EIGHT // Doctor, doctor, give me the news.

[wavewalker]

A: PHONE: UNFILTERED

I have a request to make, and I'm not really one for preamble, so let me get to it: A friend of mine requires the services of a healer. Her name is Mika.

Her eardrums have taken extensive damage thanks to a lightning strike, leaving her unable to hear, which is why you'll find me on the other end of this conversation in her stead. If you require payment for your services, we are, of course, willing to negotiate.

I will warn you the the damage is old, and may be difficult to repair, but I'm no healer, so I couldn't really say.

You can find us at 339 Brady Lane.


B: ACTION: 339 BRADY LANE

[ And, true to his word, that is where he and one Mika Whitepaws can be found. They're in the living room, she on the couch and he standing near the phone, tail swaying easily. He has a notepad in one hand, on which he jots: ]

All that's left to do is wait.

[ Before handing it to Mika for her to read. ]

[ Mika glanced it over, her tail twitching and her nose wrinkling as she peers up at Ian through a thick growth of winter coat. ]

You made sure to say it's my eardrums that are busted, right? And that I'll have to pay them in something other than money?

[ She was sure Ian would have covered that, but the way her memory was working right now, she could never tell. ]

[ Ian sighs and nods, waving around a leaf of paper- he took notes, Mika. ]

((ooc; Green font is Mika. She will likely be threadjacking!))

Comments

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

Surprise.

[He just sounds resigned. Considering who he keeps as friends, he can't really talk about 'trouble magnets'.]

Were you expecting someone else? Someone without healing magic?

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

[Mika's brows furrow as she tries to understand him through sheer determination and force of will, but in the end she turns to Ian, looking puzzled. Her tail spasms when it half-wags, and most of her weight is balanced between her good leg and her cane.]

What'd he say?

[It seems like she was trying to whisper, but unfortunately her current habit of talking unnecessarily loudly makes her easy to hear regardless of her efforts.]

[wavewalker]

[ Ian quickly jots down: ]

Something sarcastic.

[ And passes it to Mika. He then steps out of the doorway, motioning Anders inside. ]

Please do come in.

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

[Oh, right. She can't hear, can she?]

[He nods, and steps in, still carrying the branch he found in place of a staff.]

Shall we get started?

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

[Not at all, aside from the deafening rush of air that seems to be attempting to drown out her own thoughts.

Her ears twitch as she glances from Anders to Ian, as if wanting to double-check Anders' body language with a quick translation of what he'd said.]

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

[He looks at her for a moment, then shakes his head.]

[Curling his fingers, and lifting a hand, he summons a little healing energy. Blue light shifts though his fingers like smoke, and he gestures to her with his other hand.]

Healing. You.

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

What?

[Her ears flick back, then forward again when she notices his hand gestures.

And the fact that one of them is kind of glowing.]

Oh! Right.

[Good job, Mika. Good job.]

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

Yes. Right.

[He gestures to a chair. Somewhere. It's going to be easier if she sits.]

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

[Tail tucked, she sits without saying anything, her cane resting against her knees as she ducks her head and her ears flatten in mild embarrassment.]

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

[He steps forward at that, breathing deeply. Justice... is back. For better or worse. Maybe better, in this case. Maybe the spirit can support the healing magic...]

[He holds his hands out, near her head, and blue light begins to gather in them.]

[Then he wills it to work. To repair the damage he senses in the young woman as best he can.]

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

[Her ears twitch, and unlike the last time, this is very, very difficult to hold still for. Her ears move unconsciously, and the more she thinks about them the more they want to twitch, straining for sounds that she couldn't hear a moment before.

She actually has to bite her lip to keep herself from flinching as the strange sensation of her eardrums mending makes her stomach lurch.]

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

[He continues concentrating. It takes a lot of effort not to break it off, and then try again later.]

[He has to do it now, or it just won't get done. If anyone is paying attention, his eyes glaze over in a haze of bright, flickering blue.]

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

[Sensing something different on the air, Mika spared a glance at Anders' face. It was enough to make her go completely still, frozen in place as she was completely unsure what to do with the sudden change in his appearance.

Because really, when did glowing eyes ever mean anything good? So she stayed still, watching him through the fringe of her thick bangs and wondering if it was actually safe to breathe. She certainly didn't remember him doing that glowy-eye thing the last time he helped her.]

[wavewalker]

[ Ian's been watching in silence for the most part, but the way Mika freezes has him worried, and he tenses, hand subtly drifting towards his sword. ]

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

[He abruptly sucks in a breath, shutting his eyes. He saw her stiffen, and if was distracting.]

[So he takes that focus, and pushes everything he has into the spell.]

[Hopefully, it's enough.]

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

[She had closed her own eyes so she wasn't staring into his, that glowing gaze was wildly unnerving and she hadn't wanted a sudden flare of anxiety to ruin things. After all, the last thing she needed while someone was doing delicate work on her ears was her having a fit.

It seemed like it had lasted forever, but probably hadn't taken long at all before something changed. A whisper of hair over cloth, the sound of tense breathing, the rushing of air that had been deafening was now drowned out by the thudding of her heart against her ribs.

After having lost it three months ago, it was as if her hearing was hypersensitive. It took everything she had not to leap up with a howl of delight, though her tail betrayed her by starting to wag. It wasn't long before it was thudding loudly against the back of her seat, and Mika could have cried in relief.]

Oh, thank God.

[wavewalker]

[ He still has an eye on Anders, but he manages a smile ]

Mika? Can you hear me?

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

[He feels that. The sudden rightness where there had been damage. And the magic -- the light -- cuts out abruptly, leaving the mage sagging in his chair.]

[... that was infinitely more difficult than it should have been, now that Justice had returned.]

[]

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

I...I can.

[Whatever that odd light had been, whatever anxiety had seized her at its sudden appearance, all of her worry and concern was obliterated in the sudden flood of relief that had her laughing until she was breathless and left tears stinging her eyes.]

I can hear everything!

[Her ears twitched toward faint sounds at the back of the house, the building settling, the sound of the breeze outside, Ian and Anders' heartbeats and the sounds of their breathing almost hidden beneath her relieved laughter.]

Anders, I could kiss you, you're fantastic!

[wavewalker]

Not to rain on this perfectly happy little moment, but care to explain the glowing?

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

[At the moment, his face is buried in his hands, while he tries to catch his breath.]

[He manages to wave off the offer of the kiss though, before the question gets through his thick blonde head.]

[He shakes his head.]

It's nothing. Just a part of... a part of my magic.

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

[Despite her exuberance she probably would be too embarrassed to follow through. Still, the question attracts her attention.]

Still, it wasn't something that happened the last time. You got a regain recently, then?

[wavewalker]

[ He just sort of watches. Yes, an answer to that would be nice. ]

[justiceis-hard.livejournal.com]

... Something like that. Yes.

[He holds up a hand, shaking his head slightly.]

It isn't anything you need to worry about. If anything, it's only going to help my magic. [Or so he hopes.] But, I'd rather not discuss it, if it's all the same to you.

[notlikethemovie.livejournal.com]

[Mika just shrugs, shaking her head before she plants her cane and pushes herself to her feet.]

If it makes you feel better, then I'll let it alone. It's not like I can judge as it is.

[She claps his shoulder lightly, her tail waving.]

Thanks again, Anders. I owe you for three times now, I think.