#pleasestay | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

vulpixisananimal · 12 days ago

Text

(Siffrin) {Mal Du Pays} <Null> |Asterion| [Loop] [(Saffron)]

[A:3 C:56]

[TWs: Medical check up. Needles. SH Scars]

"Thanks for coming by, Siffrin, Isabeau." (Dr. Gina Joy took a seat at his desk. You and your emotional support Isabeau were sitting across from him on a nice couch.)

"Well uh, thanks for having me. Haha" (You rub the back of your neck.) "I-I, uh. . . I'm, just a bit, nervous?"

(The three of you were in one of the medhouse's cosy exam rooms. There was a small desk, the couch where you sat, a few paintings, a bookshelf, and a drawer with medical stuff on it. At the back there was a raised bed as well.)

"That's fine!" (Gina responded with a smile.) "Today's really open for me so we can take our time, alright?"

"T-thanks."

(Isabeau squeezes your hand.) ". . . Uh, is it alright if I stay for this?"

"That's up to Siffrin, he's the patient."

"P-pleasestay." (You look up at him, pleading.)

[Stars ABOVE Siffrin!!]

(You shrink down a bit as Isa responds.) "O-of course! Doctor visits can be very scary!"

"Don't worry, I don't bite." (Gina chuckles.) "So, ready?"

[Absolutely not.]

{No.}

(You nod.) "N-no, but, gotta start sometime." (Cue nervous laughter.)

"That's the spirit!" (Gina clapped his hands together.) "So! First, I want you to know that no matter what you tell me, I will treat it with utmost seriousness, and I will not tell anyone outside this room about what you tell me. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright." (He opens a notebook and clicks a pen.) "Second off, when was the last time you had a checkup?"

". . . . . . . . . " (Uh. . . It was. . . When?)

[No idea~]

{The answer might be never.}

(But, that's not true, what about. . .) "Uh, didn't a doctor visit me in Jouvente?"

"No, that was just to check your craft exhaustion." (Isa responds.)

"Uhm, what about in Dormont-"

"Same reason then too."

"But what about-"

"That was to patch your eye up."

"Uh, and, before that. . . ?"

"Nope." (Isabeau shakes his head.) "Never had the chance when we were saving the world!"

"F-fair." (You sink down into your cloak.) "S-so, uh, never?"

"No shame in that." (He writes something down.) "It happens. Well, what kind of conditions do you know you have?"

"Well, eye don't know about that~" (You stick out your tongue.)[Ugh.]{. . .}

"Pfft-" (Gina shakes his head, grinning.) "Fair enough. So are you missing your eye? Or is it just blind."

"Oh it's long gone." (You laugh a little.) "I took a hit meant for Bonnie, and my eye was the price." (But you'd do it again. Every-)

[Single-]

{Time.}

"I see." (Gina nods.) "I think it goes without saying but, thanks for that. Y'know, saving the country. Anything else?"

"Well. . ." (You tug on your cloak.) ". . . I have, a lotta scars."

"That's okay." (Gina writes something, then pauses.) ". . . No matter how you got them."

{. . .}

". . . Anything else?"

"U-uh. . . I, have, some weird, weird body stuff? Privates, stuff."

"No shame in that."

[Pineapples, stardust~] "O-oh! Right! I'm allergic to pineapples."

"Oh? How severe?"

"Deadly." (You give Isa a smug smile. He just put a hand on his forehead.)

"A-and, uh. . ." (. . . You, don't know if. . .)

[. . . Later.]

{Once we know the doctor better.}

(Okay.) ". . T-there's. . . Something else but, I'm, not comfortable saying it yet."

"Take your time." (He looks up and moves some hair out of his face.) "Alright then! If that's all, could you just sit over at the bed so I can get started?"

"O-okay!" (You let go of Isas hand and hop up. You walk over to the bed at the back, slowing down a little, hesitating. . .)

[. . .]

"Should, s-should I take my cloak off?" (You say. If you're already going all in. . .)

"Please, shoes too."

"A-alright." (You hesitate, reach to the pins of your cloak, and undo them. You, take off your cloak. Isabeau's at your side, you give him your cloak. You kick your shoes off. You don't look at Gina.)

