#alazne everheart

[wounds-seen-and-unseen]

Memorio Occultae In Nubio Occultas- 1: The First Cloud

All right, here we begin!

Please refer to this post for the requisite context-building for this fic.

Trigger warnings: Discussions of dementia, character breaking down, character nearly panicking, implied self-blame.

Chapter under the cut.

Tag list: @dreamer-in-sleep and @i-eat-worlds @themorguepoet @abstractmarshmallow

Please DM/ask/comment if you want to be added to/removed from my tag list.

“Adrian! Breakfast is ready, dearheart.” Alazne loves this everyday routine, little moments that have hardly changed over the years.

Familiar footsteps patter in the short corridor between their bedrooms and the kitchen. “Just a minute, mama.” He comes into view, curls already defying the combed order they were set in, slinging his stethoscope casually around his throat as he walks.

She sits as he does, his hand automatically reaching for the steaming cup of Boost. One of his little quirks, that he never grew out of the malt based drinks of childhood. “Mmm. Perfect as usual, mama.” She laughs. “Never going to grow up, are you?” He grins back. “You like me the way I am.” “Touché.”

He sobers up then, looking seriously at her. “We have another ophthalmologist appointment today evening. I’ll pick you up, we should be careful with your vision being what it is.” She rolls her eyes. “And there we go, Dr. Everheart is here. You worry too much.” “Mama, there is no harm in being careful. I’ve seen patients suffer quite a bit because they were careless.” He sighs. “I should meet Miss Elaine today, Dr. Sinclair said that her mother is deteriorating…” “and I am not your patient, Dr. Everheart. You’ll have to settle for being my son. You are not taking away my independence just because some patient of yours is struggling. I will not stand for it.”

He is silent for a moment, before he nods. “You’re right. Forgive me, mama. I tend to be rather overprotective because of what I see often at work.” “I know, kiddo. I’ll meet you at the hospital, after your work. We’ll go together for the appointment. Sounds good?” “Yeah.” He looks at his watch. “And that’s my cue, mama, see you later!” He rises and sprints out, waving at her. She smiles with a shake of her head. Her protective little boy.

“Dr. Everheart will see you now, ma’am.” Elaine rises, barely holding back a sigh. Delegated to yet another doctor, are we? I’ll have to start from the beginning, all over again.

She is pleasantly surprised when she walks inside the doctor’s office. A dusky young man rises with a smile as she enters. “Hello, miss Elaine. I imagine that you’d be quite frustrated by this frequent switching, but rest assured, I’ll be handling your mother’s case for the foreseeable future. I hope you don’t mind that I familiarised myself with your mother’s history.” She stares at him for a moment, having expected quite the colder welcome. “Familiarised how?” is all she manages to ask, at a loss how to respond.

Dr. Everheart is happy to answer. “I am Dr. Sinclair’s student. I went over his rendition of her history, although, if you wish to say it in your own words again, I will defer to that.” He shoots her a crinkle-eyed grin. “I supposed you would not want to go through the whole process again, though.” The spark of mischief in his eyes makes her grin, too. “You supposed right, Dr. Everheart.”

“Alright. I’m glad I did, then.” He pauses. “I’ll go through what I feel is the crux of your difficulties caring for Ms. Ariadne, okay? Please feel free to correct me if you wish.” She nods. “Okay. I think that, a major issue you might be facing is that she may be frustrated and, for the lack of a better word, acting out at what is a genuine attempt to take care of her. You might feel overwhelmed and may lose your temper as well.”

This time, when he looks at her, his voice is lower, softer. “Let me start out by saying something very simple. You are not a bad daughter for losing control sometimes. All we can do is try. We make mistakes, and that’s alright.”

Elaine is startled herself by the tears that rise at his gentle affirmation. He puts a hand on her shoulder for a long moment, then quietly steps aside, handing her tissues one after another. When she is sniffling out the last of her tears, managing to mumble out her thanks, he, gentle still, stops her halting attempts. “This is what I am here for. My job is to not only take care of your mother’s needs, but also to provide support to you. I will look for more concrete support options if you wish, but until we find one, my door is open for you.”

