RP:The Titan of... Gardening?

Synopsis: The Blue Demon shows up at the Kelay Healer again with the same injury. Really? Penelope and Celeste do their best to heal the man, the Titan, however, owes the Ardelian some gardening services once she gets her new clinic. Someday.

Part of the Time Heals All Wounds Arc

This is a Healer's Guild RP.

Kelay Healer

Shishi doesn’t knock or anything this time around. The newly recrowned Titan of Winter enters Kelay’s Healer Hut to the jingling of bells that announce his arrival. He’s in a very similar state to the one he arrived in last time he was here, and in near identical attire. The shirt and tie are all there, of course, but the patch over his right eye is the thing that should be out of place, but has become common. The difference in his appearance from his last visit is clear as day, stretching out from beneath that eye covering is a spiderweb of red scarring, like the evidence of acid burns. The so-called Blue Demon fidgets, adjusting his tie, puffing out his cheeks slightly, and begs to be noticed…

Penelope found herself carefully poking a needle through flesh. A teen with a nasty gash on her brow. “I’m going to look ugly for the dance at school. A hideous monster.” Penelope tries to keep a straight face to the best of her ability for the drama queen. “Aren’t scars supposed to be cool or something? Right? They like… make a big fuss about them,” Penelope pokes through the flesh again and the teenager jolts. “Ow, you’re like the worst doctor ever.” Nel stares with a blank face at that one. The blonde teen then looks up as the bell dings to see the -actual- Blue Demon. “Oh my gosh, don’t let him look at me like this!” The teen whines. Penelope looks over her shoulder to find the familiar… Titan of Winter. Careful as she tries not to get blood on her mustard, flowy blouse. Was this a deja vu? The same injury? Celeste is in the corner doing paperwork before she drops her quill. “Uh, Penelope–you got company.” Beat. “I see that. You can, uh, talk to him, Celeste. Tell him to sit anywhere.” All this time, the man would -clearly- be able to hear the two women talk about him.

Shishi does his best to be the fantastic role model he is meant to be in the face of this teenage patient’s distress. Just assuming he is this young person’s idol, the Titan pulls down his eyepatch, exposing the not pretty injury underneath and winks a somewhat grotesque eye. If the people’s champion has one, maybe scars really are in. He waves to the whining patient before Celeste relays the message that he can “Sit anywhere.” “Aye, I heard.” He responds, too sweetly to possibly be sincere, before almost sitting in a chair, then changes his mind and shifts into the seat next to it. He’s immortal, so he doesn’t mind waiting, he just doesn’t want to appear awkward about it. Does Kelay Healer have magazines? He was on the cover of ‘Sports Prestidigitated’ a few months ago.

Penelope watches as the teenager’s stare is glued to the man finding a seat. “So, you’re the Titan’s doctor?” The teenager questions. Penelope gives the girl the weird side-eye. Especially because the teenager’s tone had turned sweeter. “Uh, ish? I helped him once.” The healer answers slowly. The teenager is ecstatic. “Oh my gosh, you’re so cool!” The teenager exclaims to the frizzy haired healer. “That’s funny, I wonder what changed…” Is all that Penelope mutters. Celeste, on the other hand, is slowly inching some books Shishi’s way in cautiousness as if Shishi was diseased. This whole lycan thing was new to Celeste, so she could not contain her feelings of comfort. But… Books? Not magazines? Full on books? Romance. Action. Mystery. What kind of place was this? Penelope finished and snipped the remaining thread before placing some salve and a bandage over the teenager’s brow. “All fixed. Apply this to help with the scarring.” The teenager is ogling the Titan before her mom comes into the establishment to pick up her daughter. The teenager blows the Titan a kiss before she wiggles her fingers in her strut away. “Okay,” Penelope blows out. The Ardelian moves to wash her hands in a back corner before sliding a cart over to where Shishi sat. “So, you couldn’t avoid the eye? Really? Besides, I thought I said Cenril would be better at this than me.” The girl could not help herself, but there was a very faint smile tucked. “That was also some fight, eh? You’re quite the showboater.” Penelope is getting a closer look now on the eye. She knows the drill–kinda.

