Tree House of Healing (IC)

[KnightDisciple]

November 1, 2010: Somewhere Greener

-Pain-

That was the first thing that crossed Carson Finbar Keefe's mind as light slowly filtered through his clenched eyelids. He let out a groan, shifting on the bed he found himself on. His eyes started to flutter open, but didn't quite focus.

'That's weird. I don't have green paint in my apartment...'

He tried to sit up in bed, but couldn't quite gather the strength.

'Wait, bed? I was bleeding out on the street, praying for help. Where am I?'

He started struggling to stand up, but the blanket seemed to suddenly impede anything he tried to do. It was only moments before he rolled off one side of the bed.

*Thump*

"Bloody 'ell. Even the bloody floor sounds wrong. Saints preserver, where am I?"

His native accent, combined with the slur of his pain-and-sleep-addled brain, made those words barely understandable. But between him railing at the oddities of life, and the sound of his fall, surely someone heard him?

[Electra]

After a moment, he realized that not only was the floor wrong, it wasn't really a floor at all. His cheek was deep in a carpet of fresh green grass, and the green and gold and brown walls were made of leaves. As soon as he'd noticed that, a door made of a curtain was pushed aside and Fleur de Joie, or rather Stesha Madison, as she was out of uniform, hurried in. "Oh, you poor thing!" she exclaimed. Instantly, vines descended from the ceiling and wrapped gently around him, guiding him carefully back into the bed before falling away.

From the bed, Gabriel could get a better look at the strange plant room. A window shaded with a large, thin leaf let in weak green-tinted light on a room that was little more than a bed, a side table with a lamp, and a space heater humming in the corner. "How are you feeling?" Stesha asked him, leaning over him to check on him. "You're looking better, at least."

[KnightDisciple]

Carson stared around the room, finally able to really make sense of what he was seeing. Well, as much sense as he could, lacking some context.

Running a hand over his face, he heaved a sigh.

"Now that I'm not in panic mode...."

His hand brushes over his bare chest, where 4 large, ugly scars run all the way across. A reminder for the rest of his life.

"Not too bad, I suppose. Vaguely aches and pains, plus stiff. Hungry. Um..."

He blushes a bit, glancing under the blanket and feeling relieved he at least had some boxers on.

"Kinda need to answer "the call", if you catch my drift."

Suddenly, he realizes something, as his hand starts to go to his face, before falling limp to his side.

"Guess there's no point in panicking about my mask, is there? Not like it's the only thing I lack..."

[Electra]

"I'm sorry, Gabriel," Stesha told him, sounding genuinely sympathetic. "By the time Heyzel brought you in, you were coughing blood and convulsing. The mask would have gotten in the way. I wasn't sure you were going to make it for a little while, but you're strong and you pulled through. You'll probably be very weak for another day or so, I had to extend my talents pretty far with all the casualties from the attacks, so once you were stabilized, I've been working on you a little at a time."

She came around the bed and opened the leaf curtain, revealing a pane of clear crystal with nothing but forest beyond. "Do you want to try sitting up?" she asked him. "The toilet is next door, but I can bring the pan in again if you need it."

[KnightDisciple]

"If you've had to take care of me this much, I'd say you can call me Carson."

He gives her a wan smile as he struggles to sit up.

"And the only way I'm using a pan is if I can't get myself in there. Walk, crawl, hobble, fly, but I'm going to use the toilet as if I weren't an invalid."

He seems to be having an internal debate as to whether to just skip to the flying or not.

"By the by, where did you put my costume?"

The air hums as he concentrates, slowly lifting into the air, and keeping the same height as he inches forwards.

"...Could you provide the moving power for me? I can hover, but I'd rather not try moving much faster than this on my own. I would, however, like to go faster in general."

[Electra]

"I'm afraid it was ruined," Stesha told him, putting her hands on his shoulder blades and gently steering him out of the bedroom and across the hall. "I put it in a bag for you in case you know someone who can fix it, but I just set it aside. It might be... distressing to look at," she equivocated. Ripped to shreds and soaked in blood seemed too evocative. The bathroom consisted of a portable shower system with a water tank that also fed a basin sink, and a chemical toilet that smelled vaguely of ammonia. There was no indoor plumbing here, apparently. "Should I wait outside, or do you need help?" she asked.

[KnightDisciple]

A thoughtful look crossed his face.

"Didn't buy the suit in a shop. You might give it another look. Who knows? Maybe the coat won't be as bad as you think, if nothing else. And I think I can manage now."

Indeed, he seems able to use the walls and sink to prop himself up enough to move around.

"Let a man have a bit o' dignity, would ya?"

He throws her a cheerful wink, but also shoos her out. Nature, and all that.

