Welcome to The Duality of Man, an original animanga role-play that features numerous supernatural creatures. Unfortunately, these various species have distanced themselves because of the war that occurred thousands of years ago, plaguing some with eyes that only see their dualism. While others meddle themself with their differences, two groups fight, each attempting to eliminate the other in for their definition of worldly peace. These two groups of the Terror Response Syndicate (TRS) and the Assembly of Phantoms (AP). With individuals fighting merely over their differences, it brings uncertainty to the outcome of this war.
We happily accept all role-players as long as they obey the rules and are capable of meeting our word count of 50. This does include those who are unfamiliar with this style of role-playing. The staff of The Duality of Man are willing to happily help those who are new to the role-playing world so they feel comfortable on site. Feel free to message the staff if you need help, they can be found here or in the site Discord and will gladly answer questions alongside calm concerns. If you have any suggestions we would love to hear them; guests may use the support board as a suggestion area as well. Should you decide to join, may I say welcome to the site and we all hope you enjoy your time here.
Yours Truely,
The Staff
season
Summer 2024
Heat has broken through into a glorious summer. The snow has entirely dried through the spring, leaving to the brilliance of the warmer months. Terror activity has risen as people are brought out of their homes, leaving the TRS in a position of consistent work. Each are attempting to maintain victory in the endless struggle for power.
Since the wonderful members of TDOM enjoy the site enough to play around on it, this thread is to assist with the site's tidying! Functionality is important and we want to make the site functional even if its activity will be minimal at best!
There was a obvious nervousness to Malakai as he walked down the halls of the Medical Ward in a fidgety manner. A coat embraced him, his open left hand playing with the cuff out of anxiousness meanwhile his right remained occupied carrying a small case. As usual, beneath the coat was dress shirt, this time of dark grey and lacking a tie, while his pants consisted of blue jeans. Eventually, nervousness reached to the points of lip chewing while he walked down the halls, passing some injured TRS agents. Every now and again he received a wave from recognition, but the tall man paid no mind to the people around him; he was simply too nervous to. There were quite a few tasks that Malakai got entrusted with, however, this particular task felt beyond his capabilities. The mission in question being to train an apprentice to become a field medic, which was likely a job that most people did not become overly anxious about. Malakai on the other hand felt like a nervous wreck over the idea.
Comprehending why exactly he out of all eligible people had received an apprentice was something he simply could not understand. His extreme shyness was the initial problem that came to mind, furthermore, Malakai lacked any social adeptness that numerous members in the TRS easily achieved. Difficult seemed like an understatement as his thoughts came to the idea of how he could possible train an apprentice. The ravenette's brown eyes stared at his shoes almost as though a thought the puddles, created from his snowy shoes, on the tiled would spell something out for him. Even his thoughts turned into ideas of how to escape this duty, however, that would be an act of cowardice. Thus, he went through his plans, making certain that everything will run to perfection. This had to go smoothly, but then again they would be more probably to grant him another apprentice. Malakai began to chew his lip more at the thought as he felt his heart rate increase. The nervousness simply would not go down, he was concerned he would stutter or slip up or teach them something completely wrong.
Being trapped in the situation was unpleasant, but it was too late now. The apprenticed assigned to the full-fledged field medic already knew the meeting location and if he decided to not show up that would definitely launch him into deep trouble. With that in mind, Malakai carried on, entering the room that could be used for training. There was a small table, the usual medical charts littered every single wall in the tiny room, almost as though people were trying to cram as much knowledge on them as possible, alongside some medical supplies on the shelves. However, Malakai had become prepared considering he did have some expertise in certain areas. Once inside the room, Malakai placed the case he had been carrying with him onto the table. Immediately, he snapped open the golden clasp and lifted the lead revealing a few bottles of potions and small containers with salves in them. There was absolutely no need to expend medical supplies if he could create his own for the lessons, and should his apprentice be human maybe he could teach them more. That begged the question though if who exactly his apprentice was, he would fit in a fit of panic he forgot their name. Then panic transformed to worry which created a forgetfulness that Malakai was regretting now.
For a few moments the tall man distracted himself, only paying mild attention to the door as he went over his plan. It was difficult for the field medic to think of how exactly to approach this, most of his thoughts consisting of what his mentor did. Unfortunately, every student was different which was the main part that concerned the new mentor. There was a tensity that came over Malakai as his head muddled with thoughts of mistakes. It battered his courage in the subject, making him begin to wring his hands. A moment later he removed his jacket, hanging it on the back of one of the chairs in the small room.
[ My apologies if this is not overly great, got distracted. ^^' ]
Malakai Moors & Theresa Kane | Medical Ward 650 words
The day has finally come. Theresa was standing in front of the mirror in her small dorm room. She hummed a cheerful tune while looking at herself. Somehow it still felt unreal. She wearing the TRS apprentice uniform. A long hold wish come true. A wish not many people can understand because the young woman could do whatever she wanted. Born into a wealthy family she had nothing to worry about. Live a normal save life. Instead of being a field medic she could study medicine and work in a hospital. Have the career she thought she would have before the death of her mother.
This day changed her whole life, her whole perspective of the world. She wanted to be part of the TRS and protect as many people as possible. However Theresa is not a fighter nor will she ever be one. So she thought about a way to combine her original goal with her new object. She didn’t need to think much for the conclusion of working in the medical division. Just working in the medical ward wouldn’t be enough therefore she chose the path of field medic.
