Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lorcan had been prepping things in the examination room of his home when he heard the specific ding he’d set up for Kioshi. Everyone in his contact list had a separate tone for both text and call so he would know how quickly he had to get to the phone. It didn’t have him jumping up but he did finish what he was doing then walked back down the hall to pick it up and look at the message. It only bothered him slightly, the fact that his schedule was off now but the fact it was due to the other’s profession had him being a bit lenient. Cleanliness took time and he appreciated that. Looking around, he considered things for a moment and made a decision as he pulled on a light jacket over his outfit. Nobody would ever have a doubt that he was a doctor, from the slacks and button-up to the tie that he’d gotten as a gift from his cousin. The drive itself didn’t take too long so when he did arrive, things were still in progress it seemed. The shop looked clean, inside and out which he appreciated even if this whole thing wasn’t really his cup of tea.

Standing at the front desk, he saw a small gathering of piercers around someone on a table. Leaning over to get a better look, he took note of the gloves and also how the needles looked different than he’d expected. He was a bit transfixed by the process, it was its own bit of procedure it seemed as each piercing was set up and done on the person’s back. Whoever they were was taking it well but he was wondering where Kioshi was until he spotted a bit of that tattoo of theirs as one of the piercers moved and he got a look at their arm.

That was not what he’d expected, not in the slightest. He didn’t want to interrupt anything though so just kept near the front desk while watching. It looked like it could be painful but as he watched and noticed that things weren't being done how he had known other piercings to be done he started to wonder if they weren’t ones that were meant to stick around. How were they planning on managing the healing process in an area they couldn’t reach though? It bothered him and he really couldn’t understand why someone would do that even if it did have an oddly delicate artistry to it.

One of their coworkers waived him over, it was the girl who was usually at the desk if he remembered correctly. He knew a few of their names from passive conversations about work that had come up during checkups and things. Stepping around the counter he walked into the room and kept back a bit, looking over things as they cleaned up and disposed of the needles and packaging appropriately.

He didn’t quite stare when they came out of the bathroom in a different outfit but he found himself a bit surprised at the similarities between what they were wearing now and their uniform. It was sheerer this time and he did find the corner of his mouth turning up a bit as a small laugh came out at their comment about culture. For someone who had given up everything to switch sides, they certainly were adamant on the things they did have ties to. It was something he could appreciate, given his own family history and reason for joining things.

All the chains and beads looked like dewy spiderwebs and he could understand a bit more about all this, even if he still didn’t like the idea of unnecessary open wounds. It also was a bit odd watching them be posed and photographed. It wasn’t something he’d figured they’d put up with but at least the shop seemed to be empty otherwise so maybe they’d been cornered into this by their coworkers. In essence that was how his clinic had an influx of agents trickling in here and there. It started with his cousin and then the tart and now he had all of his cousin’s team, the extended Evans members that were slowly joining up, and then the Sharps with Liam included in that. If anything at this point Kioshi was the only one who had mostly approached the process through proper channels and seemed to respect his schedule and free time.

Thinking on it as he watched them, it clicked a bit what they reminded him of. A fae, that was it, wasn’t it? Ethereal but it felt odd and he wasn’t sure why he was thinking about things like that right now. Coughing slightly to clear his mind and throat, he just watched on as the whole photoshoot happened. He’d ask questions later after this all was dispersed because he knew some of them might take offense to his poking and prodding about the procedure of things and this wasn’t his place to say much. It was someone else’s profession and things were not held to the same standards and steps so he couldn’t really hold the things he knew against them and expect the same answers or results.

Curiosity was something he knew was going on though because it did at least slightly dip into things he knew about and they had mentioned something about actual doctors working on certain modifications. It was one of those things that he both agreed and disagreed on. Having any sort of surgery was best done in a clinical environment but at the same time, he also didn’t approve of unnecessary medical procedures and it was one of those things they both ended up conversing over on patrols.

