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 Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:46 am
She shakes her head and frowns to herself, looking about her appointed territory for something to do to take her mind off these darker thoughts. Lichen is currently between patients and emergencies, which is both a blessing (as it gives her time to organize her medications and supplies) and a curse (as it gives her too much time to think). Perhaps it is time to do some follow-ups. ...no, last time she did that she got roped into helping the therapist with a persistent wing injury.
Sighing grumpily, Lichen contents herself with taking an inventory of her medications so that she can place an order with Drywood.
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:29 pm
He wasn't completely sure exactly what Lichen could help him with, after all, what was she supposed to do, anyway? But Bandar found himself traveling her way nonetheless. Part of him said he needed a friend, or someone he trusted. Now, he certainly thought of Lichen as a friend, but refrained from using that term for her (if only because Lichen was... well, Lichen. ).
So, an excuse to go visit her. He was.. er, due for it, hadn't seen her in a while, yes. Pleasantly dropping by to visit his beloved old mentor! If come need be, he could come up with some.. lame question about treatment just to give her something to talk about. Or, he could outright as for advice on his little.. situation, but, again, what sort of advice is to be given in a time like this? Bandar had no idea what he wanted to hear!
Now, where was Lichen? He'd heard this had been the area she'd been staying at (the annoying part of locating someone who moved around so much, was figuring out where they were).
Spotting a hollow, the mist male landed on a branch a tree across, tilting and raising his head to try to peer inside. "Lichen? " First, find out if she was in there, or if it was even her. Then get closer.
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Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:02 pm
The rapidity with which Lichen set the packages she'd been inspecting and arranging back onto the shelf they came from speaks of two simple facts. First, the unexpected voice from outside had startled her (although she'd never admit it). Second, she is ridiculously thrilled to have any sort of distraction. So thrilled that she might even (gasp!) make an attempt at casual conversation!
Tilting her head to the side while she tries to match the voice with a name, she turns about to spy the mist male across the way. Ah, "Bandar," she greets him calmly, her tone reserved (although he'd recognize that she sounds more open and welcoming than usual, even if an outside observer would think she was bored to tears). "It's good to see you."
After one last glance about her 'office' to see if anything has been left out of place the healer ducks outside, drifting silently to a perch near the younger male. "Have you been re-assigned to a nearby territory?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:27 am
For a small moment, he allows himself just to be happy that he had been right and this was were Lichen was posted for now. Shifting as she moved to a closer perch, he hesitated at her question. "Good to see you too. " He stalled slightly, rather than immediately giving her an answer. At least she seemed to be in a good mood right now!
"Um, no, not really. " He almost lied, but Bandar was a bad liar. And, Lichen would probably know when he was lying even if he was a good one. He was vaguely aware that she might not be pleased with the idea of him "slacking off" on his duties.
So lets quickly veer off with a random question. "Many cases lately? " Smalltalk, not usually a wise approach with her, was it?
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Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 10:32 am
Gazing levelly at him, Lichen deliberately arches one brow to show that she'd caught his attempt to distract her... but, fortunately for Bandar, she decides to go along with it. While she definitely isn't old by any means, she's been around long enough to know when a Sentinel (usually a male) is being weird about something. She's also been around long enough to know that in most cases, they just need a little time to get up their nerve. So she shrugs, and glances back at her hollow before answering.
"It's a little slow right now, I'm on a bit of a break. The last few cases I was called upon to deal with were more unusual and demanding than is normal, you see, so some of the others seemed to think I should take it easy for a while." Her disdainful snort makes it clear just what she thinks of that idea. "And you? Anything interesting, recently? It's been a while since I've had any sort of challenge come my way." Which is good for the clan, but dreadfully boring for her.
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 1:19 pm
It took a lot of willpower not to shrink back at the brow arch, for Bandar did catch that she caught him, but he didn't object to her not mentioning anything about it.
The idea of Lichen being on a break amused him slightly, he'd never have pegged her to be the break sort. But, of course, it wasn't her idea to be on a break, judging by her tone. "Not much, actually." He paused, and added with a slight mutter. "At least not case wise. " He might as well be on a break himself, with how things were going. Not that Bandar minded too much, less people getting hurt? Great! But a part of him did want some more 'action', as it were.
"Say, I've got a.. question. " That had nothing to do with his task, but it was what he'd come for.. kinda, so he might as well get it out.
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 1:53 pm
And yet another hint, she notices, when he mutters to himself. Curiouser and curiouser. A little disappointed that he doesn't have any interesting cases to discuss either, she quickly gets over it and nods to the rest of his words.
"I might have an answer," she states curiously, and the uncharacteristically vague reply betrays her suspicions. This question of his probably isn't related to medical concerns, and therefore Lichen isn't as certain that she'll have the answer. Carefully schooling her expression to avoid betraying any surprise (or other unwanted emotions) when he asks, she shifts on her perch to face Bandar more directly. "What do you want to ask me?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:32 pm
Might have an answer, of course. Well, its somewhat.. well, a lot of an opinion sort of question anyway. "Say... Hypothetically, someone kind-of.. makes someone else do something that might be ethically questionable.. " He paused. He never really knew why Bracken wanted what he did. " For whatever reason, " The mist glanced to the branch he was perched on. Suddenly, the bark had become that much fascinating.
"And if said someone else doesn't do the something, the first someone will then do something.. Er, bad, towards the someone else. " A slight pause "You know like.. blackmail!" No duh. "What should I-- I mean, What would you, in the place of the someone else do? Again, totally hypothetical! " He frowned slightly. Crap, he was sounding like an idiot, beating around the bush so much.
