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 Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 12:28 pm
Who: Zeke and Zurine
When: September 13th, 2014; mid-afternoon
Where: Lab 305
Weather: Sunny and in the high seventies; a last blast of summer before fall takes hold
Zeke was uncertain what to make of the examination room. Not in the sense of not having seen the place before, heaven's no, but how to go about using it. Alex was out on important matters and when the call came in from Phiel, Zeke didn't have the heart to tell him he'd have to call back tomorrow. Besides, how hard could it be? Zeke was a vet and had been for a long time now - examinations were second nature. Sure Raevans were leagues different from your everyday cat or dog, but he knew what to expect from a humanoid check up.
When he had hung up with Phiel earlier this morning, Zeke had taken the time to pull out Zurine's file and read it top to bottom twice. From there he had researched snowy owls both online and in the encyclopedias and science tomes Kyou had in the Lab. Roses had come second, though that information probably wouldn't be the most helpful, given Zurine's Essence was one made of and growing from ice. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. What's more, with Alex having kept meticulous records about check ups she had done in the past, the vet felt he was suitably prepared. He was a little nervous, but who wasn't on their first go around at something new? Things would be fine.
After giving the exam room another go around - looking in cabinets, pulling open drawers to see the contents, making sure the equipment throughout was functioning - Zeke left the space to return back to the lobby. Zurine would be arriving at any time now and it would be best for him to be there when she did.
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Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 6:42 pm
It was still hot, was all Zurine could really think about over the nervousness. Still, it didn't seem to affect her quite as much as it had for the rest of the summer, and as Phiel dropped her off at the lobby, she was holding a light jacket around her so she could keep what remained of her meager chill in against her skin. "I'll be back in ten minutes," Phiel promised. "I'm just going to grab a couple of groceries and then I'll sit in the lobby and wait for you to be done."
Zurine nodded, smiling wryly as she played with the cuff of her jacket. "It's fine," she said after a moment. "Go ahead. Don't worry about me." Still, Phiel waited until she was inside to leave. She was grateful to get inside at any case, looking a little drained and weary, smiling a little -- Zuri could remember the last time she had been here, years ago, when she'd finally gone home with Phiel. It was strange to have him leave her here alone again, and for a moment it made her chest flutter with uncertainty.
Still, she entered the lobby with her head held high. In the bright lobby lights she looked thinner than usual, a little more frail, her soft blue hair braided back from her face and her slim wrists poking out the ends of the jacket sleeves.
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Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:07 pm
The chime for the door rang out just as Zeke crossed the threshold into the lobby from the hall. His eyes immediately sought out the figure that floated there and his mouth curved into a smile as he beheld the Frei there.
"Hello, Zurine!" From this distance he could not see her overall fraility and thinness so his greeting was warm and pleasantly chipper. He raised a hand in greeting as well, as if the Owl could not or would not be able to spot him. Clad in his general zaniness as he was, that was a hard sell, especially under his vibrant hair. When he had first met the pretty femme, it had been a mix of bright green and deep purple. Now it was bright pink and even brighter blue. If she missed him against the pale wall of the Lab with that in mind, he would have to suggest an eye exam on top of everything else to come.
As his greeting filtered in the air, Zeke moved toward Zurine. Had they been close companions rather than acquainted fellows, he would have held his arms out wide to her and scooped her into them for a warm and friendly embrace. Instead, the raver merely held one ring-heavy hand out to her when he came to a stop, his smile firmly in place though his eyes roamed her face. It had been a few years since he had last seen this particular Frei, but he could at least remember that being a little fuller.
"It's good to see you again. I hope I haven't kept you waiting!"
Certainly he had not with the timing of it all, but it was an earnest start to conversation all the same.