Shishi isn’t much of a novel guy. You could probably count the amount of books he’s read cover to cover on one hand. You might even be able to count that number on no hands, but we won’t delve that deep into The Blue Demon’s backstory right now to know for sure. For the moment he just raises a hand slightly to indicate that Celeste needn’t bother with the reading material if that’s all she’s got to offer. The Titan isn’t caught off guard by the reaction he elicits from the young girl, likely a couple years his daughter’s junior, as this is something he obviously gets all the time. He puts on that fanged, practiced smile and waves goodbye to his fan. It’s maybe a good thing they didn’t have his SP issue in the waiting area, this kid probably would have had him sign it and then spirited it away when she left with her mom. When Penelope starts examining him, he leans in a bit, showing off the new injury in the old spot. “She kissed me.” He explains, “Had dragons blood for lipstick…” He waves off the comment implying he should have went to Cenril this time, “They don’t have your bedside manner.” For her jab about his showmanship he just shoots her a fang-exposing smirk, “Aye, that’s why they love me. I don’t bore the fans.”

Penelope squints at the thought of ‘a kiss’, as in, that’s -all- for a heart rip–really? But then, as he mentions dragons blood, her mouth parts in an ‘oh’. “Well, talk about non-consent.” And he still considered the duel trade to be fun? When that fanged smirk is given, she sucks in her cheeks. Not because she was weary of fangs, but it was not very often the human came face to face with a vampire. Not judging, mind one. “I’ll say. Especially when a teenager is drooling all over–wowza.” The Ardelian whistles a little tune which Celeste comes over in a beat on command. “Hey, Lana and Tiber really loved that scalpel, by the by.” Pause. She grins at the thought of bedside manner. “What? You like that I barely know anything about your gruesome hobby and I don’t read what is in the magazines? I just learned to punch like a few months ago. Mind you, I’m pretty good at it.” She smirked in jest. Most likely she was not compared to him. The woman would look up at Celeste. “You know the drill. Flush the eye.” Celeste would tuck her lips in hesitation before lifting a hand. Water would come and start the spiral process again. Nel would gently place a finger and a thumb to keep the man’s eye open.

Shishi wrinkles his nose at that teenager comment, but he has to let it slide, Penelope has all the power here, afterall. The displeasure leaves his face pretty quickly as he is soon nodding in response to the healer’s question about her not knowing much about his illustrious career, “Aye. That is pretty refreshing. You know?” He does his best to hold still while the cleaning process begins. The dragon blood has done a number near his cheekbone and up around the eye socket and to the previously oceanic blue eye itself. “Mmm…” He says, circling back to the autographed scalpel, “I ran into them at their…” he can never remember the words for these things, “their promenade…” He winces, that probably wasn’t the right word. Change the subject, “You’ll have to show me your best punch once this is all done now.” He motions vaguely to his eye with his left hand.

Penelope smirked at his comment about the lack of knowledge she had. Fame would be exhausting to Penelope if that was the case. She liked simplicity. Celeste however, rinses the eye and the process takes a while to get a thorough cleaning. “You mean, ball.” Pause. “What? Not a fan?” She smirked. “I normally go for the free food. I was working, however. Since… it -was- in Enchantment. I got the -real- party. Lots of drunks with personality.” She grinned. When he mentioned the punch, she frowned. “Me punching -thee- Titan?” She is sarcastic in this sense, but she smirked. “Not a chance,” the truth. “Does the Blue Demon actually have a name? Or is your actual name the color?” She glances at the eye that is able to see before she looks towards Celeste. “Since this is dragon’s blood. You might have to practice that divine work. The vial I snagged last time is not enough for this…” Celeste looks twisted and nauseous at this suggestion. “I would, Celeste, but… I can’t.” Penelope did not know how. “I know Kel and Ruari have been working with you.” Celeste sits brings over a stool to sit in front of Shishi. “Look, I don’t trust you,” Celeste is feeling too many things. “But I don’t want to say it because.. I don’t trust you.” But here she is saying it. What a bag of mixed emotions. “What I can do will… take away some of the scarring, but your vision will be impaired for a while until you get full strength back.”

