Fantasy Chronicles of Cre' Est

[Mothman]

Whimsey gave a small nod of the head back to Linde upon seeing her, waiting for the woman to finish whatever it was she was doing before standing up and walking to the office. She sat down without a word, feeling surprisingly light without her cloak, bag, and knives weighing her down.

“Morning, Doctor Almna. I, uh... Huh, I thought he would have told you.” She blinked a few times before realizing she’d have to do some explaining. “The R-“ Pausing and remembering she had a proper name to call him by, she restarted. “Shadow’s paid me a few visits over the past two days. Has he told you anything about it? I don’t want to bore you with a story you already know.”

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Linde chuckled softly.

"Shadow tells me what he feels I need to know. And in the most manner of fact way possible, most times." She giggled.

"He did tell me that he gave you ten gold, though. And that you were safe in the knowledge he wasn't going to come after you anymore."

She lowered her hands to rest on the desk.

"Have you found it any easier to sleep knowing that?"

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

“Ten gold for following some Te’i Sai thug. Still not fully certain why he’d be so charitable... But I’m not complaining.” Whimsey shrugged and crossed her legs, propping her head on her hands and looking the Doctor straight on.

“Gave me a visit last night to tell me it’s only a matter of time before they’re after me. Not the best news I’ve ever gotten.” Rolling her eyes at how blunt Shadow never failed to be, she continued. “...But he said to come and talk to you. Ask for a job.” It was clear she was a bit shaky on the idea, a bit of embarrassment in her voice.

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Linde's hands came up, still with interlaced fingers, and rested in front of her mouth as she looked thoughtfully through where Whimsey was, almost as if looking at the wall behind her.

"Did he..." She whispered, more to herself.

Linde's eyes glazed over for a second. It was almost as if she'd entered a trance. But in reality...

The world was bleak, barren, and charred. Trees turned to logs of burnt charcoal. The dirt scorched and dead. No grass. No flowers. Nothing at all. It was the same for almost a full mile in every direction. And scattered throughout this barren wasteland that was once a lush part of the forest in Roda Valley beneath the majesty of Mount Heresta were the bodies of dozens of Te'i Sai operatives. And at the center of it all sat Linde with a gravely wounded Shadow held tightly in her arms and two crossbow bolts embedded in her back. One just below her left shoulder blade. The other perilously close to her spine, but missing it slightly to the right. She barely registered them. All she cared about what the state Shadow was in.

The Red-Eyed Demon, still nameless at the time, looked up at her through his pain with a satisfied smirk and a choked chuckle.

"I don't suppose you- cough -know of a new occupation I could take up? I'm done with this whole- cough, cough -assassin thing."

Linde could barely believe what he'd just said. The world had burned around them. Lives lost in the most unceremonious of ways. He'd abandoned the only place he'd ever called "home." And he was asking about a new occupation?

"You really suck at priorities, you know." She said calmly, tears dripping from her eyes as she helped him to his feet.

...

The light in Linde's eyes slowly returned as she exited the memory and returned to the present.

"I can't say for sure about the Gold. But it sounds to me like he was trying to give you a leg up since he knows, even if only at a rudimentary level, that money is a necessity in everyday life." She chuckled. "I think he just wanted to help out a bit. He's got dozens of secret stashes around the continent of money, weapons, armor. He even has one stash somewhere in Veilbrand of clothing used for disguises." She giggled. "He's probably one of the very few people who actually doesn't need money. So he got rid of some of the extra weight holding him down. At least that's how I imagine he'd put it."

She stood up and stretched her arms by pushing them down and behind herself, stretching her chest and shoulders as well while rolling her neck and getting a nice crack out of it on the left side, accompanied by a soft whimper.

"Phew... There it was." She whispered.

"Anyway. If Te'i Sai's coming after you, then Shadow's right. You'll stand a better chance with me or with Shadow until they give up the chase. No telling when that happens. But if I know Shadow he's already working on way to expedite that by planning to make more trouble for them to draw their focus onto himself. He's a big boy, after all. So there's really no need to worry about him all that much. And in the mean time, even if Shadow can't draw them all away, he taught me a thing or two about how Te'i Sai fights that might be of use to you if you ever get caught against one of them without me. So!" She said with a clap of her hands. "How about we sign you up here at the clinic as my personal assistant? There are quite a lot of instances where the nurses are too busy with other patients to help me, and I have to improvise ways of holding tools or putting pressure on wounds that just aren't practical. So I could use the extra hands!" She said happily.