“…You’re quite different from the doctors I usually meet, Dr. Everheart.” He laughs. “Believe me, I have been told that a few times.” “With good reason.” “Thank you. Do you need a minute, or shall we go on?” “No, I am already taking up a lot of your time, do go on.” “That’s alright. That is, as I said, what I am here for. Moving on. When you interact with someone who has dementia, you both look at things differently, naturally. We all have our perspectives, obviously. The problem is that for those of us who do not have dementia, it is difficult to grasp their difficulties. They may not be able to verbalise it well.” “Yes, mom struggles with speaking, a lot.” “Which is understandable. That is why, as her doctor, I tried going closer to the source.” “I am afraid I do not understand your meaning, doctor.” Closer to the source? Mom can barely speak, and he’s never met her.

“I read books that people with dementia have written about the disease. If you wish, I can send you those books. If it is too close for comfort, that’s fine as well. I have taken some notes from whatever I have read till now, I’ll share those with you instead, and you can ask me whatever doubts you have.”

She knows she is staring at him again. “You sure do your homework, doctor.” “I try,” he answers simply. “Do you want the books, though, or my notes?” She swallows. “Your notes, if that’s alright, doctor.” “Sure.” In a minute, he quickly AirDrops a handwritten note.

As she reads the short bullet points, there is a knock on the door.

“Yes?” asks Dr. Everheart. “You’re needed slightly urgently, sir. There seems to be a lost and confused patient who came alone for an appointment.” He rises immediately, the door half-opened before he realises she is still in the office. “Oh.” He breathes. “I’ll come along for a bit of the way, doctor, if you don’t mind? I have a few questions.” He nods. “That’s fine,” he says, “if you don’t mind my distraction.” “Not at all.” He nods once more. “Alright.”

He sets off at a fast walk, turning to the staff member who had come. “Details about the patient?” he asks. The lady takes a moment to think.

Elaine takes the moment to speak. “Would you meet mom once? I want to discuss some interventions with her present.” He’s nodding before she finishes her sentence. “I wanted to meet”-

The other lady interrupts him. “Probably early sixties, slightly confused, but otherwise oriented. She has an unusual name. Something like Alayne.” “Alayne? Did she tell you why she’s alone? We specify that all patients should have someone with them.” “Oh, she said her son would meet her here, but she’s forgotten his cell number.” The doctor frowns. “He is probably her emergency contact, you could try her phone.” “She’s left it at home. Oh! Her name is not Alayne. It’s Alazne.”

His eyes blowing wide, barely whispering a hoarse “no…” Dr. Adrian Everheart takes off at a run. Elaine, confused, turns to the lady next to her. “Is the woman his patient?” The other woman shakes her head. “Not that I know of.”

Concerned for the young man who has shown her genuine concern for the first time in what felt like years, she follows quietly.

He’s not hard to follow, although she, too, has to run. People automatically make a way for him, the young man who seems like he is barely able to breathe.

As he skids his way to the emergency front desk, she can clearly hear a woman’s voice. “No, he wouldn’t do that on purpose. Addy is probably just busy, he’ll come. I’m fine, just a little out of place. Please don’t call him, my son is quite the worrier on a good day. I can wait.” So she has a concerned son. Why would he let her come alone though?

Dr. Everheart abruptly stops at the desk, nearly falling. “Oh, sir, it’s not that urgent of an emergency.” He shakes his head, his breaths hardly more than gasps. “Where’s mama?” he asks breathlessly.

Oh. Oh, Lord. Elaine ducks back quietly, but she can clearly hear the receptionist ask “Dr. Everheart? Mama?”

“Addy! Here you are! Oh, you’ve got him all worried, see?” the lady exclaims, chiding the staff. “I told you, Addy wouldn’t just leave me alone.” Her son runs to her, hugging her tight, and Elaine cannot look away.

