Destiny Has to Start Somewhere, Right? [Meric Nadun]

[Vina Zomo]

[member="Meric Nadun"]

Vina felt her face heat up again. "I'm not....I'm not afraid. I just didn't want to seem..." She hesitated, thinking of the right word to use. "Pushy." As Meric put the cards away, she walked over and took her seat beside him. Like last time, the healer sat close but not too close.

Clutching the container, she considered his comment, nodding. It was as if he had read her mind -- or at the very least, her body language. "I try to avoid coming to conclusions about people," the woman told him, her voice soft. "It's my job to help them, not judge them. But you're right; I have so many questions it's not even funny." She laughed. "But I'll save those for in a minute. Right now, it's only fair I explain what this is." Vina held up the container for emphasis, though she quickly put it back down when it occurred to her how foolish the notion was.

The Devaronian opened the lid, tilting it forward so that Meric could see the light blue ointment inside. She let the scent of mint permeate the air for a moment, before shutting it again. "This particular mixture doesn't have a name yet -- I had to make a special recipe for your burns." She cleared her throat before continuing. "I won't divulge all of the ingredients, but I made sure that they had no association with Bacta or kolto. The chances of you reacting violently to them is...well, it's a chance so small it rounds to zero.

"Anyway, this unfortunately won't remove your scars and burns -- the fact that they are many years old means that those particular markings are permanent. However, this should replenish enough skin elasticity that you won't be bleeding every time you move. I also threw in a few herbs which will promote good health, at least for the duration of your treatment."

Vina pursed her lips, tucking the left lock of hair behind her ear. It fell back out. So much for that. "I say 'should' because, to be frank, I don't quite know how this will affect you. I've never come across someone whose body rejects so many treatments. I don't even know how many treatments you will need until you are able to live without it. And, like I said, this came from the conjurings of my mind -- no one else has used it." The healer squirmed, a sheepish look on her face. "I hope you don't mind being a guinea pig for this. But in all honesty...I didn't know what else to do."

She turned her eyes to look at him, hoping Meric would understand where she was coming from. The Devaronian knew how sensitive some people were to being what they considered "test subjects", like those in Meric's predicament. Especially those in his predicament.

 

[Kamon's OOC]

The nerves she felt almost made her seem rather cute. In fact, he had to fight really hard not to smile, just a tiny bit, at what she had to say, and the way she was acting. That would have been a first for him, though. He hadn't smiled since before his accident. For the longest of times the pain had been so great that he couldn't smile no matter how much he wanted to. Nowadays he didn't have a reason to smile. It was all suffering and survival until this point in time.

When she opened the container, her leaned a bit closer for a good look. Blue was an interesting color choice. He supposed she chose that color because it seemed to signify healing more than, say, red or black did. Red symbolizing blood and black being death. Those wouldn't be the best of choices for a healing poultice. The minty smell was actually somewhat pleasant. It didn't smell sterile like everything else did, and for that he was grateful.

"I don't mind. If it helps then it's worth it. If not, well, a lot of things haven't worked for me."

He leaned back and looked at her.

"Would you like me to remove my clothing so you can apply it?"

[member="Vina Zomo"]

 

[Vina Zomo]

[member="Meric Nadun"]

Vina ducked her head, relieved that Meric didn't mind. In fact, she was about to say as much when he went on to ask if he should, well, strip. His frankness threw the healer off-guard, and for a moment she didn't know what to say. Aware that she looked like a rabbit caught in a spotlight, Vina blinked a couple of times before finally responding. "That would be nice, yes. Just..." Her face flushed again. "Leave your underwear on. I'm afraid we aren't yet at that level of familiarity."

Oh, why did I have to say that?! Seriously?! "I'm afraid we aren't yet at that level of familiarity"?! If she could, Vina would have stuffed her foot in her mouth. She had never been so awkward around a patient before. Then again, they normally didn't act like Meric did. Not that that's bad. It's nice; most other patients aren't as interesting. Wait. No. Oh, great. Even her thought process was flustered. The Devaronion flushed even more when she realised that if Meric could read her thoughts he might be laughing like crazy. Or whatever was his equivalent to that.

There I go again!