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

"Huh..." She stayed mostly silent as Linda spoke volumes about Shadow, his immense wealth that he kept spread around the country, and how his gesture had likely been to help out someone in a pitiful situation. She kicked her foot back and forth a bit, letting out a small chuckle. "...Never would have thought the Red-Eyed Demon would step up and help me like that. I... Never actually thanked him for it, now that I think on it." Shaking her head, she took a mental note to express her gratitude next time they crossed paths.

"Wouldn't... Wouldn't my skills be more helpful to Shadow?" She said with a raised eyebrow. "I hate to sound rude, Doctor Almna, and I would never turn down such a gracious offer... But I don't know the first damn thing about medicine. I've patched up a few wounds, and done a few clumsy stitches on myself... But that's it."

The offer was certainly appealing. A new life, helping a kind woman like Linde, and protection from those who might be coming after her? "Goodness, you and Shadow are so kind... Offering all of this to someone like me." Giggling, she looked up at the doctor with a sincere smile on her face. "I appreciate it. So much."

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Linde smiled.

"I'm glad you're happy. And as for working as my assistant..."

Linde stood up and walked around the desk, keeping a rather mischievous smile on her face as she stood in front of Whimsey, knelt forward with one hand on her knee, and chuckled. "That's why they call it "learning on the job."" She said with a wink as she used her index finger to poke Whimsey's nose.

She stood up straight and held out a hand.

"Welcome to the Almna Apothecary and Clinic, Whimsey. It's a decently hectic environment. But I think you'll do just fine here."

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

A small blush crept on the generally stoic woman’s face as she watched how Linde approached her and proceeded to poke at her nose following the kind words. She wasn’t fond of physical touch, but... That one got a pass.

“Y-Yeah... I appreciate it. Can’t say I’ve ever had someone look out for me like this...” Whimsey looked off to the side, trying to make her slight embarrassment less noticeable. A hand moved up to her eyes after a moment, wiping tears that she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge from her face.

“...So, er, when do I start?” Still looking off to the side, she asked the question hoping to get herself to relax.

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Linde gave her a soft pat on the shoulder.

"We'll have you start the beginning of next week. So thaaaat's........ Two days! Yeah. Two days from now. Until then, feel free to stay at whatever Inn you've been staying at. Or, we have space in the living quarters, which is the building behind the Apothecary, if you'd like to live where you work. I'll leave it up to you."

She walked over towards the window, opening the blinds just a bit and peeking out across the way and up to the left. She smiled for a moment, and then closed the blinds.

"If you've got no objections, we'll make your hours from sunrise to just after midday. Things usually quiet down by the mid-late afternoon. However, if you're open to also being on emergency call in case, we'll be sure to give you bonus pay for any hours worked off your usual schedule. Sound good?"

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

“Goodness, Doctor Almna, I...” A small giggle escaped her as she watched the woman walk to the window. Wiping at her eyes again, she tried to keep herself from audibly crying or anything of the sort. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt like this.” She spoke bluntly as she stood up and tugged at her sleeve.

She nodded to Linde on the topic of starting at the beginning of next week, making a mental note about it. “If it isn’t a problem, I mean... Living here sounds wonderful. Far better than hopping from Inn to Inn, like I’ve been doing. O-Oh, and, uhm... The other nurses and everyone. They don’t know about Shadow, and me, and Te’i Sai, right?” She raised an eyebrow, simply to make sure to avoid speaking on any of that info with the others.

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Linde chuckled.

"No." She said simply.

"What I am involved with outside of the clinic is information I keep to myself. Though, technically, I am honoring doctor-patient confidentiality by not talking about what I do for you and what I do, or did, for Shadow. He was a patient too at one point." She giggled.

"Anyway, I'll have Jessica, my Head Nurse, show you the living space and give you the key to your room so you can get started on moving in. I'm pretty sure you have more gear than this, right? So come out to the lobby with me, and I'll get her attention."

