transfundere | TLV Inbox

I have never had the problem of 'too many cozy reading nooks', I admit. And I have the advantage of being new enough that there are seldom people looking for me.

[ A pause. ]

For what 'advantage' that might be.

[ He's going to start in with the totally unnecessary testing procedure, if only to comfort the man.]

Suffice to say that I'm glad the Admiral allowed me to bring Lisa.

Lisa? Is that a pet?

[ Is there another dog on this ship? Will manages to quell his excitement for the moment. ]

[ That... gets a blink. Then a shake of his head. ]

I'm afraid not, no. Just my, uh,

My plant, actually.

Oh. I see.

[ Dog alert: back to nominal. Will smiles a bit, even so. ]

That's nice of the Admiral, though. It's good to have something from home...even if most of us actually have some form of our homes here, it's- different.

What type of plant is it?

She's a, er, I believe her to be a ficus? I-if I had to venture a guess. I, um, I suppose I inherited her from the last doctor to have my office at the Pembroke. It took some doing to revive her from a rather sorry state, but she seems to be doing all right in my rooms here, thankfully.

[ A pause. ]

Though I, um... I have considered a pet? It just wasn't particularly wise, given my service and then the... epidemic.

[ He nods along to the description, and smiles towards the end. ]

You might want to ask for a cat or a dog or something, or keep an eye out when we stop somewhere, then. From everything I've heard, the cabins stay safe, and there's a kennel if you need it, as well. Which- it feels kind of odd to say, but it seems a lot safer to have a pet here than where most of us came from.

I've considered it, though I come upon the problem of my hours here. I'd hate to ask any animal to spend all day without company just to comfort me at the end of the day.

[ He smiles a bit fondly. ]

There is a cat in the veterinary clinic I've been considering adopting, to be honest. I'll have to talk to the man who runs it, a gentleman who goes by B. Perhaps we could figure something out, given their proximity to the infirmary. A thought for another time.

[ He looks to Will. ]

I should be able to test your blood quickly enough and have your answer for you within a few minutes. If you'd care to wait?

[ Hearing about the cat in the vet clinic has Will nodding. ]

I think it's a good idea. And the kennel is there to watch animals when you're working. You should go meet the cat. [ He smiles a bit. ] I get the feeling they'd do you some good.

[ When asked if he'll wait, Will nods and tells Reid it's no problem at all. He's find sitting around for a few minutes.

Or- he usually is, in any case. This time, as he sits and tries not to drift off to some other imaginary place he might get caught up in, he starts seeing red. Like, literally red, as if someone dropped rose-colored glasses in front of his eyes.

He's not sure why, and doesn't start tugging away from the thought just yet. When these things come to him, sometimes it's best to just let it happen. He watches as the wendigo steps into the infirmary, just as silently as usual. But its horns are different- flowing, moving, like liquid. The rest of him ripples as well. 'What's taking you so long?' Will asks in his head, even as he realizes the differences.

In his seat, Will stares blankly ahead. He's probably going to need a nudge or some time before he comes out of...whatever's going on with him. ]

[ It probably sounds like he's speaking through water, like Will is under the surface and he's talking but it's all garbled. At least until- ]

Mr. Graham? Mr. Graham. Are you all right?

[ Will startles, as if waking up from a deep sleep. He's breathing heavily, hearing his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. It hasn't been that vivid for a while, not without him specifically calling it up. And the imagery was a little different...

He shakes his head rather violently, then blinks and looks up at the doctor. ]

Ah...uh, yeah. Sorry. I'm okay. It's just my usual amount of crazy. At least, I'm assuming.

[ He rubs an eye. And okay, maybe he can be more honest here on the Barge, but that probably didn't help much. ]

Vision went red for a minute there. I'm back.

[ Not much better, but at least it's something. ]

[ That makes him pause and he'll look him over one more time with a focus on his eyes. Still nothing. ]

Red, you said? does that happen often?

[ It pushes at him again, the feeling of his empathy trying to show him something. But he's trying to be less obviously crazy, so he pushes it back. He'll take a look later. ]

Not- ah. Not that in particular. I have a mental condition- doctors back home call it an Empathy Disorder. It causes vivid visualizations, like a step under hallucinating. But when it's strong, I can sort of get lost in myself for a bit, and that...happened there. Sorry.

You have no need to apologize, Mr. Graham.

[ The reassurance is genuine enough. He's not at all bothered; intrigued but with obvious empathy of his own, albeit far less sensory. ]

I admit that my understanding of mental conditions on the whole is rather outdated, though I've been making progress to better understand the science of it. We had some such theories at the time I came from, but not in a way I found particularly compelling.

[ Will is always glad when his condition doesn't creep people out, as much as he tries to pretend that he doesn't care one way or another. Reid's admitting that he's outdated makes Will chuckle a little. ]

Well, don't feel too bad about it. They're not really sure how to classify what I have in my time, either. I haven't gotten the...best of the mental health profession, back home.

But I do know quite a bit about it. In an effort to understand myself, I did research on abnormal psychology, and I've taught at a couple places. So if you have any questions, just let me know sometime.

I would be thrilled to listen to a lecture or two, if you ever decide to give them here.

[ No, seriously, he means that. If he's still in tune with Reid, he'll be able to tell that not only is he interested, but he likes the idea of learning from someone who's experienced these things himself. ]

[ Will might not be allowing the visions to peek through his experience, but otherwise it's sort of hard to entirely shut off the empathy spigot.

In this case, that's a good thing. It's not the first time people on the Barge didn't get put off by Will's strangeness, but he's still not used to it. He smiles a little, encouraged by the enthusiasm. ]

Really? I'll have to think about it. Especially now that I'd have at least two people attending, you and Dr. Bright.

[ He chuckles. ]

It's honestly been too long since I wrote up a lecture or a paper. I do like wrangling all my thoughts into an organized structure.

I've found it an excellent way to more cohesively come to understand the ideas for myself. [ He definitely gets that. And he's given his own share of lectures, albeit on more dry medical information. ]

Don't feel rushed, obviously, but know you have an audience when you'd care for one.

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...this notif did not come, I'm so sorry

no worries! happy to see the tag :D

Re: no worries! happy to see the tag :D

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