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Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:14 pm
She looked up, blinked a couple times, and couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips. She remembered him, and that put her a little more at ease. Thought the colors had changed, Zeke was still Zeke -- and she remembered him with fondness. He had been kind to her, back when she was new. It was a little heartening, but she remembered her own appearance after a moment and tucked a loose strand of blue hair behind her ear self-consciously, the jacket's cuff sliding down to her elbow, before taking the offered hand. Her own was cool and dainty in his. "Hello," she hummed in soft response. "I haven't been waiting at all... you're right on time." She couldn't help it, that earnestness making her smile a little. "Thank you for agreeing to make sure I'm okay. Phiel is very worried. I guess he has a reason to be..."
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Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:49 pm
She smiled at him and took his offered hand; his own shake was gentle around her fingers. He saw her forearm and its overall skinniness when the sleeve pulled back as well as felt the bones in her fingers against his palm. It brought concern bubbling to the forefront of his thoughts but he did not - would not - let that show on his face. Zeke kept up his smile, humming a pleasant note at her reply and bobbing his head as she spoke.
"Of course! I'm always happy to help when called upon." At the mention of Phiel, the vet's eyes flicked to the door behind Zurine, noting the man was not there. "Did Phiel not come with you?" Perhaps he was simply parking the car. The street was rather busy today with the last push of day trippers before proper fall and so on-street parking was hard to find in this neck of the woods, but the mention of her Guardian's worry ceased that line of thought. Zeke's smile took on a touch of tenderness. "He told me a few things on the phone and he definitely sounded concerned. You're important to him, Zurine; he doesn't want to see you sick or hurt. All the same, I'd like to hear everything from you if that's okay."
Releasing the Owl Frei's hand, Zeke turned and gestured to the glass door at the back of the room which led to the hallway he had just come in from.
"I have our check up room all set for you. If you'll follow me, I'll take you right to it and we can get started."
No sense in dragging on the inevitable, especially not knowing if the blue-haired femme was nervous about the whole thing or not. Beaming to console that notion if it was indeed true, Zeke led Zurine to the door, allowing her to pass through first while he held it open for her. The walk to the exam room wasn't long - third door on the left - and the vet repeated his initial door holding for the Frei upon pressing down the latch for the wooden door with an embossed metal plate reading 'Examination' on its face. The room behind the door was clean and well lit, styled for comfort and safety but fitted for medical happenstances if need be. Three cushioned chairs were in the room and positioned around a coffee table, which Zeke made a sweeping motion toward as soon as he was in the room and the door shut behind him.
"Please make yourself comfortable! Would you like me to take your coat for you?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 10:17 pm
"I told Phiel that it was okay if I came in by myself. He went to the grocery store, but he said he'd be back soon," Zuri said quietly as she let herself be led down into the exam room. She wasn't all that worried about this -- it was a little daunting, but Zeke's warm demeanor and cheeriness did a lot to dispel the unpleasant thoughts she'd had about this. It was better now that she was actually going through with it -- she had seen, perhaps, too many spooky late-night movies about creepy doctors and their hapless patients. It was good to realize that she was with people she knew, even if it had been awhile since she was here. After all, she had promised Phiel she would be entirely honest today. It would do her no good to lie about anything that had happened, right?
The exam room was a little bit less comforting, but she floated in nonetheless with her head held high, pretending as if nothing could touch her as she looked around, acquainting herself with it quietly. Eventually she picked her favorite of the three chairs, and moved to perch there, as much as a creature without any sort of hindquarters could sit. Her ribbon draped softly over the chair and fell to the floor, where the tip curled prettily to keep off the tile. When he asked about her coat, she hesitated a moment before unzipping it with a soft sound. It parted and she carefully shrugged it off in a delicate motion, offering it to him. "H-here. I wear it because it helps keep me cool, but it's fine in here..."
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Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 7:54 pm
With the absent Guardian's whereabouts now known, Zeke realized that perhaps it was better if Phiel wasn't in attendance. After all, if he wanted the whole story from Zurine, it would be easier gotten from the Owl without a concerned Guardian in the room. Less chance for interjections and it would - hopefully anyway - keep the air in the room from becoming overbearing.
I'll pull him aside after this is over and done with and give him a rundown on everything. That would do the trick.
