Sickness? No thanks

[Alyssia]

The girl was shocked when Devin quickly began to figure out why she would not take the blanket. Did he truly have so much money that he did not have to worry about a blanket? Though with the snow there was no way it would stay dry to keep her from getting worse. Each time her body shook from the cough she felt worse seeing Devin uncomfortable. She tried to get enough air to respond shocking her head gently trying to calm his fears.

“It is not that anything is wrong with the blanket. It's just, like I said about the medicine I have no money to pay for such an item. Not a place to keep it dry with the cold here now. I'm afraid it would do me no good,” Alyssia explained and looked at the older man gently, “I'm sorry I do not mean to make your home somewhere you are uncomfortable because of me.”

The girl gently slid down so that she was standing gingerly taking the medicine making sure not to touch Devin. She did not want her illness to be passed to the man if she could help it. Her body shakes once again only a yawn appeared to over taken her that time rather than a cough. Rubbing her eyes the girl was quickly running out of the energy her previous sleep had provided. It was a relief when Devin agreed to let her work for him in exchange for the medicine. A tired yet sincere smile appeared on the young teens face.

“Thank you for allowing me to work off my debt. I will do anything you wish of me. Just let me know when I need to arrive,” Alyssia explained and bowed at the waist.

Though it was not like her to bow, it somehow just felt right. She could not explain why even if he were to ask her. The teen did not like having to bow to anyone because it was a sign of ownership where she was from. But this time the feeling was one of respect for the young doctor before her. The girl jerked back upright when Devin suggested he could buy her a room.

“Oh no! Please I have bothered you enough with the medicine. I could never ask you to spend even more money on me. You have done more than I could have ever asked. Thank you for seeing me, even though I should have been honest about the money to start with,” Alyssia explained to hopefully clear any confusion for him.

[Devin]

When Alyssia claimed that the blanket wouldn’t do her any good, Devin furrowed his brow for a moment before he informed her in no uncertain terms, “A wet blanket would still be better than no blanket at all. It would at least keep your clothes dry”, he added and sighed inwardly because her continued refusal to accept his help didn’t make any sense to him. He was giving her free stuff without expecting anything in return (which was a small miracle, everything considered), and she just turned it down?

He had never dealt with such a situation before, and he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do!

Maybe, he thought as he watched her slide down, he should just force her to take the blanket and threaten to call the Elements if she didn’t take it? No, he decided a moment later, that probably wouldn’t work either. She’d probably see right through his ploy because you normally only called the Elements when some sort of crime was taking place!

When Alyssia asked him to let her know when she needed to arrive, he furrowed his brow some more. At first, he was tempted to tell her to come back when she was well again because that cough of hers made her a bit uncomfortable, but if she slept outside, in the cold, without a blanket, she might never get better, and he wanted her to get better. For that reason, he told her, “Come back tomorrow! You can tidy up my storage room a bit and make sure that nobody steals my equipment and my medicines.”

As he waited for her reaction, he mentally congratulated himself on his great idea. Alyssia didn’t seem to want any free stuff, but if he disguised it as “work”, she might be okay with it. It was warm in his storage room, she would not be able to infect his patients or him as easily, and rolling up bandages wasn’t particularly hard work. He wouldn’t make her do more until she had fully recovered though – because she needed a bit of rest more than anything else right now!

And if Alyssia was unable to get chicken soup – either because she was too poor to afford any or couldn’t cook wherever she lived – he would put a pot full of it on the table and claim that it was leftover chicken soup that he had given to his patients and that would be thrown away if she didn’t want it. He doubted that she would say no in such a case!

When she bowed to him, his violet eyes widened for a moment, and then he grinned because he quite liked it when people bowed to him (he was a rather vain young man, after all) and – bowed as well. A moment later, he straightened himself again and told her something that surprised him a bit, to be honest, because he wasn’t usually that nice.

“It’s okay. I understand why you weren’t honest with me from the start. Being poor can be quite embarrassing. Is there anything else that I can do for you before you go, by the way?” he added, momentarily wondering if he was growing soft. He normally never pitied other people, but happily took advantage of them and relieved them of their precious nels. He couldn’t look the other way when a young girl whose childhood seemed to suck even more than his own childhood had sucked stood in front of him though.

Everybody deserved a happy childhood!

[Alyssia]

The girl was surprised when he insisted that the blanket wet would keep her warmer than no blanket at all. She had never thought about it that way. Alyssia was confused as it made more sense in her mind that the water would soak through the blanket, and in turn soak her clothes as well. The girl listened closely as the man continued to explain to her what she could do in order to work off the money she now owed him. The teen felt very lucky to have found a doctor willing to work with her. The Aukari was not one who wanted to leave debts unpaid. Debts meant favors forever to be repaid and that would leave her at risk of illegal activity. No. She would not go back to life; the girl will make a new path.

“If I may, wouldn’t the water seep through the blanket and still soak my clothes?” Alyssia asked tilting her head.