At the mention of a vampire-themed shoot, Lorcan pressed a palm to his head and shook it almost. More folklore and things that he’d heard about between conversations and audiobooks. Another of those modifications he’d seen and taken notice of during medical checkups while he’d been building their medical history from scratch. The bite mark was something too and it was odd to see it so defined, almost like a tattoo.

Hearing their comment about something called play piercings and then the mention of endorphins, he felt something odd. It sounded like something his cousin and that tart would know about and it had him cringing a bit. Something he never really understood or got behind as much, doing things that could harm oneself in chase of stuff like that. Risky behaviors for variable rewards it seemed like.

“It’s not but, I can’t say I haven’t been growing the smallest bit curious.” Especially after he’d heard about another doctor near his practice opening up a cosmetic clinic that handled some of the things Kiyoshi had mentioned. He was still conflicted about it but he’d gone to school with the man and wished him as well as he could in the normal way he did. If anything his secretary had done most of the legwork on the pleasantries, something he was perfectly fine with because it meant less time he had to deal with it.

“I don’t think it would be good to take those out yourself.” Narrowing his eyes, it was stupid to try in his opinion and he would have started to rant if the other piercers hadn’t started working on just that. It seemed like it was something that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for them, something he knew he wouldn’t do for himself even in most situations. First aid was one thing but he knew when it was impossible to be done without a second set of eyes or pair of hands.

Thinking about it, he took a look out of the room and around the shop. He hadn’t ever really seen much of it outside of the photos that were online of the front waiting area or this photoshoot room. Another thing had him cringing and running his hand through his hair in the smallest bit of annoyance. More plant-based medicines… just like his cousin. It made sense here since none of them had licenses or the certifications to provide medical advice but he still had a knee-jerk reaction when it came to things like that. He’d offer something different afterward though, since they were coming in for a medical visit and he would be taking a closer look at those new wounds.

He looked at his watch and then turned back to watch them finish taking all the bits of metal out of the man’s back. It looked angry and red around where some of the larger pieces of jewelry had been, probably from swelling due to the irritation of it all but he wasn’t close enough to really get a good look. “Now if you would kindly let him get changed back, he’s late for an appointment.” It was just a matter-of-fact way he spoke, nothing really showing on his face as he looked down at the time once again. It wasn’t really directed at any specific person in the room but his opinion had to be stated because he did want to get home.

They were close, maybe a bit too close for comfort but it was fine for now as they spoke. So a bluff was what it had been but the mention of flexibility had him doubting many could do that anyway. “Alright then.” Leaning back and moving out of the way, he watched and noted everything in the clean-up process.

The bit of blood was worrying, something he would specifically focus on later just to double-check. Now that they were back in something that was recognizable, it was more jarring the difference between now and the photoshoot. Rubbing his temple, he tried to work away that dissonance as they walked over. It made his head hurt a bit, that and just from how busy the week had been. It wasn’t quite a migraine like they got but it was still bothersome and hastened his need to get home.

“Either way, parking is set for multiple vehicles given the clinic.” Not wanting these people to think he was bringing the man to his home, was something that would be horrific if they started getting the wrong idea. It would lead to endless annoyances and probably more bothering from Alexandre and the tart over things if they got wind of it.

Heading back out towards the front desk, he pulled a small sanitizer from his jacket pocket and cleaned his hands off. Habits were hard to break and even if he barely touched anything he felt the need to clean his hands just from being in proximity to open wounds.

“Okay.” Following the other out, he got his keys out and unlocked his own car. Nothing fancy other than the fact it had been new with a few added options but it was a Toyota so it was reliable and had two years of pre-planned and scheduled maintenance which he could get behind. Getting into the 4runner he nodded and started off, making sure they were still behind him between red lights and turns through the city.

It wasn’t a long drive, not compared to the one he did out to visit family for holidays but it was a bit more difficult when accounting for someone following along. Once he arrived, he pulled into his garage and left the driveway free for them to park in as he stood inside the open garage.

