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 Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 11:11 pm
Natalie nodded, a little feebly. This wasn't normal? This wasn't normal. She held the girl close, maternal instincts surging as she felt the burning need to protect. Even as the little girl's sniffles subsided - and those she could hear, since they were only uninflected rushes of air - she cradled her more tightly.
But then Michael laid a hand on her elbow, and she set the girl down, smiling at her, trying to be reassuring. Then she stepped back, gratefully accepting Michael's comforting embrace.
"Go ahead," she murmured.
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 11:22 pm
As Natalie stepped back, Hadrian knelt down, and with a few hand motions, began the diagnostic spells.
The mage had never been trained as a doctor of Gaia would recognize - and he wasn't anywhere near the caliber of the magical healers he had known at home - but he understood how to examine the body with magic, and check for abnormalities and illness.
As for dealing with them - well, that was something they'd have to find a way of this world to deal with. With the diagnostics, he started with the throat: he imagined the problem was most likely there.
About twenty minutes later, he was far more tired then he should have grown in such a short span - but then, he'd cast far more diagnostics then he normally would.
And he couldn't find a single thing wrong, phyiscally; there were no abnormalities - in fact, her vocal chords seemed perfectly formed - and no illness, either. Ophiera was a perfectly healthy toddler.
"She seems fine. There are no abnormalities - anywhere - or any illness..."
No abnormalities except for the absense of sound.
"It has to be some sort of issue with the magic - she's completely healthy."
A magical issue...ugh. Magical diagnostics were even more extensive then physical, and could take far longer - and at this moment, he wasn't sure he could devote his full energy to them; he'd grow too tired to fully examine everything.
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 11:27 pm
Natalie would have expected Ophiera to fidget at least a little during the long diagnostic tests, but the girl sat perfectly still, dark eyes wide as she stared at her mother. Natalie leaned back against Michael the entire time. Michael just held her close.
After the tests, Natalie went over to her daughter again, lifting her up. Ophiera wrapped her little arms around Natalie's neck.
"Nothing wrong?" she asked. "I mean... that's good... but why would magic be keeping her quiet?"
Michael was curious as well, reaching forward to stroke Ophiera's hair. "Is it... blocking her speech? Or is it something else?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 11:33 pm
"Well..."
Hadrian's mind was running through the possibilities, before settling on the most likely ones - though he couldn't be sure until he ran those magical diagnostics.
"As energy, she was dormant for a long time...it could be that since she was dormant for so long, the magic was ill-equipped to handle her birth - the result being that it essentially 'trapped' some of itself somewhere. With her lack of speech, I would think that it blocked sound."
Flicking some hair out of his eyes, the mage continued to gaze at Ophiera, frowning faintly.
"I can't be sure, however. I'll have to run diagnostics on her magical essence, as well....but those could take hours, if I don't find it right away. It won't harm her, I believe - so it should be safe for her to go with you today. But...I think you should stop by either tomorrow or whenever you get the chance, so I can run the magical diagnostics."
If it was going to harm her, there would be physical signs of it; unless of course, it was slow acting...but the chances of that were slim.
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Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 7:59 am
Natalie nodded, though she really didn't understand much of what Hadrian was saying. Instead, she did the only thing she knew she could do - keep the girl close and warm.
Ophiera was snuggling into her hair. The girl yawned. She didn't seem too concerned by her lack of voice, at least not yet. Maybe that was a good sign - it was natural for her.
"I'll bring her by in a few days," Natalie agreed.
"Do... you think the other Souls will have similar problems?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:56 am
"I don't know. The previous ones haven't had any problems, but...there's no telling if the ones currently energy will have problems or not."
Another downside to this sort of 'birth' - no prenatal diagnosis.
"If it really is because of how long she was dormant, then it seems likely that they may have issues of some sort."
Though it probobly wouldn't be speech - if it was what he thought it was. If it was something different that caused it, then he was completely clueless about how the other Souls would be affected.
Sighing slightly, he offered a half-smile to Natalie.
"Well. Congratulations on Ophiera. The speech aside, she seems like a happy enough little girl."
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Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 8:06 pm
"I really hope they're all well," she said, frowning. "When I bring Ophiera in, is there anything I can do to help? I'm supposed to be helping with paperwork anyway..."
Then the frown vanished and she smiled back at Hadrian, laughing a little to try and shake off the pall of concern that had settled over them all. "Yes, she does seem pretty happy. I'll bring her down in a day or two, okay?"
A glance over at Michael, who was playing, gently, with one of Ophiera's little hands. "Are you ready to go?" she asked.
"Mmhmm. We should see if she likes her room."
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Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 9:02 pm
With a pause, Hadrian remembered that; huh. He'd completely forgotten that Natalie was planning on helping him out with that. With a chuckle, he accepted that suggestion.
"When you come in, I'll do the diagnostics and you can do some paperwork for me, if you're wanting to."
He seemed amused by it, but it would be helpful. The more Souls they got, the more work he got...he had to start finding people to help him sooner or later.
"I'll see you in a few days, then? You know where my office is - just bring her by there."
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Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 10:18 pm
"Will do." Smiling, she started for the door, then held out a hand for Michael. The older man took it, now a glowing smile crossing his face. They seemed like a nice, happy family, the three of them, even after the abrupt shocks of getting a child and getting a mute child.
But they'd be just fine, from the looks of it.
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