RP:How Well You Disguise Them

This is a Healer's Guild RP.

Summary: Chased by the Flewminati, Brennia enters the House of Ara disguised as a Healer's Guild Novice. A remarkable camouflage, were if not for the fact that she is summoned to help out with a rather nasty healing - led by a familiar face, to whom eventually the Countess reveals herself. An offer of help follows, together with some plans for a non-trivial healing to be carried out soon enough...

House of Ara; Rebuilt

The primary floor of the House of Ara was completely demolished so a newer, larger, and sturdier floorplan could take its place. Upon entering the building through heavy double doors, you will find yourself standing on oceanic-blue marble floors. The walls are white, backlit by mahogany trim. There is a receptionist desk, manned by a small Elvish girl with stark white hair and very pale skin named Mei. She will be able to direct you to the lavish patient rooms that are located up twisting staircase, the kitchens down the North corridor, the surgical facilities to the east or the teaching clinic to the west. The ceilings are high and the acoustics pick up the click-clack of your heels as you make your way to Mei. The Guild Tutor, Mr.Fennigan would be more than happy to serve as your escort, or fetch a wheelchair and a medic should there be cause for one.

Thamalys went for yet another stitch - how many, he lost count at that stage, but definitely too many for the human to withstand any more. The Blue stood in front of a marble table, right in the middle of the main hall of the house - no time to juggle a batter accommodation, not when that particular soldier was brought in basically holding his own guts with both hands. A horrible incident at the training grounds, they said, although something in the look of those Larketian guards did not convince the Healer entirely. Food for thoughts - at a later time. Covered in blood from head to toe, the Spellblade was alone with his patient beyond a whitish impromptu curtain some colleagues managed to come up with no more than ten minutes ago. A few other healers were presently intent to provide some more material - antiseptics and the like of that - scampering around the House quickly enough. The doors were opened, and no one could be found at the reception - just a very unlucky timing that caught the Guild off-guard, with only a handful of healers around.

Brennia didn’t know much of anything about healing without bardic magic aside from some very basic technical first aid. She can disinfect, passingly stitch someone up, administer the right potions or salves and wrap a wound, but that’s about where it had stopped. This day she found herself in Larket of all places and disguised herself as some novice healer who was learning the basics. It was a painstaking process some days; making sure to wear perfume and mask that avian scent, using tonics and dyes on her skin and hair to change them, but to save on ingredients she only used it on her hands and face while she sticks to wearing long sleeves and pants. The large black as night wings are magically hidden for the moment. Today she looks like some simple pale skinned and chestnut haired woman while the only thing she hasn’t mastered is hiding those heavy lidded teal hued eyes. The sight of this patient isn’t anything she hasn’t seen before, but when she caught another healter watching for her reaction Brennia fakes a gasp. Surely she can help hold a leg down or something… Please don’t be asking Brennia to do anything important because she will screw it up! Although… This could be quite the learning experience for the woman of her advanced age.

Thamalys knew he was asking the man too much. To be fair, it was the latter’s fault - he refused to be given any sort of painkiller, on the basis that he did not trust anything “brewed by those swindlers” - an excellent start. As of now, however, the Blue was having too hard of a time to keep going with the stitching of that massive wound, that is while having to deal with the man madly thrashing on the table, pushing blades and bandages on the floor, reddening everything with blood. “By the Wind, enough!” he just yelled at a certain point, turning is head by a quarter of a turn to land his eyes upon the brown haired woman standing just a few steps away from the table, apparently intent to try and clean some of the mess up. “You! Would you please hold this needle…” asked the Spellblade loudly enough to overcome the screams of the wounded “… while I put this idiot to sleep? Mind the stitches, it took me half an hour to get there… punch him in the face if you have to, but don’t let the wound to reopen, alright?” Something especially odd was going on with the eyes of that particular lady… but the Avian had no time to ponder the details. In the hypothesis the woman would have pick up said needle and thread, the Blue would have rushed to find, within the countless pockets adorning his apron, the most rapid sleeping concoction he could think of. Stepping aside, he would have started to frantically probe the different options. “No, this one would kill him… this one would take too long…” he kept muttering in an undertone while going through his precious collections of vials. In the meantime, the man did manage to understand something was about to happen - which only made him even more furious…

