[sylvanSpider]

Leaning his head back, Fikri focused on a spot on the ceiling, catatonic and unable to move. No, “focused” is wrong. His eyes fell on that spot and that was where they stopped. His vision blurred and he wanted to cry, to scream, to...something. He'd come out of slavery, made friends, became part of a family, but for what? It all culminated into naught but his solitude.

What did I do to deserve this? Why her? I would have taken those spikes for her, for Riola, in the blink of an eye. Why couldn't it have been me? Why...did I...have to taste it...

To think that there was once a time when that was all he wanted. But now that he'd had that taste...that glorious taste of what it meant to love...the solitude was anything but wanted. His body stopped listening to his mental commands in the most uncomfortable position, head resting against the hard wall. If he could just make his way to the bed, he could sleep and forget about himself for a little bit.

As if it could call, he looked back down at the pyramid, now on the ground and turned off. It wasn't far from where he sat; he could feel its smooth surface against the side of his hand and soon he grasped it in his hand, flipping the top to the setting “joy.” The beginnings of the shift in feelings were immediate. The boulder in his chest faded and he could get up. Further, he wanted to get up. He felt like a kitten again! He felt like he was flying! But why? There was nothing making him feel this way, and the question of why, why, why, still beat like a drum in the back of his head, but he could feel his tail twitching with ecstasy. He could do anything now.

Getting to his feet and stretching, he let the tips of his fingers touching the ceiling to his room and looked to the boxes. He'd get it unpacked. He was happy! He had no reason to be happy, but he was!

<<<

Ashi lay as still as she could attempting to make Dr. Analoka's job as easy as possible – especially considering her girlfriend's mental state. The tub that she was laying in began to fill up, and Ashi gasped at how much colder it was than the air that she previously was freezing in. Soon her entire body went numb, the pain diminished and she could feel fingers prying at her body, but that was it. She could see her naked body distorted through the viscous liquid, Analoka's hands moving deftly over the more injured areas, snapping things back in place. The horrendous pain that she'd imagine was noticeably and thankfully absent. Ashi, despite her better judgment, watched the entire process as it was happening.

“It truly is,” Ashi breathed, not taking her eyes off of the hands that were working on fixing her. She cleared her throat, her bodily troubles being mended, she had other problems to attend to. “Um, doctor? Once I'm mended...when can we...see Shaldag?”

>>>>

Mendez nodded his understanding. “They're probably too scared to try hurting you,” he laughed, trying to comfort her with his incredibly lame sense of humor. He could see how nervous she was about actually needing to be fixed herself, a concept that he found rather unnerving. He'd never seen Atrix nervous before. She wasn't nervous when they'd first kissed or made love. She wasn't nervous when meeting anyone new. She certainly wasn't nervous at the idea of brandishing weapons and killing another living being. But here? She was nervous.

When she squeezed his hand, his eyes widened for just a moment but soon he was laughing again, massaging his hand for just a moment, “You've done worse to me in the bedroom. Don't worry, querida, you're fine.” Satisfied with finding none of his bones had been broken, he went to grab her hand again, placing his other on the small of her back guiding her to room 112. “No, no, mamacita. We're making sure you're not in pain. Don't worry, I've got you. If they try anything funny, I'll kill them and you'll have a nice snack for later, si?”

[BlueInTheShell]

The mention of Shaldag at the moment fromAshi turned the Chuzizian's face into something akin to the alien being met with a carton of rotten milk; the look of someone who had smelled something spoiled washing over her magenta features. Hyun cast a long and tired look towards the two and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly and loudly before a hand reached into her coat to fumble for something, the magenta colored woman flaring her nasal slits and moving towards the exit, giving both her girlfriend and the doctor a small wave with two fingers. "Nicotine addictions. I'll be back. Mostly because I need to decide if I'm gonna tell Shaldag I'm sorry, or let him know he's a fuckin' idiot." Hyun growled, taking no time to wait for a response from either of the two.

Analoka made no offer of departure as Hyun-chu vacated the room; the doors behind her closing and then letting out a small 'Ping' to let the fiery woman know she was with her patient and her patient alone, the Doctor's hands slowing down a bit and then stopping as she pulled them from the Verdaqua, only to bend them and wriggle them. "I'm just checking to make sure there's no leaks in my gloves. Contrary to belief, beings such as me feel. And I can assure you that you don't want my hands to go numb while I mend your leg." Analoka chimed, turning her head in the direction - the brand along her face churning and contorting into a faint semblance of a smile. "Mending shouldn't take too-too long. Your leg is taking well to the treatment. Any internal injuries are probably being treated as the liquid starts to seep through your hypodermal tissue. As for seeing Shaldag, should he allow you all in there you can visit him. You can probably stay in there to watch his augmentation, if you don't mind the extensiveness of what he plans to do to himself."

Utter a short, tart cough the doctor shook her head and set back to work placing tissue, tendon and bone where it belonged. "I will probably only have you escorted out when it comes to time implant the Rage Nails. A surgery like that, and their initial bootng process in the body? It's not something you wish your friends to witness." Taking a small pause, the doctor shifted her attention to Ashi and looked to the door, and then back to the blue-haired woman, repeating the motion a few times. "May I ask you something? It's going to come as a shock, but I knowwho you are. Your name and your photo have been plastered on some of the News Networks. Missing princess. People are in arms determining if you're dead or not. I assumed the latter. Please correct me if I am wrong however."

>>>>>>>>

Atrix puffed her cheeks as hard as she could and narrowed her eyes at Mendez. He was right. They were probably scared of her. And they should be; Was she not one of the higher, superior specimens of her already formidable species? "I don't see why they are. I'm...More terrified of doctors than I am staring death in the face on a war front." Atrix replied, her voice bitter, resentful. Violence and punching and kicking her way out was looking more and more like a valid means of escape; the Terskix reaching towards where she normally kept some form of weapon, only to find the area barren. Another sigh escaped her and she clicked her mandibles in rapid succession - The spider fighting back an urge to clamp down with her teeth onto the poor Halfbreed just trying to make things better.

A hand on her lower back was the final push and Atrix froze once she was in Room 112; the Terskix staring and going pale at the sights of various instruments along the tableside and hanging from the wall; though she mustered the courage to move to the bed and against her better judgment, sat down to wait for the inevitable atrocity that was medical care - Half pulling Mendez by his arm with her and squeezing as hard as she could. "The difference in me doing worse things is that you enjoy them. I do not enjoy this." Atrix shot back, her squeezing amplifying by the second and several more limbs reached out for the Edensian. "If something goes wrong. I'm eating you both. The doctor for doing it, and you for not seeing it coming to stop it in the first place."

