ArchivedLogs:Healing Bodies

Healing Bodies
A good start, at least...
Dramatis Personae Rasa, Micah, Jackson, Corey, Kate
In Absentia	13 April 2014 Healings for Rasa. (Part of the Perfectus TP.)
Location <NYC> The Mendel Clinic - Lower East Side
With its sharp crystalline edges and sleek lines knifing up into the sky, this building is one of the most /distinctive/ new additions to the neighborhood. An angular structure in glass and steel, the tall tower has a deceptively slender look to it that is belied by the heavy security as soon as you enter the doors. The front doors are frosted with the Clinic's logo -- a rising sun over a rod of Asclepius -- a motif echoed in many places throughout the building. Visitors to the clinic must first pass through a small mantrap, guarded by some of the Clinic's security guards; once they make it through the metal detector and airlock's double doors they emerge into the much more hospitable lobby. With dark wood floors underneath and comfortable black and red couches at its edges, the high windows give the room an airy feel. A bank of elevators to one side carry visitors to the many destination floors, while the wide welcome desk at the other side is manned by a security guard ready to help point visitors in the right direction. Rasa was dressed carefully and loaded into a van on Sunday morning, trekked all the way from Westchester county to Manhattan while ze was still rather delirious with sleep and painkillers. Ze barely noticed the trip. It was also early enough in the morning still that when ze arrived, the protesters were at a minimum outside. Even so, the teen pulled a blanket over hir head to keep from being seen and recognized as much as possible. A few hours later, Rasa is settled into a room in the secure parts of the Mendel Clinic, hooked back up to monitors and fluids in preparation for what is to come next that day. Ze looks like ze has better days. Ze is snuggled down under the blankets as far as possible, with only hir face and hir hands above the top of the blanket. Ze is still a sickly gray color, with deep circles under hir eyes and sickly hair, but looks slightly better than Friday morning. Ze's been coaxed into eating a little food with the promise of possibly getting hir leg put back together. This coaxing does not seem to have lasted through the car trip, as the smell of the clinic has left hir feeling nauseated again. Now, ze is trying to sleep or at least pretending to sleep, hir eyes are closed, but hir breathing is far from regular. Micah is starting to walk a little more certainly, though he still has a neon orange forearm crutch at the end of each arm as he moves into the Clinic. His gait is more regular, his knee no longer stiff or buckling on the left, though slightly uneven due to keeping his weight shifted further over his right side. His clothes are simple, a navy blue henley tugged on over faded jeans, and his hair only slightly mussed this early in the morning. He knocks gently at the door to Rasa's room, not moving fully through the doorway just yet. "Hi, Rasa, honey. It's Micah. Apologies I didn't come see you earlier, but it's been complicated an' I've had t'stay away from the school. I came as soon as I heard you'd be here, though. May I come in?" Jax has probably been attempting some of the food-coaxing. He'd put together some frushi for breakfast, little fruit sushis pressed together, fresh fruits with coconut rice and plenty enough to share. There's mango lassi, too, these things all standing on a side table. He's sitting beside Rasa's bed, dressed for church in neat black slacks with silver pinstripes, very blue button down, a blue eyepatch with silver dragonfly in it, silver glittery makeup. He's a little bouncy, a small restless jitter to his posture as he waits, phone in hand, glancing up as Micah arrives. "-- Y'had breakfast?" is, of /course/, his first question. Holding a four cup set of coffee with one (not so) mysteriously missing from it, Corey is wearing another cheap plain teeshirt in deep green, and a pair of black khakis ready to have yet more unfortunate things end up on them. Stopping outside the door he's been directed to, he taps a knock against the door frame. "Hello hello. I hope this is the right place?" he says, glancing between Micah, Jax and Rasa curiously. "Sorry we're a little late. Kate had just got off shift so we grabbed a couple coffees with espresso shots poured in." He rather fills the door frame, making it harder to see the shorter