voice | un: karma

[torpour]

My name is Nehan-- I'm researching how medicine works here, and how to merge it with the methods I'm used to. If my research goes well, for instance, I will be able to act as a doctor and pharmacist, among other roles found here.

To that end, I'm requesting samples of blood from fellow Sleepers. I understand it can be quite personal, so whoever does not want to do that need not respond. Those who do, so I can perform the phlebotomy myself, and can privately send you my address, and answer questions you may have.

Whoever wants to help but doesn't want a needle in their arm, I still have a job for you, if anyone is interested.

[very straight to the point, almost unwelcomingly so. but at least people know what they're getting into if they decide to deal with him?]

Comments

[torpour]

You'll get candy once we're done.

[finally, nehan manages to send the address to kaeya's personal inbox. who knew that typing with one hand is more time-consuming than writing?]

[unmelting]

Candy? Well well. Now I'll be an extra brave boy.

[He chuckles to himself but notes the message coming in.] Got it. I'll see you soon.

[torpour]

Very well.

[nehan will certainly interpret that as immediately and decides to simply wait.

his address leads to a row of terraced houses deeper into willful machine, away from the lamp in the canals, but it's easy to tell which one is his-- the erune is curled up in the chair on his front porch, feet propped up on a footstool with his wolf omen's head in his lap. instead of his usual coat, he's draped in a thick cardigan a few sizes too large for his frame.

he looks like a small old man with a deceptively youthful face.]

[unmelting]

[Kaeya, for all his many assorted and cultivated bad habits, can be punctual. So Nehan won't find himself waiting long at all.

And it certainly is hard to miss the good doctor once Kaeya gets close. He raises a hand in a brief greeting as he approaches.]

Nice neighborhood. I haven't explored this part of the city much yet.

[Most of his time in Willful Machine has been spent in the market and shops.]

[torpour]

[nehan pushes himself up to a more alert sitting position, but has to pat his omen's head multiple times before it deigns to get off and let him stand. the wolf snuffles at him as if irritated that its perch needs to move, but the wolfman pays it no mind. he simply stands and straightens his clothes, the sleeves falling past his fingers. evidently, it was made for a much larger man than he.]

It can be noisy at night, but Willful Machine never sleeps, in any case.

[then he shrugs, and opens the door.]

Come in.

[unmelting]

Mm... Cellar Door has its lively times too. But not quite to the same extent.

[Kaeya nods his acknowledgment and moves to follow Nehan inside. He glances briefly at the omen. It's always interesting to see the shape that people's omens take. He wonders where exactly they draw their inspiration from.]

So have you had many volunteers for your blood letting?

[torpour]

[the inside of nehan's house is nothing to write home about, when it's mostly just furniture needed to make a dwelling inhabitable and comfortable. a table here, a cluster of chairs there, and a few bags of medical and essential living supplies on a bench.

no sign of personalization, to make this place a home.]

Yes. But for privacy, I wont be telling you how many, or who they are. [perhaps going back through the archives will give him some idea, but nehan will still keep his mouth shut.]

Come, we'll do this in the kitchen, the tiles are easier to clean in case of trouble.

[after hanging up the coat, nehan turns to the side, headed to an open doorway to what's supposed to be the aforementioned kitchen, though it lacks in a proper dining table to be serviceable. and the erune inadvertently reveals that his clothes have been tailored to lack a back panel, and that he is far more scarred than he lets on.

rather than stick to its sleeper however, the wolf follows the human instead, keeping a close eye on him.]

[unmelting]

Fair enough.

[Oh Kaeya peeks through way too much on the network. It's amazing. People just say things right there out in the open. Amazing. He'd love to get some similar technology in Mondstadt. It'd make his information gathering all the more effective.]

There's that warm and fuzzy feeling again. [He sets a hand over the center of his chest. His heart can hardly take the tender bedside manner and care. His gaze flickers to take in the back of his clothes, curious but biting back the question for the moment.

He glances back at the wolf and laughs.] Your guard takes his job seriously. I hope you pay him well.

[torpour]

[when nehan gets to the kitchen, the first thing he does is pull out a messenger bag from a cupboard, and set it on the counter. and the second thing he does is climb onto said counter next to his bag sitting down like he's done this so many times already (because he has).

and then he snorts at the human.]

He gets paid in a comfortable bed every night and a comfortable chair every day, but it's never the bed nor the chairs I have. [because, of course, he's the comfortable bed and the comfortable chair.

on cue, the wolf flops on the floor just underneath the erune's feet.]

[unmelting]

[Kaeya follows along, stopping beside where Nehan has perched himself on the counter.]

Not a bad salary, all things considered.

[He spares a grin since he certainly did see Nehan serving as the dog's comfy spot when he first arrived.]

So then, I thought I saw you speaking with Diluc before. You two have met?

[He's nosy and has zero shame in the fact that he is.]

[torpour]

[mondstadt men and their nosiness. nehan has to roll his eyes.]

He pulled me out of the sand when I first arrived. [and now he punches the man in the face.

pulling forceps, cotton balls and alcohol from his back, nehan beckons the human to come closer.]

Now, don't ask any further than that, because I need your arm, and to ask you a few medical-related questions that will remain private.

[unmelting]

He's very good at that.