[sylvanSpider]

Ashi noticed Hyun's facial change and immediately regretted her question. She didn't express this regret out loud, however, opting instead to close her eyes for a moment, reveling in the miraculous lack of pain she was feeling at the moment. She opened her eyes in time to see her girlfriend inching toward the door and the princess couldn't help but understand. There was a lot on Hyun's mind and the problem of Ashi was now being taken care of. There were other issues that needed attending and dwelling on. The very fact that Hyun considered apologizing to Shaldag was a feat in and of itself. Ashi opened her mouth to wish Hyun a happy nic break but closed it again seeing that she was already gone. A small sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes once more, now content that she could see if she wanted to without being squeamish.

Analoka, as expected, said nothing when Hyun left the room – a fact that Ashi was grateful for. The conversation moved to simple procedures and Ashi opened one eye to see what Dr. Analoka was doing in reference to her words. “Do what you need to, Doctor. I'm more bound to believe you about the effect you have than my own preconceived notions,” Ashi said chuckling a bit, “I'm thankful to hear that I'm responding well.” The verdaqua was indeed working. Ashi could feel it, even if it had changed color from all of the blood. “Is he...conscious?” Ashi blurted, again immediately regretting the question. Of course he was conscious. He'd asked Hyun for the upgrades. “Did he...did he look for us? Is he sad that we're not there for him?” The questions tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them, worry consuming her. She could only imagine how Hyun was feeling right now. “I'm...sorry, I- I...it's just...I feel responsible and I'm...worried about him. I heard the side effects of the procedure he asked for and I want him to know that I'm here for him no matter what...” Ashi bowed her head, biting her lip, biting off the urge to ask more questions she knew she didn't want the answer to.

The princess didn't react as tissue, tendon, and bone were moved to their proper locations. Instead she remained perfectly still, no longer closing her eyes in a vain attempt to relax. Now her eyes sought a spot on the ceiling and let them rest there. Ashi wasn't given a chance to answer whether or not she was okay with a question and when the question came her eyes widened, freezing and slowly moving down to Analoka. She'd been hoping that given the isolation of the medicinal planet that she'd managed to evade recognition. The rest of the medical staff seemed more concerned with Atrix's appearance – a fact that Ashi was eternally grateful for, even if it was at the spider-woman's expense. She gulped and chose her words carefully. There was no backpedaling now, and she knew it, but she didn't know what it meant. “Well,” she said, pausing to think over her words, “I'm not dead, no. But as far as my father is concerned, I am. I do not know how closely you've been following the News Networks, but my funeral was recently held. It was grandiose and disgusting. Kind of amazing, really. The man is capable of pretending to feel things when a camera is aimed at him.” She did not say that her father was still searching for her, or that she, Hyun, and Shaldag had tricked him into surrendering billions of qanta to the trio or that she was considering revealing her life to the general public thus creating a possibility to incite war or worse...trade cut offs. All of this was best unsaid and would remain so until Ashi new what the fuck she was planning.

>>>>

Mendez took her narrowed eyes and turned them into a cheeky grin, “C'mon mamacita, I'll be there the entire time. If they try to do anything, they have to answer to me. And trust me, I inherited my temper from mi madre, and she didn't fuck around.” His grin only wavered for a couple of grimaces every time she tightened her grip, but several nights of several hour-long sessions hardened him to the point that he didn't try to remove any of her grabbing appendages. As far as he was concerned, if his body could provide even the smallest amount of comfort, he would allow it to happen. “I understand the fear. I've got my own set of fears. Being eaten, for instance. There's no shame in being afraid,” he said, giving her the gentlest of squeezes back.

Mendez could almost taste her fear, and it didn't taste as good as one would have expected from one who was used to being on top. On the contrary, it just made Mendez want to hold Atrix all the tighter, tell her all the more that he was there, that they couldn't touch her in a way she didn't want them to while he was there. “That's fine, Atrix,” Mendez said chuckling, looking up to see her face. “Hey. Do you remember when we first met? You were dangling me by one leg and asking me to give you one reason to not eat me right then and right there. You remember what I did? I fuckin' punched you! The most beautiful woman I've ever seen! Now that we're well beyond that...Imagine how hard I'd punch someone who dared threaten that most beautiful woman. It's okay, I'm here, so it'll be okay, okay?”

[BlueInTheShell]

"Pre-concieved notions are a viable source of information half the time to begin with. Without them, people would probably make a lot of physical passes on my being, and then cry out in horror when they get burned," Analoka said, half as an observational fact, and the other half nothing more than a bit of humor escaping the otherwise stoic practioner, "You can stare at me as well. A lot people are wanton in their expression when it comes to something much more akin to abnormal to them. I suppose where you are from, you don't see many plasmic-carbon based life, correct? I was the same way seeing most of the humanoids when I ventured out into the world too. I couldn't believe that you all could be so weird. Half solid. Half liquid. Gelatinous viscera in between everywhere. I wanted to dissect all of you and see how you tick, then I decided to go into medicine when I realized I could make a living doing that." Analoka hummed and cocked her head to the side, looking at how much the blood in the tub had turned the precious liquid into a sickly, bilious tea color. Her work was started to be obscured, but at this point it was only a matter of time before the Daoweian was back to her normal self. "Your Ogrunu friend? He seemed more content on keeping himself as the pinnacle of statuesque. Didn't ask for anyone or anything. Refused several attempts to get him under anasthesia. He was coerced into painkillers at least, and we managed to get a temporary replacement jaw in his mouth, so he can talk. I supposed his glances to the side could have been him looking for you two. I don't want to dash your hopes, but I would assume not, personally."

Analoka's hands emerged from the tub of liquid, and pulling gloves off the woman let plumes of plasma trail up and flare before they calmed down, the doctor going silent in thought. "He wounds are definitely something I could see from a combat medic's perspective. I'm sure he did that because he cared about you, and it was his job. You do not need to feel responsible. If anything, you allowed him a chance to prove he can laugh death in the face. A trait that his species enjoys very much." The gaze of dread from Ashi put the doctor on edge, however, and the woman's flames dimmed to a tiny, dull flicker as she leaned back in her seat; Analoka listening to the response and offering a sage nod in return. "Ashamedly, I simply glanced at the headlines, looked at your face and then proceeded to scroll through my dataslate. I can't see your father, the king of the planet being so...Atrocious as you are claiming him to be. However I don't know him as well as his 'deceased' daughter." Looking towards the princess, the brand on Analoka's face formed into a small grin as she shook her head. "It's a shame. I was going to have to report you being alive. It is such a shame that instead I just found a lookalike in the midst of commotion. If you are catching the meaning behind my words."

