Hey Doc, I'm back! With friends!! (Zack) on Hospital Wing

Stephen Baxter

July 01, 2005 8:39 AM

Hey Doc, I'm back! With friends!! (Zack) by Stephen Baxter

OOC: Stephen, Zack and a Crup walk into the hospital wing... sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, doesn't it? BIC:

Stephen walked as confidently in the direction of the Hospital Wing as one could when directing a smaller boy who seemed somewhat attached to one's robes, as well as carrying a wriggling, face-licking, eager-to-be-let-loose crup with the hand not helping Zack along, as would seem possible - and then some. Poor Zack was pretty shaken up from the whole being blown around in the wind thing. Stephen had considered giving him Rover to hold, but the crup was enough of a handful for him - he made a quick adjustment to stop an escape attempt and copped a faceful of slobber for his trouble which he tried to dry off by rubbing his face against his shoulder - and he just wasn't sure that Zack'd be able to handle it at the moment.

Considering the occupied status of both his hands it was a good thing that the doors to the hospital wing were easily pushed open.

"Hey Doc," Stephen called, as he shouldered the door open and continued on through with his charges. "Have you seen the dust outside?!" The fact that with his entrance the dust was also most firmly inside too failed to register. "Zack, Doc. Doc, Zack. And this is Rover, but I don't think he needs your help, do you boy." He gave the crup an attempt at a scratch as he looked over at the Doc. "I think Zack does though," he said more seriously. "We got caught outside in Care of Magical Creatures."

39 Stephen Baxter Hey Doc, I'm back! With friends!! (Zack) 49 Stephen Baxter 1 5

Zack

July 01, 2005 10:12 AM

clarification by Zack

Zack wasn't walking very steadily as Stephen led him into the Hospital wing. Either his willpower save on the spell meant to erase his awareness of the crup was too good, or he'd had spell failure.

Of course, he hadn't actually tried to cast anything in reality, so that may be part of it, too. It was far too much trouble to try to find his wand in his backpack, and he didn't know any such spells anyway. You probably needed to be like a 8th level character or something to get something like that. He wondered if he could find his own character sheet somewhere. It would be nice to know if he'd become a second level wizard at the end of last year. He suspected that he probably was still a few experience points shy of that mark though.

Vaguely, he became aware of his feet ceasing to move and Stephen saying something to somebody and his own name being mentioned.

He nodded, because agreeing with whatever Stephen had said was probably the way to go. This was the doc, though, so he should probably clarify some of his symptoms. "Scratchy throat," he rasped out, because that was becoming irritating, then he added the more important factor, "Emotional trauma, specifically, severe panic." Yes, he was in shock. No, that did not diminish his propensity toward large words and precise explanations. If anything, that helped calm him. A little.

He still did not let go of Stephen.

0 Zack clarification 0 Zack 0 5

Philemon Papp

July 05, 2005 1:48 AM

Dirt and a fur filled beast. . . oh joy. by Philemon Papp

OOC: That's one joke I don't want to hear.

IC:

Philemon had very little time to take in the shock of seeing a dust storm ravage the grounds before the first of his patients came in- or, after getting past the reflexive grimace at the sight of the dust that came in with them, first two patients. A third glance revealed a wriggling creature in one of the student's arms; the boy called out a greeting, and Philemon paled: Stephen Baxter. Splendid. His last encounter with the rather. . .precocious boy had been his first real experience as a mediwizard, and what an experience that had been.

He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and stepped in to the infirmiary in time to hear the small boy attached to Stephen speak up. He nodded briskly and set the first task.

"All right, Stephen, Zack, close your eyes for a moment." He waited for the boys to do as asked and gave his wand a much used swish. "Scourgify!"

That took care of the dirt on the floor and on the boys; his mind purposely skipped over the mass of fur that strongly resembled an overgrown rat in Stephen's arms. It was too much to hope for that the cleaning spell would remove the beast of its fur as well. "Now, Zack, I need you to let go of Stephen's shirt. I have something to help your nerves."

He hoped it was just nerves and not something severe like a panic attack. Not that he wasn't capable of dealing with it, but it was far more difficult to get someone to down a potion if he's hyperventilating. Philemon accio-ed over a vial containing a pale pink liquid. He gave it a quick shake and pulled out the stopper.

