[Official NPC]

OOC: Continued from A Nymph in Need.

Emergencies were not out of the ordinary for Doctor Peter Gruer. Working in the emergency room had a tendency of beating the surprise out of a person, although he hadn't yet reached the point in his career where he thought he knew all the ways a person could hurt themselves.

When he appeared at the nurse's station in response to a page, he was greeted with a frazzled smile and the slap of a chart against his chest. His half-serious oof brought a roll of her eyes and an explosive sigh that fanned stray tendrils of hair out of her eyes for a second before she turned to answer another doctor's question.

Peter glanced down at the chart, his brows furrowing as he realised it was completely blank. "Nurse, if you don't think I have enough work to do..." Unperturbed by her no-nonsense facade, he leaned against the desk and adopted a rakish grin.

"Yes, Doctor, because I have so much time to tease you." She rolled her eyes again, dancing out of the way of another nurse before returning to stick her tongue out at Peter. "You should be thanking the goddess. We got advanced warning this time."

Peter glanced down at the chart, an eyebrow quirking. "Oh really?" She nodded distractedly. "How much warning?"

"Only a few minutes, I expect, so I wouldn't dilly daddle, if I were you. And no -" she pre-empted, pinning him with that stare. "I've no idea what the injuries are. It could be a kid with a toy soldier stuck up his nose for all I know."

Peter grinned drily and slapped the chart against his leg. "Well, you thank your goddess for me, I'm off to prep."

Piper's Boutique • Dafont • KeyMoon • Beyond Tonight

[Piper]

Piper had never been more glad to see a building in her life. It was different, not being the injured party. More stressful, somehow. Maybe because the only hospital visits she remembered were ones where she'd either been unconscious, or close to it, and unable to fret. Not so, now that she was worrying about how much blood Vyon had lost and was losing, or how much further Cal could go without dropping the Nymph, or exactly how far they had left to go.

She was relieved to see the redhead. "I let them know at the hospital what's going on..." Piper smiled faintly - she was too worried, and too busy clearing a path for Cal (why wouldn't these people get out of the way?) to be able to smile fully, though she did still have enough wits to actually thank the girl.

"Thank you." Before she could respond to the question, Vyon started talking. At first, it seemed like he was just rambling. From what Piper could tell, he'd been drifting in and out of consciousness since Cal picked him up, something else that worried her. Unconsciousness was never a good thing. Unless it was sleep. Sleep was good...

And now she was starting to ramble.

It took her a few seconds to understand why Vyon wanted nets and she had the very sudden, and very violent, urge to stamp her foot and scream at him for being an idiot. The burst of energy took her by surprise in more ways than one. She'd never been the type to react that way. Oh sure, she could be as stubborn as the next person, but stamping her feet? It was an incredibly childish thing to do and the kind of dramatics they really didn't need right now.

Although, she had to admit, she really did think Vyon needed to get his priorities straight. She admired his selflessness, but he was in no shape to go haring off into the wilds of a forest that clearly didn't want him anywhere near it. It was like trying to talk Wolf out of some idiotic prank and realising she was just talking to a brick wall, but in this case, Vyon could well die if he went back out there in the state he was in. Well, she'd rolled over for Wolf, and look where that got her. Fiance-less and having to deal with an irate not-quite-mother-in-law who hadn't really liked her to begin with.

Vyon was going to get healed whether he liked it or not. And then he could worry about his friend, and Piper would, too, once she knew he wasn't going to keel over and die on them.

Piper hadn't noticed the way Cal had to rebalance to stay on his feet, but when he didn't argue with Vyon again, she glanced back at him and frowned. She wasn't sure if all Anyeli looked that way when carrying a man but she was worried about him too now. "Cal..." Her mind whirred as she tried to figure out a way of easing his burden without hindering him, but she'd never tried to carry a full-grown person before. Actually, she couldn't remember carrying a kid before, either.

Dropping back a few paces, she gestured at the hospital entrance, trying to inject some cheer into her voice. "We're almost there."

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality

[Kioni]

Kioni listened to the injured man and for a brief moment, she seemed to be... almost entranced. It was a weird feeling but not necessarily a bad thing. Not bad at all, actually. What did feel was something close to desperation.