woman behind him at least till he steps out of the way. The missing cup from Corey's set of four is clutched greedily in Kate's slender hands, the almost comically large coffee cup with a straw in it to enable her to sip as she walks with a bouncing gait beside Corey. She is dressed in a matching set of pale pink scrubs with a white cardigan for a touch of warmth, plain white sneakers peeking out from the cuffs of her pants. Dark hair is pulled back into a braided bun, and a fresh application of makeup brightens her youthful, rounded features, not entirely hiding the dark circles that have begun to creep their way beneath her tired eyes. "Apologies for that, yeah," Kate says, sidestepping around Corey with a little bit of a joking elbow to his ribs for blocking the view. "Morning all," she says, sipping from her coffee, "Had to finish out my shift before heading over." Rasa peels hir side away from the mattress and rests on hir back when someone knocks, hir eyes taking a moment to unglue themselves and start blinking at the world around them. A small wrinkle appears between hir brows when ze recognizes Micah (or at least his voice) and ze nods slowly to his question. There's a small fumbling with the buttons on the bed, forcing the machine to tilt the top half of the bed upwards, so ze makes a closer approximation of sitting. Hir body starts to tense, a little nervous, hir eyes on Micah, before ze suddenly looks to Jax when he speaks and then over to the aforementioned food. Ze grabs hir lassi and pulls the straw out, leaving it on the tray with the cup cover and starts sipping from the liquid. Hir gaze gratefully locks on Corey and Kate when they enter, brows darting upward as ze studies them. "Think it's the right place. Are... here to...?" There's a click-step click-step as Micah moves into the room, combined footsteps and crutchtips meeting linoleum. He slips into a chair next to Jax, freeing up a hand to squeeze at the other man's upper arm in greeting. "Had a bagel. Didn't want...breakfast places. On Sundays, just right now." After this, he brightens his features to offer a small smile to Rasa. "Hello, honey. Um...I don't know how much everyone's told you 'bout what went on. I can give a quick little summary once everyone's in here. But basically I'm here...other than t'visit with you. T'see what y'wanted done. Since the leg that we're lookin' t'help you with still is...here, really. What y'wanted done about it. 'Cause it is...yours. An' that should /be/ your choice." He doesn't continue with the whole story all at once, trying to be a little bit easy on the teen with hir recent trauma, but pressed for time all the same. "I know that was maybe confusin'. I can explain more if y'want?" "Kate's the healer I was talkin' t'you about, honey-honey," Jax explains quietly to Rasa, tucking a leg up beneath him as the others enter. "Corey helps her work. -- Mornin', both'a you." He gives them all a smile, quick and warm, and gestures to the table where his large container of frushi sits. "I brung breakfast. If y'like fruits." He falls into quiet when Micah starts speaking, shutting off his phone and slipping it away into his pocket. "Kate -- can prob'ly explain y'better 'bout your possible options. With -- what she may be able t'do for you." "We're here to do what we can for you, yes," Corey says with a reassuring smile. Inclining his head, he offers the extra coffees to Micah and Jax before taking one for himself, the slow steady wave of health settling into the cells of those around him. He does look somewhat confused as Micah points out what his leg is, and he reassesses the crutches and his friend's leg. "Okay, this sounds a bit more complicated..." He glances to Kate with a raised brow and a shrug. "Will explanations help, or is this something we probably don't want to know?" he queries Micah. Kate's smile is warm and apologetic, lowering the coffee cup and nodding in agreement with Jax and Micah as she listens. "Hello. Rasa, yes?" Kate greets, her expression gentle, though she keeps her distance, "I'm a nurse over at Bellevue, hence the uniform. But, my mutation lets me sort of speed along healing beyond what would normally work." She pauses, and listens to the explanation from Micah, head tilting in confusion, blinking a few times, "I... don't think I quite understand?" She takes another sip of her coffee, as though that might clear things up, "Might take you up on the fruit-stuff in a bit. Kinda surviving on coffee for now." The young