[ 002: The Forest ]

[trojansister]

[ Don't mind Elraine. She's standing, hood back, with the staff she picked up as a walking aide, and is temporarily awestruck on the hill. ]

I don't think I've ever seen this many trees turning color! Or maybe I have. I don't remember the last time I even noticed the colors of the leaves.

Comments

[celestial_okami]

You don't? That's a bit upsetting. [Ammy takes a bite out of an apple, her feet swinging as she perches comfortably on a tree branch. Her tail wags as she watches the leaves carried on the wind.]

It's good to watch the trees in each season.

[trojansister]

I rarely have the time. Or had, I guess.

[celestial_okami]

Ehh? Why not? [Her surprise doesn't stop her from eating, even if she stares at her sphere like it grew a second node.]

[trojansister]

I was busy working. The work of a Sister is never done, especially in the field.

[celestial_okami]

A sister? [Headtilt.] You have a lot of siblings then?

[trojansister]

[ She looks surprised, then startles herself into laughing. ] There are a good number of us in the Sisterhood, yes. You could say we're all each other's family, so I guess I do... have a lot of siblings.

[ Not how she'd have put it, and not... quite how she feels toward everyone. Not that there's antipathy between anyone. The Sisters have a sense of community, but it's still a matter of choice to pursue friendships within the ranks. ]

[celestial_okami]

[Ammy is still looking kind of confused.] What's the Sisterhood?

[trojansister]

I guess the easiest way of explaining is to say we're specialized... healers, for a very specific disease.

[celestial_okami]

Disease? [Her ears flick forward and she frowns a little.] That must be hard work for one so young. What is the disease? I do not know of any that would require specialized healers.

[trojansister]

I don't really think of it that way. I'm one of a select number who can help others. It's my duty to help as many as I can.

[ She waffles for a moment over divulging, but it's much better to be honest. Facing more of what she could expect from the uninformed from home was at least protecting them from starting a ship-wide spreading of the Troy disease. That this is hard to say? Is probably evident in her tone, despite the factual way she goes about communicating. ]

Troy is a terminal illness that appeared around two hundred years ago. In it's final stages, victims experience seizures and loss of body heat. Without the aid of a Sister, they'd then start disappearing, limb by limb. There's nothing you can do by then, which is why our job is so important. Speed means everything.

[celestial_okami]

[She perks up a bit at Elraine's attitude.] The ability to help others is one of the greatest you children possess. It is good to see your resolve is strong.

[But as she continues to talk, Ammy's expression shifts, her gaze sharpening.] Disappearing? That sounds more like a curse than a disease. How is that possible? [She chews on her apple as she thinks furiously, tossing the core when she finishes it.]

You look upset, this process must take a heavy toll on each of you. How do you heal it?

[trojansister]

Ah, well, it helps if you think of Troy as a kind of poison. When the level in your system is too high, it kills you. The Sisters have higher resistances to the 'poison,' and so we absorb the excess from our patients in order to lower the level of poison in their systems to something more manageable.

[ An explanation that took more time to get out than she was expecting. Generally people haven't asked how the "healing" worked - at least those who weren't ill themselves, or related to those ill. ]

[celestial_okami]

[Ammy listens carefully, her tail dropping from its high curl.]

To take the poison into yourself, that must come at a high price. That is a heavy sacrifice. [Her tone is not of pity or condescending, but rather one of understanding.]

The comfort lies in knowing that what you do is important, and if not for you, still more would die. It is not easy, is it.

((ooc: Fff, I thought I tagged this. Sorry~! ;; A ;;))

[trojansister]

Ah, no. [ Though Amaterasu is giving her a bit more to think about in the whys and hows than she necessarily gives herself. ] But it's something I can do to help, and so I will until there's nothing left.