RP:Favors For Some Unknown Stranger

Part of the Laugh Now, Cry Later Arc

Part of the Time Heals All Wounds Arc

Synopsis: Penelope and her brother, Pakellin, are living their simplistic life until a stranger appears. Jaxson. A man in need of help of some broken ribs and a gnarly, burnt face. Pakellin takes lead on healing the man while Penelope assists. The two twins, however, are roped into helping something much bigger going on in Cenril, however. A plague.

Healing Fountain

Penelope sits on the edge of the fountain with an unwrapped sandwich as she takes in the peaceful sound of trickling water. The woman takes overly large bites as if she is desperate to get food in her mouth. Her hair tangles loosely over her shoulders, she wears a loose white blouse with a simple pair of denim pants. A satchel sits next to her on that very fountain. The fountain is calm, quiet, but the Ardelian is not alone. A much taller man is with her, same curly brown hair only kept short. He has similar features as the girl who sits on the edge. Freckles, olive skin, but only masculine versus her soft features and a foot taller than the girl. Penelope’s twin brother, Pakelliin Halifax. The Ardelian man is pulling his arms up in different movements which makes the water rise and fall before he splashes the stream up towards the girl who is eating her sandwich. “Hey!” The petite girl grumbles with her mouth full. “I’m eating, you idiot! You’re gonna get my sandwich all soggy!” Kel grins at his sister, “Yeah, but you’d still eat it anyway like the monster you are, drama.” The man then turns to continue playing with the water in the fountain.

Jaxson made his way into view from the southern path that leads from the city towards the fountain. The spellcaster’s form cloaked by a thick jacket that hands over his shoulders even as his arms remain free from its confining grasp. Each step the man takes brings him closer, allowing more of his features to come into light (however much is left at least). Here cerulean eyes peer out to fall upon the pair present, the woman’s eating reminding the man he hasn’t had a meal in some time, while the other’s control over the water is noted with interest but otherwise seemingly ignored. The pain was too demanding of his attention to allow for anything else to hold it for long. Each movement causes broken left ribs to send a violent reminder of his current condition to ravage his body, causing him to not only limp in pain but also have a scowling grimace that otherwise makes his usual charming demeanor a bit darker than usual. “Healer about?” He asks, wondering if he took a wrong turn some time back, as it has been quite some time since he’s had to venture here to begin with.

Penelope is content for the meantime, well, until she can hear the melody of grimacing pain. One she knew too well. Juniper eyes lift in their doe-eyed haze to see who approaches and her chewing slows. Automatically she leaves her sandwich to the side and stands to ask if there was any healer. Any at all. Timing, man. It was something. The girl always found herself in situations like this. A common occurrence. “Uh,” a hand reaches out to push Kel who is still fiddling around with waves. The twin brother was in deep thought before he scrunched his nose in annoyance before realizing there was a man wincing. Similar green eyes lose their teasing banter and fall stoic to observe the man before them. Penelope steps forward first. “I am,” she answers the question. “I mean–we are,” she looks towards her brother. He was learning, but that was besides the point. “Uh,” why is she saying ‘uh’ so much? That surely brings comfort to a person in need, Nel. Lack of confidence. That was not a problem before. Perhaps it was because of the environment. She glances around before opening up the space where she was sitting. “Here, sit. What happened?” She takes her time to observe now.

Jaxson examines the duo he has found himself in the care of with a simple once over as the woman would approach. The Ravencroft heir was honestly in too much pain to care who it was that saw to his wounds, he just needed it to be fixed so he could prepare for his next bout in the Titan of Winter tournament that’s coming up soon. Can’t hope to fight Dyraxdiin, the Great Blue Wyrm and candidate for Archmage at one point, in the condition he is. So, with a nod to the kind looking woman who directs him to his seat by the fountain, the man answers her inquiry about his wound with. “Fight against a wicked fighter. Stab wounds here. “He points to each. “And here, but they’ve at least been cleaned and stitched up a few hours ago.” He rolls his right shoulder to shrug off the coat he wears, to reveal his bandaged-up frame so she could see his left side. “Broken ribs I’d think, result of an explosion.” Here he adds in a quick jest as he points to his left cheek, which is still a bit burnt even though Valrae tried her best to use magic she doesn’t normally. “And worst of all, this bit. Tell me straight Doc, can you save the face?” There it is, a flash of that charming smile, but in a manner that shows he is trying to just keep the mood light and nothing more.