As Zurine freed herself of her coat, her frailty became all the more apparent. Once more Zeke kept the physical signs of concern at bay, taking the jacket and hanging it up on a hook by the door. Once it was set and certain not to fall onto the linoleum floor Zeke rejoined his temporary charge, although he hovered between his two options for seating instead of immediately sitting down.
"I can turn the AC down for you if you'd like," his gaze flicked to the temperature control panel on the back wall of the room before falling back on Zurine. "Or perhaps you'd like something to eat or drink?"
His question was posed innocently enough, but it wasn't entirely in truth. The sight of Zurine's visible collarbone on top of everything else was enough to make Zeke think she was either not eating properly or not enough. He thought back to her file - which sat within arms reach of the both of them on the coffee table - and the snowy Frei's Essence. Anya's Essence meant the Widow Frei dined on viral illness. Zurine's seemed to point to ice as the de facto source, but there was always room for him being incorrect in that particular line of thought. All the same, it was one option to consider - especially if it meant getting the Frei back to her old self.
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Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 8:11 pm
Zurine couldn't help a soft laugh, and she shifted a little, with a soft flutter of icy feathers. "A little cup of ice might be nice," she said, smiling just a little. Her dark eyes went gentle. "The temperature is fine, though. A-after this past summer, I think my tolerance has gotten a little higher. This room would have been really warm to me, though, not that long ago..." She rubbed her upper arms with her own cool, dainty little fingers. "It's a little bit strange, though... I ate plenty, this summer... but for some reason, Phiel says that I've gotten even smaller." She looked down at her hands, wiggling her fingers and wrists appraisingly. "I was... very sad, I think. I don't know what happened, though."
She tilted her head, looking up at him. "I'm not sure anything did happen, either. Other than it getting warmer..."
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Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 10:17 pm
He smiled at her laughter.
"Coming right up!"
Zeke moved from the chairs over to a mini fridge that had been tucked in between two floor-level cabinets. He snagged two waxed paper cups from the counter, filled both with ice from the mini fridge's freezer compartment, and set about filling one with water for himself. When he returned to Zurine, Zeke set the ice-only cup before the Owl Frei and planted himself in the chair across from her.
"Well if you need me to make it cooler in here for you, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" Anything she asked of him between now and her departure was entirely okay by him. Taking a sip off his drink, the blue and pink-haired man listened to Zurine as she spoke. At her words about eating plenty, his brows lofted in surprise. Welp...strike that idea off the table. "You do look thinner, I have to agree." Zeke set the cup down. "I know it's been a long time since we saw each other, but I remember you being more...filled out."
He wanted to wince at his choice of words the moment he said them. It wasn't the right phrase to say to any woman but, s**t, there it was even if it was the truth. Zeke didn't dwell on it long, however, not when Zurine mentioned being sad. The vet cocked his head, making himself rest back against his seat rather than lean forward toward the Frei.
"It was a very warm summer for sure. You have me curious about what you mean by feeling sad but...why don't we start at the beginning? When did you first realize you were feeling sad?" Although she said she didn't remember anything happening to cause it, perhaps going back through it with her would help pinpoint something that would have caused her to "shrink" as it were. Something stressing her out maybe...
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Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2014 10:50 pm
She leaned over to pick up the cup, cradling the light paper in her fingers. The ice clinking around in it sounded nice, and it felt good against her fingers as she delicately poked at one cube with a fingertip. She was not so vain that his comment about her being thinner offended her; it wasn't hard to see it even in a mirror. Her collarbones jutted, her wrists looked even smaller than before, and her cheeks were a little hollower. It was just a matter of fact. She looked up at him as she popped an icecube into her mouth. Thinking, she held it in her mouth for a long moment, and then let out a little drift of steam. "I think I realized that something wasn't right, um... right in the middle of May," Zuri said quietly. "It was just starting to get really hot, and I felt... trapped, I think. Because I couldn't leave my room."