nurse turns her attention back to Rasa, "I can take a look, and let you know how we'll be able to help. I do need to be in contact with your skin to be able to help, if that is okay?" Kate's voice is calm, soft, and reassuring as she speaks. She shakes her head a bit uncertainly about the explanation, "I... don't know how much an explanation would help. But if you think it might help?" Rasa begins shaking hir head, just a little bit at first, and then more emphatically, hir gaze more on Micah's chin than his eyes. Ze stills and stops, hir breathing a little ragged as ze tries to calm hirself with deep breaths, many of which get stuck like hir ribcage is in the way. Ze looks from Micah to Jax, then to Kate, waiting, hir lips pressed into a fine line. Ze sighs and turns to put hir drink down once more. "Sebastian came by and told me, but if you need to explain it to them, you may," ze is quiet and hir words take a while to come through, given the grogginess and the painkillers ze is on. Ze looks to Jax, then back to Kate. "You should know that touching my skin initiates telepathic contact. I will try to stay out of your mind, but there will be some interaction." "I'll...keep it as simple as I can, sugar, t'let y'know what we're dealin' with." Micah's hand raises a fraction, as if he means to pat the teen's or hold it, then thinks better of it and returns it to resting on his lap. "I'm also tellin' y'all this t'warn you, since you're folks with special abilities an' /work/ with folks with special abilities. The people takin' folks off the street are called the Perfectus Church. They're lead by a sort of...twisted faith healer. Who is takin' parts from folks an' usin' some kind of layin' on hands ability by which he makes 'em materialise on other folks. I went into the church t'try t'get information t'help...rescue our missin' folks. T'learn whatever I could. Y'may not even know this about me, Kate, but I have a congenital absence of my left leg, transfemoral. So it worked for me to... They called m'bluff on actually wantin' 'em t'do somethin' about it, not three days after I went there the first time. So Rasa's leg is.../on/ me, presently. If y'needed for any reason t'have that for healin', or if Rasa /preferred/ t'have it...back. 'Stead of whatever other process. I'm more than willin' to accommodate that." Micah pauses, knowing how strange this all sounds, especially spilled all at once. "An' also, by goin' into this place, I learned the cult leader is John Sublime. His centres are funnelin' 'im information 'bout people with abilities, who they are, what their habits are, what their abilities are. So /do not/ go t'any of those centres. An' don't let anyone y'know go, neither." Jackson takes the coffee from Corey with a smile of thanks, though he sets it down on the table; instead of drinking it he reaches to squeeze gently at Rasa's shoulder (carefully over clothing to prevent skin contact) as ze takes those ragged breaths. He's quiet through all this explanation, his hand falling back to his lap after a time. "Kate helped -- kinda regrow me from a /pretty/ terrible state after the Lofts. And s'got some help --" His hand unfolds towards Corey, and his eye flicks towards the back wall though Joshua can't be seen at the moment. "-- at the moment, too. Might could -- do some good for you, too. Maybe not quick, or easy, but." He falls back into quiet, again. Another light squeeze at Rasa's shoulder before /he/ reaches for a piece of frushi. Strawberry. Wincing at the description and cursing under his breath, Corey shakes his head. "Bastard playing on people like that. Thanks for the heads up though, I've been keeping a better watch out lately anyway." He looks a little haunted then shakes his head. "Well, I'm glad that everyone is here, either way. Still, there is reason for optimism at least. Have you been able to keep food down? Keep your energy up after all, give your body some more material to work with." He's seen people healed up, and how it's affected them. Kate nods slowly at the response from Rasa, "It's okay. I've worked with telepaths before. There may be some additional disorientation, if you can see what is going on with diagnostics, just as a bit of a heads up." At the further explanation, Kate looks from Rasa, to Micah, to Jax, the color draining slightly from her face as the story is told. She leans against Corey's side for stability, mostly because he is conveniently there and strong enough to deal with her lean. "I am so, so