" The Goblin makes flapping gestures with her arms as she 'flies' towards the Healer's Ward. "I wonders if there are any spells for flying that we Radan priests have access to? That would be amazing."
Her glance goes, occasionally, to the other Egalrin that Slixvah glares at, Irshya sighing gently. "Time heals all wounds, hmm?"
The Gobbo grabs one of the scarves to cover her nose and mouth. "Okay, where should we start? I trust that there are no serious wounds that need tending, that you're now just dealing with the sickness going around?"
Slixvah chuckles. "I dunno," she shrugs, walking behind Irshya as she lets her wings lay open to 'fly' over to the Ward. "Ask ya god, maybe that'll be a blessin'. If not, then oh well, ya can just ask me fo' a fly."
She glances to Irshya after glaring at someone. "It's not as bad now. Used ta be worse."
She shakes her head as she doffs her robes, in nothing more than a vest and pants. "Broken wings. But those have healed wrong, and they're going ta have ta be rebroken later after they body recovers from sickness," she explains, voice muffled. "We can start with-"
"Is that my BABY?!" a voice woman's cheers out from deeper in the ward. Rounding the corner is a plump, middle aged egalrin woman with rust red feathers and black highlights, yellow eyes bright in a wide smile. She's got an apron donned with depictions of flowers in the stitching as several rolls of bandages stick out from the pockets. "Slivvie! Dah-ling! And a friend! Helloooo~!" she coos, swooping in to hug Slix and Irshya both.
"Guh! Mamaw!"
"Oh, I can't just /ask/ him outright, and I would have to be strong enough to do the spell properly. He won't bless me with spells I can't handle. But I can ask some of the other Radan priests I come across and see if they have access to something that lets them fly. It will be something to look forward to!" The pool-shark giggles and sighs, reaching up to pat at Slixvah's arm. "If it is better now, that is good. It means they are starting to appreciate you."
The cheerful, loud voice causes Irshya's ears to perk up, and she blinks a few times. The sudden appearance of a plump, middle-aged, rust-red Egalrin has the Gobbo looking back and forth, noting the similarities. Irsh offers up her hand for shaking, "Hello, nice to meet y--" The rest of what is said is muffled, lost to the feathers, and the hug that squishes her to Slixvah.
Slixvah snickers. "Yeah that's good plan. Make sure ya ain't gonna explode inta a tidal wave," she teases. But then sighs. "More like tolerate."
The mother smothers the two in a big embrace, rocking the two back and forth. "Oh goodness, I sure am glad ya back! We gots so much shtuff ta work wit' now. Who's thi', Slivvie?" She finally relents, pulling away and setting the two back on their feet.
The witch fixes her vest, chuckling. "Thi' is Irshya, Mamaw. She runs a wicked restaurant and spa tha' I work at, and she's a /very/ good friend of mine," she smiles with a wink. "Rishrish, this is Jiranu Unemsi, my Momma."
Jinaru squints at Slixvah, tilting her head to the side before chuckling and shaking her head with a wide smile. "Well, what a pleasure ta meet ya, hon," and she sticks out a hand.
The pool-shark lands on her feet after the hug, giggling up at the woman. "Slivvie? Is that her nickname?" Irshya giggles more, and offers Jiranu a curtsey. "Hello, Mrs. Unemsi! It is a pleasure to meet you. Slivvie is my bestest friend, and my top employee."
The hand is taken, and shaken vigorously. "I am happy to see that you've settled right in here. I am here to help out. I'm a priestess of Rada, so I can lend some magical healing to the cause."
Between the mother and daughter, there is a lot of similarities: red feathers, abnormally, same pattern, large wings, kind eyes. But one thing sticks out: Slixvah is a runt. Her mother is just over six feet. Other egalrin are around her mother's height or taller, but Slix is a full head shorter than all of them.
Jinaru's grin widens as Slix's face floofs some. "Oh why yes it is, please use it as much as ya please!"
"Maamaaaaw..." Slix groans. It's very hard to embarrass the witch, but her mother knows exactly how to grill her.
The mother giggles, shaking the hand heartily. "A priestess? Good, good! Tha' makes two. Got a Navosian 'round here, they's on break."
"She can bless th' sickness away like I can," Slix points out.
"Oh! Fantastic! Actually-- Slivvie, hon. Your friend Telamon is a /wonderful/ alchemist. We got a /whole batch/ of anti-plagues ready ta give out!"