She had to do it! She had to help him! She had to do what he asked! If she didn't, she... well, she wasn't gonna think about that because it wasn't going to be an option. Because she was just going to do his task and be done with it. And everything would work out.

Her gaze went to the others that he was being carried by and Kioni made her decision.

"You guys can hurry and take him to the hospital." The girl began. "I'll go and do what he asks, get the things he needs. That way two things can be done at once and he won't have to worry anymore." Because this guy was very anxious. Kioni could feel it as she turned to look at him. "Don't worry! I'll take care of it. I promise!"

And thus, Kioni took off, this time on a search for a place where she could purchase the items that were needed.

Piper's Boutique · Dafont · Keymoon · Aethereality

[Isabel]

Isabel let out a sigh of relief as they finally reached the hospital. It was getting rather uncomfortable with all the people staring at them and she couldn't help but feel irritated. "Didn't they have anything better to do than stare with morbid curiosity at an injured man?", she thought as she turned around and narrowed her eyes at some of the people. She turned about again, not wanting to cause any accidents and do more damage. Vyon would finally get the attention he needed. His explanations still baffled her though and it was not far from her mind. How curious it is to hear that a forest could do such damage to a person. It's as if he's telling them that the plants has a mind of their own... she mentally shivered. "That does not bode well.", she thought.

As the girl who went ahead to warn the hospital of their arrival met up with them, Isabel gave her a grateful smile. No doubt she did them a lot of help and the hospital was duly warned. Isabel saw the determined look in the girl's eyes as she relayed to the group her plans to look for the items Vyon said they needed.

"I'll go and do what he asks, get the things he needs. That way two things can be done at once and he won't have to worry anymore."

Isabel smiled and threw in a "Good Luck!" as the girl quickly ran off and was engulfed by the crowd.

Iardacil | Yasny-chan | coolwing
Christopher Hansen | et al.
Complete Credits in Journal

[Calanthiel]

Cal was grateful to Piper for her effort to cheer him on, but didn't really have the energy to spare for more than a half grimaced smile in her direction when she pointed out the hospital as it came into view. Still, being able to see the hospital in reach did give him a burst of energy that helped him to make it the rest of the way. Vyon's brief burst of wakefullness in asking for help hadn't really eased Cal's mind at all – Vyon had slipped out of consciouness far too easily earlier to make giving up and trying to carry him in a more awkward, slower, way an option. Especially when they were so close - it would have been ridiculous to move him at this point, even if Cal's arms were trembling.

He reached the hospital doors with a sensation of intense relief, and was already scanning the waiting room beyong as he stepped through the doors - looking for somewhere to put Vyon down before he dropped him.

"Vyon, can you get yourself balanced?" He spoke, hoping Vyon was still lucid enough to respond. "I'm going to sit you down, but I don't want you to fall out of the chair."

Despite the earlier conversations about warning the medical staff of their approach, he didn't wait for any any approaching doctors to reach them, and just headed straight for the nearest chair to get Vyon safely down.

Credits: Original Character Art by Evie; Brushes: 1, 2; Font. Inspiration.
The good code is Emma's, the mistakes my own work.

[Official NPC]

Peter glanced up as the doors opened to admit a cluster of people. He set down the stack of charts he'd been carrying and shrugged to loosen the tension in his shoulders and neck as he stepped forward. Scanning the group for the injured party, he started assessing the damage before he even reached them. A gurney squeaked to a halt beside him, and Peter clicked his fingers for attention. "On the gurney, mate. What's the damage?"

At the least, it looked like he'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. Scratches, perhaps deeper lacerations, bruising. Until the kid was on the gurney, Peter couldn't really make a proper assessment, but his first guess would be a run-in with one of the nicer beasties out there.

Well, anything nasty, and there wouldn't be much left for Peter to assess.

"This way," he called, leading the way down the hall, through a set of double doors and into his clinic. "You lot - " He pointed at the group that had brought the injured kid in. "Stay here, you'll only get in the way."

Piper's Boutique • Dafont • KeyMoon • Beyond Tonight

[Eivyonydd]

Once the girl, Vyon didn’t even know her name, had dashed off, he relaxed a bit and next thing he knew he was in the hospital and Cal was asking him if he could support himself enough to sit and not fall over. Vyon simply nodded and Cal started toward the chair.

