New in the Neighborhood-the Doctor is in. (open)

[shizoo]

Her back stiffening & her spine snapping straight, Jelly turned to see who the newcomers were in her territory. Her golden eyes widened in shock as she recognized Coricopat & then Gilbert.
Briskly, she walked forward to help Prrasha get the more obviously injured Cori onto the examination table. She left the lovely black queen to get him onto the table, gave Harley a quiet look & shut the door to the cupboard containing the stronger medicines with a snap of the lock.
Bluntly, she spoke to Harley, "My dear if there is something I can do for you, then please say so, if not, why don't you go try the pharmaceuticals I just gave you & enjoy them." She didn't tell Harley, but the herbs were a simple emetic combined with a mild laxative & sedative. If she used them, her system would be purged & she's have a nice nap, but she likely wouldn't be very happy.
Jelly calmly took a blanket, remembering that Gilbert had a thing about being touched, & wrapped the hapless tom in it. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable," she said kindly. "I will help you right after we assist Coricopat."
Going back over to Cori & Prrasha she began her meticulous exam. "Care to share what happened with me Cori dear?" she asked mildly.

[Moonstruck]

In her initial curiosity and then anger Harley had forgotten about her dying buzz. The original reason that the queen had headed for the infirmary in the first place. That was brought back to startling clarity as two figures fell into the room, the sound of their entrance perfectly clear and fog free. Apparently the rest of her intoxication had worked its way through her system with her anger. A realization that only had her scowling deeper, narrowed eyes following the movements of the other cats as they helped the tom - their darling leader's half brother - to a table of his own. Her gaze then flickered to the new tom, the queen's head tilting at an odd angle and she regarded him huddled on the floor. Without her intoxication Harley's eyes were more intense than normal, and her already high irritation at the two queens heightening the fact.

The intensity once again directed at Jelly as she obviously attempted to dismiss Harley. The queen simply glared, her sneer returning "I've already informed you of exactly what service you can provide little darling healer. These are useless." She ended, all but hissing at Jelly before redirecting her gaze to Prrasha "And don't bother wasting your breath on another threat dear little killer. I don't play in giving out pain like you do. Why not run along and sing in Macavity's ear about his brother.". Oh no, Harley's forte was in relieving pain. And judging by Coricopat's condition he'd possibly be in need of her services in the future. Especially if the healer were to mysteriously lose her precious supply of pain alleviating herbs. Or as Harley would wager, such herbs could not do as much as her inventory could, she'd never heard of such herbs before.

Once again remembering the other new addition to the room Harley smiled vaguely at the tom, "Such an exciting day." her comment aimed at Gilbert and vaguely Coricopat was much more semblant of friendly, contrasting with her previous anger and contempt aimed at the queens.

[Moonstruck]

[[If this is not responded to within a week it will be declared DEAD]]

[ShirQuickpaw]

Coricopat felt as he was lifted but though he was hearing voices, they all seemed unintelligible to him, slow and deep. When he was carried to the cot it felt to him like he was gliding. He looked around with his hazy tunnel vision and was somewhat surprised and aghast when he thought to recognized the face of one of the yard matrons - Jellilorum. But that was impossible, Jellilorum would never leave the yard on her own accounts and even less join Macavitie's warehouse. It must be a delirium induced vision of his already drifting mind to see her instead of the healer that seemed to be here. He groaned something in reply to an obvious question he hadn't understood and finally lost consciousness.


---


Prrasha laid the delirious tom on the empty cot and took a step back to give Jellilorum space. she noticed that the tom was in no condition to answer the matron's question,

"He ran into the same assassine, who also is responsible for my broken arm. As it is obvious, him being the prime target, he received more than I. The healer who took primarily care of my arm also helped him and took care he survived the wound. But she also recommended that he wouldn't move for several days ... Obviously he was stupid enough to disregard that order. You witness the result."

She black queen kept an eye on the other two in the room, but otherwise ignored them in favor of watching the matron working on Coricopat.