Slix perks. "... oh shoot. That's... holy moly, okay, Mamaw, who's lookin' th' worst?"
She points to one end of the ward. "All thems. The relapses been double hard on they bodies. One's got a broken wing and he's in a lot of pain," the mother replies sadly.
"Aww, that is something I find adorable on all of you, the little face floof that puffs out.", the Gobbo says with a giggle. "Your expressions are amazing!" Irshya chuckles, "Don't fret, Slivvie, I won't call you that out in the TarRaCe, okay? Between you and I, here."
The pool-shark grins, "Ah, good, that's nice to hear. The Monastery is in your backyard, basically, so should be easy to get more help if you need."
She glances back and forth between the two Egalrin. "Telamon is a proper gentleman, I have heard. And I..."
As Jiranu gestures, the Goblin asks, "Has he been properly splinted? I can fix him right up, right now." She begins to waddle down towards the end of the ward.
Slix pouts as Jinaru snorts. "I kno' ri'? So adorable ta get her all ruffled!"
"Nooo... please don'. You'll sound like Mamaw," Slix pleads, helpless as her mother is already leading Irshya down the ward.
"Yes, it is, but it can't get fixed right now, sweetie," Mamaw explains. "They gots the sickness bad. And ta fix it, we're gonna prolly have ta break it. Or if you gots magic that can fix it, I dunno if they little body can take it."
The curtain is pulled back. Upon the bed is an older egalrin man, white and blue feathered, but his eyes are covered by a cold rag, one wing bent painfully upside-down, but secured in a plaster cast. His plumage is thinning, a crack running across his beak if his age wasn't apparent already. He coughs, panting and wiping off green phlegm with a weak hand from his beak. "Heeeya Mista Inara. How ya doin'...?" Jinaru quietly greets.
His beak cracks open dryly. "Still... still too... too hot..." he croaks out before coughing again.
GAME: Irshya refreshes spells.
Irshya's trident begins to glow faintly, as she intones a prayer, imploring Rada to cure the Egalrin's sickness. The glow becomes very bright, lighting up the entire ward briefly, before it transfers to the wounded Egalrin.
"You should start feeling better shortly, Mister Inara." She turns to the two Egalrin women. "Give him more water, and we should move him elsewhere to protect him from being reinfected. I've got another spell that should make him resistant for a little while, but it won't last much longer than an hour, so he should be moved quickly." Her fingers wiggle once more, as the Gobbo prays for a minor protection spell, to keep him safe for the time being.
Inara, the sickly patient, blearily opens his eyes as the light grows in them room. A ragged gasp escapes him as he finally takes in the sight before him, and squirms as the light suffuses him.
A heavy, hard, final, cough wracks him. Jinaru breaking out of her watching the ensemble as she brings a bucket over before Inara spits out a wad of concentrated yuck into it. He falls back into the cot, panting. His features more lax than before, as right now he is just beyond tired. "Right," Jinaru nods, reaching over to wrap a cloth around the older man's beak. "Fantastic work. I'll go get some of da boys ta-"
"I got it," Slix cuts in, familiar feathers animating and wrapping around the edges of the cot, grabbing each side of them before she lifts them. Seemingly with ease, but there's a twinge in her face that it's a touch straining. Without waiting, she dips out of the ward, moving someplace else that seems to be where the recovering is beyond a door.
Jinaru rubs her face, sighing. "Got like... eight more like that ta do. Then the rest is... on the cusp of recovery, but they ain't clear. Maybe like thirty like that." She pulls in a box just outside the clinical room. It lightly rattles of glass. "You wanna help me get these doled out?"
Irshya's nose wrinkles at the ICK coming up, and she pats the man's arm on the good side, opposite the broken wing. "Okay, Mister Inara. Now you just have to sleep." She giggles as Slix' feathers animate, and lift the cot. "Amazing, hon. Gosh you have so many tricks, I'm feeling jealous here!" The pool-shark pats Slivvie on the arm, and her trident glows again as she whispers a prayer. She does the same for Jinaru as well. "Should keep the sickness off you for a little bit."
From the box that the elder Egalrin pulls in, Irshya pulls out several vials. "Okay! How about I do the sickest ones, and you start with the lingerers, and I'll catch up?"