". . . Like I said, no matter how you got them." (He talked in a supportive tone.)

(Your skin tingles. You shuffle over to the bed and hop up, you take a shaky breath in, and out.) ". . . . . . T-thankyou."

"No need to thank me, Siffrin." (You finally look up at Gina. He was beaming, Isabeau was giving a double thumbs up from behind him.) "Let's get started."

(Gina got to work, checking all over your body, writing down your results. It was, a lot at once, woah.)

(Gina put a band around your arm, it constricted slightly.) ". . . 128 over 71, blood pressure's a little high."

(Gina put a stick in your mouth.) "36.8C Perfectly average."

{He was changing gloves and washing hands periodically.}

(He looked in your ears with some sort of light that looked like a pen.) "Looks nice and clear."

"Open your mouth and stick out your tongue, please." (You do, he puts a popsicle stick on your tongue and looks down your throat with that same light.)

". . . ." (He stares for a second.) ". . . It looks like you have scarring back there, similar to your friend, actually."

"Ohhuua?" (You try and say.)

(Gina takes the stick out.) "Do you know what that's about? There's no record of what causes it."

"O-oh, uh. . ." (You rub your shoulder. You, right, it was-)

{The island, and saying its name.}

(R-right.) "Do you, know about the island north of Vaugarde?"

"Uh. . . Uhm. . ." (He taps his chin.) ". . . Yeah wait, isn't, that the island that just, disappeared a few years ago?"

"That's the one." (You clear your throat. Just, relax.) "A, a long story short. No matter what you do, you can't remember it anymore. Or anything relating to it. A-and, if you try saying the island's name, well. . ." (You tap your throat.)

". . . I see!" (Gina went and wrote all that down.) "I'll, ask for more details after we're done here if that's alright."

"Fine by me."

(He finishes writing that down and walks back to you.) "Good! Oh! Apart from that your mouth looks good, but I'm no dentist. Alright, so, let's get to the obvious."

"Look directly up, please, but don't move your head." (He gets that light again and points at the bottom of your eyeball as you look up.) "Hmm, looks good from here!"

"At least I have one that works." (You try and joke.)

"True enough! Let's keep it that way. Now, may I?" (He asks, gesturing to your eyepatch. You nod.)

(He takes the eyepatch off for you, and looks around your damaged eye.) ". . . Lots of scarring. That glass eye is some good craftsmanship, but a bit worn. Does your other one look the same?"

(You exchange a look with Isa.) ". . . Other, one?"

". . You don't have a spare?" (He stands up.) "Wait, you do take it out to clean it right?"

(You glance to the side.) ". . . I, didn't know you needed to?"

". . . Got it!" (He shakes his head, smiling.) "I know a glassblower in town, I'll write you a prescription for them to make you another one. And I'll get you info on taking care of an empty eye socket."

"Although." (He looks at the eyepatch.) ". . . A craft to help keep dust and such out. Where'd you get this eyepatch?"

"I made it!" (Isa raised his hand.) "I can show you how I did it if you want!"

"Please!" (Gina chuckles.) "It's really good work!"

(Back to it, Gina grabbed his stethoscope and put it to your chest.) "Juuust breathe naturally."

(He puts his stethoscope to multiple parts of your chest, then your back, then your chest again. He's making an, annoyed face? He stops using the stethoscope, and gently grabs your wrist, mouthing something to himself as he presses on an artery.)

[Stardust, how did you mess up BREATHING!]

(I didn't-! He goes and gets a different stethoscope and does the same.)

". . . Try. . . . . . Holding your breath?"

(You do so, and wait. seven, ten, thirteen, twenty seconds. He presses the stethoscope to multiple parts, and listens. . . Eventually he steps back.) "Okay, that's enough."

(You take a few breaths.) "Uh. . . All, all good?"

". . . I'll be honest, Siffrin. I have no idea what the fuck is going on with your heart."

"UH-" (Isabeau shared your worried look.)

"It's, well! Your heart is beating, I can tell that from your radial artery. But when I try to listen to it there's just this. . . Buzzing?"

". . . O-okay!" (You laugh nervously.)