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 7:57 pm
"I wouldn't have put myself in a position where blackmail was a possibility, to begin with," Lichen chides gently, then sighs and settles in. He doesn't need a lecture right now, she has to remind herself, he's come for advice. Not to get his eartufts plucked... even if he might deserve it.
"There's no easy answer, I'm afraid," is her not-so-encouraging response, before she continues, "and it depends entirely on what is at stake. What is this individual being coerced into doing? What is the... something bad that would happen, should this individual fail to do as he-- or she! --is asked? I'm assuming that the consequence for failure is worse than what someone else has been asked to do, of course. But how much worse?"
Frowning a little, Lichen falls silent until Bandar ceases in his bark inspection so that she can capture his gaze. And then she bobs her head a little, and shrugs. "The most important thing, at the end of the night, is to be able to wake up in the evening and be proud of who you are. If you have a chance, you should remind 'the someone else' of that."
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 8:01 am
"I didn't-- " He cuts himself off. Bandar hadn't really done anything, not that he knew of, besides being.. Bandar. "The individual is being told to uh.. court a lady, or a man, who has a mate. " Which to him had always been plain silly. Why the heck did Bracken want that anyway? Ooh, maybe it had something to do with her mate!
He paused slightly at the something else. "Well, say the.. blackmailee, " Wow, that sounded stupid. "Is a.. crafter, for example. "No, better, a medic, like us... Well, me. " A crafter being called typist probably wasn't as big a deal as a medic, since lives actually depended on medics a lot of the time. "And the blackmailer. Is a.. I dunno, important...ish. Like.. a seeker. " He was giving too much away, but oh well. At least he wasn't using names! "As a seeker the blackmailer can.. y'know, accuse the medic of being.. I dunno, typist. " Well, anyone can do that. But when it comes from a seeker it matters just a bit more! Right? "And not really giving proper care to aberrants and their parents. Even though he, or she, does! "
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Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 7:53 pm
It's beyond tempting to just tell Bandar to drop the facade and speak plainly, but for some bizarre reason - call it sentiment, since it's rare that any of her past students actually want to talk to her again - Lichen holds her tongue and plays along. She nods and listens and frowns when appropriate, showing her concern for this 'someone else', and after the younger Mist has finished his explanation the healer fluffs up, settles down, and deliberates.
"So, correct me if I've got this wrong," she begins, grinding her beak thoughtfully, "but this 'someone else' - let's call 'her' Moss, for now - is being coerced by an individual in a position of power - let's call 'him' Bark - to do something that she doesn't want to do. Bark doesn't have any real evidence against Moss," and here Lichen pauses, looking to Bandar for confirmation, "but his reputation is strong enough that Moss fears the potential consequences should she fail to comply."
"Am I following y-- the situation correctly, thus far?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2009 1:50 pm
Bandar was horribly aware of the fact that he wasn't really fooling anyone here, but was rather grateful for her playing along. For some reason, even pretending they both didn't know what was going on was good enough for him.
"Yes, thats right. " He nodded, glancing absently at a random leaf before back at Lichen, waiting for her to continue.
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:31 am
"Hnh," she grunts, lifting one foot to scratch beneath an eartuft, "Well, without knowing exactly why this Bark fellow wants Moss to court a mated Sentinel it is a little trickier to give solid advice. But if Moss doesn't want to do it and Bark has no real evidence to point to, then Moss should be safe doing whatever she wants." Unless the Seeker is resourceful enough to 'make' evidence, or bribe a Watcher to lie, she thinks, and that thought makes her frown. What is the word of a young Medic worth, against that of a Seeker? "The only thing Bark could harm is her reputation, I can't imagine how he could get her in trouble with the Elites over hearsay and supposition."
"On the other talon, there's absolutely no chance that Moss could get into trouble with the Elites just for trying to win a Sentinel away from his or her mate, so it might be safer to play along. There is the mate to consider, I suppose there is a risk of a confrontation there. But if Moss is resourceful I'm sure she can find a way around that. Bark doesn't expect success, does he? Just a reasonable effort?" Lichen shrugs, re-settling herself on her perch. "I'm sorry, it's really hard to say what is best, one way or the other. It really comes down to how much Moss is worried about her reputation, versus how much she doesn't want to compromise her morals."
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Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 8:44 am
Yes, why did 'Bark' want 'Moss' to court someone anyway? Really, what was the point? Was this some.. twisted game of matchmaker? He ruffled his feathers slightly at the thought, but settled back down quickly. He furrowed his brows. What if Bracken could plant evidence.. that would be bad, very bad, yes.
But Lichen also had a point, if Bracken didn't plant evidence, then it couldn't be that bad. Well, still pretty bad a situation in the first place, but that's a given. "No, I don't think so. Just the effort. " Las time he'd seen Bracken, the deep woods had seemed annoyed for him "not trying". But trying was bad. Not only was there the mate, but.. Well, Fiercefire herself wasn't exactly.. um, nice. He doubted she'd take kindly to him "trying" to whisk her away.
"You're right, " He said, half muttering to himself. So, he had to chose between reputation and morals. "Thanks. "
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:32 pm
"I hope this helps your friend," she replies simply, the slightest of grins dancing at the edges of her expression. The healer pauses, as if she was about the say something more, then abruptly shakes her head and rouses her feathers before settling down again.
Silently dreading a return to the drudgery of sorting her materials, Lichen eyes the entrance to her hollow before glancing over at Bandar. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" She's too well-controlled to sound hopeful, there, even if she would rather make conversation than find ways to waste time.
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