3069/Looking for Solutions

Looking for Solutions
Date of Scene:	23 August 2020
Location:	Wellness Office
Synopsis:	Ruth lures Julian into a life-changing situation. Introducing: Moira MacTaggert!
Cast of Characters:	Ruth Aldine, Julian Keller, Moira MacTaggert

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Ruth Aldine has posed:
YESTERDAY:

The forest area seemed to be toppled down and many injuries to the local clinic were reported. They called them 'muties', some say a freak accident due to the fear. Others were reduced to tears instead of anger.. and their poor dog was missing..

TODAY:

It was a relatively long morning; Ruth was already awake before the sun had risen to take her newfound friend for a walk. He was a behemoth on four legs; all black with spots of brown where appropriate, quite possibly weighing more than her. The rotweiler looked as if he had eaten people instead normal kibble, and probably a steak or some small bird for a treat. Like gummyworms! The dog who had no name was taken out, bought food for, a collar and a nice bed. Then the dog with no name was walked around the school until she invaded the boys section to knock on Julian's door.

"I am going to the Wellness Office. Yes. I will see you there."

No time for requests. No time to ask. No sense in waiting since she was already gone and headed there. She did have a few scrapes to deal with, and a dog bite underneath her arm that started to get a little bit hot and itchy. And scabby, which were the worst! And once in the office, she sits in the chair near the door, the dog flopping down by the door to rudely block the entrance just so he could sharpen his teeth with his nails. Or his nails with his teeth.. whatever!

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller had a bit of a hangover, having using a bit of chemical and alcoholic treatment to deal with the demons currently in his head. Well, not literally demons. He's had quite enough of that, of late. He's still sore, a large bandaid and some gauze put over the shotgun wound in his shoulder. It had been shallow but he'd had to TK pick a few pieces of buckshot out from under his skin. Again, the whiskey helped.

He peers down the hall just in time to see Ruth turning the corner and walking away. Grumbling, he pulled on button down shirt and a pair of trousers, again with his TK given that he was currently without hands thanks to Nathaniel Essex.

He finds Ruth outside the door to the clinic, raising an eyebrow, "What's it all about, Ruth?" he asks, even as he slumps down next to her.

Moira MacTaggert has posed:
It's only been a few hours since Moira arrived back in New York, but she's already made her way to the X-Mansion and, in the Professor's apparent absence, has started making herself at home. That means checking to see if there's anything that needs her attention urgently, checking to see if there's anything particularly interesting going on in the lower levels and, failing that, heading to the Wellness Office to see if the permanent staff need any help patching scrapes and scratches.

The dog in the hall gives her pause, but she's far from one to question a new resident in the mansion. "Do ah know you?" she asks, leaning down slightly, entirely unfazed by his size.

When no answer seems forthcoming, she peers round the door and asks of the room in general, "Does anyone know if this wee laddie's a student or a pet?"

Ruth Aldine has posed:
"You will see like I see." Ruth tells Julian. "And he needs a name, Thank you. Not one that has bad words, yes. But a name. Maybe a mister." She was speaking of the dog just then, but then she does point towards Julian's wounds. "In three days that will be infected and you will lose your arm." Ruth was lying, but why else would she bring him down? To get treatment, yes. And because she herself never really appreciated doctors..

..until now.

Their meeting Moira was a sense of kismet; as she speaks to the dog, Ruth tilts her head, leaning an ear to the conversation. She makes a noise that was akin to a laugh, but says nothing. The dog was clearly watching her to see if she would produce a snack, his own head tilting left.. right.. left.. to try to understand her accent and search out key words that would bring his tail to a wag.

"He is my seeing eye dog." Ruth states, confidently. "And he requires snacks. Yes. We will feed you. It is okay."

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller stares at Ruth for a long moment. He knows she lies to him about such things sometimes, but he can never tell. He isn't psychic the way she is. Truth told, he's not great at reading people generally. He never really had to care. He's always done as he pleased and didn't care what anybody thought about it. Mostly.

"Fine," he says. "I have an injury. Nothing serious," he says. Julian's lack of hands, of course, is easy enough to notice, his sleeves pulled up to show the cauterized stumps at his wrists. An injury definitely incurred during Moira's absence.