Intent on saving herself from gabbling like an awkward teenager, Vina stood up and left the container on the bed so she could roll up her sleeves. Trying to keep her embarrassment out of her voice, she said, "Then, while I'm applying the ointment I can ask you the questions I have. Alright?"

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Meric tilted his head, unsure about her response. It seemed very abnormal for a healer. Those in the medical profession never truly seemed to mind seeing the anatomy fully exposed. But then again, she wasn't really in the medical profession, she was a healer. Still, he found her behavior most curious. He was certain that he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary, but her face kept flushing red and she would look away from time to time in what he assumed was embarrassment. He didn't quite understand why.

Still, he stood up and removed his clothing down to his skivvies and stood in front of her to allow her to work. Standing would be better, he was certain, since she was going to be applying a balm to his skin. If he lay down, she'd only get one side, and then when he rolled over it would both make a mess and end up wiping off on the sheets, which seemed rather detrimental to the over all desire of the situation.

"You may ask me anything you wish."

He held his arms out to the side as if he were about to be frisked. Now she could see almost every wound on his entire body. He was certainly a mess of charred, maligned flesh. Compared to what she was used to working with he had no doubt that this was something of interest to her. It didn't bother him being a guinea pig or a test subject. What did he have to lose other than what he'd already lost? Much of his soft parts had been recreated from cloned tissue, but they couldn't do that everywhere. It just wasn't feasible.

[member="Vina Zomo"]

 

[Vina Zomo]

[member="Meric Nadun"]

Oh, cripies! As Meric held his arms out, the healer was able to get a better view of the extent of his burns -- and it wasn't pretty. When the man had said he was burned everywhere, he really did mean everywhere. No patch of skin was left discolored or injured.

She looked again at the jar, a flash of apprehension crossing her face for a moment. Will I have enough here? What if he needs multiple applications? What if they run out and I'm unavailable?

Then I guess I'll just have to make extra.

Even so, Vina would do her best to not be wasteful. She reopened the container and, cracking her knuckles out of habit, scooped some onto her fingers. "I'll go ahead and start with your head, before working my way down," the woman said as she walked towards him. For once, the Devaronian was thankful for her relatively tall stature -- Meric was only a few inches taller than her, and it meant she wouldn't have to stand on her toes.

Distributing the ointment equally to the fingers on both hands, Vina began to methodically massage it into his skin. Thanks in part to her preference for ointments and creams, the healer had quickly learned the best way to apply such things, and soon her muscles fell into the familiar rhythm. As she worked, all of the questions from earlier resurfaced, and it was difficult to choose which one to ask first.

"How did your Master choose you of all people to be his...what's the word....apprentice? What stood out to him? Did he ever tell you?" Alright, so it was three questions, but they all belonged to each other.

 

[Kamon's OOC]

It seemed clear to him that she hadn't believed he was truly burned everywhere. The look on her face said enough. When she looked at the jar he surmised she was worried that she didn't have enough. Logical conclusions from her actions. She needn't say a word. He wasn't overly worried about her having enough. It wasn't like he had a pressing engagement and wouldn't be there in the next day or so. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Not without further work to make it possible.

She stood and he found himself looking into her eyes as she dabbed some of the salve on her fingers and then reached for his head. He didn't move, though the salve sent a tingling sensation throughout his body. It was not at all unpleasant, but at the same time felt very strange. Not that he minded her rubbing her hands all over him. At the least she wasn't destroying his skin by ripping it away. If it didn't heal him it would at least provide a sensation he was unused to.

"I suppose it was my strength that drew him here. That or convenience. The man was old, but I discovered that he was much older than he looked. He aimed to take my body over for himself, as he didn't dare venture forth under the eyes of the Jedi. He was too old to face them all."

He didn't move, but his eyes followed her every movement. She was the only excitement in the room.

"I killed him because his goals were less than savory. He was nothing more than a power bent old man, a relic of years past. He called himself a disciple of Sidious."