The sun was fully set now so the streetlights started turning on further down the road as his own outdoor lights ticked and clicked on as the clock hit eight pm. It was quiet after that though other than the sound of the other car pulling in and it was something he enjoyed about this neighborhood. He didn’t need a large home, not like most of the family sought out, he had enough space for his work and a few hobbies that he did from the house. The small makeshift clinic here only really got used because of the few people he’d had to treat because of his cousin or Kiyoshi here. Even if Katya was trying to get him to expand things so she could tinker with larger machines since he forbade her from touching the ones at his private practice.

Shifting to close the garage as the other cleared the entry way he opened the door that led into the lower level of his home. “I had planned on getting a few samples to run some additional baseline tests to compare them to the previous ones. Nothing fasting today but it would be skewed after what happened earlier.” Inflammation and irritation could skew things as well as show a higher cortisol level than would otherwise be standard which didn’t really help considering they seemed to already have a higher level of that for their baseline which he was considering was the main trigger for their migraines.

Heading up the stairs and into the main part of his home where the front door led into everything else, he looked over his shoulder. “Tea? Or anything to drink?” It had become standard at this point, he’d even had to refill the one type that was their go to which hadn’t been an issue when asking his cousin.

“The shop you work at seems to have good practices, even if it seems that one girl was a bit too excited for the opportunity to pincushion you.” Because that really was what it had looked like for a bit while they were getting all the needles through their skin. The rest though, was something he wasn’t sure about and tried to push the image from his mind as he went about his routine of prepping the kettle and pulling out what he needed for his cup of tea. This time he grabbed one of the ones that was recommended for headaches because he still had the mild start of a throbbing migraine behind his left temple. Something he pressed his palm against for a moment as he filled the kettle with water before placing it back on the electronic base and turning it on.

“It’s alright, to be fair it wasn’t something I knew was going on either to give warning of.” It was similar to the questionnaires when people donated blood too. Asking about fresh piercings or tattoos since it effected things and was considered an open wound.

Setting the jar of honey next to the cup he had on the counter for them, he left a spoon on a spoon rest as well. Wincing slightly as the spoon clattered on the ceramic rest, he pressed just a bit more on his temple as they spoke.

“Good good, those classes are important for anyone handling bodily fluids.” Moving a bit more to get things ready as the kettle warmed up the mention of freak had him pausing. “I wouldn’t say freak, then again you are one of those witches but that’s neither there nor there since they wouldn’t know that.” They knew his opinion in part if not the history behind it when it came to magic and senshi. Knights were something he was a bit conflicted over and had avoided them without too much of an issue. Kafka seemed to avoid them as well so it meant overall the only interactions with Order he had were those alien cats and witches.

Blinking slightly he considered things for a moment. “Yes but that medication is yours and not to be used by anyone else. Its dosage is set for you, also more likely just a tension headache.” Migraines weren’t common for him but he got the occasional headache after long nights of pouring over things in the castle or assisting with patrols. It was happening more frequently during the periods of time when his schedule was thrown to the wind by his family but also sometimes after being hit with senshi magic.

“The same could be said considering my family. Luckily I have a brother who ended up marrying so I could continue focusing on my work. Though that was long before I joined chaos. Being the odd one out at gatherings because I preferred the quiet or work, though it is different as well.” Not that he cared much when people told him he was stiff or neglecting things by overworking when in essence he wasn’t really overworking back then like he was now.

Standing there watching the kettle, he felt movement but didn’t really register things until they touched him. Too close but… the cold helped and he sighed in relief slightly. It was magic, but not the same as what he knew they could do while powered up. It was complicated though as he felt them rubbing away the tension in his temples. Normally he was disgusted by people being close or touching him but this was fine and honestly a bit welcome.

Lorcan let it happen for a bit until the kettle clicked, signaling that the water was ready. At that point, he tensed up a bit. “I need to get the kettle.”