Moira MacTaggert has posed:
"Aye, well, he cannae sit in the door. C'mon ye big lump," Moira murmurs, scratching the enormous dog behind the ears and then shoving him bodily away from the door enough for her to step past him, counting on surprise to get away with it. She'll come back with treats later.

She eyes up the pair of youngsters sat in the room and catches the unmistakable air of something messy going on before she catches sight of Julian's missing hands. And when he says it's nothing serious... "Laddie, I've heard much tougher men than you try an' gloss over far worse, but there's no point sittin' there being injured when we can do something about it. Let's have a look at you." A glance to Ruth. "Both of you, if you're hurt too?"

Ruth Aldine has posed:
"You were shot, though." Ruth points out to Julian, even putting one finger in the air to create a small circle for emphasis. "Being shot hurts."

Ruth turns a little bit towards the door, listening to the dog and Moira collectively. While she wanted to smile, she doesn't. Everything was all bland cookies and water for her.

The dog rises like an old man, grumping and grumbling along the way, moving to settle himself close to the windows to catch a bit of the sun rays. While he stands in the glow, he sniffs at the carpet, then settles down again, this time paws crossed, chin resting, and a loud huff like a horse to signify that he's gotten comfortable.

Ruth then raises her arm, tugging down the sleeve of her ragged, off colored black shirt. "I got bit by a dog. Julian was shot. I scraped my elbow. Thank you." Yup, they were hurt.

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller frowns, "Grazed. I was grazed," he says to Ruth. He had dreaded this simply because he had no good or innocent explanation. Not that he necessarily needed one. He wasn't a student anymore. But he didn't want to deal with complications or questions.

"Just a bit of a run-in with some...anti-mutant types," he says. "I got distracted," he says to Moira.

"I can't believe you kept the dog," he says to Ruth.

Moira MacTaggert has posed:
Those descriptions of their injuries draw a raised eyebrow from Moira. "A wee graze didnae do that," she comments wryly, tilting her head towards Julian's missing hands before moving towards the medical supplies and rifling through with a practiced eye. "Ah need to triage what's most urgent, so... this is an older injury?"

She pulls out a healthy clutch of gauze and antiseptic, eyebrow arching even higher at the mention of the dog and she turns her scepticism to Ruth this time. "This dog?"

Ruth Aldine has posed:
"He was sad." Ruth states. "He said he hates it here." Not at the mansion, but where they were.

Ruth lowers her arm and settles into her chair, Moira was taking care of Julian first, as .. well, he was shot!

"Yes." Ruth admits to Moira. "He was following orders." The dog didn't understand, but he loved his owners, much like he loves the vast compound at which he could roam. "He and I are okay. Unless I give him a bad name, he says if I give him a bad name, yes, he will never let me sleep. He will sing all night."

Which was fair.

And... to continue to snitch.. "Julian knocked over twenty large trees."

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller chews his bottom lip. "You don't have to just say things. I know you can't always help it, but I did tell you that what we were doing was...you know what, never mind, it's fine, who cares? Yeah, I knocked down some trees and I beat up some anti-mutant shitheads. And yeah, Doctor Obvious, these are old wounds, I cut my hands cut off months ago by some lunatic just to prove some sort of dumb genetic point that I don't even understand, but hey, I got to see a guy use a chainsaw real close-up, so I guess I've got -that- goin' for me!" he says, edging towards shouting at the end.

"Oh, and I just had my soul re-attached. Apparently I didn't have one for most of my life."

Moira MacTaggert has posed:
It takes a bit of mental gymnastics but it's not too long before Moira catches onto what Ruth's saying and starts nodding like this is a perfectly normal occurrence.

Julian clearly needs her attention more though, in more ways than one, and she takes a seat opposite him to bring her down closer to his eye level. "That's dreadful, laddie. I mean it." Her voice has softened from her previous brusqueness and she gives him a look of genuine sympathy. "You shouldnae had to go through that. And I'm sorry you slipped through the cracks with everything else going on, you shoulda had more support. Show me where ye've been shot so we can make sure you're not going to get infected or bleed out, and then we'll see what we can do about this."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Ruth felt a little bad, but perhaps she knew that was going to happen. Knew that her little dry-snitching episode will draw out the anger, so that Julian could say it outloud and get it off of his chest. She does shrink a little into her chair, but she remained quiet. Save for a little whistle that has the dog rising and slowly padding towards her, which flops down by her chair.