"Drink this," he directed. "It's a calming draught and should ease your, er. . . severe emotional trauma."

While waiting for Zack to remove himself from Stephen's shirt, Philemon warily watched the furry creature wriggle about in said student's arms. "Stephen, how about I get you a box or a crate for your. . ." He stumbled over the appropriate name. ". . . for your, er, pet."

0 Philemon Papp Dirt and a fur filled beast. . . oh joy. 0 Philemon Papp 0 5

Zack Dill

July 05, 2005 9:23 AM

I walk the fine line between genius and insanity by Zack Dill

The scourgify charm did a lot to ease Zack's breathing, though the back of his throat still tickled uncomfortably. Something as simple as a glass of water ought to clear that up, however, so that was one worry down. He was glad he wasn't allergic to fur and the distress to his lungs had been caused entirely by the dust, else he'd still be having issues with that.

"Now, Zack, I need you to let go of Stephen's shirt. I have something to help your nerves." Zack nodded to the doc's instruction, agreeing to the neccessity of letting go of Stephen's clothes. "Drink this, it's a calming draught and should ease your, er. . . severe emotional trauma."

Logically seeing the neccessity and the physical ability to let go were two entirely different animals. His fingers hurt from how hard he was gripping the fabric, and try as he might, he could not convince them to release their hold. Even supposing he could free his hands, Zack had a sneaking suspicion that they would shake far too badly to drink anything.

While Zack was not well versed in mental illness or psychology, he'd read a few books where the characters or peripheral extras had suffered some pretty bad stuff and were in similiar states to his. "I think I'm using Stephen as a mental crutch, or possibly a sanity anchor, and if I let go, I'll either collapse, go catatonic, or really start panicking. I've tricked my mind into believing that as long as I hold onto Stephen, I'll be safe, and the natural correlary to that is that if I let go, I won't be. Unfortunately, logical deduction of that as a fallacy isn't helping."

Talking, however, was, and his fingers loosened enough that his knuckles weren't white anymore, and his heart rate was also beginning to lessen. He was even able to look up and actually meet the Doc's eyes for the first time. He grinned weakly, which he counted as a really good sign, and flushed slightly as he asked in moderate embarrassment, "Got a straw, Doctor?"

1 Zack Dill I walk the fine line between genius and insanity 40 Zack Dill 0 5

Stephen

July 06, 2005 10:52 AM

Why walk when you can hop or jump or run or fly or... by Stephen

"Nah," Stephen said, still trying to scratch Rover with the one hand that was also keeping the crup from getting loose, "Rover's right with me, aren'tcha boy." The crup managed to get close enough to land a lick right up the side of Stephen's face, which he took as a 'yes'. "See?" he told Doc, while twisting his face (but not moving overly much besides because of Zack) and stifling a laugh.

When the two were told to close their eyes he had a momentary dilemma. Then, figuring that Zack had a good enough grip and wasn't going to fall over for the moment at least, he used the hand that had been helping direct his friend to - with some small difficulty as Rover considered this another wonderful game - covered the crup's eyes and then scrunched his own shut while Doc cast his dirt-removing spell.

There wasn't much to be done after that. Zack still wasn't letting go, the Doc was offering him some medication, and much of Stephen's attention was being taken by Rover who apparently was enjoying all the attention he was getting, and after more. He did grin encouragingly at Zack a few times, but the Doc was helping him, and Zack was talking to the Doc... and every time Stephen took his eyes off Rover he copped a licking.

39 Stephen Why walk when you can hop or jump or run or fly or... 0 Stephen 0 5

Philemon Papp

July 07, 2005 9:06 AM

That's it; the crup's gotta go. by Philemon Papp

OOC: Ha ha ha.

IC:

Philemon quickly obliged with the requested straw, mentally noting firstly that Zack seemed unusually bright, and secondly, that the sooner Zack was calmed and throat taken care of, the two could leave and take Rover with them. Thankfully, though, the calming draught had the doubled benefit of helping sooth whatever throat aches Zack might have. He'd give the boy a topical salve all the same, though, just to be safe.

He proffered the now straw equipped potion to Zack. "There you go. Drink slowly, though. If drunk too quickly, the draught tends to leave its drinker fairly. . ." he paused and considered which adjective best described the somewhat heady, happy feeling the potion tended to give when downed like a glass of water.

