The Monthly Checkup

[Madeline Kievra]

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Location - The Wheel​

Time - 2100 Local Time​

Madeline Kievra​

_______________________

Ah, the wheel.. Viva las Wheel, truly quite the place to be fair. Where you could both gamble all your money away in the blink of an eye while being awestruck by the beauty and fascination that is.. space. However, to blunt you practically are just being robbed, however you're being dazzled and robbed of all your money. Nevertheless, gambling wasn't the only thing that made the wheel the fun place it was. Most usually forget about the countless clubs, or the five star hotels which jotted the wheel's ring. For the non-gambling type, there was of course a list of fun activities for you, you just had to find them.

Likewise, Beforehand Madeline had agreed she simply needed a break from her intensive academic regime she had put herself through, constantly day out and day in keeping to herself in the science lab of her ship perfecting her first major product. Furthermore she had decided the wheel was something that could maybe bring her back into the social world of the galaxy. Moreover, as the Sunderer entered the system and docked with the wheel Madeline was off in her quarters, putting on her nicest dress. Of course, she knew this would keep eyes on her however she didn't mind, she was here to have fun and fun was what she was getting herself into. As the ship finally docked at the corvette docking bays at the southern wing of the wheel Madeline grabbed her purse, made sure her droid R9 was safe and prepared to walk through the docking hatch.

"R9, Make sure nobody comes aboard alright? Unless I'm with them of course" As she said this the droid would beep angerly at her, being a bit of a jealous astromech."Oh shut up with you, Hey I'll be back later, just keep the ship safe?" She laughed before exiting into the wheel. As time passed Madeline walked through the wheel, enjoying all its sites, from the strip malls full of expensive designer dresses to the clubs where all the handsome gems were, Madeline made sure to get a look into everything she could come by.

As the night passed, it was around 2100 when Madeline had finally truly worn herself out. The long seven hour day of wandering around the malls and clubs of the wheel had somewhat came to an end as she finished of with a final dinner. Likewise she was sitting alone at a table at one of the more mediocre but.. satisfying restaurants in the wheel. She ate, enjoying her meal while looking around at the scenery, viewing the portside window which was an entire view of the stars while listening to the fantastic band which played on the restaurants stage nearby. As fun as day as it was.. It appeared it finally over, or.. was it?

@Ghorua the Sharkhttp://starwarsrp.net/user/10100-ghorua-the-shark/http://starwarsrp.net/user/10100-ghorua-the-shark/

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[Ghorua the Shark]

LOCATION: THE WHEEL
EQUIPMENT: PACKING LIGHT
CURRENT MOOD: NOT THE BEST

The Wheel was a perfect place for someone to get lost in.

Nobles and thieves, bureaucrats and black hats, doctors and cutthroats all; the Wheel had what you needed to get away. For the underbelly of society, it was a place to loosen up, unburdened by the laws of the galaxy. For the upper crust, it was a place to let loose, enjoy their days, and spend the money they don't deserve to slum it up with those who would kill them for it.

Ghorua didn't have a high opinion of the place. But his marks seemed to.

A human in a tattered coat struggled against Ghorua's grip, trying her hardest to escape his large mitts. Ghorua only squeezed harder, reminding her he was there. "Ghin Atar" as she was known here, was infamous as a starship thief. Ghorua found her in her chop shop, and after a brief scuffle (where Ghorua acquired a rather nasty blaster burn on his arm) he had her in the custody of what served for security on the Wheel. Whatever, a paycheck's a paycheck.

But as he walked out of the Security Terminal, he began to feel... off. It started in his arm, a twinging, pinching feeling, that worked its way through his body, until it reached the tips of his toes.

The large Hunter gasped, feeling his muscles shake. The feeling passed after a minute of abject discomfort, but at least it passed. The Shark breathed in deeply, trying to gain composure, and shaking off the strange looks by passersby.

He needed a break.

Ghorua went to his ship, and put away his armor and weapons, electing for simple spacer clothes. He realized, with some disdain, that his blaster wound was a little deeper than he'd like to admit. He'd have to get that one checked out. He covered it up with a bacta patch for now, and hit the Wheel again, intent on getting some food.

It was later in the day when he found a restaurant to duck into. Not particularly nice, but damn, did it have a view. He sat down near the viewport, enjoying the stars at a table for two.