While Moira takes care of Julian, Ruth takes care of herself by sliding to the floor to gently pat the rotweiler and give him cuddles, just because.

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller had expected to be chastised for his temperament, so Moira's compassionate reaction takes Julian a little off-guard. What was it with people around here being understanding and kind about things? It was unnatural!

"I...okay," he says. He uses his telekinesis to unbutton his shirt, shrugging a shoulder and wincing as he pulls it down. He bandaged the shot himself, a scattershot wound from shoulder almost down to his elbow with some jumbo sized band-aids and a lot of tape on it. SOme blood has clearly soaked through the fabric.

Moira MacTaggert has posed:
"Just a scratch, aye?" Moira asks with a little shake of her head and a wry breath of amusement as she sees Julian's injury. She looks it over, but there's no kind way to go about the next part. "In the future, this kind o' thing needs lookin' properly, right away. No ifs, no buts. 'Cause now we're going to have to get all this mess off to clean it, and that's no gonna be fun for you." She takes his arm and starts working on those band-aids - some can be worked off carefully, but for others, and for the tape, there's no other option but the hard way.

By way of distraction, she glances over at Ruth for a moment. "Lassie, ask the wee doggie if he's feeling peaky, aye? If he's sick, you might catch something and it's better to know sooner than later."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Ruth could see what was going to happen a second before it does, and when she sees it, it makes her wince. Being shot, or hell, being grazed doesn't look like it feels good at all. While she gives the dog a few pats, her brows shoot up at Moira's question. "Oh.." She didn't really think about that, or knew that dogs and humans could share the same illnesses.

"Are you okay?" She asks the big pup. He looks up, tilts his head, then grumbles and lays back down. She pats him upon his side, then mutters. "Oh. Okay." The grumbling stops, and now he sits upright, tongue lolling out of his mouth, with a glance around and panting. "Well no." She rises to her feet with a little grunt, moving to pace her way towards the kitchen. "He is okay, just thirsty. Yes. He also says that I should move in here because my room is small and he needs space. He also says that if we have to stay in my room, I need more balls."

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller snorts, "Yeah, I'm not sure the dorm's exactly the ideal place for your big boy there," he says. "I don't even have enough room for myself in my room. I have closets that big back at home. Well, I did," he says, having recently been disinherited. And destroyed his family home.

He's been busy for an eighteen year old.

"I know, but I...was trying to be discreet," he says. He winces a bit at some of the bandages being peeled away, dried blood and some extra layers of skin coming off, "I did get the buckshot out. I think," he says.

Moira MacTaggert has posed:
Moira gets a cloth on the long gash in Julian's arm as quickly as possible as she removes the last bit of tape. "Psh, there's plenty o' room for a big dog here, as long as you get him lots o' exercise. If you can teach him manners well enough, he'll be fine on the grounds. Just... warn your groundsman, aye?"

Carefully, she pulls the cloth away and examines the cut. "There's discrete and then there's daft, but I think you're right, I cannae see any shot in there. We'll double check later when I can get you in for a proper scan. For now..." She reaches for the bottle of antiseptic standing at the ready. "This is gonnae sting something fierce, I'm afraid."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
"I know." Ruth says to Julian. "But I really like him."

She opens the cabinet, looking for a suitable bowl for him to drink out of. Once she finds a pot, she fills it up with cold water, listening to the two.

"Pardon. Is knocking down trees in a rural town where no one can hear anyone scream discreet? Because they screamed. A lot." And really, authorities didn't come..

Once she fills the pan, she sets it down upon the ground, then settles next to it. The pupper would drink, and Ruth would continue to watch, and listen. And then..

"Can you fix his hands?"

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller nods, "I can take it. I've had a lot of experience increasing my pain tolerance lately. I'm not Wolverine yet, but I can take a bit of stinging," he says.

At Ruth's question, he stares for a moment, "Ruth, she...no, she can't. Nobody can, not really. She can't just...take a sample of me and grow me a new pair in a beaker."

