Remedium

[Natalie LaForte]

​

For some time now, Natalie had been feeling utterly dreadful. Not just because she was very much prone to sickness (although not really, she was a self-diagnosed hypochondriac. Yes. Really) But her vampiric affinity had been poisoning her by being exposed to UV rays on a daily basis, "thanks" to her being a Sanguinius Vampirika. While she knew she would never be able to step into sunlight again without her skin burning, blistering and in general causing her great maltreatment, she would at least like the effects of this to be minimized or preventable in some way.

That's her company's latest endeavor. To cure photo-sensitivity.

She knew it wouldn't be easy, that's why she contracted [member="Draconis Caesar"] to look for a cure, or, a treatment for this infliction. Later today, she would be meeting him to see would could be done about this.

Deep down in her heart, she knew her lover would be devastated if she was looking for a way to reverse the affliction, but at this point she found no other way. If the experiments of the next few days failed to produce any progress, she would begin looking for a reversal treatment to hopefully assist with her health issues.

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis felt the cold embrace of the void wrap itself around him and knew their was no emotion. He stood at the medical clinic on Commenor calmly awaiting his next patient. He usually preferred to be out on the streets where he could cure those who could not afford such treatment, but as a jedi he was liable to help all in need. Even the wealthy. Besides this, his new patient had a curious affliction that he found most fascinating. She had an aversion to sunlight. He had heard that the skin pigmentation of an albino was weaker to UV rays than that of the regular persons, but he thought such things were merely based on hearsay. When he first heard what this woman had to say he assumed it was some kind of crass joke about her being a albino.

But, when he found out she was serious Draconis could not help but laugh. The stories that his mother had told him about things going bump in the night were true. It was surprising, but Draconis figured he was being unreasonable. In such a galaxy, really anything was possible. Even Vampires… It made his skin crawl. He was unsure about helping a being that fed on the life of others, but regardless he was here. As Natalie stepped inside the room Draconis found himself unconsciously rubbing his neck as his other hand drifted ever closer to his saber.

“Hello, my name is Draconis,” He said, his voice calm and soothing. He motioned for natalie to sit down then would take her hand. With a small thin sheet of glass Draconis would scrape off a thin film of skin from her palm. He walked over to UV lamp and placed it under the intense light. The skin seemed to sunburn immediately. “Interesting…” Draconis said, to himself “Maybe if we made an intense form of sunscreen to keep the photons out, assuming it's the photons making you sick… I’ll need to do a blood test,” Draconis said, then wondered to himself if Vampires even had blood.

[member="Natalie LaForte"]

 

[Natalie LaForte]

Natalie was rather embarrassed about having to wear comically huge sunhats while walking outsides, sometimes even bringing umbrellas when it was perfectly dry and sunny. But that's what she signed up for when she was bitten, giving her the benefit of the equivalent of biological immortality while losing her ability to ever be normal. By meeting with [member="Draconis Caesar"], she hoped this could be cured. And no, she wasn't albino. Hopefully she wouldn't be made fun of given her natural raven dark hair, although a few years ago it was a vibrant pink, though that was not natural. This was.

On that note she walked into the clinic with her sunglasses covering her eyes and her sunhat on, hoping that the physician would get the gist of who she was. She did book in advance after all. A tad weirded out by him scraping a thin film, she was even more disgusted seeing it blister and turn a deep crimson red due to the UV light. Something was seriously wrong with her, perhaps she had a pre-existing condition even before becoming a vampire?

"I have no idea what to do. I'm a wealthy business woman who's made her living off the misery of others. I'll take whatever you give me, so long as this aliment is ridden from my body. I'm tired of living like some sort of freak."

Her fangs showed, which if Draconis was doubtful, would definitely indicate that she was telling the truth.

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis watched as the woman seemed to recoil in disgust as the skin blistered and burned. He had to empty his mirth in the void lest it show on his face. It was rather comical imagining the woman before him as red as a lobster. She spoke of ridding her ailment and Draconis felt a pang of sympathy for her, but he also sensed a darkness in her. One that disturbed him. She admitted she had made others suffer, but Draconis wondered just how far down the dark she had wandered. He probed her mind a little and found the source of it. She was tainted by the mind eater. Draconis had underestimated the woman. If she was so far gone as to pledge herself to one such as him…

No. No one was beyond redemption. Aside from that she had come to him for help, perhaps he could do more than simply cure her illness. He hoped she had not felt him probe her mind, he had not gone very deep, he needn't have too. The taint of the mind eater was like a sickly oil that covered one's soul. It was to say the least, easily detectable. Draconis pretended to be digging through a drawer, attempting to mask the fact that he was actually concentrating on reading the mind before him. As his focus snapped back to the drawer he immediately found what he had been looking for.