At first she planned to start her apprenticeship directly after graduating high school but her father’s death brought her plan to a crashing stop. The last months she spent reorganizing her life. She never knew how much work her father had with his company and she was glad when she found a capable person to manage all company-related work. Then she fought through her family’s financial background. She is still bewildered how clueless she was about the wealth of her family. It simply didn’t mattered before. She never thought it was important. The confrontation with the real numbers took her carefree mindset away. Earnings and expenditures were a new part in her daily life.
Her eyes wandered aimlessly around her reflection until they fixed on the clock on her bedside table. Her heart nearly stopped for a second and she felt an urge of panic rising inside her. She was running late. It was her first day in mentoring and she will be late. This couldn’t happen. Was she still asleep and having a nightmare? She pinched herself hesitantly on the back of her hand. She felt pain. She was awake. A small sound of terror escaped her mouth. In record time she put on her shoes and was running down the hallway. The other students looked at her perplexed but Theresa wasn’t paying them any mind. She only wanted to cover the distance between the dorm and the medical ward as fast as possible. She cursed herself for her rather slow running speed. At least she didn’t run out of breath immediately. Since she decided to join the TRS she tried to train regularly. What kind of sport she did changed over time because when her interests changed she never hesitated to try out something new.
Regardless this unscheduled run had her breathing hard when she stood in front of the training room. She tried to slow down her raging pulse with some deep slow breaths. Before she entered the room she knocked on the door. Unfortunately her hands were shaking and the knock was weak and shaky. A hesitant and a bit surprised smile lay on her lips as she saw her mentor for the first time. He was a lot younger than Theresa had expected. “Hello. I’m Theresa Kane”, she greeted the man and her voice was still unsteady from the run as well. She didn’t even want to imagine how wild and unruly her hair looks. Even though it was easier to keep neat since she cut it some days ago. It will still take some time for her to get used to the much shorter length. She still caught herself in her old ‘long hair’ habits. Like brushing a strand back behind her ear.
[No, it is good. But maybe you could turn the font size one or two pt up? It is a bit small]
A quick glance at the watch on Malakai's right wrist was taken, he had arrived early as was planned originally. The young, shy man needed a few moments to run over his mental plan and to perhaps somehow gain some courage; even if it was meager! While he thought over his plans, Malakai read over the labels on the bottles, making certain all the proper potions and salves were brought. The carefully etched letters written in black ink smudged his fingers slightly, these were definitely pieces of the batch he made prior to heading out. In a cautious manner the little bottles were placed onto the table, sorted into their various categories of use. Pain relievers, healing assistants, salves that rid wounds of infection were all given their own specific area for the sake of organization.
Some were mixtures of two different categories, which caused them to be placed slightly apart from the group. Once satisfied with the organization, Malakai smiled sightly. Perhaps this would not be that bad, maybe he could do an excellent job of teaching this young apprentice. Then again there was always Murphy's Law that stated that if things could go wrong they would. Upon the thought of the accused concept, the tall man's smile vanished and his fatalistic personality went into overdrive as his mind informed him of numerous negative outcomes. There was a chance the apprentice could be the intimidating sort, or they could be allergic to the ingredients in the potions, or maybe he would accidentally teach them the incorrect concept resulting in a disaster! What if he scared them, causing them to fail their field test and inevitably hate him forever?! Eventually, Malakai found himself incredibly nervous again as he began to chew his bottom lip out of habit.
The ravenette pushed up his black framed glasses and glanced at his watch again, that was when a frown came across his face. It was a few minutes passed the time he had given the apprentice, which meant they were running late or maybe has intentions of not showing up. Both suggested possible confrontation should it transform into a consistent habit, which caused Malakai to grow worried. Confrontation was, admittedly, something he had a small fear of due to his poor social skills. Almost each line was a stutter when he spoke to a stranger, how was he suppose to look intimidating when he could barely speak! A few moments later he just manage to hear a barely audible at the door, causing his gaze to drift towards it as the young girl walked in. Presumably, this was his apprentice considering the colours on her uniform, and when she stated her name it rung a few bells. The short red hair was a tad unruly, suggesting a possible rush. Malakai gave her the benefit of the doubt and presumed it was merely a one time occasion; it seemed only fair to the young man after all. It took him a moment to realize he had yet to say a word, which caused him to mentally curse his horrible social skills.
"H-hi, Theresa. I'm... uh... Malakai Moors and I um... guess I'm your mentor," his words came out nervously.
In response to his own tone, Malakai flinched and dropped his gaze to the floor. Instantly he wished for improved social skills despite the fact his prayers were likely to fall upon deaf ears. In order to calm the rising anxious feelings inside him, the young man took a deep breath and exhaled.
"P-please, take a seat," he said. For a moment, Malakai paused while he thought through what his mentor did. "And if there is, uh... anything you would like t-to know... just speak up."
Only a couple of moments had passed and the full-fledged field medic already felt like a social mess in front of his apprentice. It caused him to feel more clueless to why they had chosen him to train this apprentice; truthfully he could not possibly be a proper choice. Once again the habit returned and Malakai found himself awkwardly chewing his lower lip while he tried to figure out what to do next.
