Aegil was not an unattractive woman of course, but Shen's eyes were preoccupied with ugly bruises and terrible swelling. She'd taken a hammering and hadn't seen to getting healed sooner, which had only led to things being much worse.
He was an oddity in that his hands didn't entirely match his personality though. Whilst his touch ran over her skin in areas that would otherwise be considered close to intimate, the delicacy of that touch was unusual and in stark contrast to his almost surly attitude.. He did, of course; remain entirely professional. He showed little expression beyond his studying her injuries.
"Right. You're not a soldier, you haven't the muscle tone. Care to tell me why you were in a battle then?"
Aegil [M:53:440:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=853]Everything Casts A Shadow...[0:In a rare occurance I am unavailable][1:As usual I am available]
Aegil shuddered at his surprisingly gentle touch, unusually shy as she avoided his gaze. Still, her voice though whispy and thin carried her usual cold strength, making her words audiable despite the lack of volume to them. "An herb" she answered simply, pausing before she elaborated to wince as his fingers brushed over a particularily sensitive looking bruise. "I was looking for an herb and ran into some... rather unpleasent company" her lips twitched in a rather satisfied smirk. She had left those nasty little braggarts a party gift at least, in the form of grim death for all but the final elf and its... bear.
Revenge is a knife you point to your own heart It's a poisoned dish you wind up eating yourself...
Shen paused for a moment and an eyebrow stole above the rim of his spectacles. He then continued on his way, starting to find what he was needing among the items he had collected. A strange vial, as black as night.
"An herb you say. Please, do go on."
He made no effort to conceal his interest in her words now.
Aegil [M:53:440:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=853]Everything Casts A Shadow...[0:In a rare occurance I am unavailable][1:As usual I am available]
Her lips parted with a soft sigh. At least the conversation distracted her, though the topic left her unnerved. She was certainly uneager to explain just what she required the herb for. No, she had important secrets to keep. Spectre being the largest one. "Yes... an herb.." she was careful not to name the herb. "I have a few herbs I must... procure, and succeeded in one of them recently..." she shrugged the grimaced with a small whimper at the pain the motion caused. To think... five more herbs to being free of her burden. And then... then what? She did not wish to linger on this thought, only focus on what she required.
Revenge is a knife you point to your own heart It's a poisoned dish you wind up eating yourself...
Shen didn't look up to her, but instead was busy working on a particularly nasty looking laceration on her hip. He'd uncorked the bottle and an insidious odor filled the room. He was careful with it and whilst she couldn't very well see what he was doing, there was suddenly a very numbing and very cold sensation over her hip.
"I know quite a lot about herbs myself. Even the strangest ones. Why, I've even discovered a handful. No matter though."
He didn't even let a grin sneak onto his face, but it was hard to miss his taunting her with that comment. He dropped that tone as he continued.
"This wound is infected. In a week you would have been close to dead. This Singeweed concoction will prevent that. I'll be sealing it up, once it drains."
Aegil [M:53:440:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=853]Everything Casts A Shadow...[0:In a rare occurance I am unavailable][1:As usual I am available]
Aegil didn't bother to hide her surprised gasp at the not altogether unpleasent sensation. Her eyes flicked to him at his taunts, a strong expression of a desire to know what knowledge he tormented her with. "Hm... the herbs I require are not... altogether uncommon I believe, save for a few..." Her fingers dug into the fold of her robes on her thigh, glancing away quickly. She hesitated a brief moment at his final comment, stunned by how close she had been to permanent failure. "...Thankyou" she murmured, though it was a motion she did not often put forward, and even now seemed to hold little weight due to her unfamiliarity with the emotion.
Revenge is a knife you point to your own heart It's a poisoned dish you wind up eating yourself...
Shen didn't return her gaze but instead waggled his fingers in the air. A ball of light formed over his head and then coaxed down so that he could better see the wound, his other hand then cupping it and flooding it with a peaceful warmth.
"Your gold is thanks aplenty. I have many herbs in stock, for a reasonable price. Few are for sale though, as they aren't terribly easy to come by and I need them for my practice. Now..."
He shifted his weight and moved up her body then, now she could see him quiet clearly. He grasped at her wrist, quiet gently and lifted her arm, drapesing her hand over her opposing shoulder. He paused for a moment.
"I need you to be prepared. On three, I need to set some bones."
He didn't wait for any sign of recognition of what he said.
Aegil [M:53:440:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=853]Everything Casts A Shadow...[0:In a rare occurance I am unavailable][1:As usual I am available]
Aegils eyes flicked to the ball of light, visibly tense. Oh how such a simple thing could bring back such horrendus memories, and she instinctvly drew back from it. She could feel Spectres own irritation matching, and had he been a feline it would have been one with its back arched, fur on end and hissing viciously.
And as if that wasn't enough, he suddenly was much too close. Her eyes took on a sudden emotion she had not felt nor shown in ages. Fear. His proximity threw her, defenses breaking and the presense of light magic was weakening. Her mind swirled like such a whirlwind she was completely unprepared for what happened next.
A shriek tore from her lips before she could pull herself together, fading into a pained moan that left her ill and dizzy. Had it not been for the presence of light, Spectre would no doubt had laughed at her weakness openly. How such a creature could offer false comfort one moment, then strike her where it hurt the next was an enigma most could not understand, not even its mistress. Her head lolled to the side and she peered over at Shen through a half lidded gaze between her tangled locks. "Thanks..." she hissed through clenched teeth, voice half sarcastic in tone. "...for the warning..."
