Thar Shaddin

"Actually, I was hoping you'd say that." Ree smiled again. This time the smile was much gentler as she focused on the young woman. Ree glanced from the young woman, to the man, and back again. The gentle smile was still on her face.

"Perhaps we could take a seat?"

Ree gestured toward the stone gazebo with her left hand. She did not want the girl to collapse in surprise. Knowing the family's anti-magic stance and strong Puradyne leanings, being told she is a magic-user would hit hard. Or, Soneya might not believe her. That was a possibility, too.

Vexako slid his hand over Soneya's where it rested on his arm. He gave her hand a pat, letting his fingers linger for a second longer than necessary before perching it on his hip. Medical diagnoses were as fluff to him. He showed interest for the sake of the two lovely ladies before him, though he knew well enough that he was the background noise in this new game. Still, if Soneya was comfortable enough to discuss important matters to her health in front of him, he would let her. It was a direction he could benefit from, after all.

He guided her over to the gazebo Metarie had indicated, getting a good look at the doctor in question. Sure wasn't like no doctor he'd ever seen before, not that he was complaining. Maybe if he stayed in town long enough he could have her check him out. He directed the resulting smile towards Soneya, hoping it was in some way reassuring. He sat them down on a bench within the gazebo and leaned back, slinging an arm over its back. He didn't dare make any moves with the other woman present. All that was left to do was to settle back and watch them both.

“Really?” Soneya perked up a little at Metarie’s words, glad that the doctor hadn’t taken it the wrong way that she had suggested to ruin her day off. She felt even better when Ko agreed to stay with her, though it may be a little weird to discuss her health condition in front of a complete stranger, but he had helped her earlier and maybe his method could give the doctor another hint?

It was a relief also that he made sure their body contact wasn’t completely broken and it made her feel a little more self-assured, despite that still being fairly little. When she was angry or in pain that might be something else but under normal circumstances such as now – as normal as this could be considered – she still felt like a little girl.

Once they were all seated, Soneya shifted around a couple of times, trying to sort her thoughts, trying to decide how to go about this. She knew Metarie would most likely start talking of her own accord since she was the one to even have offered this but she was the one being looked after, it was her health problem, so it was only normal that she should ask the opening question.

Fidgeting some more and edging a little closer to Ko at the same time, the woman finally took a deep breath before fixing her gaze on the doctor. “So... ehm... why do you reckon I get as many headaches as I do? Is there new information? Do you know how to cure me completely?”

Ree waited as the pair passed her, taking the opportunity to observe them. The assessing look the man gave her wasn’t lost. Instead, it was well-received. A spark lit in her gaze and the slightest of knowing smiles curved the edges of her lips. Breaking eye-contact, Ree looked to Soneya at the same time Ko did. Ree stifled the feeling of attraction. The girl looked upon Ko as Ree had once looked upon the Captain. A pity the girl did not look at Ree the way Ko just did. That might be an interesting experience…

Following behind, Ree took a seat on Soneya’s opposite side. The girl held on to Ko’s arm, but one had was free. Ree reached for Soneya’s hand to clasp it between both of her own. Soneya shifted uncomfortably and pressed close to Ko. Telling…

Ree suspected Soneya did not realize the man’s “appetites.” Ree wondered briefly if she should intervene, to keep the woman’s innocence intact. Ree did not mean virginity by any stretch of the imagination. Innocence was something much more precious. Innocence, once lost, was never regained. Ree suspected, though, that Soneya would not appreciate the interference and interpret it poorly.

“So... ehm... why do you reckon I get as many headaches as I do? Is there new information? Do you know how to cure me completely?”

Ree smiled and gave the girl’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“A good man reminded me once that the Tomes say Marn is a haven… a haven for all well-meaning people, even if they are afflicted with magic. This means, simply, that we are Purdyne and we acknowledge the necessity of harnessing magic appropriately and carefully for the greater good."

"I am someone who is unusually and extremely sensitive to the presence of magic. I have learned over the years to control this sensitivity. When I combine it with my medical knowledge, I am able to heal some things that are irreversible otherwise. I do not use this ability unless my patients agree to its use. Many, like you, do not."

"When you came upon me I had been allowing myself to be open to the world,” Ree paused and sought to make eye contact with the girl.

“When I looked upon you both, I saw your Talent, Soneya.” Ree glanced at Ko, "... among other things" and back to Soneya. Ree hoped the woman would receive the news well.

Unsure what was going to come for her, Soneya simply sat, muscles tense and hoped for the best. After the many visits to the hospital, she had grown used to being treated by the woman and despite her upbringing, she was able to look past the fact that this particular doctor was an elf, and most definitely very in tune with her magical abilities, especially because she never used her abilities to do her work – at least she didn’t treat Soneya that way. What the young woman hadn’t expected however was for Metarie to suddenly bring up the skills Soneya preferred to leave unspoken and apply them to her. To her! After the many times she had trusted Metarie to not do it!

Her fingers dug into the bench they were sitting on and her whole body tensed up even more, sending a sharp pain through her neck and up into her head but she ignored it. The fear of what the consequences of the words spoken meant for her were paralysing her, making it impossible for her to even properly register what was going on.

Talent?!

