Not Just a Social Visit (Hai and Mooo) - FIN

[Haisyn Fierra]

She'd spent a good deal of time wandering around by now, and drifted in and out of the HQ building when she actually needed shelter. Or a drink. It was fortunate the kitsusagi had alcohol available, it had helped her with spacing out her meds to make them last longer, since it had a similar - if weaker - effect. But the fact remained that even after finally moving to one pill a week, which was the absolute minimum she could reasonably manage, she was down to three pills.

In about a month her altered body chemistry would become unstable and she would have no way to keep herself from turning into a homicidal monster. She couldn't do that.

Vic had kept an ear out for potential help in regard to her medication, but even the few names she'd heard dropped that seemed promising she'd had no luck with actually tracking down. She did at least have one other option remaining; she hated to ask him, she already owed the guy for helping her after her unexpected arrival here, but Raistlin Majere was really the only person she knew to turn to.

Maybe if this went fairly well she might even try paying him a purely social visit in the future. She hadn't had much use for friends or conversation before Gambol barged into her life but the lack of it now was... blatantly unpleasant.

Vic stepped into the cool dark space beneath a large oak in the middle of the forest, at least fairly certain that this was the area she'd appeared in when she arrived here. It looked like the right tree, anyway... though it didn't look like that Kaale fellow was here right now. Or maybe he was doing that shadow-meld thingy and hiding? "So... anybody home?" One way to find out.  

[-Shady Mooo-]

Kaale'Indon was curled up in the shadows of the large tree, he needed space away from all the hustle and bustle of the house. With all the eggs showing up all the women were coo'ing and fawning over everything. Even though Kaale kept out of the way, it still gave him a bit of a headache. So now he rested beneath the tree, in his own way he claimed it as his, and could always be found lurking around it. At the arrival of Vic, he tilted his head and watched her for a few moments, waiting to see if she was just passing, or if she was going to stick around. 

She called out. 

So she was sticking around. Interesting. He materialized out of the shadow of the tree, his voice echoing in its eerie white noise way "hell..o." he approached her slowly, watching her with his impossibly large golden eyes.   

[Haisyn Fierra]

Vic knew what Kaale'Indon looked like. He was the first creature she'd seen when she woke up here. But after the time that had passed and being about as acclimatized to this place and her circumstances as she was likely to be for some time, the strangeness of his appearance was still a mild shock. Pretty much everything had been too surreal the first time for Kaale to have the full effect the first time, she guessed. Still, it wasn't as weird as it could have been...

She shook the thoughts from her head, smiling a bit grimly at the other. "Hello. Nice to see you." Vic actually felt a little bit guilty about not seeking him out for a visit, either. She just... Gambol had always been the one ferreting her out of hiding to go do s**t, or nothing at all. Going to see people for something other than business just wasn't something she was programmed to do, and it hadn't occurred to her until now that she needed to change that fact. She was tired of being so ******** lonely all the time.

She shook her head again and sighed, resting her forehead against her paw. "I kind of wish this was just a social visit, but..." She lifted her head and looked at him with a touch of resignation. "I was hoping you'd be here because I need to talk to that Raistlin guy, and I'm not really sure how else to track him down."  

[-Shady Mooo-]

 Kaale tilted his head to the side, as she made her request and he gave a gentle nod. He was familiar with inner struggles, and waited patiently while she had hers. "Raistlin....is expecting....children with his mate....but I think he could....use some time away..." the young male explained. His dark hair, wiggled with a life of its own, moving of its own accord. "he's in the...area...would you care to join....me to get him?" he wasn't sure if he reclusive female would join him, but it didn't hurt to ask. And he thought she could maybe use a friend? He didn't have a knack for reading people like Raistlin could, but Kaale was brought up to be polite, something Chaos instilled quite religiously.  

[Haisyn Fierra]

Vic was genuinely surprised to learn the mage had a mate, much less that he was expecting children. Though she didn't really have any reason to be... she didn't know that much about him in the first place, and it had been a while since their brief meeting before anyway. Well, she hoped he did need some time away, otherwise she was going to have to make an a** of herself and intrude on his life. Other lives were going to be at stake sooner or later if she didn't.

"Join you... like, walk with you, or that shadow poofy thing? 'Cause I don't think I'd be comfortable with the shadow poofy thing." As far as going to find Raistlin, especially if he was already nearby, she was definitely all for that. Just not... by means of travel she didn't know the logistics of.  

[-Shady Mooo-]

Kaale gave an eerie chuckle, a sound that resembled  an out of tune radio changing channels. "normal walk...ing" he said with a soft grin. "shadow travel...is an acquired....liking.." he took a few  steps towards the woods where he figured Raistlin would be searching for ingredients. "so...how have you...been" he asked conversationally, to pass the time, and he was genuinely concerned. Someone who had been fine, does not seek out Raistlin.   

