#baizhu is 1000000% welcome to just kick him out or refuse to answer btw

[greedbent]

Baizhu’s laugh was always different.  That, or Kaz just paid more attention to it.

When facing the common populace and all their pointless driveling, whining, and never-ending problems needing a kind and generous doctor there at their beck and call to readily provide (Kaz often wondered how he did it), that cordial demeanor of his was as thin as a gossamer drape . . . to anyone who wasn’t an idiot. In other words, very few. It wasn’t that Baizhu held animosity toward his patients, nor was it that he didn’t care. Clearly, truthfully, with the heart of a man who chose to heal more often than hurt (despite having a talent for the latter, given Kaz’s current reason for being here), he found joy in his work. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was that his work still technically counted as customer service.

Which meant all smiles. All pleasantries. All fake chuckles at that one patient who found himself hilarious and had to make the same joke every other time he visited. Those were the chuckles Kaz passively observed from the side, distantly noted their lack of integrity beneath that veil that so easily fooled the rest. And maybe if those were the only laughs one heard, they’d have no reason to think otherwise. Kaz had the advantage of a bigger sample size.

So when he heard the latest fluttering amusement escape the doctor’s lips, he had the passing thought: That one’s genuine. He had an equally passing thought: That one’s for me. But much like that clever little snake’s keen observation being filed away, Kaz too moved on. And yes, in the same way. In the sense of that not being something he’d ignore, but something he’d come back to.

(He couldn’t help it.)

Dutifully, Kaz followed Baizhu farther behind the counter, half-tempted to inquire—challenge, rather—as to what Changsheng could have going on in her life that was so important they returned swiftly, but he did little more than give her a look. And then, the two of them were alone. Kaz was distinctly aware of how seldom this occurred. It shouldn’t have meant anything. It didn’t. But somehow, nonsensically and utterly beyond his control, it also did.

“So, in other words, don’t give it to Jesper,” Kaz noted. “Or do.” Archons knew the sharpshooter could do with sitting still every once in awhile. As he claimed the vial from the doctor’s careful fingers, a thoughtful frown set into his lips. He stowed it away in his pocket, hesitated. Until, somewhat tightly and drifting out along the roof of his mouth in a soft breath, he said, “Thank you.”

And briefly, there was that dilemma again: the dilemma that shouldn’t have been a dilemma but somehow still was. He’d gotten what he came here for, after all, and so had absolutely no reason to stay, but once more . . . his legs were uncooperative (both of them this time instead of the usual one). As if remnants of that earlier slip in his composure remained, Kaz’s fingers twitched rather uncomfortably atop his cane head: stunted and stiff . . . He needed to work with a deck of cards, lockpicks, something to loosen them up again—

“It can’t be cured, can it?” His tongue loosened instead. But Kaz didn’t stop it, much less put any effort into stopping it as he pinned Baizhu beneath an unwavering stare: not to trap the other, but almost as a means of steadying himself. “You’re a doctor. You would’ve figured it out by now. And that’s the reason for your obsession with immortality. You’re desperate.”

Luckily for his oh-so-secretive company, Baizhu was always too preoccupied to notice any reaction he gave when an attack crept up on him like that. It was difficult to focus on anything else while struggling to breathe.

Unluckily for his company, however, the same didn't apply to Changsheng.

Though she said nothing as conversation resumed, her tongue flicked playfully against the shell of his ear with a hiss too low to carry, yet recognizable by the doctor as stifled snickering. Rather rich of her to laugh when her gift was the cause, but Baizhu resisted rolling his eyes. Best to let the moment pass.

In the wake of what had just happened, the irony of Kaz's comment on tea spurred a laugh from the doctor's own lips. As if tea deprivation would be the reason he keeled over. If only he would be so lucky. "How considerate. Not to worry, though; while there are plenty of health benefits, I wouldn't impose it on you if it's not to your taste."

But his amusement faded as Kaz's tone went quiet. When he offered a smile, it was equally soft with sincerity. "I look forward to it," he said, a simple truth that fueled the ridiculous little flutter in his rib cage. Before evidence of that weakness could show, Baizhu set his tools down and cleared the air with a short huff. "Well, I think your prescription should be ready by now. Come on back; then we can discuss the more sensitive details." Then, to the snake upon his shoulders, "Would you please inform anyone who comes in that I'm consulting with a patient and will be with them shortly?"

Changsheng sniffed haughtily, but she was too accustomed to the request to argue. Someone had to watch the storefront, after all, and Gui's absence left no other options. "Fine," she sighed. Begrudgingly, she slithered down Baizhu's arm and settled in a pile of coils on the counter. "But make it quick."

With that, Baizhu pivoted on his heel and gestured for Kaz to follow. Passing through the curtain behind the counter that led into the clinic, he immediately veered into a storeroom. Moving aside a crate full of dried sweet flowers revealed a vial of cloudy, deep purple liquid.

"It's non-lethal, as always, but just a few drops ingested by mouth will completely paralyze the body for about two hours." He picked up the vial and gave it a swirl, scrutinizing the color before flicking the side of the glass. Tiny sparks danced through the tornado within: evidence of successful Electro infusion. He hummed in satisfaction.

"Now, I must caution you: contact with your skin won't have the full effect, but it can cause numbness and significant lack of coordination." Thus the great care he employed when holding the vial out for Kaz. "If anyone else will be handling it, I'd advise them to wear gloves, as well."