Nightshift 34, Clinic (M35)

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

When night fell again, Tamaki once more found his spirits dropping. He'd managed to keep it together the night before, but now....

Well, he had had a very strange day and it was harder and harder to keep those feelings of distress and bleakness at bay. He hadn't been able to make it to the library after all, and he was tired and out of sorts and not sure how he was going to make it through the night.

But he put up the sign for the clinic and set out the medical supplies like always, hoping that maybe things wouldn't be too terribly busy tonight.

And that enough people would be there to help that no one would be forced to rely on him.

Comments

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

[[From here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/421130.html?view=34886922#t34886922).]]

"Good evening," Raine said when she came in, nodding to him. "Tamaki, this is Sheena Fujibayashi. We know each other from home, and she decided to join us tonight."

She frowned slightly when she got a good look at him; whatever was upsetting him was getting worse. She didn't know him well and she wasn't in charge of him, so she really didn't have the right to make him tell her anything... but he did need to talk to someone.

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

Sheena followed Raine into the room, peering around curiously at the sign on the door and the setup inside. She smiled at Tamaki and gave him a little wave.

"Hi."

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

Tamaki nodded to both. "Hello, thank you for coming." He wondered if Kratos was ever coming back, or if he'd found something else to do with his nights. And he hoped Miss Fujibayashi was a healer as well.

"I've set up everything...."

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

Raine nodded, but her eyes didn't leave his. "Tamaki... if you need a rest, it's all right to take a night off." She was really worried about him, but since he wasn't exactly her student she didn't know how far she should go in pushing him. More than that, she didn't know why he had been so upset lately... at least she knew his boyfriend was still here.

"I know things have been hard lately," she added, voice gentle. "If I can help, let me know."

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

Upon hearing Raine go into the also-often-seen motherly mode, Sheena quickly busied herself looking over the various supplies set out. She was curious about the bottles and she picked a random bottle up.

Wow, that print is tiny, she thought as she squinted at the label, trying to read it in the ambient light from the flashlights. She shook a bottle. It sounded like pellets or... pills or something like that.

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

"No, I'm...okay." Tamaki shook his head. He couldn't let anyone down! Not again. Not after what had happened. "I'll be okay."

He was horrible at hiding this, too. He'd done alright, during the day, but there was something about the dark, and these little rooms.... At least Raine was here, and the stranger she'd brought was a woman, who seemed nice enough.

"Thank you. I...I'll be fine, though. I just... oh, I don't know." He waved a hand and tried to laugh it off. A part of him did want to talk to her - Raine was very nice, and he liked her very much, even if she could be terribly stern sometimes. "I suppose I just have a lot to think about, that's all."

[hallway, just outside]

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

[From above.]

Once they were in the hall, Raine let go, but he wasn't going anywhere if she had anything to say about it. "I know something happened the other night," she said. "What was it? This isn't like you." Her voice was gentle, but firm; she wasn't letting him just say 'don't worry, I'm fine' and leave.

"Believe me, I've had my share of traumas." It wasn't like her to admit it, but she liked him, she was worried, and she wanted to get her point across. "It's not fun, but talking helps."

Re: [hallway, just outside]

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

"..Ah....!" Tamaki was a bit startled as he was hauled out into the hall, and attempted to flag down Miss Fujibayashi for help, but it was a bit too late.

When Raine began questioning him, he folded his arms around himself and looked away, not wanting to have to go over it again.

"I've already talked about it," he said, looking down at the floor. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, he just...didn't know how he was supposed to get beyond it if people kept wanting him to talk about it! "I'm sick and tired of talking about it. And it doesn't matter anyway, it's over and done with. Nothing....nothing terrible happened."

Just...very bad. But it could have been so very, very worse.

Re: [hallway, just outside]

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

"But I would guess that something happened that was very bad," Raine replied quietly. "And I know you want to be useful, but you're not helping yourself if you just try to press on just like always.

"I won't try to force you to tell me anything--I know even telling the story once is difficult, and I'm glad to know you did. But this is hard on all of us, and if you're not used to danger at all it's especially wearing. Take the night off and get some rest--we can manage. Find a friend to spend the night with, even if they just stay with you until you're asleep."