sorry," Kate says the last word in Spanish, taking a long pull from her coffee, shaking her head, "That is sick. And I am so sorry this happened to you. To all of you. I want to help as best I can, however I can." She shakes her head, looking between Micah and Rasa, gauging the size difference, "Um, I... I think it may be better starting fresh." She takes a deep breath, slowly approaching Rasa's bedside, eying Micah's leg with a touch of apprehension, "I don't know what else this nutter did, but I don't want to put the both of you through even more of an ordeal." Kate glances towards Corey apologetically, but nods in agreement to the food idea, offering a smile of apology to Rasa, "The healing I do can be a bit draining, since it's a bit like I'm encouraging your body to heal itself better with its own materials." Rasa cringes through the story, hir face darkening, eyes closing, and head tucking downward. Ze needs a minute before ze is able to draw a full breath, swallowing down some nausea. "Haven't been able to eat... much since it happened," ze admits, looking down and away. "Had some yesterday. I... apologize if that makes this worse." Ze swallows hard again and tries to brighten, hir gaze wavering when ze gives a tiny, tiny smile to Micah. "It's... okay. You keep it. I ... I don't want it." Ze then pulls a blanket over hir hand and holds it out toward Jax, biting hir lip. Micah winces away a little, shoulders curled in as he takes in how hard the story is for Rasa to hear. He finally takes the offered extra coffee from Corey with a mumble-whispered thanks. He just holds it, not drinking from it. Kate's pronouncement that 'starting fresh' would be better, followed by Rasa telling him that he should /keep/ the leg...is a little much to process. He closes his eyes for a moment, nodding a tiny bobble-nod. "Okay. Okay, honey, if that's what y'wanna do. I'm..." He looks over at Kate with this, eyes opened once more. "If, for any reason, what you're able t'do seems not enough. I ain't rescindin' the offer. Just in case." He looks back to Rasa, finally reaching over to touch a clothed portion of hir arm softly. "It ain't easy t'eat when somethin' like this happens. Your stomach protests harder'n the rest of you can, an' when the rest of you /can't/. That ain't none of your fault, sugar. But...after this. Most folks as I've seen healed with Kate an' Corey. They get real hungry then. So everythin' should be okay on that front. You're doin' what y'need t'do, sugar. They got you on IV's to cover what needs coverin'." He glances between the people in the room before looking back to Rasa. "D'you want me here for this? 'Cause I can go wait outside. If y'want more privacy. Or I can stay, if y'want more...people." "World does get a little bit -- gruesome sometimes." Jackson's nose crinkles up as he watches Kate's reaction to the story, his brows rumpling. He scoots his chair just a little bit closer to Rasa's bedside, reaching his hand for hirs when ze holds it out. His fingers curl around hir covered ones, the warmth of his skin easily felt even through the blanket. He squeezes, gentle and firm as he settles in at hir side. "It's okay. We'll make sure you're /both/ took care of through this whole process. Whatever food an' rest y'all need. It might take time but -- y'all'll have folks here lookin' after you." His teeth drag against his lip, eye briefly shifting over to Micah, his brow furrowing deeper. But then just smoothing out with a slow exhale. "No, it's okay. It's more for your benefit, Rasa. It's part of why I'm here, I'm not much of a healer in comparison, but something about what I can do makes it easier for you and her. Maybe you'll feel up for it afterwards," Corey offers with a warm smile, though he keeps back to avoid touching the teen by any accident. "If there's anything that you would find more appetizing just let us know. Fruit is tasty and healthy, but sometimes a nice sugary doughnut will make all the world of difference." He offers Micah a reassuring pat, but doesn't say anything, after all what is there to say. "Whenever everyone is ready, maybe it would be better for Kate to start. Hey Jackson, is the cot still up in the break room? Want to be able to get Kate there if she needs a rest after this." "It's okay. Totally understand, Rasa," Kate says gently, grabbing one of the backless rolling chairs doctors are so fond of, wheeling it over towards the bedside, and resting her hand on top of the covers within reach. "When you're ready, go