[Electra]

"Just call out if you need anything, all right? I'll be right out here." Stesha stepped out of the bathroom and adjusted the curtain for maximum modesty. It was still early in the morning, and she was tired and feeling oddly unwell herself, but she'd earned it. Day before yesterday had been just awful, and yesterday had been no picnic either. There had been a lot of injured, scared, displaced people to deal with, a lot of damage to clean up. She needed a day off in the worst way.

After putting on some coffee, she dug up Derrick's biggest sweatsuit and passed it through the curtain without looking. "Here," she said, "you can wear these till you can get home and get clothes. There's a towel under the sink if you'd like to wash up, but don't push yourself! Are you hungry?"

[KnightDisciple]

Carson was quickly done with his business, and already feeling a bit stronger.

"I think I'll give it a shot. I feel disgusting right now."

He commenced awkwardly getting into the shower, the water quickly turning on. Said water was only running for about 4 minutes, before it turned off and there was silence. About 3 minutes later, Carson stumbled out of the "door", leaning heavily against the wall.

"Wow. I could eat for an infantry squad right about now. I feel as weak as a kitten."

He looked like he fit in the sweatsuit alright, but as he settled onto the ground, it was obvious he wasn't up to par.

"Wow. I'm kinda worn out. You say it's only been a couple of days? Feels like it's been longer..."

[Electra]

"Like I said, it's been a long couple of days," Stesha told him. "You very nearly died. You can't expect to bounce back right away, even if you are a superhero. Here, let me help you to the couch, so you can at least have a change of scene. Just relax." As she spoke, vines descended from the leafy ceiling, gently wrapping around him once more and passing him along through the hallway and into the main room with a sensation not unlike rocking in a hammock. They deposited him gently onto a comfortably worn couch in the middle of what was obviously the living room area.

The couch he was laying on and two recliners surrounded a coffee table, all of them set up to face a space heater that was keeping the room cozy warm. The rest of the room was filled with a small kitchenette and dining area, all of it made of living plants or obviously brought in from elsewhere. Stesha followed him in banishing the vines back to the ceiling. "I've got a big pot of chicken noodle soup to start off with. You're not a vegetarian or anything, are you?"

[KnightDisciple]

Carson laughed.

"My ma and da would box me around the ears if I refused your hospitality either way. But no. Very much not a vegetarian."

He looked around the room. He seemed interested, but confused.

"Where are we?"

[Electra]

She laughed. "This is my secret hideout, sort of. It's an alternate Earth I'm renovating, and sort of using as a home away from home. These days it feels cozier to me than my apartment in Freedom City, really. We'll see how I feel when it starts snowing!"

Stesha reached into the minifridge and pulled out a large tupperware container full of soup, ladled some into a dish, and popped it into the microwave. "It's an unpopulated planet these days, and most if it's not in good shape at all, but I've been fixing it up. It's a good way to practice using my powers. I brought you here because it's easier to concentrate on my healing powers here, and, well, because it's where the bed is."

[KnightDisciple]

Carson blinked in disbelief as he listened.

"You have a whole bloody planet for your secret headquarters? My goodness, Stesha! One day you could probably open a resort here! I mean, this place is so relaxing. Though...I suppose some people would have trouble with the "no cable, no internet" and so on. It looks like you can bring in some tech, at least. Good thing solar power is so advanced, eh?"

[Electra]

That drew another chuckle from Stesha, even as she arranged a couple of white rolls on a plate next to the warmed soup and poured some Sprite into a glass for him. Bringing the whole meal over to the coffee table, she said, "Well, that's an excellent endorsement, even if you've only been awake here for half an hour or so. I do bring people here sometimes, though it's usually civilians I'm removing from a danger zone, and they stay in a nice holding area about a quarter-mile from here. Usually that's just long enough for the fight to be over, though, so they don't exactly get a chance for a lot of touring. Now eat up."

She poured a glass of Sprite for herself and curled up in one of the armchairs to sip it while Carson ate. Her color was a little off, though it was hard to tell with all the light reflecting off and shining through the colored leaves.

[KnightDisciple]

The Irishman accepted the food with a smile.

"Something to keep in mind for the future, perhaps."

He closes his eyes and bows his head over the food, going silent for several moments. When he finished, he dug in with gusto, clearly making up for lost nutrients.

After a couple minutes of comparatively silent eating, he slowed down and looked up at Stesha, a touch of concern on his face.

"How are you holding up? I'm sure you've been worked to the bone recently, what with...well, you know. Have you gotten rest and food and such?"