Slixvah gives a wink. "Tha's why I lift the barrels out fo' ya at work," she hums before giving a little bow of a nod at the blessing. "Thank you." And she's slips out.
Jinaru smiles as well, but she shakes her head as she pulls out vials as well, stuffing them into her apron. "Naw. We both do th' lingerers. Give everything we can fo' each of th' lingerers and work our way to the worst ones," she advises, experienced in her role as a healer. "Tha' way. We can clear out a big wave of people, and come tomorrow, Slivvie and ya- if ya staying around fo' a lil' bit- can clean up the last of the worst ones."
She gets a cheeky look about her. "Soooo. How long you and Slivvie been... 'friends'?" she air quotes.
The Gobbo snorts at Slixvah, gesturing with a hand. "Hah, I figured you were doing that on purpose. That or to tease Aelwyn. And you're most welcome!" She watches Slixvah head out with the injured man, before turning to listen to Jinaru. The suggestion is pondered for a few moments. "Sure, we can do it that way. And I will definitely stay, I just need a bath to sleep in. Need to keep my skin hydrated."
Irshya's cheeks begin to mottle a lavender in colour, and she slowly makes her way to the patients who're on the cusp of regaining their health. A couple of vials are administered before she begins to answer. "For some time now. She makes an excellent bartender. Friendly, relatable, chatty. Great things for a bartender to be. We've leaned on each other in good times and bad. My closest friend and confidant." The smile on her face remains there the whole time she talks. "She has uhm a few oddities, I think you probably know what I mean. So, she comes and goes as she needs to."
"Bit of both!" Slix calls out from over her shoulder before the door shuts.
Jinaru quirks her head to the side at that condition. "Hmm. I'll see what I can do 'bout that. We ain't really got tubs, got waterfalls tho' runnin' through. Can get a tub fo' ya."
The mother grins as she too is working on others, casting cheeky looks at Irshya. "Oh yes. I'm very well aware. See, Slivvie's got a bit of wanderlust. Call it whatever she may, and whatever happens when she's stickin' in one place ain't too bad. I'm jus' glad she's found people she can mesh wit'."
She pauses, ignoring the pleading of a child that was throwing a fit that the medicine was disgusting. "... ya know. I ain't really seen much of her wonkiness as of late. Ya kno', when she sticks around..." she muses aloud.
"Oh? Waterfalls? Oh I don't need a tub then, I'll try to find a place to curl up by the waterfall." Irshya looks pleased at this prospect.
"She explained it as such to me, a wanderlust. I do love her, and I am happy that she considers the TarRaCe as one of her homes. Oh! Would you and your family like to come down to the TarRaCe some time? We've got a large upper room for big gatherings. We'd be pleased to serve you up a good dinner and some excellent wine and other alcoholic drinks. We've baths too, so some of you could relax and soak in some hot water."
At the upset youngling, the Goblin tuts, reaching into her pouch, and pulling out small, red square object. "Here, little one. It is hard candy, and tastes like cherry. It should take your mind off the medicine. Keep it in your beak, lick at it. Don't swallow it."
Jinaru makes a clicking sound in her throat. But soon realizes that she's not speaking with an Egalrin. "Gotcha gotcha. Well, I'm right glad ya gettin' right along wit' her." The question gets her feathered brows to rise. "... oh? Ya sure? Th' whole crew is fifteen. But I think that'd be right grand-- after we get my baby Bani sorted out..."
The youngling hacks and coughs, not from the sickness, no, but from the terrible tasting medicine that was given to them. "Ewww, this tastes terrible- wuh?" they squawk, looking at the candy. <Auran>
"It's candy, you goober, and say thank you, they takin' time outta they day ta help ya," Jinaru mothers the child. <Auran>
"Oh, uhm tank tu," they butcher, taking the candy and looking quite relieved as it hits.
"Not everyone speaks Trade in my Aerie," Jinaru supplements.
"Oh gosh, yes. Fifteen is easily handled. When you get to a point where things have calmed down, and people are feeling themselves again, come and find me. We can discuss the menu. It would be a pleasure. You've all had a rough time, so something cheerful and pleasant ought to be a reward for enduring." She giggles lightly at the child, as a similar reaction plays out with an elderly male, but he at least understands what the candy is, and sucks away at it with a pleased noise.
