A Chance Encounter...

[Ryn'Dhal]

A world, near the edge of Silver Space, Ryn'Dhal found himself in the Mask, touching down near one of the major cities. BB unit trilling merrily along side, the masked Knight set forth into the hustle and bustle.

He'd sent a missive ahead of himself, seeking to meet up with fellow Knight of the Silver Order, [member=Teynara Jeralyr]. He had some notes of symptoms of an ailment he'd recently encountered, and he couldn't make sense of it. He sought a fellow healer, one with more experience than himself, to hopefully shed some light on the subject.

A small, quiet cantina was the location the young woman had designated for their meeting. Inside, he was met with skeptical stares, given his attire. Any who could sense him though the Force would be more than sufficiently confused, as his Light aura conflicted with the dark, somewhat imposing garb he wore.

Seeking a quiet corner to sit, he ordered some finger-foods and tea to share with his colleague when she would arrive. It'd been far too long... years in fact, since he last saw one of his earliest teachers in the Healing Arts. How much he has changed since those early days....

And how much would change in a very short while, the feline-humanoid couldn't begin to imagine....

[member=Darth Ignus]​

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Ryn'Dhal"] | [member="Darth Ignus"]

Location: Morellia, Morellia System, Wild Space

It had been here idea to touch down here, on the very edge of Jedi territory, so far from the Core Worlds that it would be near-impossible to travel any further without heading deep into wholly uncharted territory. That they might have met back on Voss was certainly possible, even sensible, but Teynara found herself more than a little perturbed by recent events, and had made a habit of travelling further than usual to engage in her practice. Further away from the war, closer to where there are people in real need.

Besides, Leos had made a point of keeping operations far away from the major factions of the Galaxy, and the blonde woman was starting to see his point: the closer they got to them, the more likely they were to be embroiled in a war that had nothing to do with either of them, one they both agreed needed to end. And we won't achieve that by being there on the front lines, at least not yet. Maybe that time would come, but it wasn't yet.

To have been contacted by a member of the Order with a request for assistance...that hadn't been something she'd felt able to turn down, particularly since she knew the person in question. As far removed from Jedi politics as Teynara knew that she'd become, it still behooved her to be civil, and respond accordingly. And I cannot be a Jedi or even a Healer if I refuse to give aid when someone asks it of me. To that end, she'd sent a return message to Ryn, asking him to meet her planetside, in a local cantina that she'd taken note of while here: somewhere quiet, but not so remote as to be suspicious.

The Healer could sense the other Jedi as soon as she came into proximity of the Cantina: his presence within the Force wasn't concealed or shielded, as had become common practice among many of the Jedi. Instead, he had left himself open to her perceptions, as if making it evident that he was there, and waiting for her. Not surprising, since he got there first.

Entering the Cantina herself, the blonde had a few moments of trickier navigation, her hoverchair having to be carefully steered to be able to move past the many chairs and tables that were arrayed within. Places like this really aren't designed for people like me, she mused, and not for the first time. She could have turned the repulsorlifts up to a higher power output and floated over them, but that simply drew even more attention, and she had no desire to do that. And so I'll just try to avoid knocking anyone over.

She spotted Ryn quickly - naturally he'd found himself a corner spot, somewhere that faced the door, so he might see her enter, and be able to watch out for any trouble that might enter. And means he can sit without having his back to the door, so there's no chance of anyone surprising him from behind. It said a lot about the Jedi Order that such common measures were taken even around civilians: the pervasive suspicion for their own safety remained even in a place far removed from war.

"I see you're well prepared for me, Ryn," the young woman observed archly as her chair approached where the other Jedi was sitting, noting the spread of food and drink arrayed on the table in front of him. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. It can take a while for me to get around these days," she added with an amused smile, watching the masked Jedi with bright blue eyes that mirrored her pleasure at seeing him again.

Whether he would be pleased to see her remained to be seen. As a colleague and a friend, perhaps. But I didn't come alone, and he may not be pleased by that. Few Jedi found themselves pleased to see a Sith, after all. We shall have to wait and see what happens when Leos arrives...

 

[Ryn'Dhal]

He saw the young woman, though a few years his senior, enter the cantina. He stood as she approached, giving a polite bow in greeting. When she had last seen him, he did not tower so far above her. His voice, though, remained ever the same. Soothing, and almost melodic in nature. He had already moved a seat away, making room for his compatriot before she'd arrived, and he would return her statement of preparedness with a laugh as she joined him. "Well, I felt that there was no reason to keep this meeting as strictly business. I hold you in too high of regard to not wish to commune and hear of how you have been, my friend."

No, they were not close, but that was something Ryn'Dhal was saddened by. Teynara was a brilliant mind, and a wonderful soul. He would be horribly remiss to not show her the appreciation she deserves for taking time out of her busy schedule to meet with him. As he spoke, he began pouring each of them a glass of tea, as the little BB unit idling between the two of them began chittering, in an attempt to get the blonde woman's attention.

When Teynara would acknowledge the droid, she would see a datapad being offered. On it she would find information about a trio of patients, aged between 15 and 45, all males, and all of near-human species. Their symptoms were vaguely similar, with only the minutest of variances. High fevers, oozing sores, and horrible joint pain and fatigue. The sores were the most disconcerting to the young Knight, as the other symptoms alone hinted at some influenza virus, but the sores hinted at the possibility something worse.

Sliding a glass to Teynara, Ryn reached up to remove his helmet, placing his cowl over his head to hide his feline nature to those at a distance. Teynara's close vantage yield a full view of those keen, intelligent eyes like molten pools of gold, and if she were keen to inspect further, what looked like small scars about his face, largely concealed by his fur.

