Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Destiny Has to Start Somewhere, Right? [Meric Nadun]

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[member="Meric Nadun"]

Time: Many, many years ago
Location: Coruscant


Vima slowly navigated her way through the boisterous Coruscanti traffic. It was the first time she'd ever flown to a heavily populated planet, and the amount of ships was making the young Devaronian nervous.

Several hours ago, the young healer had been on Pantolomin, assisting an elderly Lomin couple, when she'd recieved a message from a doctor. Apparently, they'd had a patient with severe burns, and the scientists and doctors there were stumped with how to fix his skin -- apparently the man had fallen in acidic grease.

Anyway, the girl was asked to come immediately and (with more than mild surprise at how far her reputation had gone since she'd first left) set a course for Coruscant.

As yet another taxi nearly plowed into her beloved ship, Vima found herself praying to all of the deities that she'd encountered to make sure she didn't die. Finally, with drops of sweat running down her back, she was eventually directed to the hangar where she was to meet with the good doctor.

Activating the autopilot, Vima took a deep, cleansing breath and walked back to her medical bay to gather her supplies. Hmm... As of yet, the Devaronian hadn't encountered anyone under the same situation as this patient, so after some deliberation she threw a little bit of everything into her bag. Never hurts to be prepared, right?

Clutching her bag and doing a quick check to make sure everything was well, the healer descended her boarding ramp where she was met by two nurses -- both humans.

"Vina Zomo? If you would come this way please, we will escort you to Doctor Hertalin. He will give you more details on the patient you have been requested to treat."

"Oh, alright then." Taking another deep breath -- Vina really did not like the city -- the Devaronian followed the two into the heart of the medical facility.
 
Doctor Hertalin was an elderly gentlemen with a kindly soul. The man had taken on this patient in large part because of the severity of the issues the man was dealing with, but also because there was a substantial amount of money in it for him. The patient's mother had successfully won a lawsuit against a major construction company, and had subsequently won a ton of money as a result. They were paying him handsomely, but he was absolutely stumped on what to do.

When the nurses brought Vina in, he turned to look at her. This young Devaronian was rumored to have a talent for healing, and he was at a loss for what else to do, which meant that he had to resort to the most extreme of possibilities.

"Ms. Zomo. Thank you for coming. I know you've been given the teaser on the situation, but I think you'll find this much more complex in person."

With a wave of his hand, he motioned for her to take a seat before he turned on a holovid screen. It was, clearly such, a live recording of a pristine white room. Within the room were a series of physical training devices. While she watched, she would see the subject of her summons doing chin ups on one of the bars. He was sweating to the point that blood was oozing from his skin where he tore it afresh. He never cried out or gave any sign that the pain was too great for him. In fact, it would seem that he refused to stop for any reason.

"This is Meric Nadun. As you know he suffered severe acid burns over his entire body. It's left him scarred and extremely susceptible to contagions. You are probably asking why we haven't tried grafting skin or anything of that nature but it's rather simple: we have. His body has rejected all foreign skin and he's allergic to both Bacta and Ryll Kor. His wounds never heal fully, and his scars won't go away. We managed to get him prosthesis for lost appendages, but we cannot get his skin to stop tearing open. We are hoping that you might be able to help."

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[member="Meric Nadun"]

The Devaronian had to put in a mental effort to keep her jaw from dropping. This patient's capacity for pain was incredible -- blood oozing from his skin where it was literally tearing apart, burns on his body, not to mention the salt in his sweat would have to hurt when it crossed an open wound...and yet, not once did the man cry out in pain. Never had she seen such tolerance. I wonder if his pain receptors are dead? Either way, his behaviour was worrying; constant abuse of his body such as this would surely cause damage beyond repair.

As she listened to Doctor Hertalin describe their treatments thus far, Vina couldn't help but shake her head. There were many cases where traditional herbs and salves had made headway when modern science couldn't, but with all of these rejections, it was going to be difficult for sure.

"May I talk to him?" she asked. When the doctor hesitated, Vina pressed further. "If I can talk to him one-on-one, it will help me establish a treatment better. There's only so much I can gather from second-party data. Please?"

"I see. Of course." The elderly gentleman waved over one of the original nurses. "Nurse Rik'ta will lead you to Meric's room." Ducking her head in gratitude, the Devaronian stood and began to follow the nurse when the doctor spoke again. "And Ms. Zomo, might I request you leave your bag in here? No one will touch it, I promise, but... I would rather not chance something on it contaminating our patient."