Re: [hallway, just outside]

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

Tamaki shook his head. "The monsters and things don't scare me anymore," he said. "I've gotten used to normal danger. Well...normal danger for this place, anyway. I just never expected..." He sighed.

"I always press on like always," he finally said, offering a small smile. And he did. Put on a happy face and eventually everything felt right and good again.

"It's just easier that way. To help other people and remember there's still good, and helping people makes me feel better. Especially when I can't help myself." He frowned a little, because he hadn't told anyone everything. He looked down again, awkwardly, uncomfortable.

"It...was bad."

Re: [hallway, just outside]

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

"The clinic does a lot of good, but we can manage without you for a night," Raine told him gently. "You need to take care of yourself. Find a friend if you can; either way, I want you to sleep tonight. It will help--it won't make the problems go away, but risking making yourself sick won't either."

Not so many years later, she remembered well what she wished someone had said to her as a teenager; while her past had made her stronger, it had also left her with major trust issues. She didn't want Tamaki struggling to deal with things alone when he didn't have to.

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

[in M35]

Raine noticed she still hadn't managed to return the book she'd inadvertently borrowed; she took it out of her bag and finally put it back, then picked up the one that she'd started working through more recently and flipped through in search of the page she'd been on; she really should have used a bookmark.

Hopefully the clinic won't be too busy tonight... we need our medics as well as our healers. But Tamaki needed to rest before he came down with something, and they had Sheena tonight.

...hopefully the ninja would manage not to actually break anything.

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

[from above]

Kratos left the sword with Tamaki and went back inside the room. The young man's friends, the irrepressible twins, had shown up, so he felt he could leave Tamaki in their hands.

He walked over to the desk and bent down to examine all of the medicine bottles clustered on its surface, picking up one after another to give them a look-over. "None of them seem to be broken or missing a top." He straightened up, dusting his hands off, noting wryly, "I believe it's safe to say we've avoided a disaster."

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

"Fortunately plastic is reasonably durable, and she's not quite as bad as Colette," Raine said, a hint of dryness in her voice. She really was glad to see her friend... although if anyone asked how they met, that might get a little awkward.

She was still worried about what would happen if Colette did show up, but she was trying not to worry about things that only might be an issue even if they did happen.

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

"The Chosen has her own brand of clumsiness," Kratos replied, "One considerably more blessed." Yes, Colette had a way with switches and control panels, a way that involved triggering them at exactly the right time and place via tripping. It was unfair, really.

It struck him that if Colette ever showed up, things between him and Lloyd's friends would suddenly become very tense. He could only persuade them of anything by his word and actions alone, and even then they would probably be loathe to trust him.

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

"...only on occasion. You never had cause to go into the school building, correct? She managed to make a hole in the wall trying to clean the floor recently." Raine's class gave her headaches sometimes.

Well, if Kratos wanted to know any more of what he'd missed not being there for Lloyd, she did have a lot of stories. It might be a good way to pass a little time, if neither of them got too homesick over it.

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

[from here] (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/423535.html?thread=35296111#t35296111)

Sweeping in past Tamaki and the two boys, Sheena entered the clinic with Forte bracing himself on her shoulder. Forte's pant leg was torn and tied tightly above his bleeding, swollen ankle.

Sheena, her face a bit pale and a trace of blood still on it near her mouth, looked to Raine. "Scorpion," she said to the healer and then a small pleading look entered her eyes. "Do we have water? Cause... I need a glass. Like now."

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

[From above.]

Raine winced; the creatures who could poison their victims were the worst. Sheena looked sickened too, but she didn't get why the ninja was asking for... she grimaced when she saw the blood near Sheena's mouth and finally made the connection. The girl was really too softhearted at times. "We should. Can you get him sitting down?" Desk chair, bed, she didn't care, she just didn't think he should be supporting himself at all right now.

She found the container of water, and then some sort of shallow cup she didn't quite recognize. She filled it, left it on the edge of the desk (near the trash can, just to be safe) and then went to Forte's side, starting the incantation to Recover as she went. Being left with this spell is one thing to be grateful for... even if Sheena may disagree once she finds out.