[Haisyn Fierra]

Well a quick jaunt further into the woods was less trouble than she'd been expecting to have to go to. As long as she wasn't going to have to follow Kaale into those shadows... it was probably safe, Vic realized that, but it was just too similar to when one of her contacts tried to get her to use an experimental teleporter. If she hadn't demanded to see it tested first she'd be a bloody dead version of a peeled and cored apple right now...

She really didn't want to keep thinking about that. Forcing her mind quite firmly away from that line of thought she followed her odd companion through the trees. "Me? ...Bored mostly." She shrugged. "Getting low on my meds, though... not exactly any easy way to replace them. I was hoping the mage guy could help me with that." Even without Raistlin's talents at magic he'd seemed fairly competent about herbs, too. She wasn't real big on homeopathic concoctions but if he could come up with something that would work... Vic was more than glad to put up with some stinky tea or something.  

[-Shady Mooo-]

Kaale gave a soft nod, as he led the way to Raistlin. "the Mage....will...be able to help...he is very...skilled" he stopped and tilted his head, his golden eyes going out of focus, as he tuned in to something only he could hear. After a few moments, he nodded again "Raistlin is....coming"  

True to his word, Raistlin appeared seconds later, coming through the trees, his robes bustling about his feet. His staff lit the way through the darkened forest. He bowed his head to Kaale, and then to Vic. "I hear you have been looking for me..." he said watching her with his piercing eyes.  

[Haisyn Fierra]

Vic peered curiously at Kaale when he paused and then said that Raistlin would be arriving shortly. Did they have a secret radio or something? There was definitely something going on here that she was missing... She waited though, fidgeting just a bit before the mage actually made his appearance. You know... she'd completely missed the peculiar shape of Raistlin's pupils last time. That was certainly different.

"I... well. I probably should have asked you about it sooner, but I had some vague hope of finding someone who could actually make my... medication..." She drifted off a bit, a little uncomfortable. Should she just explain why she needed it, or could she hope that wouldn't matter?... "I had a fair supply still in my pocket when I got here, fortunately, but it's just about gone now."

She'd just wait and see if he asked, or if it really seemed appropriate. Telling people about her condition... was something she simply didn't do. Though at least it would probably matter a lot less in current company than it would have when she was still more or less human. After she got a feel for what needed to be done, maybe she'd explain. At least the half-true part she'd told the doctor when she first got the pills subscribed.  

[-Shady Mooo-]

  Raistlin inclined his head to Kaale, and the strange male disappeared, leaving the two alone. Raistlin turned to head back to his cabin, motioning for Vic to follow. "shirak" he whispered to his staff, and the light got brighter. "I cannot guarantee results but I-" he was cut off by a coughing spasm, his entire frame wracked by the force of the fit. He pulled out a handkerchief and coughed into it. The spasm lasted a few minutes, and only subsided after he managed to take a swig from his flask, of his soothing tea. He took a few extra minutes to recover and catch his breath "the price we pay..." he said softly. He turned to Vic and offered a small half smile. "my apologies...i paid dearly for what I have..." he said quietly, still regaining his strength. "now...your medication...I will need to know the condition...or I will need to examine and analyze one of your pills, which will take longer..but it is up to you. I will help any way that I can" he said as they finally reached his little cabin, which was cozy and filled with strange ingredients, dried flowers and herbs everywhere. But it was a comfortable environment. As it turned out, Nenda was out of the cabin at the moment, off by the sea no doubt. Raistlin invited Vic in, "please make yourself comfortable" there were plush seats by the fire, or there was a nook by the large bay windows that overlooked a small pond, a little garden and a magnificent view of snow covered mountains. Raistlin set his staff by his workbench after whispering "dulak" to turn it off.       

[Haisyn Fierra]

Vic functioned just as well in dark or light as far as vision went thanks to her tech-eye; it had a night vision mode. Still the staff lighting up was not unappreciated, and she could definitely admire that his magic definitely had some usuful, and very practical, applications. Street magicians could do some amusing illusions but they had no real purpose besides conning the gullible, and she'd quickly gotten bored with them. This was something different; and costly, if he was still having such violent coughing fits because of what he had to do to gain the power. She'd simply thought he was sick with something before...

She grimaced when he stated what was going to be necessary to accomplish what she'd asked of him. She supposed she could try to explain... but really, longer or not it was probably a lot simpler if she gave him one of the pills. Still, if she could avoid wasting what she had left... Vic remained pensively silent as they approached what was apparently Raistlin's home, and she took a moment to admire the view out the window while she tried to convince herself to open her mouth again.