"Oh...alright." Without another peep, she handed her bag over to the other nurse, and left the room.

Several minutes later, Vina and her escort were outside the room. She was promptly ushered into the room, jumping a bit when the doors shut with a rather loud thump.

Turning back to the man, the healer smoothed down her robes and walked forward until she was only a couple feet away. Looking up, her hands folded neatly in front of her, the young woman said in a soft voice, "Hello. I'm Vina Zomo. I've been told you were Meric Nadun, right?" In an attempt at some humour, Vina gave a small smile and added, "I hope you are; I don't know what I'd do if they sent me to the wrong place."
 
When the door opened, Meric didn't stop his exercising. Though it appeared that he felt no pain, he in fact did, he just chose to ignore it because he'd felt it for so long that he was numb to it. His pain had never subsided in large part to his allergies to the various medicines that were mainstream throughout the galaxy. Nothing had been able to take the edge off for him. He'd endured the pain for so long that he no longer cared. What he cared about was trying to regain who he was and who he could be. That was why he was so focused on the exercises despite the damage it did to his skin.

Eventually, when the woman, a mixture of various races from what he could tell, spoke, he dropped to his feet and turned to look at her. By all accounts he had to be absolutely horrible looking. The amount of burned and decayed skin about him, the broken skin oozing blood. He had prosthesis for a nose, lips, and eyelids. Even his eyes were prosthetic, hence the fact that they were yellow. He stared at her, and then turned to walk towards the bed on the other side of the room.

"You're not a doctor," was his response to her question.

He was somewhat surprised that they'd let her into the room wearing her own clothes, but he didn't doubt that somewhere along the line they'd taken the chance to disinfect her. They told him that if he ever left this place he was likely to become very ill in his current state, and possibly even die. Though he did strength training daily, his body still wouldn't be able to handle the immune response necessary to keep him healthy outside of the closed environment. He didn't know whether to believe them or not, but he wasn't in any particular hurry to find out. The amount of revulsion he got from new doctors and nurses was enough to warn him of what he'd see on the outside.

"I assume you're some sort of medical expert, however. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[member="Meric Nadun"]

Vina took a step back when Meric dropped and turned to look at her, an action that was partly due to the suddenness of the move, and partly due to a wish to avoid having her feet trodden on.

Now that they were on ground level and closer, the young healer was able to get a better physical profile on her new patient. He was tall, a few inches taller than her, and as such she still had to keep her head tilted back a bit. His skin was, as the good doctor said, covered in burns and prosthetics and all manners of things, and that wasn't even mentioning the oozing blood. To many, he would have been considered horrific, but to Vina he was just another person. It's the inside, not the outside, that counts, she recalled. It was a phrase her family had constantly instilled into her at a young age; her travels, though still few, had also backed that statement to the point where appearances no longer bothered her anymore. Even so, she couldn't help but compare him to a child's rag doll, albeit much bigger and more likely to snap her neck or something.

Oh, quit your gruesome thoughts, you.

Vina waited until Meric had sat down before replying. "You're right, I'm not a doctor, I'm a healer. I can explain the difference, if you like. Though, I imagine you'd probably find it dull." Her efforts to provoke a semi-normal conversation were an attempt to get Meric to be comfortable with her presence -- it'd make treating him so much easier in the long run if he trusted her.

Patting her thighs in an absent manner, she continued, "Or, we could talk a little about yourself. Mostly physical, factual things; I won't pry into your biography if you don't want me to." Vina offered up an apologetic look, even though he couldn't see it. "I'm sure I can just pull up your file on my datapad, but I'd rather hear it from the person who'd actually know. How old are you?"
 
"I do not doubt that some would find it dull. However, you'll find that I actually enjoy learning. Please explain the difference."

Of course he knew the difference was that one required a medical degree from a galactic university, and generally came with years of experience working in advanced medicine and surgery, and the other didn't. Even then it didn't mean that a doctor could solve all of the ails of any particular individual. None had ever been able to truly fix him, after all, and that was unlikely to ever change. He'd already settled on the fact that he was likely to be horrible scarred for the rest of his life, and receive the same looks of disgust he got from most individuals that met him.

Most, but not all. Vina hadn't looked at him in revulsion. He'd taken note of that fact.

"I'm twenty-six. My twenty-seventh birthday is in one week. I've been the way you see me since I was much younger."