ahead and take my hand. You might feel a little bit woozy or dizzy, and might see some medical diagrams, if your telepathy kicks in. That's how my abilities visualize," Kate explains calmly. Corey's concern, Kate smiles slightly, shaking her head, "We'll all be just fine. Just fine." She crinkles her nose slightly at Jackson's statement about gruesomeness, shaking her head and sighing softly, "Gruesome I can deal with. I'm an ER nurse. This is just..." She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath and smiling warmly, "It may take a few days, but we'll get you through this." "It's..." Rasa still tries to finds words, but it's hard. Ze starts to look ashamed or scared, perhaps sickened, but guilty too. Ze inhales then exhales, wets hir lip. "What he took from me... it's gone. Lost forever. Destroyed right in front of me. What you have... it's not me. He had to create that. He couldn't have just... teleported it in out of nowhere. That's new... different. I don't have any claim. Don't want to. Would rather just...start fresh. See what I end up with." Ze swallows hard at all the talk of food and looks to Micah. "Maybe you gotta do what you do best and make something good out of a really shitty situation, okay? Don't get rid of it unless you don't want it." Rasa looks over at Kate when she moves over to sit by hir, nodding as ze starts explaining. "Okay. I think I'm ready. Um. You guys don't all have to stay with me, but...it is nice. Maybe, for a while?" Ze tries to look brave, hir skin lightening a couple shades, but there's a tremble of nervousness when ze takes Kate's hand. Kate can probably tell immediately that ze is scared and nauseated and tired and stressed, but just a little bit hopeful. Internally, ze still sports some bruises, things that did not turn up during hir initial, more life saving scan, but most particularly, one of hir lungs is weakened, where someone reached in and squeezed the air out of it. The shoulder-pat from Corey earns the man a small smile from Micah before he turns back to listen to Kate and Rasa. He listens quietly until both are done speaking. "That makes perfectly good sense, honey. I just...wasn't sure how you'd feel. I wanted you t'have all the options y'could. Don't feel pressured either way. /That/ part is your choice. If you /don't/ want anythin' t'do with it after, that's fine with me. I'll...what /I/ do after that's complicated for me, too. But you don't gotta worry yourself 'bout that none. That's on me." He pats at the teen's arm. "Of course we'll stay, honey. I wasn't gonna leave the buildin' even if you /didn't/ want me in the room." On Rasa's other side, Jackson just stays quiet, now, letting the others discuss what needs to be discussed. For his part he simply sits, eye flicking between them and his leg slowly curling up to tuck underneath himself. His hand stays in Rasa's, squeezing again gently when ze starts to look guilty, his thumb rubbing over the blanket, against hir knuckles. "We'll stay," is all he says, at the end of this. "Right here with you, long's you need." As the magic starts to happen, Corey relaxes slightly and offers Jax and Micah a reassuring smile. "So far so good gents," he says and pours out a cup of water for Kate and another for Rasa and gets out of the way. Leaning against the back wall that Jax's eyes had gone towards before, he settles in to wait. His hands do come together as he silently offers up a prayer that it will work out. Of course he'll also gladly accept mutant power and divine assistance either way. Kate closes her eyes, fingers curling around Rasa's hand gently, her fingers warm - the touch comes with a gentle cool tingle. Her mind is a wash of concern, worry, and fatigue, falling quiet beneath a series of diagrams and notes, overlaid and annotated with colors to demonstrate the damage done. "Ok. I'm going to help patch up your lung, first," Kate says quietly, fingers squeezing gently, "Get you breathing a little more comfortably." Indeed, as she focuses, Rasa's breathing should become easier, and the coloration on the chart seems to fade away. She concentrates, brow furrowing as she falls quiet, the mental diagram focusing in on Rasa's leg, "Ok. I..." she stumbles verbally, her focus bringing with it a tingling rush of sensation, bones, muscles, nerves re-knitting and growing where they were severed. "This might take a bit. But I... we can definitely do this," she falls into silence, slowly encouraging and working through the healing process.