Penelope’s eyes flick quickly to the places he points to. She maps out each stitched wound. “And you’re just walking around all willy nilly after some gnarly fight? The hell,” the girl then gets a shove from behind as her brother gives her a frown of disapproval because of her brash behavior. “You got stitched, but not mended? You fighters are so reckless,” she has to add again. She was a blunt one. As he jests about his face, she squints hard before a crooked grin creeps on her own features. “Charmer. But, I can try to make you pretty again. Key word, -try-. But you have to try too. I can’t tell you how many times patients just ignore requests and then turn out to be… well, yikes is all I can say.” The girl lifts a finger and rolls her head to point at Kel. “You, thank the gods you're here. This guy might be in luck with that unfortunate face,” rude, but she is teasing because, she too, likes a good lightened mood. “I’m not really the restorative type like my brother. But… I do know how to observe those around me in the healing field. So I got that going for me. I’m a little old fashioned. Unfortunately I got the earthly and fire sides of magic. Not really helpful to have fire with a burn mark,” she grins. The woman then reaches for the man’s left side where the broken ribs are to get a feel for the dislocation. “This one,” she reaches for Pakellin’s hand to feel as well. She moves her hand up. “This one,” she moves her brother’s. And she continues on with however many ribs the man broke. “I’d say, cool the skin a bit. It’s good for the pain. I might have something in the satchel to help take the edge off.” The girl is off digging while Pakellin is now the one in charge. Automatically a hand lifts where water comes from the fountain. It hovers over the man’s skin to provide a coolant. “Might just need to numb you a bit with the chill anyway. Ribs are not easy.”

Jaxson knows the drill when it comes to seeing a healer, you got to be comfortable with someone being all in your bubble and just as comfortable with them poking and prodding about your body. He even wasn’t surprised the healers are turning this into a learning session as the siblings start their examinations. Here he’d smirk again as the female seems to have a sense of humor too, which puts him at more ease as he replies. “In my defense, I could barely stand after the fight.” He continues with. “I was lucky enough to have the reserves to even magic away to someone who could stitch me up.” His mind goes back to Valrae and the cove. It was a nice time, even if it was just her stitching his wounds and giving him a hard time. The touch of their fingers against the ribs hurts, but he tries to suck it up as they move along. He nods as she explains her particular magics and how they work, and watches as the brother manipulates the water again to help numb the pain. Jax admires the man’s level of care, and command of water, as he goes about the process of it all. His eyes find the brother’s, and he’d flash a playful wink towards him as makes a silly face at the coolness rushing across his side. Here he says to them. “Thank you both, truly, and you’re right I should have thought of coming -directly- here.” He’d wait to see what comes next, but keeps that warm, charming smile up as thing go on, grateful to be in the care of the siblings, confident his wounds will be properly taken care of. Watch out Dyraxdiin, he’ll be ready for you.

Penelope sorts through her satchel and pulls out a small vile. Milk of the poppy. Was the man in that much pain…? Well, he wouldn’t be for long. Only sore. “Hm…” She waits a beat before reaching for something else. A small jar that had a yellow-ish, cream salve. “Here we go.” Beat. “Well, aren’t you a lucky duck,” she smirked at the man who talked of the healer–Valrae–who stitched him. Pakellin, on the other hand, is quiet for most of the time. The playful wink makes the twin man quirk a brow and smirk. The water then begins to glow a bright blue hue as the Ardelian druid whispers something softly. A calling to nature, it appeared. Then, Jaxson might feel a very uncomfortable feeling as the magic is wrapping around the man’s broken ribs, if Jaxson would let Pakellin proceed. “Sorry, man, this isn’t going to feel great. I’m not really smooth at this yet,” the twin mutters. Jaxson might feel a grind in his ribcage before a strike of pain pushes the ribs individually back in place. An idle hand lingers due to the mending process of it all. The coolness would then set in again as the glow from the water fades. Penelope rocks on her heels. “You’re gonna be sore. Lots of ice to help with the bruising, and this.” She hands the small jar to the man. “Apply it when you’re feeling uncomfortable. It’ll help with the soreness.” She then sticks her tongue in the side of her cheek. “As for your face. Kel can help with that too.” She looks to her brother. “Try cooling the face first and then try to fix the damage.” Kel would do just that. Raising the same water up to the man’s cheek. “Kel will try his best. You might still have some discoloration from the burn, but… with the help of aloe or honey and staying out of the sun as much as you can,” she then stares up at the sky. Cenril is probably the worst place to be right now. “You should… have that pretty little face of yours cured completely in about 1 to 3 weeks. Depending on how attentive you are with it.”