[?!?!?!?!?!!? JUST, OKAY?!?! STARDUST?!??!?]

{Hmm. Strange. Concerning.}

"I've. . . . Never heard of anything like it!" (Gina tapped his foot, thinking.) "Have you had heart problems before?"

"Not, really?"

"Siffrin you had a heart attack!" (Isabeau interjects.)

"O-oh, oh yeah. From the craft exhaustion." [STARS!! You are a mess, Stardust.]

". . . O-kay." (Gina goes back to his notebook and writes a few things down.) "From what I can tell your heart is working fine for now, but without something more invasive that buzzing is making it hard to listen."

"For, for now?!?"

"A heart attack can damage the heart and cause even more heart problems." (He finishes writing and walks back over to you.) "I can get you some medicine that can restart your heart in a pinch. Just in case."

"That'll be a relief." (Isabeau sighed.)

(He continued with the check-up. Getting a small rubber mallet and gently tapping your knee.) ". . . Very good reaction time."

(Next, a needle.) "Just a blood draw, want me to count down? No? Alright." (He looks for a good artery, then goes in with the needle. You didn't even flinch.)

(Gina took the needle back, and put a cute smiley bandaid over the wound.) "Okay, so, I need to be thorough and do a full body examination, and that means being nude. Is that alright? I could send Isa out."

"I-I--" (You bite your lip and look at Isa. He's looking away, flushed.)

[S-stars above-]

{It's a doctor visit. Get over it. You nod, Siffrin relays your words.} "It's fine, for both."

"Alright. In your own time." (Gina goes to one wall and reaches above a cabinet and flips a hidden switch, a pole with a curtain leaned down and he pulled it across. Privacy.)

(You gulp down your anxiety, and, with a shaky hand, take off your, shirt, first. Oh s-starsabove you didn't think this would, w-would-)

[Well you're here NOW! UGH! Who planned this again?!?]

{Asterion.}

[WHY!?!? Blinding- None of you have even MET Asterion!! And he's here just making decisions!!!]

(. . . It's, not a bad one though, is it?)

[Well. . .]

{It's not. You finish getting undressed. If you can't trust a doctor who can you trust.} "Done."

{If you two can't behave, I'll keep us on a lead. Gina retracts the curtain and starts the examination.}

". . . I, take it you've talked to those close to you about these scars?" {Gina asks, looking over your arms.}

"Yeah." (You nod.) "I, I'm, trying, not to."

"That's alright. As long as you're trying, and I can tell none of them are fresh." {He pauses at the large scars on your torso.} "What I'm more curious about are these. They look like, large stab wound scars."

"U-uh-" (You make a face.) ". . . It, was, a giant knife?"

"Well, with whatever you guys went through I'll believe it." {He smiles. You hated the touch, but, you glanced at Isabeau. He doesn't look worried.}

[Mal. He's a FLUSTERED MESS!!]

"Top surgery?" {Gina asks, examining the two chest scars.} "It's a sloppy job. Was body craft not an option?"

"N-no it wasn't. My extended family didn't like how I was born, but I couldn't use wish craft to change it." {You.} (speak.) "You're supposed to make a wish to change your body instead of using body craft, but kids aren't allowed to use wish craft. So, my parents had to. . . . . . agree. . . . . To. . . . . . . . ."

(You feel dizzy. You stumble back, sitting down on the bed again. Gina handed you some water, Isa was staring at you, before getting up and getting a pen.)

"Uh, do you have a spare piece of paper?"

"O-oh sure! Here, why?"

"It's, Sif sometimes gets moments where he remembers so I gotta write it down before I forget."

"Ah- right okay. I have, a lot to read up on don't I."

"Yeah-"

"What're we talking about?" (You shake your head and look up.) "Sorry I just, zoned out."

"I-it, was about those scars. On your chest." (Gina replied, getting back over to you.) "Have you always had memory issues?"

"Kinda?" (You shrug.) "I don't think it's that bad."

(You hear Isa choking a little across the room.) "Siffrin, your memory is a sieve with a cannon hole in it!"