Analoka arched her back and wriggled in place; the doctor adjusting a few unflattering bits of bodysuit where her inner fire had produced what looked like the humanoid equivalent of bloatedness in her form before she looked at Ashi and clasped her hands together. "Bend your knee. Work it a little. There will be some discomfort. If you have a sudden excruciating pain, and need to scream, please do so I know I have to open your leg back up and look for a piece of bone I may have misplaced."

>>>>>>>>

"If you fight as well as you can calm, I'm going to be on a vivisection table rather quickly then." Atrix hissed - Tartness in her voice creeping out against her will as she frowned and wrinkled her features, her grip loosening when she finally noticed Mendez's discomfort with her rather harsh handling of his being. "I don't see why you fear being eaten. I would do you the nicetie of killing you quickly and painlessly. No need for stress to tighten what little meat you have on your bones." This time the Terskix sounded a little more facetious than malicious, and she gave him one last squeeze of her hand. "There is a lot of shame in being afraid. You don't win a fight or a war when you're terrified. Many things under our boot learned that the hard way."

The clock ticked ever so slowly, and each millisecond was like an hour as Atrix waited in the room with Mendez; eyes continuing to peer around as the spidery woman awaited for her incoming doom - The vulnerability was the hardest part to swallow and while she knew Mendez was only human, and trying to help, each laughed sounded condescending rather than him trying to use light jests and nonchalance to calm her down. A ping of irritation made her eye twitch, though the Terskix resorted to slow breaths. "...It's appreciated that you'd at least fight someone for me. I didn't think you would punch me. I was half-expecting to be tossing you into some sort of fire for consumption. I'm glad you hit me. Because you're shaping to be an...Acceptable mate. I suppose that is the best words I can give you. There's no word for 'Love' in Terskixian."

[sylvanSpider]

Ashi couldn't help but let a small smile begin to form at the corners of her lips. It was only when she was alone with the doctor that she realized how tense she'd been the past few days. The doctor prattled on with small talk, interesting small talk no less, her concerns nowhere near the same areas that Ashi's own her. Shaldag, Toka, Vail...all of those faces formed her primary concerned, and for two it was already too late. Hell, it might even be too late for Shaldag, at least to be as he was when he first approached her in her room in her first days with the Odyssey clan. He'd saved her then, though he probably didn't realize it. Even if she hadn't been fully contemplating taking her own life, she'd been on the edge of a mental break, and it was Shaldag who prevented her from taking that leap. Until now, those concerns were in the foreground, not to mention the excruciating pain she'd been in. Here, with the doctor, conversation turned to her area of study. The princess looked sheepishly up at Dr. Analoka. “You're correct about that,” she said, nodding, “But you're not the first.” The threat of a smile never left the princess's face, but her eyes saddened for just a moment, the image of a little cowboy hat, boots, beside a puddle of plasmic sludge momentarily bubbling up to the surface. She shook the thought away, grinning, “Though, I'm glad this is how you chose to channel your curiosity rather than...well, other alternatives. It does seem like you took to your field of study well.” She paused briefly, wondering what Shaldag would want before resolving to go in to see him as soon as she was well again. “No hopes dashed,” she said, after a moment, “If he's conscious, I will just ask what he prefers...”

Ashi fell silent with the doctor, watching the plume and grateful for the flash of warmth across her face. She was no longer in pain, but the cold was enough to prove uncomfortable. “If...if that much is true, then I'll be grateful for my hand in reminding him how strong he is – something anyone with anatomy that allows them to see can witness.” She swallowed, shifting slightly and being pleasantly surprised that a jolt of pain didn't race up her leg. “There's nothing to be ashamed of, doctor. None. I always questioned the purpose of the media following me around as if I was permitted to make decisions or have any sway on Daoweian politics whatever. Can you believe that I have a fan club?” The question was more one of incredulousness than boasting, a fact reflected by her shaking her head. “That said, there is a lot that happened within the palace that the media could never get a hold of, even local to our moon. Still more that happens moonside that allies and trading partners are never allowed to discover. My leaving was quite intentional, and if 'daddy' wants to spread that I am dead, it will simply make my escape that much easier.” Her nod here was resolute and she was resisting the urge to stand, already feeling mended.

The relief Ashi felt was palpable, that tense feeling in her shoulders melting away. “Thank you,” she whispered, wanting to hug the doctor and remembering an earlier part of their conversation in one instant. “I don't know how I can ever repay you...” One start would be to do as the doctor asked, which she proceeded to do, bending one knee first, followed by the other. There was no sudden pains, rather the feeling was closer to that of getting to one's feet after sitting on her knees for quite some time. “It feels...better. Truly miraculous. Thank you, doctor.”

>>>>

Mendez shaped one of his hands to a makeshift mouth, mimicking Atrix complete with his tongue sticking out, “I'm not that bad. Maybe not female Terskix strong, but I can definitely kick another human's ass, and maybe even male Terskix. You're not going to end up on a vivisection table. Won't let it happen.” His contorted features returned to normal and he was grateful for the slightly reduced grip. “Sounds like I wouldn't be worth it anyway. How many of your mates have been willing to cook for you? Shit, I'll even kill for you once I find someone I can kill with relatively little consequence. Those Edensians that took Vail and tried to take Riola? Esa, I will bring you home twenty. You'll be so sick of cheek meat by the end of this,” Mendez said, grinning, attempting to take her mind to somewhere out of the doctor's office. “And as far as fear goes? I just look at it as a motivator. The hardest I fight is when I'm afraid, and I'm not the only one. It's just a matter of how an individual channels it.”

He shrugged innocently, blissfully unaware of the effect of his “encouragement”. With the last bit of dialogue from Atrix, Mendez raised his eyebrows, looking up at her. He could feel his heartbeat quicken and without thinking gave one her hands an extra little squeeze, “Well, there is Galactic Common, and I know what it feels like. So, I'll go ahead and say it. I love you, Atrix.”

The 'X' in Atrix's name had barely passed through Mendez's lips when the door hissed open, a bear of a man appearing in the frame. The man was large, but in the universal white of a doctor, and he bore in one arm a clipboard, presumably with the information that Atrix had given the bot at the front desk. “ I take it you're Atrix?” he asked, looking at the Terskix in question. “It says here that there's a crack in your chitin. I'm glad you came to see me. It's easily fixed, and I know your species' hatred of doctors. So, we're going to make this as quick as possible, alright?” the doctor looked tiredly over at Mendez, “This a lay or a snack? Does he need looking at too?” The doctor seemed hardly phased by treating a Terskix, acting more dismayed at Mendez's presence than anything.