Linde lead Whimsey back to the lobby, and popped her head into the clinic to call on Jessica. The redhead woman in her early 30's came out of the clinic, and agreed to show Whimsey the living quarters and provide her with a key once Whimsey came back with the rest of her belongings.

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

“That’s what I thought, I just wanted to be certain... I’ll, uh, think of something to tell them. Where I’m from, what I used to do, and all that. You would know better than me... Is it safe for me to use my real name?” She nodded to the topic of Jessica showing her to the quarters, standing up after her and headed out to the lobby with her.

“It’s much appreciated, Miss Jessica.” She gave the woman a short bow, before standing back up. “I look forward to working with you. I’ll be back within the hour, my Inn’s just a few minutes out.”

As she left, she couldn’t help but have a smile plastered on her face as she walked back to the Inn. It was still not even noon, but her mood had done a complete 180. She understood, in a sense, how someone as quiet and rough as Shadow could be reigned in by a woman like Linde, after experiencing such selfless kindness first hand.

Once she was back in the Inn, she grabbed her bag, cloak, and knives before immediately headed back to the clinic after a short chat with the innkeeper. She let herself in without worry once she returned, nodding to Cheyanne. “Sorry it I took a while. Is, uhm, Jessica still in the clinic?”

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Cheyanne smiled and fetched Jessica, who returned a moment later.

"Welcome back! This way."

She led Whimsey through the Apothecary, and showed the rear door behind the counter which led to the living quarters.

"The larger key on the key ring you're getting opens this door. And it's a bit finicky sometimes so you might have to jiggle it a bit." She said as she inserted the key. Sure enough, she had to do exactly that. "See?" She giggled.

Once the door was open, they walked through a short hallway which opened up into a wide living space. There was a nice large table for meals, a small kitchen area and ice box for food and drink storage, chairs to lounge in, a small area dedicated to yoga or other physical activity, and another, much wider hallway with a series of doors on either side leading to the individual rooms. Whimsey's room was the first door on theleft as they entered the hallway.

"Here we are," Jessica said as she used the smaller key to open the door.

Inside, it was quite quaint. The doorway opened directly into the living space which had plenty of room for her belongings. A small dining table with a single wooden chair on the left, along with a primitive, but functional cooking station and personal ice box for anything she didn't want to share. Just past that, and still along the left wall, was a door leading to the bathroom. Along the right side of the room was a counter top with drawers for storing other items and gear she may have had, as well as a large wardrobe for her clothing. Just beyond the wardrobe was the back wall, on which there was a door leading to the bedroom. It was just large enough for the bed, a night table, oil lamp, dresser chest at the foot of the bed, and a single window just above and to the bed's right.

"Here you are miss Whimsey. If you have any questions about anything, let me know! I need to head back to the clinic for now, so you're welcome to tour the Apothecary and Clinic on your own so you can get familiar with the layout. But if you enter the clinic, please remember to keep your voice down as too much talking might disturb some of the patients."

With that, Jessica departed with a light bow and left Whimsey to her relaxation and/or exploration.

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

“Thank you again... F-for doing this, I mean.” Now that she wasn’t focusing on her act anymore, she was realizing just how awkward she could sometimes be with conversation. Jessica was a fair bit older than her, sure, but she seemed kind enough. A short breath escaped her as she watched the woman fiddle with the rock for a moment, before giggling as she got it. “Got it.” It couldn’t be that much of an issue, she had probably fought with far worse locks in her life. In fact...

“Uh, y’know... I could probably fix it. The lock.” She glanced back at the door as they walked in, pretty confident that she could at least make it less troublesome to those passing through. “It’s so homely in here, though. How many folks stay here, anyways?” She asked the question with a small hum following it as she looked around a bit more. Sure, it wasn’t the fanciest place in the world, but she wouldn’t have wanted it to be. This was homely, simple, and cozy... Just how she liked it.

As Jessica lead her into her actual room, she let out another small giggle. “Doctor Almna really is an angel... I couldn’t be more grateful to her.” She pulled her bag off of her shoulder and hung it up just besides the door. It wasn’t like she’d have much to unpack.

”Thank you so much, Miss Jessica. Uhm, you’re welcome to just call me Whimsey. You’re a few years my superior, and I wouldn’t mind. I’m sure she knows, but tell Doctor Almna she’s welcome in if anything should come up.” With that, she returned the bow to Jessica and shed her cloak, tucking her knives away in the chest near her bed. People would probably ask questions if they saw her with so many.

