alwaysroomforhope | (no subject)

Mace helps her to the bed... and sits down in front of her, on the floor, holding her hands. "Just relax..."

He closes eyes, and concentrates...

Steph wriggles a bit, not sure what she's meant to be doing, and also very tempted to just lie down and sleep now that she's on a comfortable surface.

Lay down if you want. It will actually make things easier.

His calloused hands are nicely warm... Mace does help her lay down, if she wants, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Okay," Steph mumbles, not realising he hasn't actually said anything aloud, and lets herself flop down. "Go for it."

He does. Almost in the same instant a blissful, healing warmth spreads all through her body. It is soothing, inviting for a deep calming sleep.

Mace does not know if it will actually cure Steph... but he will do his best. Focuse, and will the Force to help his student.

It's very easy to fall asleep, and even as she sinks deeper into the Force-induced trance the blue colour starts to fade from her skin. Something's working.

He does not push... pushing would ruin it. He opens himself, mentally and spiritually, becoming a gateway to the Living Force, a conduit for the infinite power of life.

His hands are warm... memories filter down, of sunny days in the Academy, when he found his calling to become a Jedi. The personal satisfaction of being able to help... The cool, composed way he faced long years of monastic life... Never much closeness, observing and guiding with skill, not distracted by conflicting emotions...

While all this, the Force flows thru him. It is not a quick process, might take hours, maybe the whole day. Mace is not going anywhere until he is finished.

[Just as an OOC note, according to Teh Plot any healing of this sickness works, but only lasts half an hour before symptoms come back worse than before.]

Steph's dreams aren't pleasant, but then, they never are. Which is to say, she's well and truly asleep and oblivious.

Mace will stop when he feels he has done everything he can. He gently strokes Steph's hair, and sighs. So tired... but before the disease starts ravaging his student's health again, he goes in search of help.

(Thats okay, he will use the respite to find someone more competent at healing than him.)

(Up to you if later Steph will 'remember' that Mace is a 53 yr old virgin *snickerfits*)

[I doubt Steph would ever think of Mace as anything but a teacher and potential ally. Like, ever. She's sixteen. *grin* Slowtime is fine, I'm off to do stuff myself.]

(oh, I mean more in the sense of joking about it *L* but, who knows? J/K! *G*)

(( Mun is going to work, will BB by 1 PM, GMT -3 Time, U.S. Eastern. All posts will be answered by then. See you! ))

Not long before Steph went to her room, Barry took note her being in the Bar, and looking awful. He also took note of the man who brought her back to his room.

So he follows, wanting to see how his friend is doing. He knocks and then announces himself.

"Stephanie? Can I come in? It's Barry."

"Sure, 'f you want," Steph says, sounding - well, not as sick as she had been, but not exactly healthy either. "Hi, Barry."

She does look a lot better, but Barry can tell she is far from well.

"How you doing, Stephanie? And who was that who was treating you?" It's clear that three was some sort of healing going on here.

"I'm good." Bat auto-response thing again. "That was Mace Windu. He's been trying to teach me Force stuff, but I really don't get it, and anyway I don't think it's supposed to work in a place like this, so he was going to try to heal me while I was sick..." She shifts restlessly on the bed. "I hate being sick."

"Well, the Force seems to have an effect. For now, at least. So don't question it." He tries to give her a resassuring smile.

"Tell me - before the changes began again, did you start sneezing again? Or have other symptoms?" The scientist in him creeps out slowly. "I don't know if you know this, but I sort of oversee the doctors here. Any infromation I have could be useful for them."

"Didn't know," Steph says, and tries to think. "Um, um. Yeah. Yeah, I still felt like I had a cold, with the sneezing and being really hot and then cold and stuff, and then I started growing weird things again, and, I think I'm still blue, a bit, or maybe that's happened again since Mace left, um, I'm not sure." She blinks a few times. "And my head hurts. Am I making any sense at all?"

He puts his hand on her forehead, trying to figure out if she has fever, but he's never had kids, so he cannot be sure.

"It makes a little sense. Eska told me that the illness affects something called the morphological field. That's something on the magic level of the universe that determines shape, I think. And apparently, a sneeze can, in the right case, shake loose the field if you have the right illness.

"That said, I don't know much about this. I wish I could do more." He looks blue, figuratively.

"Someone said other people were sick too," Steph says. "Maybe someone's gonna figure out how to treat it. There's lots of smart people here. There's magic people, too. And lots of heroes. Don't come too close, you might get sick."

He smiles, somehow. She has some much innocence and faith, still. He wouldn't change that for anything.

"There are a few others who are sick, yes. And I have the healers doing everything they can to help. There's also a woman who apparently is working on a cure, but I haven't been able to talk with her just yet.

"So I think we can figure it out." And he stays next to her bad.

"I know I might get sick. But you were sick last week, and I didn't get it then. Never mind that I think a magic germ doesn't work like regualr ones. Either I get sick or I don't. And you could use the company, I think." He puts on a brave face, not admitting that he is a little anxious about the disease.