"Salad, please," he rumbled, his voice a melodious timbre. "Large..."

He began to feel it again. That pinching. He grunted, and tried to spit out his next words.

"Fruit, thank you," he gasped out.

Chit, that hurts.

- [member="Madeline Kievra"] -

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

(double post)

 

[Madeline Kievra]

Location - The Wheel
Time - 2100 Local Time
Madeline Kievra
_______________________
By the time the large Shark had entered the restaurant Madeline had been finishing up her dessert, the young woman sat at her booth enjoying her meal,however she felt somewhat bored as her getaway was sadly coming to an end. Likewise, a hint of curiosity had arrived as the humongous shark like humanoid had entered the restaurant. She watched with a childish intrigue as [member="Ghorua the Shark"] had entered the restaurant to simply sit down at a table. It wasn't everyday that she came to be able to see a karkarodon in person, or maybe it was a herglic, and if so, wow.

As the massive shark sat down she simply thought to herself, well.. maybe this night isn't over. Nevertheless she continued to inspect the shark, noticing his.. 'battle scars', aka, that nice blaster wound on him. While, this did seem off putting she rather took this as even more interesting. This fearsome looking shark had a story to tell, well hopefully something he has something he's willing to share

After a minute or two, Madeline had sped through her dessert, requesting for the waiter to come over and give her the check

"Will that be all, Ms.?" The droid waiter asked, while cleaning up the table and placing down the check.

"I.. Believe so, also, tell the chef the meal was exquisite" She smiled and retorted as she paid off her check using her galactic credit card.

Before long, Madeline risen up and made her way over to the table for two, pulling the chair up and smiling to the giant shark, "Hello.. Is this seat taken?" she said with a calm and collective manner, trying her best to smile and look pretty.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua took another moment, waiting for the pain to pass. He shut his eyes, trying his best to remain stoic. It reached his entire body again, then passed like it never happened, leaving Ghorua short of breath. When he opened them, he saw a woman across from him.

The first emotion he showed on his face was shock; People didn't usually just walk up and talk to him.

His next emotion was suspicion. People didn't just walk up and talk to him.

Finally, Ghorua regained composure with a neutral half-smirk, hiding his unnatural, razor-sharp teeth. He sublty studied her, looking for an ulterior motive, a secret hidden in the contours of her face.

"Nope," Ghorua finally said, letting a slightly-pained smile through. "You're free to it."

The Shark sat straight in his chair, still wary, but trying to look relaxed. He turned his gaze to the viewport, and smirked. Galaxies and stars twinkled in distant reaches, reminding Ghorua just how small he was.

"Gotta admit, this place has quite the view."

- [member="Madeline Kievra"] -

 

[Madeline Kievra]

Location - The Wheel
Time - 2100 Local Time
Madeline Kievra
_______________________
Madeline would quickly take the seat on the opposite side from the shark, smiling as she politely fixed her dress. As she finished situating herself she figured the shark must've gotten a tad bit nervous by the sight of some random girl taking the seat, figured anyways. To be fair, its quite random for some young woman to take a seat with something as powerful looking as [member="Ghorua the Shark"] . Likewise, Madeline wasn't a normal girl.

"Oh yes, the view is quite stunning, However, for someone who travels these stars for years.. I've seen more. Nevertheless, its still a fantastic view." She said as she inspected the shark up and down, trying her best not to look suspicious

"Apologies however, I should've introduced myself before" She laughed and smiled, being as charismatic as she possibly could. "My name is Madeline Keivra, I'm a scientist, doctor, archeologist, whatever you need." She giggled once again. before once again shifting about, somewhat unnerved by the shark however she continued to keep her composure.

"I saw you over at the table and thought.. wow, Its not every day you see a.. Karkadon or.. Herglic? Either or, I simply saw you and thought wow to myself." She finally admitted as she finished surveying the shark.

"Besides that, Whats your name?" She said with a nice young smile.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

The more she talked, the more Ghorua was convinced she wasn't there to kill him.

He could tell she was slightly nervous. Ghorua got that a lot; he was a big fellow. But she didn't seem afraid of him. Or, at least, her curiosity got the better of her. Her nervousness came out in giggles and body repositioning, and it was too real, to natural, to be an act.

Nonetheless, he secretly slid out his holopad and searched Madeline's name, just to be sure.