A large, thick needle. He saw her fangs and shuddered a little. His free hand once more unconsciously went to his neck and he gave her another soothing smile.

“Well hopefully together we can make something that helps, but it will cost you,” He said very seriously.

He approached her and with poked the needle into her arm. He drew a copious amount of blood and took it back to the light. He poured a smidgen onto a slide and placed the glass slide under the same UV lamp he had placed the skin beneath. He turned the lamp on and immediately the blood boiled. He expected as much, he then subjected more of the blood to several different types of lights. It didn't react to the other lights at all and confirmed that it was indeed the photons affecting the woman.

[member="Natalie LaForte"]

 

[Natalie LaForte]

Natalie smiled when he was probing her mind and would allow him to do so freely, while trying to remain oblivious to his obvious attempts. While it was true she was the servant of the mind eater, she had strayed long away from the Sith path and that would be visible on her conscious, the constant need for redemption and to atone for her evil deeds, at least those that she did while being a member of the Sith Ascendancy, those associated with the Intergalactic Monetary Fund she can think of guilt free, knowing she was gaining something more than the lust for blood out of it, and there was material value other than dead bodies to show for it.

Natalie smiled and giggled when she saw him move his hand toward his neck. It was an obvious thing for them to do, being scared of her primal instincts.

"Don't worry - I use synthesized blood, I don't actually eat people. And even if I was, I wouldn't do it from your neck. We like to have a constant supply of sanguine to drink, doing it there would cause you great injury and pain. Really, you should cover up your arms to protect yourself."

"On the topic of payment, my company can donate anything you need. Supplies for the actual research and production of the drug -- so long as the assets of producing it are turned over to us at the end of the process, or at least the forumlae for producing it is. On the topic of personal gain -- what are you looking for? Money, weapons, medical supplies, starships? It's within the realm of possibility."

While taking blood, Natalie would just sit there patiently, not even flinching from the pricks of the needles.

[member="Draconis Caesar"]

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis smiled, this time genuinely. He was happy she would not rip his throat out, but he also found it funny how material this woman was. A jedi had no need for money, weapons or even armor. At least Draconis didn’t. He supposed it was simply part of her upbringing, but even so he smirked all the same.

“For this drug i’ll need several herbs many of which I have on me, but others you will have to find…” He paused for a moment as he considered what would be better to make the sun block with.

A powdered rancor tooth or a strand of Dathomir witches hair. He supposed both would work. He wrote down a list of materials he'd need for the sunblock that he did not already have. Meanwhile he began gathering what he did have and mashing it up. Using his mortar and pestle he crushed the herbs till they were a fine paste, then he used the force on the green paste. Imbuing it with shielding properties. A slight form of tutaminis, so to speak. If it even could be called tutaminis. The shield was so weak he doubted others would even be able to sense it. In a sense the sunblock was done, but the added herbs would help add a natural sun shield to the remedy. Still he presented the woman with the product and smiled.

“You may wish to add something to it for the smell…” He said quiet seriously. The stuff smelled awful.

“Rub it on your skin daily and you should be able to walk freely in the sun,” he paused as he thought about how he had imbued the paste with the force. “You will need to use the force in order to give it the extra strength and it just so happens this coincides with what I wish to have from you. I can teach you the technique, but you’ll have to learn to meditate with me first,” He stated.

He wanted to teach the woman to control her emotions. That is all he wanted from her. In a sense he was subtly spreading the teachings of the Jedi. Whether she took it to heart or even ever meditated again was entirely up to her.

[member="Natalie LaForte"]

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"What herbs exactly? I can probably find them, or better yet, send someone out to find them."

Feeling intrigued she attempted to probe Draconis' mind, there was no secret that he was a force sensitive and could probably tell that she was doing this, she was rather rusty in that department. Her face screwed up as she understood he was wanting her to get a powdered Rancor Tooth or a strand of a Dathomir's witch hair. As to why they would help, and how the hell he expected her to put hair into a sunscreen without making it come out disgustingly, she wasn't aware, but she was willing to try anything at this point.

She eagerly took the paste and smelled it, recoiling her face back and placing it aside for now.

"Thanks, I'll use that later when I can get my hands on some descentifying materials."

Eyes rolled back slightly when he mentioned meditation, but nonetheless she was nothing if but a trier so she reluctantly agreed.

"Alright, but no promises mister Jedi." winking to him.

[member="Draconis Caesar"]