Steph shakes her head, a bit feebly. "I hope they find a cure before everyone gets sick. I mean, I think I only talked to this girl Laini for a few minutes, but she had this cold then. I think she was a fox, actually, that's weird, isn't it? Did you know I had a tail, for a while? But the witch fixed that. And the antlers."

She's aware that she's rambling, dimly. "Thanks for staying, though. I mean, it's cool. You're pretty cool, you know, Barry."

He thinks for a second, about the first note from Lady Ako. "A fox? Well, around here, weird is relative. But I have to wonder if maybe Laini wasn't the starting point for this. Lady Ako wears a fox tail in the Bar, so they is probably a connection.

"And I know about the witch. That's my friend Eska. You won't find a better healer. I'm glad you got to meet her. And Sara, too. I just wish they could have met you under better circumstances." And then he smiles a bit.

"Thanks for saying I'm cool. But I know better than to think that. I doubt there is a single 30something in creation that a teenager would find cool."

"Well, we're not exactly in creation now, are we?" Steph says, logically. Sort of.

"Anyway, you're cooler than my dad ever was, or Batman. Is Eska the witch who fixed me first time? She was awesome. A bit like my old geography teacher, though, the one who didn't take any crap from us. She said call her Mistress. Yeah, the girl with the fox tail. She had a cold."

He finds his smile growing a bit. He's cooler than Batman? That's a high compliment from her.

"Eska's the witch, yes. And yes, she doesn't take any crap from anyone. That's what makes her such a good friend. She keeps me honest. The whole hero thing doesn't fool her. She knows we're jsut people under the masks, even when we don't wear a mask. And if she wants you to call her Mistress Smith, you had best do so." He keeps grinning.

"Yeah, I thought so," Steph says. "She gave me this Look. Said I should've gone to her as soon as I sprouted antlers. I didn't think they were real antlers." She laughs, tiredly, and a bit hoarse. "I think I'm getting sick again. Sicker. Why can't I stay healed?"

He thinks. He makes a face. He wants to have an answer.

"I wish I knew. My only guess is that the magic involved is stronger than the other magicks being used to counter it. My understanding is that each world's magic has a way of colliding with all other types and leaving a mess. This isn't the first time I've seen such a thing." He stares into space for a second, afraid to meet her face.

"But if you need anything - soup, tea, a book - that I can do. I might be not able to fix you, but I can still help."

"So -" Steph bites her lip. "-what if they can't fix it? What happens to me? I mean, I'm already dead, but what if I - I don't know." She turns her face into the pillow for a second, and then looks back up with a determined smile on. "They'll find a cure. They will."

"They'd better. We don't want an angry Robin on our hands, do we?" He smiles at her, not wnating to sugarcoat things, but not wanting to say anything too harsh.

"So what did you think of Sara?"

"Don't really remember," Steph confesses. "Think I was purple then. With tail. She was nice, though. I'd like to meet her properly when this is over."

When. Definitely when.

"You forgot her? How could you possibly forget the love of my afterlife?" His mock indignation is accompanied by a teasing grin.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you two meet the right way."

Steph nods, trusting him. "Thanks."

"'M sleepy. I should sleep. But thanks for talking to me. Feel better now." She smiles at him.

[Guess who else is on their way to bed. *grin*]

He watches as she drifts off, and smiles as he leaves. Maybe he can't cure her, but he can still make a difference.

[ooc: sleep well]

There's a soft knock at the door. Dr. Crowe is stopping by at Mace's request.

"Stephanie? My name is Dr. Malcolm Crowe. Malcolm."

"Mace Windu said you were sick." One look makes that obvious, but Malcolm doesn't say that.

"I'm not a Healer. Not a magical one anyway. But I *am* a doctor. Psychiatrist really, but I went to medical school too."

Malcolm's voice is calm and reassuring. He's had a lot of practice at that. He's also usually good at hiding it when he's worried, but with her Bat-instincts, Steph can probably tell he's very concerned.

"Anyway, this isn't the best way to meet. But I thought I'd stop by and see if there's anything I can do. Are you feeling any pain or dizzyness?"

(ooc: mun has to go back to work, but could slowtime if you want)

"Hi," Steph says, dizzily. "Yeah. Sick. Someone said I had fever, but I feel cold. Only sometimes hot."

She's not making much sense any more. No random growths yet, but still blue.

"Yup, that's the flu for you," Malcolm says. "No fun at all, but it's normal enough."

'That part, at least,' he thinks to himself.

There's not much he can do about mystical transformations or blue skin, but Malcolm does what he can to help Steph stay comfortable. Another blanket, or a cool compress on the forehead, when she needs them. Very basic medicine, nothing fancy, but hopefully it helps a little.

Normally, Malcolm's all about the questions, but right now Steph probably needs rest. But he's there for small talk if she needs that too.

And all the while, he hopes Barry, Mace, et al. can come up with a magical breakthrough.