He shifted back in his seat, attempting to make himself seem smaller, less imposing in front of the archaeologist. "No worries," he said easily, trying to make Madeline feel a little more comfortable.

"Herglic, born and raised" Ghorua stated, perhaps a bit of pride in his voice. "But I, uh, see where the confusion would be." He flashed her a grin, full of teeth.

"Ghorua the Shark," the large Hunter said. If she were here to kill him, she'd already know. And if she wasn't, then she deserved his honesty. "Bounty Hunter. Seen my fair share of the galaxy." He leaned forward, hunching his shoulders, a playful glint in his ebon eyes. "But I'll never get tired of looking at it all."

The large Herglic huffed his blowhole, and continued. "What's a 'scientist, doctor, archaeologist, whatever I need' doing on the Wheel?"

- [member="Madeline Kievra"] -

 

[Madeline Kievra]

As [member="Ghorua the Shark"] continued on speaking, Madeline's nerves had finally calmed down, becoming less and less nervous up until she was finally able to sit still without giggling nervousily and or giving off strange Gestures.

Now, to say she wasn't even more interested than she was before would be an under statement. He's a bounty hunter..? And.. he seems to be a special breed of Herglic, well, my oh my but her inner biologist was having a field day. She thought to herself, thinking of what she planned on writing about as she got home, And what she could learn more about as she returned back to her science lab.

Moreover, as she listened into the shark Madeline's head popped up to the question asked of her. "Well, one can't just stay in a lab for a month, or two without needing some social time, you know?" She said as she naturally laughed

"I Decided I needed a day to myself, taking a break from my work, and well.. that brought me to the wheel where I've been enjoying my day so far, however this little encounter spiked my curiosity, I mean you don't see a Herglic everyday." She said with a smile as she sat up in her chair, relaxing herself.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua smiled a genuine, if somewhat sharp, smile. "I understand that. Everyone needs a break."

Just as he intrigued Madeline, the young scientist intrigued the Shark right back. He didn't run into many other educated folk in his line of work; mostly just those who went to the school of hard knocks. It was refreshing to talk with someone not interested in using him to hunt someone down.

It was at this point that the droid server came back, dispensing an enormous fruit salad in front of Ghorua. He thanked it courteously, and took the utensils in his large hands. A jogan went into his mouth, and he chewed it for a second, lost in thought. Swallowing, he gave the human a slightly skeptic look. "Not fresh. In the slightest." He took another bite of the salad, with slightly less enthusiasm.

"So, you're curious? Got any questions? I'll answer what I can."

He looked at his holopad again. She was coming back clean so far. Archaeology referrals, degrees in politics, biotech, engineering, and science...

Wow, that's quite a few chips on such a tiny shoulder.

"What do you want to know?"

- [member="Madeline Kievra"] -

 

[Madeline Kievra]

As the shark finished speaking, Madeline had noticed him looking through the holopad, inspecting her 'credibility' she assumed, or.. from what she also assumed, making sure she wasn't some assassin coming after his head. Nevertheless, she took it as a good thing.. why it wasn't every day she got the opportunity to show off her list of academic achievements. Regardless of that she was still here for another reason, not to brag about how smart she believes she is, but to meet and possibly.. get to know this Herglic a little more.

"Ah yes, questions!" Thinking to herself for a moment, she pondered what exactly she wanted to ask him.

"Well, lets start with the basics, what.. brings you here?" She said, however felt somewhat off as that was such a silly question to ask while in the middle of a bloody restaurant, its obvious Madeline, he was here for a blasted meal.

"Sorry, a bit of a stupid question.." Once again she pondered to herself, thinking of a possibly.. more intellectual question to ask. Before long it occurred to her, as she gazed upon the massive, hulking, behemoth of a shark, she had realized what she wanted to ask.

"Well.. if you are a Herglic, and excuse me if I seem out of touch.. biology wasn't my main focus, Aren't Herglic supposed to be more of a mammalian humanoid? It appears you're more.. well, to be blunt, shark like." She said, attempting her very best to come off as polite and kind.. she wouldn't have wanted to anger the shark.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua raised an eyebrow, watching with interest as Madeline asked her questions. He waited a moment before responding, trying to come up with an answer both true, and mildly entertaining. Might as well reward her for her bravery.

