You put a knife against my back and you dare me to face the attack ~ [Alice]

Zephir sat alone at a long wooden table, stirring his cup of tea slowly and thinking about fate. The man sighed as he read over some notes he’d made earlier on a black clipboard. It was still early, and he didn’t start for another fifteen minutes. He predicted that he wasn’t going to enjoy today, and was simply resigned to the fact that he’d just have to get on with it. Zephir didn’t put any stock in grand ideas of fate and destiny. In fact, he was actively opposed to believing in those things. That was the kind of crap that gave his mother false hope in bad situations, rather than the motivation to actually get out of them. It was so painfully illogical that the man couldn’t help but be dismissive of it, and those who believed strongly in such romantic, idealistic concepts. He was a wizard of science, as contradictory as that might sound to muggles.

Today, however, the healer found himself thinking that if he did believe in fate, he’d say that it was playing games with him. Alice, again.

It was always Alice, he reflected dimly. She was always just there. If he believed in any kind of cosmic powers, he’d say that the universe was making it damn hard for him to stay out of her life as he’d planned. As it was, however, Zephir could only really blame weird coincidences. He sipped his tea lightly, waiting for her to arrive. She’d be shadowing him today, just like all of the Dilys’ students did at the end of their first year. The chances that he’d get her, out of her entire year… well they were slim, but still possible – evidently. Alice wouldn’t be allowed to touch any patients today, she was just supposed to answer questions and learn from watching him. He wasn’t sure if she’d specified that she wanted to work in the Dai Llewellyn ward, but that was where he was stationed, so that was where they were going.

If fate were real, he reflected, he’d probably say that it was a right jerk. He and Alice seemed to have been doing an excellent job of avoiding one another for months now and he was wary of their upcoming forced interaction. He wasn’t entirely sure, but the man didn’t think she would have found out whom she was shadowing until this morning. Surprise! She was probably already in the hospital somewhere, being given his name and the place to find him… Zephir waited patiently in one of the staff lunch rooms for her. He checked his pocket watch against the clock on the wall. Hmm. The wall one must be several minutes out. He considered fixing it, but decided that it would take too much effort. The door finally opening drew his attention, and the man stood, pushing his chair back with his legs and setting his cup of tea down on the table.

“Alice,” he said, greeting her with a nod and a small smile, “Good morning… how are you?” They were allocated fifteen minutes once his shift started to introduce each other, but Zephir felt like starting early so that he could skip the one on one interaction.

There was a sense of achievement to know she was finishing up her first year. Some students dropped, others didn't do so well, but she was able to move forward like a few of her classmates. It was an exciting thing, it meant so much more to her that she stuck with it through thick and thin. Her second year was supposed to get harder and more challenging, with potential work hours if she did well. Alice knew she wasn't the brightest in her class, she tried to make up for it with a smile and understanding instead. She wanted to do her best, and tried hard.

Today she'd get to shadow someone, it was a pretty exciting thing. There were a number of healers on her list in her head she thought of, whether she would get to shadow them or not. With a happy bounce she waited patiently for the name she was waiting for all morning. Earlier when asked what she wanted to do in her career, she said she'd try anything. She had a little knowledge in treating wounds and in poisons or potions. The battle gave her a little more experience than her fellow classmates as well. The name she was given however was in fact surprising. It only made her gawk before turning away from the healer in charge of the whole name giving process.

Zephir King.

"Seriously?" she stated quietly after the small shock was over, walking down the corridor. So much for exciting. Maybe it was possible to switch? Or maybe possible to ask to change places with one of her classmates. She was already heading towards the room, so why even attempt? There was no going back now. She had to get along with all of her potential co-workers. If this was 7 months ago, it would of been considered good news, however, not so much these days. Not since he pretty much disliked her. That's what she believed anyway. She wasn't trying to avoid him on purpose anymore, it just happened naturally. In fact, the whole 'just keep moving forward' motto pretty much allowed her to walk passed him sometimes without a second thought. She just didn't talk to him or acknowledge him. He didn't exist, and it did make her sad sometimes when it came to that thought. It had been a while since she last 'saw' him, the little dinner at Aline's. She ruined the whole thing.

