Monday Appointment, take one.

[Ame Robinson]

At a quarter to one o'clock, Ame returned to her office from lunch. Generally speaking, she kept an exact schedule for her own benefit as much as everyone else's, but she wanted a little wiggle room to prepare in for her first appointment with Tzu Mei.

It was a fairly chill January day, so she filled the electric kettle she kept on a small side-table and made sure she had two clean mugs to hand. She did, of course--it was always a good idea to have an extra mug in case you needed to serve a hot drink to someone. She also made sure the two chairs across from the desk were pushed into a useful conversation arrangement, since she didn't intend to be stuck behind the desk again should things go the way they had the last time.

In point of fact, she wasn't entirely certain how things would go. She had questions, most of which were purely medical in nature and would require answers, and others of which walked a line between mental health concerns and pure concern. Which of them got addressed today would just depend.

At ten to one, Ame realized that her preparatory efforts had taken far less time than she had anticipated. With a sigh, she picked up her viola from where it lived behind the desk for those times when she wasn't busy. No doubt Tzu would walk in just as she got started, but at least testing the tuning gave her something to do in the meantime. If she was very lucky and she had time to get a tune underway, she could adjust the atmosphere to one of calm and peace.

[Tzu Mei]

At exactly one o'clock, Tzu Mei knocked twice on the door then entered without actually waiting for anyone to answer. As usual he wore his sword (in a new scabbard) on his side, but since he intended on doing some target practice afterwards, he also had his sniper rifle slung over his back. This might not have been the best thing to bring to an infirmary, but Tzu Mei didn't usually think about such niceties.

"Medic Robinson, I am here for my appointment," he said by way of greeting as he entered the room.

[Ame Robinson]

"Oh!" Startled by the door opening suddenly, Ame hit an odd note on the viola, dispelling its effect. She was not aware of the precise nature of the instrument, but she did feel momentarily that something had been lost. However, with no empirical evidence as to what it might be, she shook it off.

"Please, um, take a seat," she said, remembering to skip over "come in." "There's water for tea if you want it, or I could grab some instant coffee or cocoa." She got up and put the instrument away, eying Tzu Mei's accoutrements as she did so. She remembered the sword from before and hadn't thought much of it at the time, but the rifle added a strange new dimension to the picture, and it brought to mind his comment about shooting students with rubber bullets. Well... at least they were rubber... she shook her head, a barely noticeable motion unless one was really paying attention. One thing at a time, she told herself.

"How was your class?" she asked, returning to her chair. Maybe that would explain things. ... No, she didn't really think so, either.

[Tzu Mei]

Tzu Mei sat down in the one that appeared the squishiest and set his rifle on the floor next to him. Unusually, his sword was placed on his lap in a nervous gesture instead of joining the other weapon on the floor. "Some tea would be nice," he answered as he examined the room decorations. "The students need some work. Most of them have no idea how to use a knife, and a few were incompetent enough that they're in more danger of hurting themselves than their opponents. I suspect only about half did the exercises I assigned them last lesson." The last sentence was said with a definite growl; the professor was clearly not happy with his class' performance.

[Ame Robinson]

The decor was rather sparse at the moment. The office hadn't really been "lived in" long enough to acquire much of its occupant's personality. The walls displayed only Ame's degree and certification, which, upon close examination, revealed respectively an A.S. in Nursing and a peculiar authorization solely by a particular hospital in Minnesota.

Ame blinked at the mention of knives and responded out of surprise. "I wouldn't have the first idea how to use a knife that way, either," she said, eyes wide at the thought. "I know how to break a few holds, like if someone grabs my arm, but..." She shook her head. You had to know that sort of thing in a hospital, where you sometimes got irrational behavior from people out of their heads with pain, or fear, or drugs, but knives didn't tend to enter into the picture. There was security for that. Anyway, she'd always been good at calming people down.

She turned her attention to the tea. "I hope Earl Grey's all right; it's all I have right now." She poured hot water into two mugs and broke open two tea packets, releasing the pungent, citric aroma of bergamot oil. Everyone she knew found the scent to be relaxing, making it the number one choice of health care workers and therapists everywhere. "How do you take your tea? Sugar? Lemon juice?" There was no milk, unfortunately. A mini-fridge was on Ame's list of things to add to the office eventually.

[Tzu Mei]

"Earl Grey is fine," Tzu Mei said as he peered up at the certification. He didn't notice any peculiarities himself, as he wasn't exactly knowledgeable of the finer points of medic school. He knew that those things were required to become a medic in this particular country, but that was it. Maybe he would ask about it later.

He took note of the sudden smell and raised an eyebrow at the other. "Plain. No furnishings. May I ask what you want to talk to me about today?" That might have come out a little too blunt, but Tzu Mei certainly didn't notice if it was.

[Ame Robinson]

Ame was unsurprised both at the preference for straight, unfurnished tea and at the cut to the chase, blunt though it indeed was. She had exhausted her repertoire of techniques for setting a semi-casual, relaxed atmosphere, and so if this was as far as they were going to get on that score, might as well proceed to business.

"Several things," she answered, passing him his mug and sitting down in the other chair with her own. "Mainly, since I'm going to be monitoring you for the next nine months, I need to take a thorough medical history so I know what I'm dealing with ahead of time, in case any complications crop up." Aside from the most blatantly obvious one of the patient's gender, of course. "To the same end, I'd also like to do a series of physical exams, including the blood work I mentioned the other day--though that can wait for next time. I don't want to spring anything on you without warning, so you can decide whether you want to just get the first one over with or wait."

