dreamcrystals | journal 🔶 goodnight sweet prince

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journal 🔶 goodnight sweet prince

Sender: Ferran

[After about a day or two of dealing with the entire town changing suddenly and a little bit of anxiety regarding the following subject...]

So this is the second time I've found somebody in a dead sleep I can't get them out of, and I was wondering if anybody else has seen it happen? It doesn't seem like it hurts them or they need anything special, but it can be kind of alarming to come visit a friend and they're just lying there and won't wake up for days. For the record, the last time it happened, my friend came out of it fine as far as I know, but she's not here anymore, so I can't ask her more about it.

[It's probably a good thing he already went through this or the panic might have had... a very bad effect on him, as he is now. Anyway...!]

I guess if anybody needs Prince Hans, they'll have to take a rain check. I can take any messages for him.

And if someone could let me know how to take care of a horse, that would be great. I'd like him to not have to worry about his poor animal when he wakes up.

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That will be fine. Though, I'm afraid I don't know where Prince Hans lives. Could you give me some directions? Or a simple map, perhaps?

Of course. Just a second.

[As bad as Ferran can be with directions over longer distances, he is pretty good with maps at a smaller scale, and he will provide a decent enough one with a couple of landmarks for reference. After years of cultivating a skill for drawing straight lines and geometric shapes, he might as well use it for something helpful.]

[Yujin can't help but be impressed by the map. Straightforward and the scale seems very accurate. That's far better than anything he could ever produce.]

Thank you very much. I'm certain I will be able to find my way with this. I'll be there shortly before sundown, then.

[When you need maps as badly as he does...]

I'll keep the door unlocked for you when I get back, so feel free to just come in whenever you get here.

[And when that time comes, the aforementioned horse will be resting out of sight in whatever enclosure Hans happens to have around, and the door will be accessible as promised. The house itself is certainly clean and organized, but it lacks much of anything... distinctive. Ferran himself sits at a table in the living area, staring at his open journal with his forehead resting against his hand.]

[Even with the invitation to 'just come in', Yujin feels a bit uncomfortable doing just that. It still feels like bad etiquette, and so, he has to tell himself over and over that he's allowed to do this as he opens the door. It doesn't stop him from rapping his knuckles against the wood before stepping inside, though.

Luckily, the sitting area is not too far from the front door and he locates his temporary host quite fast.]

Ah, good evening. You must be Mr. Ferran.

[Yujin may consider Ferran himself to be worth some concern when he turns to look at the older man—what with the dark spread of fracture-like markings at either side of his jaw. Even aside from that, there are notable dark circles under his eyes even though he seems alert enough.

He might also notice a familiar-looking set of cookies resting on top of a similarly recognizable cloth on that table, if he'd been paying much attention to what Susato's been making at home.

Either way, the young man gets to his feet with a sigh that might be of relief.]

Just Ferran is fine, really. [Being referred to like he's worth any kind of authority or respect is, frankly, weird at this point.] Thanks a lot for coming. He's in the bedroom, just over here.

[It's not much more than a boring house with a man in a boring sleep coma, but unfortunately Ferran has made it his problem.]

[Yujin does indeed take note of Ferran's appearance. He's seen all sorts of people here in Reverein, so he knows not to take everything at face value, but the dark circles in particular really stand out. He also notes the cookies, and while he hadn't seen the products of Susato's latest baking exploits, he recognizes the cloth itself. That's curious. Are those cookies for Hans or for Ferran, he wonders.]

Well, let's have a look then, shall we?

[Though he heads over to the room Ferran indicated, he quite expects to be followed. He didn't bring a whole lot of medical tools; only the bag he already had with him to begin with. It has only the bare necessities, such as a stethoscope, though he doesn't expect to need any more than that.]

[And follow Ferran does, though he ends up standing not far from the door; he leans against the wall to make sure he stays out of the way. He has no reason not to trust Yujin with the task, so he doesn't feel the need to carefully observe the examination of the sleeping prince, exactly. Instead, with a sigh, he says:]

It seems like every time I'm starting to get used to this place, it throws something else weird at me like this.

[He's hoping it just turns out to only be weird and not upsetting, both for Hans's sake as well as his own.]

[Once he's by Hans's bedside, he sets his bag down within easy reach and peers down at the slumbering man. He's spoken to Hans once before, but only through the journals. It's nice to be able to put a face to the name. If only the circumstances were different.]

I'm afraid that in a world such as this one, the curiosities will continue coming at us from every angle.

[He raises a hand to Hans's forehead to get a rough estimation of his body temperature. So long as there's no fever, nor cold, that's already a relief.]

[Ferran has tested what he can with his general lack of medical knowledge—checking for external temperature, pulse and breathing are thankfully all within his skillset—but he has no intentions of interrupting Yujin's work to say so. He trusts that the man is a professional who knows what he needs to do.

