| Details for A Follow-Up After the Mayhem |
| Summary: | Two days after the chaos that resulted from the five vials of illness that were released within St. Mungo's Hospital, Rhye arrives dutifully at the hospital for a follow-up and confides in Ranjali about how her curse makes her feel. |
| Date: | Wednesday, November 21, 1937 |
| Location: | Spell Damage Ward, St Mungo's |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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It is a fall morning. The weather is cool and drizzling.
Spell Damage - St. Mungo’s Hospital - London
This area of the hospital has been set up for a double purpose. At the beginning of the ward are multiple stations ment to deal with transitory cases that only need the attention of Medi-wizards or Healers for a few hours. These stations have a small adjustable bed and a rolling chair and a stand with all the necessary tools to deal with any kind of temporary damage caused by misfiring or misused spells. The back of the ward has been designed to resemble a boarding house with individual rooms for each patient. These rooms are separated from the primary ward by a set of double doors securely locked by multiple charms. Over the doors a large wooden signs reads:
"Spells Damage Ward. Long Term Care Wing."
During the night this ward is illuminated by the ever present light globes floating around the ceiling.
Ranjali returned to work immediately, allowing herself only a short break with Audrey after the quarantine was lifted. As soon as she was certain that her starlet was going to be alright, she'd come right back to work. She's been working longer shifts, doing everything she can to make certain the Hospital gets itself back up to full capacity. Even today, though things have returned to relative normalcy, she came in early and has been keeping herself as busy as possible. Though she's avoided the wards where certain people were sent (ahem, Cooper) she's made certain to be a part of brewing the antidotes, and is just returning now from spending her 'break' in Potions and Plant Poisonings. Her green St. Mungo's robe is as crisp and clean as ever, her hair pulled back into its usual simple chignon. But her eyes are tired, and faint dark circles can be seen beneath her makeup.
Rhyeline steps out of the lift with her hands clasped behind her back. The little gamine of a witch doesn’t seem particularly happy to be at the hospital once more, but Annie knows the healers instructed her to return for an examination two days after the incident with the vials. Her friend wouldn’t allow Rhye to miss the appointment and the healers would come looking for her anyways. A nurse receives her and after asking her to wait for just a moment, Ranjali is summoned to see to the girl. All things considered, the girl seems to be holding up well. Though she seems a bit twitchy and her eyes have a subtle haunted look to them, she carries herself with a calm composure.
Though Ranjali has not yet been involved in Rhye's treatment personally, there is a rumor mill at St. Mungo's which has allowed her to know quite a bit. And so when she arrives at the desk to escort the woman back, her demeanor is calm and reassuring, her smile polite and only betraying a hint of sympathy. "Miss Diderot? My name is Ranjali Winterthorne. If you'll come with me, I'll be performing your examination today."
Peeking up at Ranjali, the girl nods respectfully in greeting and murmurs, “Good morning, Healer Winterthorne.” The girl follows along obediently and keeps her gaze lowered. No, the hospital definitely isn’t one of her favorite places.
Ranjali gives Rhyeline a briefly thoughtful look before turning to lead the way through the ward. "I thought perhaps we would use another of the long-term use rooms for your visit today, if that's alright. Though if you prefer we can of course stay out here on the main floor." She gestures to one of the curtain-enclosed areas with its simple bed on her way past, glancing at the girl over her shoulder.
“Oh… no, please. A… a private room would be… most appreciated. Thank you, Healer Winterthorne,” she murmurs with a nod of gratitude. As the girl follows along, her shy, dark gaze keeps flickering up towards the healer with such exquisite features. Lowering her gaze at last, the little one murmurs, “Were you alright? The other day?”
Nodding, Ranjali pushes through the doors to the long-term care ward, holding one open for Rhyeline. "Of course." She blinks at the question, surprise briefly crossing her face. "Oh, me? Yes, thank you." Onc Rhye has stepped through the doors, she leads the way to a small room decorated in shades of blue, "I was unable to help as many as I'd hoped. But I was able to help the Master Healer, and to make certain Audrey was unharmed. I only wish… " Her eyes cut to the side briefly, hiding whatever expression they might hold, "That I could have been more help to you and some others. I have heard… what you endured."
Rhyeline’s dark gaze drifts across the soothing blue décor of the room as she listens to the healer’s words. Her steps lead over to the bed waiting for patients so that she might sit. However when she refers to the horror she faced at the invisible hands of the escaped mental ward patients, she grows a bit tense and perfectly still. “I’m alright,” she says at last. “I was not alone and afterwards, my dear friend was able to help me be calm.”
"The other woman who was with you?" Ranjali asks, her tone sounding hopeful. "I beleive I have met her, she seems a rather nice woman." She looks back, noticing Rhye's posture with a slight wince. "Forgive me, I understand how difficult it is to speak of such things. Please, let us speak of your treatment. Have you felt any changes in the last few days?"
Rhyeline looks up to offer Ranjali a soft smile despite the haunted quality of her eyes. “Annie is the kindest person I know. “ Sitting down on the edge of the bed, hands folded in her lap, she murmurs, “No changes. I have been very careful.” She had been brought early on the day of the incident, having had two fainting spells rather close together. At least that’s what her file would have said.
Ranjali nods at the answer and reaches to a table by the door, where a scroll has been resting. As she looks it over, a small frown appears on her face. "And… the episodes that occurred earlier that morning? You believe they are unconnected for some reason?"
