p id="docs-internal-guid-ae28d9d9-7fff-62bb-0b8c-999bdb9ba348" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; text-align: center; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-skip: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Listen, I am a physician. I can handle your condition, like a magician… /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; text-align: center; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That which we call substance and reality is shadow and illusion, and that which we call shadow and illusion is substance and reality."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was the bleeping that was going to drive her insane, she decided. Soft but persistent. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She frowned and lay still on her back and tried to remember what she had been dreaming. The bleeping persisted and automatically her hand twitched to move to turn off the alarm on her phone. The limb felt heavy with sleep but then caught on something preventing her from lifting it more than a centimeter or so. She pulled and again felt the resistance, her eyes opened and immediately she regretted it. The bright light overhead from her dream was still there. A circular metal dome reflecting overhead like a miniature supernova. Groaning she tilted her head and opened her eyes a sliver of the way to look around. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She couldn't see much but quickly worked out that She was so,where strange, on some sort of table or bed, light sheets which may have been blue or gray but appeared white in the light, covered her from the waist down. Her clothes were gone, instead she was wearing some sort of night shirt. There were stiff leather padded cuffs on her wrists and wide leather belts over her legs and torso. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Turning her head she found the source of the bleeping. It looked like an old tv with a green coloured screen, on which a spiked line moved continuously across. It seemed to be attached to wires that trailed to the table and vanished into the blankets and the neck of her coverings. She could feel things on her skin and a clip on one of her fingers. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Beside the box hung an ornate mirror on which a glowing human figure was displayed flashing various colours here and there. She didn't understand that one. It too had wires coming out of the bottom which were attached to her temples. She could feel some sort of tubing around her face. More tubing led from the crook of one arm and the back of her hand to the various glass bottles of clear and yellow liquids and what looked like blood on a metal stand. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Beyond the light pool, the room was dark so she couldn't work out what else surrounded her. She closed her eyes and tried to work out what had happened. Clearly she was alive…which was a welcome development even if slightly surprising. The memories were hazy but slowly they came back to her. The rush of power and the agony it caused as the spell drew more power than she had to give. But once it was activated there was no way to stop it until it fulfilled its task or it ran out of power. It seemed that the former had happened. Carefully she tried to move and found again that she was securely fastened down. The people she had tried to save…one of them had said the other was a doctor, that must be where she was, which meant they had pulled her out with them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She relaxed slightly. While she didn't revel in the idea of being with an unknown mystical practitioner it stood to reason that if they had wished to harm her then they would have done so. Her time in Arkham and the journey there had not been easy and she had known she wasn't in the best of shapes before her encounter with the demon hive and the three people in the sewers. Interestingly there was still some pain but it was tolerable. She felt stiff, almost like she was either recovering from a bad flu or similar illness or had the hangover of the century. The light made her head throb more, she screwed her eyes up tighter and groaned again loudly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Something was soothing about the bleep… bleep… bleep of a heart rate monitor, Dr Morrow mused. The satisfying indication that a patient, specimen or other being, was both alive and stable. The medical equivalent of a pat on the back or a, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""job well done." /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He'd spent so much of the past twelve hours hearing the box tell him that his latest specimen was unstable, seconds from death or even dead, that it felt almost comforting to hear that steady bleep… bleep… bleep. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He would have liked to have claimed that he had noticed some small change in the noise coming from the box. Some slight variation in his specimens heart rate, which had alerted him to the fact that she was now conscious. However, so lost in thought had he been, that the first indication Dr Vincent Morrow had that she'd come around was hearing the change in the groan. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Slowly the doctor uncrossed his arms and lowered his feet from the cabinet to the floor. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why did they pull me out?" The girl said to the ceiling. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow stood and approached the protection circle. "That'd be because my assistant has this pain in the ass ethical complex that compels him to take every rabbit he accidentally runs over home with him," /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"and stopped me from bringing home the entirety of that squid-like specimen. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl froze, she knew that voice, the growling voice from her dreams. Tilting her head towards the sound, she tried to open her eyes again to look in the general direction it had come from. The Silhouette was familiar framed in the light. "You...I remember you… the one that looked like the mad scientist with the weird sword and the bag… the mystic guy," she said. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Mad scientist! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow thought in outrage, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"why is it that everyone thinks I'm a mad scientist! I laboured for hours to save that ungrateful whelp. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His fists involuntarily clenched. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Who does she think she is? And what the hell does she mean by, 'weird sword'? Doesn't she know what Excalibur looks like? What are they teaching kids in schools these days? And doesn't she know who I am; Dr Vincent Morrow: Occult Physician, leading specialist in the fields of supernatural, mystic and magical medicine! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...the doctor's internalised rant finally ceased when his sleep-deprived brain finally managed to tell him that /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"a)/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" he had never had the opportunity to introduce himself to her, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"b) /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"did not advertise his services with cheesy commercials and billboards featuring himself, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"c)/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" when picturing the legendary sword Excalibur, no one in their right mind would ever imagine his blade and /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"d)/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" he had ranted the entire thing in his head and thus she had heard none of it. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You were speaking to me…" she added slowly, unaware of the insult she had caused, the tirade that followed or the Doctor in general, her brow furrowing, she added, "...you...you did something to me, you...had your hands inside me." Her mind was trying to piece together snapshots of things since her last proper memory, but the light was distracting her, making it more difficult. "Please, can you turn this light off?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Momentary internalised indignation having now subsided, Morrow stared intently at the exam table. Upon hearing her next point, about him having had his hands inside her, he opened his mouth to explain, in full detail and with all the medical jargon he had a habit of spouting, when… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Wait, did she just ask me to turn the light off? /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Was this it; the first clue to what she was; light sensitivity? Immediately his brain began to cycle through all the creatures he knew of that had such a weakness, only that list was far too long. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Are you sensitive to light?" he elected to finally ask, his voice containing far too much of a macabre enthusiasm. Seeking confirmation before trying to narrow down his list. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl struggled against the restraints a little. "Are you kidding? Wouldn't you be if you'd just woken up to find a thousand-watt sun in your face?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, you are light-sensitive!" Morrow declared, before stopping to think about what she had just said. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...yeah, I doubt I'd be happy either if I woke up underneath a surgical lamp. Damm, I should really stop jumping to that conclusion the moment someone takes a discomfort to waking up under that light. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was with a dollop of sheepish dejection that Morrow sidled over to where the switch for the surgical lamp resided and flicked it off. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl let out an Audible sigh of relief in the darkened room. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow returned to the edge of the circle, he watched her for a moment and said. "Do you know where you are?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"ignoring his question, she opened her eyes and said, "thank you. Now...how about you untie me too?" There was a hint of power in her tone. Weak but compelling./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A wry smile formed on the doctor's face, that wasn't going to work on him, his personal wards were ample enough protection. "Not going to happen," he replied matter-of-factly. "At least not until I have some idea about what I'm dealing with. Both for your protection and everyone else's." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She sighed, her vision was clearing and she could just make out the slight glow of the protection circle and the man in white standing out with it. "Well, I'd imagine you have a fairly good idea what you are dealing with, since, if my memories are correct, and they are a bit of a jumble granted, you've seen me butt naked. Bit pervy by the way, since we'd only just met and all. "/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow blinked "Wha…that's…completely…!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Just to clear matters up, I'm a female...that's like you but with less dangling bits. I'm assuming of course…I don't and a habit of seeing strangers I just met naked like you do." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Left gawking at the… at the sheer audacity of her remark, he could only count himself fortunate that she could not see his face and the slight burn in his cheeks, which he hastily tried to suppress. "I wasn't looking at you naked, well I was looking at you and you were naked but It was medically justified!" he finally shot back indignantly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Geez will you chill out...no sense of humour I take it."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Humour?" He blinked and frowned confusedly/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes. I was joking. Back underground you said you were a doctor and you were trying to help me. I take it your patients don't tend to tell many jokes?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Not usually, no."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Great. Well this is going well."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow rolled his eyes. "I'll ask you again, do you know where you are?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She looked around again a second "Hospital?" She asked./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Close enough… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow thought. "I'm Dr Vincent Morrow. I'm treating you." he said by way of introduction./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So you said." She responded./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I remember you and your friend nearly getting us all killed." She growled. "I remember being backed into a corner because of you and trying to save you both. I remember telling you to run." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah then causing a magical power surge with what energy you had left and bringing the walls down on top of us. You induced a cardiac incident, my friend as you called him, had to resuscitate you."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Really? He had to resuscitate me? And where were you in all of this?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She was remarkably calm. That was unique in his dealings with the possessed. However She was being sassy with him and he had a strict rule about patients in general /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" giving him backchat, Morrow chose to ignore her and instead in an effort to assert some measure of control over the conversation, said, "Do you have a name, or do I simply call you girl, specimen #646 or creature?" After saying that, he felt the need to repeat the thought, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'm /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"a mad scientist, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"several times inside his head. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl considered him, her expression an interesting mix of calculating and wary. "Well, the first is a bit presumptuous don't you think? The second is frankly disturbing and the third is blatantly rude." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, you haven't got a name, think being called a girl is disturbing and aren't fond of specimen #646, so /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"creature/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" it is," Morrow cut in sarcastically. He crossed his arms again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know that's not what I meant," she paused. "Names have power, why should I trust you with mine?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A thin smile formed on the doctor's lips, happy at the fact he'd scored the point. "I've already given you mine. As my assistant keeps reminding me, Creature, it's only common courtesy." she pulled at her restraints and wriggled slightly, as if uncomfortable. He made a mental note./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""More fool you, Doctor Vincent Morrow." She sighed then looked up to watch him on the outside of the circle. It was unlikely, she mused that was his true name, the name he gave out so freely. A full minute of silence passed as she seemed to weigh up her options, before finally... "Harri," she said, her tone begrudging. She let her head flop back into the pillow. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Harry," Morrow mused as if he were rolling the name around in his mouth. "You were right, that's not very inventive." He was now standing on the outermost line of the protection circle. Just beyond arms reach of the table she was on. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri lifted her head again to look at him, taking in his appearance, he didn't look like much, but there was an assured confidence about him that all of her training told her was a danger sign. His crossed arms and relaxed stance. Bravado perhaps, only one way to be sure and that was to trade like for like. She raised her eyebrows as if in askance. "Oh yeah? because Vincent is any better?. The Latin word for conqueror. Quaint. Do you prefer Vinnie? Or how about Vincentius?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He didn't disappoint "Pffft yeah right, like Home Ruler is any better" Vincent retorted childishly, "Think they still called Henry the 8th Harry after he was put up there on the list of tyrants?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri laughed weakly. "It's a shortened version of my name but I'm not called Henry, moron," she said. She tried to turn more onto her hip. A flare of pain blossomed and the movement stopped dead./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He uncrossed his arms then said, not unkindly, "Now let that be a lesson to you. don't try that again. You're pretty beat up and just underwent major surgery. You'll be weak for a while." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"This guy wasn't exactly like others she had met around Arkham but then again, he was the first MWB mystic she had met in the flesh. She turned her head back to look at him again and noted his reluctance to approach further than the chalked lines. "This is your protection circle, right? You cast it?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Slowly he nodded once. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why? If I had wanted to harm you don't you think I would have by now? Or would have left you at those creatures' mercy. Surely that permits me some level of trust?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The continued questioning seemed to catch Morrow off guard and he found himself unsure of what to say. Admittedly, this was not how these situations normally went. Typically, he and often Eric and Penny too, would be gathered around the table, try a few simple lines of communication with his latest specimen and then be forced into action when, inevitably, they found themselves under attack from whatever Eldritch creature they were dealing with this time. Normally the restraints and the straight jacket was needed and even then Penny had to get involved. However, this… this free talking and sassy backchat, this was new and while technically what he wanted and he was intrigued, he was at a loss with how to handle the situation. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Realising that he would have to say… something, Morrow tried to compose himself. He was a doctor; an occult physician, he dealt with weird supernatural cases and fought monsters on a daily basis. Surely he could handle a conversation with one teenage girl, or at least a creature that, on the outside, appeared to be a teenage girl. "You tell me," he finally answered, opting to take the Socratic approach. "What would you do when you encounter a creature with magical powers that isn't deceased when you come to study it? Would you trust it?