Mingle: For a limited time only...

[hearsthesea]

Who: Everyone!
Where: Anywhere on the hub
When: Days 134-139
Open/Closed: Open mingle goooo!

[Copper, lizards, and vines - oh my! With the recent installation of 9S and co.'s scanning equipment and the also recent, significantly wetter rainstorms there's quite a lot to check out on the island right now. Plus, the monitor robot still needs a name. You're not going to leave them nameless forever, are you?

Too bad Genette's put out word that everyone's about to be moving location soon. That means these are the last days the coven has for a little while to get everything in order, whether it's to take things to the next destination or to leave them behind. Get your bags packed and your huts cleaned, everyone!]

Comments

[hearsthesea]

You're a doctor? But you don't seem much older than I am!

[Despite her reservations about others, Shirley hasn't had an extensive education and therefore seems duly impressed. She's barely practiced with healing eres, and Jude is a doctor. Wow.]

[talim]

Yeah, I sort of get that a lot. I'm sixteen.

[ he gets it every time he mentions it, actually. is it really that strange? ]

It's not a big deal... I just graduated med school a little earlier than the other students there.

[hearsthesea]

Everyone must be very intelligent where you come from, then.

[A little earlier than the others, he says. And what's Shirley doing with her life at fifteen? Okay, she's the Merines, but that's a destiny thing. It's not a matter of skill, and around here skill is a lot more important.]

And you said you're the only doctor?

[talim]

As far as I know. Madoka is an assistant nurse, but I haven't met any others.

[hearsthesea]

Oh. I guess I can't be of much help, either. I used to have healing eres, but I can't use them here. If there's anything I could do to help, though, I could--maybe...

[She doesn't know what she's saying, really. Jude's made a decent impression on Shirley, but she doesn't know whether she really knows him much better than anyone else in the coven. Or if he'd care for her help if she offered.]

[talim]

Eres? Are eres sort of like... spirit artes?

[ ... ]

I'm sure you could do plenty to help. Any help is welcome, and on a higher frequency world I was using my own healing artes when I needed to.

[hearsthesea]

I wouldn't be of any use. I don't think I've ever been to school.

[Lessons on Ferines history and Old Relares don't count, she's pretty sure. Not much use to a doctor in any case.]

[talim]

Not everyone needs to go to school.

[ jude is rather persistent about this. ]

But it's your call.

[hearsthesea]

I...

[It makes sense, really. Some way to be useful would be nice. And yet there's something holding her back.]

I'm not sure. I guess I'll think about it.

[talim]

Take your time, okay?

[ jude gives her what he hopes is a reassuring smile. ]

[hearsthesea]

...Okay. Thank you.

[Shirley feels as if she ought to have the answer already, but in the meantime she's thankful to Jude for not pushing for one.]

I still think it's very impressive that you're a doctor. I'm sure you've helped a lot of people.

[talim]

[ jude's never really sure what to say to this type of thing, to having praise heaped on him. he's just doing his job, but actually saying that always sounds almost mocking. ]

My father's a doctor, too, and my mother's a nurse at our clinic. It just runs in the family, I guess?

[ he laughs, a little awkwardly. ]

[hearsthesea]

Oh.

[When he puts it that way, it sounds a little more like it was laid out for him. So...]

Do you enjoy it?

[talim]

I do, but...

[ he hums. he didn't expect to be asked that question; it isn't a question he's often asked. most people just... assume. ]

For the time being, I'm more interested in pursuing environmental science. It's not that I'm not grateful for the opportunity to help people, rather— I want to explore other ways to do so.

I guess... a while ago, I didn't know there was any other path besides being a doctor. It was what my father wanted, and I had no reason to protest. Again, I wasn't unhappy, but... I also didn't know how to think for myself. It took some trial and error to learn.

[ sorry for his life story, shirley. ]

[hearsthesea]

I...see.

[Why does your life story have to be so relatable, Jude. That last part hits close to home, but it's closer than Shirley would even like to think. No, their situations have to be different, don't they?]

Do your parents know that you want to do something else?

[talim]

It's hard to say. I don't really talk to them, much. Last time I did, my dad kind of dismissed the thesis I'd spent the better part of a year working on? So...

[ ahaha... ]

I know he just wants to see me succeed.

[hearsthesea]

Oh. That's...I'm sorry about your father.

[Shirley is definitely not trying to think too hard about the authority figures in her own life right now. Surely not a productive line of thought. Easier to focus on Jude, which would be the more considerate thing to do anyway.]

Maybe succeeding at what you want to do in environment science would make him happy, too.

[talim]

There's no need to apologize. Like I said... I know he wants what's best for me, deep down, even if he can be a little harsh at times.

[ harsh is an understatement, but jude isn't one for self-pity. ]

I think you're right. I'd like to think so, at least.

[ he gives her a soft smile. ]

[hearsthesea]

I don't know anything about it, but environmental science sounds like important work to me.

[Assuming that it isn't something like what the Orerines did so long ago, shaping the world itself to their own ends. But Jude doesn't seem like he would so interested in that.]

[talim]

I'm glad to hear you think so. Limiting the amount of resources we're consuming can make a huge difference in everyone's day to day lives, you know?

[ it's something he's pretty passionate about. ]

The world should be an inhabitable place for everyone.

[hearsthesea]

[That...makes Shirley pause. It's not that Jude is wrong, really, but she's very much aware that part of her duty is to make the world uninhabitable for a great deal of people. Even if it wasn't supposed to be habitable for them to start with.

She isn't sure what to do with that thought, and she's much less sure in her next response.]

Yeah...right.

[talim]

[ jude senses her beat of hesitation, but he doesn't question it verbally. he trusts that if shirley wanted to speak about something, she would.

so he just nods in response with a small smile, a hint of uncertainty written across his face. ]

I'm glad we feel the same.

[hearsthesea]

[Shirley does briefly consider saying something. That train of thought makes her uneasy, and Jude's earlier words are still on her mind too: I didn't know there was any other path besides being a doctor. I want to explore other ways to help people. If only--

But Jude has his situation, and Shirley has hers. The responsibility of the Merines is different than a doctor's. No room for doubt. So she nods, and makes sure to keep the conversation away from herself.]

Yes. I hope your parents come to see things that way, too.

[talim]

Me, too.

[ the uncertainty in his smile softens into something warmer. ]

Thanks, Shirley. I'm glad we had this talk.

[hearsthesea]

...Yeah.

[Is she glad? Not for herself, maybe. But Jude seems happier, even if Shirley doesn't feel like she did all that much, and thinking about it she's glad for that.]

Thank you as well, for the help you gave me when I first arrived. I haven't forgotten that.