2013.05.30 - What If... Sif had escaped Loki and not needed to be rescued

'Due to a miscommunication with Loki's player Sif thought that she was free to RP when we did this. The next day she informed me that she had been captured in Eldred which lead to the week long scene 2013.06.08 - To The Rescue. As that has invalidated this scene we are calling it a "What If" now.'

The afternoon had been an intense one and left Sif with more than a little bit on her mind. It also left her severely wounded and bleeding pretty badly. This would explain why she teleported to the Legion's Headquarters. She had been there before. At least she was in the right frame of mind not to simply teleport into the building itself but rather outside of it so those within could be properly made aware of her presence.

Kent, returning from his volunteer work at the clinic in Hell's Kitchen, is floating down from the sky as Sif appears beneath High Line park near the entrance of Legion Headquarters. He sees her immediately as he passes beneath the edge of the park and starts to call out a pleasant greeting when he notices her injuries and simply drops to the ground with a thump -- not as graceful as his normal landings but much faster. Standing up from a crouch he moves over to her quickly and asks, "What happened? Can I take you to the infirmary?"

Sif manages a tight, faint smile. "It might be a good idea, aye. Thank you." As for what happened... That one isn't answered. "I am sorry that I could not arrange the visit ahead of time. Under normal circumstances, I would not bother you but... I fear I cannot currently open the portal to Asgard..."

"Would you like me to carry you or can you make it there on your own power?" Kent asks even as he starts to lead Sif into the base.

There's a faint chuckle from Sif. "I can walk. I have suffered far worse before but..." A hand comes to rest against her abdomen. "Things are a little different this time..." She smiles, following him through the building. "I hope I am not intruding."

Kent leads Sif quickly through the lobby of the base to the internal transport tubes. As he helps her step out of the tube in the laboratory complex he says, "You aren't intruding. Plus I'd already offered to help you out medically anyway if you recall." He leads her to the infirmary, directly to the main examination bed. "Hop up or I can help you up if you'd rather," he says.

There's another soft laugh from Sif. "Aye. I remember. I was under the impression you meant with the duration of the pregnancy, however. Still, I am grateful for the help."

Doing as told, Sif settles herself on the bed and turns to face Kent. "It was Eldritch fire." Not that she expects him to know what that is but it's the first explanation that comes to mind for the wounds.

Kent pulls a wireless control pad from beneath the edge of the bed and activates the medical scanners built into the bed. "So... magic. That's just great," he says with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "Can you explain what that is in layman's terms for me or... it is just what it sounds like?" While he waits for the technology to finish its scan and display its results -- basically a full medical examination, but not a deep genetic scan, he's respecting her wishes there -- he examines the injuries personally. "Can we remove the armor?" he also asks.

Sif smirks a little. "Aye. Magic." Her head tilts to one side. "It... Is like a combination of fire and pure energy... Not electricity but..." She frowns, unable to explain it any better than that. "I am sorry. That is the best I can offer..."

At his question, she nods here head and reaches up, with a tightening of her jaw, and begins to undo the buckles and latches that hold the armor in place.

Kent assists in removing the armor and, not caring if she protests or not about it, unceremoniously drops it to the floor beneath the bed. "Alright, lay down so that the bed can get a full scan. I've disabled the genetic scan for now, unless you don't mind my doing that of course," he says as he passes his hands though a sterilization field he activates with the tap of his toes against a button built into the bed's support. He then reaches up towards the worse of the two injuries and says, "This may sting a bit," as he touches it to test the tackyness of the wound.

Only a few moments after she lays back does the display above the bed show up. The fetus is young... Exceptionally so... About a month along in development, give or take a few days and seems to be perfectly healthy.

Sif, likewise, is exceptionally healthy with the exception of slightly elevated blood pressure and, the obvious wounds. Said wounds show moderate muscle damage but nothing that won't heal in time.

The wounds are about three hours old, and while her jaw clenches as he touches it, she gives no other signs of pain. Sans the slight spike in her blood pressure that indicates that yes, it does sting, indeed!

Kent glances upwards at the holographic display and nods. "Good news... the baby's healthy. Your blood pressure is a bit elevated, but that is likely due to the injuries," he says. He takes a moment to physically examine the other wound also. "Alright, there’s going to be some pain for a few days, maybe as much as a week. I can give you some medication for that, but if you don't feel you need it I'm alright with that. I insist on your letting me clean and bandage it. But if you want I'll explain everything I'm doing in as much detail as you need me to for your comfort." He's in doctor mode now, so friendship be damned he's going to take proper care of his patient.

Sif stares at the display in confusion before turning her attention to Kent as he begins to speak. There's a sigh of relief as he assures her that the baby is fine and healthy. "Thank you," is murmured softly and gratefully.

His insistence earns him a smirk and an arched brow for quite a few seconds before she nods her consent. "An explanation would be appreciated, thank you." And then she realizes he mentioned something about medicine. "Nothing for the pain will be needed, Kent but thank you again. It is not that bad."

"Very well," Kent says as he steps away from the bed to get a kit that he hooks against the edge of the bed when he returns from it. "Firstly, I'm going to spray an antibiotic and antiseptic cocktail on both wounds. It will sting for a moment, much worse than my touching them did, but since it includes a topical anesthetic that will quickly fade into a tingling sensation," he explains as he shows a device that obvously looks to be some sort of a spray device.

Sif nods her head, looking at the device. "I am uncertain what any of that is... None of it is harmful to the babe, correct?" Really, that's the Goddess' only concern in this. She can handle any pain she has to. As long as the baby is safe.