Once she had unpacked, she let herself simply fall into her bed, letting out a long sigh of relief, before shutting her eyes for a quick catnap.

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

The following week, Whimsey started her first day working as Linde's personal assistant. She was provided a white coat, similar to Linde's, but much shorter as it stopped just above her pant line whereas Linde's flowed down around her knee level. Beneath that she was free to wear whatever shirt, pants, and boots she wanted so long as they weren't black. Wearing black inside a medical facility was believed to be bad luck in Cre' Itian culture due to its deeply rooted ties to death.

For the first hour on the job, not much happened. Whimsey would accompany Linde through the clinic as she greeted and asked questions of patients, fetch Linde whatever tools she needed, or help supply patients with food and water while they were confined to the medical beds.

But after the first hour things picked up when a patient suffering from severe physical trauma caused by a fall during construction work at the Central Church's bell tower was rushed into the clinic by a group of his friends. From the lobby, the call of "Where's the doctor?!" could be heard even at the furthest ends of the clinic. Linde, who had been standing by a patient's bedside telling them about the potential side effects of a new medication she was putting them on, immediately handed her clip board and quill pen to Whimsey as she dashed for the lobby door.

"What happened?!" She demanded.

"Broken leg. Presumably broken ribs and potentially spinal vertebrae. Internal bleeding in the lower right abdomen." Jessica said, having been first to reach and assess the patient.

"Get him into the clinic. First open bed we see."

"Yes, doctor!" Jessica said.

Myra and Eileen made sure the door was open wide enough for Linde and the wheeled cart the man was brought in on could make it through. When the cart proved too wide, Linde had Myra, Eileen, and Whimsey help her lift the patient off the cart and to the first available bed which was the second from the left when entering the room.

"Set him down gently everyone. Whimsey, take special care with that leg. If it bends, things will get complicated." She ordered.

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

Whimsey had to do a bit of clothes shopping with her new position, having taken kindly to color black in the past. Though, she didn’t mind the wardrobe update, but did stick pretty close to styles she was familiar with. In the end, she pretty much just purchased multiple versions of her regular outfit in different colors, settling on wearing mostly brown underneath the white coat.

For her first few hours on the job, practically all she did was shadow Linde and follow her around. A lot of her more fancy medical speak went right over her head, but a few bits and pieces would stick here and there. She didn’t mind having to run errands for patients, and was happy to let them talk in her direction, even if most of the time she simply responded with condolences or a smile.

Though, when she started hearing shouting from the entryway, and Linde was shoving a clipboard into her hands, she immediately got a bit worried. “S-Sorry, sir, we’ll be right back.” With that, she bowed to the man before following Linde out to the lobby. She was grateful that she wasn’t the least bit squeamish, but seeing someone in such a sorry condition did cause her breath to hitch a bit.

She stayed just a beat behind Myra and Eileen, following whatever they did, and helped them pull the patient through the doorway and onto the bed. When Linde told her to take special care of the leg, she took a quick glance at it and a deep breath.

“Yes, ma’am.” She turned her focus to keeping the limb as still as possible, and keep it from bending. Her eyes moved to the patient’s face every few seconds, as if worried the man would drop dead at any second.

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Once the patient was down, the other nurses immediately stepped away from the bed as Linde moved around it analyzing every inch of the man's body and condition.

"Jessica, my tool tray. Myra, bandage wraps. Whimsey, get the medications I listed for you this morning from the medicine cabinet over there." She said.

One of the first things Linde taught Whimsey was the names and locations of very specific bottles of medications for patients with more extreme conditions or injuries given that they were often rushed in without warning and nobody could afford not to know of their placement.

These medications included: Thalma Paste, which was a unique concoction that served as a binding agent for exposed or damaged muscles. It was a yellow-ish white paste inside a clear bottle with a simple brown copper cap. The next was De'l Ita, another brew of Linde's design that was to be consumed by patients just like this one to both put them to sleep and induce lucid, clear-minded dreams. It was not terribly dissimilar to the medication Linde gave Whimsey before. But it was far, far stronger and worked in less than thirty seconds. It was a light blue color liquid also in a clear bottle with a brown copper cap.

