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text | un; sieglindesullivan

This is Sieglinde Sullivan, the Green Witch.

I shall not waste my time or yours with much pleasantries. The situation is dire, as you know.

Several of our number have been working tirelessly to develop a vaccine to this virus, and hopefully a cure.

Tests of the vaccine are proceeding smoothly, and we have seen positive results so far- it may be available within one or two weeks time if all continues to go well and no adverse effects present themselves.

I cannot guarantee nor estimate potential cures, and it is not my intent to elevate your hopes, but know that we have several leads we are exploring. Samples of blood, particularly from those of the non-humans within our ranks who are or may be immune to the virus, are much needed at this time if you have not already been solicited.

To protect against the possibility of contamination, four of us have set up in separate locations.

Urahara Kisuke, in the hospital laboratories. Peter Parker, in the university laboratories. Sonia Nevermind, at her apartment residence, 20B of Woodhurst Court. I myself have relocated from the hospital to a residential office, at 45 Pinehurst Drive.

Samples or supplies are welcome there. The others may speak for themselves, but in my case, I will not tolerate any distractions or intrusions, so please do not abuse the knowledge of that address.

[ooc; just a note from some of the Team Science members so that characters can have a better IC idea of what's going down on that front! Stay tuned for more OOC and IC info on/near the 25th!]

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That's very true. [ Having access to her power, even if publicly restricted, is really a priceless convenience. ]

...Is there anything else I might bring you, other than food and drink?

[ She's not sure the best way to ask but... as far as she remembers, Sieglinde isn't able to walk. ]

Just those things will be fine, I've want for little else.

[Aqua's in for a surprise! ... Well, a small surprise. Walking is now doable, but. It's the extent.]

[ SHE HAS THOSE WICKED COOL SPIDER-MECHA LEGS NOW RIGHT... Or maybe not in Woodhurst, those aren't the most inconspicuous... ]

All right, then.

When is it most convenient for you to receive visitors?

[Even better/worse... she rebroke her feet.]

Tomorrow morning?

[ omg ]

Tomorrow morning it is. I'll let you know when I'm on my way, perhaps around 9 o'clock?

—Are there any noticeable markers at your address, or establishments nearby?

[ For ease of navigation, though if not she can surely find a secluded corner to check her magitek. ]

[FUN]

That would be appreciated.

Is is two blocks south from the "post office". The home with the blue door.

[ UHUH ]

Understood. I'll see you soon, Sieglinde.

[ (( shall we transition to action from here?? can keep it brief if you've got a lot of threads! ;u; )) ]

I shall await you.

[;3; action plz I missed aqua]

[ (( ACTION IT IS!! u3u ))

As promised, there's a courtesy call before Aqua leaves and a soft rap on the door when she arrives, some 15 minutes later.

(...It's strange to be meeting someone again this way, in a completely different time and place, though she really ought to be used to it by now.) Silly as it is, she's almost holding her breath waiting for the other girl to answer. ...A lot on her mind, though she's sure her stress pales in comparison to those of the researchers tackling the cure, Sieglinde included. ]

[Sieglinde likes to leave her door unlocked when she's expecting company, so that she doesn't have to get up out of her seat and interrupt her work, but it's hardly wise when there are undead about.

So it's the little witch herself who answers the door, trying to look presentable. She'd wrestled her long hair into a braid, washed her face, changed her dress... but that did little to disguise the lack of sleep, or the time spent crying.

But she tries to smile, (tries).]

Aqua, it is good to see you... come in, come in-

[Unlike the last time they saw each other, she's standing on her own feet. Feet that weren't an unnatural shape or size any longer.]

[ The first thing she notices is her eyes, bright and sharp green as ever despite the traces of fatigue and grief. Always brave, always diligent.

Her own expression softens palpably, and she returns a quiet smile and brief nod. ]

Likewise, Sieglinde. Thank you for seeing me, I know you're very busy.

[ Of course, she's here on business, but in these circumstances being allowed to help is truly being helped in turn.

...She pauses when she glances down to step through the doorway. ]

—Your feet...?

[ (The question slips off her tongue before she realizes it might be a terribly rude thing to ask, and she hastily prepares an apology in the event she's offended her.) ]

[Ah... that's right.

Sieglinde takes a moment to reply, shutting the door and bolting it shut. This neighborhood was still somewhat untouched by the ravages of infected, but that was no need not to take precautions. Like shuttering windows and locking doors.