It was clear that the girl had no real knowledge of what would keep her in good health. She only knew what to do from what the knights had taught her. Of course that knowledge was little and could have been very wrong. The girl pulled her shirt up above her nose and coughed gently trying to keep from bothering Devin more than she already had. His aversion when she coughed without being able to control it had not slipped past her sight. Clearing her throat before moving her shirt down, the girl looked at the man before her. He wanted her back the next morning to begin working in the storage room. Nodding with a smile, the girl was happy with the arrangement they had managed to come up with.

“Yes sir, I will be here early tomorrow. Um I don’t want to be rude but. Is the offer for me to take a blanket still open?” Alyssia asked looking down, “I will work for as long as I need to pay off the blanket and the medicine.”

[Devin]

“Umm“, the Mortalborn made when Alyssia asked him about the water seeping through the blanket. For a moment, he was at a loss. He had never been outside in the rain with a blanket before because he’d always had a home, even though the home that he had shared with his parents had sucked, and he didn’t know much about physics and other pointless sciences either. A moment later, he looked utterly confident again though, because the opposite just didn’t feel good and proclaimed, “It will probably take a while for the water to reach your clothes, besides, most of the time, it doesn’t rain. If it’s just cold, a blanket will be great!” he finished and smiled brilliantly at her.

Alyssia had refused to let him buy her a house even though he didn’t make such an offer to everybody, and she had also refused to let him rent a room for her, but he would not allow her to refuse a blanket. It was starting to get personal, and besides, he really, really didn’t want to freeze her to death (or go from just suffering from a simple case of bronchitis to actual pneumonia). He wanted her to have a nice life and stop coughing and having bronchitis and being hungry and such!

When Alyssia agreed to come back the following trial, he struggled to suppress a grin because she hadn’t seen through his ploy. He would make sure that the best chicken soup ever would be waiting for her in the storage room when she arrived for her “job”!

(That would turn into a real job when she was completely healthy again.)

And what more, she seemed to have changed her mind in regard to the blanket. He had already started to wonder if he was losing his touch because he had spent too much time doctoring and attending university and not enough time manipulating people, lying and deceiving, but apparently, he could still do it. He was still a master of persuasion, which came as a huge relief!

“Of course, the offer is still open!” he told her. This time, he actually grinned because he was so happy. “We can get your blanket right now, before you leave, and you can help me and tidy up my storage room in exchange for both the blanket and the medicine”, he told her and briefly wondered if he should repeat the offer of a house or at least a room and claim that it was actually part of their deal. But she would likely realize that a house was worth more than occasionally helping a doctor out and subsequently refuse it again. It would be best not to test his luck!

So, he just gestured for Alyssia to follow him to the room on the other side of the hallway so that she would be able to get her nice and warm blanket, provided that there was nothing else that she wanted from him.

[Avalon]

Review Rewards

Devin

Name: Devin

Points awarded: 15

Knowledge:
Medicine: Put on protective gloves in case the patient suffers from something contagious
Medicine: Diagnosing someone with bronchitis
Medicine: Inhaling steam can open the airways
Medicine: Clear mucus is better than green or yellow mucus
Medicine: Getting enough rest is important for the healing process
Resistance: Bronchitis (a respiratory disease)
Resistance: Covering your mouth and nose helps against respiratory diseases
Persuasion x1
Deception x1
Storytelling x1

Renown: 5 for helping a homeless patient

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriate to level

Alyssia

Name: Alyssia

Points awarded: 15

Knowledge:
Negotiation: going back and forth on payment
Rhetoric: asking hypothetical questions
Rhetoric: describing a cough

Non-Skills:
Bronchitis: a type of sickness
Devin: has violet eyes
Devin: a doctor?
Desnind: to the south of Scalvoris
Desnind: a city in the trees
Flutterbus: a moth that carries people around
Sweet wine Woods: hides a magical tree

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriate to level

Notes:
For a serious topic about sickness/homelessness of a child, this was a very lovely read. I'm fairly familiar with Doctor Devin and his shenanigans but this was my first review of Alyssia so I was super excited to dive into the story. It took me a minute to figure out that this was set an arc ago! I'm happy you two finished it thought!

Devin, as always, is written with wit and flair. He always has this underlying need to help that I really think contrasts with what he wants other people to see of him. He always has a twist in his thinking of how it makes him look good....but it just seems like he wants to be helpful. It's such fun, complex writing!

Alyssia is a lovely character and written beautifully. She has the curiosity and uncertainty of her age (written so well- it's sometimes hard to convey those traits realistically) and in comes Doctor Devin with all his adorable quirkiness to save the trial! You did a great job showcasing her unease with expressing her situation and I, as the writer, felt for her.

The relationship between the two characters is really well-conceived and written. I laughed when Devin just offered to buy her a house! That's a very Devin-like thing to do.

Great job both! I look forward to seeing more stories with these two!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!

Avalon