Jaxson is trying to prepare himself for what is to come before it begins, as he has had field triage done when in battle before and is not stranger to the pains of the healing process. The setting of bone in particular is one he doubts -anyone- could ever get used to. As Kel coaxes the natural forces to do his bidding, Jax stares him right in the eyes. And with the twin’s hands pressed against his side and the other use to steady him, the magi’s ribs are mended back into place. Jaxson feels the grinding of the bone, causing a sensation to even be felt in his teeth as the shock through his body makes him reach out and grab the brother by the waist, a firm grip taken. “Mmmmmmmm-errrr.” Is the sound that escapes the veteran as he tries his best to stifle the painfilled scream that wants nothing more than to burst forth from within. Woooo-boy! This was never fun! But the man can tell this pair work hard in their craft, and the inexperience Kel may have is overshadowed by the care he gives during the procedure. The sister’s knowledge is noted, and he’d take care to listen to her instructions because he can tell already the earful he’d get if he didn’t follow her instructions, and he’d hate to see such a beauty mad at him. But, mind snapping back to proper place, the nobleman asks. “Been at this long?” In genuine curiosity. They both had a lot of potential, and that had the magi thinking already. Cenril was in need, its people suffer with the virus running rampant. Jax himself wasn’t a healer, its why he entered the tournament in the first place. Raise money and awareness to help combat the plight and help feed the masses. People were out of work, businesses shutting down due to fear of the spread. This reminded him! Val was going to announce the food drive soon, he’d have to find a way to help spread the word. “You two ever accept contract work, by chance?” He asks, his attention snapping back to the matter at hand.

Penelope attentively moves in and bends to gently place two fingers on the man’s left side while the veteran is bent in his own coping mechanism of handling pain. The girl gently presses to feel if there was any unevenness. “Oh, yeah. I felt that pain through me just by watching you,” the girl shivers a bit and a hand gently rubs at the scar on her collarbone before watching the man’s face carefully. She takes her sweet time before answering his next question–mostly because she is busy observing the burn. “Uh, I’ve been working at the healing hut back in Kelay for years now. Mostly just traditional clinical practice. Uh, also lots of trauma cases too.” Her eyes shift to Pakellin then, who now also answers the stranger’s question. “I’ve been playing around with restoration probably for the past year now. Not easy. Really, Penelope pushed me into it as it doesn’t come natural to her,” he breathes and glances at the girl. Penelope was her name. Kellin lifts his hand again and attempts to repeat the same process if Jaxson would let him. “Contract work? What’s the job?” The girl squints and talks while her brother does the same water lifting, glowing, and hovering over burned skin if Jaxson does not lower Pakellin’s hand. The moisture absorbs which would cause the skin to pulse and move. They bring the burn coolness and rebuild the cells in the skin with the light. Eventually, after some time, the twin brother lowered his hand. Jaxson’s skin would be a darker pink rather than the blistered and damaged skin, although not matching his regular pigment--raw.

Jaxson simply allows the twins to have their way with him, as they are the professionals after all. Confident not only in his skin, as evident that Kel’s hands being all over him haven’t fazed him in the slightest (hell he’s halfway flirted with the brother more than the sister, even though its all been just playful). But he is also comfortable enough to not be afraid while he walks the streets of Cenril. Something about being back home makes him feel… well, more powerful. His magic seems to respond to him faster, spells coming with ease. As Kel goes back for round two of the process, Jax’s attention goes to Penelope as he says through a grunt, as the pain hadn’t magically been whisked away by Kel’s equally magical touch. “We need people to help those affected here by the virus. Be it direct care, indirect care, or even just those willing to treat others suffering from other illnesses and ailments since the temples and healing clinics have started to get crowded.” Here the man would reach to his side and procure a sizeable pouch of gold, the first true hint that he is of the higher class of Cenril so far. The pouch was placed nearby for the siblings, as he says. “For tonight’s work, and plenty more for you both should you sign up to help.” He pauses, hoping he catches some interest with his pitch, as he adds. “The people need help, and I’m willing to empty my house’s coffers to see they get the care they need.” Of course, he’d have to finally stop messing around and assume the mantle of Head of the Ravencroft family, like his grandmother has been trying to get him to do since his return just a week or so ago. “No pressure, really. But you two seem very talented, and well, I’d being doing the people of Cenril a disservice if I didn’t ask.”