She stood outside the door for a moment blinking a the doorknob. Turn back? She shook her head, opening the door to find him drinking tea. She took a deep breath as he stood and said hello. "Hello," she smiled, "I'm doing well. I got your name," she attempted to sound happy about that. She hoped she was successful too. The last thing she needed right now is for him to know she wasn't happy to be paired with him. She didn't need another reason for him to turn away from her. It was conflicting, because he was really great at what he did. "How are you?" A small voice in her head snapped 'how do you think'. She looked at him briefly, before back to the paper with the room number in her hand silently. He looked to be doing okay. That was what mattered after all to her in the most simplest way.

“I know,” he answered softly. He couldn’t help but give her a quick once-over. She looked fine. The man noticed that her hair was the tiniest bit longer, but that otherwise she looked exactly the same as she always did. How was she? What had she been doing? Zephir didn’t know. He hadn’t seen her for months. He wondered how her final exams had gone, and which subjects she’d excelled in and which she’d not. A year ago he’d offered to help her with her studies, and he had, a few times. Before everything had gone haywire. “I’m fine.” The man picked up his empty cup. “We’ve got…” Zephir clicked the latch on his silver pocket watch again and it sprung open. The ticking was comforting. “Eighteen minutes to kill before were supposed to start. To… get to know each other.” His shadowed gaze lingered on his watch for a moment before his attention returned to the girl in front of him. “Have you had breakfast? Would you like a tea?”

He could read her like a book, and sense the discomfort easily. Zephir had always been good with reading people, and Alice had always been easy to read. Killer combination, right? He wondered what their relationship felt like to her, since he was so distant most of the time. She was perceptive too, but it was on a totally different level. Zephir would call Alice intuitive, if not thoroughly observant. She certainly wasn’t perceptive in the logical sense, like he was. His lips were tugged into a kind of wry smile when she glanced down to avoid his gaze. This whole situation was amusing, in a dry kind of way. He felt as if the only suitable approach was a logical and detached kind of one. It was simple on the surface, but kind of confusing underneath. And a little bit sad. It didn’t matter, he supposed. Their relationship wasn’t anything at the moment. The amount of contact they’d had over the past few months barely counted as acquaintance-level, right?

A hidden part of him wanted to ask if she was still with Max, and a part buried even more deeply wanted to ask her if she’d told him about the kiss. He wouldn’t do it, though. There were no possible outcomes that he could imagine being produced from such actions other that a weird kind of satisfaction he might gain from asking them. He didn’t know. He couldn’t really understand himself. For now, those parts were being mentally dissected. The man didn’t like feelings that he couldn’t rationalise. Pocketing the watch, Zephir moved to the sink in the room to wash out his glass. He supposed that he should be making small talk. “How were your exams?” he asked finally, “Have you finished them all?” The man wondered if she’d noticed his absence the last two times she and Max had visited Aline. He wondered if she’d wondered why.

Like Alice, Zephir just wanted to move on. If he could, he’d cut out all of the parts of his life that pertained in any way to his weaknesses or lapses in judgement. Anything chaotic would be cut until his life was streamlined for success and perfection. Alice would be the first to go. She did, he reflected. The healer had always been horribly ambitious, and willing to make all kinds of sacrifices. Zephir tried to tell himself that that was the only reason that he’d been avoiding her, but the man recognised that a part of the reason was that he knew he was messing with her head – intentionally or otherwise – and he supposed that that wasn’t a sign of weakness. It was no secret in his mind that he cared about her to some extent. Not enough to try to repair their friendship, no. But enough to leave her alone.

So he knew she was paired with him. Alice hadn't really known if he did or didn't. It wasn't like the individuals orchestrating the whole thing told her much besides what she couldn't do. Plenty of 'do not do this' on the list. Some of them made sense, others were processed regardless of the 'what if' factors that played into everything. With the fact that he was fine, she in turn smiled with a small little nod. That was good. She continued to stand around the entry not really sure what to do with herself besides just be where she was.