[BlueInTheShell]

Analoka chimed and a small plume of flame licked the air as she shot her head towards Ashi. "Well, I would have never guessed you would see more than one of my kind. We are a rarity that seems to be growing smaller each passing day. I'm waiting to hear the news from the home-sun that we're all going to be no more." There was a forlorn sense of acceptance in Analoka's voice when she said that and the woman paused in her medical motions; Dwelling on internal thoughts for far too long, the doctor took the reins on the more light-hearted conversation at hand, and snickered right back towards the Daoweian. "Don't give me too much credit. If I wasn't going to pass with the official medical exams, or if I lose my status as a doctor, I do not have any regrets going into far less....Legal....Means of working and peering into your bodies for inspection." A small pause. "Be prepared for whatever may come then. I don't know him, but if he's like other Ogrunu, he'll best testy considering he is so vulnerable now."

"I wouldn't be surprised that you have a fan club. I'm sure a good portion of them are probably suitors and men who have yet to leave the basements of their collective parents' homes, while they fantasize about you incessantly." Analoka replied dryly, letting out an indignant sigh and rolling her shoulders before she snapped her finger and crossed her legs n her chair. "If you're looking to make an impact, you should consider those secrets being exposed. If you can handle the consequences, and know they won't damage your people too harshly."

With the woman's wounds mended; Analoka pushed herself from her seat and offered a hand out for the blue-haired girl to take if she needed any sort of help acclimating to being back on two limbs once more. There were scrubs in the drawers that the Daoweian could take, and Analoka made sure to at least nod in the direction of the clothing while she used her free hand to cover and censor Ashi's more intimate bits. "Once you're clothed and such, knock on the door to your right. I'll be in there attending to your friend. I'll let him know you're on the way as well. Or the door will remained locked in which case, you'll know he's not receiving visitors."

><><><><><

There was look of offense on Atrix's face when Mendez made the mockery of her mandibles with his hand, and she moved her back back slightly; the mocked pincers clicking several times before she shook her head and rolled each eye consecutively. "I'll have to fight you myself for fun at some point. See if you can hold your own for making fun of my face." She said, petulance flowing out of her mouth as easily as the words she was spewing. "My other mates cooked for me. Mostly because they were afraid of being on the menu. I guess food is the way to my heart, and not to end up in my stomach I would suppose." Her voice grew more calmed as she continued to listen and let Mendez's words flatter her into an ounce of calmness.
'I love you.' The words sunk into Atrix's mind and time seemed to stop as she looked at Mendez and began the effort of trying to really process those words. It was something she wasn't used to hearing in the slightest, nor had she had ever been graced with before. True to her kind the Terskix had simply had the mates and romances of her kind: Utilitarian and intending to just serve the Empire in attempting to produce more Terskix to feed into the Empire's War and Economic cogs, and keep those gears turning in blood. Atrix had opened her mouth to respond before it slammed shut when the sound of an intruder entered the room.

The human was large. Bigger than Mendez and Atrix sat up straight; mandibles preening and digging into her skin - each movement leaving a little trail of lightly scratched skin as the Terskix locked her eyes on the man. Muscles tensed and her lower limbs collected into matching sets of fists that slowly released. Flaring her nose the Spidery woman let the man dwell in an uncomfortable silence; choosing to speak when she realized the faster she talked, the faster the doctor would talk and be out of her way. "Atrix, yes. And cracked chitin. It hasn't mended in several days. It normally does. It doesn't hurt, and it's not oozing." She half-growled, nodding her head towards Mendez and flashing her teeth. "Mate. Not a 'lay' or a snack. Look at him too. I want to make sure he didn't accumulate too much wear and tear between jumps to other worlds."

[sylvanSpider]

Dr. Analoka was beautiful. There was no denying that. The way her skin shone (if one could call it 'skin') lighting the room Ashi felt like she was gazing upon some mystical creature of Daoweian fairytales. Instead, she proved to be another personification of a potentially good friend lost, forever. Flame shot up, warming Ashi's cheeks and it was hard for Ashi to tear her eyes away from her, though at this point she wasn't sure if it because of recent memories squelched or her shimmering body, safely tucked away in protective gloves.The princess swallowed some spit that had gathered at the back of her throat and looked down, “You will be saddened to know, then, that she is no longer with us. She was killed like so many of us back on Hazoo. She...was alone. If we would have known... she would have been with us...” Her breath shook as she inhaled and exhaled, “I suppose I should be grateful you passed then. You seem to be working magic on my own body. I have done all the mental preparing I'm capable of. I'll...I'll handle what he throws at me. I have in the recent past and I will again.”

Ashi scoffed rolling her eyes, a small smile creeping across her lips, “I couldn't have pegged them better if I tried. They're the same type regardless of which planet they come from.” She stopped for a moment, mind still stuck in the previous conversation. It was hard not to think of Toka when one of her rare species was sitting right in front of her, alive and well when Toka, the purest of all, lay in ash. Her mind was brought back immediately with Analoka's echoing of her own thoughts throughout the past few days when she was wracked with pain. “I've...I've been thinking about it. But,” she sighed, “I don't know what to say. I'm, ah, aware of potential consequences if I go about this wrong – or even if I go about it right. There will be blood on my hands, and I'm not sure I am ready for that.” There was already blood on Ashi's hands, blood of one she loved, but that was a secret that only she and her father knew, and neither would dare breathe a word to anyone on that subject for different reasons. This, was if one discounted the guilt she already felt for Toka.

The princess took Analoka's outstretched hand gratefully, wobbling on her newly fixed legs, half amazed that pain didn't shoot through her body. She noticed Analoka's hand placement and offered one of those smiles that came so freely to her face as a side effect of always being watched. “I'll help with that,” she said, turning invisible and stepping out of the tub. Analoka could see exactly where she was without seeing the actual body of the princess, pink tinged verdaqua fluid dripped from her body forming a small puddle where she stood. Following Analoka's gesture, she made her way to the drawer with scrubs, glancing up as Analoka left the room, leaving her alone. It had been so long since she'd been alone, the silence was almost deafening.

As she slid into her new scrubs, turning visible to examine her appendages, feeling like new. The verdaqua was already beginning to dry forming pink-tinged scales that fell off with a touch. After peeling one of the scales off, she made her way to the door, placing a hand on the wall for stability. It had only been two galactic days since she'd been injured, since the massacre at Hazoo, but it felt like a millenia since she could walk. Now, she was pain free and in desperate need of a bath.