Penelope chews on Jaxson’s words by biting the inside of her cheek in thought. Pakellin, on the other hand, is taking a step back now to breathe from the process of healing which causes Penelope to step forward. She reaches out to touch the side of Jaxson’s face. An attempt to angle his face to stare at the pink skin. Green eyes blink into cerulean before her lips purse. “Yeah, yeah, that’s good.” The odd duck steps back before reaching down in her satchel for an ointment and gauze. It was best to cover the mark for now, so she took over the simple process of glazing his skin and patching the burn over. “Virus…” Pause. To ask such a question was ridiculous in her view because how could she say… no? She would not say no. That was not in her nature. The gold is witnessed, but that causes her to frown. “I decline,” she starts. “Your gold,” she finishes. A small smile curls in the corner of her mouth, but it is feigned for the thought of the innocent. “I’m sorry for the chaos–one. The suffering–two.” That smile fades before she glances back at her brother who is now sitting to catch his breath. “We’d be willing to sign, but not for gold. No, as long as you supply our supplies, that’s all we ask. Don’t get me wrong, pretty boy, we enjoy what we do. We also know the medical field is not cheap when it comes to shipping supplies in. You focus solely on that, you have two ‘kinda free’ volunteers. Besides, we have some free hands since the hut back in Kelay is slowly getting crowded with new healing faces to take over. Really, they keep telling me to take the day off. That’s how I ended up here.” She wants to smirk, but the situation is grim. “If it’s hands you need, it’s hands you’ll get. Besides, I kind of miss this old place–the sea.” A time of innocence in her life. Seven years ago. “If you need to seek us, Kelay tavern or the healing hut is the go to. Hell, transport people our way, if you need. I’m Penelope and that’s… Pakellin,” she points to her brother before turning back to the man. “I think, however, you need to get some rest, bucko. Especially when you're so busy trying to keep things together around here. You need to be at your best."

Jaxson watches as his payment is declined, causing a curious brow to loft skyward as he listens to her rationale. Well, Fate had once more delivered him right where he needed to be to find the perfect people for the cause, aye? Again, he felt he owes the universe for such luck, and so says. “Then this payment shall go towards that end, with whatever left going towards whatever you see fit.” He ponders, then says. “I’ll include food and lodging as well, so you don’t have to worry about any of those things.” The man’s face feels better with the ointment added, the cooling sensation of Kel and Nel’s magic and herbalism treatments really doing a solid bit of work to ease his pain. But excitement courses through the weaver’s body as he is glad, they agreed to help. He knows they will prove so invaluable to the cause. “Truly, I cannot tank you enough. I’ll have someone over to discuss matters of the supplies needed.” He knew his family owned enough ships to ensure the troubles down at the docks would not interfere with these shipments, least he hoped not. Things were getting ugly down there. As he can tell things were wrapping up here, the man gets up and collects his things, grabbing his jacket and tossing it on one shoulder as he nods to the pouch of gold. “Seriously, get whatever you want, finds the lodging you need for both yourselves to stay at as well as an area you’d like to operate at and I’ll get in touch with Valrae Baines, and she’ll ensure everything else is covered, ok?” He smiles a great big ole booming smile here, so glad they agreed to help. Doing good things really did make one feel pretty darn swell. Val was running off on him.

Penelope sucks in her cheeks idly. What a whirlwind evening. Random strangers. Lithrydel was a strange place and Nel was beginning to become one of them. Someone to just say yes to some random favor. Oh well, she thought. “I’ll be looking forward to the discussion with said-person,” she imagines it’ll be easy. All she needed was a tentative list. “It’s truly no trouble. I have no life, so they say,” she grins in her banter. “But in all seriousness, anything to help. Heck, thanks for asking,” is that how that worked? Thanking each other? The woman kneels towards the fountain where her, now, soggy sandwich rests. A small wrinkle forms in her forehead at the concern. She then casts her gaze at the man before nodding him off. “We’ll be in touch then, stranger.” She is good without his name as she knows it’ll soon come. Patience was a virtue. The woman would then wave before turning to Pakellin. “Let’s go home already.”