Eighteen minutes to get to know each other? She chuckled at the irony of it. But it was good. Maybe it was a sign that he was doing well that it was 'eighteen' instead of 'around fifteen'. She always found him punctual on the dot with a lot of things. Time was important to him it seemed. "I did eat, just this morning before coming here," she looked down at the paper still in her hands and back up before pocketing it, "thank you for asking, but I'll politely pass on the tea." Seemed right to her to pass on it. Eighteen minutes was too long. Far too long. Way too long. What time was it now?

With a breath she stepped a couple feet in. She knew why it was awkward to her to be in the same room with Zephir. Though on the other hand, she was wondering why on top of it too. Maybe it was just the amount of conflicting things about him she purposefully ignored for quite some time. She couldn't pry, so it was ignored. She also avoided him for a long time too. He also wasn't her friend. There was no solid ground for her to stand on if he was nothing.

Exams? "Yes," she said at first, "my exams went well. Though I don't know how I did. I'm waiting for the results to get owled to me." She had her doubts about whether she passed or failed them. A part of her said she failed them, all of them. Every single one. Another felt confident. Maybe if they'd give her the results she could stop worry over them. After all Alice wanted to do well. She slightly wanted to show the healer in front of her the scores. Was that something too far?

She should just stop worrying in general. Since after all it seemed every time she visited Aline, he was no longer there. If he was, it was just a couple of doors opening and closing. Not a hello. She felt that he was upset about her company every time she visited. In fact her visits were diminishing. She felt she was intruding, and maybe he saw it that way. Maybe it was true she had to avoid him for him to be happy. In every sense of the word avoid. Today wasn't an avoiding day, though it still felt a little natural to keep her distance.

"How.." she already asked how he was. Are things? Did he have a hobby? She curiously wondered if all he did was work. That would be stressful. All work, no play. "is work?" Wasn't that a recipe for unhappiness? But really... what did he do outside of work? That was prying. A wrong question to ask.

There was a lot of subtext here, and he couldn’t avoid it entirely. The healer’s eyes found hers again and he watched her curiously, not completely aware of whether his gaze had any affect on her or not. Zephir already felt like the day had been long, when really it had only just begun. He wondered what she was thinking. If he felt this tired already, the day was going to be draining. It was unavoidable. Zephir turned his back on her for a moment as he came to the sink. He wondered how the hell they were supposed to pass the next… he checked his pocket watch again quickly… sixteen minutes with idle conversation. He glanced back at the girl when she spoke of her exams.

“Did they?” Zephir leant on the counter, a tiny half-smile tugging at his lips. A little bit of pride rose somewhere in the region of his chest, and he was sure it was visible in his expression, so he turned away again. After he rinsed out his cup, the man placed it back on the shelf in its allocated spot. He paused for a moment, his fingers resting lightly on the bench, before facing her once again. The smile was gone, but his expression wasn’t insincere. “Let me know how you go, wont you?” he asked, a little more softly than he’d meant to. He returned to his seat at the table, but didn’t sit, opting to grasp the back of the chair with both of his hands and let it take his weight like that. Alice looked like a scared little rabbit, and he wondered if he’d frightened her last time they’d talked. Or well… the time before that. The kiss.

Unresolved tension hung heavy between them.

He raised an eyebrow curiously. How what? He wondered if she was looking for an avenue of conversation he didn’t really want to explore, and silently urged her not to. He’d have to head it off. Cut back to this horrible awkward politeness, because it was better than the alternative. His mind flashed back to the night he’d been kicked out of his last apartment, months ago. Was it November or December? December, he thought. That was her birthday month, and it had snowed in Diagon alley. He’d punched the wall beside her face and yelled at her about how he wasn’t coping. She’d disappeared. Zephir didn’t think that things always needed to be resolved to be forgotten, and he doubted that talking about that night or any of their horrible interactions around that time would make it easier to destroy from his memory.

