#thor's latest lesson learned: don't trust sketchy “docs” especially not your own

[aces-and-kings]

The Other Doc...

Thor left the building, his hand still pressed against the gash in his abdomen that wasn't really there. None of it was. Not the wounds, not the gore of the... no, he couldn't even think the word. The next boat for Kugane wouldn't be until dawn and while the fresh ocean air might aid him well in forgetting tonight, it was a ways off yet. He stopped along side a half stone wall and leaned against it before sliding down to the ground. Undoing the sheath's clasp, his gunblade was lain along the cobble at his side. Thor took out his tin of rolled tobacco and lit one up, laying the container atop the weapon rather than making any effort to tuck it away. If he'd ever inhaled harder than that first hit, the memory was lost to him. It filled every inch of his lungs and brought a sense of relief to his otherwise tensed body. His finger tips trailed over the grooves in the leather armor concealing his abdomen. Not a single bit felt out of place. Tchsh. "Aye?", Thor answered, smoke dangling from his lips as he'd chosen to release the cigarette rather than remove the comforting reminder of sanity pressed against his chest. "Lone? Doc told me where he sent ya. That gal's a real quack! Got a nastier reputation than he does if you can believe it. But you're answerin' so I figure it wasn't all that earned?" Red's voice brought an odd sense of comfort after the hours of hallucinations he'd endured. The...no, he still couldn't think it. "Aye. Ah'll not be takin' any more detours in route thas fer certain", Thor replied, attempting to add a slight chuckle at the end to really sell the nonchalance. What was he going to do? Tell Red the truth? At best the outlaw would laugh his ass off, and worst, he'd insist Thor took more time to rest and recover. He was right sick of sleep at this point. Best to keep it all to himself. "Should I let the good Doc know to expect a heavy greetin' upon your return?" Red's smirk could be heard in the tone of each and every word. A sort of amusement filling the outlaw's bones as he anticipated the retaliation for whatever had, or hadn't occurred. Thor pulled the smoke from his lips, eyeing the embers at its end before exhaling a cloud into the bright, start-filled sky. "An' ruin all mah fun? Don't ya dare." They exchanged a few more words before Red signed off and what was left of Thor's cigarette was snuffed out on an otherwise flawless piece of stone. He sighed heavily and shut his eyes, tilting his head back until it stopped against the short wall. His hand was still pressed against the leather armor. How was he going to bring a kid into this life. Sure, it happened all the time. He'd grown up with pirates since birth. Some kids just didn't get a choice. But did Dkota have one? Was he really the best option? As Thor began to doze off his final thoughts weren't of the eerie doctor he'd met that night. They weren't of the two, no wait, three, miqo'te he'd met, each as fussy as the last. They surely weren't of the viera who'd spent the night hiding or the garlean giving Grey a run for his money in the annoying lecture department. Nope. Thor's last thoughts as he surrendered to sleep were of the giant goose he'd hallucinated and fought to the death, with a pack of strangers, until it's remains had decorated them all. A fucking, Goose. Llymlaen take him.