* APOTHECARY.

isola affiliated baizhu of genshin impact.

[originskey]

It takes him longer than last time to remember who Baizhu was, thankfully. And while his mind acknowledged the two were close, his heart didn't immediately catch up.

"It isn't as bad as before, but it is startling. I don't predict the adjustment period to be too long."

If anything, his movements are subdued and muted. It happens sometimes, when he's let his heart reside in that crystal for too long. It'll thaw in the short term.

"And you? Are you alright?"

[herbalremedied]

❝ You've had quite the journey. A little shock is perfectly normal. ❞ Despite this, Baizhu still looks the man up and down with the purpose of checking on him. Detached is the descriptor of him to come to mind, and something in him aches for the reason of it. But Kratos is here, and Baizhu is glad for it nevertheless. ❝ In due time, you'll be right as rain. ❞

The doctor huffs a sound of amusement, lifting a finger to stroke beneath Changsheng's chin when her tiny round head rises to look at him. ❝ Oh, you know this body of mine. It aches when the cold sets in, is all. I've just closed the pharmacy for the night. Come, won't you? I'll prepare us tea, that should thaw us out. ❞

[snackleader]

"The dumb grocer in this city is too big. Why do they need like a bijilion different brands of soup? Not even kinds, brands! Just make good soup!"

[herbalremedied]

❝ Why, I often ask myself the same. For it to be necessary to go from one end of the grocer to another just for separate odds and ends isn't terribly convenient, if you ask me. ❞

The little white snake on his shoulders lifts her head with an air of smugness. ❝ I tell you to use the wheeled carts that power themselves about instead, and yet you insist on walking until you nearly buckle at the knees. You're so stubborn. ❞ The doctor sighs lightly, bringing a gentle finger to her snout to shush her as one might a disruptive child. ❝ Changsheng, please. ❞

[originskey]

"...Always jarring to come from the depths of space back to a metropolis. What did I miss."

Welcome back, you pathetic creature.

[herbalremedied]

❝ Welcome back. ❞ He chuckles as a short, singular hum through his nose, loosely folding his arms over his chest. ❝ Not feeling too disoriented, I hope? ❞

[wingherc]

｢𓆄｣ "Ah, sick! Got any numbing creams too? Cus uh, this sucks! Big time!"

[herbalremedied]

❝ Hm... ❞ The doctor ponders for a brief moment, only to smile affirmatively. ❝ I do, though actually, if you'd like, I could prepare one that does both. It would hardly be any trouble to do for you. Do you have about 15 minutes to spare? ❞

[wingherc]

｢𓆄｣ "They didn't warn me my scars would start itching." Between his face and his back, he felt like he was on fire again!

[herbalremedied]

❝ I believe I have an ointment that could soothe most of the discomfort you're experiencing. My pharmacy is just down the road, in fact. ❞

[originskey]

@herbalremedied liked for an event starter!

"I believe the best course of action to be to open them." He states plainly, folding his arms at the two paint cans before them. He supposes he should be more alarmed that everything is in shades of grey, but he... can't seem to do that. Even now, there's a noble tranquility in his stance.

"I'm still entirely unsure what's happening, but given everyone seems to be in a different hue..."

Baizhu was no exception, of course. But after seeing each other again, embracing, and finding that both of their colour is rubbing off on the other... something is at play here, isn't it?

"We could use them to better protect ourselves and others."

[herbalremedied]

❝ And that would be by... painting this drearily grey landscape we're in? You'll have to bring me up to speed, dear, I'm afraid you've lost me. ❞ Baizhu doesn't measure up the two paint cans quite the same way his partner does, that being having any semblance of an idea what to do with them. Now that he thinks of it... Where did those come from? He's certain the last renovation, wherein the study upstairs was made more suitable for not one but two people to call theirs now, had left no paint behind. If he had to wager a guess, he'd reckon their sudden and unexplained appearance would have something to do with their monochrome image. ❝ It's terribly strange. I can't say I particularly imagined we would reunite this way— Oh, I do believe I've gotten it in your hair during our embrace too, not just your arms and back... ❞ Instinctively, he reaches a hand to tidy out that bold streak of turquoise mussing up Kratos' sapphire hair, only to remember it would just result in more turquoise, therefore drawing that hand right back.