Irshya awwws at the little one's very sweet thank you, and she giggles, "You're welcome!" A hand reaches over to muss the feathers on the child's head. Nodding, Irshya smiles, "I know, it's why I am glad you're here with me, you can translate. Though, I've a spell that allows me to understand what other Egalrin are saying, but, it doesn't translate what I say back."
The next patient seen by the pool-shark is another youth, though one perhaps in their teenage years, or a bit older. They insist on having the candy before the medicine, causing the Gobbo to laugh, and hand out a black one. The reaction is one of surprise, but then acceptance, and the medicine goes down.
Jinaru smiles cheerily. "I will certain put tha' in the itinerary as tha's very sweet of ya ta do, sugar. And make sure Slivvie is on shift!" she whispers conspiratorially. "It'll be very funny ta see her reaction!"
Seems like this is where Slix gets her mischievous, dramatic streak from.
The child giggles at the ruffling as they settle back into their cot, looking sleepy.
"Bah, don't use it. It'll be mo' fun ta pick up th' quips and chirps," Jinaru snickers, it only doubling at seeing the fussing child. "Ugh, when did ya'll get so dramatic?"
"Miss Unmesi, you bayed and cried havoc when you stubbed your toe earlier," a patient snips off a few cots away.
"This ain't about you, Dereen!"
Laughter rolls through the ward. Weak, coughing, yes. But laughter nonetheless.
"Actually... I have a bigger, better idea. Autumn is coming soon. Harvests will be coming in, and there'll be a fine selection of food available. Why don't we have a celebration here? Put out picnic tables and grills, and we can have a big feast. Invite both Aeries. And folk from Alexandria. Those who helped out in your recent migration. Just a whole bunch of food, people can come and go as they please, and enjoy themselves." The Gobbo snorts and laughs. "Aww, she'd be so embarrassed. And so mad at me." Stepping back over to the wee child, she pantomimes falling asleep, making snoring noises, before rubbing at the youngling's cheek. "Sleep, little one. You'll feel better in the morning."
Giggling, she begins to move down the rest of the lingerers. "Well, I suppose it may spur me into learning your language faster..." She giggles loudly as the laughter rolls about. "Ah, hah, that's good medicine, laughter. You folks will all be okay. If you can survive the nasty flavour of the medicine."
"... a party?" Jinaru echoes the idea. Several heads perk up.
"Ay yo, a party?" "Gonna be food?" "I got a lute at home!" Voices in the ward echo to a quiet murmur before Jinaru shushes them. "Shhh! If ya sleep thi' crap off and get ya wings all doctored up, ya'll can friggin party all night long!"
There's a general, surprisingly Khzadul based, tired cheers as they quiet down before Jinaru looks back to Irshya. "That sounds really fun. An', doubly fun ta pull one over Slivvie."
The little kid coos at the ruffle, them not needing to be told twice to get to sleeping as they're already dozing off.
Jinaru bobs her head, pulling out more bottles and stuffing them into her apron. "Aye. We's a stubborn lot, but we'll get through this. Let's get this down gullets, then I'll grab Slivvie and we can get the rest cured. Sound like a plan?"
Irshya laughs at the enthusiasm, and nods as Jinaru directs the patients' attentions towards healing up. "Don't make Mamaw come over there an' tuck you in good an' tight!"
She glances to Jinaru, "Do your people speak Khazdul? The Khazadi language?"
The sleepy child draws a few more awws from the Gobbo before she continues down the line. "A lute, you say? Well, what's a party without some music?", Irsh says to the lutist, offering up a candy after feeding them the medicine. The taste is definitely awful, but it does its job, with the Gobbo helping with nose blowing, and offering a bowl to spit up the ick into.
"That is an excellent plan, Mamaw!"
"Aye, most here do, lotta Khazadi come through th' Aerie back in the mountains," Jinaru hums after snickering at Irshya's threats. "I'll do it!"
"No ya won't!"
"On Ceiwen?" Jinaru counters.
".... okay maybe."
"Tha's what I thought!" Jinaru tuts before cracking open a few more bottles. "Righto, let's get to it."
Slixvah slips back in, her quirking a brow. "... I heard somethin' 'bout a party, but not much more..." she muses aloud before her hands alight with a bright white hue. "Ya'll get them, I'll cure th' worst befo' my feathers get tired."
"Tha's great sweetie, while ya at it, can ya tell me alllllll about how ya found such a nice lil' gal? Hmmmm?" Jinaru preens.
"Mamaaaaaw....!"
-End Scene-