[member="Vina Zomo"]

 

[Vina Zomo]

[member="Meric Nadun"]

[SIZE=medium]It was hard not to notice Meric looking into her eyes. After all, they were hers. So, tired of all the blushing she kept doing, Vina looked back. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]They were a peculiar shade of yellow, like the harsh yellow of the sun or the petals of the anagallis flower. They weren’t warm, necessarily, but neither were they cold. Quickly, she looked away, scooping up some more ointment and beginning on his neck. Seems like Mother’s love of melodrama rubbed off onto me, she thought wryly. Most things didn’t provoke such reactions from the typically quiet Devaronian. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Vina couldn’t help but glancing up sharply when Meric mentioned his master wanted to take over his body. The healer had heard of many feats performed by Force Users, but possession of a living body? Surely not even that was possible? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]“Well, I normally don’t advocate violence, but…it sounds like had you not killed him, the galaxy would’ve been filled with even more problems. Not that there aren’t already enough.” With that, the healer withdrew her hands, studying her patient. “How are you feeling so far? Is the ointment irritating your skin?” The corners of her mouth jumped up slightly. “And be honest. I know you have a high tolerance for pain.” What she didn’t add was that if her solution was actually harming Meric, she’d probably never forgive herself – especially if the damage was near-irreversable.[/SIZE]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"I did what was necessary to end the injustice he would have caused."

She moved to his neck, and he noticed that she had taken to watching him back, staring into his mechanical eyes. He was certain that she would find them strange. Sometimes he did and they were in his head. Not that there was anything wrong with them, per se. They were just... odd. Having mechanical body parts made life difficult sometimes. Even other parts of his body had been forced to be recreated from prosthetic's because of the burn damage to them.

"It tingles. Not in a bad way. It's somewhat soothing."

No, there was no pain that washed through him at her actions. She was incredibly gentle with him, for which he was thankful. Not that he couldn't endure more pain in his life, he merely didn't want to. This woman was an incredible healer to have come up with this salve so quickly. Nevermind whether it ended up working or not, the fact that it didn't hurt, and soothed his skin, was more than anything anyone else had done for him had been capable of. She was already a step ahead of the others.

On top of that, he found himself rather attracted to her, which was somewhat strange. He didn't really understand why, but he found her to be rather beautiful. Not one to hide anything like that, he spoke up.

"You are rather beautiful."

[member="Vina Zomo"]

 

[Vina Zomo]

[member="Meric Nadun"]

[SIZE=medium]Vina let go of a breath she wasn’t aware of holding with a soft whoosh. “That’s relieving,” she told him. The tingling wasn’t alarming; in fact, it was slightly titillating. It meant the ointment was working, and that she had used the correct ingredients. The soothing part was even better, an added bonus as they say. As she continued to massage the ointment in, the healer made a mental note to contact her mother about this recipe’s success and set about adding it to their Cookbook. The Cookbook was a collection of recipes for various remedies, organised by type and title. The running joke amongst the older generation was that they were the chefs of medicine, forever coming up with new combinations. I still need to come up with a name for it, Vina thought. Perhaps that would be her next question? It was certainly worth a shot.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]That is, if her tongue ever untied itself. Meric’s comment had, like so many things since meeting him, thrown her for a loop. It wasn’t the compliment itself; Vina knew she wasn’t bad-looking, and many times she’d received compliments from male and some female patients, though they were often mischievous elders who remained young at heart.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]No, it was the way he said it along with the general unexpectedness of it which elicited her reaction. Meric didn’t strike her as the type who’d bed anyone with at least marginally good looks, and it wasn’t just because he’d been cooped up in the facility for most of his life. From day one he had been blunt with all he said, telling things with clear-cut truthfulness. Well, what he considered truthfulness, anyway. Vina was still on the fence about him being a Sith, though she wasn’t going to naysay him. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]To her credit, the healer managed to keep her face only lukewarm, though the comment that slipped out of her mouth remedied that. “Oh, thank you. You’re beau—I mean, you’re being too kind.” Oh, gods. That was a close one – she’d almost said “You’re beautiful, too,” a statement which was both an odd reply and a majorly embarrassing one. What is wrong with me? She wondered. Why am I acting like a gawky teenager? I’m twenty-one, for heaven’s sake! And a healer! She chewed on her cheek. Just as doctors shouldn’t get involved with their patients, the same unspoken rule applied to her and her family. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Dear gods, where had that come from? First, she nearly told a male patient he was beautiful, and now she was thinking about involvement. When this is all over, I am finding a wall to beat some sense into my head, she vowed silently. Intent on switching the subject to something less loaded, she asked quickly, “So what do you think I should name the ointment? It’s something of a tradition to give any new and tested recipe a…well, a ‘whimsical’ name. Consider it a sort of way to distance ourselves from the more stark names given to scientific medicine.”[/SIZE]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