[Kaeya is another beneficiary of Diluc's assistance on the beach. But he shrugs and goes about shrugging out of his jacket and rolling up his sleeve, stepping into reach.]

I do appreciate the discretion. But all right, ask away. And I suppose jab away.

[torpour]

[nehan first pinches a few spots on kaeya's arm, before pulling back and dabbing alcohol onto a cotton ball and holding onto it with the forceps.]

Make a fist, but don't pump your arm. I need to see which veins are the most prominent.

[unmelting]

[Kaeya does as he's bid, fingers curling into a fist as he watches Nehan.]

You're not as cute as the healers I'm used to.

[He opines, because that's exactly the sort of thing you say to a man who is about to stab you with a needle. But in fairness, Barbara is adorable so that's a pretty high bar to get over.]

cw: uhhh unsafe medical practices

[torpour]

[nehan is fairly certain that kaeya is just saying that to get a rise out of him. and while there are many things he thinks he could say to the man, such as the idea that he must be scared to get pricked by a needle for just a few seconds, nehan decides not to insult him. even if children know how to handle it better.

instead, he just stares at kaeya in the eye as he swabs cotton onto the spot he's chosen, using the periphery of his vision to guide himself.]

You don't think I'm cute? [his tone is grave, as if he's just been dealt a grave insult.

and he never takes his eye off of the human's, even as he prepares the syringe and uses his fingers to guide it into the man's skin and vein. and gently as well, because he is still someone who needs to have integrity in his work, no matter how shady he is. the procedure is gone quickly, from the erune inserting the needle and pulling it out, full of blood, over in just a few seconds. usually, people feel nothing but a prick and nehan did his best to make sure that was the case.

then, still holding eye contact for as long as kaeya will allow, nehan places another clean cotton swab on top of the wound, and straps it down with medical tape.]

[unmelting]

Oh now I didn't say that, exactly.

[Kaeya glances at his arm curiously before lifting his gaze back up to Nehan, his own tone its usual casual lilt.] Though honestly, cute isn't really the word I'd choose for you. You're too serious for that. More dashing, in a vaguely scary way.

[It's honestly a compliment. He looks down again when he feels the tape, breaking off eye-contact with a quiet hum.]

Painless. I can't fault your technique.

[torpour]

[mollified, nehan breaks from staring, ears twitching, and he meticulously cleans his tools in the sink, tucking the syringe away for safekeeping until he has a moment to himself.

then again, he never was insulted. he was just reacting in the way he thinks some regular people would.]

You can remove the cotton in thirty minutes-- or whenever you get back home and can light some incense.

But I still have to ask you some questions, for my records.

[unmelting]

[A nod of understanding and he moves to roll his sleeve back down, slipping back into his jacket as well.]

Yes, Doctor.

[He'll be a good and obedient patient and not go picking at the tape immediately.]

I'm ready to answer. If I can anyway. [Probably even honestly.]

[torpour]

You'll get a reward after this, don't worry. [like he's interacting with a child, instead of an adult.

instead of leading the way towards the living room where one of his notebooks are, full of information on the people who have visited so far, nehan simply stays on his counter, resting his feet on his omen. his hands on his thighs, he leans forward slightly with his ears pointing forward, towards the human.]

First, age and height. I'm sure I can determine your height just by measuring myself against you, but best to know from your own mouth.

[unmelting]

Because I've neem a very brave boy?

[Kaeya laughs because he's fully aware he's being treated like a child. He's certainly had worse, and as he makes sure his clothes are sorted again -- image is important, after all -- he turns back to Nehan.]

Twenty two. Six feet, without my boots.

[But he can also be serious enough to answer questions.]

[torpour]

[nehan tilts his head to look at kaeya's boots, gauging how high those heels are. perhaps an inch, not much to them. then he looks back up, clasping his hands together before him.]

Any chronic illnesses, or diseases that run in the family?

[unmelting]

Ah, that's a trickier question.

[A shrug of his shoulders and he spreads his hands.] I wouldn't really know.

[Like it's not a big deal or anything.] My father disappeared when I was a child. I was brought up by Diluc's family, so I don't know too much of my family's history.

[You know, except for the fact that many people of his destroyed homeland are cursed and corrupted and turn into monsters. Minor details. Kaeya seems to have mostly dodged that at least.]

[torpour]

I see. That's fine, that you don't know. [coldblood is useless for transfusions, anyway. but nehan was mostly asking for himself, in case he needed to be more careful around kaeya's blood.]

Here, something I know you can respond to-- do you have magic separate from your coldblood? What elemental affinity?

[thanks to diluc, he knows the sad state of magic in that world, and he has to be sure.]

[unmelting]

I do.

[He drops a hand to tap the blue crystal that hands at his hip.] It's not necessarily an intrinsic thing. I can't wield my Cryo ability without my Vision. But it's particular to me, and no one else can make use of it.

[So who knows exactly what it is in him that resonated enough to draw the Vision to him.]

[torpour]

You're aligned with ice? [that would just be a subset of the water element, in nehan's world. he knows that much, but doesn't know why some individuals lean towards frost in particular-- water is not his strongest element, after all.

skies above, he doesn't even know if he still has that potential anymore.]

How does your blood type affect it, then? Did it gift you fire?