"No such thing as stupid questions here," he finally noted, inclining his head invitingly. "I was here on a job. Took down a ship jacker. She was stealing fighters and cargo shuttles, and chopping them in her mechanic shop. I set out a decoy, a real nice looking Nubian, and tracked her back. There was... a bit of a confrontation," Ghorua said, absently tracing his bacta patch with a large finger.

"But I managed to take her down. Brought her in to the authorities, and now I'm eight thousand creds richer. And then I decided to spend it here." The Shark smiled. He usually only told his hunting stories to Minna, his adopted daughter.

"As for your second question," Ghorua continued, straightening up again. He was sitting, but that didn't diminish the absolute mass of his 10'5'' frame. "You're right. Herglics, as far as I know, are cetacean. But I got adjustments. A long time ago. Larger size. Rapid cellular regeneration. Teeth."

"They've certainly..." Ah. Oh. Ouch.

The pinching in his arm began again, this time spreading throughout his entire body faster. It felt a little like that one time he took a Force Lightning blast from a One Sith Knight. The large, savvy hunter tried to hide the discomfort, turning his facial features to stone, but the slight grimace, and the sudden bulging of his muscles gave away that something was wrong.

"... Helped." He finished, trying to steady his voice.

The worst of it passed after a few seconds, but it was still thrumming in his veins, in his muscles, in his brain. It furrowed his brow, and he felt a twitching in his bicep.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, a little weak. "Gotta get this looked at soon." He tilted his head toward the wound, eyes dark.

- [member="Madeline Kievra"] -

 

[Madeline Kievra]

Madeline, had been of course jotting down some information into a holopad, as she continued to study Ghorua, a little closer, taking into view his more Shark like portions of his genetically altered body, however still taking into factor his more cetacean body parts. Nevertheless, as Ghorua began to have his, 'pain', Madeline looked over at him, very curious and somewhat worried. While, she was of course no professional doctor, she had taken courses on biology, and studied a year or so to be a field medic at her fathers request before opting out to focus more on her personal interests.

As his pain began to calm down, Madeline looked him straight in the eyes and asked, "I well, Don't have that much experience in.. well, this, However, I wouldn't exactly mind taking a quick look at your wounds, Maybe seeing if I could help you there.." She would sit herself up even more professionally, trying to look serious now of course, as she was genuinely worried about her new found 'acquaintance's' health.

Along with that.. the pain he just showed off wasn't some simple blaster fire shock. She had been shot by a blaster round in the past, a dumb situation as a teenager got her a nasty burn on her leg, and.. from experience that one shot didn't give her any of these post traumatic experiences in which Ghorua was experiencing. However what did she know, maybe it was something to do with his past, the bounty hunting life was always quite dangerous.

However, it might have been something else.. Something to maybe do with these so called 'Genetic enhancements', nevertheless she simply awaited for Ghorua's response.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua's hand had eclipsed his wound, pressing into the thing, hoping that somehow, the pain would abate. But it persisted, growing roots like a duracrete slug, making Ghorua wonder as well if this were simply a blaster wound.

Nerves weren't usually tweaked by blaster scarring, and that kinda tweak didn't travel.

The large hunter set his jaw, determined to keep it together. But he was desperate. Not desperate enough to get checked out by a clinic on the Wheel, mind you, but desperate enough to let a new trustworthy friend take a look.

"I don't see why not," he said, finding a grin. "If you think you can help, I would love the assist here." Another stab of pain, but Ghorua didn't let this one show. He had a reputation to keep, after all.

"I guess it'll give you more time to ask questions. Speaking of which," the Herglic said, leaving his plate and a small stack of credit chits on the table.

"Do you always offer to help big, dangerous spacers with blaster wounds? Because if so, I'd recommend never doing it again. After today, of course." He chuckled to himself. Universe be damned if he let a little burn interrupt his signature bravado.

- [member="Madeline Kievra"] -

 

[Madeline Kievra]

Rising from the table and fixing her dress, Madeline looked Ghorua in the eyes and smiled, laughing a bit from what he said, however.. nodding to his question. "Sir, I was raised by a man who gave his life to save others. Helping anyone in need is my life, and my life's work.." She'd look down for a bit of course, thinking somewhat of her passed father which had only died.. a year or so ago. Nevertheless, her head rose looking at Ghorua in the eyes and smiling. "Plus, who would hurt a cute thing like me?" However, she'd look around the bar for a quick moment, surveying. "Don't answer that."

