Valencia Hospital

[walk_ins]

The Valencia Hospital on Praxed is the charitable work of a group of Dao-Catholic nuns, and was one of the earliest buildings in the community of Logan City. From a small wooden lodge converted into a clinic on the side of the eastern hill, it's grown into a gleaming white-washed idol looming benevolently over the city's sprawling marketplace, directly opposite her hillside docks.

The clinic has gently but firmly rejected all Alliance funding despite increasing pressure; the current administrator, Brother Zhongzi Dan, has steered a difficult course of appeasement and resistance with official Alliance medical boards, all the time somehow scraping up funding to keep his hospital as equipped, staffed, and stocked as it can be under the circumstances.

All this is to say that Simon Tam is able to run a fairly comprehensive diagnostic on Anthy Himemiya with no trouble whatsoever; whether or not medical science can give an insight into her particular troubles is an open question, but at least he's got the data.

[Reader's note: These subthreads follow each other in chronological order.]

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[simon_doctor]

As they emerge into the sunlight, Simon scarcely watches where they're going; he's paging through the readout of test results, and frowning.

[anthy-rosebride.livejournal.com]

Anthy's looking around at the stalls and the shops, eyes shining.

She tugs on River's sleeve, excitedly, and points to a display of elaborately-embroidered silk saris, mostly red and gold and green.

It's a wide shot, so we can't hear what she says, but it's not important, and the camera's swooping closer. A donkey ambles across the screen, with bags of philibotonic polarizers slung over its back. Closer, now -- Simon's still frowning down at his test results, and a spiky-haired youth to their left is nodding approval at Anthy's purple hair.

Cut to River.

[river_meimei]

River is ignoring the test results, and ignoring the hospital, with great concentration. There's a tiny tight frown on her face, but no more agitation than that.

She's glad to have her attention caught, from the way she quickly follows Anthy's gaze to the indicated saris when her sleeve is tugged. The frown smooths away, into a wide-eyed and eager expression that says, quite eloquently, Oooooh. Happily, she starts towards them.

[simon_doctor]

Simon follows them, still looking down at the readout. As he draws level with River, he reluctantly puts away the test results -- he's going to have to study them later, when there's more time.

And fewer distractions.

[anthy-rosebride.livejournal.com]

There's a red sari about Anthy's size, embroidered in gold, with a matching gold blouse and ruffled red petticoat. She runs a wistful hand over the drape, pulls it back when the stall's owner scowls, and turns to the next stall.

Jewelry.

Anthy's eyes are so very shiny.

[river_meimei]

River does not quite touch a pair of earrings carved of white jade, a delicate filigree of floral shapes, but she strokes the air over them, ignoring the merchant's wary eye.

"Simon! Simon." She points happily to a tiny pendant, an elephant's head made of gold. "It's Christmas."

...Technically it's August. But this is River.

[simon_doctor]

Simon's smiling. They're both so happy.

Also, he's wondering if Kaylee would like those earrings.

...Okay, and now he's panicking because he can't remember if Kaylee's ears are pierced or not.

[anthy-rosebride.livejournal.com]

"Oh, it's so cute!" Anthy abandons the silver rose earrings she's admiring. They tinkle forlornly in a dusty breeze.

She peers over River's shoulder, face alight. "Look, he's smiling."

There are people trying things on at the stall next to them -- and further away from the hospital -- and Anthy lifts a filmy pink scarf, eyeing River.

[river_meimei]

"It's because he has layers," River says solemnly. "Gold's just on top. He's a mystery."

The second sentence includes a Don't even bother denying it glance to the merchant.

The third is followed by a earnestly pleading look at Simon. Of the Pleeeaaase? I'm your favorite younger sister! sort. River got a lot of practice at that kind of look, growing up.

[anthy-rosebride.livejournal.com]

[From here.]


There's a cart beyond the cloaks filled with a rainbow of glittering (semi-precious) gemstones, and Anthy moves toward it, tilting her head. "Look, ruby, that's your birthstone."

[river_meimei]

River looks over her shoulder, face alight.

[anthy-rosebride.livejournal.com]

"It clashes," Anthy says regretfully, and moves on, fumbling with the clasp of the necklace. Too hard to manage while walking; she pauses, after a moment, and slips it into her pocket.

