bottlecaplogs | [LOG] Early August

Who: Ren Amamiya and YOU!! (and Goro Akechi)
What: General interactions post-coma
Where: The Oran Berries Guild, Grumpearl network video, the Pokeclinic
When: Early August
Warnings: Discussion of illness/injury/disability, medical stuff in general, implied medical trauma. More TBA as needed.

Having been out for all of July thanks to succumbing to the mystery illness that has been plagueing Bottlecap Bay for a while now, Ren's still regaining his bearings. He's a little mad at himself for letting it get this bad- and for making everyone worry. That's the last thing he wanted. Still, he's eager to catch up on what he missed, and to start doing missions again... but he's still under doctor's orders to take it easy.

1: Return to the guild.

Having woken up and finally (finally) been deemed healthy enough to leave the Pokeclinic, the first order of business is to return to the guild. There's an excited march in his step, though it is somewhat undermined by a limp, and the general air of... tiredness hanging around him. A sure sign that he's still recovering. That said, the moment he steps through the entrance of the spire, a grin spreads as he immediately sees a few familiar faces. A few new ones, too, but regardless, he seems happy.

"Hey," he says, voice a little rough still, "sorry to worry you, but I'm back now. What'd I miss?"

2: The Pokeclinic.

A: The waiting room.
Despite being declared healthy enough to leave, that doesn't mean he's completely rid of the clinic. With strict orders from Dr. Denne, he's back the next morning for a checkup already- to make sure he's doing okay. Ren thinks it's a little much; okay, so he's aching all over still, and it's causing him to limp a little, but it'll clear up, won't it? Dr. Denne said it would, so why all this?

Still, he begrudgingly enters the clinic, watching the pokemon bustle around to take care of the patients. His ear twitches, but he goes to announce his presence to a nearby Chansey, who tells him to wait- they'll come get him soon. So he does, settling down.

B: Checkup.
Soon enough, Ren's called in by the same Chansey, who takes him to an examination room. It's not Dr. Denne today doing the checkup, which makes him... a little nervous, honestly. Okay, a lot nervous. The people here are no Takemi, and despite having been treated here, he still doesn't like it. There's needles around, and all sorts of things he doesn't recognize, and he knows, he knows they don't mean him harm... but the mind doesn't easily forget, despite what he tells himself.

If you're volunteering at the clinic, perhaps you might notice him as you bring around equipment and medicine...

3: [Locked to Akechi] before all this...
For the first time in a long time, the green body in the hospital bed makes a noise. Not just a pained moan or anxious shift at whatever nightmares keep him trapped in his sleep, but an honest to god, confused wake-up noise.

Ren's in pain. His eyes blearily blink away sleep, but it's... hard. He's so tired, and nothing properly registers. He doesn't recognize the shapes in front of him. He's confused, and a little scared.

He does, however, recognize a familiar smell. Consciously or not, the slowly waking Ren seeks it out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah, uh, one second."

Ren gets up with a little effort, walking around. It's not so much one leg, clearly, as it's just... a general weakness in his back. His back paws especially drag.

"It's just a bit painful to walk around. Leftovers from being asleep so long, I guess."

"Hmph... I see..." Being so much taller than Ren, Anasui walks around the cat, his long neck turning to get different angles on his gait.

"... That's likely the case. But it may not be. Have you had back problems before? Or leg issues?" He asks clinically.

"Not... that I know of?" he starts- but no, that's a lie. He sighs, shaking his head. "I guess my joints have been aching, for the past few months. Even before I... Y'know. Fell into a coma."

And man, doesn't that still sting to say?

"When did you first notice problems walking? You say it's been aching from the past few months... Did you have these injuries from even before you became a Sprigatito?" Do injuries transfer across worlds?

Anasui will gently try move Ren's leg with his beak to be a bit closer to his body, correcting his posture though perhaps at the cost of a bit of pain.

"How's that?"

"I- uh-"

He didn't have problems walking before, didn't he? Or- or did he? He's been achey for a while now, but when did that...?

"Since- March? That's when the aching started, I think. I've been here since January, and I didn't have anything like this back home."

Ren doesn't make a noise as Anasui adjust his posture, the only indication that it hurt being a slight twitch of his eye. He does notice that it aches a little less like this, however.

"It's... a bit better."