The next, and by far the most important for these kinds of situations, was Lauxilla. It was a beige paste in a clear bottle with a silver cap, and it was both an disinfectant and painkiller mixed into one that worked to soothe wounds in less than ten seconds. It was by far Linde's most powerful concoction. But as a consequence, it was also the one she had the least of in her supply due to the recent medicinal herb famine. There were a few others too which were kept in a bag in the cabinet. But it was this particular brew that Whimsey could not afford to forget this particular bottle as it was often the first to be applied to wounds like these because...

Linde used a small knife to cut the length of the man's pant legs and flipped the fabric over to expose the breaks. The left leg was snapped midway down the shin, causing both the tibia and fibula bones to jut out of the skin with massive amounts of blood pooling around them.

"He's severed the posterior tibial artery! Whimsey! Hand me the Lauxilla! Eileen! Give him the De'l Ita!" She demanded.

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

“Y-Yes, ma’am!” Whimsey nodded her head to Linde and passed the leg to whoever was ready to hold it in her place. Once it was held by someone else, she dashed off as fast as she could without knocking anything over, grabbing everything Linde had gone over with her that morning.

Just as she walked back into the room, Linde was requesting the different medicines for different reasons. She handed the De’l Ita to Eileen, and the Lauxilla to Linde, before reassuming her position in keeping the leg just how it was, praying that she hadn’t forgotten anything.

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Linde grabbed the bottle and set it to the side immediately to her right.

"Jessica. Leg."

"Right!"

Jessica moved to the end of the bed to Linde's left, standing nearly shoulder to shoulder with her as the others took secondary positions. Jessica took the man's foot and ankle, gripping firmly, while Linde held down the upper half of the shin.

"On pull. One. Two. Pull!"

Jessica tugged hard on the lower part of the leg, pulling the bones back inside the flesh as Linde's left hand swiftly gripped it just below the break and an audible "SNAP" resounded.

"Back in place! Whimsey! My scalpel!" She ordered, holding our her hand.

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

The crack of the bone made Whimsey flinch, not out of disgust or discomfort, but simply from being alarmed at how loud it was. She’d cracked a few necks in the past, but watching a bone go back inside a body was certainly a first. As Linde demanded her scalpel, she nodded and quickly grabbed it from behind her, placing it in the woman’s hand. As little as she knew about medical treatment, she really was starting to see why even an extra pair of hands could help. Linde only had two, after all.

A small exhale escaped her as she let the situation catch up with her, and took the quick moment to breathe.

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

The instant the scalpel was in her hand, Linde flipped it around with the same deftness one would expect of an assassin flipping a dagger.

The blade tore into flesh swiftly and smoothly, slicing along the broken flesh as Jessica slipped on a pair of brown leather gloves and began peeling the flesh back revealing the broken muscles and tissue beneath as Linde set the scalpel to the side. Jessica's fingers slipped further forward and peeled back the muscles, exposing the ruptured artery beneath as Linde slipped on her own brown leather gloves and popped the top of the Lauxilla bottle and slathered a decent amount of it around the peeled flesh. Once that was done, she set it to the side and grabbed the Thalma Paste.

Carefully, she pinched the artery so it flattened out and stopped the flow of blood. Once it cleared, which took several painful seconds, Linde slathered it on the opening in the artery and massaged it into place before pinching the other side of the artery and holding the tissue in place.

"Doctor. Do you need anything else?" Eileen asked.

"No." Linde said sharply.

Eileen winced slightly but composed herself immediately.

Time ticked by as Linde held the artery as the paste solidified. Slowly, she released pressure in her right hand to allow a tiny bit of blood to resume flowing as a test for the paste. Once she was certain the paste was holding, and that blood would flow properly without fear of breaking free, she let go completely and released a sigh of relief.

"Okay. The worst part's over now. Let's get that leg bound."

Jessica nodded as both slipped their gloves off and set them aside on a tray next to the bed. They'd be washed thoroughly later for reuse. But for now, they were in the way.

"Whimsey. My needle and thread, please. Eileen, please grab a splint." She said in a far softer and more "standard" voice.