How is work? she asked. He blinked, startled momentarily out of his reverie. Zephir felt a soft shock when he realised that he was disappointed that she hadn’t asked anything more personal, and he cursed his own treacherous mind for not being completely on side with him. He didn’t want drama. it’s better like this he reminded himself. It was clinical. Logical. Professional. It was better this way. “Busy,” he answered carefully, nodding, “I feel like I spend my life between these walls.” Zephir smiled to show that he was joking, but the smile was a little wry. “How about you?” he asked, determined not to let the conversational spotlight shine on him for too long, “How are things outside of Dilys’? Do you have any exciting summer plans?” Zephir was in two minds about asking these questions. A part of him didn’t want to know. If he could get objective and vague updates on her life from another source, he would. As it was, however… this was it.

The man checked his watch again, even though he didn’t really want her to think he couldn’t wait to get out of there. She probably wanted to get started, but he wasn’t rude. “Eleven minutes,” he told her vaguely. Tick tock. Time was creeping forward at an alarmingly slow rate, "Lets get a move on." The man made his way towards the door.

The healer in training nodded at his remark towards her exams. She wasn't really sure why he'd like to know how they went, but if the news was what would make him happy, then she'd tell him. "I will," too direct? she continued with a small pause "tell you when I get the results..." she let a self-conscious chuckle escape, "when they come. Which is soon. I think." Yeah. He seemed happy though, there was a hint of a smile. That's what she liked to see, not only on him, but on everyone. But definitely him. It contrasted the intense stare he happened to occasionally have.

She probably could have elaborated on her question. The 'how is work' was typical, small talk, and well, sometimes not all to interesting to hear. Like the fact when she'd ask her father that question, she'd get 'busy'. She couldn't go off of that. Zephir's response was a variation of it. He did spend a lot of time here, the thought of what hobby he would have outside of working sprang back up. That question was for the right moment and the right time and it was neither of those. He probably read. Was that a hobby? She would think it was some people's hobbies.

Alice could feel her awkwardly standing near the door ordeal wasn't helping her in any way to get over the fact she was in the same room with Zephir. That was a very rare occurrence. It was unavoidable this time. The last time she was in a room with just him was when he was fixing her hand. She momentarily looked at it without much thought besides the fact it healed just fine. Zephir's question of how long she'd been with Max threw her coordination off because she knew that answer. The consequences. All of it. No no. She had shadowing to accomplish today. It wasn't the day to mope. Her future was banking on today's performance in a way. Maybe she'd get to work like some students in their second year.

"Good, good... busy, but alright. Business has been picking up at the parlor..." she found herself thinking if she was really that boring of a person. Or maybe she was just picking and choosing what she was sharing. Alice would rather think she was boring. "Nothing too exciting for summer," she breathed... boring... "just the typical stuff of working. I have a lot of maybe's on my list. But yeah, nothing overly exciting." At least worth mentioning anyway. She shook her head a little disappointed in what her summer consisted of. None of it was worthy to be called a vacation. Alice hadn't had a summer vacation since the summer before the war. The summer after was taken up by tasks and to do's to keep herself occupied. Maybe it would be the same once again. One thing she was looking forward to was Maddie moving closer to her, rather than taking the 'long travel' to France.

Eleven minutes. She suppressed the urge to giggle, only smiling at the statement. He was a clock watcher wasn't he? Was that his favorite pocket watch? But only seven minutes have passed? Time was going by slowly. "Alright," Alice wasn't sure if she should be excited for this or not. If she were to follow someone else, surely her excitement would be far too obvious. The healer in training felt she had to contain it instead. Why? She didn't know really. The amount of time keeping herself in check when around him was far too often these days. So the young woman played it cool, walking towards the door and opening it, waiting for Zephir to get ahead of her. She was his shadow today, and while she knew where they were going, it was better to behave than bounce ahead. She had to be professional with inner excitement and wonder. Maybe that made her seem stiff.

She was curious how his days were. She knew they were long. To her it was silly to be curious about it though. The former hufflepuff wondered if she'd be stuck shadowing him from now on or if she'd be rotated through healers. She might as well be curious either way.

“It should be soon,” he agreed quietly, letting the room fall back into silence. Tick tock. Zephir decided that he had to leave this room early. He simply couldn’t sit in here with her for the entire time that he was supposed to. She surely wasn’t enjoying it. “You’re not going overseas or away anywhere?” he asked curiously. At her age, Alice really shouldn’t have too many obligations and responsibilities. She was still studying, which meant that she actually had a holiday over the summer. He nodded distantly when she talked about business at the parlour. He thought she should be travelling instead.