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri frowned at the man as he spoke, she wasn't sure she liked where this conversation seemed to be headed, "well, first of all, for the record, I'm not an IT or a creature with magical powers in the sense you seem to be meaning; I'm a human. Secondly, if said 'creature' had saved my ass? Thank it probably, not tie it down to tables and encase it in protective circles. So I assume either you're not as powerful as you look and are scared or I did something while I was unconscious?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sure …human…/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I seem to recall I was the one who didn't leave your ass to get crushed by those squid-like creatures when they finally tore through that pile of rubble, then prevented you from dying on the way back here and after that. I saved your life kid," Morrow replied irately. "by my count, you're the one who should be thanking me." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl pulled somewhat more aggressively at the bonds this time, her face flushed a deep crimson colour, spreading across her cheeks like ink staining cloth. "You weren't /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"supposed/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" to save me!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And why's that? You got a death wish?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Of course not!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Then what?" Morrow asked expectantly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri made an irritated sound in frustration, "The creed demands I sacrifice my life for the protection of mortals against those types of creatures if there's no other way out! That's what I did, I wasn't exactly planning on making it out alive, I was giving you idiots time to run!" She breathed heavily for a moment. Scowling at him, her face burning. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We are the idiots? Last I checked we weren't the ones who almost killed themselves doing blood magic while badly injured." Morrow retorted, a smidgeon of anger seeping into his tone. If this went on much longer, he was fetching Penny, having her sedate the whelp and getting his answers the old fashioned way… Catrina would agree with that method. Maybe he could inv… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"no way! I'm not getting tangled up with her again, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he thought firmly, forcing thoughts of the pathologist necromancer from his mind. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri rolled her eyes and strained again. Wincing in another flare of pain as she did so. "I had /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"no/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"other/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"choice/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". We were all in danger, I'd been fighting off the other ones and my energy levels were low. I was planning on regrouping and coming back another day when I sensed the fluctuation from your shield. I didn't think I was going to make it in time to stop the first one shish kebabing you. Then I had to push what little I had left to save you, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"again/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", from becoming those things next meal! when you let it wrap itself around your foot and drag you off! I was sure we were going to die or at least there was every probability I was going to. I'm not stupid I know how bad that thing got me, how deep the wound was."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And yet you still did it." He said /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Again Harri let out the frustrated sound. "Look I don't make a habit of it ok! Blood Magic is dangerous, stupidly tricky to wield and is always a /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"last resort/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". A final stand sort of thing." She sighed, and let herself go limp against her restraints again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"This time, Dr Morrow managed to restrain himself from immediately firing back a retort. Thanks to the truth spell symbols he had added to the circle, and she was yet to detect, his specimen had just given him a plethora of information. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"While she can clearly use blood magic, she's claiming it's not her primary method of casting, which I suppose fits the evidence; I only saw her use blood for her final acts. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That was somewhat reassuring. Since Mystics had banned the art over two decades ago, it tended only to be the darkest of practitioners that used it as a primary form of casting. And if he were here, Eric would tell him he could not throw stones, owing to the fact that he himself had dipped his fingers into that particular crimson pool on occasion. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She also seems to be aware of the risks…/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A moment of silence then, with her eyes closed the girl said quietly, "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. you couldn't possibly understand." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Deep in his own thought processes Morrow rubbed his chin, ignoring her/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"for now/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...then there's that whole part about saving mortals in peril. Wasn't that the spiel she rattled off back in squidville, the part where she first said she was a hunter? /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That seemed like his most pertinent line of inquiry. After all, she was talking to him, maybe this was the one time where his specimen would simply give him his answers without the obligatory Eldritch tussle. "I'd like to understand." He said /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri made a scoffing sort of noise. "Right, sure that's why you're relying on the truth spell because you want to understand me better?"So she had detected it. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm relying on the truth spell to ensure you tell me the truth. Bad things tend to happen when patients aren't honest with their doctors. I spent hours ensuring you stayed alive kid, I'd like to keep you that way."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Again Harri scoffed. He ignored her and still rubbing his chin ventured "Back there…You said you are a hunter, do you mean that you are a 'Hunter of Gehrman'?" He'd had to wrack his brain for half an hour to find the relevant book page that stated the name and then strain through the stains for a further five to determine the correct pronunciation. Even then it was the rarest or rare shots in the dark./span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He watched her carefully. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was a difficult ability to craft, that of a completely believable poker face. Yet the teen seemed to have mastered it fairly well. Or at least she would have been completely believable had she not been attached to a heart rate monitor. While her expression changed very little her heart rate increased noticeably. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She swallowed, hearing the sound and kept her eyes closed. It was no use, she mused, concealing anything from him. Not when she was attached to that blasted thing and he seemed to know something at least already. Besides, what was the point? If mystics were what she had been taught then it was likely they'd get the information from her one way or another in the end anyway. She may as well give him something for now and act cooperative while she figured out a way to escape. So long as what she told him was knowledge anyone within the magic users and other side communities could get their hands on. Finally, she said, "Yes. Though we go by the term 'The Hunters' more these days." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow's eyes had already lit up at the change in the bleep pattern and only continued to brighten upon hearing the confirmation from her lips. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's a Hunter of Gehrman… A HUNTER OF GEHRMAN! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"This was… this was unprecedented… unbelievable… incredible… downright /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"fantastic/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"! He felt giddy. The energetic took him off in a pace around the chalked lines. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They're just a myth… a single paragraph with a footnote claiming just that, in /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"one/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" obscure, musty old book within Mystic's library. I'VE ACTUALLY FOUND A HUNTER OF FRIGGIN GEHRMAN! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"had /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"to/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"call Abby right away. She would totally flip when she heard what he'd discovered. She'd want to…he stopped pacing…/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"wait, no… bad idea. If I tell Abby, this'll get back to Mystic's and they'll want to seize possession of her. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Quickly discarding that idea, he could not stop the rouge part of his brain from saying, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"why don't I tell Cat instead? She could come over and we could study her together… NO! I'm /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"getting involved with that woman again. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He paused upon realising he'd just hit a major snag, he'd just made perhaps one of the greatest discoveries of his career and he had no one to share; read be smug about it with! If he told Abby, Mystics would come down on him like a tonne of bricks and he'd lose her, if he told Cat, he'd probably walk back into the procedure room after using the john to find Harry in jars. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DAMMIT!/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He hadn't spoken again after her confession. She watched him pace, noting the change in his body language as he did circuits around her for a few minutes. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Fixing a determined look on her face she said "don't get too excited there, Doc, I'm just a regular old human with the weird hobby of hunting things that go bump in the night...ow..." she twisted against the restraints slightly, uncomfortably. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Hold the phone, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow thought, the girls comments halting the train of thought in his mind fairly abruptly, a /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"regular old human with a weird hobby of hunting things that go bump in the night! Not bloody likely. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Somehow managing to bring himself down off of the ceiling and finding a shred of decorum, he finally replied, "The truth spell must be waning because I know that one is a lie, you are not just a regular old human."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm human." She reiterated /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"" I've examined you both physically and metaphysically. Not as thoroughly as I'd like of course, we will have time for that later, but enough to /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"know /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"you're not entirely human. If you were, you'd be dead now, your wounds are fairly extensive."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I don't know what to tell you Doc." She said /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He frowned. "Like I said, I'm an Occult physician, I specialise in the supernatural. I've examined your auras and as such I /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"know/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" your soul, for lack of a better term, is playing host to something else that is not human. Granted…it doesn't seem to react like any sort of Diablosis I've encountered before but."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Wait…" she interrupted. "Diablosis? As in the devil? You think I'm possessed?" Harri asked incredulously. "I'm /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" possessed." She shook her head in denial. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I didn't say you were possessed as such," Morrow replied, the memory of having the same conversation with Eric still fresh in his mind. "I said your soul, your Metaphysical self is being shared with something else. Possession is only one form of Diablosis. The infection or the parasite could also have been..."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri interrupted sounding defensive, "…it's not a /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"parasite/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" or an /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"infection! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I was born like… like this."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You were born with another creature... or at least the spiritual form of one attached to you!" Morrow cut in sharply. That… that was something new entirely./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No… not like that." She shook her head. "It's complicated!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Explain it to me," Morrow replied gruffly. The Truth spell symbols flared./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I c..can't…" she struggled to say through gritted teeth. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""…Y..you..you wouldn't…understand." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What wouldn't I understand?" He asked as the symbols grew slightly brighter. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's just how I am. I was…I was born like this." Her tone was strained and beads of sweat had begun trickling down her face, flushed with effort. Clearly she was fighting the truth spell./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Stupid of her in Her weakened state he mused, but he needed more information. "Born Like what?" he persisted, sounding exasperated. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her jaw was set now and she shook her head stiffly, biting her bottom lip. Despite himself Morrow took pity on her "As a Hunter is that what you mean? You were born a Hunter?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"This seemed like an easier question and she gave a small sigh of relief before saying "Yes."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Can you explain that?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"With effort she shook her head and he sighed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You maintain you're not infected by some sort of demon or creature. But there is a distinct second aura element. Are all hunters this way?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Again she nodded stiffly, "not…infected, …supposed to be that way. I want it that way! I… I trained my whole life for my Erus ceremony…" she bit her lip. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her blood pressure was going up, he noted, "Erus ceremony,Erus from Latin?" His tone became slightly more forceful. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her eyes were tightly closed and she seemed to be becoming more frustrated. "…Yes, it's a rite of passage for my people…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Can you tell me about it?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""N…no." She said with obvious effort. "…but the thing you think is sharing my soul… it's not sharing so to speak, it's not a separate entity…it's too complicated to explain." she said through her teeth. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm a clever guy. Try me." He pushed./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A note of desperation was evident in her tone when she continued, "It's my life force, I'm part of it, it's part of me…" she watched his stoic expression and sighed. "Look you aren't one of us, you wouldn't, couldn't understand…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He felt himself deflate. This was circular and while he wanted the information he also didn't want to undo all of his work in one question answer session, he would have to stop soon. "Try me." He said again./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She didn't disappoint however this time, the words slipping out all in a rush. Like a tide having been held back and bursting through the dam. "…it's...it's my soul's resonation... it's... the part that makes me whole. I am it, it is me…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""How do I separate it from you?" He demanded, not really expecting an answer. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She looked at him, utterly horrified. "You /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"can't/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" separate it… it would kill me… or drive me ins..." she trailed off as a severe stab of pain, or at least the echo of one, wracked through her sternum. Her whole body constricted and the monitors above her gave a small noise of alarm too./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ok. It's ok." Morrow said gently as he hastily deactivated the truth spell, leaving the rest of the protections in place. If it were not for the fact he had an eidetic memory and so would later be able to recall every detail from this conversation, he would have been furiously scribbling notes on a clipboard or typing them into his cell phone. The paragraph from the Mystics book had never even hinted at anything like… like /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"this/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They train their entire life to have… something join with them? Or at least until they're about eighteen, given that her entire life can't have been much longer than that. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"While Harry had debunked the immediate conclusion he had come to; that she had been born with this thing attached to her, this still made her an entirely new entity to him. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"What the hell does that make her? Hunter of Gehrman, buy now, will be ready to use in sixteen to eighteen years. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"On the monitors, her heart rate was spiking again and the scrying glass showed a flare of light above her solar plexus chakra. He frowned, that should be coming down now that he had released the truth spell. He focused on her, Sweat ran down the side of her face, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes wide, fearful looking, "it's ok," he said again. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed you…try and relax."