(You reach for your cloak- RIGHT. NUDE.) "C-canwecontinue-"

"Of course, Sif!" (Gina says in that calm tone of his. He gets back to it.) "Hmm, it looks like you need to eat more, but you're definitely getting enough exercise. May I. . ? Thank you. . . Yep, looks perfectly healthy down there!"

(Your heart skips a beat.) "I-I, what?"

"What." (Gina looks up at you.) "Did you expect something different?"

"W-well, it's, y'know. . ." (You look away, uncertainty plaguing your face.) "Not, normal. At all. Down there."

"Just because it's not normal doesn't mean it's not perfectly fine and healthy." (He stands up and pats you on the shoulder.) "Intersexism is fine. There's studies tying some health problems later in life to it, so make sure to check up again."

"O-okay-" (You squeak.)

"Oh! And have you been intimately active? Experienced Vaugardian culture, as it were?"

(Huh? What does that. . . . .UHM- YOU COVER YOUR FACE.)

[. . Well!]

{No? The answer is no, isn't it?}

(. . . . . .)

{. . . Siffrin. What did you-}

(You. Let out a mumble.) ". . . H-heyIsa-?"

". . . . . Y-yeahSif?" (His voice was very normal.)

". . . Can you. Plug your ears and hum to yourself please?"

"O-OKAY-!" (A second later you hear Isabeau humming softly as you whisper the answer to Gina.)

". . . Okaydone-"

"MNFSBHNDSDBNM" (Isabeau groans into his hands.) "Idunnowhatitwasbutwecantalkaboutthatlaterifyouwant-"

"Okaythankyou--"

(There's a bit of a silence as the two of you silently die inside. Gina breaks it.) ". . . . Wwwweeeeeellllllll that's the physical all done. Uh. I'll give you a second to get dressed."

(You're covered by the curtain again.)

[Stardust~]

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!)

{Siffrin.}

(LALALALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUu finish getting dressed and not thinking about that at all.) "All done!"

"Oki Doki!" (Gina puts the curtain back.) "The last physical thing I wanted to ask about was that craft exhaustion. Like I said last time, once you get it once it'll be easier to get it subsequent times. What craft were you overusing?"

". . . . Uh." (You make a face.) ". . . Time craft?"

". . ."

"I-I'm serious!"

"I. . . Okay! If the King could do it then so can you. Okay." (He sits down and thinks for a minute.) ". . . I ask because if you get craft exhaustion that means you'll be affected by craft overuse, too."

"Craft whatnow?" (You tilt your head.)

"If you use crafts too much without a break it'll start to affect your body." (He spins in his chair and grabs a book off the shelf. He opened it to a page and showed it to you.) "Here."

(The book had a picture of four hands. One was normal, the other three, well, Gina explained.) "The first is a normal hand. The second one with calluses is from rock craft overuse. The third thin looking one is from scissors overuse, and the fourth one with thin pale skin is from paper overuse."

". . . Huh! I've, never heard of that!"

"Me neither." (Isabeau adds.) "I've never seen anything like that before."

"It's hard to overuse the three basic crafts." (He looks through the book.) "And the only entry for time craft overuse says you just die. With a little smile face in the small print. Funny."

"Very funny." (You grumble.) "I uh. . . I'll admit I, do, overuse time craft. A lot. I can't say how, for, reasons."

"I'll trust you." (He looks at the book intensely for a few more minutes.) ". . . . Okay, theory time. If time craft is linked to transportation craft, similar to how time and space are linked, then there's a good chance their craft exhaustions are linked too."

"Transportation craft is difficult, but not impossible. We have records of its overuse and effects; it completely ruins your sense of direction and balance. It's like you lose place of your location in space."

"Oh! So!" (Isabeau jumps in.) "For time it must be losing your sense of passing time! That makes total sense!"

"Does it?" (You scratch your head.) "I don't think that's happened at all though."

"How long have we been here, Sif?"

". . . 3 hours?"

"30 minutes."

"H-HUH?!?!?" (You look around for a clock.) "That, what?!?"

"Fascinating!" (Gina is writing faster than Odile.) "Hmm. . . Well, I'll just play it safe and assume that's true. There's a clockmaker in town, I'll get them to make you a pocket watch that can chime periodically."