As she finally cleaned her self completely, she awaited for Ghorua to rise. "Now, I warn you in advance.. I'm not a registered Doctor, or Nurse.. At most I'm a recruit field medic. Nevertheless, what I am.. Is a scientist, and a fantastic one at that, not too brag." Saying with a confident look on her face. Before long also, Madeline had risen her arm speaking into her wrist bracelet. "R9, Unlock boarding door two, I will be arriving with a guest, a Hergli-" She would be instantly cut off by the yelling of a loud mouthing astromech, from what Ghorua could hear, it had quite the attitude.

"Apologies, its my droid.. it has quite the.. tongue" She said while smiling and chuckling a bit.

Along with all of this, Madeline had been finishing up her notes on her holopad biological database, finishing up some notes about Ghorua, and hopefully finding some important info regarding him.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

"You got it, Doc."

Ghorua's slight smile, covering up his grimace of pain, fell away, as a memory mugged him. Of [member="Irajah Ven"]. They had met under very different circumstances, but something Madeline said brought him back to that time. Doctors make a promise to help people. Under any circumstances.

But that was long ago, and far away.

Ghorua walked along, his long stride slower than it would usually be. He kept his hand on his wound, but it didn't help the residual pain much. But if he really didn't think about it, he could pretend it was working.

When Madeline warned him about her credentials, Ghorua could only shake his head, pursing his lips. "I know." He did research fast, that was for sure. "But I've seen what you've got under your belt. You're more than qualified."

Then she talked into her wrist, and that was followed by a string of assumedly-vulgar binary. Ghorua, despite being an amateur mechanic, never learned the language. He could only grin, forgetting his pain for a moment. "No worries. I'll try not to intrude."

Ghorua chuckled to himself, enjoying the absurdity of the situation. And waited to be led to the operating table. So to speak.

- [member="Madeline Kievra"] -

 

[Madeline Kievra]

"Fair enough, alright with me, we have a bit of a walk to go through" Therefore after around twenty to thirty minutes of walking from the restaurant in which they were at through malls and casinos which lead back to the docking bay, of course taking a bit of a scenic route as Madeline had wished to take in a few sights before departing from her short but needed vacation, they finally arrived at the main docking port for Corvettes, and Larger vessels.

Following a small minutes wait for R9 to deactivate the security belt, the two entered the ship. The Sunderer, or Madeline's personal ship was quite the vessel. Of course it was no offensive power house, or a battleship to be blunt, however it was the pinnacle of the statement 'home on the road'. The ship had all the five star amenities you would expect in a hotel, with the added benefits of home like features, and a state of the arc research facility in the main hub of the ship.

"Welcome, this is my pride and joy, the Sunderer. A Ship I hold dearly to myself, Now follow me I need to do some biological readings on you before I can begin." She would of course take you to the operating table with great haste, letting you rest off before she moved off in another direction.

As Ghorua had laid down on the operating table, which had increased in size strangely to fit his proportions, a feature specialized to Madeline's Nanotechnological production, Madeline had finally arrived, in her standard turtle neck and tight pants outfit, wearing a lab coat on the outside as.. there was a possibility of this getting a tad messy.

"Apologies for the wait, I had to get changed, I didn't want to get my nice dress dirty." She'd chuckle before letting off a kind smile on her face.

"Now, lets get serious... Can you describe to me your symptoms? And, any details you can spare me? I'm going to begin doing biological readings and scans over you in the mean time." As she asked her question a scanner would begin paneling over the massive shark, scanning for blood type, niche, genetic oddities, etc.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghorua saw the ship from the outside, and he couldn't stop himself from sizing it up. No obvious weapons, minimal shielding, probably didn't maneuver like the best of them...

None of that mattered. This ship, the Sunderer, could help him. As long as the pain stopped.

He was led inside, although he had to duck at the main entrance, bowing his head like he'd been doing it all his life. He was led to an operating table, which resized itself to fit him. Curious.

Ghorua used Hard Light in his ship. He had self-sealant in his armor. But reconstructing tech like this, he'd never witnessed. It was intriguing. He had to fight the urge to ask about it, instead laying out his massive body, and attempting to relax. Madeline left the room, letting Ghorua stew by himself. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the bacta patch. With delicate fingers, the Shark peeled back the bandage, revealing the wound. It was deeper than most, and hadn't cauterized, but didn't strike him as particularly odd. He'd been stabbed by lightsabers before, shot by countless weapons, and even survived a few explosions. This was nothing.