Shishi bobs his head back and forth a bit, forgetting that he is being worked on for a second. He isn’t that big of a fan of any event that takes him out of his signature simple outfit, but this ball in particular was exceptionally unsavory to him, “I got the sense that the room was a bit divided on my showing my face so soon after stealing the heart of what they believe to be a sweet little ghoul…” He pouts, Orange is still giving him the cold shoulder here and there. “Shishi,” he gives his first name, “but I’ll answer to Blue. You can probably drop the ‘Demon’ and ‘Titan’ and stuff like that. Celeste tells him she doesn’t trust him and he just can’t help but put on that fanged smile and ask, “Why in the world not?” in a bit of a teasing tone. He nods to her description of his healing timeline, “Aye. Thankfully I shouldn’t have to fight again for a little bit at least…”

Celeste lifts a hesitant hand. This was good practice for the assistant. Pen was determined that Celeste would take her place when she moved on from the healing hut. The dream is to build a new clinic near Enchantment. Hopes are high for Celeste as she is kind, smart, and knows a whole lot more to the magical side of healing. The pale blonde is the whole package, and Penelope would not want Yerrel to lose someone so talented. Water tendrils begin to swarm and become spider-like legs towards Shishi’s eye to match the web of scarring. The Ardelian keeps the conversation going. Shishi. The name. The girl plays with the name on her tongue. “Shi. Shishi. Blue.” She plays with different names to figure out the feel. “Shi. Steady as Shi goes.” A smile pricks. Penelope continues to speak for Celeste, since the lycan is so nervous. “I imagine you’ll feel a really numb feeling. Maybe even prickles. Your eye might even feel droopy when it’s not.” Penelope now observes as the water settles on those scars and the water begins to glow as the divine magic takes over. The water would feel icy to the point of numbness. Celeste is mouthing a few words to nature, but the blonde is also shaking. “You got this, Celeste. Hold strong. Imagine the reviews if we scarred this man.” True. The freckled healer gives a snarky grin towards Shishi. The Kelay Healer would be in the dust of ratings in medical magazines. “You’re really walking a tightrope of drowning Yerrel’s business if we do you dirty.” She teases. Eventually the water shifts towards the cornea, itself before glowing around the eyeball. Penelope keeps it open. Gentle to the touch of prying the man’s eye wide. Celeste casts a gaze towards the man. “I feel things that you would not begin to understand.” Empathy and new lycanthrope? It was a curse altogether. Suffering. Penelope jumped in. “After she’s done with this, I’ll give you the same drops as last time. Really keep consistent, otherwise you’ll be the blind Titan for the rest of your life. I'm -not- inheriting your foolishness of not listening to the doctor. I'll let the zines know."

Shishi holds perfectly still as the procedure gets underway. This kind of water-based natural/divine healing magic is of course the brand that he’s had the most experience with in his life, as it is damn near the only type of magical healing that’ll have any effect on the vampire. He finds the numbing coolness of the natural energy soothing and it reminds him of his numerous sessions of rest at the nearby Druid’s Eternal Tree prior to its corruption at the hands of his daughter and subsequent restoration at the hands of the healer directing his treatment at the moment. He stifles a chuckle at Pene’s play on his name, which is really too silly to laugh at. He wants to tilt his head when he says, “Aye, but imagine the good publicity when I tell them what a great job you did,” but he remains still to ensure that if they botch his eye job, it won't be his fault. His one good eye narrows and he adopts a solemn expression when Celeste speaks to him. Penelope’s attempt at distracting him works and he quickly gives his attention back to her, “I wouldn’t dream of disobeying the doctor.”