Moira MacTaggert has posed:
Moira takes that as an indication that Julian is as ready as he'll ever be and sets to work thoroughly cleaning out the wound with a dexterity born of many, many repetitions, then moves onto applying a gauze that's the right size for the injury this time.

Ruth's question draws a soft, fond smile to her lips, that's replaced by a quiet chuckle at Julian's reply. "Well, never say never, there's a few folks out there that could, and I've grown a few bits of tissue in my time. But... hands are complicated beasties, very mechanical, and you might be better off with something to replace them that matches that description. We could see what we could do about that."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Ruth says nothing. She doesn't interject, or even pay any more attention to Julian than necessary. The answer was all right there. If she were to touch Moira's credit card or drivers license, she could possibly see the world of possibility the woman would create long before she dies.

"No one listens to me." She says to the pup. His reply draws out a snort. "He says I'm too little." Something Ruth thought was hilarious.

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller frowns, "I listen to you," he says. "I just don't always understand you."

"The prosthetics I've looked like have been...inadequate," he says. "I'd rather have nothing than to have some sort of clumsy replacement. I don't need hooks or a plastic mannequin hand,' he says. "I still have some resources left to me. I guess I need to see what I can buy, I just...don't really know where to start."

Moira MacTaggert has posed:
"I'm not even touchin' what was going on with flattening all those trees, that's your teachers' problem," Moira says with a wry look at Ruth, though admittedly she may have to do a bit more digging on that at some less charged moment.

She turns back to Julian's arm, checking it over thoroughly to make sure she's happy with the dressing, and gives it a little nod of approval. "Dinnae start looking at what's available on the shelf," she suggests. "Once I can get a good look at the damage that's been done, I'll see if I cannae do something for you myself. If not me, well, I've got a whole corridor of people back on Muir Island workin' on assistive devices for mutants with non-standard physiology, I reckon we can bring a bit o' that expertise to bear for ye, laddie."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
In a -rare- moment, very rare, perhaps Julian didn't see it. Ruth SMILES at Moira. SMILES!

It was fairly quick however, for she goes back to paying attention to the pupper as a light goes off in her brain. "MacTaggert." Yup. The dog will forever be named MacTaggert, Mack for short. The pup didn't mind this.. though..

"Can I call him MacTaggert?"

Whether it's a yes or no, Mack is still a good name. But.. hearing of the innovations of Muir Island nearly almost has her speaking up. Ruth wanted eyes.. she wanted her brain fixed.. but moreso, she wanted to be somewhat normal, not even more abnormal than most mutants about..

But she settles, and actually was glad. Her self-proclaimed best friend is about to get new hands!

Julian Keller has posed:
Julian Keller listens to Moira. He doesn't have much hope, but he's been having trouble with that sort of thing lately. "Thank you. I appreciate it," he says. Another thing he's trying to learn how to do. If only he could do something about the rage inside him.

But then, maybe he did. Yesterday, despite his injuries had been a success. He hurt some bad people. And it made him feel better.

"If you take any requests, I tend to prefer red or green color schemes," he says. "And they need to be...uh...flame-retardant," he says. He holds out his stumps and, with a moment of concentration, manifests a pair of hands crafted of green flame.

Moira MacTaggert has posed:
Well now, that smile's an interesting one. Moira stores it away for future consideration, jolted out of contemplating it by Ruth's suggestion for the dog's name. She snorts with laughter. "Ach, well, what's one more big wee doggie in the family, aye? Go ahead, lass."

Her attention is called away by the flare of green light and her eyebrows shoot up. "Understood. Fireproof it is. Don't you worry laddie, we'll get you seen to." She gives him a little nod of confirmation. "I'll find us a time to use the equipment downstairs to get a proper look at what's been done to you and we can talk a wee bit more about what ye need. Now, lassie, come on over here and let's check you dinnae have rabies..."

Ruth Aldine has posed:
Ruth doesn't smile this time, mostly because she's focused on the newly named MacTaggart who's huffing happily and dripping all over her leg. "No. I am okay." She told Moira. "I do not have rabies. And it will not be infected." Eventually, and quite possibly Moira has already read her files. She rises to her feet then gives a stretch, then bends to grab the pot to fill it up with more water.

"We are going for a walk, yes. And maybe he can swim in the pool." She wanders on out without saying good bye, per usual.