"I could not discern the exact nature of their affliction.... all I could do was treat the symptoms and provide comfort.... the young ones immune system eventual resolved the issue itself, but the older two were still ailing when I was relieved by a replacement healer...." he started explaining, before taking a sip of his tea. "I was curious as to whether you may or may not have had some insight. Your experience in this field dwarfs my own."

The glass was returned to the table as he turned his golden eyes square at Teynara, attention rapt to take in any wisdom she possessed to share.

[member=Teynara Jeralyr] | [member=Darth Ignus]​

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

[member="Ryn'Dhal"] | [member="Darth Ignus"]

Teynara waited patiently while Ryn poured them both a glass of tea - something done in a somewhat exotic style, where hot drinks were served in slender curved transparent glasses, rather than the clunky metallic cups used in most places. You had to hold the very top of the glass to stop yourself from being burned, but even so, she actually found that she preferred such a method. There was something...refined about it, particularly since each serving provided less tea, so you weren't encouraged to drink quickly.

The droid that Ryn had brought along was certainly a hyperactive little thing, not at all inclined to give them time to enjoy a relaxed drink and a friendly conversation, judging by the amount of beeping and chirping it was doing in her direction, as it had been since she had pulled her hoverchair into view. Needs some proper behavioural protocols installed, she thought, staring at the mechanical being with narrowed eyes. She didn't have a whole lot of time for droids in general, but this one... The sooner she figured out what it wanted, the sooner it would stop being a bother, hopefully.

She half-turned to ask Ryn a question when she noted that he'd removed his mask and helmet - something he very rarely did in public, as she recalled. She'd never asked the reasons for that, but had always presupposed that he'd been targeted by rather considerable xenophobia in his earlier days, and was reluctant to see a repeat. Beings with helmets on were fairly common within the Galaxy, so few questions tended to be asked of them with regards to their reasons for wearing them. Ryn was clearly capable of breathing an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and there was no threat to him at present, so Tey could only surmise that he wore it for a third purpose: concealment.

"If you're treating the symptoms, you'll probably have a better insight into the cause than I do," she said briskly, looking into those strange golden feline eyes, so very alien and yet, in some ways, very human in their expressiveness. Not bothering to look at the droid still chittering away at her, she reached over and took the datapad that it was proferring, lowering her eyes long enough to do a quick scan of the text written there. "The immune response is encouraging, at least. You're only going to have to worry about the immuno-compromised and very old, that being the case." She offered a faint smile. "Makes triage a little easier, doesn't it?"

Taking a sip of tea, she grimaced momentarily at the bitter tastes of the leaves. It was actually very good tea, but she hadn't expected it to lack the sweetness she'd become accustomed to with such things. Next time, ask what it is first! As far as Ryn's consult was concerned, however, at least it didn't seem particularly dangerous - as he'd no doubt figured, most of the symptoms were fairly benign and common to a couple of dozen different ailments. The sores are the bigger problem.

"Any chance the sores are lymph-related?", she asked, raising an eyebrow. The Lymph Nodes were responsible for producing Lymphocytes, one of the body's natural immune mechanisms, so swelling or blistering tended to indicate severe infection or inflammation. "It's either that or you're looking at a skin disease with internal symptoms, all of which can be explained by an over-active immune response," the blonde continued. Fever and fatigue, in particular, were pretty normal symptoms for any disease, so it was always best to focus on the odd man out. "Doesn't sound pleasant either way."

 

[Ryn'Dhal]

"Lymphatic or Immune-system.... Two avenues I genuinely didn't stop to consider...." He murmured, his eyes out of focus as he contemplated. She was right, and he felt a fool for having not thought of it himself. But, again, this is why one had colleagues to call upon. Nodding slightly, as if to shake himself back from where his mind had wandered, be took his own glass, and took a draw from it. He was never one for overtly sweet flavors, so the tea was ideal to him. But, being one who tended to primarily dine alone, it did not occur to him to pick something of a little more generalized palatability.

The droid, however, had resumed making some noises, until Ryn'Dhal reached down, placing a hand firmly on the small droids.... 'head'? It turned in the gloved grasp, looking up at it's master, giving a low tone of questioning. "You, my rambunctious little friend, need to enhance your calm. We are not on Voss, nor are we on Soceras. Be calm, be not rude, in another persons house." A low tone of apology was emitted, as the droid more or less 'sulked' it's way beneath the table, seeking to hide slightly out of sight. Not horribly unlike a small child, embarrassed at being scolded, especially in front of Ryn'Dhal's guest.

Shaking his head slightly, he offered an apologetic smile to Teynara. "He is a sweet droid, just.... sheltered. He doesn't get out of the ship much." he'd explain, as he took the datapad back from her. He'd tap a few keys, sending a transmission to his K1 unit aboard the Mask, who'd set about sending a message along to the medical crew working with the patients about the new potential treatment path to try to explore and to start applicable testing. Having finished that, the datapad was set aside, no longer to be a distraction, as he returned his attention to his guest.

"On to, perhaps, less critical subjects." A soft, soothing chuckle was offered, as glass was brought to draw from once more. Setting it down, a slight nod would be given, as subject line came to mind. "I hope you do not mind, but I adopted your exercise from long ago, using a sedative for teaching to expunge toxins from ones self. It was so effective when you performed it with us, that I felt it likely the best method to work with my own Padawan." Imitation is a form of flattery, but if it works, why not? He smiled, his long canines poking out of his mouth just slightly, standing out in a stark contrast against that soot-black fur, before chuckling slightly. "Yeah... they assigned a Padawan to me. Thankfully, she still has lessons on Voss for now, hence her absence at present."

"And, what all has been going on in your life, as of recently, my friend?" He asked, genuine curiosity in his voice, and his mannerisms, as he shifted forward slightly, as if preparing to drink in her words as she spoke them.

[member="Teynara Jeralyr"]​