[ Oh! I deeply apologize for that, I didn't realize how small it was. @-@ My bad, fixed it in the first post and will maintain this size in future posts/threads if it is adequate. ]
Malakai Moors & Theresa Kane | Medical Ward 638 words
Slowly her pulse reached a more normal rate as Theresa was waiting for a reply to her introduction. It was a new setting for the girl, something she wasn’t used to yet. She never worked during her time in school, was it not needed and she liked to use her spare time to pursue her interests. Therefore she didn’t exactly knew how she should react in this situation, what was expected. Finally she received an answer. Even without using her Empathy ability – what would be rather rude because she had to touch the person and it is not appropriated to sneak around in others personal feelings – she could conclude that the man was nervous. Somehow it caused the girl to relax. She wasn’t the only one not sure how get around this foreign situation. Maybe her first impression that the man was rather young was right. Maybe he only started mentoring a short while ago. Or maybe she was interpreted too much into his behavior.
At the same time she was glad that her mentor didn’t mentioned her being late. Theresa was not the type of person who would lie. Mainly because she knew she was an extraordinary bad liar. But how could she explain the reason behind her running late? That she got lost in her reflection? Most people would interpret this as a sign of vanity. A character trait not suited to anyone working in the field of medicine. If one thing is certain in this field it is that you will somehow get dirty. Theresa liked dressing herself in nice clothes and trying to tame her unruly hair into something resembling a nice hairdo. However when she is focused on a task she would never think about how she looked. She once visited a pottery class and at the end of the lesson there was not a piece of cloth not covered with clay. Mostly because she didn’t have the slightest talent in pottery.
Now she followed the instruction and took a seat on the other side of the table. “Nice to meet your”, she replied to the introduction if her mentor like she was taught as a young child from her parents. She smiled politely. When her mentor was ignoring the fact of her late arrival she would never dare to make a comment about his insecure speech. “Of course I will ask if I don’t understand something or want to know more about a topic. I am here to learn.” For Theresa it was normal to simply ask questions when they pop into her mind. Not every teacher in her school was happy about this kind of interruptions. Especially because Theresa sometimes went a bit of track from the original subject.
Patiently she waited for her mentor to start their first meeting. In the meantime her eyes started to wander around the room. The many medical charts raised her anticipation. She waited a long time to start her apprenticeship and she wanted to begin working as fast as possible. Stop dreaming about it and start doing it. At last her eyes stopped at the case lying on the table. She could see bottles with hand written labels. It reminded her of times long ago when her mother tried to teach her the basics. Back then Theresa wasn’t paying much attention. She thought she would have years together with her mother and could allow herself to slack a bit. Today she regretted it. Her mother possessed so much knowledge about medicine and Theresa lost her chance to learn from her.
She missed her mother. Her kind mother who always lectured her to pay attention. An advice the girl was not following at the moment. Startled she looked from the case to her mentor. Did he say something while her thoughts traveled into the past?
As it currently stood, Malakai had somehow gotten through an introduction, but he still felt excessively nervous. There was even a moment where the tall field medic thought they were going to start shaking; which only dashed their self-confidence more with how pathetic that would be. Could he not even manage to be even the slightest bit courageous? At least then Malakai could be reassured that he could manage through this training session, but alas a lack of social confidence was a bitter thing and the field medic's bravery seemed keen on being a no show. Part of him was starting to wish this was akin to being on the field, at least when he was working he could scrounge up some social adeptness. In silence, Malakai watched as his apprentice, Theresa, took her seat and said a few polite words.
She seemed the kind and polite sort, which allowed the ravenette to relax to a small degree. If this was not a mask of sorts, then certainly he had nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, the thought did little to calm his anxiousness and shortly Malakai was taking a few more long breaths. Gradually, a portion of the nervous feelings that left him tense faded and the young man appeared somewhat relaxed, which was better than nothing in Malakai's books.
There was a moment of hesitation before Malakai responded. "I-it's nice to meet you as well." He responded awkwardly, words leaving his mouth rather quickly. The full-fledged field medic took another deep breath, reminding himself to slow down. "I, uh, apologize for a-any mistakes I... um may make. I've n-never mentored before," he stated, voice still dripping with anxious tones.
A minor improvement was made, at the very least he ceased chewing his lower lip for a few moments. Although, Malakai could only presume that his social awkwardness was going to make this into an incredibly long day. A new prayer was sent out, one hoping that Theresa was both a fast learner and patient enough to deal with his horrendous social skills. When he heard his apprentice state that she would ask questions and was here to learn gave Malakai more reassurance, the polite smile on her face serving as a further boost to that. Maybe this was not going to be that bad. As moment of silence was taken as the ravenette pushed up his glasses and mentally went through where exactly to start with the lesson. It took a few moments to organize his plan mentally until he decided that perhaps giving the redhead an idea of what she was going to see was the best route.
Although, realistically, words could not describe the hellish atmosphere of some battles or the horrors seen when the wounded were taken for treatment. Another deep breath was taken as Malakai organized his thoughts on how exactly he was going to put this.
"S-since you are planning to be a-a field medic, it is... uh good for you to u-understand what you maybe dealing with," he began slowly. "It's not a pretty place out there. U-unlike the ward, you will be expected to treat wounds on the spot. Which m-means trying to quickly address the w-wounded area, b-but that... uh doesn't mean r-rushing. You are responsible for whoever is placed i-in your care. T-there will be members who will attempt to try to a-avoid treatment and will be l-likely to attempt to leave"
A moment was taken to flinch, perhaps that was not the greatest explanation, but Malakai was trying to figure something. That was when he noticed Theresa now looking at him, which momentarily made the shy medic feel spotlighted. His thoughts turned insecure, perhaps she noticed how horrible his explanation was?! Soon the ravenette's gaze was adverted to where his brown eyes met the bottles set on the table. That was when he found words and could process a piece.