[shizoo]

Jelly shot Harley an infuriatingly mild look. "Well dear, I have already given you my answer, so it seems we are at an impasse. I am sure we can discuss it after I am finished with the real patients." With that, the matron dismissed Harley from her attention. She didn't make the mistake of discounting the other queen completely, but she knew the type-Harley was more of a dagger in the back kind of cat, rather than a direct confrontational type. So as long as she never gave her the opportunity, she figured she was safe from the other queen.
Jelly gently helped Prrasha settle Cori on the table & examined his wounds.
hmmm, nasty. she thought eyeing the ugly wound.
"Prrasha dear, you seem to know a bit more about these injuries. What can you tell me of the perpetrator & the weapon he used on him?" she asked. Her hands tenderly cleaning the wound, tsking silently noting the infection starting to set in. She felt a rush of affection for the tom. She had missed him-stubborn tom that he was.
Her sharp eyes took in Gilbert as well & his rather disheveled fur, wondering what had happened to bring him to this sorry state. She had heard rumors about his abilities, but he tended to be secretive at best, so she didn't know much about him. As far as she knew, no one did.
The strong queen worked steadily & quickly on the wound. "Stay still dear, this is going to sting." Quickly she opened & debrided the dead skin from the wound then packed it with healing herbs & a soothing salve.
"I would like you to stay here for a day or two Coricopat-at least until I am sure you are on the mend." she said quietly. She looked at Prrasha. "Thank you for your help dear. Do you think you could assist me with Gilbert?" She asked nodding at the other tom. She wasn't exactly ignoring Harley, but she wasn't giving her any openings to cause more trouble either.

[X2]

((Sorry for the wait))

Gilbert was still dazed and probably looked out of it. He fought a dizziness, as his vision swirled with the memories in his head. He was perceptive enough to hear Harley speak to him, the only one to have addressed him since he stumbled in. But it didn't matter. He hugged the wall, blinking rapidly, willing his vision to return, and willing the memories into the back of his mind. He scratched at the bandage on his arm until it was shattered on the ground. He was not him. His name was Gilbert! His eyes finally went wide at the mention of his name. He found his voice, hoarse and dry. "No." He paused, closing his eyes, fighting the burning sensation behind them. Having not slept in a couple days, hadn't helped him at all. He didn't have the energy yet to get up from his spot on the floor, but he was able to add in forced reply,"I'm fine."

[Moonstruck]

Harley's eyes remained on Gilbert, easily observing blinking and apparent attempts to become one with the wall. Her gaze narrowed in as he scratched his arm and the queen worked to fight off a smile that really wouldn't appear all too friendly and instead toned it down to simply the curving up of the corner of her lips. Overall his mannerisms were familiar to the scrawny queen; she'd seen such behaviour countless times. And had offered her expertise in dealing with forgetting just as many times. With that in mind she completely disregarded Jellylorum, Prrasha and Coricopat. No, now this new tom was the sole object of her interest. Though she'd actually have to show self restraint as undoubtedly the bothersome healer would attempt to muddle with her growing plans and the black queen would support her. Spoil sports. "It seems you've had too much excitement darling little Gilbert. Is Morpheus calling you?" She asked, tilting her head to watch his reaction, having picked out his name from Jellylorum's request for help with him. That or Harley had somehow completely missed the addition of another tom, something she knew wouldn't have happened with her so sober. It was a possibility if she was high, but woefully that was no her current state.


With a strong stride Macavity walked his halls, easily navigating the quickest and most efficient way through them to the infirmary. He supposed it'd be prudent to see how Jelly's attempts at finding and training a healer were going, though he suspected not at all. There was a reason the spot had been empty, cats were relucant to admit they needed help when injured and some of the cats within his tribe had certain affinities for healers. Well that simply meant that she'd remain within the warehouse and healing his henches for longer. Additionally Prrasha had informed him of his half-brother being rather injured and he supposed that making sure one of the few relatives that he didn't hate could be beneficial. Coricopat wasn't stupid enough to avoid at least seeking help while injured.

He entered the infirmary and stopped to observe the scene presented to him. Now immediately he recognized four of the cats, mildly surprised to find Prrasha in the infirmary. He raised an eyebrow silently at the converged group, wondering at the interactions considering severely doubted that the three queens would mesh well and sighed once he noted Coricopat was unconscious. Apparently he hadn't taken Prrasha's advice. However despite his curiosity at all of that, it was the unknown cat that drew the most of his interest - he smelled clearly of the Junkyard and he hadn't heard Jelly or Harley when they spoke his name, having entered into the room afterwards and he'd not been given a detailed enough physical description to recognize Gilbert by. "Well, well it appears we have a visitor."