Before they made it though a boisterous doctor trundled up with a trolley bed. He seemed a bit backwater, like how people talked when they were pretending to be an Australian on television or something. Cal instead placed him on the bed as the doctor asked him what the damage was. Vyon was a little surprised at the guy’s attitude but tried not to let it show. People didn’t really talk like that did they?

"Exhaustion mostly," he responded, "I ran a long way to get here. A few cuts I guess but mostly I just something to try and help Chloris…"

Vyon tried to continue but the next thing he knew the doctor was wheeling him off and telling the others to stay put. As the clinic doors opened up Vyon called out to the others, "Do you think you could find someone around here who might know what happened to her?" And then the doors swung shut behind him.

Vyon picture by me with help from Evie on the nose. Forest background modified from a Leet Software image. Brushes from SS-vector-foliage brush set. Code from Piper's Boutique with help to get it all working from Emma.

GM of Cal with permission

[Isabel]

Isabel watched as the doctor pushed the gurney with Vyon on it through a set of double doors while standing awkwardly between the other two as he shouted his request. From their conversations earlier these two probably knew each other, and Vyon for that matter. She suddenly felt like an outsider. Intruding on something she wasn't supposed to be involved in. Now that the adrenaline from the emergency earlier was waning, the feeling was intensifying. She probably should just have gone along with the other girl and looked for supplies. She tentatively took a step back, eyeing the benches for patients and visitors as well as the doors exiting the hospital. She was torn between wanting to stay and find out how Vyon was fairing and leave just to escape the awkwardness she's feeling. Staying won. They also needed to find out what happened to... Chloris was it? She softly cleared her throat to get the others' attention. "I um... I'm just going to sit on one of the benches over there." She pointed towards one wall of the hospital with the vacant benches then suddenly blushed, remembering her manners. "I'm sorry, how rude of me. I'm Isabel by the way.", she said shyly and smiled.

Iardacil | Yasny-chan | coolwing
Christopher Hansen | et al.
Complete Credits in Journal

[Piper]

Piper wilted with relief as Vyon was off-loaded onto a gurney and whisked away. Despite not having done much to help, she felt a distinct sense of pride at knowing Vyon had reached the hospital where he'd be treated. One look at Cal, who'd done most of the work, and that pride was immediately overshadowed by guilt, even though she tried to tell herself there wasn't much else she could have done. Insisted on taking her share of Vyon's weight, maybe...

Vyon's request confused her a little so she took a moment to process it. All of it, actually. She knew first-hand that it was dangerous here, that a life could end in the space between heartbeats, yet somehow, the thought of someone she knew being hurt was an alien concept.

"I um... I'm just going to sit on one of the benches over there."

The girl's voice drew Piper out of her thoughts and she turned to smile faintly in Isabel's direction. Not deliberately ignoring her, Piper focused on Cal for a second. "Sit down, Cal. I expect that walk has done you in." Reaching out to pat his arm, she turned then to focus on Isabel, only remembering her own manners when the girl introduced herself.

"Piper Kin," she said with a sound that was half chuckle and half sigh. "Thank you for helping." Pushing a braid over her shoulder, she wrapped her arms around her waist and hugged herself. They probably hadn't needed everyone but it was so good to know people like Isabel existed here. So many people back home would have just ignored them. In fact, quite a few Elysians had done the same, which made Isabel's help all the more generous, so Piper's smile warmed considerably. Not only that, but they could have run into trouble. Piper wasn't sure of her own strength, and sure as heck hadn't expected Cal to be able to carry a full-grown man all the way, so just knowing Isabel was there had been a huge help.

"Okay, we better find someone to talk to about Vyon's friend, before he walks out of there using a drip stand as a walking stick." She was probably exaggerating (she hoped), and she had no idea what those things were really called, but his tenacity was hard to ignore. If he wasn't satisfied that someone was trying to rescue Chloris, he'd try to do it himself. "You guys remember the symptoms he was talking about, right? I remember... something about her not moving, like a statue. I don't know if he meant literally, but I got the impression he meant her skin had turned to stone or something. Is that even possible?" In the two years she'd lived here, the only disease she'd encountered was her vampirism and she didn't even know much about that beyond the fact that it was referred to as a virus. Basically, she had no idea what kind of illnesses existed here, or what they could do. Maybe Vyon's friend really had turned into a statue.