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow quickly checked the other equipment, saw the flare of light in the scrying glass again and immediately knew her manipura chakra was in distress now. The sound of velcro ripping drew his gaze to her left arm and the now limp blood pressure cuff that had slid down towards her wrist. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Psychokinetic Power flare following an echo of previous trauma. Good thing it was mild, as I've got a bad feeling it could have extended beyond the reach of the table… at least it's not something she can control./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""...you… you tried to separate it… didn't you!" She was looking at him, appalled. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He then heard her accusation and the memory of what had happened when he'd used the Holy Grail water played in his mind, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"shit! /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ahh yes,...well... about that…" he began then paused as the heart rate alarm sounded again. His expression and tone stern he continued, "You need to calm down, you're over taxing yourself."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm over taxing myself?" She spat./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I said i was sorry, look…relax ok…You aren't strong enough for this. If you calm down I'll explain."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She made a disbelieving sound through her teeth but he continued in a calm as a tone as he could muster. "Believe me, I don't intend to harm you," he said, in a similar fashion to how he had tried to placate her 'roommate' during the night. "You were in a bad state last night and in attempting to treat your physical wounds, I inadvertently caused a metaphysical one… there wasn't time for me to conduct a thorough examination… I thought it would help stabilise you so I could treat you, but I was wrong… Obviously, I've never encountered anyone like you before, so there is bound to be some trial and error..." He was rambling now; well past the point where Eric, had he been present, would have interjected. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh well, that makes it ok that you tried to /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"maim/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" me then doesn't it?!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His temper flared at the accusation "Excuse me, I'm a doctor, I don't maim people! It was a mistake!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "A mistake!? Are you fucking kidding me?!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ok enough." Morrow said sternly. "You're being hysterical." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hysterical?! Oh yeah, of course, how silly of me. It's not like it's entirely justified!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I said I was sorry…if you'd just let me…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"" Oh no, I'm hysterical! That must be because I have a uterus! Quick! better fumigate my vagina like the other Victorian quacks!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Incredulously he scowled at her. "Don't be ridiculous."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Me? I'm ridiculous?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "If you can't calm down, I'll have to give you something to calm you down." Morrow responded, warningly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Would you be calm finding yourself tied to a table; with a man who won't come within three feet of you, telling you from the shadows that he'd tried to kill you only a few hours ago, after you'd risked everything to save /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"his/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" life?! Me calm down?! How about /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"you/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" fucking calm down!" She pulled at the restraints again and cried out as the flare of pain shot through her once more. She felt hot and sick. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I didn't try to kill you!" Morrow spat indignantly. "I've spent nearly a whole day and night almost trying to save you! Which, I might add, I succeeded in doing! How was I supposed to know you'd be allergic to water from the Holy Grail? The chances of that are astronomical. In fact, I've never seen it happen before." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Breathing heavily, Harri tried to suppress the pain and force her mind to focus on the here and now. Her metaphysical edges felt like they strung, as though they had been hacked at. "You shouldn't mess with things you don't understand," she said through her teeth. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I wasn't messing with you, you needed immediate medical attention, I was saving your life!" Morrow barked again. "In emergency medicine, doctor's don't have the luxury of sitting down and chatting with their patients for half an hour to find out if they're allergic to penicillin, have a heart condition or an Eldritch creature attached to their soul. We have to make quick judgement calls, based on the information we have and then select the treatment we think has the highest probability of success. If, for some reason, things don't go as planned, we have to improvise. However, the fact remains, I succeeded in the end; I saved your life!" /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...you ungrateful.../span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Right…" Harry began and then chose to ignore the doctor's entire justification. Some part of her now contemplating her situation and the likelihood she could get out of this alive. She didn't much like the idea of being dissected. "Nice word choice earlier by the way… you don't intend to /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"harm/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" me, but you don't care if you /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"hurt/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" me, right? As long as it helps you study me? I'm not a lab specimen… or something to be studied, I'm a person."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's entirely… semantics… I don't think you realise just how bad you… listen..." Morrow uttered, fumbling to find the right thing to say, but she cut across him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"you/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" listen! If that's all you see when you look at me, something you've found to be studied for your own means, then you're no better than the creatures that you seem used to extracting from your so-called patients." /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"S/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he closed her eyes, as the last echo of pain washed through her. In its wake, it left a hot persistent pain in her side, physical pain that was building as the metaphysical echo died. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The biting and somewhat accurate nature of the girl's remarks succeeded in preventing Morrow from starting on another rant. Whether she had meant to or not, Harry had struck a nerve, slowly he sank back onto the chair he had vacated earlier and turned inwards. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The silence between them stretched on as the alarms returned to a more rhythmical beat as both of them, patient and doctor calmed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Minutes later, fifteen or thirty she didn't know Harri turned her head to look at the pensive looking man then gave a sigh and turned back to the ceiling high above. She was so tired, the pillow and the short hair behind her head felt damp with sweat and it was a struggle to pull too hard now on the restraints. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Some more minutes passed in the uneasy silence. The pain in her side gnawed until she couldn't ignore it any longer, she whimpered, the sound escaping her before she could stop it. Her fists clenched. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl's noise of pain saved Morrow from his pensive state. Tossing their frank exchange of views aside, at least for the moment, and glad of the distraction, he asked in as nice a tone as he could muster, given how much backchat he'd had from her, "are you in pain?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri screwed her eyes up and shook her head at his words. Why would he ever assume she would tell him? Truth spell or not, She would be content not to have him touch her again. But… and here the reasonable part of her stepped in, as if it were an adult conversing with a hot-headed child, she was at his mercy right now. She knew on some part that what he said was true; he'd saved her life, she was injured and weak, feverish and in pain. Right now there was little she could do, even if she wanted to. Carefully, on the side furthest from him, she forced her hand to open and using her index finger, traced a charter mark for a release spell. Nothing happened. She traced it again and managed a faint trickle of power that slipped away like water through her fingers before it had a chance to properly form. The scrying glass showed both her crown and solar plexus chakras flare for a second. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As he waited for an answer, Dr Morrow saw the change in the scrying glass. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's trying to cast… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"In the brief moment of frozen panic, all the options of what he could/should have done to protect himself, ranging from having the sword to hand to yelling for Penny, rushed through his mind. It was only seconds later, when his brain finally realised that nothing had taken his head off, or something equally untoward happened to him, that the sensible part of his mind started to tell him that nothing had happened. And that given Harry's current condition, was not likely to. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That was stupid." He told her flatly. "You're not strong enough to use magic." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The effort left her audibly gasping and the pain in her side red-hot. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'll ask again, are you in pain?" She gave a weak sound of agreement and he continued "Would you describe it as a shooting pain? A throbbing pain? Or maybe an /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"imaginary/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" pain, because you want me to come inside the circle, so you can do something to me and make a run for it." He crossed his arms./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl grimaced again, "no… it really hurts… besides how exactly do you expect me to run for it, I'm tied to the table! And I already told you, the creed forbids me from harming a mortal readily."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Readily and mortal being the operative words, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow thought "Yeah? What does it have to say about Mystics?" he asked and waited. She didn't respond this time. "Where does it hurt?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""My... side…" she finally told him through gritted teeth. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sighing, he uncrossed his arms. "Fine, let me take a look, just hang on, I'll need the light." He moved to turn the surgical lamp back on then approached the circle he had drawn and, taking a split second to hope the display a moment ago wasn't a ruse to lull him into a false sense of security, stepped over the line towards the exam table./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"What does the creed maintain about mystics?/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Harri thought. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They're mortal too after all… most of them… ok… some of them. Well, as mortal as I am. It doesn't really say much other than the best thing to do is to stay away from Mystics Without Borders. Supposedly, they spell trouble for a Hunter, true. Not to touch one if you find one, as they'll give you mange, not true so far. And not to expect help from them, not true… Fuck.../spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Harri's thoughts were interrupted as the supernova above her returned with a vengeance. She closed her eyes against the onslaught of light and whimpered again, but it didn't last too long. A slight squeak sound and the lamp moved away from her face. She opened one eye and sighed in relief when she saw that the lamp, while still lit over her body had been angled in such a way that her chin up was out of its direct beam; much more comfortable. She stiffened slightly on seeing Morrow up close and was embarrassed to feel herself tremble a little as he pulled back the blanket and lifted what she could now see was a hospital gown covering her, so he could see her side. It was just the cold she tried telling herself, as she took in his dark hair and thin slightly weathered features. She winced when she felt his cool gloved fingers make contact with her skin./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow carefully eased the gauze from the wound and the surgical incision away. Both were clean looking and swelling was acceptable, a miracle in itself given the conditions they had been in down in the sewers. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Guess that's another point for large doses of penicillin. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Gently, he probed around the areas with the tips of his fingers, watching the girls' reactions. He could feel her stiffen under his touch, feel her tremble. The Doctor carefully worked his way along a moment longer. He didn't enjoy watching his patients suffer, not normally anyway. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I managed to repair your spleen." He said conversationally. "Which is a good thing, much better prognosis than removal. But you may feel pain for a few days and it will take a few weeks for you to fully heal."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl didn't reply but did shudder again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Any nausea?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" She shook her head. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Does it hurt here?" Morrow asked, pressing slightly deeper./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She shook her head again. It did hurt but wasn't the same sharp pain that she could feel in the area that she wanted him to get rid of. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The doctor raised an eyebrow at her response, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"who are you kidding sweetheart/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"…/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I can tell that hurts./spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "How about here?" Morrow said aloud, this time she gasped, he immediately stopped pressing. "Sorry," he said, then removed his hands and pulled something from his lab coat, slipping it over his head. He folded the disc of the device now on his forehead down over one eye and immediately his eyes turned white. "I need to take a closer look. For that you need to hold still. This won't hurt much but you may experience some discomfort." he said and turned to stare intently at her abdomen. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri blinked as a few flashes of memory vied for her attention. She recognised that device. "What is that?" she asked and pressed her chin to her chest to try and see what the device was doing. She couldn't see anything but the blanket bunched in her way, however. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh she speaks again." Morrow didn't look up at her, "that's not holding still. You're arching your back, you'll rupture your stitches if you keep doing that. Lie flat." he said./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri let her head flop back into the pillow with a sigh. She swallowed as another wave of pain flared but did lie still. Not that she had many options, considering she couldn't exactly move too much anyway. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He stared for a few more seconds then began to palpate around her abdomen again, pressing slightly deeper this time with the magical device to guide him. He apologised each time his actions elicited a clear pain response from her, but didn't stop until he was done. When he was, he flipped the disc back up and his eyes returned to normal. "It's called the Oculus Occultus; the eye of the unseen," he said in answer to her question, as he replaced the gauze. "It allows me to look inside my patients."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Handy…" she responded. "I thought that's what hospitals had ultrasound machines and stuff like that for."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It is," Morrow agreed, "but when your patient destroys your machine, you have to resort to more magical methods. If this were a normal hospital that would have been very irritating. Granted, this way is a lot quicker and has far better resolution."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""This isn't a normal hospital?" She asked./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He glanced at her, slightly surprised by the question, but recovered quickly. "...ehhh, no. No, this is my facility, my clinic. I treat supernatural illnesses, help those that have been cursed or injured by creatures. That sort of thing. I guess You can think of it as a sort of private hospital for special and specific cases. Cases Like you."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri lifted her head again to stare at him, her expression searching, as if she were trying to work out what he had said, then her cheeks turned pink. "Wait...You're talking about me? I destroyed your machine?" She trailed off like a flash of memory hit her and the pink tinge grew deeper, "I am so sorry…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's embarrassed…now that's interesting, I don't think I've ever had a patient be embarrassed after they destroy something./spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Tell me, what does your creed say about destroying your doctor's equipment?" he responded, pleased with the slight upward change in their conversation. He then replaced the blanket./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It doesn't say anything about that. We don't have doctors," she responded. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Well, that certainly explains a lot, however, it does beg the question, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""if you don't have doctors, does that mean you do all your healing by magic?" /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"If so, that would explain the magic patch./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Not all of us. The Healers handle most cases, or if it's serious, The Shaman does," Harri replied. "But only some are gifted with the ability to fully heal wounds etc. So, unless you have that sort of knack it's potions and first aid spells mostly for the rest of us, and while that might seem rudimentary to you… we don't tie injured people to tables, so..."