“Oh, Addy. It’s alright, dearheart, I’m fine. Don’t worry, I’m just a bit forgetful these days. There, kiddo, it’s alright.” He says nothing for a moment, but she can see his face. In that moment, all she can think is that if utter devastation had an accurate representation, it would be the look on the young doctor’s face.

“Here I am,” he echoes, voice husky. “Of course you are. How was your day?” Still holding his mother in an embrace, his chin on her head, her son’s throat clicks in a harsh swallow, lashes rapidly blinking away the sheen in his eyes.

“Good,” he says softly. “My day was good. Shall we go to your appointment? I think we need to talk to Dr. Sinclair.” “I defer to your experience here, dearheart. You know what to do.” “I am sorry, mama, I should have taken better care of you, been in control of this situation, I’m sorry I didn’t do that.” His voice echoes in her mind, gentle and soft, as opposed to husky and contrite. You are not a bad daughter, for losing control sometimes.

And Elaine can look no more.

[wounds-seen-and-unseen]

Hi!

Which whump scenario is currently on your mind? And for which character?👀

-- @whumporama ❤️🔪

Hello!

Apologies for the delay, but I wanted to answer after I have posted something about Dr. Adrian Everheart, who is occupying a disproportionately large amount of my thoughts than he should.

For now, I am thinking of the immediate aftermath of Alazne’s ‘forgetfulness’. (Alazne is Adrian’s mother). She is going to react badly to Adrian suggesting that she get cognitive testing for dementia, she will probably say things she shouldn’t, for example that he wants to control her life, that he is denying her the ability to make her decisions.

For Adrian, who really does not want to make the suggestion which can solidify the possibility that his beloved mother may have dementia, but feels compelled to because of her episode of forgetfulness that is ringing alarm bells in his head, her reaction makes his thoughts, already rather self-castigating, reach a level which is dangerous for his emotional stability.

In case you’re interested, here is the masterpost to this fic.

And as usual, for anything about this fic, my tag list: @i-eat-worlds @dreamer-in-sleep @abstractmarshmallow

Thank you for the ask!

[wounds-seen-and-unseen]

Memorio Occultae, In Nubio Occultas- Intro post.

My first OC work!

Premise:

Dr. Adrian Everheart would himself say that he is one of the luckiest people in the world. A fulfilling career at a young age, a name that commands respect, a loving mother. What more, he would ask with a smile, would a man want?

Nothing more. And yet, as time goes by, all the happiness in his life seems to be slipping away, lost in the ghosts of the past.

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Characters:

Dr. Adrian Everheart: A budding neuropsychiatrist, specialised in geriatric psychiatry. 27 years of age.

Ms. Alazne Everheart: Adrian’s beloved mother, a writer. 60 years of age.

Dr. James Sinclair: Adrian’s mentor. 53 years of age.

Dr. Marissa Greengrass: An esteemed older colleague of James and Adrian. 68 years of age. Credit to @dreamer-in-sleep for this lady’s name!

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Trigger Warnings:

Please pay attention to this list.

Mentions and depictions of dementia.

Confused/disoriented character

Heavy emotional distress (character breaking down/panicking)

Loss of memories/identity

Please do not interact with this fic if such topics are your squick.

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Taglist: @dreamer-in-sleep

Please let me know via DM/comment/ask if you want to be added to/removed from this list.

[wounds-seen-and-unseen]

do you have any ocs you can do cartwheels?

do you have any ocs you shouldn’t do cartwheels, regardless of ability?

Hi, thanks for the ask!

Hmm…an intriguing question.

I think, according to the universe of the story (historical) Prince Richard in my yet-to-be-written story The Chains of Command might be agile enough to do cartwheels, should he wish to.

As for someone who definitely should not do cartwheels regardless of ability, Alazne Everheart from the fic Memorio Occultae In Nubio Occultas for sure. She’s elderly, and is developing problems with her vision as well as balance. Cartwheels absolutely contradicted.