"A-as you know, you will be dealing with wounds... and... um the odd case of poisoning. Y-you have to k-keep in mind that healing magic is a last resort, so," Malakai gestured to the potions set on the table, "potions will be your best friend out there."
A small smile came across the field medic's face, that was a slightly improved sentence. There was a slight lacking in the usual anxious tones he used far too often. Mildly, his confidence was boosted and Malakai became slightly more certain that he could accomplish this.
Malakai Moors & Theresa Kane | Medical Ward 593 words
It was not a huge surprise when Malakai mentioned it was his first time mentoring. Her earlier suspicion was confirmed that his nervousness was based on his inexperience. Nothing out of the ordinary. Many people were nervous when they are doing something for the first time. Especially important tasks like teaching. Right now Theresa was only an apprentice and she herself felt a certain agitation. In her case this agitation led to her attention to jump around and led her focus astray.
This habit led to her slip up, her loss of concentration. As she recovered her focus she realized that her mentor was talking. Panic surged through her veins. How much did she miss? Her thoughts needed a bit of time to catch up with Malakais words. Even more time till they could give them a meaning, realizing what he was talking about. What she has to expect from her work as field medic compared to working in the ward. She listened intently. Until now she didn’t knew much about the actual work, only what the general public knew. She had no idea how close she could get to terrors. Her sole source for the real work in the medical field was what her mother told her about her daily life as a doctor. And these days were a long time ago.
It took Theresa by surprise that some members would refuse medical treatment. “Why would they avoid treatment? Without it their capacity would drop. The wounds could get infected. This behavior has a potential to out themself or other members in danger if they collapse during a mission”, Theresa assailed her mentor with many questions at once. She couldn’t understand such irresponsible actions. Being healthy was an important factor when you work for an organization like the TRS. You couldn’t have your output affected because you didn’t care enough about your own condition. “And what’s the protocol to this kind of cases? How should I react if someone is refusing treatment?” Without experience it was hard for her to find a solution to this problem. Ignoring the fact that Theresa was to weak you couldn’t simply force someone into taking treatment and in the field reporting this kind of behavior would archive as good as nothing. If someone refuses treatment it is likely he or she would ignore an order to retreat or let the medics do their job.
The next words from her mentor brought a guilty expression on the face of the apprentice. Her expertise in the medical field wasn’t that bad but most likely she will be tempted to use her abilities. During the years after her mother’s death she started to train whenever possible. Her gifts where one of things connecting Theresa with her mother because she had very similar abilities. However Theresa was aware about the limited use of her healing ability. The possibility for her to faint due to the shared pains was much likely than her power being used up.
Her eyes shifted from Malakai to the potion bottles. Again her eyes tried to read the hand written labels. “Where this potions manufactured by yourself?” she asked, the curiosity shining in her eyes. The questions seem to simply pop into her mind and left her mouth without much thinking. “And may I ask if you can use any magic or do you have any special abilities?” She knew this questions were rather impolite and bad-mannered but she wanted to know more about the person who will mentor her during her days as an apprentice.
In Malakai's case, it was not only nervousness created by a first encounter in mentoring, but also from his shyness. Ever since he was a mere child, the ravenette was anxious when people talked to him which only worsen due to various other past events. The man attempted to make eye contact with his pupil, but the moment he got close he looked away. Being the bashful type made it increasingly difficult to maintain the usual social expectations like eye contact. Despite Theresa's politeness, he simply found himself unable to manage his sentences and avoid stuttering. Hopefully, throughout training that would develop and the stuttering would at least cease to only every once and awhile; he could only imagine how annoying it was to listen to a mentor who stumbled over his words.
Eventually, his gaze remained on the potions as he recognized each and then noticed something, there was no anti-toxin potion. A moment of panic drew across Malakai's face; how in the name of the gods could he forget the antidote?! It was a rarity to use, but still a potion that apprentices needed to know. Upon noticing the anti-toxin's absence, the field medic began to feel a bit more discouraged and once again began to wonder how he was possibly the right mentor for this apprentice. He allowed the panicked feeling to pass, mentors were not suppose to panic; he would just have to work it in somewhere else. Nonetheless, Malakai was still ashamed of his forgetfulness. When Theresa launched her first series of questions, the ravenette glanced at her with eyes slightly widened at the sudden questions. There was no point milling over his absentminded moment, he had an apprentice to mentor. A moment was taken while Malakai thought of a suitable way to state the answer.
"Well... th-there are people who... uh... well they think t-they have n-nothing to lose," Malakai started. He was attempting to avoid bluntness. "T-they think they m-must fight until... the end... S-some think they are... um... still well enough t-to fight. O-others simply d-don't like medics and f-fear treatment."
There was another pause while Malakai pondered over how he dealt with the more pushy hunters; the ones who craved the battlefield. Naturally, his social awkwardness dropped on the field which made the memories give him a tad more confidence.