She was right that she could look up the details of who he was and how he'd come to be the way that he was, but that was likely to be boring. Truth be told, it was a different sort of change for him to actually have someone to talk to that wasn't grossed out by him. Even if she was asking him questions about himself. She was also offering up knowledge. That was a sure fired way to keep him interested in a conversation. He watched her through his false optics, studying her. Did she have what it took to heal him? Or was she going to be another failure? He had to admit that at least she was trying. That earned her some respect.

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[member="Meric Nadun"]

Vina was pleased with the response she'd gotten. Most people didn't care about the difference between healers and doctors, except maybe in the amount of money charged. "Doctors typically go to medical colleges and universities, learning about all the different modern medical practices. They're the ones you see with those fancy machines and things. Healers, on the other hand, tend to stick with more...traditional methods. We make use of medicines that come from the ground, not from factories. At least, not if we can help it." Realising how much of a technophobe that made her sound like, she quickly added, "Not that we're opposed to technology; if there's a method that's undeniably better than what we do, then we're all for it. We just like to stick with the idea of not fixing things that aren't broken to begin with."

When he mentioned his age, and that he'd been like this for a while, her eyebrows raised substantially. "I just turned twenty-two a few months ago. I hope that doesn't make things peculiar; I know some people find it hard to accept that someone younger may know more." She coughed faintly, her face warming slightly when she realised again that it came out sounding worse than what she meant. "Not that you don't know more than me; it's...an age thing. I don't know."

Noticing that Meric was studying her, Vina's face grew even warmer and she made an attempt to change the subject. "If you don't mind me asking, how'd this happen? All I was told was that you fell into some vat filled with acid."
 
"I figured that might be the case. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. I suppose we will see."

He continued to watch her. It was making her uncomfortable and he could feel that coming from her. That was something he could definitely live with. For once he was making someone uncomfortable without actually having it be due to the destruction that had been wrought upon his body. She was standing there, not really sure of what she should be doing other than studying him. That was slightly on the annoying side, so he lifted his hand and beckoned her over to join him for a seat on the bed. Despite his appearance he wouldn't bite her.

When she mentioned her age he just shrugged, which made more wounds open. Truth be told he felt every wound on his body and each one was excruciating, but he'd taught himself long ago to endure the most heinous of pains in order to keep himself sane. It did more than that, though. It kept him able to stay in shape, and allowed him to train himself to deal with the rigors of the galaxy.

"Age is just a number, Vina. I pay little attention to it. It measures nothing of importance."

It measured how long one had been alive, but that was hardly an important statistic in the grand scheme of things. He'd already attained great power where most his age had barely tasted a woman's lips, a real woman that is. Most of the women in the galaxy were phonies. They didn't know what it meant to be a woman, to be with a man, to be loved and give love in return. Then again, neither did most men. He reached for a piece of white cloth and started dabbing at the blood where it oozed from him. These clothes were always white, which he never understood, but they worked. Maybe they were white so when they were cleaned they would know if they'd truly cleaned them.

"I am a bastard child. My father was married to another woman, but slipped around to be with my mother. He got her pregnant and then left her when he did. I still wanted to be like him, so while my mother worked I went and searched for him. He was working construction. I made my way onto the job site, an eight year old around heavy machinery and droids, and ended up walking across a pile of girders. A droid grabbed one and I fell off into a vat of fire protection acid. That's how I ended up here. That and my mother sued the company and made a fortune."

He shrugged.

"How did you become a healer?"

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[member="Meric Nadun"]

The healer ducked her head in agreeance when Meric assured her that the age difference wouldn't bother him. Already, Vina couldn't begin to count how many people had turned away her assistance because she was too young. At least this patient wasn't upset about it -- in fact, the tolerance that Vina had began to detect from him towards her was a good sign -- it would make treating his wounds even easier.

At his gesture, the Devaronian moved over and carefully sat down next to the man, making sure to not touch him. While Vina always strove to make sure she was decontaminated when working cases like this, there was always the odd pathogen which could be Meric's downfall, and she really didn't feel like the one to instigate it. Wincing as his shrug opened his burns, Vina couldn't help but take the cloth from him. "Here, let me." Her mother had taught her a technique for cleaning wounds similar to his -- a certain motion with the wrist which, while removing the blood, reduced the chance of flesh sticking to the cloth and causing more pain. As she cleaned him, the woman listened to his story, trying to hide her sympathy for Meric; Vina had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate it.

