CITIES ARE DESIGNED to never sleep. When they do, it’s hardly ever called one at all; they pride on how busy they are, how much they bustle as if they are actively defying set time. Digits mark their countdowns to chase after the next hour, but her residence is dilapidated, her hands are busy with work. Painted nails are smeared with blood, tangy and metallic to the taste, but it is a typical night for her, one which will be as well spent as the rest of them. A bare leg half-sawed evokes Dahl for Touko; toes instead of fingers, Soutine and skin. She reaches for a fresh sip of a thankfully steaming hot cup of coffee, but one knock and the sharp twist of her doorknob does it for her, prompting her head to jerk up most sharply in surprise.
The inner sanctum of a mage, most especially their workshops, are as impenetrable as a mage would have it, but she recognizes the beak at once. Memories of her girlhood resurface; she gasps most pleasantly, abandoning her work amidst the lifeless as she runs towards none other than Aldris - dear Aldris - who took the time to visit her after years and years of braving the seasons together. She is taller now, but she remembers them as if they’ve been around since yesterday, and she throws her arms around them tightly for a good, appreciative measure.
“Aldris!” Gaily, she laughs! “Hello! How did you get here? Oh, it’s so, so good to see you….!”
the figure is more shocked at the physical contact (although it should come as no surprise, they fondly think) than the considerably gruesome sight before their eyes, but that’s to be expected of someone who exits in a similar vein. the doctor deals with the sickly living than the sickly dead, attempting with both science and perhaps a little bit of secretive magic to cure the ills and aches of those who seek the beaked figure out. most would still claim that you never get used to the disfigurements, the horrid sights and smells, and the unavoidable death that sometimes befalls a poor soul too far gone for healing - but aldris would argue otherwise.
it’s all the same once you reach the end - just a small difference in how you got there.
gloved hands carefully pat the woman’s back, an almost awkward gesture though there is certainly an amount of affection shown anyways. psychical contact is always something they’ve struggled with, whether friend or stranger, but touko is, of course, an exception to the general rule. when did she get so tall?
❝oh, i managed to find a bit of a lead as far as your whereabouts, of course, which was quite lucky all things considered. this place is rather large, easy to get lost in, i could wander those little streets for hours.❞ a deep chuckle as they brush off the question, ❝i apologize for having let the time stretch so far long - i did mean to come see you sooner, but the opportunity never presented itself until now. how have you been? you’re looking well!❞