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality

[Official NPC]

"Mmhmm, mmhmm." Peter nodded and murmured non-committally to show he was listening as he inspected the boy's injuries. It did seem that most of the wounds were superficial and a less patient doctor - Peter's grumpy supervisor, for instance - might start to snort like a bull just about now for being misled. They, of course, would then feel like a silly idiot for their overreaction when they realised that there was in fact a quite serious gash to the kid's leg.

"Yep," Peter said, as if agreeing with an invisible commentator when in fact he was simply agreeing with his own musings. Bending closer to the boy's leg, Peter probed the oozing lacerations with his lips pursed in concentration.

"How did you say this happened?" He hadn't, and Peter was fully aware of that fact. Besides "I ran", the kid hadn't given much information at all, but the tactic worked sometimes. Pretend he hadn't heard the explanation the first time around to prompt a more forthcoming story.

"Well." Still inspecting the wound, Peter was able to see distinct bite marks through the blood. "It doesn't look too bad, considering something tried to gnaw your leg off." He was probably exaggerating. The wound wasn't the type seen on gnawing victims, it was too clean. Still, clearly something with nasty teeth had got hold of him. "Luckily for you, I have a few friends."

Grinning with unabashed excitement, Peter straightened and waltzed closer to the units lining the wall of the room. Opening and closing the draw in a quick one-two motion, he extracted a sterile bottle of clear liquid. "Nature's little wonder. Although several of the hospital's staff believe it's the goddess's wonder." Shrugging indifferently, Peter waltzed back to the gurney as he unscrewed the cap. "Few drops of this and you'll be dancing the cha-cha all the way home. It'll help replenish the blood loss, too."

"Say "ahhhh"." Holding the potion bottle over the boy's ravaged leg, Peter stuck his tongue between his teeth and poured the liquid over the worst of the wounds. Whoever invented this stuff, goddess or mortal, it really was a wonder. Peter couldn't imagine doing his job without it, unlike those lucky sons who called themselves "healers".

Piper's Boutique • Dafont • KeyMoon • Beyond Tonight

GM of Vyon's injuries with permission.

[Calanthiel]

The efficient bustle of the medical staff who whisked Vyon away was a little disorientating. Or maybe it was just the exhaustion hitting him. Hard to tell. Either way, Cal stood there like a particularly confused looking Anyelos statue for a good minute after Vyon's cryptic instructions and disapperance into wherever it was that the doctors were doing whatever they were doing.

He registered, dimly, the girl who had sacrificed her cloak introducing herself as Isabel. Isabel. He'd remember her, he didn't think she knew Vyon like he and Piper did, which made her kindness all the more remarkable.

"Sit down, Cal. I expect that walk has done you in."

He blinked at Piper as she reached out to pat his arm. To his jelly-like muscles the contact felt almost sureal. After a moment the sense of her words made it through his stupor and he drifted over and semi-collapsed onto the bench beside Isabel. After a moment it dawned on him that Piper had introduced herself and that he had quite failed to do so himself. He shook his head a little as if to clear it then turned to Isabel. "I'm Cal," he mustered a tired smile, "thanks for youer help."

Coming back to himself had the unfortunate effect of making him aware of just how much he ached. He listened to Piper trying not to wince at the strain in his arms lest she miscontrue his meaning. The image of Vyon dragging himself out with a drip still in him was only too realistic – it was unfortunate then that he really had no idea what Vyon had even said, let alone what he'd meant. When Piper finished he shook his head regretfully, "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening to Vyon." He smiled a little shamefacedly, "I probably should have paid more attention but I couldn't think about anything other than his injuries." He turned to Isabel with a questioning look, hoping she might have picked up something useful to Piper.

Credits: Original Character Art by Evie; Brushes: 1, 2; Font. Inspiration.
The good code is Emma's, the mistakes my own work.

OOC: Not actually back, sorry, I got Jarratt to type this up! Thank you love.