[ShirQuickpaw]

Prrasha watched the calico tom finally slip under. The way he looked it had been a near thing when he arrived here - a near thing for him to meet the black cat. She grimaced with disapproval. He had been told to wait out the time and heal before trying to get back here and the stubborn fool hadn't listened. Though she had expected him to be this dumb, she had still hoped for him to have better sense. Then she heard the master of the place's voice from the entrance and turned towards him, her expression cold and without passion.

"It seems you brother, your valued adviser has less common sense than mouse stepping into the trap for the cheese to gain. Though warned he attempted the way home and without the healer here he would have reached the goal only to loose it."

[X2]

((I believe it's Shizoo's turn, but do you want me to post Gilbert first, or wait?))

[Moonstruck]

[[your choice]]

[shizoo]

The butter queen was working swiftly to make Cori more comfortable, cursing under her breath at how easily he succumbed to unconsciousness. Knowing his recalcitrant & stubborn nature, he had to have been hurting far worse than he let on.
Despite her preoccupation with his state, she noticed that Prrasha seemed to have more information about what had happened to him. She didn't want to pump the queen for more information just yet, however-not in front of Harley.
Jellylorum snorted to herself. As soon as Cori & Gilbert were tended, Harley was going to get a comeuppance she wouldn't forget. Jelly may be a Jellicle cat, but she was far from meek & mild. The sooner Macavity's goons figured that out the better.
She debated embroidering a hanging for her wall: Never anger the healer, they know how to put you together, therefore, they know how to take you apart & make it look natural.
She wondered how Gilbert had gotten involved in all of this & was about to ask him to get comfortable on the next bed when she heard or maybe sensed Macavity's undeniable presence.
Great, just what she needed. she snorted.
Then a small smile curled her lip, softening her features for a moment, as a random thought crossed her mind along with a snatch of song from the musical, Les Miserables. Master of the House indeed. she thought with amusement, carefully keeping that thought close. She had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate it.
Turning to the red cat, unobtrusively stepping protectively between him & Gilbert, not even realizing the soft smile still playing on her lips, she nodded to Macavity. "Yes, our guest assisted your stubborn brother in to get some assistance." She said mildly. Prrasha kindly agreed to assist me while, Harley," She glanced at the whiny queen, her expression not changing despite her annoyance. "while, Harley has been giving me the benefit of her vast knowledge of pharmaceuticals." she said answering his tacit questions about the situation. From what she remembered, unless he was doing it, he preferred explanations to be clear, concise & short.

[X2]

Gilbert still really couldn't focus, but the pain had a lot to do with that, and half of it hadn't even been his. His ice-blue eyes did seem to gaze clearly at Harley, in reference to Morpheus. He couldn't place the reference, not through the haze, but he recognized her. "I know you." He spoke eerily and confidently. Gilbert himself had never run into Harley, but he knew her from some of what he got through the contact with Coricopat. He scrubbed a paw through his mane trying to get his bearings; Gilbert's.

Something in the air, made him shiver, and he looked away from Harley to the doorway.

A tall ginger tom came forth, it was Macavity himself, and with memories of all of his siblings (with the exception of Tantomile) still stuffed in his head. A single word, a familiar word slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. "Brother." It wasn't a friendly tone, but nor was it hostile. Another familiar figure stepped in front of him and began to talk with Macavity. There were too many bodies in the room and near him, but his instincts told him it'd be worse for him if he ran.

He looked wearily up at them, but did crawl using the wall he was still plastered against as support. To ensure some distance from everyone. Gilbert knew Jellylorum was probably the closest one he could trust in that room. The memories from the others all trusted her, but his own subconscious was still telling him to trust no one. A wave of confusion, and ghost pain, still clouded his mind enough to keep him silent. Wracked with his internal battle.

[Moonstruck]

Harley remained perched where she sat, enjoying the vantage point that allowed her to take in all of the current commotion. Which seemed to be building and promising some excitement for the tawny queen. Her ear perked up in surprise as the tom announced that he apparently knew Harley. The queen had no real idea of who the tom was beyond his name which had been used and that he was a Jellicle. Though she could read a lot from his body language, language that was very familiar to her. She cocked her head to the side, thoroughly intrigued and secretly hoping she'd have the opportunity to be able to pick apart the turning gears in that pretty little head of his.