She paused briefly to blow across her tea before continuing in a softer voice. "Aside from what pertains directly to your current situation, you indicated that you had some troubles last term. You told me that you're broken. I don't believe that medicine is limited to the body. I won't press you to discuss it further with me if you don't want to, but I would be remiss if I didn't at least offer what help I can give. Everything that goes on in this infirmary will be held in strictest confidence unless I feel that keeping silent would cause harm," she promised solemnly. Then tilted her head slightly.

"Which reminds me: it occurred to me that the Headmistress might want to know about your situation sooner rather than later, but since you're my patient, I can't tell her without your say-so. What do you think?" That about covered it. She again attempted to aid the cooling of her tea, gazing patiently across the top of the cup at Tzu Mei.

[Tzu Mei]

Tzu Mei took a long sip of tea before responding. "I expected a physical exam. I do not have a full medical record written down anywhere, so you will have to make due with what I can remember. I have been shot, stabbed, and burned many times. I possibly have some bullets left in me. When I was 17, I think, myself and some others in my group came down with some disease. Could have been tuberculosis, but I'm not entirely sure. I will probably develop silicosis later on in life; it was hard to avoid breathing sand at times."

He took another long sip of tea and continued in the same monotone. "My most recent injury was a blow to the head, shortly before I came here. I remember lining up a shot, then waking up in a field hospital. I received all of my vaccinations after I came to America. Shall I continue?"

[Ame Robinson]

When he launched into a rundown of past injuries, unexpectedly ignoring her other questions, Ame all but lunged for the clipboard on her desk. Somehow, her tea ended up unspilled on the side table. She did her best to keep a cool, professional demeanor, but if he watched her face he probably wouldn't be able to help but see her react with facial expressions of deepening concern as she took notes.

"Mmm," she hedged, checking to see that she got the most important bits down. "Usually you have to be exposed to silica dust for a long time to be at risk for the disease... but if you breathed enough of it, it's possible. Tuberculosis..." She gave him a hard look. "If that was it, I hope you all completed a full course of treatment. If you haven't had a relapse or reinfection in the years since, you're probably not going to, but still." She glanced at the clipboard and murmured something about X-rays, possibly, when safe; then looked up again. "All right, go ahead. But please start with your age, where you were born, and where you've been stationed over the years."

Head trauma was, of course, incredibly serious and in Tzu's case revealing, but chances were it wouldn't go anywhere before the patient history was complete. One thing at a time.

[Tzu Mei]

If Tzu Mei had noticed Ame's changes in facial expressions, he hadn't shown it. He swirled the remains of the tea before continuing to speak. "I'm 23 years old, soon to be 24. At least, I assume I am. I could theoretically be as young as 21 or as old as 25," he explained after draining the rest of his mug. "I was picked up off the street when I was young, and basically told 'you're seven now.' The group I was with, a husband-wife team of pickpockets and their friends, kept me around until I was 15 and no longer cute enough to throw off suspicion. Where was that again? There was a fuss about a reporter being murdered, but that happens in many countries. Maybe Pakistan; I do not know for sure."

He stood up to pour himself another mug, and blew on it for a few seconds. He did not appear to notice anything resembling an awkward pause. As far as he was concerned he was merely reciting another report, albeit one slightly more personal than normal. "I joined a band of mercenaries shortly after I left the thieves. I will not say which one, since there may be legal difficulties involving exactly which side of the conflict we were hired by most of the time. We fought in many countries, mostly in sandy, dusty environments. If a country had a conflict in it, we likely fought in that country. I have been exposed to chemical weapons both official and makeshift, which probably did not help much with the dust exposure. I was trained as a sniper. I have shot countless enemies, but I do not know how many were fatalities; body armor has such varying effectiveness, and I was always told to aim for the chest." Tzu Mei stopped as if done, but soon decided that there was one more thing the medic should probably know. "I made sure to never have fungus eat my face. Even though I was teased by the rest of the group, I shaved constantly to avoid that."

((Tzu is scared to the point of phobia of facial fungus, even though he grew up in places too dry for it and it is far more irritating than fatal.))

[Ame Robinson]

Ame was surprised at his age--five years her junior, give or take. He seemed so much older, no doubt due to the harsh life he'd had so far. She took careful note of anything medically relevant, though her clipboard drifted to her lap and she was able to make some headway on her tea when he started describing his career as a sniper. In fact, the tea served as a handy screen for her discomfort with the subject.

However, she nearly choked on it at the line about face fungus. It was out of the blue, apropos of nothing, and phrased as though designed for comedy, yet delivered in perfect seriousness. It was enough to make anyone get a little tea down the wrong tube and be forced to splutter in a most undignified manner until it was clear.

Right?

"Sorry," she wheezed as soon as she was able. "Inhaling tea... contraindicated with breathing," she attempted to joke.

After clearing her throat once more, she moved on. "I think that's good enough for now. Hopefully none of this will come up in the near future; I just want to be prepared. Speaking of which, did I understand right that you're ready to get the physical done today?"

(( I lol'ed. *g* ))

[Tzu Mei]

Tzu Mei considered the facial fungus thing a serious matter, and assumed that the medic's sputtering and wheezing was completely unrelated to it. "That happens sometimes," he said as he took a sip of his own tea. "And yes, I am ready for the physical. Any time today would be fine, since today's class is over. I could even go now if you have everything prepared."

[Ame Robinson]

"Now works for me," Ame said cheerfully, pleased that he hadn't connected her reaction to his words. She finished off her mug and got to her feet. "Exam One is ready. There's a fresh gown on the table there, so you can go ahead and change, and I'll meet you in a few minutes. You can leave your other things in here," she added, eyeballing his weapons. "I'll lock the door, and they'll be safe." Safely away from everyone, including her.