Maybe she should focus on other things – the ‘other things’ that Metarie had mentioned herself. There had to be an explanation therein. There was no talent. No. There was no implication of magic. Soneya studiously ignored that part, refusing to acknowledge that Doctor Sehkhara thought she had ‘talent’ whatever she meant by that. No. She refused. She quite simply refused. There was no such thing for her. There was no way. She was a puradyne. Magic was not for her. Magic was a bad thing. And she certainly didn’t have any talent. Of any kind, for that matter. No!

Straining to focus, she let Ko’s confident presence soothe her a little before she looked at the doctor. “Surely, you are mistaken. I don’t have any talents. Of any kind. Though I’m curious to know what other things you seem to have noticed. Anything that could explain the headaches?” Determined to steer the conversation back on track – back to headaches and far away from magic – Soneya kept her gaze locked on the other woman, willing her to tell her the truth. And the truth certainly couldn’t involve magic of any kind.

Quacky. Ko knew backwaters pretty well. He trod in and out of him all his life, from the time he'd spent with his feet on a deck to all the dirt he'd passed underfoot since. He knew how to blend -- gotten his throat close to being slit plenty, hadn't he? -- but even still it shocked him when folk just got dumb about things. Afflicted with magic? Ko'd been afflicted with magic once, and it sure didn't have nothing to do with being born with it. Still, he wrinkled up his forehead like he was right concerned about it.

Ko put his arm around Soneya's shoulders and squeezed the shoulder opposite of him. He wanted to tell the girl not to be a twit about it once she stiffened up like a virginal harem girl in the king's bedchambers, but he bit his tongue and made a sort of humming sound instead; one that could be taken any number of ways. This could blow up in his face. Not good.

The girl blanched, pulled her hands from Ree’s grasp, and grabbed the bench. Her whole demeanor was tinged with fear. Ree watched Soneya with a look of sympathy. A sad, knowing sort of smile curved the edges of her lips. For his part, Ko was the dutiful supporter, wrapping his arm around Soney’s shoulders in a comforting way. Ree could not comprehend feeling horror at being able to do magic. Magic permeated Ree's being, so much so, that sometimes she felt as if she could reach out and hold the essence of it in her hands. Certainly, when she allowed herself to dream walk she could see it eddy and swirl around her like pollen on a particularly busy spring day. Ree gave a soft sigh and looked away from the pair for a moment. The girl would need time, though, to come to terms with this or continue to deny it.

“I… I am sorry the information is so painful for you, but you must consider the possibility. A talent for magic is sometimes hereditary. Has anyone in your family ever shown a skill?” At least now, she was not hunting such people for “the greater good.” Now, at least, if she could get the girl to accept it, she could be of help. The girl’s reaction spoke volumes, as did the follow-up question regarding the headaches.

“The headaches? I can think of two specific causes. One, you are repressing your Talent, which results in headaches. Two, you are reacting to an environmental factor.” Ree did not bother to say that the reaction was most likely because of environmental factors involving magic or factors affecting Soneya’s Talent. There was no point.

“If you recall, I recommended you keep a journal to monitor the occurrences and severity. By keeping a detailed journal, we can learn much. When do the headaches occur? What is around you? Who is around you? Where are you? These details are important. Have you been keeping the journal?"

Perhaps if Ree could figure out the triggers, she could devise something to help the girl suppress her talent further.

Soneya looked at Metarie, blinking. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe the woman. For all she knew, the elf knew better what was happening on a magical level in Marn than most other people – excluding the battlemages of course; they weren’t part of the city’s defence system for nothing. it was quite simply that she didn’t want to believe that those sort of ideas had anything to do with her. What if she really had magic and would hurt Ko? Or anyone else in her proximity? What if… no no. There was no magic. End of. Magic did not exist in her life or her family or… or… anywhere!

“No,” Soneya replied slowly, pushing her spiralling thoughts aside and trying to concentrate on the simple question the doctor had asked. “My parents are Puradyne. All of us are purad…” Cutting herself off mid-word, Soneya blanched even more if it was possible and looked to the ground, once again nestling herself closer to Ko.

Could it be? Had her grandfather…?

She had heard rumours, when the other maids thought she wasn’t around or not listening. They had been talking about her family’s background and how her parents were aspiring nobodies who would never be able to climb their way back into good graces after the fiasco with her grandfather. She had never quite learned the details, hadn’t wanted to, especially not if it meant realising that maybe her parents had told her the whole truth.

“M-My grandfather was fond of stories involving magic,” she whispered, shaking her head at the same time she stated this. But it couldn’t mean that he had been a mage, could it? No. He had merely liked them, trying to teach her that magic was not al bad, unlike what her parents keep telling her. But then there had been his accident… and her parents had blamed some shifter she had never again heard of for it before increasing her Puradyne education a little. Shortly after she had had an encounter she did never want to remember, ever again.

“What?” Soneya had lost herself in her own train of thought for a bit and hadn’t heard all of what Metarie had said, but the question had reached her. “Oh the journal,” Soneya blushed a little. “I have been keeping it,” she said, lifting her eyes back towards to make sure the woman believed her. It was easier to push all other thoughts aside when she could focus on something that wasn’t magic related. “I just haven’t kept it as regularly as I should have and I just often can’t remember what brought them on. They’re just… there all of a sudden! Maybe stress? Like now?” she offered weakly, knowing it wasn’t the cause, otherwise Doctor Sehkhara would have done something in that respect already. But her headache was coming back again, threefold almost. “When I’m feeling stressed, anxious, cornered… I guess those are the most obvious triggers. Does that help you in any way?”