Out in the hall, she could see the door that Dr. Analoka had spoken of and she was faced with the choice of a shower or seeing her friend. Given the circumstances, she knew that he wouldn't be bothered if she showed up as she was – if he was seeing anyone. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

<><><><><><><><><><>

Mendez clamped his mouth shut as the large frame of the doctor appeared in the doorway. He wasn't a small man by any means, but the doctor seemed to dwarf him. The man in the labcoat had the appearance of one who was nearing the end of a very long shift, though Mendez wondered how busy he could have possibly been judging by the empty hallways. True to his word, he was on edge and watching the man intently. It wasn't that the man scared him, more than the actual size of the man. Did they choose him specifically because he was intimidating? One who could potentially restrain a Terskix? He watched as the man glanced down at his dataslate and tapped the surface a couple of times and then back up at Atrix, “Those are all very good signs, when was your last molt? It sounds like you may be getting close. Of course it's best to fix cracked chitin if it doesn't heal so that there are no complications during the molting process...” He turned to a counter that Mendez hadn't noticed before and grabbed two different bottles. As if sensing the tension in the room, he sighed, “They didn't choose me because of my size. They chose me because Terskix don't threaten me. The ones that come in need to be fixed and they don't attack if you're giving them something that they want or need. My specialty is arthropopoda, or humanoids closely related to arthropod species. Etymologically, I find the word redundant as it's an unclever combination of 'arthro' and 'anthropo,' but I didn't write the language. In short, I'm not going to hurt you, and chitin cracks are a pretty routine issue that I deal with. You're in good hands. That said, I can give your mate a physical, but that is all I am authorized to do for him given my training.”

Mendez breathed. A specialist. Terskix probably got a specialist for all their needs given their unique anatomy. The man's size had nothing to do with his specialty. The job was chosen. He did wonder briefly as to why, but then, the doctor could ask him the same thing being a willing mate to one. “Now,” the doctor said interrupting Mendez's reverie, “your last molt will determine which cream I use; both work essentially the same way, but one is more permanent in case you feel your molt is still a significant way away, the second is more temporary and will supplement certain minerals that will aid in the shedding and hardening process during your next molt. It's up to you which I apply.”

[BlueInTheShell]

Analoka's flames began to diminish and wither away to a small candle-like plume on the verge of extinguishing. The plasma-based woman looked down towards the ground and clasped her hands together - Analoka offering a small prayer in the rather flowing and delicate tongue of her people before she lifted her head back to address Ashi, the woman clasping the woman's hands and nodding slowly. "May she have found her essence back to the light of our sun, then. All you can do now is remember her fondly. Someone who is never forgotten lives forever." The Doctor leaned back and mimicking the motion of stretching her back. "So long as it was me patching you together, and not some of the other physicians here. Some of them are so specialized that human anatomy is rather alien. We've had an incident of a Felis waking up with parts attached that were certainly not felinoid in appearance whatsoever." Towards the mention of being able to handle Shaldag, Analoka shrugged. "Should he try and bite you we can at least patch that up." She said, a dry chuckle escaping her lips.

"You don't lead a revolution without spilling a little blood. I can assure you of that. As for what to say? Simply strike at where a king is most readily to get angry and vulnerable. I'm sure you know enough to wound his pride." Analoka said with a small shrug. The nuances of actual politics for Daowei? Analoka couldn't even hazard a guess. She had always found the bickering between worlds rather confusing, and sometimes just unnecessary. They had near infinite resources with space travel. Couldn't they just make things easier to deal with and sort things out properly without the need for violence and intrigue?

"invisibility. A rare trait in a species. If you wouldn't mind I would like to procure samples of what I assume is pure Daoweian DNA. Technical applications of your camouflage-esque tissue would be an interesting thing to work with." A fiery gaze did its best to try and keep a track on the spatterings of verdaqua that were dripping to note where her patient was before the woman left Ashi to her devices.

It was a few moments of seeing her more critical client before Analoka heard the knock on the door; the woman looking towards Shaldag, who slowly nodded and muttered a small 'Yes' to let whoever wanted come in, Analoka moving to the door and unlocking it; the door sliding open with a small whirr. "Ah. Ashi. Come in. Sit down. You'll be happy to know Shaldag was accepting of you."

The Ogrunu's only eye slowly trailed towards the blue-haired girl, before it moved back towards scanning the ceiling; Bloodrate spiking for a second before coming back down.

"You're alive. Good."

<><><><><><><><>

A doctor that specialized in caring for her kind. That was an interesting turn; and Atrix cocked her head slightly; the woman blinking her eyes rapidly and pursing her lips tightly. It was the comment of her kind not threatening him that made her more intrigued than offended. Perhaps it was rather simple thinking, but his size must have had to do something with it. Mostly because she was sure for a second he could have been related to the blue-haired girl's mechanical friend. "You should be threatened." Atrix finally mused outloud, puffing herself up slightly, before exhaling and shaking her head. She was the apex predator in this room. The pinnacle of the galaxy's darwinianism to produce the strongest and best between worlds. To stymie her own aggression, Atrix instead did her best to focus on the questions she was asked. "Molt? I molted a week before I met Mendez. I shouldn't have to do so again for roughly a month and a half." The doctor was wellspoken, and some of the words he said made Atrix squint before she understood them, but when he agreed to tending to Mendez; Atrix seemed more than willing to submit to being at the mercy of the doctor.

"As I said. My molt will be rather far away for now. Barring any complications. I had a problem three years ago. One of my lower arms didn't...Molt properly. It was deformed for a year or two before it was fixed." She said with a small shrug of her shoulders - The Terskix crossing her legs as the entire set of eyes on her left side focused themselves on the sets of cream that the doctor was going to apply. "If any of them are going to sting, I will give you both a small warning. I don't deal with irritation well. I will lash out."

[sylvanSpider]

Few things in Ashi's life could be described as more heartwrenching than seeing the once leaping flames dwindle down to little more than a flicker, the warmth draining from her own cheeks as the fire dimmed. Ashi swallowed, reduced to a spectator, a witness to the trauma of a diminishing species. She watched, tears once again threatening to spill and she nodded, gulping, “Her essence will find its way, of that I am certain. She was a cowgirl – an explorer of new frontiers. This...this will be just another for her.”

“I imagine specialized anatomists are imperative for an organization that's known throughout the universe, and I'm thankful that I was given one with a specialty in humanoid lifeforms – and I'm sure Shaldag will be grateful for it as well,” Ashi said, thankful that she managed to choke back almost all of her tears successfully in time for a subject change.

“I...I know. It's the part that I'm dreading, a necessary evil to be sure,” the princess murmured, lacing her fingers and unlacing them, only to lace them back up again. Little else had been on her mind for the past few days as she lay writhing in pain. The first was Toka. That sweet embodiment of innocence now reduced to nothing but a pair of cowboy boots and a pile of ash. She had no doubt that she was at least partially to blame for Toka's being left alone, coupled with a false sense that the girl was invincible due to her being a personified star. The second was this. This knowledge that innocent blood would forever stain her pale hands in the name of justice and a better future. If the execution was done poorly, it would all be in vain and not all of the pieces were on the board yet. She would have to work with Riola – a fact that she was dreading since she came to the terms that there would be deaths had in her name.

