[log] Got enough patients yet, Doctor Watson? [closed]

[ecks]

Characters: Dr. Watson, Quark, and Ecks
Location: Building 124; 81; ?
Date: 271-272
Summary: Meeting with a rival; playing some Scrabble
Warnings: A child and a child-like character recovering from severe injuries. Includes references to facial injuries, amputations, and gangrene.

[Locations go in starters]

Comments

Building 124 (picking up Quark on day 271)

[ecks]

[124: This house, covered in snow, is dark and cold, but better than outside. The snow presses in on the windows and makes the roof creak and groan whenever it shifts, but it seems to be holding up alright. It's a standard, single-story house with a living room, single bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room. There's a bed frame in the bedroom, but it doesn't have a mattress. The house is sparsely furnished, unfortunately with mostly metal There's a back door leading off into darkness, but it isn't locked. There's a blue smear on the bathroom cabinet. Xs have been carved into the cabinets in the kitchen. There are large smears of black spraypaint on the front and back doors. "Hsiaoke Pass" had been carved into the wall next to the back door, but it's been scratched off crudely with some sort of blade. It's been carved back in again nearby, deeply and with purpose. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, DAY TWO HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN. IF YOU NEED ANY ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CALL @LELRIC." has been written on a wall.]

[jumpthegun]

Quark? [John and Ecks enter in through the back of the house, the tunnel side, and he immediately starts looking around for the boy.] It's John and Ecks. Are you here?

[ecks]

Maybe he is not here anymore.

[And then they wouldn't have to travel with him.]

[jumpthegun]

Ecks...

[There's disapproval in John's tone as he heads farther in.]

Quark? Mate?

[averytinyparticle]

[With the emotional way things have been lately, Quark's lost himself in a dozed stupor when John and Ecks arrive. It takes him a moment to realize the voices are coming from inside the house and he's not dreaming them. Standing up sluggishly, he comes out to meet them, hands deep in his pockets.]

Sorry, I'm here. Hi, guys.

[ecks]

Doctor Watson.

[Apparently they are saying each other's names now. Ecks pauses when Quark emerges, letting Doctor Watson get ahead of her.]

Hello.

[Somehow it comes out sullen despite the monotone.]

[jumpthegun]

Hey, Quark. [John offers his most bracing smile as he moves over to the boy and kneels down to get a better look at him.] How are you doing?

[averytinyparticle]

[Quark shuffles from foot to foot, peering at Ecks like he's trying to gauge the mood of the room. Watson, you're smiling too much.]

I'm okay I guess...I got help changing my bandages a few days ago. That was nice. How are you?

[He hesitates.]

I mean, both of you.

[ecks]

[Ecks continues to hang back; her mood is unfortunately hard to read most of the time. She'll answer the question, though.]

I am in pain because my hand died and Doctor Watson had to cut it off, but I am not sick anymore and I am not dying.

[jumpthegun]

[Well, that's one way to put it.]

You're recovering very well, all things considered, Ecks. And it looks like that's about the same for you, Quark. I'm fine. I know we just got here, but we should probably get moving on. I'm almost out of food, so I'd like us to get to the convenience store as soon as possible. Is your pack ready to go?

[averytinyparticle]

Yeah, let me go grab it.

[He looks awkwardly from John to Ecks before scampering back from where he came to grab his things. When he comes back, he's holding something behind his back--but after looking bashful for just a moment, reveals what he has: a teddy bear.]

I've had this for awhile and I thought you might like it, Ecks. Maybe it will help you feel better.

[ecks]

[Ecks thinks, for a moment, about whether it might be possible to leave without Quark -- but she thinks that she would have to also leave without Doctor Watson in order to do that, and that would defeat the purpose of getting away from someone who is liable to take her place in things. As she's thinking that, though, he returns and surprises her entirely.]

Oh.

[She sounds...well, she doesn't sound any more impressed than she usually does, but she jolts forward, reaching out for it.]

A bear -- I like bears, I have many bears.

[jumpthegun]

[Well, that's adorable. John holds a moment before prompting.]

You say 'thank you' when someone's given you a gift, Ecks. That's very generous of you, Quark.

[averytinyparticle]

[Quark smiles as he lets Ecks take it, shaking his head.]

Aw, no, it's nothing. I'm glad you like it. Do you have names for all your bears?

[But they have to get going, so Quark starts to make his way toward the door as they talk. He doesn't want to be the one that holds them up.]

[ecks]

[Okay but that sounds like a rule -- and she does remember; Toriel told her about saying thank you. She's not sure she wants to say thank you to Quark still because Quark is useful for the same things for which she is useful and being un-useful is dangerous. But...he gave her a bear.]

Thank you, Quark. I do have names for all of my bears. I also have names for all of my fake animals that are not bears.

[jumpthegun]

Which is your favorite stuffed animal? Why don't you tell Quark about them?

[John's just going to start ushering Ecks to follow so they can keep moving on to their final destination for the night. It's going to be a long slog, especially depending on what the weather looks like.

He's heard her stuffed animal talk, but he figures it might give her and Quark something easy to talk about.]