[Isabel]

Isabel smiled at Piper and took a seat on a vacant bench to rest her tired feet and nerves. What a day this had been. The guy who carried Vyon all the way seemed totally out of it. Probably dazed from the exertion he had to do. She was about to call him and make him sit down when he apparently got his bearings again and collapsed beside her. An amazing feat since he got an extra set of appendage - which she couldn't help but feel jealous of. It looked so soft and white, she had to restrain herself from touching it. It would no doubt be considered rude just to go and touch another person's wings without permission. It would just be akin to randomly touching someone's buttocks for no reason, she thought grimly. She realized she was still staring at his wings when the man suddenly introduced himself as Cal. She blushed, hoping that he didn't noticed her openly staring at him and smiled widely at him in reply. A little too much perhaps?

She was glad when Piper got their attention with Vyon's parting request.

"You guys remember the symptoms he was talking about, right? I remember... something about her not moving, like a statue. I don't know if he meant literally, but I got the impression he meant her skin had turned to stone or something. Is that even possible?"

Cal had said he remembered nothing, which was very understandable, and when he turned to look at her inquisitively, Isabel took a moment to rewind the past... Hour? Or was that just minutes? Nevertheless, she remembered quite a few of what Vyon had said at the beginning. "He said something about "...body like stone". I'm the last person to know anything about medical illnesses, however the impression I got from his statement was that somehow she was paralyzed? She couldn't have been literally turned to stone... I've never heard of people turning to stone before. I guess there's always a first time for everything though." She looked back at them helplessly, unable to give them anymore information that could help them in their predicament.

Iardacil | Yasny-chan | coolwing
Christopher Hansen | et al.
Complete Credits in Journal

[Piper]

Isabel's confirmation that Vyon's friend, Chloris, had somehow apparently turned to stone made Piper's skin crawl. She'd been dead once - twice, if being turned counted - and she knew for sure she'd rather be dead all over again than turned into a statue. Trapped like that... God. Was she aware of what was going on around her, conscious in a statue's body? Piper hoped not, she didn't think she could stomach that. It must be like being buried alive, and thank God Piper didn't have to sleep in a coffin! That would be right on the heels of her worst nightmare!

Biting her bottom lip as she considered the options, Piper fiddled with a braid. She was glad Cal finally fell into a chair; his blank stare had worried her. He'd always seemed to have his wits about him whenever she saw him, and true to form she'd been ready to fall back on his judgement. Seeing how exhausted the trip here had made him, however, Piper realised she couldn't do that to him. She had to rely on her own judgement, and hope she didn't mess up.

"Okay, um. Um. Well, I think the other girl went to get supplies," Piper murmured, wiping her hands on her skirt. She hoped Kioni had gone off shopping as she'd said; she'd certainly seemed like she wanted to help. "I have a few weapons in my shop, so I'll go get them. If Vyon and the doctor come back, um, could you ask about the... about Chloris' symptoms?" She really disliked asking, and didn't want them to feel like she was abandoning them, but Vyon had mentioned weapons and she was pretty sure she had plenty for all of them. Weapons she'd bought and never used because she was such a wimp, but maybe they'd be christened today.

"The boutique's not far, so I shouldn't be long. I'll meet you at the portal, okay?" Smiling faintly, Piper hoped they were in agreement, because she wasn't hanging around to find out or argue about it. "Hopefully I'll spot the other girl on the way back and can bring her with me. Oh! And Cal has my number anyway, so if you need me, you can just call me."

Flashing a "that's settled, then" grin at them both, Piper hurried towards the exit with no intention of stopping or turning back.

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality

I hope you guys don't mind me rushing this bit, but I think we need to advance the plot a bit and this seemed the best way.

[Eivyonydd]

"How did you say this happened?" the doctor asked while inspecting Vyon’s leg. Vyon himself struggled up to get a better look as the doctor unravelled the bandages. He had thought he was mostly just fatigued from the run but when he saw the nasty crusted blood around the bite mark he wondered if perhaps his exhaustion was more from blood loss than fatigue.

"I was trying to escape Chloris’ grove" he replied, trying to be as clear as he could remember about the whole thing. "The trees and vines were trying to grab me and the animals were defending her. Something bad had happened to her but I’m not sure what. One of the wolves lunged at me as I was escaping. I remember she had my leg in her jaws for a moment but I broke away. I guess with the adrenaline I never really noticed how badly she had got me."