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And Morrow finds the green with his tee shot and then sinks the putt, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"the doctor thought and then frowned. Unlike a lot of his ex-colleagues at the hospital, he didn't play golf, or at least not the branch of the sport they were familiar with. "Well, for future reference, whether you're healing with magic or just using potions and first aid kits, wounds need to be properly cleaned /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"and/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" sterilized before they are healed or dressed. And bones need to be properly set, or they don't mend correctly," he pointed to her left leg, "case and point, that's why you were limping. I thought it was due to another injury or your exhaustion at first but when I examined you I could see the break hadn't set right, there's some tendon damage as a result. I had to reset it. Don't worry I'll keep an eye on it, we may need a little physical therapy afterwards, but should be able to pop the cast off in a couple weeks. Three tops"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You broke my leg?!" she demanded incredulously. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Well, that explains the heavy feeling in the limb, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"she thought. "Are you kidding me! I literally just took the brace off of it." /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Weeks?… not bloody likely I'm going to be here that long.../span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No," Morrow corrected, "/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"you/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" broke your leg and then put a brace on it without setting it properly. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" reset it, so it will heal. You'll thank me in the long run."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri looked at him searchingly, "why? Why would you bother fixing that?" she asked. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He had his hands on her neck, pressing the tips of his fingers in and around her jawline. "Because, if you had doctors rather than a man with an oversized mask and hallucinogenic powders, you'd know that doctor's have a sort of creed too, which involves us healing all of our patients' injuries," Morrow replied, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"or at least that's how it's supposed to work, but in this country, you only get what you can pay for./spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's mildly Sexist of you, assuming The Shaman is male. It shouldn't matter if they are male or female. And the mask is traditional...anyway that isn't the point...that's what your creed as a doctor says...what about the mystics creed? I'm not sure it would agree." /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At least as far as I've been taught. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You guys don't get a mention," Morrow replied, removing his hands. "Besides, the Mystic's creed is more a sort of guideline than actual rules."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Like pirates...how fitting." Harri replied and screwed her eyes up as a flare of pain took her attention. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Given that the doctor's 'creed' placed the patients' well-being above replying to their sass, Morrow took her pained expression as a sign he needed to return his focus to his examination. Pulling another device out of his pocket, he held it up and said, somewhat patronisingly, "this is a stethoscope." Ok, so if he could retort to the backchat while carrying out his medical duties, he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri grimaced but opened her eyes to glare at him. "I know what a stethoscope is," she said./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Good, in which case you should know what I need you to do …" Morrow said with a wry smirk. He then pressed the bell against her chest and waited. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri sighed and again feeling like she should do so only because she had no other choice, complied with his request. She took a deep breath in then let it out./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Good...and again," he said, moving the device to another position. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At least she knows how to cooperate during an examination. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He thought back to the early days when Penny lay on this same table, restrained and snarling at him, as he tried to both examine her and communicate with her. He already had bandaged fingers on his hands at this point in the proceedings that time. This was actually going much easier in retrospect. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Maybe her shaman threatens to give them their hallucinogenic powder via enema if they don't do as they're told./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She did so; in and out again. The slight stretch on the inhale pulled painfully at something in her side. "Please, it really Hurts…" she said again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Satisfied, he removed the stethoscope from her and stuffed it back into his lab coat pocket. He stood surveying the girl contemplatively for a moment, before leaning over her to take hold of each side of her head. "I know. I promise I'll deal with the pain soon," he said, trying to use the kind bedside tone of voice Eric had encouraged him to develop, but which he still failed to master./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri struggled against his grip on her head, twisting it slightly as if that would dislodge him, but he was surprisingly gentle. This wasn't what she had expected. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"What exactly did you expect? /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A small voice asked inside her mind, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"if he wanted you dead you'd already be dead, clearly he wants you alive...you need to use that till you are strong enough to get away. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm not going to harm you," the doctor reiterated, seeming troubled by her reaction to his touch. "If you hold still and let me finish examining you, I'll give you something to help with the pain, but I need to check you over first. I'm almost done." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"There's that word again, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"thought but scowled at him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow waited a moment for her to stop moving before he rolled the bottoms and tops of her eyes with his thumb and peered at her. He released her head and instead brought one hand down into the pulse point on her neck and the other across her forehead. "You're burning up again," he said to her and moved to an instrument tray. He brought an ear thermometer to her and put it in her right ear. "Sorry," he said when she frowned at him. "Normally I'd use an infrared one which means I don't need to be so close to a patient with an instrument, but the psychic fever messes with the readings, so I need something that makes contact with your body to read physical temperature first," he explained and removed the device to look at it. His mouth formed a thin line. "You're up three degrees…" he said, turning to put the thermometer back. "You keep that up and I'll have no choice but to put you into an ice bath."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"How the heck was she supposed to respond to that? /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She decided to go for, "sorry."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Nothing to be sorry for, it's rare for someone to experience dual pyrexia. You're not intentionally doing it." He removed another more ornate looking device from the instrument tray and held it over her forehead, not touching the skin. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Or at least I don't think you are.../span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Dual Pyrexia?" She asked/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes. Dual means two and Pyrexia means fever. Basically you're having a response to your wounds and the uhh… trauma, maybe also the surgery. I haven't got your blood test results yet to rule out infection but it's likely to be the former given it's both a physical and metaphysical response. Like I said, it's fairly rare for both at once. I think both of your immune systems are confused. And I have a feeling you may have overdid it with the hero routine before you even got to us." He raised his eyebrows at her scowl. "I'm not criticising… but regardless of why you have it it's got to come down. I'm going to give you an antipyretic medicine."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He moved out of the light a moment. She could hear him opening cabinets but didn't lift her head to look. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's not a Hero routine, you make it sound like I'm a vigilante."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Aren't you?" He was back with a small clear plastic cup of orange red liquid. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No! I'm not, it's my job," she said quietly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's your job to go hunt monsters?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes. Hunt being the operative word." She grimaced in pain again./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He watched her for a moment then moved around to the back of the table she lay on and pulled upwards. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The back came up forcing her into a sitting position. She grimaced and felt disoriented for a second, then instinct took over and her eyes immediately sought the exit./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Here, drink this." Morrow said, reappearing at her side and interrupting her escape plans. He was holding the cup out to her lips. He didn't untie her bonds at all, just waited patiently for her to comply./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri had a flash of memory and shook her head slightly to rid herself of it. "What is it?" She asked./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I told you, the fever has to come down, it's an antipyretic. A Fever reducing medication. " He said slightly impatiently./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""A potion?" She asked warily./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Of a sort, I'd rather inject but the psychic fever needs treatment too, and the cure for that doesn't do well in injection form. It's much more effective orally. So, this is what we get. Drink it, it'll help, then I'll deal with the pain. Trust me, this option is the better one, you won't like it if I have to ice bath you."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri watched him another moment. As if he were trying to make her more at ease his features took on a sort of 'Go on, you can trust me' expression. With nothing else to do she nodded and allowed him to bring the small cup to her lips and tip the liquid in. It took two swallows to finish the contents. The liquid felt like a thick syrup in her mouth even though it was no more viscous than water in the cup. It left a bitter taste and she pulled a face./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry, I should have warned you. Honey makes it useless and other sugars tend to combust." He said as he lowered the table back down again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She hissed slightly as the jolt increased the pain, then lay flat staring at the ceiling once more./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Anyway, You're a kid, you shouldn't be hunting monsters in the middle of the night," Morrow said, returning to their conversation. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And you're a geriatric. You shouldn't be hunting monsters in the middle of the night!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No need to get snippy. I wasn't criticising, just commenting." He said grouchily as he walked over to another cabinet and opened it with a key. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri felt herself flush again, but did not hesitate to add, "I'm an adult! It's my duty and my honour to hunt; it's what I was born to do." She watched him walk back with a small glass bottle in his hands and a syringe./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Somehow I doubt that you are an adult in the eyes of the US government," he said, as he inserted the syringe into the bottom of the bottle. "Besides, while forty-four might be geriatric age where you come from, it's still considered one's prime in civilized society. How old are you anyway? Seventeen? Eighteen?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why does it matter? I wasn't even born in the US, so why do I care what it's government thinks?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm just asking," he said calmly again as he pulled the bottle from the point of the syringe and put it down. However, he filled the titbit of information away for later. He then pressed the bottom of the syringe sending a small spurt of the liquid inside into the air. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I was sixteen this past winter…" she said quietly again, watching him. "What's that?" she asked worriedly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""In which case definitely not an adult in the eyes of the US government. But we can argue about that another time. You need to rest." he said firmly then tapped the hypodermic a few times. Morrow adjusted the contents a second longer then brought it over to her. "Morphine," he said in answer to her question, she flinched away slightly and closed her eyes, but he didn't need access to her, just to the correct IV line. He located it and inserted the syringe, depressing the dosage in seconds, removing it when it was empty. "This one I can give as an injection."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He watched her face a moment, seeing her eyes still closed, and took a smaller stubby syringe out of his pocket and quickly delivered that into the line too. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She really is young...and too trusting perhaps /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he mused feeling a surge of guilt, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"young, but powerful…/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" a sterner part of him responded. To her he said "It'll help with the pain, but you're probably going to feel sleepy." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri opened her eyes, she felt the drug he had given her like a bucket of cool water being thrown over a fire in her side. Her whole body slowly began to unclench and relax, as the drug suppressed pain receptors. She blinked and found Morrow's fingers on her pulse point in her neck again. She didn't flinch from him this time. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Just lie there and take it easy, this stuff works pretty fast," he said gently as he watched the monitor for a second. Her heart rate was coming down, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"much better. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She did feel sleepy. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"By the gods, he wasn't kidding when he said it worked fast./spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" She struggled to stay focused, her eyelids heavy all of a sudden. The pull was comfortable, not back into the void, just the lull of sleep and the promise of it being restful. Her eyelids drifted closed./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't fight it, just relax" Morrow said /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Something cool pressed against her forehead again and she opened her eyes to find the doctor looming over her still. Placing a cool compress on her forehead. She couldn't remember him moving to get it. He seemed tired himself, she mused and for some reason somewhere inside she felt a pang of empathy, even sympathy with him. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Stop that! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"her brain told her emotional regions. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He's an enemy not a friend! /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't fight it." Morrow said again "You're exhausted...you need time to heal, you need to sleep." He watched her for a moment then added. "I already told you, I'm a doctor, and just now I'm /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"your/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" doctor. Whatever else you may think, I promise, I'm trying to help you, you're safe here," /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...so long as Penny doesn't come looking for a snack. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Just try and get some rest." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As though his last word had been a spell command, which it may very well have been, Harri felt her eyes close again and the embrace of sleep engulfed her. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow stood watching his patient a few moments after her eyes closed and the rise and fall of her respiration rate turned to the tell tale signs of sleep. He glanced again at the wound in her side. It was healing at an accelerated rate, not as quickly as Penny healed certainly, but much quicker than any normal human would. Already the internal wounds were knitting together faster than he would have thought. He pulled the stethoscope back out and gave her lungs and heart a more thorough auscultation. Now at rest, her heart rate had returned to what it had been when he had relieved Eric. Steady but slightly slower than a normal human, something he would need to take a note of for future reference. He put the device back in his lab coat pocket and turned from the table./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The Question is/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", he mused, bringing the chair into the protection circle and closer to the bed, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"what am I going to do with her? A Hunter of Gehrman… she's only 16… I can watch her develop into full adulthood… of course I'll need better containment protocols than a circle in a procedure room… I wonder if I have a straight jacket small enough for her, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he thought, as he sat to watch her while he considered his options, She appeared so vulnerable as she lay asleep. He would need more information, need to study her in greater detail, examine her more thoroughly. A list of tests began running through his head and a thin smile formed on his lips. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I've got a Hunter of /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"friggin/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Gehrman!