003

[wavesofjade]

I Would Like Anyone - Student Or Staff - To Pay The Hospital Wing A Visit Should They Still Be Suffering Any Ill Effects After The Events Of Last Week.
I Understand That This Has Been A Highly Distressing Time For Some Of You.
I Cannot Heal That Kind Of Pain As Much As I Would Like To But It Is Often Said That A Friendly Ear For Your Troubles May Work Wonders.
Please Do Not Hesitate To See Me If You Should Have Need Of Someone To Speak To Confidentially.


[Filtered to Murdoc Donoghue]
Well, Now.
That Was Exciting Wasnt It?
I Trust You Have Returned To Your Usual Self Now.

Comments

[Filtered]

[wavesofjade]

Quite Alright, Thank You Philip.
I Cannot Deny The Almost Overwhelming Sense Of Catharsis However.
I Had Not Realised That Seeing Him Again Was Something That I Needed.

[Filtered]

[thegluethatbinds]

I'm glad that everything worked out well for you then.

It's commendable that you're offering to help others out with their problems, but please take some time for yourself too Dolores. What happened to you isn't something that can be gotten over easily.

If you don't mind, may I come over to the Healing Ward this evening?

[Filtered]

[wavesofjade]

I Do Not Intend To Dwell Upon It.
Keeping Busy Is A Much More Effective Use Of My Time.

Of Course You May.
I Would Appreciate Your Company.

[Filtered] --> [PermaAction]

[thegluethatbinds]

Right. I'll see you after classes then.

[And sure enough, right on the dot at 5 pm there's the familiar sound of his knuckles rapping on hard wood. By now he's feeling slightly foolish; he's nearly a constant visitor to the Hostpial Wing.]

[wavesofjade]

[The door is opened within moments, and Dolores smiles when she sees him]

Hello, Philip.. I'm almost finished here, if you'd like to wait for a few minutes?

[She does have her own quarters, though she's rarely in them, but it occurs to her that he might prefer it]

[thegluethatbinds]

[He returns her smile with a tired one of his own. It had, after all, been one of those nights.]

That's fine with me. I'll wait out here.

[wavesofjade]

[She nods, and it's not long before she reappears and carefully closes the door behind her. She looks at him a little more closely, and her expression turns slightly concerned]

Are you alright, dear?

[thegluethatbinds]

[Her question is answered with something of a resigned smile, no less tired than the first one as he shrugs slightly.]

Given the circumstances, I could be better. But I shouldn't be complaining.

[wavesofjade]

[She makes a small gesture for him to follow her, and leads the way down the hall]

I do wish you would come to see me afterwards. Was it a difficult night?

[thegluethatbinds]

I wouldn't want to impose on you Dolores. Most nights it's usually fine, but it just so happened that yesterday was...not as relaxing as I'd have liked it to be.

[Out of habit, his hand goes up to the area underneath his collarbone. He really shouldn't, but every time he thinks of his condition he automatically starts feeling an itch where his bite scars are.]

[wavesofjade]

It's never an imposition, Philip.. it's my job to make sure that everyone here is in the best of health, and that includes you.

[There's a brief smile that fades when his hand goes to his collar. As they walk, she touches his arm]

What happened?

[thegluethatbinds]

Just a rough night. The potions have been working fine, I don't lose my mind at all. The transformations are just painful, some nights worse than others. Side effects remained contained.

[He grimaces slightly before he shakes his head and relaxes again.]

[wavesofjade]

[She sighs. For a long while she's wished there was something she could do about the pain, but it's so unpredictable that it's difficult to think of anything that will work]

I am sorry to hear that.

[thegluethatbinds]

You've got nothing to be sorry for. This may be surprising to you but...I don't regret what's happened to me, Dolores.

[wavesofjade]

[A quiet chuckle leaves her]

No.. that doesn't surprise me at all.

[thegluethatbinds]

[Philip Coulson is rarely surprised, but when he is he shows it. He raises an eyebrow quizzically at her.]

That's a first for me. I can't tell the number of times I've had someone ask me how I feel about my conditions and why I'm not angry about it.

[wavesofjade]

You don't strike me as the kind of person to be angry about something that he can't change.

[The raised eyebrow is met with a warm smile]

I have often been asked the same thing of myself.

[thegluethatbinds]

I hope you don't mind me asking but...were you angry when your own turning first happened? I'll be honest that I don't remember much of what happened on mine.

And to be frank, I don't think I want to.

[wavesofjade]

I don't mind.

[Dolores smiles wanly, and her voice lowers slightly to avoid any chance of being overheard]

It wasn't long after Simon died. I.. suppose you might say that I fell in with a bad crowd - cliché, I know, but that was the short of it. I met a vampire, called Daniel.

[She pauses and chuckles]

At least, he said his name was Daniel. Vampires have an astonishing ability to.. alter your perception of things, and it only becomes stronger as we age. He had me convinced that turning me would give me more time to make up for my mistake. In a way, he was right.. but it wasn't clear to me at first. I was so.. so angry, Philip, when I realised the full scope of what he'd done to me. I moved away from my parents, and I will admit that I had every intention of ending my existence..

[There's another smile, softer]

Then I met Salvador.

[thegluethatbinds]

[He nodded sombrely. To be honest, while he would never regret saving that little girl's life, the change in his entire life had been a source of much stress and, as much as he tried to stifle it, anger towards his circumstances. Dolores is right; he really isn't the type to let things he can't control rile him up. But what she didn't know is exactly how much he lost, how much his world had been tipped over upside down by that one night.

Not the sort of thoughts you'd want to have on a full moon, which might explain his slightly worse state today.]

Professor Vantas?

[wavesofjade]

[She nods]

That's right. He was eight years old, when I first met him.

[thegluethatbinds]

[A dry chuckle.] It seems like half the Hogwarts staff knew each other from young.

[wavesofjade]

I knew Salvador, and his brother Kankri, from many years ago.

[Her voice sticks a little when she says Kankri's name, but she continues speaking]

I met Sybille when I worked at St. Mungo's.

[thegluethatbinds]

[Kankri...that was the name of Salvador's dead brother, wasn't it? Coulson decides to pursue that topic no further, turning instead to yet another staff member who has popped up in Dolores' past.]

How did you meet her? Was she injured?

[wavesofjade]

She was.. It was an injury from her job. Ah.. she saw through me far too easily.