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

"Yes, ma'am." She responded in the same way yet again, shifting into an almost monotone voice as she tried to keep her focus on the work. Handing the woman the needle and thread, she took a step backwards and continued to simply watch Linde's hands work. While she hoped that some of what she was watching would stick later, she knew deep down it wouldn't. Once the high tension and everything stopped, her mind would probably forget all of it. At least, it had before, when she killed people. She would block out just whatever twisted thing she had done the day after.

"...You're as efficient as I've heard, Doctor Almna." She commented passively as she watched her continue to work, a hand moving up and fixing her collar. "I wasn't expecting so much chaos on my first day." Despite her slightly joking words, her tone was still extremely monotone.

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Linde's fingers swiftly guided the needle and thread through and across the wound to bind it shut. Once she was finished, she stood up straight and looked to Eileen who then stepped in and applied the splint to keep the leg still so the bones could rebind and the muscles could recover without too much interference from bodily activity.

"Good work ladies. Everyone, let's flip him onto his stomach. I need to feel his spine."

Everyone nodded and took up positions around the bed. Linde supported his head. Eileen took the right shoulder and chest while Myra took the left. Jessica had the wounded leg, and Whimsey was asked to take the good leg.

"Everyone ready? On "flip." One... Two... Flip."

Together they all gently lifted his bad side and eased him over onto his stomach with Linde positioning his head in a relaxed position supported by the pillow facing the side. Once he was down, the others backed away as Linde used a knife to cut a line down his shirt and pull the fabric away so she could feel his bare back which was horrifically bruised in numerous places.

"Oh my." Eileen whispered.

Linde stood beside the man's shoulders with her index and middle fingers of both hands resting on either side of the man's spine. She closed her eyes, and very slowly began moving her hands down the length of his back with mild pressure applied. The darkened skin coloration from the bruising lightened under her touch, turning a whiteish yellow due to the blood beneath the flesh being pushed out of the way of her fingers from the pressure. With the swollen tissue and pooled blood under the skin, it was difficult to get a proper read on the situation as she went. Several times she had to backtrack and push forward again before she was satisfied that she knew the whole picture.

It took almost 3 full minutes for her to complete her task, but once she was done she took a breath and opened her eyes.

"Whimsey, could you come here please?" She asked while subtly beckoning to her with one hand.

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

“Y-Yeah.” The lack of direct command from Linde made her more nervous than it probably should have, but she needed her all the same. Walking to the woman’s side, her eyes trailed the man’s back for a short moment, before a short sigh escaped her. Whoever this man was, he didn’t deserve injuries so horrific. It baffled her how accidental injuries could look so much worse than ones caused by other humans, in some situations.

Whimsey granted people a quick death, when she killed, if it was possible. Unfortunately, it wasn’t always that easy. Some people struggled, and in situations like that, she sometimes had to compromise. But even so, she wasn’t fond of knowing how much pain this man had likely been in before Linde had given him the medicine that seemed to quickly knock him out.

“What’s up?” She asked Linde quietly, finally tearing her eyes away from the man’s battered skin.

GojiBean​

 

[GojiBean]

Linde glanced to Whimsey out of the corner of her eye.

"I need you to go to my office real quick," she said while handing Whimsey a key from her pocket. "In my desk there's a drawer on the left. Inside I keep a small black box. I need you to get that for me."

She then resumed running her fingers along the man's spine, this time giving a bit more of a massage than simply feeling things out.

Mothman

 

[Mothman]

"Of course." Taking the key with a nod, she turned and exited the room. She didn't bother dashing like she had for the medicines, but did move at a slight jog. She nearly went to check on the patient they had been with before the man with the broken leg had come in, but realized she wouldn't have a clue what to tell him. Hoping a different nurse had taken care of it, she went straight to Linde's office and to her desk, rummaging around for the black box. Her first instinct was to open it, as if it was loot she had just taken out of a dead person's home, but quickly realized this was far different from that. It wasn't her business what was in it, and she would likely find out from Linde shortly.

Taking it back to the doctor, she walked in and held it out to her with both hands, eyes staying locked on the box. Just as she had been for most of the day, she was still awfully emotionless, and seemed almost tunnel-visioned on just doing whatever Linde asked of her. "Here. And the key." She had the key tucked in her palm, right under the box. "May I ask what the box is for?"

GojiBean​