/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; text-align: center; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That which we call substance and reality is shadow and illusion, and that which we call shadow and illusion is substance and reality."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was the bleeping that was going to drive her insane, she decided. Soft but persistent. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She frowned and lay still on her back and tried to remember what she had been dreaming. The bleeping persisted and automatically her hand twitched to move to turn off the alarm on her phone. The limb felt heavy with sleep but then caught on something preventing her from lifting it more than a centimeter or so. She pulled and again felt the resistance, her eyes opened and immediately she regretted it. The bright light overhead from her dream was still there. A circular metal dome reflecting overhead like a miniature supernova. Groaning she tilted her head and opened her eyes a sliver of the way to look around. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She couldn't see much but quickly worked out that She was so,where strange, on some sort of table or bed, light sheets which may have been blue or gray but appeared white in the light, covered her from the waist down. Her clothes were gone, instead she was wearing some sort of night shirt. There were stiff leather padded cuffs on her wrists and wide leather belts over her legs and torso. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Turning her head she found the source of the bleeping. It looked like an old tv with a green coloured screen, on which a spiked line moved continuously across. It seemed to be attached to wires that trailed to the table and vanished into the blankets and the neck of her coverings. She could feel things on her skin and a clip on one of her fingers. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Beside the box hung an ornate mirror on which a glowing human figure was displayed flashing various colours here and there. She didn't understand that one. It too had wires coming out of the bottom which were attached to her temples. She could feel some sort of tubing around her face. More tubing led from the crook of one arm and the back of her hand to the various glass bottles of clear and yellow liquids and what looked like blood on a metal stand. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Beyond the light pool, the room was dark so she couldn't work out what else surrounded her. She closed her eyes and tried to work out what had happened. Clearly she was alive…which was a welcome development even if slightly surprising. The memories were hazy but slowly they came back to her. The rush of power and the agony it caused as the spell drew more power than she had to give. But once it was activated there was no way to stop it until it fulfilled its task or it ran out of power. It seemed that the former had happened. Carefully she tried to move and found again that she was securely fastened down. The people she had tried to save…one of them had said the other was a doctor, that must be where she was, which meant they had pulled her out with them. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She relaxed slightly. While she didn't revel in the idea of being with an unknown mystical practitioner it stood to reason that if they had wished to harm her then they would have done so. Her time in Arkham and the journey there had not been easy and she had known she wasn't in the best of shapes before her encounter with the demon hive and the three people in the sewers. Interestingly there was still some pain but it was tolerable. She felt stiff, almost like she was either recovering from a bad flu or similar illness or had the hangover of the century. The light made her head throb more, she screwed her eyes up tighter and groaned again loudly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Something was soothing about the bleep… bleep… bleep of a heart rate monitor, Dr Morrow mused. The satisfying indication that a patient, specimen or other being, was both alive and stable. The medical equivalent of a pat on the back or a, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""job well done." /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He'd spent so much of the past twelve hours hearing the box tell him that his latest specimen was unstable, seconds from death or even dead, that it felt almost comforting to hear that steady bleep… bleep… bleep. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He would have liked to have claimed that he had noticed some small change in the noise coming from the box. Some slight variation in his specimens heart rate, which had alerted him to the fact that she was now conscious. However, so lost in thought had he been, that the first indication Dr Vincent Morrow had that she'd come around was hearing the change in the groan. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Slowly the doctor uncrossed his arms and lowered his feet from the cabinet to the floor. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why did they pull me out?" The girl said to the ceiling. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow stood and approached the protection circle. "That'd be because my assistant has this pain in the ass ethical complex that compels him to take every rabbit he accidentally runs over home with him," /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"and stopped me from bringing home the entirety of that squid-like specimen. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl froze, she knew that voice, the growling voice from her dreams. Tilting her head towards the sound, she tried to open her eyes again to look in the general direction it had come from. The Silhouette was familiar framed in the light. "You...I remember you… the one that looked like the mad scientist with the weird sword and the bag… the mystic guy," she said. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Mad scientist! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow thought in outrage, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"why is it that everyone thinks I'm a mad scientist! I laboured for hours to save that ungrateful whelp. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His fists involuntarily clenched. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Who does she think she is? And what the hell does she mean by, 'weird sword'? Doesn't she know what Excalibur looks like? What are they teaching kids in schools these days? And doesn't she know who I am; Dr Vincent Morrow: Occult Physician, leading specialist in the fields of supernatural, mystic and magical medicine! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...the doctor's internalised rant finally ceased when his sleep-deprived brain finally managed to tell him that /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"a)/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" he had never had the opportunity to introduce himself to her, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"b) /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"did not advertise his services with cheesy commercials and billboards featuring himself, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"c)/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" when picturing the legendary sword Excalibur, no one in their right mind would ever imagine his blade and /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"d)/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" he had ranted the entire thing in his head and thus she had heard none of it. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You were speaking to me…" she added slowly, unaware of the insult she had caused, the tirade that followed or the Doctor in general, her brow furrowing, she added, "...you...you did something to me, you...had your hands inside me." Her mind was trying to piece together snapshots of things since her last proper memory, but the light was distracting her, making it more difficult. "Please, can you turn this light off?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Momentary internalised indignation having now subsided, Morrow stared intently at the exam table. Upon hearing her next point, about him having had his hands inside her, he opened his mouth to explain, in full detail and with all the medical jargon he had a habit of spouting, when… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Wait, did she just ask me to turn the light off? /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Was this it; the first clue to what she was; light sensitivity? Immediately his brain began to cycle through all the creatures he knew of that had such a weakness, only that list was far too long. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Are you sensitive to light?" he elected to finally ask, his voice containing far too much of a macabre enthusiasm. Seeking confirmation before trying to narrow down his list. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl struggled against the restraints a little. "Are you kidding? Wouldn't you be if you'd just woken up to find a thousand-watt sun in your face?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, you are light-sensitive!" Morrow declared, before stopping to think about what she had just said. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...yeah, I doubt I'd be happy either if I woke up underneath a surgical lamp. Damm, I should really stop jumping to that conclusion the moment someone takes a discomfort to waking up under that light. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was with a dollop of sheepish dejection that Morrow sidled over to where the switch for the surgical lamp resided and flicked it off. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl let out an Audible sigh of relief in the darkened room. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow returned to the edge of the circle, he watched her for a moment and said. "Do you know where you are?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"ignoring his question, she opened her eyes and said, "thank you. Now...how about you untie me too?" There was a hint of power in her tone. Weak but compelling./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A wry smile formed on the doctor's face, that wasn't going to work on him, his personal wards were ample enough protection. "Not going to happen," he replied matter-of-factly. "At least not until I have some idea about what I'm dealing with. Both for your protection and everyone else's." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She sighed, her vision was clearing and she could just make out the slight glow of the protection circle and the man in white standing out with it. "Well, I'd imagine you have a fairly good idea what you are dealing with, since, if my memories are correct, and they are a bit of a jumble granted, you've seen me butt naked. Bit pervy by the way, since we'd only just met and all. "/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow blinked "Wha…that's…completely…!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Just to clear matters up, I'm a female...that's like you but with less dangling bits. I'm assuming of course…I don't and a habit of seeing strangers I just met naked like you do." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Left gawking at the… at the sheer audacity of her remark, he could only count himself fortunate that she could not see his face and the slight burn in his cheeks, which he hastily tried to suppress. "I wasn't looking at you naked, well I was looking at you and you were naked but It was medically justified!" he finally shot back indignantly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Geez will you chill out...no sense of humour I take it."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Humour?" He blinked and frowned confusedly/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes. I was joking. Back underground you said you were a doctor and you were trying to help me. I take it your patients don't tend to tell many jokes?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Not usually, no."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Great. Well this is going well."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow rolled his eyes. "I'll ask you again, do you know where you are?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She looked around again a second "Hospital?" She asked./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Close enough… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow thought. "I'm Dr Vincent Morrow. I'm treating you." he said by way of introduction./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So you said." She responded./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I remember you and your friend nearly getting us all killed." She growled. "I remember being backed into a corner because of you and trying to save you both. I remember telling you to run." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yeah then causing a magical power surge with what energy you had left and bringing the walls down on top of us. You induced a cardiac incident, my friend as you called him, had to resuscitate you."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Really? He had to resuscitate me? And where were you in all of this?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She was remarkably calm. That was unique in his dealings with the possessed. However She was being sassy with him and he had a strict rule about patients in general /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" giving him backchat, Morrow chose to ignore her and instead in an effort to assert some measure of control over the conversation, said, "Do you have a name, or do I simply call you girl, specimen #646 or creature?" After saying that, he felt the need to repeat the thought, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I'm /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"a mad scientist, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"several times inside his head. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl considered him, her expression an interesting mix of calculating and wary. "Well, the first is a bit presumptuous don't you think? The second is frankly disturbing and the third is blatantly rude." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""So, you haven't got a name, think being called a girl is disturbing and aren't fond of specimen #646, so /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"creature/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" it is," Morrow cut in sarcastically. He crossed his arms again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know that's not what I meant," she paused. "Names have power, why should I trust you with mine?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A thin smile formed on the doctor's lips, happy at the fact he'd scored the point. "I've already given you mine. As my assistant keeps reminding me, Creature, it's only common courtesy." she pulled at her restraints and wriggled slightly, as if uncomfortable. He made a mental note./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""More fool you, Doctor Vincent Morrow." She sighed then looked up to watch him on the outside of the circle. It was unlikely, she mused that was his true name, the name he gave out so freely. A full minute of silence passed as she seemed to weigh up her options, before finally... "Harri," she said, her tone begrudging. She let her head flop back into the pillow. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Harry," Morrow mused as if he were rolling the name around in his mouth. "You were right, that's not very inventive." He was now standing on the outermost line of the protection circle. Just beyond arms reach of the table she was on. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri lifted her head again to look at him, taking in his appearance, he didn't look like much, but there was an assured confidence about him that all of her training told her was a danger sign. His crossed arms and relaxed stance. Bravado perhaps, only one way to be sure and that was to trade like for like. She raised her eyebrows as if in askance. "Oh yeah? because Vincent is any better?. The Latin word for conqueror. Quaint. Do you prefer Vinnie? Or how about Vincentius?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He didn't disappoint "Pffft yeah right, like Home Ruler is any better" Vincent retorted childishly, "Think they still called Henry the 8th Harry after he was put up there on the list of tyrants?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri laughed weakly. "It's a shortened version of my name but I'm not called Henry, moron," she said. She tried to turn more onto her hip. A flare of pain blossomed and the movement stopped dead./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He uncrossed his arms then said, not unkindly, "Now let that be a lesson to you. don't try that again. You're pretty beat up and just underwent major surgery. You'll be weak for a while." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"This guy wasn't exactly like others she had met around Arkham but then again, he was the first MWB mystic she had met in the flesh. She turned her head back to look at him again and noted his reluctance to approach further than the chalked lines. "This is your protection circle, right? You cast it?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Slowly he nodded once. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why? If I had wanted to harm you don't you think I would have by now? Or would have left you at those creatures' mercy. Surely that permits me some level of trust?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The continued questioning seemed to catch Morrow off guard and he found himself unsure of what to say. Admittedly, this was not how these situations normally went. Typically, he and often Eric and Penny too, would be gathered around the table, try a few simple lines of communication with his latest specimen and then be forced into action when, inevitably, they found themselves under attack from whatever Eldritch creature they were dealing with this time. Normally the restraints and the straight jacket was needed and even then Penny had to get involved. However, this… this free talking and sassy backchat, this was new and while technically what he wanted and he was intrigued, he was at a loss with how to handle the situation. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Realising that he would have to say… something, Morrow tried to compose himself. He was a doctor; an occult physician, he dealt with weird supernatural cases and fought monsters on a daily basis. Surely he could handle a conversation with one teenage girl, or at least a creature that, on the outside, appeared to be a teenage girl. "You tell me," he finally answered, opting to take the Socratic approach. "What would you do when you encounter a creature with magical powers that isn't deceased when you come to study it? Would you trust it?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri frowned at the man as he spoke, she wasn't sure she liked where this conversation seemed to be headed, "well, first of all, for the record, I'm not an IT or a creature with magical powers in the sense you seem to be meaning; I'm a human. Secondly, if said 'creature' had saved my ass? Thank it probably, not tie it down to tables and encase it in protective circles. So I assume either you're not as powerful as you look and are scared or I did something while I was unconscious?