"Y-you can't let them push you, u-use force i-if you must. I-if they think they c-can get back onto the field, t-they will take it," Malakai began. "I o-often try to convince t-them into th-thinking they are... well... really i-important... since they are. Y-you have to try and be... be persuasive. A-ask for help if y-you need. W-we need all the h-hunters we can get. Th-the point is, you m-must work to g-give treatment even if they... refuse to cooperate."
Another moment of thought was taken well he debated what else to add to that. His thoughts soon came across a memory, how he convinced a hunter to take treatment by drilling them with medical information. The full-fledged field medic had informed them that if they kept refusing treatment they would lose an arm and probably their life or career should the reckless behavior continued. That had caused them to listen, and no complaints about them had been registered since.
"S-sometimes it helps to in-inform them of the consequences. I-it can help," Malakai added quietly.
The mentor's eyes shortly returned to the concoctions he had made himself, the handwritten labels in the black ink carefully observed. After missing a single potion, he wanted to be certain nothing else was missing. As it currently stood, everything seemed in place. A few steps were taken closer to the table, if his apprentice had no potion knowledge he would likely teach her something if she possessed magic. Before the full-fledged medic could bring up the topic, a few more questions were fired his way, this time involving himself. What really made it awkward was the slight impoliteness, but once again it was written off as plain curiosity.
"Y-yes," Malakai squeaked in surprise. He had not been expected to be questions about his potion making. "I-i make potions for a few o-of the medics since I p-possess magic. M-my parents were both magically inclined," he explained.
From that point, Malakai ceased any other information about his parents, opting to keep the fact his father was a spirit under his hat alongside the secret he always kept. It merely avoided further explanation, which was something the full-fledged field medic preferred since it involved an emotional time in his life.
"A-anyways, do you... um... have magic?" Malakai inquired.
If she did indeed possess magic, then some potion making lessons would be useful, otherwise it would be useless. In case of the scenarios where she was not magically inclined, Malakai began thinking of a mini potion lesson involving their uses on the battlefield.
Malakai Moors & Theresa Kane | Medical Ward 585 words
The slight feeling that Malakai was feeling unwell only increased over time. Theresa noticed the missing eye contact. Her father always told her that the right amount of contact was important when conducting business. Not too much but not too less. Right now Malakai was on the much too less side of this equation and Therese knew she was on the too much side. She tended to focus her gaze on the other person a lot. Maybe Malakai can relax more if she reduced this habit? She gave it a try and fixed her concentration more on the objects inside the room. Let her curiosity roam freely. After short intervals she returned her eyes back to Malakai to still keep up an attentive attitude.
Even though she minimalized looking to long at her mentor she realized his reaction after her first bout of questions. Maybe they were too many or she was talking to fast, Theresa wasn’t able to know the exact reason. But she knew her tendency for asking too many questions at one time. So many that is was nearly impossible for others to remember half of them. She simply didn’t want her questions to be unspoken. Why not? You can’t get the information you need if you never ask for it.
When Malakai finally answered Theresa listened intently. The various types of reasons behind refusing treatment were not that much of a surprise. There was no guaranty that Theresa wouldn’t act the same way. Somehow she was trying to be a field medic. None of her friends understood this decision. Putting herself in danger when it was possible to work in the same sector but within the save walls of a hospital. On some days she herself had problems believing in this decision. Was it the right choice? Then the reckless part in her shout back: Yes, it was.
“How can using force work out? A trained hunter would be a lot stronger than a medic?” her confusion was clearly written on her face. Of course field medics receive fighting training, but it will never compare to someone training every day for the purpose of fighting terrors. No matter how strong Theresa tried not to judge Malakai what he explained and how he acted didn’t match up. It was hard for her to imagine how he could convince a stubborn hunter into treatment. But she will have a similar problem. The chances were slight that hunters will take her serious. The fragile little girl from a wealthy family. Regardless of this doubt she was wants to show everyone that she was more than that.
Theresa was startled a little by the squeak of her Mentor. She didn’t expected this question to surprise him. It was natural to ask if he made the potions in (most likely) his case. At least in her opinion. Unlike herself she only got to pull herself together at the unpredicted question if she had any magic. The answer should be in her personnel file. At least she had to file in her dates when she entered the TRS. “Um…Yes?” This time she was stopping in her words, sounding unsure. Didn’t Malakai receive information about her? Does he want to talk with her instead of reading about her? Her confusion intensified every passing second. Annoyed about this she shook her head slightly, her short red her following her movement. Then she started anew, this time more secure. “Yes, I’m Gifted. I can accelerate the healing process of wounds.”
Improving social skills on the spot was impossible, leaving Malakai in his awkward position. To make matters worse, his apprentice seemed keen on attempting to make eye contact which increased his shyness tenfold. Well, he supposed one of them had to be capable enough to try some form of social expectations. Except, for a while it seemed every time the field medic would glance at the girl she would be looking at him. Thankfully, with a few more glances he noticed she had began to look around the room which made the spotlight feel less concentrated on him. Physically, Malakai seemed to relax upon realizing all the attention was no longer being placed directly upon him. The ravenette was really starting to wish his bashful behavior would at least decrease or warrant him more stutter-less sentences or even the capability to maintain some form of eye contact.