That wasn't quite right, was it? She prodded pensively at another cube. "No... maybe it wasn't that. Or, maybe that wasn't all of it. I think that the feelings happened before that, maybe. And that I didn't leave my room because I was feeling upset. But I know that before that, things were good... very good." She smiled reflexively, and then quenched it quickly. "It's probably not that interesting, though... since that's all I can really say about that. Other than that the feelings got worse and worse the longer I stayed inside, but that I just didn't have the energy by then to leave." That was an extreme simplification, but Zuri couldn't find the words to give voice to the all-consuming silence that had overwhelmed her. "It was like there was a voice in my head, after awhile, saying that I should just... stop being an imposition, because everyone else likes the warmth and it just makes me feel bad..."
There, that was better. But she wasn't looking forward to telling him what had come next. That held a little shame for her.
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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 11:24 am
May. Alright that was a start and Zeke counted the months in between, coming up with the number five. Five months she hadn't been feeling - or looking - herself. He listened as she spoke and then backpedaled just a little, saving any comments he had for the end.
"Do you remember anything that would have made you go from very good to very sad?" He smiled at her sympathetically. "Even a little thing can cause the whole world to turn upside down."
Zeke took another sip off his cup and set it back down again. "I would like to hear everything from you," he reiterated from before, "but if you don't feel comfortable saying something, then it's okay if you don't. I want to help you get better, Zurine, but I also don't want to put you on the spot."
He considered everything she had said. In some way it sounded almost like an extreme case of cabin fever. Zurine was trapped inside because she wasn't suited for the heat of summer and therein lied part of the problem. However, her mention of being sad and there being a voice in her head telling her things that were not true...That was not cabin fever. That made him think of Anya and the long road of darkness and self-loathing she had gone through after Kahadlok.
"I highly doubt you're an imposition on anyone. Just because your friends like warmth while you like cold doesn't mean they'd stop enjoying your company in the summer months. What would make you think that?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 11:57 am
She played with the rolled rim on the cup, now, thinking a little harder about it. "Well... u-um..." Her heart fluttered a little with nerves, and she shuffled her wings just slightly, before saying, "I was.." and trailing off for a moment. That's right, what had they been doing? What had she been to him? She liked to consider herself clever in regards to the world, but honestly, she didn't have much first-hand experience of it. Zurine's brows furrowed, a line appearing between them, right under the center jewel on her forehead. "I don't know if this is the right word, but I was... being a girlfriend?" She frowned, and scrunched her nose. "Dating? Doing kissing and cuddling things with... Cesc." Her chest tightened a little at saying his name. "But then... it got hot and I couldn't... go out and do things, so..."
The cup crinkled a little in her hand, and she looked down at it, a little surprised as she relaxed her hand. She hadn't been clenching it on purpose, but.. It was trembling a little and she shook it out, trying to shake off the feeling. "I felt really, really guilty. And then the longer it went, the guiltier I felt, and...I tried to call later, but I think he's angry at me because he didn't answer. S-still, it's... not like I didn't deserve it."
Zuri's expression grew sad again. "Things got worse after that. A lot worse. So I thought it would be best if I just stopped trying and... let everyone just move on and forget about me. I know it's... foolish. But that's what happened. The whole story." To the best of her ability, anyway.
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Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2014 10:47 am
He gave her all the time she needed to get what she had to say out, but when she finally did speak her piece, his face lit up. One hand was raised to cover the smile that had turned just a bit silly and also to stifle a soft chuckle.
"It's the right word. I myself be a boyfriend." He winked at her. "That stuff is part of what comes with the territory."
She mentioned Cesc as the one whom she was in the relationship with, which brought some surprise. The sensation became more apparent when Zurine continued. Zeke had just seen the Stag a few days ago. 'Discovered him' would be the more appropriate choice of words - Cesc had been sitting in the living room and talking with Anya in the early morning hours. Zeke had come down to start on coffee and had done a double take. Triple, really, when the Stag revealed himself to be a Sigel now instead of a Frei.
Despite having this information, Zeke kept it to himself as he watched Zurine and listened to her words. Surprise gave way easily to sympathy and slowly the vet leaned forward and reached across the coffee table to touch the Owl's hand.