“Yes, yes. Of course, have as many samples as you need,” Ashi's voice sounded from the place the verdaqua was pooling. “Technically pure, yes. I was only granted the title of princess because my mother was full Daoweian. By the time she was executed, I was already known of by the media so it was claimed she fell ill. Few know the truth to this day...But, ah, I'm rambling. Not all of us have this trait – it's stronger in the royal bloodlines – but some in the general populace have it as well, likely a remnant from our pre-technological days.”

[[No need to respond to any of the above in the spirit of progression; we can start from Shaldag's room for the next post]]

Ashi mustered a smile despite the sight that greeted her upon entering the room. As much as she wanted to respond to Dr. Analoka, giving her the respect she deserved, she found herself at a loss for words. She was visible now, and wearing the scrubs that Analoka had pointed out. She looked more like a patient than a princess, but physically she felt better than she had in what felt like eons. Blue eyes roved over the broken body of her friend and ally – her savior.

“Shaldag, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,” she finally managed to croak, her voice cracking. “You're going to make it; they're going to take good care of you, just like they did me...”

<><><><><><><><>

“Well, I'm not,” the doctor said patiently, “I know that you all have a higher intelligence than mindless killing machines, and I have services that you need me alive for and there aren't many Terskix specialists on this planet. It benefits you to keep me alive, ergo, you won't hurt me.” He shrugged knowing that an appeal to her intelligence would only strengthen his chances. “Don't get me wrong – I am well aware of the fact that you could kill me the second you don't want me alive. But my point is that you won't not want me alive, you see.”

Mendez couldn't argue with that logic and as far as he could tell, Atrix wouldn't be able to either. His no nonsense attitude and acknowledgment of her killing powers were both aspects working in his favor. Truly, he was specialist – and not just in their anatomy. “A month and a half until your next molt? It's strange that it hasn't healed, or least begun healing. This cream,” the doctor said nonchalantly squirting the contents of one of the containers into a bowl and adding a powder, “works in three ways. It stops up the crack and works as a supplemental addition to your exoskeleton, it reduces any irritation, and finally, it legitimately heals the crack in your exoskeleton and will fall out as your exoskeleton starts to heal. I'll take care of you first and then I'll examine your mate.”

[BlueInTheShell]

It took a long, agonizing time for Shaldag to process the blue-haired girl's apology. What had she done to be sorry? He acted out of his own volition when it had come to saving Ashi, and to an extent, Hyun-Chu. This was the price someone had to pay for showing a modicum of loyalty as ganger scum. A deep inhale and the Ogrunu lifted his head pursed his lips. "I assume everyone is okay, if we're in a hospital, and not strung up like animals to be butchered and dismembered." He grumbled; words coming out slowly and surely. "What happened when I pulled that grenade? Are we still being hunted?"

His heart however, panged in agony and the Ogrunu's mangled features softened, before he craned his head to the side - A cybernetic arm with a small bandana wrapped around the wrist making Shaldag's nose flare and the veins in his head bulge. A few seconds later and liquid began to stream down his face - Analoka moving over to dry crying eyes. "I lost her. I lost the only little thing in the world that made me happy. They took her to The Tides before her time, and now she is swimming in Oblivion. I promised I was going to be the one to greet her there." Shaldag lamented shaking his head; small crackings of inhibited crying turning into full-blown fits of mourning. "I can't be forgiven for this. She was special. Like a daughter I couldn't have. Family. An outcasted little girl that found a kindred spirit in a big, mechanical monster."

Melancholy turned into anger and Shaldag focused a hateful eye on Ashi; A fiery orb that seemed to burn brighter when he let the venom out of his mouth. "It's that stupid Chuzizian's fault. If Hyun didn't send her off to fuck-all, she would be here with us. Instead she wanted to just bring you into her room and have her way with you. The moment I get back on two legs, I'm going to rip her in half. I'm gonna make her feel every ounce of pain I feel, and when she's huddled in a corner regenerating her limbs back, I'll do it again. Over and over."

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Atrix sucked her teeth and hissed in irritation. She was not particularly well-versed in counterbanter, other than threats. And none of them was giving the doctor in front of her pause. Adding to the fact she couldn't strike him without the fear of repercussions from the hospital security? It was a losing battle that she was waging, and giving the doctor his due, the Terskix sat in a few brief minutes of defeated silence; A pout raked along her face while she crossed her lower limbs.

"Hmph." Atrix grunted, whisking her head to side as the man commented on her precious chitin not healing - Atrix closing all of her eyes save for one, which she kept locked onto the man treating her - Legs crossing, then uncrossing only to recross once more while she fidgeted in place. "Then slather the cream on my cracked skin and be done with it. I'm already feeling my pride as a warrior slither away each second I'm being tended to by a..." Atrix spat out a slew of insults in her native tongue; the array of clicks and hisses mixed in with guttural language that came out of her like a venomous waterfall.

Once she had her small moment of vocal triumph Atrix looked over towards Mendez with her one eye and frowned. "This is your fault I'm here."

[sylvanSpider]

Ashi sat for what seemed like the longest time before daring to grab one of his hands. She wasn't sure if he was aware she was holding him or not as his body was so slick with gore the princess couldn't tell if she was holding onto a mechanical limb or a biological one. “We're okay; we're all here. I'm sure they're still looking – they know I'm alive now – but I think we lost them for now,” Ashi whispered, her chin trembling. “I don't know what happened, I can't remember...I just remember my ears ringing and being moved down a tunnel until we made it to the ship. Rosalind set up a temporary medbay where you and I stayed until we got here...”

Ashi had seen deaths. She'd seen executions, and some of those were loved ones meant to serve as a reminder what happened when nosy princesses stepped out of line. Those were hard. But this was different. The mechanical man before her put himself in this position for her; he'd made the conscious choice to take the grenade for her. He wasn't blackbagged in the middle of the night like the others had been, no, he dove headfirst in for her. And now, the princess that was usually the first to deal with the media was at a loss for words. What could she say, other than that she was still here? But she wasn't Toka, and Toka was gone partially because of her. What could she say? “There is nothing to forgive you for, Ranoru'ah of Clan Barut,” she finally ended up saying, the tears now flowing freely from her eyes, “She will be the one to greet you now, and I promise she has already forgiven you if she thought you needed forgiveness.” She gave his hand a tight squeeze, bowing her head.