While he answered the numerous questions Theresa had asked, she seemed keen on listening intently. As it currently stood, his apprentice seemed like a student keen on learning who had merely slipped up with the time. Malakai was hoping this would remain the case, he was horrible at confrontation. Shortly, his apprentice made a fair point about applying force. Fully-trained hunters were oftentimes stronger than medics due to their many months of combat experience and training. Honestly, he had somewhat meant force loosely, but Malakai felt it was horrible word choice on his part. Force implied physical action, a struggle. In a moment of embarrassment, the full-fledged medic looked down at the floor tiles; that was a minor blow to the confidence. There had been a time when he was forced to give a hunter a sedative in order to treat their wounds that could have become life-threatening.
"S-sorry. I... um... should have stated that better. They shouldn't w-want to hurt us, b-but if you are... um... desperate, you can use s-sedatives," Malakai responded. There was wince afterwards, he was doing horrible; or at least in his opinion. "T-they aren't always stronger either... There are hunter who are d-dependent on their abilities... I-if tired enough, you can sometimes f-force them to stay."
Silently, Malakai wished he could summon that courage he obtained on field, however, that just seemed downright unlikely. For a few moments, the ravenette took a few deep breaths to calm his nervousness. It seemed to work, allowing him a few moments to look at his apprentice before his gaze returned elsewhere. This was the bane of being incredibly shy, he simply avoided conversation to the point where simple questions like inquiring about his potions surprised him. Perhaps he had expected for her to gaze over them without much thought? Malakai was not completely certain himself why he had not expected to be asked about; maybe he expected for something else to introduce the inquiry? Alas, when his own inquiry was met with uncertainty, the tall man looked away bashfully again. All that information was likely at his disposal, yet, his own worrisome behavior and panicked mentally had caused him to ignore the information. He had been far too busy fighting the knots in his stomach alongside the horrible thoughts of how bad this was going to end up.
There was a guilty feeling that entered Malakai's head; he should have kept more attentiveness on the information provided opposed to his anxious emotions when he had been given the file. While he kept his gaze away from Theresa, he listened to her answer.
"I see... um... O-okay," Malakai responded. The nervous tone to his voice became more evident. "In that case... uh... then I will just introduce y-you to potions. A-also, I am v-very s-sorry, but I accidentally f-forgot one. I will show you it another time."
Another deep breath was taken, followed up by a slow release; an attempt to scrap together any confidence that remained in Malakai's head. The ravenette glanced at the potions, remembering how skillful he was in creating them, how people went to lengths to even praise him. It raised his confidence slightly, certain he could teach her about potions at least with some ounce of reassurance.
"I have t-technically three types, e-excluding mixes that is. I-i also have some salves a-as well. There are... um... healing, d-disinfectants and pain relievers. I-is there anywhere you would... like me to start?"
Giving Theresa the choice seemed excellent, perhaps it would make her feel more involved. It was an effort to make himself seem like a better mentor; he had already presumed she viewed him as a horrible mentor for his bashful behavior. Malakai crossed his arms, his brown eyes staring at the bottles as he mentally reviewed the information he knew about them. A gleam of determination crossed them, he simply had to do something right with mentoring!
Malakai Moors & Theresa Kane | Medical Ward 504 words
Once again Theresa listened to Malakais answer. “So I am allowed to use sedatives in such situations?” she asked with a hunch of doubt in her voice. The consequences of this actions were running through her brain. There will be no chance to cover it up and it could bring trouble for the hunter. Trouble that was well-deserved but nevertheless the hunter could take it personal. Make false accusations that the medic over reacted. Misused his or her position. Also Theresa thought about another problem. “But what if no one also is close? It would be hard for one person to transport a sedated comrade back into a save zone?”
Theresa worried that she was overthinking and annoying Malakai with her steady flow of questions. That it was too early or maybe he planned to explain it to Theresa later when it fits more thematically. She was eager to learn but at the same time she didn’t wanted to wreak havoc to the plan of her mentor. He was to decide when and what Theresa will learn. He had more experience und knew what will be important in the field.
After this more or less introduction conversation it finally began. Theresas focus snapped back onto Malakai. So potions will be her first lesson in the mentoring program. Her eyes sparked with giddiness and there was not a second of disappointment for the notice that Malakai forgot one potion. Her excitement predominated her thoughts. In the meantime she got quiet used to the slight stutter of her mentor and slowly she started to not notice it every time.
When he asked her what kind of potions she wanted to start with she took a short while to think about it. All three of the main types were interesting and she wanted to learn everything at once. She tried to think about it from a practical point of view. What potion will be the most useful one? It strongly depended on the situation. Like Malakai already said in most situations it was better to not use your abilities. Therese knew how much the usage drained her. Especially if she combined her healing powers with pain suppression. When the pain of the healed person is to strong it was likely that Theresa will faint. Her own pain limit was rather average what restricted the healing quiet strongly.
At least she decided where she wanted to start. “Right now I am most interested in pain relieving potions.” She didn’t know if this choice was unusual but she could imagine it. It was likely that much medics were the most interested in healing potions. But Theresa had her reasons for this decision. Which she started to explain to her mentor immediately. “When I use my healing ability I share the pain with whomever I heal. I can use my other ability to suppress the pain of the patient but it drains my power rather quickly. So pain suppressor potions could be of a great use in my specific case.”