Changsheng, fuchsia pink around his shoulders, huffs indignantly. Where her sleek, scaled body meets Baizhu's body, she too is smeared with his color. ❝ What's the deal with that, anyway? It's gotten all over me. Before long we'll all be the same shade. ❞ Her owner spares her a considerative ( albeit mildly amused ) glance. ❝ Might that be the goal of whatever phenomenon this is? ❞

[herbalremedied]

BRIGHT TURQUOISE.  — health & protection. hopes & dreams. compassion & loyalty.

Baizhu's hue is bright turquoise, representing healing as its core. The way that nurses tend to wear this color, it is often associated with health and protection, evoking relaxation and peace. Those in his proximity will feel a great deal of compassion, as well as a clearness of mind. Relaxed and stress-free, like taking a nice vacation on a private beach. The hopes and dreams aspect rings especially true for a person like Baizhu, who yearns for what most think impossible.

[herbalremedied]

( OOC. ) back in business, baybeeee!! i'm gently plopping down a starter call capped at 2 to warm me up, but if you'd really like a silly doctor in your pocket and the cap's already been met, you're welcome to poke me in dms about a starter. thanks!

[herbalremedied]

Test text? Can I get uhhh... test text in bold??? In Italics??? In bold AND italics (spicy.) ❝ Some dialogue too, pwease. ❞

[originskey]

Of course he would come up with a way to cheat the system!

"I--cough! Watch your words."

This boop is a nudge!

[herbalremedied]

The laugh Kratos gets in kind for that flustered nudge is as melodic as it is self-satisfied. Is that a blush on his cheeks? How fun.      ❝ 'Watch my words'? ❞

     ❝ Why, whatever do you mean? Might your mind be wandering, Kratos? Oh, dear... ❞

[originskey]

"Using Changsheng doesn't count, doctor."

But he does get a single boop in the form of a little peck on the cheek.

[herbalremedied]

     ❝ Oh? I don't believe there were any rules against it, prior to now. ❞ The peck is met with a little chuckle!

     ❝ And who said it was Changsheng, hm? I know well where your pressure points are. ❞ He's joking... unless?

[herbalremedied]

yes, lloyd can i help u with anything?

[herbalremedied]

There appears to be a power imbalance here.

[herbalremedied]

     ❝ Boop responsibly, everyone. Avoid the pressure points and be mindful of others' space. We wouldn't want to— ❞

     ❝ ... E- Enough! Please stop! ❞

[herbalremedied]

𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 is like meandering through a thick veil of clouds nestled upon the ground. Changsheng speaks concern guised as sassing the whole walk through Cotes, though Baizhu hardly hears a word of it. Maybe he's tuning her out, just a little; he'll attribute it to his health to be spared her reprimanding. As the pharmacy and therefore his home miraculously come into view, her voice changes tune. Baizhu doesn't need to listen to know it's something adjacent to 'I told you.' Turning the key into the lock and bumbling up the stairs is but a blur. He's collapsing into bed within minutes of arriving, with Changsheng's flustered calls for attention and prodding at his shoulders slipping into darkness. And it's in darkness that he awakens again, the cold sweat on his skin having dried into something worthy of squirming. But that's not why he's stirred. There's the sound of a key turning in the knob downstairs. His stomach all but somersaults up into his chest. Baizhu sits up too fast but ignores the whirl of his vision as he haphazardly shoves his glasses back into place. The sound of a small serpent's protest fades as it left behind in favor of clambering out of the room, down the stairs, into the pharmacy and coming face to face with—

     ❝ —— Kratos? ❞ Standing there, reflecting the same bewildered, wide-eyed stare back at him. He almost doesn't breathe. He doesn't, hitching a weak and terribly pitiful sound instead.      ❝ You're... here. ❞ My eyes must be playing tricks, there's simply no way— @originskey — cont.