There was so much she wanted to say to him at this moment, so much that she kept back. She knew she could never replace Toka, never in a trillion light years; yet, she too found a kindred spirit in that big mechanical monster – though she would never call him that. To her, he was like the father she never had, the kind that would show her unconditional love regardless of what happened – the kind that would take a grenade for her rather than order her death.

The shift was sudden, but Ashi could see it before he ever uttered a word. She did not return the anger, fear stepping in in its stead, “Ranoru'ah, no! Think for a moment, would you? None of this is Hyun's fault. Think, think! Hyun was not the one who killed her, and she wasn't the reason Toka was left by herself. If you're going to blame anyone, fucking blame me would you?! It makes sense! If you're going to blame anyone, fucking put it on me! If I hadn't have shown up, Hazoo wouldn't have ever been attacked in the first place! She wasn't going to make love to me, if you'll remember, I'd just been beaten in because I thought I was going to be tough, become a ganger just like you and Hyun. She was going to clean me up! See? It's all my fault. Not Hyun. If you're going to take it out on anyone, let it be me. You'll know where you can find me when you're back on two feet, because I'm not going anywhere.”

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The doctor wasn't fluent in Terskixian but he knew enough to know he was getting insulted and now it was his turn to sulk, working in silence. “Alright, alright,” he said, finally done mixing and actually putting the cream on the crack, “Feels alright, doesn't it? Now, I'll need you to not mess with it until it dries; give it at least 7 galactic hours. If you can convince your mate to get you things you might need in the meantime, it would be beneficial, anyway -”

“What?! My fault how?! I am nothing but tender and loving to you. Only reason I'm saying you should get it fixed is because I care about you, cariño,” Mendez said, giving her hand a squeeze, “That and I don't want to deal with you bitching about it when we're in space.” He laughed at the last part, knowing how true it'd be with the irony that much more rich them being on their way away from a hospital.

“Well then, Jorge Mendez is it? Shall we have a look?”

“You're not gonna find anything, amigo. I'm happy and healthy,” Mendez said, shrugging.

“Your mate asked that I do this, so I'm going to. Alright, sit up straight. I'm going to check your heart and lungs."

[BlueInTheShell]

Couldn't feel the girl latching onto his mechanical limb. Whether it was the limb itself simply deactivated, or something was seriously wrong with the connection between nerve and neural interface? No one could have been sure but the doctor, and looking towards the explanation of events, Shaldag scowled and narrowed his eyes. "Lost them. That means we didn't retaliate. They won." The Ogrunu grumbled to himself; the massive mean attempting to shift his weight to a cooler section of his mattress - Pain locking him in his immobile position. "...I'll have to give the pilot our thanks for letting us bleed and die on her ship, then."

Maybe Toka's death was the inevitable shift in karmic justice that Shaldag had foresaw, but never expected in his life. He knew the vile acts and wanton disregard towards other sentient beings was going to take its toll. But why had it chose his little one to balance the scales? It should have been himself. He should have been cut down. Vaporized. Whatever they had done to his poor little flame, that rendered her nothing more than the remnants of clothing she had wore before...It had all happened. He wasn't alone in the endeavor. Fikri's girlfriend had been the first to feel the sting of being resistant to the orders that were, and she didn't even willingly plan to rebel against the Edensians. Or Daowei.

Just like Toka.

Everything seemed to stem from the chance meeting of Riola and Ashi. The two were the ones putting everyone else in peril. The Half-breed and the Terskixian. The two freed Felis. Ashi and Riola were cancerous. Toxic. Who would have been the next one to fall when it came time for the two's pursuers to rear their ugly heads once more.

Ashi's words struck rather hard on the Ogrunu, and his baneful glare locked onto the blue-haired girl; his cybernetic arm raised and poised to wrap around her throat to squeeze, though the fingers whirred and clicked - malfunctioning as small twitches that refused to close his massive hand around her throat. The meters functioning and monitoring Shaldag began to beep in alarm: Blood pressure spiking off the charts, and 02 levels peaking and diminishing; An ear-shattering roar-turned fit of coughing buckled the massive man and caused him to curl up - the few freshly administered sutures ripping open along his body.. "Don't call me by my name! Ranoru'ah died the same day his little flame died!" Shaldag croaked, before being pushed down by the Analoka, who was quick to begin administering a series of inoculations to try and both ease pain, staunch bleeding, and stop the Ogrunu from lashing out and harming everyone around him - the medications seeming to work near instantaneously.

While he was subdued, the doctor looked to Ashi, and shook her head. "I suppose nothing left to do but begin the procedures of putting him back together. He got what he needed. A moment to grieve. A moment to lash out in anger."

"I don't suppose you wish to watch the operation? It will be a dreary event. And you will see just how much of him there is left, before we...Do what he wished. Near-whole conversion." Analoka said with a shred of sorrow in her voice. "...I wish someone would have been able to talk him out of it."

<><><><><><><><>

Atrix looked at the mended chitin and for a split-second, seemed content and impressed with the work of the doctor; a soft jittering of her mandibles clicking softly together the giveaway to her pleased mood, before it soured and the Terskix peaked her eyes on the doctor, Atrix standing up to her full height and nodding slowly. "Ignore it for seven hours. As for making my mate do things?" Atrix shot a deadly glare in Mendez's direction. "He'll obey."

Atrix yanked her hand away from the Half-Breed's grip, content on not showing the caring nature she had herself, instead on making a show for the doctor. All in the name of saving face. She could make it up to Mendez later. "Tender and...Loving. It's because you're trying to make me look weak in front of everyone." She did let the facade die a little when Mendez snickered - laughter being more contagious than she wished, but was quick to use her other limbs to grab ahold of Mendez and stand him up for the doctor - Atrix using her mended limb to rake a series of pointed nails across his scalp to keep him preoccupied.

"It's because I care about you. And I'm nothing but tender and loving." Atrix mimicked back to Mendez.

[sylvanSpider]

Shaldag wasn't wrong. They did win. They won more than they should have – claiming two so soon from their already small number. The entire situation felt like an uphill battle. Two separate nations confirmed to be after them, half because of the princess and half because of the terrorist. What could they do but run? What kind of retaliation could possibly be done? That...that thing...she never saw its body. With its abilities, there was no telling if it was actually dead or not – and even if it wasn't, they still had that female Edensian working with Daoweian assassins to finish the job.

It's hopeless...

“What could we have done to retaliate?” she whispered, half to herself and half to the Ogrunu. “We're going to continue to lose until we can fight back. All that...All that we can do now is run.” She bowed her head, choking back tears though she couldn't say what it was that brought the lump to her throat, Toka or the losing battle. And now she didn't even have pain to distract her. Just the sight of her ruined friend willingly disintegrating remnants of his former personality for the sake of vengeance.