Ah, fire protection acid. That explains it. There was sure to be a recipe for that somewhere in the notes her mother gave her, and that gave her hope. "Stop shrugging, please," she scolded. "Ripping your skin isn't going to help you." A second after her rebuke, her face grew warm again. I sound like his mother...or his doctor. Shaking her head in an attempt to dissipate her needless embarrassment, Vina instead focused on his question.

"I actually grew up into it. My family is full of healers, and no matter what profession you want to go into, the adults always teach the children our ancestors' techniques. According to my grandfather, the methods we use are from a group dating back to the Old Republic Era -- and I'm talking Old Republic as in when the Sith Lords were still around, before the Jedi defeated them the first time." Now it was her turn to shrug. "I know it sounds like I was forced into becoming a healer, but truthfully, I enjoy it. I've always liked helping people; it makes me happy, knowing I made a difference somehow." Vina paused. "If you hadn't fallen into the vat, what do you think you would have been?" An unnecessary question, to be sure, but the conversation was becoming rather enjoyable. She was, as some might say, caught up in the moment.
 
He wasn't at all surprised when she actually did move over to sit beside him. It was essential that she be near to him in order to do her work, but he suspected that she was also completely curious about him as far as being a unique case goes. The closer she was, the more she could study his wounds and see how they influence his movements and affect his body. They were quite extensive, to say the least. From what she could see, anyway. His pants were also stained red on the inside because of his wounded legs, but he wasn't going to drop his drawers unless she specifically requested it.

When she took the cloth, he let her, hand falling down to his side. It had been ages since anyone had come in to take care of his wounds like this. Not since he was much younger and they'd spent their time trying to convince him not to push himself. He stared at the one way glass, knowing that he was on the other side and wasn't about to come in. The doctor was good, but he just wasn't very hands on about it.

"Very ancient techniques. Probably better than modern medicine. You should know, though, that there are still Sith Lords this day as well. You are currently touching one."

No sense in hiding it from her. Meric was always curious at the reactions he got when he told people that he was a Sith Lord. Most of the time there was outright fear and a haste to escape from him. The fact that he was one, hiding on Coruscant, which was currently controlled by the Republic, said a lot to his ability to hide what he was. On top of that, he was very unlike the typical Sith. Yes, he let his emotions do as they would, and yes he craved power, but he didn't use it to go around trying to take control of the galaxy or control of anyone really. He preferred to simply live.

"I do not know what would have become of me, though I dare say that I think the pain I have felt has helped to define me. Without it I might be nobody at all."

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[member="Meric Nadun"]

Vina gave a small smile. "Normally, yes. But even I will be the first to admit that modern science has made breakthroughs in areas that ancient traditions struggled in." The dabbing of the cloth on his skin was becoming an automatic motion, though no less effective. Too late, though, she realised the doctors might not appreciate her potentially contaminating Meric. But, since they had not yet interrupted their increasingly interesting conversation, the Devaronian figured it was alright for now. It wasn't like she was snogging him or anything.

When Meric revealed that he was a Sith Lord, she nearly dropped the cloth. Him, a Sith? Her first instinct was to dismiss his claim; Vina knew there were Sith still roaming around, albeit weaker ones, but here? On Coruscant? The capital planet of the Republic? She opened her mouth to question the validity of the statement, but shut it again. Something about the way he said it made her suspect that either he was telling the truth, or he believed he was telling the truth.

Not that it mattered to her, either way. Healers like her were, officially, supposed to be neutral quantities, attending to anyone who was suffering no matter their allegiance. If he wants to believe he is a Sith, who am I to tell him otherwise?

So, instead, with a quick glance at the observation window, the female asked, "How is a Sith on Coruscant? Wouldn't the Jedi know about your presence?" A much safer question, one which would be less likely to diminish the trust or whatever that was forming between the patient and healer.
 
You would be wasting your breath if you tried to tell me otherwise. I was trained directly by another Sith Lord, now deceased.

His words would resonate soundly in her mind. Of course he realized that he had invaded her privacy by poking into her head uninvited, but he was trying to control her. She was going to doubt what he had said and he knew that the moment he said it. It was absurd to think that such a claim were true on a Jedi world. But it was true. Just as a Sith Lord had once run the Republic, right under the noses of the Jedi, only getting found out when he was prepared to enact his takeover of the Republic. Only, in this case, Meric had no intention of taking over the Republic. Not at the moment, at least.

