Cosmo Canyon: Avalanche Exordium

μ - εγλ 1999 November 10

The girl wandered up the steps to the entrance of the Valley of the Fallen Star. She wore thick black boots, green shorts, a green tunic covered in black leather straps, and a tattered white cape. Sheathed at her hip was her katana, Yoshiyuki. The girl brushed her messy, unkempt brown hair out of her eyes. After squinting at the sign, she read out loud, "Cosmo... Canyon?" She canned the village that was partially carved out of a large mesa. The observatory stood atop the mesa, with its large telescope protruding toward the sky.

The girl saw the observatory quite some miles away. Curiosity killed the cat.

"Hi there!" said one of the locals. "Welcome to Cosmo Canyon." The kind lady walked up to her with a friendly smile. "We don't get many tourists. What brings you our way?"

The girl just pointed up to the observatory.



***
"Fuhito, what have you done to the planetarium?" Bugenhagen said. He was a short bald man who sat on a floating green ball. His lab assistant bustled around the observatory, ignoring him. "The model of the Planet..."

"I was testing a theory," Fuhito said over his shoulder.

"You nearly broke it."

"No," Fuhito corrected, not willing to turn and face the old man. He was a thing man with slicked black hair, spectacles, and a lab coat. "I merely inverted the inputs to highlight likely deposits of Stagnant Mako. There may be a fountain not to far from here. On the Forest's Mesa."

"I've told you not to study that. If you go there, you may rouse the wrath of the Gi. They haven't been seen since..."

"I got it, I got it." Fuhito finally shoved past the venerable Bugenhagen. "I won't touch your settings again."

"That's not all we need to talk about," Bugenhagen said. He reached into his jacket and produced a journal, which he dropped on the table.

Fuhito stopped cold in his tracks. "You... that was mine."

"I thought it was research notes. I didn't expect to find the rantings of a mad man," Bugenhagen said. "Oh, Fuhito. You have to let this rage go."

"Let it go? I thought you cared about the Planet? Shinra is killing it!" Fuhito shouted.

A red tiger-wolf like creature named Nanaki bounded in the room. "There's been an accident. Stingers. It's Elder Hargo," the Buga said.



***

Elsewhere, Hargo lay on the operating table, his arm and left side of his face starting to puff up and turn purple from the Stinger bite. The spiders had broken loose from the network of caves deep within the mesa. While the tribe guardians dealt with the beasts, Hargo got himself bitten. He gasped for air as the deadly toxin coursed through his body.

It did not take long for them to summon their new doctor for the treatment. Cosmo Canyon had been her home for about six months now, and in that time she learned a little about the fauna of the area (there was hardly any flora). One thing she learned before even climbing the steps into town was to leave the giant cave spiders the @#$% alone. Early one evening on her way through the dusty canyon, she stumbled upon a mammoth Griffin trapped in a spider's webbing, thrashing about as the hunter was about to have its meal. She had to sleep under the stars that night (thankfully uninterrupted).

This meant she didn't know much about the damage the spiders dealt and would have to rely on the local medical journals and word from the other residents for how to go about treating the Elder. Did a spider that big even need to be venomous? The world can be cruel sometimes... Often... Almost always...

[I guess Medicine 70 if I need to figure out how to treat Elder Hargo. I'm gonna assume getting his breathing more regular is step one if a simple antivenom / tranquilizer isn't going to do the trick. I'm just going to insert myself in the scene because I wasn't sure what else to do]

Rolled 18. Success.

Dr. Aoba's work with Elder Hargo was touch and go for a while there, but eventually the Elder began to stabilize. Even the purple puff of his skin began to fade.

A soft growl came from the door. Bugenhagen floated on his green ball with a furrowed brow while the red lion-dog flicked his fiery tail next to him. "Is he going to be all right?" Nanaki asked.

It's a good thing someone had Highland Berries handy...

It had been a few hours since the mixture was applied and it looked like the strange color was fading from his skin. His breathing was shallow, but he seemed to be getting better at least.

A soft growl came from the door. Bugenhagen floated on his green ball with a furrowed brow while the red lion-dog flicked his fiery tail next to him. "Is he going to be all right?" Nanaki asked.

Aoba glanced towards the door before turning her attention back to Elder Hargo. Hm, that was a good question. Should she be honest? Nanaki was around her age, but he felt so young sometimes, which felt unpredictable. The doctor could never get a real handle on him. What even was he anyway? Well, Bugenhagen could probably handle her analysis, and Nanaki... probably could, right?