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sure …human…/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I seem to recall I was the one who didn't leave your ass to get crushed by those squid-like creatures when they finally tore through that pile of rubble, then prevented you from dying on the way back here and after that. I saved your life kid," Morrow replied irately. "by my count, you're the one who should be thanking me." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl pulled somewhat more aggressively at the bonds this time, her face flushed a deep crimson colour, spreading across her cheeks like ink staining cloth. "You weren't /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"supposed/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" to save me!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And why's that? You got a death wish?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Of course not!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Then what?" Morrow asked expectantly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri made an irritated sound in frustration, "The creed demands I sacrifice my life for the protection of mortals against those types of creatures if there's no other way out! That's what I did, I wasn't exactly planning on making it out alive, I was giving you idiots time to run!" She breathed heavily for a moment. Scowling at him, her face burning. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""We are the idiots? Last I checked we weren't the ones who almost killed themselves doing blood magic while badly injured." Morrow retorted, a smidgeon of anger seeping into his tone. If this went on much longer, he was fetching Penny, having her sedate the whelp and getting his answers the old fashioned way… Catrina would agree with that method. Maybe he could inv… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"no way! I'm not getting tangled up with her again, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he thought firmly, forcing thoughts of the pathologist necromancer from his mind. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri rolled her eyes and strained again. Wincing in another flare of pain as she did so. "I had /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"no/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"other/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"choice/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". We were all in danger, I'd been fighting off the other ones and my energy levels were low. I was planning on regrouping and coming back another day when I sensed the fluctuation from your shield. I didn't think I was going to make it in time to stop the first one shish kebabing you. Then I had to push what little I had left to save you, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"again/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", from becoming those things next meal! when you let it wrap itself around your foot and drag you off! I was sure we were going to die or at least there was every probability I was going to. I'm not stupid I know how bad that thing got me, how deep the wound was."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And yet you still did it." He said /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Again Harri let out the frustrated sound. "Look I don't make a habit of it ok! Blood Magic is dangerous, stupidly tricky to wield and is always a /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"last resort/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". A final stand sort of thing." She sighed, and let herself go limp against her restraints again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"This time, Dr Morrow managed to restrain himself from immediately firing back a retort. Thanks to the truth spell symbols he had added to the circle, and she was yet to detect, his specimen had just given him a plethora of information. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"While she can clearly use blood magic, she's claiming it's not her primary method of casting, which I suppose fits the evidence; I only saw her use blood for her final acts. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That was somewhat reassuring. Since Mystics had banned the art over two decades ago, it tended only to be the darkest of practitioners that used it as a primary form of casting. And if he were here, Eric would tell him he could not throw stones, owing to the fact that he himself had dipped his fingers into that particular crimson pool on occasion. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She also seems to be aware of the risks…/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A moment of silence then, with her eyes closed the girl said quietly, "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. you couldn't possibly understand." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Deep in his own thought processes Morrow rubbed his chin, ignoring her/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"for now/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...then there's that whole part about saving mortals in peril. Wasn't that the spiel she rattled off back in squidville, the part where she first said she was a hunter? /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That seemed like his most pertinent line of inquiry. After all, she was talking to him, maybe this was the one time where his specimen would simply give him his answers without the obligatory Eldritch tussle. "I'd like to understand." He said /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri made a scoffing sort of noise. "Right, sure that's why you're relying on the truth spell because you want to understand me better?"So she had detected it. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm relying on the truth spell to ensure you tell me the truth. Bad things tend to happen when patients aren't honest with their doctors. I spent hours ensuring you stayed alive kid, I'd like to keep you that way."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Again Harri scoffed. He ignored her and still rubbing his chin ventured "Back there…You said you are a hunter, do you mean that you are a 'Hunter of Gehrman'?" He'd had to wrack his brain for half an hour to find the relevant book page that stated the name and then strain through the stains for a further five to determine the correct pronunciation. Even then it was the rarest or rare shots in the dark./span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He watched her carefully. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was a difficult ability to craft, that of a completely believable poker face. Yet the teen seemed to have mastered it fairly well. Or at least she would have been completely believable had she not been attached to a heart rate monitor. While her expression changed very little her heart rate increased noticeably. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She swallowed, hearing the sound and kept her eyes closed. It was no use, she mused, concealing anything from him. Not when she was attached to that blasted thing and he seemed to know something at least already. Besides, what was the point? If mystics were what she had been taught then it was likely they'd get the information from her one way or another in the end anyway. She may as well give him something for now and act cooperative while she figured out a way to escape. So long as what she told him was knowledge anyone within the magic users and other side communities could get their hands on. Finally, she said, "Yes. Though we go by the term 'The Hunters' more these days." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow's eyes had already lit up at the change in the bleep pattern and only continued to brighten upon hearing the confirmation from her lips. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's a Hunter of Gehrman… A HUNTER OF GEHRMAN! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"This was… this was unprecedented… unbelievable… incredible… downright /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"fantastic/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"! He felt giddy. The energetic took him off in a pace around the chalked lines. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"But/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They're just a myth… a single paragraph with a footnote claiming just that, in /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"one/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" obscure, musty old book within Mystic's library. I'VE ACTUALLY FOUND A HUNTER OF FRIGGIN GEHRMAN! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"had /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"to/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"call Abby right away. She would totally flip when she heard what he'd discovered. She'd want to…he stopped pacing…/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"wait, no… bad idea. If I tell Abby, this'll get back to Mystic's and they'll want to seize possession of her. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Quickly discarding that idea, he could not stop the rouge part of his brain from saying, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"why don't I tell Cat instead? She could come over and we could study her together… NO! I'm /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"getting involved with that woman again. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He paused upon realising he'd just hit a major snag, he'd just made perhaps one of the greatest discoveries of his career and he had no one to share; read be smug about it with! If he told Abby, Mystics would come down on him like a tonne of bricks and he'd lose her, if he told Cat, he'd probably walk back into the procedure room after using the john to find Harry in jars. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"DAMMIT!/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He hadn't spoken again after her confession. She watched him pace, noting the change in his body language as he did circuits around her for a few minutes. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Fixing a determined look on her face she said "don't get too excited there, Doc, I'm just a regular old human with the weird hobby of hunting things that go bump in the night...ow..." she twisted against the restraints slightly, uncomfortably. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Hold the phone, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow thought, the girls comments halting the train of thought in his mind fairly abruptly, a /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"regular old human with a weird hobby of hunting things that go bump in the night! Not bloody likely. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Somehow managing to bring himself down off of the ceiling and finding a shred of decorum, he finally replied, "The truth spell must be waning because I know that one is a lie, you are not just a regular old human."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm human." She reiterated /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"" I've examined you both physically and metaphysically. Not as thoroughly as I'd like of course, we will have time for that later, but enough to /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"know /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"you're not entirely human. If you were, you'd be dead now, your wounds are fairly extensive."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I don't know what to tell you Doc." She said /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He frowned. "Like I said, I'm an Occult physician, I specialise in the supernatural. I've examined your auras and as such I /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"know/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" your soul, for lack of a better term, is playing host to something else that is not human. Granted…it doesn't seem to react like any sort of Diablosis I've encountered before but."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Wait…" she interrupted. "Diablosis? As in the devil? You think I'm possessed?" Harri asked incredulously. "I'm /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"not/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" possessed." She shook her head in denial. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I didn't say you were possessed as such," Morrow replied, the memory of having the same conversation with Eric still fresh in his mind. "I said your soul, your Metaphysical self is being shared with something else. Possession is only one form of Diablosis. The infection or the parasite could also have been..."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri interrupted sounding defensive, "…it's not a /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"parasite/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" or an /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"infection! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I was born like… like this."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You were born with another creature... or at least the spiritual form of one attached to you!" Morrow cut in sharply. That… that was something new entirely./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No… not like that." She shook her head. "It's complicated!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Explain it to me," Morrow replied gruffly. The Truth spell symbols flared./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I c..can't…" she struggled to say through gritted teeth. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""…Y..you..you wouldn't…understand." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""What wouldn't I understand?" He asked as the symbols grew slightly brighter. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's just how I am. I was…I was born like this." Her tone was strained and beads of sweat had begun trickling down her face, flushed with effort. Clearly she was fighting the truth spell./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Stupid of her in Her weakened state he mused, but he needed more information. "Born Like what?" he persisted, sounding exasperated. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her jaw was set now and she shook her head stiffly, biting her bottom lip. Despite himself Morrow took pity on her "As a Hunter is that what you mean? You were born a Hunter?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"This seemed like an easier question and she gave a small sigh of relief before saying "Yes."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Can you explain that?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"With effort she shook her head and he sighed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You maintain you're not infected by some sort of demon or creature. But there is a distinct second aura element. Are all hunters this way?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Again she nodded stiffly, "not…infected, …supposed to be that way. I want it that way! I… I trained my whole life for my Erus ceremony…" she bit her lip. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her blood pressure was going up, he noted, "Erus ceremony,Erus from Latin?" His tone became slightly more forceful. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her eyes were tightly closed and she seemed to be becoming more frustrated. "…Yes, it's a rite of passage for my people…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Can you tell me about it?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""N…no." She said with obvious effort. "…but the thing you think is sharing my soul… it's not sharing so to speak, it's not a separate entity…it's too complicated to explain." she said through her teeth. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm a clever guy. Try me." He pushed./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A note of desperation was evident in her tone when she continued, "It's my life force, I'm part of it, it's part of me…" she watched his stoic expression and sighed. "Look you aren't one of us, you wouldn't, couldn't understand…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He felt himself deflate. This was circular and while he wanted the information he also didn't want to undo all of his work in one question answer session, he would have to stop soon. "Try me." He said again./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She didn't disappoint however this time, the words slipping out all in a rush. Like a tide having been held back and bursting through the dam. "…it's...it's my soul's resonation... it's... the part that makes me whole. I am it, it is me…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""How do I separate it from you?" He demanded, not really expecting an answer. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She looked at him, utterly horrified. "You /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"can't/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" separate it… it would kill me… or drive me ins..." she trailed off as a severe stab of pain, or at least the echo of one, wracked through her sternum. Her whole body constricted and the monitors above her gave a small noise of alarm too./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ok. It's ok." Morrow said gently as he hastily deactivated the truth spell, leaving the rest of the protections in place. If it were not for the fact he had an eidetic memory and so would later be able to recall every detail from this conversation, he would have been furiously scribbling notes on a clipboard or typing them into his cell phone. The paragraph from the Mystics book had never even hinted at anything like… like /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"this/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;". /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They train their entire life to have… something join with them? Or at least until they're about eighteen, given that her entire life can't have been much longer than that. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"While Harry had debunked the immediate conclusion he had come to; that she had been born with this thing attached to her, this still made her an entirely new entity to him. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"What the hell does that make her? Hunter of Gehrman, buy now, will be ready to use in sixteen to eighteen years. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"On the monitors, her heart rate was spiking again and the scrying glass showed a flare of light above her solar plexus chakra. He frowned, that should be coming down now that he had released the truth spell. He focused on her, Sweat ran down the side of her face, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes wide, fearful looking, "it's ok," he said again. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have pushed you…try and relax."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow quickly checked the other equipment, saw the flare of light in the scrying glass again and immediately knew her manipura chakra was in distress now. The sound of velcro ripping drew his gaze to her left arm and the now limp blood pressure cuff that had slid down towards her wrist. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Psychokinetic Power flare following an echo of previous trauma. Good thing it was mild, as I've got a bad feeling it could have extended beyond the reach of the table… at least it's not something she can control./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""...you… you tried to separate it… didn't you!" She was looking at him, appalled. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He then heard her accusation and the memory of what had happened when he'd used the Holy Grail water played in his mind, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"shit! /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ahh yes,...well... about that…" he began then paused as the heart rate alarm sounded again. His expression and tone stern he continued, "You need to calm down, you're over taxing yourself."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm over taxing myself?" She spat./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I said i was sorry, look…relax ok…You aren't strong enough for this. If you calm down I'll explain."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She made a disbelieving sound through her teeth but he continued in a calm as a tone as he could muster. "Believe me, I don't intend to harm you," he said, in a similar fashion to how he had tried to placate her 'roommate' during the night. "You were in a bad state last night and in attempting to treat your physical wounds, I inadvertently caused a metaphysical one… there wasn't time for me to conduct a thorough examination… I thought it would help stabilise you so I could treat you, but I was wrong… Obviously, I've never encountered anyone like you before, so there is bound to be some trial and error..." He was rambling now; well past the point where Eric, had he been present, would have interjected. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh well, that makes it ok that you tried to /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"maim/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" me then doesn't it?!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His temper flared at the accusation "Excuse me, I'm a doctor, I don't maim people! It was a mistake!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "A mistake!? Are you fucking kidding me?!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Ok enough." Morrow said sternly. "You're being hysterical." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Hysterical?! Oh yeah, of course, how silly of me. It's not like it's entirely justified!"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I said I was sorry…if you'd just let me…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"" Oh no, I'm hysterical! That must be because I have a uterus! Quick! better fumigate my vagina like the other Victorian quacks!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Incredulously he scowled at her. "Don't be ridiculous."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Me? I'm ridiculous?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "If you can't calm down, I'll have to give you something to calm you down." Morrow responded, warningly./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Would you be calm finding yourself tied to a table; with a man who won't come within three feet of you, telling you from the shadows that he'd tried to kill you only a few hours ago, after you'd risked everything to save /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"his/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" life?! Me calm down?! How about /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"you/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" fucking calm down!" She pulled at the restraints again and cried out as the flare of pain shot through her once more. She felt hot and sick. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I didn't try to kill you!" Morrow spat indignantly. "I've spent nearly a whole day and night almost trying to save you! Which, I might add, I succeeded in doing! How was I supposed to know you'd be allergic to water from the Holy Grail? The chances of that are astronomical. In fact, I've never seen it happen before." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Breathing heavily, Harri tried to suppress the pain and force her mind to focus on the here and now. Her metaphysical edges felt like they strung, as though they had been hacked at. "You shouldn't mess with things you don't understand," she said through her teeth. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I wasn't messing with you, you needed immediate medical attention, I was saving your life!" Morrow barked again. "In emergency medicine, doctor's don't have the luxury of sitting down and chatting with their patients for half an hour to find out if they're allergic to penicillin, have a heart condition or an Eldritch creature attached to their soul. We have to make quick judgement calls, based on the information we have and then select the treatment we think has the highest probability of success. If, for some reason, things don't go as planned, we have to improvise. However, the fact remains, I succeeded in the end; I saved your life!" /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...you ungrateful.../span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Right…" Harry began and then chose to ignore the doctor's entire justification. Some part of her now contemplating her situation and the likelihood she could get out of this alive. She didn't much like the idea of being dissected. "Nice word choice earlier by the way… you don't intend to /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"harm/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" me, but you don't care if you /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"hurt/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" me, right? As long as it helps you study me? I'm not a lab specimen… or something to be studied, I'm a person."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's entirely… semantics… I don't think you realise just how bad you… listen..." Morrow uttered, fumbling to find the right thing to say, but she cut across him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"you/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" listen! If that's all you see when you look at me, something you've found to be studied for your own means, then you're no better than the creatures that you seem used to extracting from your so-called patients." /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"S/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he closed her eyes, as the last echo of pain washed through her. In its wake, it left a hot persistent pain in her side, physical pain that was building as the metaphysical echo died. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The biting and somewhat accurate nature of the girl's remarks succeeded in preventing Morrow from starting on another rant. Whether she had meant to or not, Harry had struck a nerve, slowly he sank back onto the chair he had vacated earlier and turned inwards. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The silence between them stretched on as the alarms returned to a more rhythmical beat as both of them, patient and doctor calmed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Minutes later, fifteen or thirty she didn't know Harri turned her head to look at the pensive looking man then gave a sigh and turned back to the ceiling high above. She was so tired, the pillow and the short hair behind her head felt damp with sweat and it was a struggle to pull too hard now on the restraints. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Some more minutes passed in the uneasy silence. The pain in her side gnawed until she couldn't ignore it any longer, she whimpered, the sound escaping her before she could stop it. Her fists clenched. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl's noise of pain saved Morrow from his pensive state. Tossing their frank exchange of views aside, at least for the moment, and glad of the distraction, he asked in as nice a tone as he could muster, given how much backchat he'd had from her, "are you in pain?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri screwed her eyes up and shook her head at his words. Why would he ever assume she would tell him? Truth spell or not, She would be content not to have him touch her again. But… and here the reasonable part of her stepped in, as if it were an adult conversing with a hot-headed child, she was at his mercy right now. She knew on some part that what he said was true; he'd saved her life, she was injured and weak, feverish and in pain. Right now there was little she could do, even if she wanted to. Carefully, on the side furthest from him, she forced her hand to open and using her index finger, traced a charter mark for a release spell. Nothing happened. She traced it again and managed a faint trickle of power that slipped away like water through her fingers before it had a chance to properly form. The scrying glass showed both her crown and solar plexus chakras flare for a second. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As he waited for an answer, Dr Morrow saw the change in the scrying glass. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's trying to cast… /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"In the brief moment of frozen panic, all the options of what he could/should have done to protect himself, ranging from having the sword to hand to yelling for Penny, rushed through his mind. It was only seconds later, when his brain finally realised that nothing had taken his head off, or something equally untoward happened to him, that the sensible part of his mind started to tell him that nothing had happened. And that given Harry's current condition, was not likely to. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That was stupid." He told her flatly. "You're not strong enough to use magic." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The effort left her audibly gasping and the pain in her side red-hot. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'll ask again, are you in pain?" She gave a weak sound of agreement and he continued "Would you describe it as a shooting pain? A throbbing pain? Or maybe an /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"imaginary/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" pain, because you want me to come inside the circle, so you can do something to me and make a run for it." He crossed his arms./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl grimaced again, "no… it really hurts… besides how exactly do you expect me to run for it, I'm tied to the table! And I already told you, the creed forbids me from harming a mortal readily."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Readily and mortal being the operative words, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow thought "Yeah? What does it have to say about Mystics?" he asked and waited. She didn't respond this time. "Where does it hurt?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""My... side…" she finally told him through gritted teeth. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Sighing, he uncrossed his arms. "Fine, let me take a look, just hang on, I'll need the light." He moved to turn the surgical lamp back on then approached the circle he had drawn and, taking a split second to hope the display a moment ago wasn't a ruse to lull him into a false sense of security, stepped over the line towards the exam table./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"What does the creed maintain about mystics?/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Harri thought. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"They're mortal too after all… most of them… ok… some of them. Well, as mortal as I am. It doesn't really say much other than the best thing to do is to stay away from Mystics Without Borders. Supposedly, they spell trouble for a Hunter, true. Not to touch one if you find one, as they'll give you mange, not true so far. And not to expect help from them, not true… Fuck.../spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Harri's thoughts were interrupted as the supernova above her returned with a vengeance. She closed her eyes against the onslaught of light and whimpered again, but it didn't last too long. A slight squeak sound and the lamp moved away from her face. She opened one eye and sighed in relief when she saw that the lamp, while still lit over her body had been angled in such a way that her chin up was out of its direct beam; much more comfortable. She stiffened slightly on seeing Morrow up close and was embarrassed to feel herself tremble a little as he pulled back the blanket and lifted what she could now see was a hospital gown covering her, so he could see her side. It was just the cold she tried telling herself, as she took in his dark hair and thin slightly weathered features. She winced when she felt his cool gloved fingers make contact with her skin./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow carefully eased the gauze from the wound and the surgical incision away. Both were clean looking and swelling was acceptable, a miracle in itself given the conditions they had been in down in the sewers. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Guess that's another point for large doses of penicillin. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Gently, he probed around the areas with the tips of his fingers, watching the girls' reactions. He could feel her stiffen under his touch, feel her tremble. The Doctor carefully worked his way along a moment longer. He didn't enjoy watching his patients suffer, not normally anyway. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I managed to repair your spleen." He said conversationally. "Which is a good thing, much better prognosis than removal. But you may feel pain for a few days and it will take a few weeks for you to fully heal."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The girl didn't reply but did shudder again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Any nausea?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" She shook her head. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Does it hurt here?" Morrow asked, pressing slightly deeper./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She shook her head again. It did hurt but wasn't the same sharp pain that she could feel in the area that she wanted him to get rid of. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The doctor raised an eyebrow at her response, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"who are you kidding sweetheart/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"…/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I can tell that hurts./spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "How about here?" Morrow said aloud, this time she gasped, he immediately stopped pressing. "Sorry," he said, then removed his hands and pulled something from his lab coat, slipping it over his head. He folded the disc of the device now on his forehead down over one eye and immediately his eyes turned white. "I need to take a closer look. For that you need to hold still. This won't hurt much but you may experience some discomfort." he said and turned to stare intently at her abdomen. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri blinked as a few flashes of memory vied for her attention. She recognised that device. "What is that?" she asked and pressed her chin to her chest to try and see what the device was doing. She couldn't see anything but the blanket bunched in her way, however. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh she speaks again." Morrow didn't look up at her, "that's not holding still. You're arching your back, you'll rupture your stitches if you keep doing that. Lie flat." he said./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri let her head flop back into the pillow with a sigh. She swallowed as another wave of pain flared but did lie still. Not that she had many options, considering she couldn't exactly move too much anyway. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He stared for a few more seconds then began to palpate around her abdomen again, pressing slightly deeper this time with the magical device to guide him. He apologised each time his actions elicited a clear pain response from her, but didn't stop until he was done. When he was, he flipped the disc back up and his eyes returned to normal. "It's called the Oculus Occultus; the eye of the unseen," he said in answer to her question, as he replaced the gauze. "It allows me to look inside my patients."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Handy…" she responded. "I thought that's what hospitals had ultrasound machines and stuff like that for."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It is," Morrow agreed, "but when your patient destroys your machine, you have to resort to more magical methods. If this were a normal hospital that would have been very irritating. Granted, this way is a lot quicker and has far better resolution."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""This isn't a normal hospital?" She asked./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He glanced at her, slightly surprised by the question, but recovered quickly. "...ehhh, no. No, this is my facility, my clinic. I treat supernatural illnesses, help those that have been cursed or injured by creatures. That sort of thing. I guess You can think of it as a sort of private hospital for special and specific cases. Cases Like you."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri lifted her head again to stare at him, her expression searching, as if she were trying to work out what he had said, then her cheeks turned pink. "Wait...You're talking about me? I destroyed your machine?" She trailed off like a flash of memory hit her and the pink tinge grew deeper, "I am so sorry…"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She's embarrassed…now that's interesting, I don't think I've ever had a patient be embarrassed after they destroy something./spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" "Tell me, what does your creed say about destroying your doctor's equipment?" he responded, pleased with the slight upward change in their conversation. He then replaced the blanket./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It doesn't say anything about that. We don't have doctors," she responded. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Well, that certainly explains a lot, however, it does beg the question, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""if you don't have doctors, does that mean you do all your healing by magic?" /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"If so, that would explain the magic patch./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Not all of us. The Healers handle most cases, or if it's serious, The Shaman does," Harri replied. "But only some are gifted with the ability to fully heal wounds etc. So, unless you have that sort of knack it's potions and first aid spells mostly for the rest of us, and while that might seem rudimentary to you… we don't tie injured people to tables, so..."