"March? Hmm... That's before I arrived here. What happened during March? Was it an injury from a mission? Or something else?" Anasui pauses as he recalls what Emporio and Akechi have separately told him. "Was it something regarding the unusual nightmares?"

Anasui makes a small note regarding Ren's posture on his stone tablet. He has a couple of thoughts on the matter but he saves it in favour of listening to his patient.

"I... in hindsight, yeah," Ren sighs, trying to stay still, to keep his posture in check, but without really thinking, he starts slumping. "I think... it first started after a really bad nightmare."

Maybe. It's a little hard to remember.

"Uh... Akechi says that's when I got the scar on my forehead, too." He lifts a paw to brush his hair out of his face, revealing a rounded, jagged scar. Right where his cognitive self was shot. "I... guess he was right."

Anasui crouches down to look at Ren's body and how he slumps. He frowns thinly, fighting the urge to immediately push Ren back upright.

"Hm... I'm not a gambling man but if I was I'd bet it was caused by that," Anasui says as he moves to look at Ren's forehead. "I'm a psychic type, not a mind-reader. What did Akechi say? How was he right?"

Ren, despite himself, leans back a little. He knows Anasui's just trying to help, but jeez. Personal space. Or at least a warning.

"That the nightmares are the cause of all... this," he gestures at himself, at the scar. "There's something supernatural about them. Most of us got them when we first arrived."

Personal space is for people who don't eat plants growing out of their love interest's face the first time you meet them.

"Yep. Sure was. And you likely didn't share your nightmares like Emporio or Akechi at the time so now you're having extant problems opposed to emitting that aura that helps other Pokemon sleep with you."

Well.

"Hit the nail right on the head, yeah."

He would like to think he inferred that and was just that good (and he is) but he knows he was told by both the aforementioned Pokemon outright. Instead of smirking, Anasui continues to stare at Ren.

"Do you still have those nightmares? Or at least to a lesser degree?"

Uh...

Sleeping with Akechi made them... better, at the very least. He still has them, but-

"They're managable. 'S long as I'm around Akechi," he says. He doesn't say anything about when he was in the coma. They were... bad. He's pretty sure they were really bad, but it was all so hazy and confusing that it's hard to remember.

Mostly, he's just uncomfortable talking this much about himself (about his issues), even if it's a doctor's appointment.

"So you still are having these nightmares," Anasui says flatly, not letting Ren have any opportunity to deflect. "Do you know if anyone else has these nightmares? I may have to do my own investigation into this, especially if it is impacting your physical health."

"I can give you medicine. I can give you physiotherapy to help with your bad leg. But it's all a waste of time if you don't rest, you know."

Does... anyone else still have the nightmares?

"I... think, maybe? I'm not sure." Anyone who falls into a coma experiences nightmares, that he knows, but he kind of... avoids talking about it with the rest. Mostly because it always turns right back around on him.

He sighs.

"Well, I'll make sure to rest plenty." He has a boyfriend who will get on his case if he doesn't, after all. That... and he doesn't want to fall back into a coma, so he'll try.

Anasui will definitely have to ask this when he has time. It's a curious enough oddity to have his attention (at least, for a little while).

"Okay. Well, I'll give you the prescribed medicine. Take the potion at meals. It should help. Otherwise, keep that backfoot straighter. It'll feel uncomfortable but exercising that muscle will help you in the long run."

"Any questions?" Anasui asks as he turns to get the medicine out of the satchel hanging on his body.

Phew. What Anasui says makes sense, at least. Ren nods, and makes an effort to straighten his backfoot himself, but he'll likely need plenty of reminders down the line.

"No, I think I got it," Ren says, accepting the medicine. "Thanks, Anasui-san."

Anasui passes Dr. Denne's formula over to Ren and shrugs.

"No need for formalities. Anasui is fine," the bird says. "And if your leg or your nightmares get worse, either tell someone or come straight back here. Or else." He says it as if Ren getting hurt will be an annoyance to him but it does come out of a place of concern. Mostly.

"Now get out of here."

Or else. Oh, Ren is fully aware, alright. He doesn't need to be told twice to get out, he doesn't like this place at all. Before he leaves, he makes sure to nod.

"Sure thing... Anasui-san."

Ouch! Cold! That said, they're the hint of a smirk on Ren's face, and if Anasui has anything to say about it, Ren's already gone.

[LOG] Early August

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CW: mention of gun violence

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