Despite the quirkiness of the doctor he was still kind and caring. He chatted on about some things while wandering over to his cabinet to get some medicine, bringing back a potion he poured over Vyon’s leg. The doctor seemed to think that whatever it was it would do the trick so Vyon ignored his leg to ask the doctor if he had anything else.

"The friend I was talking about, Chloris, she’s a Nymph and she’s in trouble. When I found her she was still breathing but barely. She was lying on the ground unable to move. Her skin seemed petrified, like she was turning to stone or something. I’m not sure if it was some strange Elysian illness or something else, but I was hoping to find a cure for it. Do you think you might know of anything?"

Vyon picture by me with help from Evie on the nose. Forest background modified from a Leet Software image. Brushes from SS-vector-foliage brush set. Code from Piper's Boutique with help to get it all working from Emma.

[Official NPC]

The wound on the kid's leg - and Peter could only think of him as a boy with his tongue in his cheek, given that Peter himself was considered a boy by most of the other hospital staff - healed before his eyes. While it was a miraculous sight to see flesh knitting back together, Peter couldn't help but wonder why he'd spent so much of his life preparing for this job when anyone with opposable thumbs could pour a healing potion over a wound. It made him feel rather superfluous. Maybe he should have gone into the family business, after all...

"I was trying to escape Chloris’ grove." Peter nodded, as if he had a clue who Chloris was or where her grove was situated. "The trees and vines were trying to grab me and the animals were defending her. Something bad had happened to her..."

"My, my. Quite the ordeal, no?" he murmured, patting Vyon's leg sympathetically as a father might.

Boyish face scrunched up pensively, Peter's mind was already racing with questions before the boy even asked what he thought of the woman's condition. He supposed for her to have a grove at all, she must be a Nymph, and from the kid's description of his escape then it was likely her grove was out in the jungle or the forest. That would make sense to Peter's theory, but without actually studying the woman's symptoms, he couldn't know for sure.

"Hmm. Hmm. No, no illness of the sort, but there are plants that - Look, this isn't my area of expertise, you know, but let me make a phone call." He was already walking to the phone on the wall before he'd finished the sentence, trying to remember Aunt Jane's number. "My aunt's not a qualified doctor or a healer but what she doesn't know about plants isn't worth knowing. Although," he added with a chuckle as he punched in the number and held the phone to his ear, turning back to Vyon with an easy smile, "Half of what she does know isn't worth knowing, either. She should have an idea... I'm pretty sure your friend's been poisoned."

Piper's Boutique • Dafont • KeyMoon • Beyond Tonight

[Eivyonydd]

Poisoned!

Vyon tried calmly and rationally to think how that was possible. It was unlikely that Chloris would poison herself, accidentally or deliberately, but if not her then who in the world would, or could, do it. Certainly no one besides Vyon had even seen her for years, though Vyon himself knew little of her history and why anyone would want to.

It did make sense why the plants and animals of the grove had become so protective of her though. If she was merely sick, even if it was something that could kill her like Vyon suspected, they would have been nurturing her. If they thought it was contagious or dangerous for Vyon to get close then they would have warned him away in a much less violent fashion.

Instead they had gone feral, territorial, and seemingly filled with rage. Did they blame him? Was it his fault? Vyon shook his head, even if he had accidentally picked the wrong plant Chloris would know it by sight. That wasn't possible. It had to be something else.

Though right now the most important thing was Chloris. Everything else could wait. If it was poison then she likely had less time than he had thought at first, and if that was the case they needed some cure quickly.

Vyon sat up in the bed, eager but trying to be patient as he listened to the doctor talk on the phone.

Vyon picture by me with help from Evie on the nose. Forest background modified from a Leet Software image. Brushes from SS-vector-foliage brush set. Code from Piper's Boutique with help to get it all working from Emma.

[Official NPC]

"Aunt Jane! How are you? Still giving Uncle Geoffrey hell? Well, no, I don't suppose men are to be trusted, are we? No, I certainly trust them... No, no, I'm not being sarcastic. No, I don't have a girlfriend yet. No, or a wife. Well, the thing is, I was calling to - No, I don't have a boyfriend, either... I'm not sure what she has to do with anything, Aunt Ja - Oh, I see, well no, I don't really have time for a blind date just now. But I was calling to ask you about something - no, it's not about Sally's choice in men. I have a patient here - Well, yes, I'm at work, Aunt Jane. I know I don't call you enough, I am sorry about that, but you see, I - Why no, I didn't know Katie was getting married."

Pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger as his aunt continued, Peter glanced at Vyon with a grin that was part mocking, part exasperated. "Aunt Jane, this is quite serious. Yes, so is marriage, I'm aware of that. No, I'm not mocking you," he assured her even as he was pulling a face at the receiver. "The thing is - Now Aunt Jane, that's not true. I'm sure I've spoken to mom this month. Oh, really? That long? Yes, yes, I'll pop by tonight. And take flowers, yes, thanks for the suggestion."

There was finally a pause on the other end long enough for him to masterfully insert his question. "My patient has a friend who I suspect has been poisoned. I don't have her here with me, no, but he told me her symptoms and it sounds like - Yes, yes, that's what I thought. Mmhmm, like a statue. Oh, no, I don't know, let me ask."

Turning to Vyon again, he covered the mouthpiece. "You said she's a Nymph, yes? How cold is she? What? No, how old is she? If she's over thirty, you'll need cappa root instead of java berries." Distracted by his aunt's voice again, Peter repeated the list of ingredients she reeled off while he scribbled them down so the kid wouldn't have to remember them.

"Ew, that one's going to be hard to find... Oh, really? That's quite fortunate, yes, I'll send him your way." He knew she'd find a way to profit from all this. "Thanks, Aunty Jane. No, I - no. I'll pop round for lunch on Sunday, how's that? No, I'm not interested in dating at the moment, I'm still working a zillion hours a day. All right. Thanks. I love you too! Yes, bye. Bye. No, I really have to - Bye, then. Bye. Bye."

Hanging up on her still in mid-sentence, Peter heaved in a breath and turned back to Vyon again. "Family. Always interesting. Now then." Holding out the list of ingredients so Vyon could take it, Peter continued. "Most of those will be relatively easy to get. Your friend might even have them in her store cupboards, actually." Pointing at two ingredients on the list, his lips quirked.

"Aunt Jane says she's currently the only shop who stocks that, go figure, but she said you can also get it yourself if you want to go hunting under rocks and squashing bugs. It's fat, looks rather like a red and black caterpillar, but it secretes this weird stuff that's toxic so wear thick gloves when you handle it.


This one is from a night-blooming flower that grows near freshwater streams, looks like any other bush so you'll need to watch out for spirit monkeys. Since they're drawn to it, they'll show you the way. You only need a few leaves, not the blooms.


Then when you've got them all, mush them all together and pound them real hard. Make your friend a nice cup of herbal tea - any will do, Aunt Jane says, but personally I'd prefer blackberry - and drain the juice from your mushings into it. Tastes absolutely foul, apparently, and she'll need several doses, but you'll see a marked improvement right away and she'll be right as rain in a few days.


So," he said finally, pausing for breath again, and to let all the information sink in. "Any questions?" Lord, he hoped not. He didn't want to have to call Aunt Jane again.

OOC: Sorry to rush this along and put so much in one post. I'll be happy to chop it up if you want to discuss anything, but I wanted to try and move the story along a bit quicker. If you have any questions about the ingredients, let me know, but mostly I figured we could make stuff up as we go. Most of them should be available in the Fae Forest, too, and long-time residents of Elysia should be familiar with them, as would most Nymphs at Vyon's level of training.

Piper's Boutique • Dafont • KeyMoon • Beyond Tonight

[Calanthiel]

It was a relief to Cal that Piper took charge of the situation the way she did – he would have liked to be of more assistance but it wasn't just his lack of energy that prevented him; he felt entirely out of his depth in this situation. People turning to stone?! Piper going for weapons... That last was no less a wonder to him than the first. It was pretty safe to say the weapons weren't stock in her shop, so that only left the notion that even tiny, silly, sweet Piper could fight. He wasn't really sure how to feel about that at all. He hated violence, despised fighting, and he'd simply assumed, based on nothing he could put his finger on at all, that Piper felt the same way. She seemed nothing like a warrior. As for this Chloris 'turning to stone' – it really made no difference how literally that symptom had been meant; Cal had no idea how to deal with either paralysis or people being turned to statues. About the only thing he could do was wait for Vyon. Fortunately, he was more than happy to do so.