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"And Morrow finds the green with his tee shot and then sinks the putt, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"the doctor thought and then frowned. Unlike a lot of his ex-colleagues at the hospital, he didn't play golf, or at least not the branch of the sport they were familiar with. "Well, for future reference, whether you're healing with magic or just using potions and first aid kits, wounds need to be properly cleaned /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"and/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" sterilized before they are healed or dressed. And bones need to be properly set, or they don't mend correctly," he pointed to her left leg, "case and point, that's why you were limping. I thought it was due to another injury or your exhaustion at first but when I examined you I could see the break hadn't set right, there's some tendon damage as a result. I had to reset it. Don't worry I'll keep an eye on it, we may need a little physical therapy afterwards, but should be able to pop the cast off in a couple weeks. Three tops"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You broke my leg?!" she demanded incredulously. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Well, that explains the heavy feeling in the limb, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"she thought. "Are you kidding me! I literally just took the brace off of it." /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Weeks?… not bloody likely I'm going to be here that long.../span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No," Morrow corrected, "/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"you/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" broke your leg and then put a brace on it without setting it properly. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" reset it, so it will heal. You'll thank me in the long run."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri looked at him searchingly, "why? Why would you bother fixing that?" she asked. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He had his hands on her neck, pressing the tips of his fingers in and around her jawline. "Because, if you had doctors rather than a man with an oversized mask and hallucinogenic powders, you'd know that doctor's have a sort of creed too, which involves us healing all of our patients' injuries," Morrow replied, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"or at least that's how it's supposed to work, but in this country, you only get what you can pay for./spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That's mildly Sexist of you, assuming The Shaman is male. It shouldn't matter if they are male or female. And the mask is traditional...anyway that isn't the point...that's what your creed as a doctor says...what about the mystics creed? I'm not sure it would agree." /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At least as far as I've been taught. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You guys don't get a mention," Morrow replied, removing his hands. "Besides, the Mystic's creed is more a sort of guideline than actual rules."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Like pirates...how fitting." Harri replied and screwed her eyes up as a flare of pain took her attention. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Given that the doctor's 'creed' placed the patients' well-being above replying to their sass, Morrow took her pained expression as a sign he needed to return his focus to his examination. Pulling another device out of his pocket, he held it up and said, somewhat patronisingly, "this is a stethoscope." Ok, so if he could retort to the backchat while carrying out his medical duties, he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri grimaced but opened her eyes to glare at him. "I know what a stethoscope is," she said./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Good, in which case you should know what I need you to do …" Morrow said with a wry smirk. He then pressed the bell against her chest and waited. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri sighed and again feeling like she should do so only because she had no other choice, complied with his request. She took a deep breath in then let it out./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Good...and again," he said, moving the device to another position. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At least she knows how to cooperate during an examination. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He thought back to the early days when Penny lay on this same table, restrained and snarling at him, as he tried to both examine her and communicate with her. He already had bandaged fingers on his hands at this point in the proceedings that time. This was actually going much easier in retrospect. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Maybe her shaman threatens to give them their hallucinogenic powder via enema if they don't do as they're told./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She did so; in and out again. The slight stretch on the inhale pulled painfully at something in her side. "Please, it really Hurts…" she said again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Satisfied, he removed the stethoscope from her and stuffed it back into his lab coat pocket. He stood surveying the girl contemplatively for a moment, before leaning over her to take hold of each side of her head. "I know. I promise I'll deal with the pain soon," he said, trying to use the kind bedside tone of voice Eric had encouraged him to develop, but which he still failed to master./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri struggled against his grip on her head, twisting it slightly as if that would dislodge him, but he was surprisingly gentle. This wasn't what she had expected. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"What exactly did you expect? /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A small voice asked inside her mind, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"if he wanted you dead you'd already be dead, clearly he wants you alive...you need to use that till you are strong enough to get away. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm not going to harm you," the doctor reiterated, seeming troubled by her reaction to his touch. "If you hold still and let me finish examining you, I'll give you something to help with the pain, but I need to check you over first. I'm almost done." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"There's that word again, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri/span span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"thought but scowled at him./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow waited a moment for her to stop moving before he rolled the bottoms and tops of her eyes with his thumb and peered at her. He released her head and instead brought one hand down into the pulse point on her neck and the other across her forehead. "You're burning up again," he said to her and moved to an instrument tray. He brought an ear thermometer to her and put it in her right ear. "Sorry," he said when she frowned at him. "Normally I'd use an infrared one which means I don't need to be so close to a patient with an instrument, but the psychic fever messes with the readings, so I need something that makes contact with your body to read physical temperature first," he explained and removed the device to look at it. His mouth formed a thin line. "You're up three degrees…" he said, turning to put the thermometer back. "You keep that up and I'll have no choice but to put you into an ice bath."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"How the heck was she supposed to respond to that? /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She decided to go for, "sorry."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Nothing to be sorry for, it's rare for someone to experience dual pyrexia. You're not intentionally doing it." He removed another more ornate looking device from the instrument tray and held it over her forehead, not touching the skin. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Or at least I don't think you are.../span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Dual Pyrexia?" She asked/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes. Dual means two and Pyrexia means fever. Basically you're having a response to your wounds and the uhh… trauma, maybe also the surgery. I haven't got your blood test results yet to rule out infection but it's likely to be the former given it's both a physical and metaphysical response. Like I said, it's fairly rare for both at once. I think both of your immune systems are confused. And I have a feeling you may have overdid it with the hero routine before you even got to us." He raised his eyebrows at her scowl. "I'm not criticising… but regardless of why you have it it's got to come down. I'm going to give you an antipyretic medicine."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He moved out of the light a moment. She could hear him opening cabinets but didn't lift her head to look. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's not a Hero routine, you make it sound like I'm a vigilante."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Aren't you?" He was back with a small clear plastic cup of orange red liquid. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No! I'm not, it's my job," she said quietly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""It's your job to go hunt monsters?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Yes. Hunt being the operative word." She grimaced in pain again./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He watched her for a moment then moved around to the back of the table she lay on and pulled upwards. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The back came up forcing her into a sitting position. She grimaced and felt disoriented for a second, then instinct took over and her eyes immediately sought the exit./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Here, drink this." Morrow said, reappearing at her side and interrupting her escape plans. He was holding the cup out to her lips. He didn't untie her bonds at all, just waited patiently for her to comply./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri had a flash of memory and shook her head slightly to rid herself of it. "What is it?" She asked./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I told you, the fever has to come down, it's an antipyretic. A Fever reducing medication. " He said slightly impatiently./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""A potion?" She asked warily./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Of a sort, I'd rather inject but the psychic fever needs treatment too, and the cure for that doesn't do well in injection form. It's much more effective orally. So, this is what we get. Drink it, it'll help, then I'll deal with the pain. Trust me, this option is the better one, you won't like it if I have to ice bath you."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri watched him another moment. As if he were trying to make her more at ease his features took on a sort of 'Go on, you can trust me' expression. With nothing else to do she nodded and allowed him to bring the small cup to her lips and tip the liquid in. It took two swallows to finish the contents. The liquid felt like a thick syrup in her mouth even though it was no more viscous than water in the cup. It left a bitter taste and she pulled a face./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Sorry, I should have warned you. Honey makes it useless and other sugars tend to combust." He said as he lowered the table back down again. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She hissed slightly as the jolt increased the pain, then lay flat staring at the ceiling once more./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Anyway, You're a kid, you shouldn't be hunting monsters in the middle of the night," Morrow said, returning to their conversation. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""And you're a geriatric. You shouldn't be hunting monsters in the middle of the night!" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""No need to get snippy. I wasn't criticising, just commenting." He said grouchily as he walked over to another cabinet and opened it with a key. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri felt herself flush again, but did not hesitate to add, "I'm an adult! It's my duty and my honour to hunt; it's what I was born to do." She watched him walk back with a small glass bottle in his hands and a syringe./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Somehow I doubt that you are an adult in the eyes of the US government," he said, as he inserted the syringe into the bottom of the bottle. "Besides, while forty-four might be geriatric age where you come from, it's still considered one's prime in civilized society. How old are you anyway? Seventeen? Eighteen?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Why does it matter? I wasn't even born in the US, so why do I care what it's government thinks?" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I'm just asking," he said calmly again as he pulled the bottle from the point of the syringe and put it down. However, he filled the titbit of information away for later. He then pressed the bottom of the syringe sending a small spurt of the liquid inside into the air. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I was sixteen this past winter…" she said quietly again, watching him. "What's that?" she asked worriedly. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""In which case definitely not an adult in the eyes of the US government. But we can argue about that another time. You need to rest." he said firmly then tapped the hypodermic a few times. Morrow adjusted the contents a second longer then brought it over to her. "Morphine," he said in answer to her question, she flinched away slightly and closed her eyes, but he didn't need access to her, just to the correct IV line. He located it and inserted the syringe, depressing the dosage in seconds, removing it when it was empty. "This one I can give as an injection."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He watched her face a moment, seeing her eyes still closed, and took a smaller stubby syringe out of his pocket and quickly delivered that into the line too. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She really is young...and too trusting perhaps /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he mused feeling a surge of guilt, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"young, but powerful…/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" a sterner part of him responded. To her he said "It'll help with the pain, but you're probably going to feel sleepy." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Harri opened her eyes, she felt the drug he had given her like a bucket of cool water being thrown over a fire in her side. Her whole body slowly began to unclench and relax, as the drug suppressed pain receptors. She blinked and found Morrow's fingers on her pulse point in her neck again. She didn't flinch from him this time. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Just lie there and take it easy, this stuff works pretty fast," he said gently as he watched the monitor for a second. Her heart rate was coming down, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"much better. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She did feel sleepy. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"By the gods, he wasn't kidding when he said it worked fast./spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" She struggled to stay focused, her eyelids heavy all of a sudden. The pull was comfortable, not back into the void, just the lull of sleep and the promise of it being restful. Her eyelids drifted closed./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't fight it, just relax" Morrow said /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Something cool pressed against her forehead again and she opened her eyes to find the doctor looming over her still. Placing a cool compress on her forehead. She couldn't remember him moving to get it. He seemed tired himself, she mused and for some reason somewhere inside she felt a pang of empathy, even sympathy with him. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Stop that! /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"her brain told her emotional regions. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He's an enemy not a friend! /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Don't fight it." Morrow said again "You're exhausted...you need time to heal, you need to sleep." He watched her for a moment then added. "I already told you, I'm a doctor, and just now I'm /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"your/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" doctor. Whatever else you may think, I promise, I'm trying to help you, you're safe here," /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"...so long as Penny doesn't come looking for a snack. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Just try and get some rest." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"As though his last word had been a spell command, which it may very well have been, Harri felt her eyes close again and the embrace of sleep engulfed her. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Morrow stood watching his patient a few moments after her eyes closed and the rise and fall of her respiration rate turned to the tell tale signs of sleep. He glanced again at the wound in her side. It was healing at an accelerated rate, not as quickly as Penny healed certainly, but much quicker than any normal human would. Already the internal wounds were knitting together faster than he would have thought. He pulled the stethoscope back out and gave her lungs and heart a more thorough auscultation. Now at rest, her heart rate had returned to what it had been when he had relieved Eric. Steady but slightly slower than a normal human, something he would need to take a note of for future reference. He put the device back in his lab coat pocket and turned from the table./span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The Question is/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;", he mused, bringing the chair into the protection circle and closer to the bed, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"what am I going to do with her? A Hunter of Gehrman… she's only 16… I can watch her develop into full adulthood… of course I'll need better containment protocols than a circle in a procedure room… I wonder if I have a straight jacket small enough for her, /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"he thought, as he sat to watch her while he considered his options, She appeared so vulnerable as she lay asleep. He would need more information, need to study her in greater detail, examine her more thoroughly. A list of tests began running through his head and a thin smile formed on his lips. /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I've got a Hunter of /spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"friggin/spanspan style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" Gehrman!/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-top: 10pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" /span/p