"None of it will affect the baby. An antibacterial is an agent that inhibits bacterial growth or kills bacteria -- microscopic life forms that can make you sick and cause damage to your flesh. Antiseptics fight another form of microscopic life which can lead to putrefaction of your flesh, like gangrene. An anesthetic..." ok, here he takes a slight diversion from the total truth -- but he doesn't lie either, "A topical anesthetic mitigates the negative sensation caused by the rest of the medication. It will prepare the wounds for the bandage I'll be applying."

Understanding about half of that, if that much, Sif nods her head. If nothing else, she trusts the man tending to her which probably the only reason she's allowing any of this. She did, after all, go to him for help. "As long as the babe is safe..." She sighs softly as the pain eases thanks to the numbing agent. "Kent... I truly do appreciate this..." Probably more than he could realize.

There is a nod acknowledging the comment as he points the dispenser, presses a button and...

HISSSSSS

... the spray hits the wound feeling, for the first moment, like lemon juice on a paper cut before the anesthetic kicks in. Then he points it at the other wound and presses the button again and...

HISSSSSS

Again there's that tightening of Sif's jaw. The only indication that she's actually feeling the pain. Her eyes never leave Kent and she forces herself to smile through it as well as taking slow, deep breaths until the pain passes.

Kent puts the spray device away and pulls out another device, which almost looks like a spatula with an extremely thick handle. He noticed the reaction to the pain, both in Sif's clenched jaw and in the holographic display overhead. "Alright, the rough parts over. When I turn on this device it will start to extrude a material called artificial skin. It will take a few moments to fully congeal but afterwards it'll be like a bandage that feels like an extra thick layer of skin," he explains. "After a week it will fall off on its own. You are not to remove it yourself. If you think it needs to be removed you can ask me to check it out for you. It’s something I can do in the field, you don't have to return here for that."

Sif eyes the instrument warily but slowly nods her head. "Alright..." And then something occurs to her. "Will I still be able to bathe?" And then she nods. "I will allow it to come off on it's own."

Kent grins at the question and nods. "Yeah, its pretty amazing stuff, much better than anything available to modern medical professionals. Don't go swimming athletically but bathing won't be a problem." After explaining this he says, "So it’s alright to apply this?"

A deep breath is taken before Sif nods her head. "Aye. Do as you see fit. I trust you." Which... takes a lot, really. She offers a genuine smile to her friend before taking a deep breath, as if bracing herself for incoming pain.

The one thing he didn't explain becomes obvious when he presses the button. The material extruded from the spatula is red. Bright red. The red of freshly spilled, otherwise healthily oxygenated blood. He starts to apply it to the worse wound almost like a contractor applying spackling to a freshly built wall. As he does this he re-asks a question asked earlier which hadn't been answered: "So, how did this happen, Sif?"

Sif's eyes widen at the color and her blood pressure spikes dramatically. "You must remove this!" Thor will have a sit if looks like she's bleeding like that for a week! "A fight with Loki," is answered distractedly.

"Woah!" Kent exclaims and pulls back, unsure if he should try to restrain her like he would a normal patient or not and deciding on not. Instead he explains quickly, "It starts out red. In a few minutes it will match your skin tone. Think of this initial material as raw flesh and that it heals ultra-fast into a sealant that protects your wounds."

Restraining Sif definitely would have only made matters worse so not was a good option. The explanation sinks in and slowly Sif relaxes, nodding her head in understanding. "My apologies." She takes a few deep breaths to once more calm and center herself.

Kent smiles and says, "Accepted and forgiven," as he begins to apply the material to the other shoulder. As he does he goes on to explain a bit more. "If you heal faster than a normal person this will fall off sooner than I original predicted. One other thing, I understand that the Vikings that worshiped you were into scaring, this won't let you scar. I hope you don't mind that but with me tending you scarring isn't an option." And here goes a potential major historical misunderstanding, but heck, two to three thousand years separate the people he is talking about and his education, things like this are bound to happen.

"I heal a fair bit faster, yes," Sif says with a soft smile before his next words cause her to laugh warmly and brightly. "Not quite, my friend. It was not something done simply for the enjoyment of it. The scars earned in fair battle were admired and honored because they showed one's prowess as a warrior... they were a sign of strength, honor and the ability to protect and live to tell the tale."

Kent ahs softly and nods. "I see, well, no signs of strength here from your not-quite-brother-in-law today, my friend," he says in a friendly tone as he cleans the artificial-flesh spatula and stows it away.

There's another laugh from Sif. "I do believe I can live with that." Her eyes sparkle with amusement but it quickly fades as the days happening catch up with her. Looking at the wounds and then back up at Kent, she asks the one thing she thought she'd never ask of anyone. "Please do not speak of this to Thor...?"

Kent nods. "Normally I'd tell you that I don't like being asked to keep secrets between couples, it never ends well. But even though I'm not a full doctor I follow the Hippocratic Oath and that includes doctor/patient confidentiality," he explains.

Sif gives a faint smile. "And normally I would never keep secrets from Thor but..." She sighs and starts to sit up. "The relationship between Thor and his brother is... Complicated." She gives a sad sigh. "I would not make it more so. I would not put him in a position where he feels as if he must choose between the two of us. It is not right."

"Alright, Sif," Kent says, "If you feel its best that way I won't interfere... I can't without breaking my oath." He bends down and picks up her armor. "I'd recommend against your wearing this until you are healed... plus I suspect that you need to have it repaired."

Taking the armor, Sif stands and smiles then leans in to lightly kiss Kent on the cheek. "Thank you, my friend." She gives a small smile. "You are correct. For now, I need to return to the apartment and wash up. Thank you for all you help." She starts towards the door and then pauses. "I will tell him when the time is right." And then she simply... blinks out of existence.