Brennia heard the command which caused a slight blush to those pale cheeks and it would show on those overly long pointy ears, but they were hidden by braids in her hair and she asks, “m-me?” Blinks and takes a deep breath before doing what she is commanded. Once she nears the thrashing patient she tries to get in close, but he flailed wildly and knocked the needle out of her hand, “merde!” she slipped and cursed in Veretian while quickly catching the needle before it hit the dirty floor… Phew. She was at a disadvantage now though and a wild arm hits her across her face which sent her on her arse, which wasn’t far since she was already low, but still! The Nerve! Brennia takes a deep breath and stands, but punching someone doesn’t seem like her forte and she avoids harming people at all costs… Unless they are minions of the Flewminati. She pulls the surgical mask over her nose and mouth while holding the man’s arm tightly with her free hand - strong for a simple seeming human. A glance around to the healers in the room and she thinks none are watching when she looks down at the man, connecting eye contact and humming a calming melody which could completely go unnoticed in the chaos… Eventually the man seems to calm until he is falling asleep while looking almost peaceful, but obviously still breathing! She didn’t kill him guys! whoa...

Thamalys was still trying to figure out which particular anaesthetic would have done the job, so that the Blue did not really witness the confrontation between the Headmistress in disguise and the wounded man. He did hear a fairly uncommon swear word, though… odd. Eventually, the Spellblade found what he was looking for: “ah, this is it… now, if you would please… what?!” he bursted mid-sentence, the moment he realised the man was actually asleep already, his chest peacefully rising and lowering following the rhythm of a quite healthy breathing process. Needless to say, the Blue immediately proceeded to question the nut brown haired healer. “Is this your doing? How!?” he inquired, at the same time retrieving the needle from Brennia’s hands and returning to the rather tedious job of stitching that wound up. Much easier now, though. “In fact…” insisted the Avian without even letting time for her to answer his very first questions, “… I do not seem to recall you at all. Not a surprise, given the time I spend anywhere but for this House, and yet… do you have a name? How long ago did you join the Guild?” A whole collection of rather nasty questions, it would seem, but in all fairness the Blue was simply quite curious about how exactly a simple novice could have possibly managed to do that in a blink of an eye.

Brennia flinched with the rest of the group with the avian expressed his furious surprise that the patient was asleep, but now she was being bombarded with questions. She almost wanted to smirk at Thamalys and how different he seemed in this light, but even though she was under the cover of the mask she kept her etched expression. A nod given when he asked if she did this, but how… She came up with a lie as she noticed she was holding a pressure point of his arm - which was part of the quick acting spell, “pre-” she’s cut off as he continued. She couldn’t think of a really good fake name so off the top of her head comes, “Susie.” Trying to make her velvety alto timbre an octave higher, “I joined this week, sir.” The members with them nod to confirm this as if they were all collaborating in some large scheme. Gently setting the patient’s arm onto the operating table at his side she goes back to taking orders like, hold this, get me this, etcetera.