Only then does she turn about to face Aqua again, trying to make what she said sound like a good thing. (Like something she sometimes didn't regret.)]

I had them rebroken after we returned from Nalawi. I am afraid nerve damage was too extensive to allow a full recovery, but the shape now allows for careful walking with little trouble.

(( owwW i didn't need my heart ok ))

[ She's silent for a moment, letting the full weight of Sieglinde's words sink and settle. (A gift with a heavy price, and Aqua wonders if she bears the cost even now.) ]

You're... not in pain...?

[ A futile question to ask, as she'd be no doctor to relieve her of any persistent symptoms. But it's more a matter of sympathy, concern.

With the windows and doors bolted, it's oddly quiet in the house, and it almost feels a bit dark despite the yellow lights illuminating the rooms. ]

No, it is more the opposite.

[To try and demonstrate that she was fine, (really, truly), Sieglinde rocked back ever so carefully on her heels to wriggle her toes. For her it was something of a disjointed sensation, half-numb and slowed, but it was still there. Still... something.]

They were bound for so long that the feeling in the limbs is mostly gone... so by consequence, I still must be careful with my steps. But it does not pain me.

[Much like a person who attempted to walk after their limbs had "fallen asleep" her motions were a clumsy thing, and she often had to look down in order to keep a proper eye on how she was stepping and where she was putting her feet, lacking the sensitive ability to adjust a footfall before it fully landed to compensate for uneven terrain or slippery textures, but.

She could at least do some things by herself now. Even if she still needed to be carried when it came to moving quickly.]

I see.

[ Something gained and something long since taken... At the very least, Aqua's glad to hear it doesn't hurt her to walk. Though...

There's another pensive silence that settles over the room, as she mulls for the next thread of conversation to follow. It's much too late to be offering wishes for a recovery, now that what's done is done. The permanent damage is beyond her healing abilities, and the most she can do is to remember, and to watch out for her teammate when she can.

...She'll focus on what she can do to help Sieglinde at present. ]

...You mentioned the generator needed a charge? And the blood sample, of course.

[Wishes were recovery were best left unsaid. Even months now after doing what she had, she occasionally looked down and regretted what she had done, viewed it as an attempt to cover up the sins of ignorance that had led to them being bound in the first place.

(Never mind that she'd been but a child, that she couldn't have known anything but what she'd been told.)

Better to focus on the present.]

Yes, of course- follow me.

[She demonstrates what she is capable then, a slow, measured walk from the hallway to... the garage? Which she has converted into a makeshift lab since there's no car to get in the way, notes and data and various equipment "borrowed" from other places scattered about. Including a generator in the corner primarily being used for a centrifuge.]

Shall we begin with the blood first? It is the most straightforward...

[ Quietly, she watches Sieglinde walk in front of her, following with muted footsteps. (It's... strange, seeing her gait, though she's sure it must be all the stranger for the girl herself...) ]

...Of course.

[ It's the most straightforward, and also the first reason they're meeting, after all. Aqua allows herself to be directed to a vacant seat (whether it's an actual chair or makeshift, she isn't fussy), and promptly pulls up one of her sleeves as soon as she's situated. ]

...How many samples have you collected so far, if you don't mind me asking?

[Strange indeed. When she was trying her best, and the pace didn't call for speed, it might even be difficult to tell that she walked strangely, distributed her weight farther back on her lower pelvis and stepped as if she couldn't quite trust her feet. But those who knew what to look for likely would see it.

It's a real chair for Aqua, at least, stolen from the dining room table, whereas hers was a rolling chair from the study.]

Personally? Seven.

[She moves easily to gathering her equipment, prepping a vial and needle before she gave a quick explanation, tying a tourniquet on Aqua's arm to promote the color in the veins and make it easier to siphon off blood.]

I am still less mobile than the other members of the team involved in this project- Princess Sonia has gathered the most, I believe.

I see...

[ Seven... If she has any doubts as to whether it'll collectively be enough, she doesn't voice them. (She trusts her teammates, and she trusts Sieglinde. It's a lot of hope concentrated into a mere handful of individuals, but that doesn't deter her...) ]

Thank you for your efforts. Sonia and the others as well.

[ ...There's the cool touch of disinfectant followed by a brief, sharp prick of the needle. The blood draw doesn't take any time at all, and soon Sieglinde is skillfully smoothing a scrap of clean gauze and a fresh bandage over the puncture.