[river_meimei]

"Isn't relevant," River says cheerfully, and then spots a juggler. One hand raises a little, not quite pointing. "Simon."

She looks over her shoulder, happily, expecting him to be there -- and then halts, looking around, eyes widening, when he's nowhere to be seen.

"Simon?"

[anthy-rosebride.livejournal.com]

"Where is he?" Anthy says, dropping the scarves she's been rifling through -- and, as a result, not noticing that one of them is a kite tail.

[river_meimei]

Fretfully, "He isn't here."

Her gaze darts around. Crowds and booths and storekeepers, shouting and haggling. Displays of clothing and fried food and sweets, rows of knick-knacks and trays of jewelry. Painted signs, and advertisements, and graffiti -- Joseph luvs Tanya, a star and crescent moon chalked up and half-erased by smudges, Blue Sun cola and Help Wanted signs.

No Simon.

The town, and the market, is in a gently curving valley. Half a mile away, Serenity gleams from her port on the hilltop docks.

[anthy-rosebride.livejournal.com]

Frowning, Anthy scans the area.

"He can't have gone far. Should we just go back?"

A beat. River's still anxiously searching the crowds. "River?"

[river_meimei]

"Find him."

She glances at Anthy, wide-eyed and distracted.

"Okay." She shoves her hair back, and nods. "She'll find him there."

[simon_doctor]

He doesn't feel the forming bruise on his shoulder where he caromed off a wall a few turns back, or the scrape across his cheek from the broken brick that grazed his jaw. He doesn't smell the garbage; he's too busy dreading the as-yet-absent smell of blood.

Simon Tam staggers out of the tangle of alleys, blinking in the sudden sunlight, disoriented, frantic, and completely lost.

And within sight of the docks.

[walk_ins]

Up high on a hill, there's a couple of tall thin figures in dark clothing manhandling a bundle into a sleek-looking ship. The ship has no markings at all.

It's impossible to see their hands from here, but the bundle has long dark hair and is dressed in a familiar way.

[simon_doctor]

"River." It's a moan, of desperation or despair -- and at this stage of the game, aren't they really the same thing?

He doesn't ignore the curious glances from the nearby dock workers loading crates onto a flatbed cart; he doesn't see them.

Simon breaks into a staggering run, towards the hill.

[walk_ins]

Simon's grabbed from behind; David Chin is getting on in the years, but he's spent everyone of those years since he was 14 moving crates for the docks of Logan City, and his grip is like iron.

"You don't want to do that, son."

He can see what the citified fella's looking at clear as day; that gaīsĭ de ghost ship that pulled up earlier in the week with no business listed, no previous location filed, no visit duration given, no point of departure mentioned, and shiny Alliance ID cards that made all that okay.

The rumors are all around the docks, but David Chin knows none of them come anywhere close to the awful truth. He knows this because the xiōngcán shāshŏu who rode in on her rented the damn rooms across the courtyard from him, in the tangle of housing in the alleys Simon just came from. "No, you don't want to tangle with those è méng."

[simon_doctor]

"-- let go of me --"

He's struggling, but the older man's got his arms pinned.

"-- you don't understand, they've got my sister --"

[walk_ins]

Chin winces, but doesn't let go. "You want them to have you too? Leave your parents something, mister."

"He's right, Core." Edwen Takamura, half-Japanese, half-black and half as wide as the warehouse they're working in front of, looks up from the crate he's wrangling, but doesn't move to help his foreman. It's hard to tell, because no one there has ever heard it there, but there might be fear in his voice. "They're just gonna kill you, too."

"Or take you with them," says Ilson Blaine, without even looking up. None of his gorram business what this idiot does with himself.

[simon_doctor]

"-- can't, got to, you don't --"

(who cares about my future)

He's still struggling, uselessly, and breathing in harsh gasps, and as close to sobbing aloud with rage and frustration and terror as he's ever been in his adult life.

And he makes himself stop, and swallow, and take a deep breath, and say as clearly and distinctly as possible: "Sir, please let go of me --"

[walk_ins]

"You're gonna thank me for this one day, son," Chin grunts. Simon's half his age, and fit himself.

Doors close. Engines cycle up.

Chin lets go, shaking his head sadly. "Over now, anyway. Baoqian, xiansheng. Zhen de baoqian."