It was shortly becoming clear to Malakai that the more questions he seemed to answer, the more holes Theresa would poke in his answers. The young apprentice inquired about things that the full-fledged medic had never even thought about. The entire conversation was making the shy man feel like a horrible mentor for everything that he missed. In all honesty, Malakai really wanted to melt into the floor or beg somebody else who was more capable to take over. As his nervousness grew, the tall man began wringing his hands and chewing his lower lip. A few more deep breaths were taken before Malakai was capable of answering her inquiries; he was mostly praying that she would not poke more holes in his explanations.
"Well... um..." He began quietly, but ceased for a few moments to clear his throat and speak better. "It's only for emergency situations. The secondary medic will p-probably desire a report about what happened... if... the hunter states o-otherwise."
The mentioning of bringing the hunter back to the safe area made Malakai feel like an especially terrible teacher. Tomes allowed him to use telekinesis, which made returning a hunter back to the safe zone an easy task. Meanwhile, Theresa was smaller than hunters and the amount of muscle some of them have would make it difficult to lift them. Nervousness was on an increase while the full-fledged medic took a few moments to be a little embarrassed.
"S-sorry. I... uh... wasn't thinking," Malakai mumbled. "Y-you could... um... get a radio for s-such situations."
The constant questions was more discouraging to Malakai than annoying since each poked a hole in what he previously stated. Already having a severe lack of confidence in the concept of teaching an apprentice already made the ravenette incredibly nervous and the inquiries were merely making it worse. It displayed Theresa's eagerness to learn and desire for knowledge, but every time she questioned about a topic it only made the previous explanation feel inadequate in Malakai's mind. Did all new mentors have issues akin to his own? Likely not considering most probably did not possess his level of bashfulness. Once he began speaking about potions, Malakai spared a look at his apprentice. She seemed excited about the concept of this lesson, it was an excellent confidence booster for the shy medic. There was no disappointment over forgetfulness, which further made Malakai feel a little more comfortable in the situation. It was definitely an oddity to hear that Theresa desired to learn about pain relief potions first.
Oftentimes Malakai found that the pain suppression was saved for last and oftentimes the easiest to add to the other potions. While Theresa gave her explanation for the decision, the full-fledged field medic gently picked up the bottle containing a reddish liquid. A quick glance at the label confirmed it was one of his unmixed pain suppressants, thus, he placed it down in front so Theresa could see it better.
"O-okay, that m-makes sense," he said in response to her reasoning. "N-now before I begin. I w-want to mention that not a-all potions have the s-same colours as mine. E-everybody has different recipes. So always m-make certain to read the label."
There was a moment of pride for Malakai in the explanation despite it not being the best possible. It contained a pleasant simplicity and drove the concept of not memorizing colours in order to know which potions are which; not to mention it gave reasoning to the different colours.
"Like all potions, p-pain suppression ones are more p-potent when unmixed. T-they are also one of the e-easier to m-mix into other potions, or at l-least that is what I find," Malakai began. "O-oftentimes you will w-want to use them on cursed wounds, e-especially if there... are no nephilims. I recommend i-in full potency since h-healing is prolonged. I-it will help the h-hunter feel comfortable, e-even if it is... only slight."
The slightest hints of a smile drew onto the corners of Malakai's lips since he took some pride in his potion-based skills. With the exception of those days where potions seemed keen on exploding in his face. After his explanation he grabbed another bottle, a healing potion mixed with pain suppressant based on the label. Gently, Malakai placed the bottle beside the pain suppressant potion.
"This is an e-example of a mixture. T-this one," he set a finger on the pain suppressant/healing potion, "is both pain suppressant and healing. Although it can make the o-other less potent a-at times, t-they are useful. I-i often use this on s-smaller wounds since it st-still helps, b-but doesn't force the use of two full p-potency potions."
For a few moments, Malakai went quiet to warrant the asking of questions since Theresa seemed the type to inquire about things. After all the questions she asked during the introduction, the full-fledged field medic did not doubt the concept of her possessing further questions.
Malakai Moors & Theresa Kane | Medical Ward 537 words
The nervous signs in Malakais behavior seemed to get worse with every question Theresa asked. Somehow she made him feel uncomfortable, what she never intended to do. Nevertheless it burdened her with a guilty conscience. Maybe she was a tid bit over excited with the beginning of her long awaited apprenticeship. Maybe she needed to calm down for a minute and try to make it a comfortable experience for both involved parties. Maybe she should ask less questions. Maybe let her mentor mentor her. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
Report? Theresa hated those even during school. She was not much into writing about something and more about talking or doing something. It also made her fret if she will ever have to write a report. Defend herself when she only wanted to help an injured person. She could accept it for the moment, but she hoped this kind of conflicts will not occur often.
The answer for the question about transportation was unsatisfactory, too. Possibly there was no perfect solution and Theresa should simply accept it. She will weak and useless in these situations. A radio could help, but how handle the time until backup arrives? The question nearly slipped through her lips and Theresa barely managed to stop herself. She bit her lower lip softly and kneaded her hands in her lap. Both signs that she tried not to talk.
Before she could follow her desire to ask more questions Malakai placed a bottle in front of her on the table. Her eyes focused on the red potion. The remark on the colour was important and Theresa made a mental note to remember it. It could be easy to slip up potions out of habit. Choosing the wrong one because you were used to certain colours. It demands a high level of concentration and focus. Right now she could only hope to remain calm enough in the field to not make such stupid mistakes.