He hums his agreement, though.]

I'll take curiosities over dangers, at least. [He lets out a sigh.] The last place I was in wasn't great for that. Every month there was something or other disrupting everything...

[Or like, threatening extinction. That's a bit heavy to bring up, though.]

[As one might say, trust is good but a double-check is better. Yujin's training ensures that he has a need to verify every single aspect of Hans's condition himself. Aside from that, it can change at the drop of a hat. The more recent the assessment, the better. So he goes through the motions of checking the state of Hans's pupils, as well as the rate of his breathing. Even so, he listens to Ferran's reply.]

Really? That sounds difficult to deal with. The disruptions here are of the relatively peaceful sort most of the time, from what I've gathered. I imagine it must've been a bit different in this other place, then?

Yeah. There was this magic disease we had to work to keep out all the time... [He suppresses a shudder at the memory of it. It wasn't a pleasant experience.] At one point, we had to deal with a cult that thought it was the best thing ever. They were awful.

[Well, not that Ferran himself dealt with the cult. He would have been dead weight if he tried to actually take part in that aspect of the plan, but he at least gathered useful information beforehand.]

A magic disease?

[The first thing to come to his mind would be the noctaere taint here in this world. Despite its physical symptoms, one might describe it to be more 'magical' in nature than truly anatomical. But then, noctaere taint hinges on a psychological aspect as well. This must've been different.]

Was it the fatal sort?

[Not quite so different, in some ways, but Ferran sees them as fairly separate, having experienced both.]

Hmm, well... It wasn't a death sentence if they caught it early enough, but... even then, the treatment was painful and slow. Plus not a lot of people could cure it—mostly just the medic witches from the local magic college.

[Yujin was just about to pull his stethoscope out of his bag when the term "medic witches" drops, and his movements pause for a moment.]

So your world uses magic to complement medicine as well?

It wasn't my home world, but yeah. Their science side wasn't as advanced as what I'm used to back home, but they still had, I guess, normal medicine.

[The details are a bit fuzzy to him; even aside from his usual brain fog, he didn't interact with that side of things much, he doesn't think.]

In my world, it's just the scientific approach. Nobody really knows about magic.

[Good lord, is this another one of those 'spent some time in another world before coming here' instances, just as with Kazuma? Yujin had no idea that would've happened to anyone else.]

Oh, I see. Well, I'm certain there's more than enough people who would prefer the scientific approach over the magical one. Science is more... absolute, one might say.

[Oh boy did it happen. And Ferran didn't have much better of a time than Kazuma did, probably.]

Yeah. Magic is just unpredictable, and I can never get a straight answer about it.

[He's a bit tired of that, despite using it all the time... or maybe it's because he relies on it so much.]

You hadn't encountered it before you came here, right?

["Unpredictable" is precisely how Yujin always thought of the concept of magic, so it's interesting to have it confirmed like that. He finally moves the stethoscope over his shoulders, keeping the buds close to his ears.]

That's right. My world is decidedly normal compared to all this. ...Or perhaps boring is a better word for it.

[Although Yujin has turned to examine Hans, Ferran shakes his head in disagreement anyway.]

I don't think boring is the right word for it. I mean—you live on Earth, right? Even without magic, there's just... so much in the world that's worth seeing.

[There may be a somber hint to his voice, brought on by the thought that he'll never get to experience more of it than he has.]

That... is also true. [He did truly mean boring in comparison to all that goes on here, but then... There's no murder mysteries in Reverein, now are there? Not yet, in any case.]

Earth is exciting in its own ways. One doesn't need magic to stir things up.

[And hopefully there won't be...?! Maybe they can just have some non-murder mysteries.]

Exactly. It's just a matter of looking for it... if you ask me, anyway.

[He'll probably grow quiet for the moment, to see if Yujin can pick up anything out of the ordinary with Hans. Even though he really doesn't think so, he can't help but worry a little over the possibility.]

[Yujin continues his examinations, but really, there's nothing out of the ordinary to be found. It truly is just like a very deep sleep in every way. Well, except perhaps for one thing. He throws a sideways glance Ferran's way.]

Would you happen to know if his metabolism was fully halted? The digestive system, I mean.

[Ferran nods; at least, he's fairly confident in his answer.]

It wasn't a problem with my other friend. [Thank goodness for that. Being hospitalized in that fashion is... not fun.] Nothing happened on... either end.

[Well. That's the exact answer Yujin was looking for, even if it was worded a little uncomfortably. He straightens up again, sliding the stethoscope back into his bag.]

That's good. It means you can leave him be for the most part. Though I would advise you to roll him over several times a day, to avoid bed sores. It's important to keep the sheets dry and clean as well.

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noblegarnet - 2022-05-13 05:46 (UTC) - Expand

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