Shaldag's moodshift was as if a switch had been flipped. His mechanical arm shot up, his hand covering most of her throat and when Ashi thought it was over for her, his fingers stopped working. She closed her eyes, swallowing. Her blame deflection worked. He now realized what she'd known all along – that all of this was her fault. Had she never run away, she'd be unhappily married, forever forced into a beautiful silence, always seen and never heard. But Toka would still be alive, happily existing maybe sitting on Shaldag's shoulder without any knowledge that there was an unhappy Queen on the other side of the galaxy.

The doctors were quick to act and soon Shaldag was laying back ready to receive his changes.

“I...I don't. I trust that you will do as good of a job with him as you did with me,” Ashi murmured, nodding and not bothering to stop the rivers flowing down her cheeks. “There is no talking anything out of him when he has his mind set on something. Right now that something is vengeance. I'm sure he'll have it, one way or another.”

><><

In the hallway, Ashi leaned against the wall and slid down, burying her face in her hands. She'd thought of a million plans to maybe escape long enough to call on potential allies. She'd made plenty of political allies during her tenure as Princess of Daowei who were now tentative allies with her father following her “death.” That much she'd be able to gather without looking at the Holosites. She could count on Duonis, certainly, and there was always Iluna. They would gladly turn from her father in favor of the soon to be known living princess. If they could flee to a planet that worked as home base, hide for just a little bit – just long enough for Ashi to show that she was alive - they could pay the Edensians back.

If she didn't die by Shaldag's hands first.

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Atrix's contentment was noticed by the doctor who said nothing but gave a small smirk. He truly was an expert in his field and he was glad for the place to be able to practice. This was one of his easier jobs, but the fact remained that they always came in displeased and left satisfied. His own limbs always remained in tact. The doctor believed her, too. Whenever a female Terskix came in with their mate, their mate invariably obeyed their orders. One look at Mendez confirmed that this was no exception.

He wore a hurt look on his face, having just had her hand ripped from his own and he stuck out his lip defiantly, “Cara mia, I never meant to make you look weak. I just wanted you to be as comfortable as you can, and I imagine cracked chitin isn't comfortable, si?” He blinked, his body moving without his volition. It was honestly a feeling he should have been well adjusted to at this point; his being moved at the whim of his mate as common as it was. The expression of alarm was quickly replaced with one of pleasure accompanied by a doofy lopsided smile as she scratched his scalp. He loved that and she knew he did.

He did, however, straighten his posture when the doctor asked him to, took a deep breathe when the doctor asked him to, and exhaled when the doctor asked him to. “You're not full human, are you? I take it the other half is Edensian? It would account for the slow heartbeat.”

“Si, si, half-Edensian, half human,” he said nodding.

“Perfect, then he's looking all good – but if you want him to see someone who specializes in not Terskix, you may. I won't be offended. But from my standpoint, he's got a few bruises....but from what I've seen from the others on your ship...bruises aren't anything,” the doctor said, looking up slightly at Atrix, almost disregarding Mendez. It was the way he imagined Atrix would like it. “You both are free to go and,” he said, handing Atrix a business card, “If you have any more problems with your chitin, ping me alright?”

[BlueInTheShell]

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It would be several more minutes before the Blue-haired girl would hear a familiar voice from down on the floor - the Magenta colored hues of Hyun staring at the girl with a rather forlorn look on her face. The Chuzizian's breath was stained with the scent of alcohol; and there was powder clinging towards the ends of her nasal slits; Chellix no doubt. "You look as bad as I fuckin' feel, Ashi." Hyun-chu said with a small hiccup, before reaching over to pull the girl to her feet. "I suppose they're getting started hacking off whatever and putting...Robot parts in him now."

Hyun swayed back and forth in a small circle - The alien closing her eyes tightly and then opening them to try and focus on the Daoweian girl. She couldn't even remember finding the alcohol, or scoring the drugs coursing through her veins, but here she was, and the Chuzizian did her best to both lean on Ashi, and try to keep the blue-haired girl from falling once there was a sudden weight on her: Hyun herself. "Does he hate me? Hate us? I...Didn't go in there to ask him. I'm too fuckin' scared of the answer." Hyun said, cheeks puffing out as she suppressed whatever sulphorous belch had tried to spew out of her mouth.

"Listen. The surgery is probably gonna take a bit. We might as well...Either just fuckin' shlick the pain away, or look for some of the others. Could probably...Use the Felis to help sober me up. Or something." Hyun croaked, rubbering her temples with a free hand. "I need to get more high. Feeling sad, it's not fuckin' fun."

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-F E L I S - S H E N A N N I G A N S -

It had been a strenuous, but fulfilling time in the shower and the rather shit-eating, spent grin on Nokra's face could definitely be an admission of what the two had been doing; the Felis throwing on his clothes over a still damp body and doing his best to pull his hair into some semblance of normal. There were ID photos to be taken of course. Stepping outside of the showers, and glancing about warily for any sort of signs of the others noting what they had been doing - Nokra found the coast clear and paused at the sight he saw:

An array of soldiers - All marching toegther with a rather defeated gait in their march as the group of soldiers seem to stretch down the entirety of the hallway - One more decorated looking troop marching to the side of the rest of the mass, and belting out orders; the binary hiss of his words masked and hidden in what garbled tongue the lot spoke - Nokra's ears wilting backwards.

"Aw fuck."

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"Cracked Chitin is something I could have dealt with." Atrix said with a small, defiant huff before she crossed her arms and did her best to feign her lack-of-care when it came towards her mate. It was all a dramatic casting of a play of course, and the Terskixian looked on as the doctor began to examine Mendez with a keen eye, the Terskix more than impressed at the ability to determine his heritage with such examination. It was something Atrix could have admired, were she not from the warrior-caste. Her hand continued to scritch and scratch at Mendez's scalpe and the Spider listened towards the doctor with a curt, sage nod. "The bruises are my doing. I don't know how to properly mend them, otherwise he would be in better condition. I'm just glad he is able to last this long. And continue to be this durable."

Reaching for the business card with one of her small arms the Terskix peered towards the business card and smiled at the Doctor, offering him a rather polite bow and the gentle chittering of mandibles. Her language was terse and concise, the slew of Terskix coming out of her mouth a gentle bout of hissing followed by their guttural language ,before she translated for the Redhead in her grasp. "Your time is appreciated, I suppose. I would kidnap you, and add you to the collection of mates, but I am more than content with this one."

Atrix hefted the redhead slightly, holding out a lucky prize and brandishing the man for the doctor to see, before she set the half-breed down. "I'm hungry." She clicked, giving Mendez a rather predatory look.