[herbalremedied]

𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 a haze, disoriented, the rush of memories back to the mind like blood to the head after one has had the earth beneath them turned upside down. As knees buckle, steps staggered forth one unsteady foot at a time, the doctor braces an arm against what he belatedly realizes is the cold brick of one of the many buildings marking the beginning of ward Cotes, among the first standing away from the gaping abyss that is the center of Spirale. Through his glasses, the emerald locks hanging in strings over the view of his shoes spin, painting a dizzying blend of green, violet and asphalt grey.      ❝ Don't faint yet, ❞ Changsheng chides, both miles away and yet just below his ear at once. ❝ We've only just arrived and already you're on the brink of collapse. You still have somewhere to be, in case you forgot. ❞ Baizhu swallows down an unpleasantly acidic collection of bile in his throat before firmly shaking his head, the closest thing to a 'no' he can muster. A few gasps of air is eventually enough to rekindle his voice.      ❝ If I'd merely 'forgotten' as you say... ❞ Cough! ❝ I doubt I would be nearly so dizzy, recalling it all in an instant like this. ❞ The thin and scaly tail of his companion is cold as it taps his cheek. Baizhu blinks blearily, rousing back into lucidity.      ❝ In your absence, you've still neglected your health all the same. What a shame... ❞ If a snake is capable of sighing, Changsheng sounds as though she certainly is. ❝ The sooner we get there, the better you'll fare. It might be spring, but the chill in the air lingers. If the sun sets, your troubles will be more than just a cough and a bout of dizziness. ❞ Another particularly nasty cough earns the wary looks of a couple of passersby. Once recovered, Baizhu fixes onto the little serpent a frown.      ❝ My troubles will be more than either if nothing is left for me there. ❞ And yet, in direct defiance of this doubt his feet pull him into motion nevertheless.      ❝ And will you know if you idle about here? ❞ She retorts, not a beat missed. Baizhu does not even possess the energy to be sour this time.      ❝ ... No, ❞ he mutters, counting time between steps and breaths.

     ❝ I suppose not. ❞ The admittance, although rooted in truth, notably lacks optimism. And still Changsheng lifts her head, point effectively made.      ❝ Then stay steady. We'll be there before you know it. ❞

[herbalremedied]

𝐈𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 a birthday gift, neatly wrapped in twine and paper. Anticipating its recipient, it waited on the kitchen table in loneliness, as the doctor prepared a meal for two that only one would eat. Baizhu was a fool in many meanings, as one could only be to believe he could outsmart death itself, to save others from the flame while avoiding it as a fragile, flammable moth. And for days, a fool he was. The gift box lay unclaimed, his dearest absent, and the last vestiges of December slipped past, cold, white and silent. Baizhu remembered what it was like to be alone, for the first time in years. It was difficult to swallow, like a pill too large and bitter. But like with all astringent medicines, one finds the means to adjust. No kinder was the task, but it was easier, thoughtlessly automatic, to go about the days so long as he did not dwell them. Changsheng gave assurances where she was able, though Baizhu claimed to not need them. Kratos would re-emerge and belatedly open his gift, and Baizhu would have no need to fuss over his whereabouts. Because he hadn't left. He would never, not without bidding him farewell. But as the eclipse came, and with it the seraph went, Baizhu felt as though he were no longer a moth dancing precariously around a flame, but instead one left without a wing. Not robbed fully of its flight, rather holding onto its own empty hope. He mourned, private and unmentioned. And Baizhu, knowing of the moth's end, resenting the collateral damage it would inflict should it perish into ash, decided it was likely for the better.