Penelope thinks over the comment from earlier about the ghoul. Kanna. “Well, you have to know that she had fans, too? Yes? Flower crowns. They can win a heart. Until -someone- rips it out. Wow, how poetic.” The clinician thinks to herself. “In my opinion, you were ruthless? Not that you need my two cents, but were you completely in the wrong? No. She snuck the kiss of death on you. Scandalous. A novel, really,” even if he did not read them. The water that Celeste gives out, eventually soaking and absorbing into Shishi’s eye. The final glimmer seals over the eyeball. “The Titan is a sweet talker too.” The Ardelian stands to move to the shelf where all the different herbs, salves, and vials were. She snags a couple. “Salve for the bumpy scarry skin. Vial for the… vision to come back. Seriously, twice a day, my guy. So, what do you normally do in the off season when you’re not doing the whole wild combat thing?”

Shishi waves his left hand dismissively, “Aye, aye… If I pulled my punches though I could have just as easily ended up dead… I didn’t really come out of it all that well even throwing everything I had at her. You know?” He vaguely gestures to his eye, which he was only able to salvage this time around through the use of his most chaotic tool at his disposal. He nods slowly to the ‘sweet talker’ comment, “More flies with honey. I have enough people trying to get a piece of me without upsetting people outside the ring.” He accepts one vial in each hand and nods again.”Would you believe I’m also the greatest gardener of all time? I don’t suppose you’ve walked past the Thorne Estate grounds in Vailkrin very recently?” She’d know about his offseason routine if she read that SP article last year…

Penelope clearly knew. She saw his jacked up face. “I believe you.” Her lips twitch for a moment, but that blank face remains. “You play the game well,” she would give him credit there. Sweet talk and all. The fans would rave for a reason. The competition would also remain invested. Celeste gives a salute before exiting the premises. She needed air from doing that huge job for a sketchy man. “The -greatest- gardener?” She chews on that title. Not that she would compete. Vailkrin…? That was an unknown territory. “I tend to keep to my roots-ish. Okay, I’ll be honest, Vailkrin is one place I tend to avoid.” Should she tell him why? Really, despite the vampires, it was very dreary. “-But-, if you’re ever invested in seeds, you can always plant around my house. Or, better yet, my future clinic. A large dream, but one in the making. Once I get the funds. Besides, people knowing you helped with the herbal growth? You know how much publicity I would get?” A grin touches her unpainted lips. “I’d gladly use you.” No shame there. “Think about it, Shi the Titan of Gardening.” The girl would then back up to give the man space as normally she is crossing that social boundary with healing. “You’re free to go. So long, Blue. Until… next time. Hopefully it’s not your eye that next time.”

Shishi nods, “Aye, I figured. That is the only place with proof of my gardening unfortunately. Vailkrin’s not as bad as it’s made out to be, really…”He stands and smirks again, “Aye. I’d be happy to help you out with your garden and PR. I owe you one or two by now anyway. Once you’ve got a location for the new clinic let me know and I’ll come out.” He takes a sideways step towards the exit and adds, “And my agent will be in touch to get your address, I’m sure I can help you out at home too.” He stops at the threshold to Kelay’s Forest and blinks down at the eyepatch in his hand, wondering which Titan looks cooler to his adoring public at this moment, the one with his eye covered, or the one proudly sporting the scars from his recent victory..?

Penelope quirks a brow at the mention of an ‘agent’. “You’re something else,” she says abruptly. However, it was a full house in the Halifax cottage. An awkward situation. People were always needed to break the ice. “Glad to have your gardening support, however, once I get the ball rolling towards the clinic.” She grinned sheepishly and once he stopped at the door, she tilted her head. She observes the gaze towards the patch in his hand. “Like I told that teenager, scars are supposed to be ‘cool’ or something,” not in Penelope’s mind as she had too many hidden things that reminded her of… another story. “Plus, people like eye contact.” She shrugged. At least she did. “Otherwise you’d look like a really classy, confusing pirate.” Pirates normally do not wear the whole button up and tie, do they? She would then wave him off before turning to finish off the paperwork.

Shishi pockets the patch thanks to Penelope’s advice. Blue was decidedly not a pirate, he’s got fine relationships with a few of them, but being one himself is just not for him. “No, I don’t think they do…” He takes the first step out the door and dips his head to the side, looking at the healer with his one good eye, “Thanks Pene… and let Celeste know I appreciate her work too. I’ll be seeing you.” And with that, he’s gone…