At any rate, as Piper dashed off, he simply called his agreement out after her, and settled in to wait for Vyon. After a moment more of simply slumping on the bench, he realised that as little as he might want to, he really should move and stretch his muscles out a little. Before he ended up so stiff he couldn't move. He stood and gently stretched his arms out, wincing a little as he did so... and then another thought occurred.

"Isabel... Do I remember correctly that Vyon said something about animals attacking him? Protecting this friend of his?" It was a little embarrassing to remember so little of what Vyon had said, but it couldn't be helped now. Hopefully Isabel wouldn't mind filling in some of his blanks.

Credits: Original Character Art by Evie; Brushes: 1, 2; Font. Inspiration.
The good code is Emma's, the mistakes my own work.

OOC: Yeah, my arm is still a mess, but actually on the mend now.

[Eivyonydd]

As the doctor talked on the phone Vyon swung himself up off the gurney, both amazed at having watched the cuts knit back together and weary of exerting himself too much. He flexed the muscles in his legs as he half-listened to the doctor trying to redirect the conversation, Vyon's interest growing as they started talking ingredients.

When the phone call was over Vyon accepted the list from the doctor and, noting down the directions to Aunt Jane's shop and the other things the doctor pointed out. Vyon didn't have any other questions, desperate to try and get back to Chloris as fast as possible, so he thanked the doctor for everything and headed back out to the waiting area.

Cal and the other girl were still there and Vyon was hopeful that they would be willing to help. He walked over to them, still trying to take it easy for now, knowing that they had a lot of work ahead of them.

"Hi guys," he waved, "I'm glad you're still here. I think I'm gonna need all the help I can get/" He turned the list around to let them see, then smiling at the girl he didn't know, "I'm Vyon by the way, though you probably already knew that."

Vyon picture by me with help from Evie on the nose. Forest background modified from a Leet Software image. Brushes from SS-vector-foliage brush set. Code from Piper's Boutique with help to get it all working from Emma.

[Isabel]

Isabel couldn't help but feel a little nervous as she watched Piper walk away out of the hospital. She told them she'd get weapons and meet them at the portal. Weapons... judging by the sound of it, those weapons would be deadly. It was frightening to think that they would need those tools. The only weapons she had handled, or touch for that matter, were a pepper spray - whenever she would go out, and a ceremonial sword given to her father once when she was a child. Come to think of it, she had used kitchen knives before - the few times she had tried to cook a meal for her family. She highly doubt her skills mincing or to julienne a vegetable would be of much help. She would probably just end up being a nuisance to the others. Maybe she should just...

"Isabel... Do I remember correctly..."

Isabel looked back at Cal, her eyes suddenly zeroing on his wings... So white and fluffy... then his face.

"... that Vyon said something about animals attacking him? Protecting this friend of his?"

Isabel thought for a moment, trying to remember. "Yes, I do remember him saying something about that. Plants and animals attacking him trying to protect Chloris. To be honest, I'm a little frightened of what that could mean. I've never heard of anything like that happening." Isabel half-smiled at Cal, her brow furrowed in worry.

Not a second had passed when Vyon suddenly appeared looking... perfect; with the exception of his bloody clothes and all. Vyon walked right up to them looking for all the world like nothing had happened.

"Hi guys, I'm glad you're still here. I think I'm gonna need all the help I can get." Isabel was too busy staring at his leg that she didn't hear him at first. There were no scars or stitches! Maybe they had to amputate his leg and gave him a new one. No, that would be impossible considering the amount of time he had been gone; Besides, he wasn't showing any signs of pain on his face... the doctors here are really good.

Isabel finally noticed for the first time the list Vyon was showing as he turned his attention to her.

"I'm Vyon by the way, though you probably already knew that."

Isabel stood and smiled shyly at Vyon, offering her hand. Pretty guy... Stop it Isabel. "Hello, I'm Isabel. It's nice to meet you under better circumstances. Well, not entirely better as there are still other pressing matters to attend to." Deciding she should also explain Piper's whereabouts, Isabel added, "Piper has gone ahead to get her weapons and try to find the other girl who left to get supplies. She said she'd meet us at the portal."

Iardacil | Yasny-chan | coolwing
Christopher Hansen | et al.
Complete Credits in Journal