"I don't see how anyone could ever be mad at you, Zurine." He felt her trembles and decided to keep the information about Cesc to himself. He didn't want to upset her with the idea that her apparent boyfriend had not only grown but was out and about and - seemingly - doing fine. Still, it made him wonder all the same. Cesc never came off as the type to just drop anyone like a hot rock, friend or otherwise. If he and Zurine were as close as she said they were...
He pushed it from his thoughts. It wasn't his place. What was right now was helping the gentle Frei before him get better.
"I can't say why he didn't answer your phone call back then," so long as she didn't recoil from his touch the vet kept his hand on hers, "but I can understand why you feel guilty. Time flies. Suddenly May is now September and you realize you haven't heard from close friends in awhile. Then you feel really bad because 'I should have kept in touch better' but you know what? Those people you care about and lost contact with are often in the same boat as you. Life got in the way and then they feel guilty about reaching out to you months later because they're not sure how you'll respond if they do. But you see...If both sides don't act, then that rift grows and grows. All it really takes one person to fight through those feelings and reach out to begin to rebuild that bridge."
He hoped that gave some insight. If she sat around waiting and waiting for the phone to ring, then there was a chance it wouldn't ever happen. Granted, he wasn't sure what would cause her friends to not reach out to her (on the off chance none really did. For all he knew some had but hadn't gotten through for whatever reason.) but Zurine being the one to do was a key here. If she could reach out to her friends and attempt to rectify the situation, then things would surely be on the up for her. But first he'd have to get her to that point.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'm willing to bet that no one forgot about you, Cesc included. Like I said - life gets in the way sometimes. Well...a lot of the time. But we never, ever forget the ones we care about. I'm sure if you got a hold of any one of your friends, they'd be more than happy to hear from you."
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 4:35 pm
She sat and listened to him speak, absorbing the information he had to give her. This was the sort of thing Phiel had never been good at, insights about other people that amounted to 'we don't trust strangers' and 'when in doubt, trust your gut'. While important, neither of those bits of wisdom had done her any good in this situation. She sighed deeply, and the trembling beneath Zeke's hand seemed to slowly die away as her nerves began to calm. Zurine looked up at him thoughtfully.
"Do you really think that will make it better? I am a little afraid that I will have... really done harm by ignoring people," she said, quietly. "I do... still care, very much... but I'm afraid of a lot of things. It's strange, but I would never have thought to be afraid of those things before -- I-I wish that I still didn't." Her nose wrinkled a little, and she sighed again. "But I can't just let things go on as they are now, that's true...
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Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:05 pm
He smiled sweetly at her, squeezing his hand over hers.
"I think it'll definitely help." He wasn't about to put false thoughts in her head that doing one thing like that would insta-fix everything she was going through. "By reaching out, you're taking that step that most people would be too nervous to do. It might be a bit nerve wracking when you start, but I know you can do it. You're a tough girl, Zurine."
Her voice softened and Zeke leaned in a little to hear. "I'm not gonna lie and say that everything will be picture perfect when you reach out again. Maybe someone will be...mm...How can I put this..." The phrase 'chapped in the a**' wanted to escape him, but that wasn't appropriate. "Sore. Someone might be sore about it, you never know, but that's a possibility that might happen. If it does...You just explain as best you can what happened. It's possible they didn't think things through and consider the possibility of you being unwell."
This part was tricky. He wanted to bolster her so badly, but even the good things came with a 'but...' tacked on at times. He hoped the friends she had wouldn't snap at her over this, but to say that no one would would be setting her up for disappointment and hurt all over again. If it happened, he believed she could see it through. She would just have to be ready for it.
"You wanna know something?" He patted her hand and finally released it, pulling back to straighten his back against his chair and smile across the table at her. "I'd be a lot more worried if you said you didn't care. The fact you said that tells me that you can overcome this, even if you're afraid." He noted her words. "May I ask what you're afraid of? I might be able to help with that too, if you'd like me to."
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