"Uh... I think so. The worst seems to be past, so I think he'll live, but I can't say I know what long term effects there might be. His body took a large dose, and it's possible that some of what's damaged doesn't heal properly, so he may have some lingering pain even when he's up and about. We'll have to wait and see how that goes and help him as much as possible as he rehabs."

Bugenhagen floated over to the Elder and examined him. "Good work, Dr. Aoba," he said quite jovially. "It's no coincidence you found us. This isn't the first live you saved here." Nanaki gave another soft growl and turned away to walk out over the mesa. Bugenhagen sighed. "Children." After a moment he raised his busy eyebrows over his glasses and said, "Do you have any, Doctor?"

"Children? Me? No no no. I...."

Want kids? Maybe, but life was never stable and it was hard to imagine caring for a child. Where would they live? Play? Grow up? Would she go back home? Go to Midgar? Stay here? Live life as just a doctor?

"...couldn't give a child the life they're deserve."

Her hand rose to the back of her head and brushed against her short brown hair sheepishly. She didn't think about having kids much, it was too much.

Bugenhagen chuckled. It was a warm sound. He shrugged a bit at her. "Life is what life deserves. The Planet cares for the rest." Seemingly without any effort, the orb floated over to the Doctor and he put his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for coming to us. We're lucky to have you. By the by, are you settling in?"

---

Fuhito walked into the bar and sat down, sighing heavily. He and Bugenhagen's fallout could not keep going. But with the War waging, how long would it be before the monstrous Sephiroth and his hellspawn SOLDIER made their way to Cosmo Canyon? Wutai was the last truly free nation on the Planet. Resistance, warfare, it all changed when Sephiroth debuted. Everything changed.

If only he fully understood how SOLDIER worked... If only the Cetrans were still around to fight back...

The doors to the tavern swung open as the young brown haired woman walked in. She looked around in confusion. Out of towners, Fuhito thought.

The quaint tavern was carved out of the mesa rockface. It made him feel connected to the town canyon, to the Planet, to nature. He knew labs needed to be sterile but Fuhito truly loved the outdoors. He loved seeing the stars at night. He would hate to liv--

The rock wall burst open. Four large stingers crawled out with a hiss and immediately began attacking the occupants in the tavern. The barmaid was the first to go, impaled in the neck by a spider fang. Fuhito stumbled and back and fell over his barstool.

WaW wrote:Bugenhagen chuckled. It was a warm sound. He shrugged a bit at her. "Life is what life deserves. The Planet cares for the rest." Seemingly without any effort, the orb floated over to the Doctor and he put his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for coming to us. We're lucky to have you. By the by, are you settling in?"

He may have meant well, but it sounded patronizing to her. It's too cold a way to let a life end and speaks nothing to the pain and suffering life brings. But Bugenhagen was a good man, he did much to bring both joy and knowledge, and it wasn't as though she could say his way was wrong. It just wasn't her way. She was willing to agree to disagree.

As fluidly as Bugenhagen floated over to Aoba and placed a hand upon her shoulder, she let it slip off, turned, and took a step back to face him.

"Life is good here. You all have been so kind and welcomed me as warmly as the Cosmo Candle burns. I'm not looking forward to the day when I'll have to move on again," she replied. There may have been a tinge of sadness in her voice. She was sincere. In the quieter days, she could almost imagine spending the rest of her life here and gazing out as the sunset lit the canyon walls.

But there would be a day when she had to leave. The treasure she had squirreled away down by the river would eventually be cool enough to sell, and there was still more work to do to topple ShinRa and carve some peace out of this war-torn world.

Fuhito struggled beneath the long creature's strong arms, it's pincers dart forth ready inject him full of venom. A green burst of blood reigned over him. After a moment of hesitation, the stinger fell bifurcated.

The mysterious woman stood there, her sword drawn. Her face was passive. Fuhito stared mouth agape as she moved with swiftness and grace, cutting the rest of the stingers down without getting so much as a scratch. When they lay in pieces, she walked over to the bar and righted a fallen stool. The woman took a seat and grabbed a bottle of gysahl whiskey from behind the bar and poured a drink. Yet, before she could knock it back, she fell to the ground, clutching her chest.