"Uh. . . Thanks?" (You rub your head.) "Sorry I'm just, surprised?"

"So am I." (Gina gestured back to the couch.) "You can get comfortable again, I just have one last thing I want to go through."

(You get up and go to the couch; cloak and shoes back in place. You looked at Isabeau next to you, he was smiling, but still had a hint of a blush on his face. You reach your hand out, he takes it.)

". . Y-you okay, Sif?" (He leans down and whispers.)

"Y-yeah." (You nod.) "Just, yeah."

"I love you."

"I love you too." (You take a second, then look up at Dr. Gina.) "S-so."

"So!" (He finishes his writing, then gets out a clipboard with some papers on it.) "I have a few things I'd like you to fill out, if that's alright. I promise not to judge, okay?"

(He hands you the clipboard and a pen. Looking over the first page, it's, questions. "How often are you distracted by noises around you?" "How often do you interrupt others.")

["Do you have fears about harming yourself or others." "Fear of saying certain things" "Often find yourself lost in thought."]

{"Do you have excessive concern about animals." "Fear of accidentally stealing things." "Have trouble remembering things."}

(. . . . . .)

{You. . . . Take your time.}

{. . . . A lot of these questions take a while. You have to be honest with yourself. You glance at Isabeau. He's looking away, giving you privacy.}

{. . . . . . . . . . .}

(You hand it back. Gina takes it and starts looking over your answers. You look away.)

"It's alright, this'll just take a minute."

{You tuck your legs up inside your cloak and hold them close. Fear bubbling in your gut. This. . . Wasn't a bad idea. But you hate it.}

[You, couldn't agree more.]

(It feels like forever. You lean on Isa, he puts an arm around you. Stars, maybe you are loosing your sense of time. . . Finally, Gina speaks up again.)

". . . So! This questionnaire was to help me get a better idea of your mental health." (He taps his pen.) "There's a good chance you have a form of autism or ADHD, or both. And I'm positive you have anxiety and depression. I could get you some medication for that, but again, you'll need to see a specialist."

"ADHD?" (You tilt your head.) "What's that?"

"Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. It's an inability to control what you focus on." (He continues.) "You're also definitely suffering from PTSD, I'm not really surprised considering all you've been through. You've both been through."

"And lastly, you may have some form of DiD, Dissociative Identity Disorder. Although again, you'd need to see a specialist for that."

"Huh?" (Why does that sound familiar?) "And what's that mean?"

"Well." (Gina put his hands together.) "It's, having dissociative episodes and essentially having multiple personalities, or identities, in one body. Does that sound familiar?"

". . . . I-" (Oh stars, oh stars oh stars oh stars oh stars oh stars oh stars oh stars oh stars-)

[C-calm, calm down Siffrin, you, we, aha-]

{You turn to Isa and tug on his arm, eye wide. His face looked some mix of, proud? Excited? You couldn't tell. He smiled and nodded, putting an arm around you.}

(You, wait like that for a few seconds, breathing, you're okay, it's okay.) ". . I, I guessed as much, h-haha."

"Yeah?" (Gina tilted his head.)

"S-sorry, just." (You hold closer to Isabeau.) "I, I knew I had, something like that, I even met someone who also has it, gave me advice. B-but. . ."

"It's different having a doctor say it, right?"

"Y-yeah. . ."

"I know the feeling." (He's talking so softly. You hear the scribble of his pen.) "I'll make a note here for that, alright? But you'll need a psychiatrist for much more, alright?"

<Ugh.>

[Problem?]

<No.>

[You're a bad liar~] "Thank you so much, Gina. . ."

"No problem!" (Gina clicks his pen and puts it to the side.) "That's pretty much everything! I have a lot to write up, and I'll have to check your blood but that'll tay a few days."

"So. . . . We're, done?"

"That's all!" (He beams at you.) "Once I get you that medical plan, you're free to go!"

"Absolute lifesaver." (Isa chuckled.) "Thank you so much, Gina!"

"No problem! You can wait in the lobby if you want." (He gathers the papers and puts them together.) "Who knows! By the time I'm done, Boniface might be walking home with you!"

(That's. . .)

(. . . That's good to hear.)

50 notes · View notes