". . . mellow," he finally decided on.

Now it was time to deal with the problem of that crup. Regardless of whether Stephen was fine holding it, it was not at all hygenic to have an animal romping about in an area where patients were kept. What he needed was a small carton or pen, but where to find one? The Hospital Wing was equipped to handle humans, not animals. His eyes lit on the still open door of his office and his monster of a desk.

Philemon gave a mental groan. The solution would do for now, but he really hated to do it. He was fairly profficient when it came to wand use, but he had one particular weakness. Years spent under his mother's tutelage, being told that all it took was a bit of '. . . mental strength, boy. If you would concentrate hard enough, you could do it. Now, transfigure that toad into a handbag.' That scenario normally ended with his mother berating him for making a purse with warts. He loathed transfiguration, but there was very little he could do about it now. That crup needed a pen, and his mail holder would just have to do.

Surprisingly enough, the process went through with very little trouble. Of course, all he was doing was essentially expanding the smallish letter holder, but that was a point better ignored. Philemon brandished the makeshift pen and placed it next to Stephen pointedly.

\r\n\r\n"If you wouldn't mind, I'll need you to place, uh, Rover, into this box. You may take him when you leave, but for now it's best to keep him under wraps." He tried to sound authoritative, and naturally, he failed miserably. But never one to stand around and wallow in failure, he then posed a question he imagined was probably running through most of the school's minds. "Perhaps one of you could tell me what's happened?"\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

0 Philemon Papp That's it; the crup's gotta go. 0 Philemon Papp 0 5

Zack Dill

July 07, 2005 11:05 AM

Three little pigs by Zack Dill

He was feeling confident enough of his safety that he was able to release one hand from the folds of Stephen's shirt to hold the straw-equipped potion. With the ease of years of practice (every day from first grade through sixth grade at lunchtime), he fit his mouth around the small narrow tube and created a region of lesser pressure in his mouth, forcing the liquid inside the glass to rise and equalize the differential.

The first taste was a bit startling, but he'd been expecting the fake cherry or grape flavor that most normal medicines have. His face scrunched and twisted in a horrific grimace, but he sloshed the stuff all around his mouth, then swallowed carefully. It did a good job of easing the scratchiness and as wretched as the taste was, it still was better than the dry dirt taste that he'd been suffering before.

His next sip was met with less visible reaction, but was subjected to the same treatment of slosh then swallow. It really did feel good going down, and he was able to ignore the taste by the fifth sip. By the sixth, he had released Stephen entirely, and was watching with some interest as a letterbox was enlarged for use as a Crup holder. By the eighth, the potion was half gone, and he was feeling rather . . . floaty. He suspected this was the 'mellow' the doc had warned him about, but he was okay with mellow. Mellow was nice. He could live with mellow. Zack smiled a bit strangely, but wasn't too concerned about it.

On the other hand, he was fairly sure nothing would really concern him at the moment. He had a feeling that should concern him, but it didn't.

By the thirteenth well-savoured sip, the potion was mostly gone, and he felt great. His throat was almost fully back to normal, and panic was really the last thing on his mind. Yeah, this was good stuff.

"Perhaps one of you could tell what's happened?"

"There was a dust storm," Zack said, smiling contendedly, "The wind huffed and puffed and blew the house down." He paused to reconsider his words, then corrected himself, "Well, it blew me down." Still smiling, he added musingly, "I wonder if I would have gone to Oz if Stephen hadn't grabbed me." The smile faded to a thoughtful frown, "I don't think I would have liked the flying monkeys."

1 Zack Dill Three little pigs 40 Zack Dill 0 5

Stephen

July 09, 2005 6:29 AM

Rover isn't the big bad wolf by Stephen

OOC (or am i?): I'm experiencing a strong urge to find something and name it 'Spot'. BIC (I think... unless I never left):

Stephen was rather interested in what Doc was doing with his wand until it turned out to be just making some box thing larger. His interest was completely turned about when the suggestion was made that Rover be put in it.

"I can't," he said in just about as matter-a-fact tone as Stephen ever managed to adopt. "Poor guy was stuck in a small box during that whole running through the storm thing. It's probably not going to be good for him to be stuffed right back into an enclosed space. Besides," he added as he noticed that Zack was making his way through his medicine-potion and had apparently had enough to let go of Stephen's shirt. "I've got two hands to take care of him now."