She continued to brush his wounds clean, though, she was doing so with some nervousness now. Nervousness and perhaps just a touch of fear. That was healthy for her, so he would say nothing of it. Fear was what kept the survival instinct alive, and she would need it to survive in this galaxy. The fact that she hadn't run off meant she either had a poor survival instinct, or she was at least a good judge of character. Given how she'd been acting, he surmised it was the latter.

"I hide my presence. Same as my Master did. It is not impossible. Emperor Palpatine was running the Republic right under the noses of the Jedi Order in the past, after all."

His turn to glance at the one way glass. He stared at it, knowing full well who was on the other side.

"They won't say anything because they are paid too well. The ones that do leave usually wind up dead."

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[member="Meric Nadun"]

The skin on Vina's knuckles grew taut at the invasion of privacy. He had entered her mind! Uninvited! The apparent lack of regard for boundaries was unexpected, if a bit unsurprising -- if Meric had been kept in this facility since he was a child, then some of his personal customs were bound to be...different than what she was used to.

But that gave him no right whatsoever to just push into her own private thoughts like that, even if it was meant as a way to convince her of the truth of his words.

She continued to clean his wounds, a task which was close to becoming finished -- the blood was starting to clot up, it seemed like. "I remember learning about Palpatine," the healer said. "He's the reason why the Healer's Guild had to go underground -- they were worried his Jedi Purge would include the Force Users amid their ranks." If Meric was expecting some bitterness in the statement, he would find some, but not a lot; it was the bitterness of someone who knew the past couldn't be changed. Too late, though, Vina realised he probably wouldn't know what the Healer's Guild was. He can probably guess, though, she thought. The man certainly seemed sharp enough.

When Meric also mentioned that the doctors who left the facility died, however, the healer knew she'd had enough. She needed to get back to her ship, anyway. Standing up briskly, Vina straightened her robes and bowed slightly to the patient. "Well, your secret isn't mine to tell," the Devaronian said coldly. Letting out a soft sigh, she added in a kinder voice, "I'd better get back to my ship so I can review my notes and hopefully start working on a remedy for your wounds. It was a pleasure talking to you, Meric. I'll return as soon as I have something that might help, alright?" Still clutching the rag, she turned to walk towards the door.
 
"I don't kill them, you know."

An apprentice would be able to tell that Vina was upset. It was written not just in her actions, but in the feelings that she let waft off of her. He wasn't a Zeltron or Falleen, but he was keen enough to know when someone was upset about something.

"Nor did I ask for it. I expect no one to defend me. I've never harmed anyone that didn't deserve it and I've only harmed one person before, my former Master. He is dead because people like him cannot be allowed to live in this galaxy, which is much the same for all Sith, including myself."

She was still walking and he anticipated that she would continue to leave. What he hoped, however, was that she would give what he said some thought. If she didn't focus on the shallow thoughts, and looked deeper into the meaning of what he said, then maybe, maybe she would figure some things out and she'd return with questions. If nothing else, he hoped she'd simply return because he liked her company. For once he enjoyed someone's company. She hadn't rejected him at first sight after all. And she was eager to try and help him. That was more than he could say for most.

"I hope to see you again soon."

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[member="Meric Nadun"]

"I don't kill them, you know."

Then who does? Your Master's ghost? she wanted to ask. But she didn't.

Vina did, however, pause at the door, turning her head slightly to listen to the rest of his words. He was a peculiar man, this Meric -- and despite herself, the healer found herself looking forward to seeing him again. A sentiment, if his words were to be taken seriously, which was mutually shared.

After leaving the room, not much else happened. Vina was escorted back to the doctor's observation chamber, where she traded the bloodied cloth for her bag.

Accepting her bag, which the faculty had decided was allowed back -- No duh, she couldn't help but think -- the Devaronian described her plan to Dr. Hertalin. "His particular injuries aren't something I'm used to dealing with," she explained. "However, I'm confident that I've got something back on my ship which'll stop the skin from tearing every time he moves. If it's okay with you, can I just leave my ship in your hangar? That way I can be immediately on hand in case you need me before I'm ready."

"At this point, Ms. Zomo, we are willing to accept anything. Are you certain you don't want to use any of our laboratories?"

"Yes, Doctor. I'd feel much more comfortable in familiar surroundings. Besides, it'd take way too long to move everything from my ship into one of your rooms."