It was obvious that she was going to say something else, and he thought that he understood what it was, but he also thought he might have misheard the word she'd started to say. The fact that she didn't return the compliment in a blatantly obvious manner indicated to him that she might feel as most women did around him: she was here to work and that was it. No woman had ever accepted a compliment and returned it to him, aside from his mother. It was the downsides of being horribly scarred as he was.

Of course he also knew he wasn't being too kind. And given all the blushing she'd been doing, he thought it might simply have been shyness, but he dismissed that as well. In the end he chalked it up to professionalism. Likely she felt as some in the medical profession did, that she couldn't become involved with a patient because it would compromise her integrity. He entirely disagreed with that notion, but then again he believed in following one's emotions more than anything. If they were there, they shouldn't be suppressed, they should be celebrated. After all, life was about happiness and enjoyment, not work.

"I'm not very good at whimsical."

It was the honest truth. Meric was more of a scientifically sound person than he was a daydreamer. When he did dream it was of conquest and the destruction of those who deserved to be destroyed. Not exactly the stuff of fairy tales.

"I would just call it burn cream, but I'm sure that's a common name."

He decided that he would wait her out on her feelings. She might come around or she might not. Ultimately the decision was hers and he didn't feel right pressing her on it. That could lead to him becoming one of the monster's he hoped to destroy, and that wasn't acceptable to him.

[member="Vina Zomo"]

 

[Vina Zomo]

[member="Meric Nadun"]

[SIZE=12pt]Dabbing more medicine onto her fingers, Vina moved onto his left shoulder and arm, surprised at how solid they were. It was like rubbing a rock, though not as unpleasant. Stop that, you! At least he didn’t seem to take note of her embarrassment, nor her stumble. At least, it looked like he didn’t’ take note of it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Meric’s comment about not being whimsical earned him a soft laugh. “No, you don’t seem like the kind who’d take to those things.” Just in case, Vina gave him a small smile to assure him she wasn’t trying to be mean. “And unfortunately, ‘burn cream’ is a bit too generic, and the scientific name wouldn’t do.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]The healer fell silent as she massaged his skin, debating whether to continue or not. So far, Meric hadn’t minded listening to her talk about things that others considered “boring” or “unimportant.” In fact, it seemed like he might even be enjoying her ramblings. And, if she was truthful with herself, Vina liked talking his ear off – travelling alone tended to do that to a person. She could always talk to her family, true, but they were almost always busy with one thing or another. Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt. He certainly has the power to make me stop talking, anyway.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Clearing her throat, the healer spoke up again. “Names need to have meaning, especially when it comes to treatments. But they also can’t be a bunch of…gobbledygook, otherwise no one will understand what it’s meant for.” She pursed her lips, thinking of an example. “My mother specialises in stitching wounds, and one technique she prefers is what we all call the ‘Butterfly Crosses’ – in truth, they’re just little xeshes, but to her they look like butterflies.” Vina shrugged. “Besides, meaningful names aren’t just for medicine, they’re for everything. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“My name, for instance, was my father’s idea. It apparently belonged to one of his relatives. According to him, Vina Maljazara died of a virus that turned her into a mindless savage. The virus itself was known as the Blackwing virus, a vile thing created by the Empire.” She shuddered at the recollection. By now, Vina would have stopped talking, but something inside of her pushed her on, preventing her from stopping the flow of words. “The Blackwing virus was an Imperial experiment that turned infected hosts into these…zombies. It even resulted in the quarantine of Dathomir. The Healer’s Guild at first tried to get past the quarantine and work on the victims, but the risks were too great, and no one wanted to go. My father’s reason for naming me after his many-greats aunt was because he had a morbid sense of humour – he apparently thought it was a good idea to name his daughter after an unfortunate soul.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]What she didn’t tell Meric was that she and her mother – a woman who was as superstitious as she was whimsical – never even knew about the name’s origins until well after it was too late. Sometimes, Vina worried that she too would suffer the same fate as Maljazara, something which struck her as ironic. Here she was, worried about dying of a virus, when her job brought her into contact with all sorts of deadly viruses and pathogens. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]By now, she had just passed the elbow and was almost to his hand. “I’m sorry,” she told him apologetically. “I normally don’t talk this much.”[/SIZE]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"I figured it would be. Could call it Ravaged Skin Balm?"

