ways_infirmary | (no subject)

"Hello, Rae," he says, standing at the foot of her bed. "I've got a broth of Chinese medicinal herbs and mushrooms ready for you, if you'd like to try some food?"

"Food certainly sounds good," she nods, smiling. "Friends brought by brownies and pie earlier, but I figure having one's dessert first from time to time is allowed."

She hasn't felt sick to her stomach since early in the day, and the brownies and pie earlier hadn't done any harm. That is a heartening sign, in her opinion.

"Excuse me a moment," Hannibal says.

Five minutes later, he returns with a bowl and a spoon which he sets down on her bedside cabinet. The bowl contains a savoury broth with herbs, roots, mushroom and berries swimming in it.

It smells outright divine.

"Are those goji berries?" she asks with a grin, taking up her spoon. Yet another ingredient she can't get at home, Dr. Lecter. Unfair.

"Indeed they are," Dr. Lecter declares. "They are good for you."

"I've never gotten to try them before," she smiles, making sure her first bite includes one.

Okay, that's delicious. She's not surprised, because everything Dr. Lecter's made for her before has been wonderful, but Sunshine can no more hide her delight than she can lie.

"Mmf, that's fantastic." Tasty and good for her? She sees no down-side.

"I used miso to make the broth savoury," Dr. Lecter says.

"It's really good," she says, blowing lightly over another spoonful before continuing to eat. "Mm, and shiitake mushrooms."

One of the few she recognizes!

"We had a neighbor who grew their own shiitake mushrooms, when I was living at home. One whole end of their backyard was just rows of logs. The neighbor would sell them, but Charlie always made sure we got some of them." Delicious.

"They are very good for you," Hannibal says, almost proudly. "And very tasty, of course. Otherwise, there would be no point in using them."

"Good-for-you foods get such a bad rap because of people forgetting that food should taste good, too," she says. Because of course they're not going to want to eat it if it's not tasty.

"Thank you for this," Rae says, looking up at him with a slight smile. "And for yesterday, too." She can't imagine anyone would really want their evening interrupted like that.

"Yesterday was a matter of course," Hannibal says, with a little smile. "I'm a doctor. But I don't make soup for just anyone."

That brings something more akin to her true smile to her face. "Well, I'm honored."

"And glad of both skills. Do you... know how much longer I'll need to stay in the infirmary?"

"Autor brought these jars," Hannibal says. "I guess they help you get better on a magical level which I don't completely understand yet. Dr. Sandhu used futuristic methods on you as well. That is to say, all prognosis on my part would be guesswork."

He shrugs, with a small expression of chagrin and regret.

"It's not..." Rae glances with partially-lowered lids at one of the bright jars, considering. "I'm still learning the ins and outs of it, myself, but soaking in sunlight isn't like healing. Not exactly. It's more like sleep, or a different sort of food. Sunlight's my elemental affinity - the source of my strength. I kind of... tapped my magic flat yesterday. Recharging is needed."

But it won't help heal the physical injuries.

"That makes prognosis easier," Dr. Lecter says. "I wouldn't want you to go back to fighting anything for the next three weeks, and no physical exertion at all for ten days. You should get out of bed today, however."

"Thank all the listening gods," Sunshine murmurs in reply to his last statement. "What was it you called it? Za-zen? Doing nothing is not for me."

She'd rather not be left to think, especially not after yesterday. Painkillers have helped with the nightmares, but she doesn't trust that to last. She needs to be doing something. A distraction.

"If possible, I'd much rather not sleep overnight in a... public space any more than I have to." Anyone can walk in uninvited, he understands. "Think I'm all right enough to stay nights in my own room?"

"I'd recommend taking a medically trained wait rat along," Hannibal says, "or at least allowing it to check your vital signs from time to time, but yes, you can do so, starting the next night."

He offers his hand.

"Do you think you can get out of bed yet?"

"Hope so," she says with lightly wry amusement to cover how sincere the sentiment is. Rae takes his hand with her left, and moves to stand up.

It's not easy. Certain movements and pressures are strongly discouraged by her injured body, but she soon works around those to stand on the cold infirmary floor. She stands with a slight wince, most of her weight on her uninjured right foot to spare her sprained left ankle - you never realize how much you move your ankle until it hurts to do so.

"Youndont have to run a race or fight a vampire yet," Hannibal says with what seems like wry amusement. "It's enough if you can hobble to the bathroom."

He is still lightly holding on, exerting no pressure but offering support in case of need.

"Darn, I'll have to cancel my registration in that 5k I signed up for," she says with a wry smile, testing her balance to find it much improved from the previous evening (not, she figures, that improvement from that level would be difficult). "Terrible timing."

Without thought, a familiar, automatic movement, Sunshine's free hand ghosts over where her right-front pocket would be were she wearing jeans. The pajamas she's been provided are comfortable, thankfully not putting too much pressure or friction against where the bandages cover her, but they don't have pockets. Not finding what she hadn't been aware she'd been looking for, her hand then moves to her throat.

"Do you know what happened to... I had a necklace and a pocketknife with me last night."

"We bagged your possessions," Dr. Lecter says. "Would you like me to fetch them?"

"Yes, please," she nods, somewhat disturbed that it had been so long before she had missed them.

It takes him a while. Then, he brings everything she had on her, in an open wash-basket.

"I did not want to rifle through your things," he says, as if apologising for the state of her clothes, sticky with old dried blood.

"I appreciate that," she replies, accepting the wash-basket, though her face darkens somewhat at the smell of old blood. "...I doubt there's any use trying to salvage the clothes."

The necklace and knife in their bag are clean, at least. The knife, a sturdy little Victorinox, is not new but is well-kept. The necklace is a silk cord, upon which is suspended a ring of amber and silver-gold alloy in the shape of a blazing sun. Rae hasn't any pockets, so the knife will stay in the bag, but the necklace she puts over her head with little difficulty.

"We might ask the little orange men to do their best?" Hannibal suggests. "If you want to keep the clothes. Otherwise, tell me what you want thrown away."

Re: Sunshine awake

Re: Sunshine awake

Re: Sunshine awake

Re: Sunshine awake

Re: Sunshine awake

Re: Sunshine awake

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