Revenge is a knife you point to your own heart It's a poisoned dish you wind up eating yourself...
He shoved on the count of two of course, but her bones were set in place. Of course, the swelling would now be immense as the flesh was torn again to conformity and would only cause immediate pain. He considered her expression for a moment and then went back to his supplies.
Turning about once more, he held in his hand a small root. It smelled like aniseed and tar, hardly a charming combination.
"Chew on this for a moment. It will help with the pain... in a manner of speaking. I still have much work to do. Clearly, no normal human did this to you."
He rolled her carefully to her side with a little coaxing and was examining the large, black and blue swirl over her ribs.
Aegil [M:53:440:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=853]Everything Casts A Shadow...[0:In a rare occurance I am unavailable][1:As usual I am available]
Aegil closed her eyes for a moment as she followed his instructions with surprising co-operation, another first for her. "The...size of a man..." her lips curled in a wry smile. "Considering he was a man before his... unfortunate turning..." the herbs did not have a pleasent taste, but she offered no complaints, not even in her expression. She had eaten worse, after all, and her stomache had suffered as such. Her figure was slightly thin from a touch of malnutrition, as he did not often recieve a pleasent meal. With her living conditions it was a small miracle she had yet to contract something as pnuemonia, for surely her body could not withstand disease as well as most. Yet somehow she prevailed, be it a force of will cultivated through years of hardship or just dumb luck...
Revenge is a knife you point to your own heart It's a poisoned dish you wind up eating yourself...
The root made her tongue numb rather quickly, but that didn't matter for long as Aegil quite quickly found herself feeling rather euphoric. She could still feel Shen at work in the strictest sense, but it simply didn't seem to matter quite so much right now. Her pains were still there, but again; she just felt quite very happy with the state of things.
Shen plucked the root away from her before she had anymore of course.
"The Rotroot is a narcotic. Harmless in that quantity of course, but I imagine you're feeling much better. Now please, do continue your story."
He had rubbed something of a liniment on her ribs and there was an almost uncomfortable warmth spreading, but bearable. Again, his hands surged warmth through her flesh as he worked, that tiny ball of light following his every whim as he looked for the next sign of injury.
Aegil [M:53:440:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=853]Everything Casts A Shadow...[0:In a rare occurance I am unavailable][1:As usual I am available]
Aegils demeanor visibly relaxed, head lolling to the side faintly. Yes, she felt... quite delightful, and suddenly Spectre seemed so far away from her, as if the root had somehow distanced its hold on her a little. Rotroot... she would have to remember that plant... quite addictive. Her gaze flickered to the ball of light with obvious discomfort. Did it NEED to be so close? It left her deeply ill at ease. "Thorn elves... I requested that he remove his foot from the Angelica plant rather politely, but it seems their distaste for humans overruns any form of common curtosy." She murmured, letting slip the name of the plant unintentionally, a plant known well for its use as one for protection, exorcism, healing and 'visions', though mostly for the first two, the last likely a production of some fickle imagination. The warmth, uncomfortable to most, seemed almost pleasent against some of the kinks that often held her muscles.
Revenge is a knife you point to your own heart It's a poisoned dish you wind up eating yourself...
Shen continued his examination and if there were any surprise in response to her disclosure of the plant, he didn't show it. He was, after all; very well versed in such matters. Mind you, having knowledge and having such a plant were two entirely different things. So now his conversation altered a little.
"Hm. You know, you've neglected your health for quite a long time. I am surprised you fared as well as you have, all things considered."
He was massaging the small of her back now, though his thumb seemed to writhe right into her muscles and force them to twist. Again, were it not for the drug, the experience might be altogether painful. To Aegil however, it was a firm pushing, but hardly alarming.
"I do know you're new in town. Have you at least found somewhere warm to live?"
Aegil [M:53:440:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=853]Everything Casts A Shadow...[0:In a rare occurance I am unavailable][1:As usual I am available]
Normally this would have been a question Aegil would have firmly avoided. Her living accomidations were a dangerous topic, as it was doubtfully legal to be stealing away in such a place. Even the drug might not have been enough to loosen her tounge, but his firm yet soothing touch left her vulnerable and unable to get the 'logic' part of her mind to function. A small shake of her head followed a sigh, eyes closing. "I've.. found accomidation...highly unorthidox as it is... but one makes due.. I fixed together a simple entrance... undiscoverable unless one knows its there. The door to the room has been so long borded up its unlikely anyone will discov- ah!" She grimaced at a sharp shooting pain in her mind. "Spectre... stop that..." she mumbled in addressing her deepest secret. "Stupid daemon...thing... whatever you are..."
Revenge is a knife you point to your own heart It's a poisoned dish you wind up eating yourself...
Now that was interesting. Not any great secret of her residence but rather, that she appeared to have a hint of a mental condition. And Shen was deadly serious about his practice. He ceased what he was doing, after utilizing some more healing magic on her lower back and then looked her up and down once more.
"I would say you're looking a great deal better. You'll need rest though. I have yet to see to your knee and perhaps anything else I have missed."
He moved to her leg then, his hands pulling at the tension in her thigh that bunched up about her knee. It was swollen and likely torn, but to Shen it was trivial to remedy.
"Tell me miss, what else ails you? It's best you get your money's worth of course."