All the while, Aqua quietly studies the lab, taking note of the generator and the cables crossing the ground from it. ]

Is that the power source...?

Think nothing of it. We simply happened to have the skills particularly needed this time around.

[It wasn't like Nalawi, where they'd first met, where things relied more strongly on those members of their team with strength enough to swim through floods, fight cultish natives, and go toe to toe with goddesses. Sieglinde was all but useless in those areas, keeping to the sidelines where she wouldn't get in the way, preparing defenses and healing the wounded. (Not that she wanted to be there, on the front line- not really, even when she felt the burn of uselessness.)

But this she knew. The desperate feeling of people's lives riding on your success, the frustrating search for the breakthrough that would make everything make sense... that's familiar, perhaps the most familiar thing she's had since joining ALASTAIR, and that was... something.

At Aqua's question, however, Sieglinde raises her head, gaze flicking to the generator before moving back to the vial she was carefully checking the seal of. It wouldn't do to get samples only to let them be contaminated later...]

Yes, that is it. I had a centrifuge from the hospital brought here, but it cannot be supplied enough power to run from the house's system, but the generator also seems to be not perfectly compatible...

[Who wouldn't wire a garage to be able to power complex medical equipment???]

(( after googling for forever...... i still have no idea how anything works i'm so sorry (at least the character doesn't either asdlfkj) orz orz orz ))

[ Once the vial has been properly stored, Aqua stands and moves closer to the generator for a closer inspection. Her understanding of electrical conversion is rudimentary at best (practically non-existent lbr), though with Sieglinde's explanation it's easy enough to parse that the issue boils down to a lack of raw energy. ]

I can help power a few of your tests while I'm here. If you have any battery banks, I'd be happy to recharge them as well.

[ She's trying to think of other solutions... It'll be difficult for Sieglinde to perform her work without a constant, reliable source of power. (Despite her magic she's still only human at best, far from a proper machine designed for this specific purpose.) ]

I can also try to find a generator that's appropriate for the task, if you've any in mind. And of course, I'll gladly return as many times as needed.

[(god bless u for googling)]

I would be grateful for that assistance. In both aspects. I do have batteries.

[Vial seal confirmed, Sieglinde stores it carefully alongside a rack full of others and her two microscopes, one of which is an actual microscope, while the other is the lens she'd taken from the eye of the rotting sea serpent in Nalawi, bewitched to magnify that which is viewed through it.

Sieglinde rolls a bit away from her desk and swivels to turn and watch, trying to smile slightly.]

After all- we only covered ice spells on Nalawi.

(( dayum that is a hardcore lens... also i'm gonna go ahead and fast forward a little to get things wrapped up! o7 ))

[ She smiles in return, and nods. (She'd taught Sieglinde what little she could before her own magic had fizzled out completely... Again, to think back to the past brings up such a strange sense of disconnect; another world and another lifetime.) A lot of things had happened since Nalawi, some good, some bad... And either way, she does her best not to hang on to any regrets.

—But reminiscing aside, it's back to work. The sooner she can get the equipment functional the closer they'll ostensibly be to a cure... By the time she finishes filling up whatever items can hold a charge, and runs a few rounds on the centrifuge, it's approaching midday. She'll need to continue scouring the city for what supplies she can scrape together for a meager meal—plenty of mouths to feed back at her main residence. ]

...I'll let you resume your research, then.

[ (She feels much more hopeful now; maybe it's seeing the girl on her own feet that's part of it, too.) ...And even if they've already said it before, it bears repeating: ]

...It's good to see you again, Sieglinde.

(this is how witch scientists roll)

[A lot of things had happened. Perhaps... that was the best way to put it.

Sieglinde might be tired, but she still makes sure to pay close attention to what Aqua does, observing the way she channels the element of electricity for the good of her work here, in between doing what she needed to, loading the centrifuge, recording data, observing slides and making notes.

Unfortunately, not finding results, it seemed, worse celebrating. Not today.

But she still tries to smile again, to send the older woman off with that sort of face.]

Perhaps next time we have the chance, you might teach me those spells.

[A hopeful thing, "next time", when they both knew it might not even happen, here one day and gone the next, but.]

Thank you, Aqua. You as well.

[Until then.]

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text | un; sieglindesullivan

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KH should have prepared you for no hearts

ASDJFLKDSJ it's true, alas...

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