Thamalys was done, eventually, with the stitching for the day. A long sigh would have escaped those thin, grey lips. “Susie, eh? Well, your assistance is much appreciated. Now…” casually uttered the Blue while trying - with very little success - to get rid of some of the blood soiling his garments, “… would you mind to watch over this lad while I fetch a proper antiseptic? The rest of you can go…” proffered to the few other healers around. “We need something strong… and a good dose of it as well!” Without actually waiting for an answer, the Healer would have thus disappeared beyond the tent - pacing quickly toward his room, where sure enough he retrieved in no time a few phials filled with a green, rather chunky powder. On his way back however, he would have stopped by Mei - finally returned to her duty at the entrance desk. A quick conversation took place between the elvish girl and the Avian, before the latter made his return to the marble table. In the event the disguised Countess would have not abandoned her post, the Blue would have proceeded to pour a liber dose of said green powder, rubbing it in as deep as possible within each and every stitch. Plenty of time for yet another conversation, although, possibly a less pleasant one. “So…” begun the Blue, eyes onto his patient only, “… Mei tells me you have volunteered a week ago indeed - this is rare these days, we usually have to invest quite some time and effort to convince people to give us a hand… you said you are from Larket, aye? I believe I picked up a bit of a funny accent…”

Brennia watched the fellow avian carefully as he seemed unplagued by the ageless black for now. Is it only while he’s working and mending that the ageless black leaves him be? Being left alone with the patient she hums a soft tune to ensure he was asleep because she trusts Thamalys mostly because she knows he’s got secrets. Yes, she is back to being Brennia, but being at rest in death and coming back isn’t easy and it’s left her rather void of emotion just like Raven. Especially now that she can remember both her own life and Raven’s. “Yes… and no, sir. I grew up as a kid on the beaches of Cenril, spent summers touring the byrgs in Venturil, but my adolescence was spent between Larket and Xalious when my parents split. After all the moving around I’ve become more of a drifter in my adult life and so far I’ve gotten here…” she was even a little surprised at the quick lie as she made certain not to use overly large words or fall into that poetic way she would because she’s always a bard at heart. Brennia made the explanation long for a reason though, she was making sure the other’s left and they were alone save for the sleeping patient. She took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeves to reveal her true skin tone and pulled her surgical mask down, “apologies, Thamalys, I do not mean to fool you. I had to be certain no one else would catch on… You see. I am being hunted by the Flewminati now that I lost the election.”

Thamalys was left with the relatively straightforward task of cauterising the whole thing - not exactly a standard medical procedure, but a few aces up his sleeves were what allowed him to step up high into the Guild after all. A flicker of his wrist, and a gentle gush of liquid blue fire would have run along the whole of the wound. Yes, a massive scar would have remained, but the risk of infection or worse was now close to zero. In the meantime, the Healer was listening to the rather articulate lie of the Headmistress… till the latter revealed herself. The skin colour only would have not been necessarily enough for the Blue to trust her, but the plain mention of the Flewminati did convince him. “Bre…” he would have started yelling, managing just in time to lower his voice. “By the Wind, is this you really? I would have never imagined - you did a rather amazing job at crafting this disguise…” begun the Spellblade, nervously turning his head around to be absolutely sure no one would have had any chance to over hear anything at all. “The Flewminati, eh? I cannot imagine they managed to infiltrate the Guild… if you are after a safe place to stay for a while, I can help with that…” continued the Healer in an undertone, bending his willowy shapes to bring himself a tad closer to the fellow Avian. “No one has direct access to my private room, and nobody has the authority to interfere with the Guild within these walls… you would be protected”.

Brennia doesn’t know what to say at first, she’s a little astonished at his welcome. The pair never really got a chance to be friendly, but at times like this she won’t analyze too deeply, “yes.” A slight half smik to match those emotionless eyes, but his offer of her joining up with the guild was also unexpected causing a brow of hers to wing up. “I would like that,” she barely even thought about it, but there are a lot of things she needs to accomplish before gearing up to go against what is taking place in Schezerade. “I believe I can be of some use here and while I am on the road I can help people along the way,” she has many places she can stay now without openly staying at some inn every night. “This will help me remain anonymous until the time is right… Thamalys?” She felt awkward about to ask him because wings are very intimate things for avians, “have you healed wings before?” A simple incantation and her wings fold out of her back as if they just sprouted and he can see the left one resting slightly askew before she reveals where the feathers are muddled with dried blood as a dagger had pierced right through it recently.