As their fearless leader entered, Harley dipped her head in a small nod by way of a greeting. Now things would get interesting! The queen couldn't fight off the vaguely unsettling smile that took up residence on her face or the glint of dark mischief in her eyes. Not that she figured any of the cats would bother to pick up on it, Coricopat was gone to the living world, Prrasha was apparently ignoring her - which was fine by her, she didn't deal with physical confrontation - and Jelly just plain old didn't like her. It appeared that Macavity didn't believe her to be of observable notice for now, which allowed her to silently study the body language of everyone together. Although a low hiss did escape her momentarily at the comment on her expertise of drugs. Mentally scoffing at the term pharmaceuticals and it's uppity connotations. Spoil sport, Jelly definitely was.



Macavity's eyes flickered between all of the cats in the infirmary, pausing and focusing on each of the queens as they spoke while still remaining aware of the others in the room. It was simultaneously good news that his half brother had returned to the safety of the warehouse while they had a more than competent healer on hand, but also incredibly aggravated in his complete stubbornness and idiocy in Coricopat's pushing his body to the limit to return so soon. With a shake of his head, Mac rubbing the bridge of his nose to stave off an impending headache from attempting to wrap his mind around the thick-headedness that seemed to run in his family; that would no doubt bother him and become another nuisance to be dealt with. The Hidden Paw had enough of them to deal with, no need to add one more to the pile he already had himself. "Unfortunately, such traits seem to be ever present within my family." He commented aloud, picking up on the implied traits in Prrasha's statement that echoed his own thoughts.

However as per usual of late, Jelly's actions amused the ginger tom. Both the apparently protective stance - meaning the tom was vulnerable - and the smile playing on her lips. He simply quirked a brow as he looked down at the two of them, sure that Jellylorum would read the question and most likely the amusement in the action and his gaze. Though the amusement couldn't be read in anything else, while his posture wasn't tense or exactly relaxed it was as confident as was the normal as he stood tall. Despite her fire and his aggravation Macavity was comfortable and sure in his warehouse. And pleased with the efficiency of Prrasha as per usual. Especially when the dark queen didn't seem to be riding the line of sanity. Harley he knew he had little to worry about from her - as underhanded and unpredictable as she was the thin queen rarely caused him any problems. Even with the tension in the air around her, Mac mostly disregarded her.

Jelly's report surprised him slightly, the fact that a Jellicle he didn't recognize aided in returning a wounded Hench. Now that was very interesting. So was the butter queen's tone when she spoke of Harley. Apparently the tension wasn't just hovering around the normally high queen. A scowl pulled at his lips, no doubt their personalities and views on life would clash - a lot and possibly cause some type of commotion. Bloody fantastic. However all of those thoughts were shoved to the back of his mind as the Jellicle tom addressed him. All of Macavity's attention zeroed in on the tom as he examined him with a critical gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly and habitually prickling vaguely at being addressed as 'brother'. From the looks of the tom he couldn't be a son of his father that Macavity didn't previously know of - the age wouldn't be right. Now essentially disregarding the other cats in the room, Macavity gestured to Jelly to move with his paw. At this point he'd probably simply walk through her if she didn't move, but he only took a step towards the tom in order to at least give her a chance to move. "That's quite the way to address me. It is obvious you have knowledge of me and yet I do not know you Jellicle." He said, working to keep the habitual and almost instinctive anger down that came with being called brother. Mac's jaw twitched slightly as he waited for a name from the tom, his gaze boring down on the Jellicle's form.

[ShirQuickpaw]

Prrasha took a step back and took position in a guarding and unobtrusive spot. Her gaze just running over all the ones present in the room. Almost reflexively she gathered a shroud of shadows around her where she stood, obscuring her further. On Macavity's question about the visitor she answered in a low voice.

"He came with your brother, helping him. I am sure, given the state your brother is in, that without this Jellicle's help, Coricopat wouldn't have made it here."

In an afterthought she offered another observation.

"He doesn't seem to be feeling well himself though and his milady seems to increase the longer he is in someones company."

[X2]

((If this is not replied to within a week, it will be declared dead.))