One of those hands made a quick move to cut off an attempt to escape and explore the infirmary, and Stephen sent a bright, guileless smile Doc's way.

The smile went a little awry when he heard Zack's version of events. One of his eyebrows shot up quizzically as he made the connections between the half nonsense that Zack was spouting and memories of some of the odd things that Alan'd come up with when he'd broken into their parents' liquor cabinet. While he kept a close watch on the Crup with his hands and half an eye, he also kept a close eye on Zack.

"Er... it was something like that," he ammended. "There was this massive dark cloud that come up, and then it got heaps windy and my socks flew away, and there was all this dust. Profski made us all run for the school and then when we got there she wigged out and ran off again. Oh, and Zack did get blown over... he didn't imagine that bit."

He waited half a heartbeat then continued. "Ya know Doc, I think I'm feeling a little..." what was it that Zack had said? "emotionally traumatised..."

He batted away Rover as the crup attempted to lick his nose.

39 Stephen Rover isn't the big bad wolf 0 Stephen 0 5

Philemon Papp

July 11, 2005 3:21 PM

He has fur and potentially could huff and puff. by Philemon Papp

Philemon eyed Zack with a wary eye; apparently the potion's side effect had kicked in rather strongly. Wordlessly, he guided the boy to a cot and firmly helped him take a seat. Hopefully, if seated, Zack would not feel inclined to engage in any sort of activity the mellow feel normally gave to its drinker. Stephen's unabashed hankering after some of the potion did not escape Philemon's attention, however.

"Somehow I doubt that, Stephen," he commented wryly. Pulling over the expanded letter box, he enlarged it even more, until it was nearly two yards long and three yards wide. "There. That should do just fine then, if you're worried about size. I'm afraid I can't have Rover possibly escaping your arms and running amok. Please place him in the pen." Thinking over his words and his knowledge of the sort of boy Stephen seemed to be, Philemon added, "That's not a suggestion either, Stephen."

While Philemon did not hand out more of the calming draught, he did break out a large bar of medichocolate kept for manners of the nerves. He broke off a large chunk and gave half to Stephen and the rest to Zack. "It's medichocolate," he explained, "and it should settle your stomachs and any other residual nerves bothered. I'll need both of you to stay here until I get hold of the Headmistress or Professor Bulla." Inwardly, he added: And until I find out what on earth is going on!

"Were you two at class then when the storm came up? Does your professor know that you're here?"

0 Philemon Papp He has fur and potentially could huff and puff. 0 Philemon Papp 0 5

Zack

July 11, 2005 5:31 PM

Though both canines, wolves and crups are different species by Zack

Zack sat down on the bed under the wordless guidance of the Doc. It was a nice bed. He gave an experimental bounce. Yes, it was a very nice bed. His bed up in Alderaan was nicer, but this was still a nice bed. Comfy.

The smile already on his face grew as he was given chocolate. He was pretty darn sure that he didn't have any functioning nerves left in his body, nevermind his psyche, but he was a twelve year old boy and turning down chocolate, offered for whatever reason, was completely anathema.

Even under the influence of the calming draught, however, he injested the chocolate bar in his usual meticulous manner - small bite, let the chocolate melt and spread to all corners of his mouth, swallow, repeat. It was a slow and precise process, designed to get maximum yield with minimal waste from the candy available.

Zack's family didn't really understand the mechanics or they wouldn't call the method 'weird', 'unnatural for a boy his age', and 'obsessive-compulsive' as his brother, father, and mother, respectively, regarded the process.

He wasn't even close to finished with his chocolate when the Doc asked his next question, so Zack decided he could let Stephen field this one, and then add anything he thought neccessary once his friend had finished.

0 Zack Though both canines, wolves and crups are different species 0 Zack 0 5

Stephen

July 24, 2005 1:36 AM

do you think they'd let me have a pet wolf called 'spot'? by Stephen

Apparently he'd done something wrong. Stephen sighed. It had been worth a try. Maybe he should have tried clinging to Doc's robes while he had been claiming to be emotionally traumatised. Although with Rover here, that wasn't really an option. It was a pity though. That potion looked like it'd be interesting to try.

And then the sigh changed to a wide eyed stare. The box had been extended yet again. "It's alright-" he started to say when Doc changed tactics.