The redhead slowly drifted into student mode. Her hands twitched with the desire to take notes, document everything that is said so that the possible remains to looks once again on the information. To ensure she will remember all important parts. Especially with someone as Malakai whose knowledge about potions seemed to be solid. Slowly but steady it was easier to imagine her mentor working on the field, administering his self-made potions to wounded hunters.
Following his explanation Malakai seemed to pause, Theresa guessed so she had the possibility to ask questions. For a short moment she wondered if the sudden lack of questions was the reason. Did she made a mistake in stopping herself? Hopefully it was not interpreted as a sudden change in attention. Quickly she tried to sort the many unasked questions. Which were the right ones? “I’m not that experienced with potions so it is rather hard for me to understand the real strength of potions. It will most likely depend on the recipe and ingredients, but how strong are unmixed or mixed potions? What can they achieve?” Theresa started her new bouts of questions in a calmer manner than before, chose her words with much care. “And what about disinfectants? What types of these are used in the field?”
There was the chance that Malakai was displaying his nervousness too openly. It was likely off putting for a mentor to be an anxious mess of stutters; the full-fledged field medic could only imagine how he would have felt should his mentor has shared similar behaviors. Alas, the nervousness could not be thwarted since it was something carried for far too long; a never ending habit of sorts. Calmness was a requirement, or at least in Malakai's opinion as he stood with a nervous feeling settling into the pit his stomach. That was until he noticed the constant questions ceased, which was an easily noticed change in behavior. The anxiousness eased slightly, allowing him to spare a glance at the young girl who he was mentoring. The expression and manner of which she was currently stationed in the chair was suggesting that she was trying to refrain from speaking.
The most noticeable sign being how Theresa softly bit her lip, making it more obvious to the young man that she was attempting to remain silence. For a few brief moments, the field medic's eyes lingered on her until he realized and silently shifted his gaze to the tile floor. Had his behavior accidentally discouraged asking questions? That was definitely not a positive; he at the very beginning stated she could speak up should she desire to know something and instead of supporting those curious behaviors he extinguished them with his shyness. It made Malakai feel guilty for making his apprentice no longer desire to ask inquires. A small, gentle sigh escaped his lips; he had to somehow mend the issue. The only problem was thinking of a method to bring up the question Theresa probably had.
"Ummm... a-anything you wanna... uh... say?" Malakai asked, his tone of voice awkward.
A subtle hint towards the peculiar ceasing in the questions. To the bashful man it made the entire situation increase in awkwardness due to his lacking in knowledge on how to address the problem he created. The concept of directly bringing up the issue required a more forthright approach; that was a trait Malakai lacked. He was mealy-mouthed and barely capable of forming a sentence without a stutter or pause. Subtle hinting seemed to be the only path to reach the truth in hopes that perhaps Theresa would relent. There was hope that his potion knowledge could perhaps create a field of comfort. Theresa seemed to have a keen interest in them, which allowed the tall an to sooth the qualms in his mind to a small degree. The foreboding feeling about how mentoring would go began to fade, potions was something he was adept in; although, he would humbly disagree.
The inquiries that Theresa asked were more pleasant and did not leave majors holes in his teaching. Instead it brought forth a smoothness and a reasoning to continue into the next pieces of information. A calmness was held in her voice, suggesting that care was taken in the words. It became reassuring to the bashful medic and allowed his confidence to boost slightly.
"Unmixed are pure, which means they are capable of more than a mix. Think of how when you try and multitask, the potion is trying to split its focus on two separate jobs. Having your focus completely on something would naturally allow it more care, make the job better. Meanwhile, only having part of your focus on something will create a more meager piece of work. Sometimes more capable people can manage to find a perfect mix that does not conflict, although, it is difficult."
A pause was taken as Malakai remained in a moment of triumph; a stutter-less explanation for him almost warranted the shooting of fireworks and the skyrocketing of his confidence. It showed in the small smile that crawled on his lips and the fact he was sparing a glance at his apprentice. Naturally, his bashfulness shortly got the best of him and his gaze returned to the potions and salves.
"Potions can achieve a lot, although, at a slower rate than healing magic. They help cure the sick and allow the injured to heal faster, sometimes even taking days off the regular healing time. Pain suppressants easily dim pain and are superior to drugstore pills since they are more certain to work. Disinfectants are very effective, especially when unmixed. They get rid of infections rather quickly, in fact, usually on the spot." Another small moment of victory was taken as Malakai thought for a moment. "Plus, they work on cursed wounds. To a lesser degree, but they are the only magic that seems capable of assisting the healing of a wound while it is cursed."
When Theresa began questioning about disinfectants, Malakai glanced at the small containers accompanied with a few small bottles. It was a rarity for him to meddle with mixing disinfectants since they were far more useful left as a pure subsistence; it was a reassurance the wound would not get disease ridden.
"There are both salve based disinfectants and liquid based. Salves are best for smaller and fresher wounds since they can simply be applied quickly before bandaging," Malakai began smoothly. It was becoming obvious that his confidence was reaching high levels; a rare occurrence. "Liquid based can be administered into the bloodstream through a syringe. It will make certain no pathogens remain within the bloodstream. I personally use it on most wounds that are not fresh as a precaution."
There was hope that Malakai had managed to not raise more questions that broke down his explanations; that was when things acquired an unsettling nervousness. The medic's eyes looked at his apprentice for a few moments to gauge her reaction towards the newest bout of information with silent prayer for something positive.
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