“No,I- that morning- I had just- walked too far. I hadn’t slept enough. Eaten enough. I am trying to be more careful. It won’t happen again.” The girl’s words come haltingly as she stares at her knees. Her narrow shoulders are quite tense and her hands tight in her lap.
Ranjali glances up with a raised eyebrow, the closest thing she gets to a stern look outside of emergencies. "I see. Then you have been taking precaustions to ensure that this does not happen again? And you have had no other changes? No recent shortness of breath?"
Rhyeline peeks up at Ranjali and under such a gaze from the healer, she bites her lower lip and her cheeks grow warm. Looking back down at her hands in her lap, she shakes her head, “No ma’am. Nothing new. Just- dizziness. Sometimes. But I’m trying to be more careful. Trying to eat more, to rest more. Just like Healer Jonothan told me to.”
Ranjali sets down the scroll to regard Rhyeline concernedly. "Tell me about the dizziness. Please." She purposefully switches to a softer tone, releasing her stern demeanor as soon as she sees the girl's reaction to it. "We need to record any changes, in case of the possibility that we will need to alter the treatment. It is important that you tell me."
“I understand,” Rhyeline murmurs, peeking back up at Ranjali. “But you see, it has been so recent since I’ve woken up, been able to leave that,” she hesitates, “I’m not sure what is new or not.”
Ranjali nods. "It isn't easy. And I do not want you to second guess yourself when you leave. So please, tell me about anything that seems odd to you. Even little things might matter. But they cannot help you at all if you don't tell me about them." Slowly, she stands from her chair to sit beside Rhyeline on the bed, so that she is out of the womans' direct line of sight.
As Ranjali moves to sit next to her, the warmth of the girl's cheeks deepens. Keeping her back straight but her head bowed, eyes fixed upon her hands, the girl murmurs, "Well, I don't remember much from before Healer Greengrass gave me the potion which he says is working. But during the week, I feel the curse still there. It's always there… like a shadow in my blood. It tries to slow the flow, make my heart skip. Skip and flutter. I feel it sometimes, even if I'm just sitting there. I breathe in and I feel my heart beat like a butterfly's wings." Though the girl speaks,she keeps her gaze lowered, as if ashamed by what she says.
Rajali doesn't seem to notice the blushing. Its the girl's voice that she catches, and with a sad smile she reaches over to gently pat Rhyeline's shoulder. "You know that it is not your fault, yes?" She asks, "And that, in time, we are certain to find a way to remove it completely from you."
At the touch, Rhyeline flinches just a bit, but doesn’t pull away. It seems the touch simply caught the girl off guard. After a moment of hesitation, peeking up at the woman, Rhyeline murmurs, “I should be stronger. I need to fight it. It always feels like an avalanche of molasses is trying to drag me under into an endless sleep. I can’t let it.”
“When I feel the curse getting stronger, my heartbeat fading, I sleep. When I was first brought here, I slept and slept. Whenever I woke, it was only for a few moments, and I’d learn that weeks had passed in here moments,” murmurs Rhyeline. The girl seems as if she is almost confiding in the woman. There are no notes in her files that contain descriptions such as these.
Ranjali watches the girl curiously, and shifts so that she can face her. "I see." She murmurs quietly. She glances at the scroll, but leaves it on the table across the room, and though she lifts a hand once more toward Rhyeline she puts it back in her lap again after a moment. "I can only imagine how difficult that was for you. To loose so much of your time. I can see, if you like, if Healer Greengrass might be able to work some energy boosting spells into your treatment, so that you can better enjoy what time you have?"
“I drink coffee. That seems to help. I…I’d rather trouble the healers as little as possible.” Or maybe Rhyeline just wants to avoid the hospital as much as possible. “At least I still have my work. If I keep busy, it keeps the molasses away. Ambassador Troy was very kind and allowed me to return to him.”
Ranjali chuckles. Then stiffens, looking suddenly away. "Kind, yes." She replies, her suddenly formal tone implying that she thinks it anything but. "I'm certain its a very good thing to be able to return to your position. If… I, ah… and yes, coffe is good as well. And tea, of course."
Rhyeline peeks up hesitantly at Rajnali as the woman stiffens, but she doesn’t seem to be able to see through this woman as she does with so many others. The girl bites her lower lip at the suddenly formal tone, but then lowers her gaze once again. “Yes. But so… like I said, there hasn’t been anything new since- since the day before yesterday. I am alright. I will be alright.”
Very slowly, Ranjali takes a couple of deep breaths. "Yes, you will be." She insists, still rather formally, closing her eyes for a moment before she looks back. When she does she is smiling again, if not /quite/ as warmly. "We will all make certain of it. You were absolutely right to come in that day, despite everything. I hope you will be able to do so again. Though I can understand if this is the last place you wish to be for a while."
“I appreciate very much all that you and the other healers have done for me,” murmurs Rhyeline in a small voice. After having shared with Ranjali how she has felt from the curse, the girl seems younger somehow. Vulnerable. Looking down at her hands, she adds, “I will do my best to keep from needing to come in early. I appreciate your patience with me.”
Ranjali shakes her head. "Not at all. And please, do not confuse not needing to come in with not wanting to, hm?" That eyebrow goes up again, the tiniest of smiles accompanying it.
Rhyeline looks up to Ranjali and nods with a meek acceptance. “Yes ma’am. I’ll be careful.”