The elderly doctor bowed his head. "Of course. I understand."

Vina bowed her head back respectfully, and was about to leave when she stopped. Twisting her head to look at the doctor, she added, "Oh, and until I'm done I would recommend asking Meric to perhaps refrain from such strenuous exercises? The constant damaging of his skin isn't good for him, and I don't want anything bad happening between now and when I've finished making something. Maybe offer to teach him something that requires mental exercise, like sabaac."

"Sabaac? But that's hardly--"

"Trust me," Vina interrupted to her surprise. It was out of character for the Devaronian to be so rude, but a patient's well being was potentially at stake. "After all, that's why you called me here, right? And it's only during the time I spend creating a salve for him."


The doctor still appeared unsure, but acquiesced.

----------------------------

After several consultations with her notes and family, Vina decided that most effective poultice would have to be a special combination of osera seed and senoti, along with guroot and bota. She even delved into her very limited store of her barenth healing plant -- a very rare plant that was renowned for curing almost any malady. Somewhere along the road of history, the remnants of the Healer's Guild had procured a small source, but there still wasn't enough for everyone to have enough to use regularly. In fact, it would probably be several years before she could replace the amount used.

Not that she cared -- Vina was going to help someone, and that was all that mattered.

The downside to the poultice, though, was that it would take two, two-and-a-half full standard days to prepare the salve. The upside meant that she had plenty of time to think about what Meric said. Or maybe that was bad, too? She was certainly left with questions.

For instance, the man explained to Vina that any who left the facility died, yet he claimed no responsibility for that. And it couldn't be his Master, as Meric then said he killed him. Or did he? Perhaps that was something to mislead her? Then, he claimed to be a Sith, even violating her privacy to prove as such, but then turned around and told her that the only kill he'd made was again of his Master. But that all hinged on again whether he was being truthful or not. Maybe everything was a lie, and he'd just said it to mess with her?

Maybe he was imagining her mulling on his words, and laughing.

Vina found that highly unlikely -- Meric didn't seem like the kind of guy to laugh.

The healer continued to stew in her own thoughts as the poultice cooled, unaware that she'd fallen asleep until her alarm woke her up to let her know it was done. Somewhere during the cooldown, the mixture had become a light blue color, and even carried a faint minty scent.

Yawning, the Devaronian moved the salve into a more appropriate container and cleaned up her mess. After that, she took a sip of her tea -- which was two days old and cold, but would have to do -- before changing into new, clean clothes. This time, the healer left her bag behind; she wouldn't need it.

Feeling better from the tea, and gripping the container, Vina descended the ramp. It had been a total of 65 standard hours since she and Meric had last spoke, and the Devaronian found herself looking forward to two things: the poultice working, and talking with the patient. And maybe he can give me a few answers, too.
 
They wouldn't let him do anything. No matter how hard he tried, they refused to allow it. They'd taken away his workout equipment while he slept. The only thing in his room was his bed and the facilities. Hardly what he was accustomed to nowadays. It bothered him to say the least. He knew who was responsible for it, and he wasn't really angry with her because he knew that by doing what he did he was only destroying his skin. He could live without his skin, though, he was certain. Still, he wasn't mad at her.

He was, however, bored.

When he woke up that morning without his exercise equipment, he sat on the bed in his pants and stared at the wall across from him. He didn't move or say anything, he just sat there. This was complete and utter nonsense to him. Was he just supposed to sit there all day? It really was a bad idea to get on the bad side of a Sith Lord. They did know that, right? He wasn't going to get that cross about it, though. He knew it was Vina's doing and that she didn't want him destroying his skin. That meant that she had either come up with a plan, or was in the process of doing so. He suspected the latter, especially when she didn't come back that first day. She was still on Coruscant. He could feel her. She just hadn't come back.

It was a long day for him, but eventually someone came in with a deck of cards. He looked at them strangely at first, and then everything was explained to him. He'd never seen the game of Sabacc played before. Of course he'd heard of it, but he'd never seen it. It was hard to when you were locked in a room. Still he found it intriguing. It was both a game of luck and a game of skill, something that seemed highly improbable to him. But he liked it, so he kept right on learning and playing.

The entire second day he spent studying the game of Sabacc, and playing various different people that came in. They even tried to wager on the games, but he always won, even though he didn't once use the Force. Of course he didn't take their money, it was of no use to him, but he didn't lose any money to them either. He caught onto the game so quickly that by the end of the second day, no one wanted to play him in Sabacc anymore. The third day he just had the deck of cards and no one to play the game with. It wasn't surprising. They probably thought he cheated.