"It's... well, it's not your average medical problem. Not even where I'm from, and definitely not here from everything I've seen." She pulled the pill bottle out of her pocket at set it on the corner of the workbench. "I can give you a little back story on it to explain, but I have a feeling you'll probably have to use one of these anyway." She frowned, brow furrowing before she gave a resigned shrug. "Explanation will take a few minutes... but you were probably prepared for that sort of thing already, huh?"  

[-Shady Mooo-]

  the mage nodded, and took the bottle of pills, taking one out. "I suspected a lengthy story might be required. Fear not however, I am a skilled multitasker" he said offering a sly grin as he went about setting up what he needed to examine the pill. "a description will aid greatly, for I will have to substitute some ingredients" he said over his shoulder, as he began crushing the pill up in his mortar and pestal. "could I offer you a beverage?"
Yep, Nenda sure had changed the Mage. He wasn't nearly as grumpy as he used to be. Then again he wasn't surrounded by the same people he was back home.       

[Haisyn Fierra]

Vic mused to herself for a few moments about how and precisely what to present to Raistlin by way of explanation. The basic explanation would probably be enough; her meds were the average make-up for the condition in question, they were just a much higher dosage because hers was a particularly bad case because of the more unusual factors of her origins. What she could turn into was why she didn't want to lose control, but it wasn't why she needed the medication.

"We didn't have magic where I'm from, but the technology we had probably would have seemed like magic to the uninitiated. It reached a point where a person could change their bodies at the genetic level. Really expensive s**t, mind, most people couldn't afford it, and what changes could be made could only go so far before it would do more harm than good. Fools used it to give themselves weird hair colors and s**t, of course. Other people used it to try and help treat birth defects or severe injuries, particularly with little kids that would have the rest of their lives ruined. It was a fairly recent developement, though... to be able to do it safely, anyway. Some of the early testing... they didn't see all of the side effects right away. Not for years afterward, particularly with the little kids. Genetic alterations and puberty... didn't exactly mix well for some."

She pulled the sheet of bangs covering the side of her face back, revealing the jagged scars of long-healed claw marks. "I was about eight... got attacked by an angry animal that got out of its cage at the compound my dad worked on. Lost my real eye. He opted to get me some of the experimental therapy, otherwise I probably wouldn't be walking right now. But later... turned out I developed what most people started referring to as "Wrath Syndrome". The chemicals in the brain that cause anger and aggression work overtime. Worse for some than others, and in my case... well. Lets just say the doctor I used to get them from has never heard of anyone else having to have nearly that high of a dosage."

There was a long pause of Vic's part before she thought to add something else. "Oh and... whatever you gave me that first time was fine, but if you need to put any sort of extra sedatives in this, I should probably test a small dose first. I ah, have bad reactions to some things like that."  

[-Shady Mooo-]

  Raistlin bustled about his workbench as Vic told her story. It sounded sort of like his home world, just with more technology. he tried to imagine a world without the magics he grew up with and loved so dearly. The very thought pained him, so he decided to focus on the now.

"genetics are a tricky thing to tamper with..." he mused softly as she neared the end of her story. 

When she finished he gave another soft nod, fingers delicately manipulating a small fire he summoned. "wrath suppression is something I am familiar with. The dynamics of the other case are similar, but it was something he was born with. A half vampire with a blood lust I've never seen before. " Raistlin gave a soft, sad smile. He enjoyed the other males company. "alas, he chose to harness it on his own. Which translates to he has chosen a life of solitude." he had to pause at that, he was rambling. He hardly ever rambled. 

He glanced out the window for pigs flying and various other apocalyptic signs, but thankfully nothing.

"back on track," he said more to himself than to Vic "with your condition, am I correct in assuming that your body gets used to the medication, and you need to change the dosage frequently? Normal genetics adapt and become immune, I'm in new territory with yours, so I beg you'll forgive my ignorance" 

 

    

[Haisyn Fierra]

There was a long pause after Raistlin mentioned Chaos that continued even after his following question. "Er... I'll forgive your ignorance if you'll forgive me taking a moment to wrap my mind around vampires actually being real now." She pressed her face into the palm of her paw, shaking it in confusion as she yet again had to alter her perception of reality. "I swear this place finds new and interesting ways to warp my mind every day."

She rubbed her face for a moment before looking back up. "The dosage, yes, I do have to change it once in a while. Not with particular frequency, though. Over the years I've found some... other ways to help mitigate the problem, they're just not enough by themselves." She might not ought to have mentioned that, though, Vic didn't particularly want to discuss her drinking binges and sexual escapades... Though thinking about it brought some amusing and slightly painful memories of the times Gambol tried so hard, and failed just as hard, at out-drinking her. The way her body functioned it took enough alcohol to kill an elephant before she actually got drunk...

She had to force those thoughts away. "There was a point in my life when I would have done the same thing your half-vampire did... Not sure when things changed, but I guess it just feels like doing that would be holing myself up for no reason. Not if I have other options."