Alice opened the door for him and he walked out in front of her, assuming she’d follow. There was silence for a while, and Zephir was caught up in his thoughts. Would the entire day be filled with this kind of weary, awkward silence? He almost thought that he could tell what she was thinking, but there were some topics that neither of them seemed keen to breach. “George Tate,” he said finally, breaking the rhythm of the repetitive sound of their shoes hitting the ground as they walked. He held a black clipboard under his left arm as he walked, but Zephir was very thorough about his patients – he tried to have them all memorised immediately. “He’s almost sixty,” he informed the girl, “came in yesterday afternoon with a nasty bite on his leg that he says only just appeared… We think he was bitten last week and simply hasn’t come in until now. He’s a jovial and friendly man,” he added.

The two of them came to the ward that Zephir was aiming for, and he opened it without hesitation. The patient was in a large room shared with two other patients and one empty bed. “George,” Zephir greeted the older man with a nod. Mr. Tate lowered the book he’d been reading and folded one of its pages slowly. He placed it on his bedside table that was decorated by a single sunflower in a vase. Zephir went to his side. George smiled in return and took his glasses off. “So this is the student?” he asked Zephir in a gruff voice, giving Alice a quick, scrutinising once-over. Seemingly liking what he saw, the man held out his hand to shake hers.

After brief introductions, Zephir beckoned Alice over to the man’s heavily bandaged leg. “Two shallow puncture wounds,” he told her quietly, watching to make sure she was listening. The healer’s uneasiness about today had receded somewhat now that he’d assumed his Healer persona. It was different to his usual front. He was working now, and right in his comfort zone. “George tells us that he was woken up from an afternoon nap yesterday with nausea, dizziness, pain in his left leg and… this.” The man reached out and peeled back the bandage very slowly to reveal a horrible mess. The two tiny puncture wounds seemed to be rotting the flesh around them and dark, angry red lines spread from the source like spider webs under his skin.

Just to recap, he turned to Alice again. “Dizziness, nausea, rotting flesh, two small puncture wounds approximately four inches apart. What kinds of things do you think could have caused something like this?”

The walk was silent for a little while. There were only a few instances that she opened her mouth in hopes to ask a question, but it died quickly with the touch of air. It wasn't too horrible, she figured, because there was someone out there that was an overly talkative person. Keeping up with someone chatty verses keeping up with a silent Zephir was entirely different. Even if it was awkward, Alice was okay with it. She could also be stuck with an old man or lady who treated her like a child. So in her point of view, listening to their steps, it was preferred and she had to change her mind about shadowing the healer in front of her.

George Tate. She bounced up to the man the moment he spoke. Alice nodded briefly listening to what he had to say. George was sixty, friendly, and a presumed liar of his condition. The ward came quicker than she expected, her mind still a measurable distance behind her. It caught up though when the old man took to asking that she was the student. It made her grow a little self-conscious. He told him before hand? What did Zephir say about her? She blinked at his hand momentarily before shaking it, "I'm Alice Acelyn, pleasure to meet you Mr. Tate." She followed Zephir over to George's bandaged leg. Two puncture wounds after waking from an afternoon nap. Did he have a pet? Nausea, dizziness, pain. The healer in training refrained from wincing at the sight of the wound. It was a horrible mess and gross. Rotting flesh.

What could cause something like this?

Uh.

She blanked when he asked the question of what it could be. Bite mark, two holes. Fangs? Alice felt under pressure to know the answer. She didn't entirely know, but it was at the tip of her tongue, so the healer-in-training decided to wing it in the best way she could. Looking to Zephir for a brief panic of a second she turned to Mr. Tate with a smile. The healer wasn't playing nice was he? He knew the answer. He didn't give it, and that made her uneasy. The question was unexpected. The girl began with a thoughtful and calming breath, while maybe Zephir was expecting some short response, she couldn't give it to him.