[runner-up-robot.livejournal.com]

Forte closed his eyes, as Sheena's treatment had made the wound feel worse - but then it suddenly felt much better. He looked at his leg again, and the redness was gone. The wound was still there, but it looked cleaner.
Shocked, he commented - "Wow, that's much better." Then, as an afterthough,
"Uh, thank you. I'm Forte."

[mizuhomaiden.livejournal.com]

Sheena had managed to get Forte into the nearest chair as instructed by Raine before she made a bee-line for the glass of water. She was mid-drink when Raine cast Recover, almost spitting the mouthful all over the desk. As it was, her eyes might as well have tried to escape her face.

All that... disgusting, grossness for nothing. Had she known exactly what spells Raine had access to before she'd run to Forte's aid, she wouldn't have had to... yeah... ew.

"Told you," Sheena said to Forte, a tiny smirk on her face that she mostly hid by finishing the water. She felt so much better now.

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

"Of course," she said, going for the bandages (and discreetly glancing over at Sheena). "I'm Raine Sage."

With the poison no longer an issue, the wound didn't look too alarming, though if Forte wanted to stay a while, it was understandable. Either way, he shouldn't be too hard to take care of.

Which meant that she could easily keep an ear out for what was happening in the hallway; if Tamaki and his friends didn't go somewhere he could lie down soon, she was going to have a few words with them.

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

[From above.]

A few pages in, Raine remembered something a little more urgent; looking over at Kratos, she asked, "Have you thought of anything for tomorrow night? Because after last week..." She'd tried, but couldn't think of anything to really prepare for being attacked on the bus, again.

Still, they could try to plan. She had no idea what Tamaki had done on the previous trip, just that he'd gotten to his room before she and Reinforce did, but she didn't want to take chances. Raine wasn't much of a fighter without magic, and without a weapon it only got worse, but she was still better equipped to defend people than some of the others here. Mainly meaning some of the children, and she almost didn't care how badly she was hurt protecting them.

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

[from above]

Kratos opened one eye slowly, clearly a little irritated at being disturbed. "No, I haven't." The previous trip, he had managed to escape the bus and arrive at the clinic with relative ease; he hadn't thought much of it since. Granted, the chances of me being so lucky again are slim.

He yawned (now there was something that had not happened for a while), keeping his one open eye fixed on Raine. "Did you have something in mind, Miss Sage?" Given how much the half-elven woman had been worrying over Tamaki recently, it probably had something to do with the young man.

[per-ardua.livejournal.com]

Raine observed that if Kratos was that tired, she might want to make this quick; she didn't actually want to antagonize him. "Since we're not always given a choice about which bus to take, I'm concerned about protecting the people that need it." Not just their group, of course, but Raine had to admit she was most concerned about the children she knew.

"Unfortunately I still haven't come up with anything, but if it's possible, we should keep an eye out for them," she nodded towards the hallway, "on the way back." In other words--if you have an actual plan, let me know. She wasn't the greatest at battle strategies and they had very few options for defense, so for once she was coming up blank.

[spandexorgtfo.livejournal.com]

Ah, so he had been right in thinking that this was partly concerning Tamaki.

"Everyone will no doubt be on guard the ride back, considering the previous trip, and I assume that those fighters on board will respond to what was the nearest threat last time, the nurses, with relative speed and urgency. What we will probably need to worry about then, if my assumptions are true, are any monsters waiting outside the buses and the possible buildup of people as they try to leave: one will quickly become easy pickings for the other."

Kratos frowned, thinking. "If we want to successfully 'keep an eye out for them'-" his eye flicked toward the door and back "-then we will have either sit close by to keep them in sight, which I'm sure they would greatly enjoy, or else get out quickly, find them, and then escort them from there. The issue, though, is that one, we may not be able to reach them readily, even sitting nearby; two, neither one of us can afford to play bait while anyone makes a mad dash for the Institute; and three, the monsters might not necessarily target us." His thoughts were on those birds Momo had mentioned.

"As a last resort we have magic, but I think we both know that will have to be spent elsewhere." Kratos knew he might be missing another possibility, but right now this was the best he could come up with.