Or, at least, should be nothing.

He still felt those low vibrations in his body, that pain that still hadn't quite gone away. It was disconcerting.

Madeline returned, wearing a lab coat, and Ghorua sincerely hoped it was for show. Which were dashed by her next words. "Just be careful. I need both my arms." The flash of a smile.

She asked for his symptoms, and Ghorua considered the question. "Well, I've got a pain. Started in my arm, a good few minutes after I got shot. It feels kinda like... Lightning, in my veins. Spreading through my body. It burns. A lot."

When Madeline would take his biological readings, she'd certainly find some genetic oddities. Naturally, Ghorua would have been a little under 9 feet tall, which is still astronomically large for a Herglic, and probably would have caused health problems at Ghorua's age. Instead, his DNA had been tampered with by an outside source, boosting his height to well over ten feet tall, sharpening his teeth, enhancing his muscular structure, honing his reflexes, and most impressively, nearly doubled the rate at which his cells reproduced.

But there was something wrong with his nervous system. It was tough to tell what exactly, but it didn't start with the blaster wound, only enflamed by it. Something was very wrong with his nerves, his spine, his brain.

"So?" Ghorua asked, unaware of the results of the scanning.

- [member="Madeline Kievra"] -

 

[Madeline Kievra]

Without answering Ghorua, she'd begin reading into her biology notebook that she had compiled, placing her glasses on. She'd begin skimming over sections she had researched about Herglic anatomy. Nevertheless, she then looked at the biological readings before looking at Ghorua. "I'm surprised you aren't dead yet to say the least" She said, laughing however keeping her serious tone implying the seriousness of this situation. "Nevertheless, what I've found is.. surprising to say the least. Of course, you must know you have a list of genetic alterations compared to that of a 'Natural Herglic'.." She say as her eyes skimmed over Ghorua.

Looking back up, "Likewise, this comes with a few problems.. Of course, I'm not one hundred percent sure on whats going on however, it appears to do with your nervous system. That wound you received simply.. started a metaphorical chain reaction which is speeding up the 'damage' process." As she said all this, Ghorua could easily see the worried look on the young scientist.

To be frank, she wasn't quite sure she would be able to deal with this situation, however she was no quitter and she wouldn't give up on someone who truly needed her help. Moreover, Madeline breathed in and out and began to prepare herself.

Placing her medical glasses on with advanced scanning systems on she prepared herself. As she was getting ready, around her systems activated, coming to life with their lights. Along with that, a small table appeared from the ground using the reconstruction technology, producing a list of surgery tools.

"Alright, for this surgery I will be sedating you, what I'll be attempting to do will be incredibly painful, and.. quite dangerous. I need you to understand that." She said this with a faint but serious smile on her face, trying her best to comfort Ghorua in this scary situation.

"Do you consent to my sedation?" She asked, waiting you response with the air mask in hand.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

Ghoura couldn't help but wonder if this were the most elaborate assassination attempt in the history of the galaxy.

Have him get shot by a nerve poison during his hunt. Get picked up by a "doctor". Convince him to let down his guard, sedate him. Then, slit his rather large throat, cite an incurable disease, and dispose of the body. No one would be the wiser. Then again, the alternative wasn't much better. If Madeline wasn't lying, and he was in some serious danger, he needed this looked at. Now.

Ghorua could see the apprehension on the scientist's face as she talked to him, and the hunter himself felt some of it seep through his skin. Nevertheless, he put on a brave face. "Nervous system? Don't have one. I'm never nervous." The painful smirk that followed didn't come from his body, but from the terrible pun that escaped his lips.

She asked to sedate him, and Ghorua considered. "I'd rather stay awake," Ghorua said, unhappy with the quandary. "But that's not an option here, I'm gathering." The Shark didn't smile, but the glittering of his eyes told Madeline all she needed to know. "You've got consent, Dr. Kievra."

Ghorua studied her a moment longer, trying to calculate the odds of whether his next words would be his last.

"Confidence," he muttered, although to which of the two beings he was addressing, perhaps even he didn't know.

- [member="Madeline Kievra"] -