She took a step toward the patient's leg, folding her hands behind her back and looked at it a little closer. Her mind quickly shut out any thoughts about how gross and messy it looked. She knew it was part of what has to be done. She couldn't touch, that's the rules, she was only a shadow. Part of her was a little glad at this point in time. Alice had to think, and she stood there for a moment of silence. Although she felt rushed, thinking eyes were on her, she decided to just take a deep breath.

Alice looked back up at Mr. Tate, then to Zephir, "There are many creatures that have a mouth large enough, but not few enough teeth to create these little wounds," she paused, "only a few can create symptoms such as his." This long winded explanation was only for her purpose, picking through her mind for those pieces of information that felt relevant that she sat in class learning. "The dizziness, nausea, pain at the wound, and possibly feeling a little tired and thirsty - these symptoms are a part of being bitten by something venomous," a week? Why would anyone want to wait that long to get something like this treated?!

"Though it's slow-acting considering he has been doing some light reading, was able to put his items on the table, and shook my hand with ease. Though a slight shake. I presume Mr. Tate here has encountered a Boomslang, one of its close relatives... or a rather large... spider." She blinked before politely smiling at the old man. Ewwww to the large spider thought; it send a static buzz down her spine. Right. Okay. The former Hufflepuff looked up at Zephir hoping one of those was the answer. She did get a good NEWT score in Care of Magical Creatures... and who knows for her class at DDS. Maybe she should of just shook her head as a response. Yeah, that would of been a better option.


((I hope it's okay ^^))

Zephir watched the brunette closely. He was supposed to ask her questions and assess her behaviour and knowledge, but really it was all aimed towards benefiting the student. The process wasn’t designed to look for flaws or mistakes. No, the first year exams a few months ago should have taken care of the lazy and less intelligent ones. On the other hand, however, all of the young healers who had charges for the day had been told to make some notes about their suitability. Zephir didn’t plan to make things any easier for Alice just because he knew her, or because he still felt somewhat… fond of the idea of her doing well.

The man had thought that Alice might flinch away from the wound, and was mildly impressed when she didn’t. It stank. Some of the more experienced healers hadn’t done too well with the smell. They’d had to use spells to block their noses, since nothing seemed to be working to cure that particular symptom of his bite. The old man kept quiet while Alice’s attention zoomed in on his leg. Zephir could almost sense the cogs working away in her mind. Really, it was quite fascinating to him. He knew exactly what he’d be thinking if he was in a similar position.

He’d be checking all of the symptoms off against every ailment and creature he’d studied. Some students struggled with memorising so many different options, and relied on double checking in books and so on in situations like this. Zephir had never been so lazy. In her situation, his mind would be racing to impress his superior. He’d needed that edge. Alice had always been hard working, but nowhere near as ambitious as he was. He didn’t know how he felt about that. He encouraged his little sisters to strive for some kind of greatness, and he wondered if Alice was content or not.

He nodded when she started speaking. She was right, of course. The creature must have had quite a large mouth, but only two small fangs. He wasn’t impressed per say, but pleased that she hadn’t missed the fact. “Boomslangs are native to Africa,” he told Alice. It was easier speaking to her in a professional environment than it had been fifteen minutes ago in that damn lunch room. “So if you suspected that that’s what you were looking at, you’d make sure to ask the patient about recent trips away, contact with foreign creatures… that sort of thing.” Zephir watched Alice as he spoke. After a moment, he glanced at his patient, who wore a good-natured smile. “And have you been to Africa lately?” he asked the man. George shook his head for ‘no’ and Zephir returned his attention to Alice with a small smile.

“You’re right about the slow moving venom, but boomslang bites don’t cause this kind of reaction. Their venom is a hemotoxin, so it prevents blood clotting. There aren’t many creatures that actually cause rotting of flesh, like we see here,” Zephir gestured to sections of the wound that demonstrated his words appropriately. “But suggesting that it might be a relative of the boomslang is definitely a good start. Can you name any of the rarer relatives of the snake? Magical ones? And in the meantime, do you have any ideas about possible treatment courses that might be useful before we actually identify what the creature is that caused this?”