Building 81 (night 271)

[ecks]

[81: A two-story A-frame house. The first floor has a living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. The second floor has a master bedroom, master bathroom, and balcony. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, DAY TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN, FOR ANY ASSISTANCE PLEASE CONTACT @LELRIC" has been written onto one of the walls.]

OTA

[jumpthegun]

[A lighter. Bloody hell he found a lighter. It's one of the best things John has come across in his time in Norfinbury and he resolves to cherish this new gift. It also means that he's more willing to share what's left of his matches. He goes to find Ecks or Quark to see what they might have found in searching around and also to take care of changing their dressings.

When he finds one, the greeting is the same. His smile is tired--he hasn't slept well the last several nights, just laid down and watched the clock on his tablet until the end of lockdown the next morning.]

Hey, there. How're you feeling?

[ecks]

I am feeling tired.

[She smiles, though, pleased with herself. She's sitting at the kitchen table -- and as he comes in, she reaches down to the seat of the chair next to the one she's using and brings up a jar of jam to set it on the table. She's been waiting to do that and show him.]

I found jam, Doctor Watson.

[jumpthegun]

So you did! That's a rare find. Now we just need to find some bread to toast for you. I found a lighter. It'll make building a fire easier than matches. D'you want a couple of my matches in case we split up? I was thinking I'd give half to you and half to Quark.

[ecks]

Maybe we will find bread at the Mallard Market, but I do not have a candle anymore for warming food. What is a lighter? I would like some matches.

[jumpthegun]

I have a candle. You can have that along with my matches. A lighter is... well, it's easier just to show you.

[John goes to grab his pack and fishes out his candle along with two matches for Ecks. He follows that up with what looks like a standard fireplace lighter. It's just a moment to click it on and let the flame run for a second or two.]

That's a lighter. The trigger here causes a spark inside and ignites lighter fluid. It burns and creates the flame at the tip.

[ecks]

[Ecks perks right up at the show of magic technology.]

It looks like magic -- is it like an oil lamp? Except it has its own flint and steel inside? That is very clever.

[jumpthegun]

Yeah! It's exactly like that. It'll make lighting things a lot easier as long as I'm careful with it. Much better than matches. More forgiving.

[ecks]

Because you can use it more than one time...but it does not look like it can have a very large reservoir for fuel.

[jumpthegun]

That's where the being careful part is involved. Not a big reservoir, but a stable one. I'm not gonna use it for anything and everything, but it's still nice to have, especially when I'm running low on the matches.

[He nods to the candle and matches he's given to Ecks.]

D'you want me to be on the lookout for candles for you, by the way?

[They'll be more use than the stuffed animals.]

[ecks]

Yes. I like having tinder twigs -- matches. I do not have the flint and steel I had before I came here and I like to be able to light things on fire. I will also look for more lighter now that I know what one looks like.

[ Watson do you really want to give this budding arsonist more matches and more encouragement? ]

[jumpthegun]

Lighters. [John corrects her plurals gently.] Maybe we can find flint and tinder here. You have that axe. Have you tried striking it on any of the metal rubble to see if you can get sparks?

[ecks]

I have not tried that.

[Life-changing. That suggestion could be life-changing.]

If that would work I could have a fire every night.

[jumpthegun]

[He hadn't really thought of it until now, either.]

Yeah, you could... Want to try it?

[ecks]

Yes. I want to try it.

[jumpthegun]

All right. [John casts about for a moment and comes back to her with a good, metallic piece of rubble. He sets it down against one of the walls to brace it.] Go ahead and give it a few whacks with your axe. We'll see what we get.

[ecks]

[She gets up and gets out the axe, excited at the prospect of fire -- if they'd had a way to make fire before now, she really would have done it at every turn.

She offers him a very deliberate smile, letting him step back before hefting the axe in her remaining hand and giving it a good swing down against the rubble. There's a tiny spark, dead as soon as she sees it, but Ecks lets out a sort of haahhh! of delight as she swings again to see if she can make it happen again. It doesn't this time, but that's kind of okay since they've already proven the concept.]

[jumpthegun]

I'll be damned. Hah!

[John's surprised that worked. Sort of. It worked enough that it's something viable for the future.]

That's brilliant, Ecks!

[ecks]

[Her smile stretches wider for a second, but quickly disappears in shock.]

No. You will not be damned.

[jumpthegun]

[He holds up a hand.]

No, it's-- sorry, I mean I'm surprised that worked. It's just an expression.

[ecks]

It is not a very nice expression.

[They're getting sidetracked here, but it's an important point.]

[jumpthegun]

Ecks, forget about it. We got the fire to work. Let's focus on that, hmm? That's good. We can use it in the future.

[ecks]

Acknowledged.

[She looks at her hatchet again.]

We should find more things to burn when we enter the next house so we can have a fire.

Think we can fade soon

[jumpthegun]

I think that sounds like a very good idea. In the mean time, I think I have a candle or two we can play with, hmm? I'll just go fetch that.

yup!

[ecks]

Yes, and then we can burn the candles and things.

[Have a genuine smile, Dr. Watson. She does enjoy burning things. She'll wait for him to get those, and she'll be quite happy to work on learning how to light them from their makeshift flint and steel.]