Thamalys nodded slowly, his Avian mind racing already to ponder the implications and the practical details of the rather secretive stay of the Countess. Not that he was having any sort of second thoughts - a fellow Avian being hunted down like a partridge? Not on his watch. The much more complex issue of whether and how to help with the Flewinati would have had to wait, though - more pressing matters were waiting to be solved. “A wise choice. Meals would be left in my room three times per day - three bell tolls, that would be the hint. You could easily sneak into my laboratory… “ went on the Blue while scratching his head, eyes quite lost in a knotted sea of thoughts, “… directly from my rooms - no one would even think about going in there. Other than that, you’ll be absolutely safe. I won’t be around that much, I am afraid, and… ah, well, there is the small issue of Nebb, obviously, but I’ll convince him to behave.“ A step back would have been taken the moment the Headmistress would have revealed the feathery hallmark of the Avian’s race. Despite her tone and the direct reference to her wings, the Spellblade knew nothing of awkwardness - not anymore, so that the answer to the Countess’ inquiry would have been delivered straight and true, not a hint of embarrassment in the low voice of the Blue. “I did. For the love of the Wind, look at you…” he would have commented, circling the full extent of the wounded wing to position himself right where the blade connected with flesh and bone. “Who dared to do this to you? Anyway. The damage can be mended quite easily, but in order to recover the full functionality of the wing, especially flying-wise, we’ll have to be extremely cautious. There is a chance I would have to ask for the help of Emilia with this - she dealt with my wings in several occasions, so that she accumulated quite an expertise. Although, that would imply you’d be willing to trust her silence. Well, have a think about that. For now, just have a look at the rooms while I convince Mei that you are needed elsewhere and that thus you will be leaving the House momentarily. Nobody else would question your absence.” He dared not to touch the edges of the wound, but he could perfectly see that there was much work to be done. “Bastards…” he whispered, a streak of pure gold soiling the blue of his eyes.

Brennia explains, “I appreciate your help, but I need to be out there. Gathering information and my guise will hold up around here. I plan to stay when it is convenient if that is alright. I need to be constantly on the road… So I was telling the truth there a little - I’ve become a drifter.” She makes work of plucking the feathers off that are near the wound so it will be easier to work around, but not without the clenching of her jaw at every one. “Emilia, yes. I trust her,” she speaks through her teeth as kindly as she can while she finished the last few feathers - it hurts like hell and they were lucky she wasn’t audibly expressing such pain because as a bard who knows what would happen. “This came to be when an all out battle took place the night we cured Lithrydel of the curses. I was protecting citizens, my students, and fellow bard’s guild members from the Flewminati - they’ve become careless and made themselves public now. Even went as far as to follow me to Frostmaw when I went to destroy the jar…” She allows him to do what he can for her wing tonight before magicing her wings away once more and finding a bed to sleep in for the night.

Thamalys produced already a long vial filled with a grey gel, while letting the Countess to take care of cleaning up as much as possible the wound. “I understand - just be careful in answering the Healers. If someone gets too inquisitive, just drop my name, that should suffice to quiet almost anybody in here.” A faint blue glow would have followed these words, the moment the Winged Beast would have quickly prepared his hands to mend that awful wound - that much he could without the help of the Wintry Lady. “This is going to hurt badly, I am afraid…” sort of warned the Spellblade before pouring the whole of the content of said vial onto his own hands, and then rub the gel into the wound. The net effect would have been a sharp pain, incredibly intense but very limited in time as well. “This will do - for now. I shall arrange a proper healing with Emilia in the next few days. Now, if you would excuse me, I believe somebody would have to take care of the paperwork for this one…” he concluded, pointing his bony hand toward the still-sleeping shape of the wounded man, resting within a crimson collection of stone, bandages, and more. The hint of a bow, and the Blue would have disappeared already. Notwithstanding the surprise of having to harbour the Headmistress, he had duties to attend to…