---

Bugenhagen frowned at Aoba. "You don't have to move on any time soon. You're part of our tribe so long as you like. We have such hot blood of late, it would be good to have some--"

The door was kicked open with a heavy thud. Fuhito stood there, covered in green stinger blood, holding a very young woman in his arms. "Dr. Aoba!" he shouted. "Quick, heart failure! Help us!"

Heart failure? That takes precedence over the heart to heart.

"Place them here Fuhito. Bugenhagen, get the crash cart," Aoba commanded, moving to a space separated from Elder Hargo. Hopefully he sleeps through this.

(Medicine 70 again to examine and treat)

Added the note "to examine and treat", then added this note to explain the edit

The member 'Marzy' has done the following action : d100 Reel

---

'd100' :

Result :

Odd. As Aoba examined the mysterious woman, she seemed in fine condition. In fact, she was breathing. Her heart, however, had stopped. How unusual of a condition.

Whether Aoba attempts the crash cart or not, the woman would remain still. After several tense minutes, her heart would begin to pump again.

Fuhito was standing in the corner, his hands in hairs until the miraculous recovery.

Well, Aoba was certainly going to try to get her heart beating again. It would be a relief when the mystery woman's heart would start beating, but it was weird that her breathing was always at a normal rest rate.

"Her heart's beating again, and her breathing is stable. Fuhito, do you know what happened?"

Fuhito adjusted his glasses now that the situation calmed. "We were at the tavern when we were attacked by Stingers. She saved me. She saved everyone. But then she collapsed."

The woman's breathing normalized and she started to open her eyes.

Stingers? The woman didn't seem to be reacting to poison. Maybe the exertion caused her heart to stop? But there weren't any obvious signs of the kind of exertion Aoba would expect to... Oh, she's stirring.

Aoba knelt close to the woman's face and spoke with a practiced bedside voice and a soft smile, "Hey. How ya feelin'?"

The woman blinked a couple of times as she looked at Aoba's face. A smile came across her features. "F-fine. I'm fine." She'd move to sit up and put a hand on her head. "Wicked headache though. Where am I?"

Wicked? That's some slang that Aoba hasn't heard in a minute.

Aoba would lean back a little and look up from here kneeling position. It seemed like the woman had been on the road and just got in. She still bore some of the dust and grime and scent of sleeping outside. If she was going to pick a time to have a heart attack, once she got into town is probably the right time.

Aoba stood up and walked over to a medicine cabinet nearby for something to help with the headache. As she walked and rummaged, she'd tell her, "I'm Alba. You were brought to the clinic because your heart stopped. Can you tell me if this has happened before or if you have a history of heart problems?"

"H-heart problems? No. None. Well, not that I can remember. Which, isn't much." She stood up and looked... refreshed. "My head's fine, thanks Doc. Guess I owe you one." She retrieved her katana, which had fallen from her belt when she was placed on the table and started to head for the door.

Fuhito moved in front of her. "Wait, what do you think you're doing?"

"Getting ready to move on," the woman said.

Aoba also moved in the way, though carefully, with open hands and slow movements. People with swords sometimes liked to solve problems with swords and sometimes had a loose interpretation of problems and too often both together.

"Hold on. Aren't you curious why your heart stopped?"

The doctor could start a lecture right about now, but that doesn't feel like it would be effective.

The woman was fairly stoic. Were the words even registering? Finally, she hung her head slowly. "Trouble goes where I go. And trouble followed me here. I'm a harbinger of doom. You shouldn't endanger the town by having me here."

Like a plague? No, if trouble followed her here, then it was something that happened or is happening. The Stingers maybe?

"Yet here you are. There must be something here you need. What's come has come and cannot be changed. Rest and let us find it."

Aoba's instincts as a doctor, and frankly common sense, wanted to keep this mystery woman in one place. Resting. Letting her heart tell everyone what was wrong. Not figurative, her literal heart. The alternative was probably accepting her as already dead and Aoba... didn't want to do that.

(Charm 25 if I need it, but this doesn't feel like a Charm roll to me)

Reluctantly, she nodded. "Perhaps. I..." She looked away. How could she tell the doctor? What words could explain it? The voice was... beyond anything she could describe. "Yes, doc. I'll stay." She smiled softly. "As long as the danger doesn't follow me here."

Fuhito clapped his hands. "Excellent. We should run tests, what do you think, Dr. Aoba?" His eyes sparkled behind his glasses.