When Vina arrived she'd find him sitting on his bed with the Sabacc deck, shuffling it out and playing against himself, though really he was checking the probabilities of winning hands, not really playing. He was breaking the game.

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[member="Meric Nadun"]

[SIZE=medium]This time around, there was less hassle from the doctor and the nurses, and Vina was allowed to head straight to Meric’s living quarters. The container in hand, she respectfully entered the room, pausing a moment to take a look around. It appeared that the doctor had listened to her, and removed the exercise equipment. Too late, she realized the man might not be too pleased with her, especially since it wouldn’t be hard for him to guess who brought about the suggestion. Of course, when her eyes finally landed on her patient – odd, that in less than a week she’d come to think of him as her patient – the Devaronian found that he looked not the slightest annoyed. She watched his hand movements for a moment. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]He’s playing against himself, she realized. It pleased Vina that she’d struck right with suggesting the nurses teach him sabaac, though she was curious to know why he was all alone. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Adding it to the growing list of questions for Meric, the young woman walked forward, holding the container out a bit. “Hello Meric. I’m sorry it took so long for me to come back – this particular formula required a lot of waiting. Otherwise I would have been here sooner.” She nodded her head at the cards. “Why are you playing alone?”[/SIZE]
 
"I never lose."

That was his response to her question. He was aware she was there as soon as she entered, but he didn't say anything because he was extremely focused on playing the game of sabacc against himself. Internally he was compartmentalizing to ensure that he didn't know his opponents hand, even though he did. Meric was a bit of a mentalist. Doing things like switching off parts of his brain at various times was not something that was particularly difficult for him to do. Which was why he was able to beat himself without even knowing it.

"They got tired of losing."

With the game over, he looked up and studied her again. She was as attractive as before, and she didn't seem upset with him. He wondered if she'd thought about what he'd said. His eyes roamed until they found the container that she'd mentioned moments before. Something inside of it was particularly important. If he had to risk a guess, it was a salve meant to help heal his skin to the point where it wouldn't break and crack open everytime he moved. He welcomed that thought, but at the same time wondered what it would feel like to no longer be able to rely on that constant source of pain. It had become second nature to him and here she was to remove it.

"Did you think about what I said when you left before?"

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

Vina Zomo

Best Karking Healer. Ever.
[SIZE=12pt][member="Meric Nadun"][/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Vina raised an eyebrow, a small, involuntary smile crawling onto her face. “Really? I’m impressed – I don’t think I’ve ever won a match of sabaac.” Sensing that he was concentrating completely on his game, she tapered off until Meric appeared to have finished. When he looked up to study her, she felt her face grow warm again. Suffice to say, being studied made the healer uncomfortable; she’d much rather stay out of the spotlight. At least his mannerisms dictated he wasn’t angry at her for removing the equipment. Unless, of course, he’s really good at hiding it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Since he had made no move to invite her over, and since she didn’t want to impede his personal space, Vina stayed where she was. At his question, though, she nodded, a wry look gracing her features. “To be honest? It was hard not to. Whether you intended it or not, you kind of left me with a lot of questions.” Offering a shy smile, the healer added, “Not that it was a bad thing…I did mention that I had a lot of time, right? So at least I was occupied.” It took her restraint to not burst into a questionnaire firing squad right then and there.[/SIZE]
 
He tilted his head to the side, trying to decide why she was being so timid around him. The only reason he could deduce stemmed from what he'd said about the people that left ending up dead. As he'd mentioned, he didn't kill them and he didn't particularly care for their deaths. It was their right to leave. All that happened was that they missed out on receiving payment for their services. If they could find jobs elsewhere far be it from him to stop them from pursuing them.

"You don't have to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you."

The cards were swiftly packed up and put away, making space for her to take a seat.

"Join me, if you will. I imagine there are questions you want to ask due to what I said. Or else you've come to some conclusion of your own."

He was curious as to whether or not that was the case. Had she made some sort of decision based on what he'd said before? Was she going to end up leaving once she applied the salve, never wanting anything to do with him again? Or was she here just to give him the salve, tell him to take care, and then be on her way? He hoped she would say. There was something about her company that he had to admit he liked. If she left he would certainly be just as lonely as he had been for the past few years.

[member="Vina Zomo"]
 

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