That was about the best he could do for being creative with naming. Really he had no idea except to call it something practical in association with what it did. Given the state of his skin as having been chemically ravaged, it made some sense to call it what he said. In the end it didn't really matter to him what she called it as long as it actually worked. It was working, he just hadn't realized that yet. The tingling and soothing sensation was one of the positive side effects of the balm.

She went on about her past and he remained silent. Not because he didn't think anything about it, or because he was ignoring her, but because he was listening. He was listening to her tell him about herself, and her past, and who she was. Why? Because he felt himself to be enamored with her, and learning more about her opened up possible avenues for future endeavors between them.

As she worked, she told him about how she came to receive her name, and the negative connotations associated with it. He knew of this virus she spoke of thanks to research he'd done. When you were cooped up in a room for an extended period of time you tended to read anything you could get your hands on in order to keep from going insane. There was a lot of information and chatter on the web about the various viruses and plagues that turned people into uncontrollable monsters with a thirst for living people.

When she neared his hand, she said she was sorry and he looked back to her (since he'd been watching her hands while she talked).

"Don't be sorry. I do not mind learning more about you. It is better to know a person in detail than to only know them in passing."

When she reached his hand, his thumb would move just a bit, to brush against her hand such that he could feel the smoothness of her skin. He hadn't felt such a thing in a very long time. It was a treat that he wouldn't soon forget.

[member="Vina Zomo"]

 

[Vina Zomo]

[member="Meric Nadun"]

[SIZE=12pt]Vina gave Meric yet another shy smile. How many times is this, now? She wondered wryly. Seems like everything he says gets me as giddy as a school girl. “Well, I’m glad I’m not aggravating you with the details of my boring life.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Even though she wasn’t a Force User, the healer could tell he had been listening to her. As in really listening to her. It was a rather odd sensation, since most people tended to be more focused on what she could do for them, rather than who she was as a person. If she had to be honest with herself, Vina would even admit that she liked receiving his attention. Unlike the first time they’d met, it was no longer uncomfortable – it was rather…enjoyable. Odd. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]As she reached his hand, the healer began to massage the ointment in between his fingers and on his palms. Vina couldn’t help but marvel at the difference in their hands. Her hands were small and delicate, with fingers that were long and thin. A pianist’s fingers, her grandmother had proclaimed. Meric’s, however, were strong and big, no double a side effect from the strenuous exercise he’d done. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]All of the sudden, she felt his thumb brush against the back of her hand, and she paused for a heartbeat. Was it intentional or unintentional? It certainly felt like it was meant to be intimate, but Vina didn’t want to read too much into the gesture. Then, as her luck would have it, Meric might be scared off from her. Well, “scared off” probably wasn’t the right phrase – her patient didn’t seem like the type of man to be scared by anything. “Repulsed by” seemed more accurate. And, oddly, the thought of Meric disliking her was one which Vina didn’t think she could handle. Oh, sure, she’d come across people who weren’t fans of the healer, but this was different. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Unsure of what to do, she cast a discreet glance towards the observatory window and gave Meric a gentle squeeze on his hand. If his gesture was nothing more than an accident, hers would simply be one of assurance or anything along those lines. If, on the other hand, his was deliberate… A flush creeping up on her cheeks at her impulsiveness, Vina reloaded her ointment and moved on to begin massaging his back. “So, as a big bad Sith, what abilities do you have?” Oh, ye gods. Vina cringed inwardly at how flirty that statement sounded. The Devaronian was not flirty by any means. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]That didn’t mean she wasn’t curious about what he could do, though. Oh, ye gods again! That could be taken in so many wrong ways![/SIZE]