"That's not a suggestion either, Stephen."

It was like he could read Stephen's mind or something. Still... Stephen shrugged, and moved over to the box, leaning down to release Rover inside. "Sorry boy," he said to the crup looking up at him with soulful eyes. "Doc's orders. You've got to do what a doctor tells you to. Least, that's what Dad says."

But then Doc made it all up to him. A large chunk of chocolate was placed in his hands, and Stephen, without bothering to listen to much of the explanation - this was cholcolate! What explanation did chocolate need? - he bit off a mouthful and offered some to Rover. Rover managed to get most of what he was left holding, and Stephen looked at the remains, at the crup, then chewing and swallowing quickly popped the last bit in his mouth.

"Thanks Doc," he said cheerfully, catching the mention of the Headmistress and her Deputy and answering the question that quickly followed. "That's probably who Professor Coujyouski went rushing off to look for," he said helpfully putting two and two together. "I guess everyone else must be ok. Profski said that those who were hurt - we were outside for Care of Magical Creatures - had to come here, and Zack," he pointed at the other boy who was... really taking his time with his portion of the chocolate, "was hurt, so me and Rover helped him to get here."

As he finished talking, Stephen started climbing over the side of the box. Poor Rover looked so lonely, stuck in there by himself. The crup jumped up and yipped excitedly at the prospect of being rejoined by the boy.

39 Stephen do you think they'd let me have a pet wolf called 'spot'? 0 Stephen 0 5

Phil Papp

July 25, 2005 1:01 AM

Sure. . . as long as it was imaginary. by Phil Papp

Philemon decided to give it up as an attempt well tried. As long as Stephen kept the crup inside the pen, then he supposed it didn't really matter that there was a boy included in there as well. The chocolate seemed to have paid off, though, because it stalled any other tries for the calming draught which, by the looks of things, Zack had definitely had too much of. Thankfully, the potion's side effect wouldn't last too long. A half hour at most.

Hopefully.

He muddled over Stephen's words as he continued to watch that Zack didn't try to act out any of the 'good' feelings he might be having. Philemon reckoned that the storm promised an incoming of students; on the bright side, though, Kiva seemed to have dealt with the situation promptly, so the worst of the injuries were probably a few cuts and sore throats. There was plenty of the medichocolate, though, for all the other cases that came in with 'nerves' along the lines of Stephen's.

"Alright then," he said in a firm voice, having decided on a plan. "I'll keep the two of you here until I get hold of your house heads. Zack," Philemon eyed the boy carefully and quickly deduced that he'd be better left to his cot. "I have a few periodicals on hand if you'd like something to read; there are blankets and pillows as well should you get tired. Stephen," he raised his voice in an attempt to get the boy's attention away from the crup. "I may need your help later on; are you up for it?"

Once those designations were settled, Philemon focused on preparing himself. He readied the various salves and draughts, and counted out several bars of the medichocolate. When finally satisfied, he loosened his collar and turned his gaze to the door.

0 Phil Papp Sure. . . as long as it was imaginary. 0 Phil Papp 0 5

Zack Dill

July 25, 2005 8:46 AM

Imaginary wolves are cool by Zack Dill

There was something he was going to say. There was a point in what Stephen said that he meant to refute. He couldn't remember what it was. The doc had shown him to a cot and offered him periodicals and whatever he'd been about to argue about completely flew out his ear. His put his fingers in his mouth to get the last of the chocolate from the creases in his skin, then sprawled out on his cot.

Oh, yeah, this was a good cot. So . . . cot like. It was like the ideal cot, the be-all-and-end-all of cot-hood. It sunk under his weight in just the right ways, and Zack smiled happily. Life was good.

Finding a small pile of periodicals on the table beside the cot, he began looking through them. Discovering 'A Witch's Guide to Healthy Living', Zack rolled back onto his back and began thumbing through the pages. "Mom would hate this magazine," he remarked to nobody. "I mean, if she was a witch and knew this magazine existed, she'd hate it."

He pointed demonstatively at an article entitled 'New Breakthroughs in Vitamin Suppliment Potions' and stated, "Mom thinks all the vitamins we need are in McDonalds and Fruit Roll-ups."

1 Zack Dill Imaginary wolves are cool 40 Zack Dill 0 5