[Electra]

"Not as much rest as I'd like," she admitted ruefully, "there just hasn't been time. I don't typically need much in the way of rest or food, but this past couple days, I've been burning a lot of energy, and looking at some things I'd rather not have seen. I'll be glad when things calm down a little more, and I've already promised myself a whole afternoon laying under a sunlamp. Though now I'm thinking of upgrading it to a day on the beach, somewhere warm and sparsely populated," she added with a grin. "Just the thing to perk up a plant controller. How's the soup?"

[KnightDisciple]

Carson chewed and swallowed thoughtfully.

"Soup's good. Why don't you need to rest or eat much? Do you just have more energy than the average person? And how would a sunlamp help?"

He seems innocently curious. It's not often he gets to sit back and talk about what makes the powers of other heroes "tick".

"Just keep in mind I'm a drama teacher, not a physicist."

Here he gives a winning smirk, showing he's teasing, at least somewhat.

[Electra]

Stesha spread her hands in an amused shrug, then lifted one of them to her green hair. "I photosynthesize," she told him simply. "When I have sunlight and air, my body can manufacture its own fuel and energy. At this time of year, when it gets cloudy and cold, that system doesn't work quite as effectively, just because there's not as much sun. So I have to either eat and sleep, which I do sometimes, or lay under my sunlamp, which also usually involves snacking and sleeping, and is very relaxing. I think we could all use a little relaxation after the past couple of days. How are you feeling?" she asked again. "Any nausea, dizziness?"

[KnightDisciple]

Carson tilted his head slightly, fascinated at the idea. He shook his head at the inquiry.

"Sore, stiff, and even tired, bizarrely enough. But my stomach feels fine, and I can see straight. No headache, even. Just everything below the neck.

So you're kind of part plant? I bet that saves on your food bills. Saints know I tend to eat more than you'd think for someone built like me, just to produce enough energy to throw around hyper-condensed sound waves.

As for relaxation, it sounds like you've earned it. I'm not sure if I want to relax more, or go for a flight after a little while. Maybe I'll digest a bit, then try moving around more. I hate being sedentary like that for so long."

[Electra]

"That sounds like a good plan, so long as you don't overexert yourself," Stesha told him with a nod. "Exercising will help you feel better unless you push too hard. I've done as much as I can for you with my powers, the rest is simply a matter of your body recovering from the shock and insult of your wounds. I expected you to sleep quite a bit longer," she admitted. "But it's very safe here, walking or flying, as long as you are polite to the giant bees."

[KnightDisciple]

At that exact moment, Carson had been taking a sip of Sprite. He very nearly choked on it. When he had recovered, he stared at her incredulously.

"Giant...Bees? Did I hear you right when I heard "Giant Bees"?"

If possible, he's gone paler.

"Uh...how close to here are said Giant Bees? Just...for reference. You know. Information. For edification."

He glances towards the window, as if expecting such a creature to suddenly bust through the wall and try to sting him or something.

[Electra]

"It's all right, they're sentient and friendly, as long as you aren't aggressive towards them," Stesha assured him. "They're about ten miles away from here, at least that's where their meadows start. I gave them about a hundred square miles of territory, because they're so big. Each one is about eighty feet long, they need a lot of room to move around, you know?" She seemed totally unfazed at the idea of having massive bees flying around so nearby. "They have the run of the place, but generally they stay where the giant flowers are."

[KnightDisciple]

Carson sets his glass down with a shaky hand, then runs it through his hair.

"Um...wow. Eighty feet. Those are bloody huge bees. I'm glad they're sentient and, uh, non-aggressive. And plenty of territory makes sense. I guess I just haven't gotten over my old fear of stinging insects. Old childhood thing.

I, um, think I'll probably give them some room when I go out flying."

[Electra]

"That's perfectly all right," Stesha reassured him with a smile, deciding not to mention the part about the fire-breathing bees to Carson. "If you just fly east instead of west, you'll head away from the bee fields and it's very unlikely you'll see any of them. They're really concentrating right now on building their winter nests. We're not far from the ocean here, this place corresponds to Freedom City on Earth Prime. Just make sure to finish eating before you start anything else," she told him with mock sternness. "You need to keep your strength up!"

[KnightDisciple]

"Like I said, Stesha, I have a pretty good appetite all the time. Right now is no exception."

For a couple of minutes, there's a peaceable silence as Carson heartily works his way through the food, showing excellent table manners, all things considered. After he was done, he set his dishes down and leaned back in his seat.

"Again, I can't thank you enough. Even if this isn't a huge burden on your resources, I still appreciate it. I just hope I don't have to work too hard to keep my job..."

He shakes his head as he shakily stands, taking several moments to get his bearings.

"Give me a minute, and then I think I'll be up for a short trip outside."

He heads back towards the bathroom slowly, steadily, and purposefully.