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expiationlogs2024-06-07 08:45 pm
memori3s) wrote in expiationlogs2024-06-07 08:45 pm
dear fellow traveler under the moon
Who: Minato & You!
Where: All around Aldrip
What: Catch-all for the month with open prompts, maybe some closed starters too
Warnings: Injury, suicidal ideation, asphyxiation, updated as needed.
i. ball is life
[ City Hall's gardens have quickly become a spot that Minato frequented. He's often here in the early evenings, accompanied by Koromaru. It's an ideal place for the dog to stretch his legs. Aldrip doesn't appear to have any leash laws. Ergo, Koromaru roams free as Minato sits by himself on a bench.
The shiba inu trots about with a red ball in his mouth, tail held high with a pleased look on his face. He circles back to Minato who's seated on his usual bench today. Typically, Minato observes as Koromaru entertains himself, racing around the greenspace or flinging whatever toy he's brought with him that day.
Today though, Koromaru stands in front of Minato and presents the ball to him, tail wagging enthusiastically.
You WILL throw ball, Minato Arisato. Ball is LIFE. ]
ii. gardening
[ Visiting the farmhouse is a recent addition to Minato's daily routine. He greets the animals there even though he's technically not at the farmhouse to see them. He can't help but offer a friendly headpat or snoutpat to the ones that are bold enough to approach.
There's an empty field of soil just outside the farmhouse. Kotone's offered it to him, leaving Minato free to use it for his new project. He's there today wearing comfortable work clothes, kneeling in the dirt with a hand hoe to carefully loosen the soil.
It began with an off-the-cuff response, an answer to a question that's always been difficult for Minato to grapple with.
"Is there anything you've always wanted to try, but never have?" Kotone had asked as they walked side by side through City Center, a bag of peanuts in his hand that she'd pressed into his palm.
And even before that, there'd been Sha-Ming with earnest anger flaring in his eyes as he declared that all creatures should have dreams, desires, and things they wanted to do while clinging stubbornly to life.
He's not used to contemplating all the things he'd like to try, things he never got the opportunity to do. He's here now though, thanks to the response he'd given to Kotone's question. Minato decides this answer is satisfactory as he continues loosening the soil to prepare it for some seedlings.
There's some soil streaked on a cheek, and his elbows have some dirt on them too. He's content though, quietly working on his task. ]
iii. i am thou, thou art i
[ The mild breeze leaves delicate ripples along the oceanwater's surface. The shore's salty air fills Minato's lungs, clearing his mind and easing any troublesome thoughts that plague him as of late.
It's why he finds himself at the beach again today, shoes removed and socks tucked neatly in them. The sand is warm and silky under his feet, offering him something to focus on other than how, lately, his mind continuously strays to a ruined moonlit bridge.
Something brushes against his foot and disturbs his train of thought. It shifts his gaze from the horizon to the floor. There's a crab scuttling across his feet; it pauses in between them, freezing when it senses someone's attention focused on it. Then it's moving again, faster, making a beeline towards the water.
He takes a step forward to follow the trail left by the little crab. He doesn't get very far, interrupted by a sudden, agonizing pain in his head. He folds over with a gasp, pressing a hand against his forehead. He does not see the towering shadow taking shape from behind, unaware of its presence until a white-gloved hand grips his shoulder.
The creature shoves him down. He collapses like a marionette cut from its strings. And as he looks up to identify his assailant, he swiftly realizes there is nothing to truly fear. He immediately recognizes that metal mask. It's why he doesn't struggle against the hand holding him down, merely gazing back at the familiar Persona: Thanatos.
The Persona unsheathes its sword and releases an earsplitting wail, driving the weapon's sharpened tip through Minato's shoulder. But Minato makes no noise, even as it cuts through flesh and blood pools beneath him. There's no need to be afraid. After all, Thanatos must be here simply to remind him that, out of everything in the world, Death is the sole certainty. ]
iv. wildcard
[ Let me know if you're interested in a starter! You can send a private plurk to me at![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
alaudarum or hmu in the Discord! ]
Where: All around Aldrip
What: Catch-all for the month with open prompts, maybe some closed starters too
Warnings: Injury, suicidal ideation, asphyxiation, updated as needed.
i. ball is life
[ City Hall's gardens have quickly become a spot that Minato frequented. He's often here in the early evenings, accompanied by Koromaru. It's an ideal place for the dog to stretch his legs. Aldrip doesn't appear to have any leash laws. Ergo, Koromaru roams free as Minato sits by himself on a bench.
The shiba inu trots about with a red ball in his mouth, tail held high with a pleased look on his face. He circles back to Minato who's seated on his usual bench today. Typically, Minato observes as Koromaru entertains himself, racing around the greenspace or flinging whatever toy he's brought with him that day.
Today though, Koromaru stands in front of Minato and presents the ball to him, tail wagging enthusiastically.
You WILL throw ball, Minato Arisato. Ball is LIFE. ]
ii. gardening
[ Visiting the farmhouse is a recent addition to Minato's daily routine. He greets the animals there even though he's technically not at the farmhouse to see them. He can't help but offer a friendly headpat or snoutpat to the ones that are bold enough to approach.
There's an empty field of soil just outside the farmhouse. Kotone's offered it to him, leaving Minato free to use it for his new project. He's there today wearing comfortable work clothes, kneeling in the dirt with a hand hoe to carefully loosen the soil.
It began with an off-the-cuff response, an answer to a question that's always been difficult for Minato to grapple with.
"Is there anything you've always wanted to try, but never have?" Kotone had asked as they walked side by side through City Center, a bag of peanuts in his hand that she'd pressed into his palm.
And even before that, there'd been Sha-Ming with earnest anger flaring in his eyes as he declared that all creatures should have dreams, desires, and things they wanted to do while clinging stubbornly to life.
He's not used to contemplating all the things he'd like to try, things he never got the opportunity to do. He's here now though, thanks to the response he'd given to Kotone's question. Minato decides this answer is satisfactory as he continues loosening the soil to prepare it for some seedlings.
There's some soil streaked on a cheek, and his elbows have some dirt on them too. He's content though, quietly working on his task. ]
iii. i am thou, thou art i
[ The mild breeze leaves delicate ripples along the oceanwater's surface. The shore's salty air fills Minato's lungs, clearing his mind and easing any troublesome thoughts that plague him as of late.
It's why he finds himself at the beach again today, shoes removed and socks tucked neatly in them. The sand is warm and silky under his feet, offering him something to focus on other than how, lately, his mind continuously strays to a ruined moonlit bridge.
Something brushes against his foot and disturbs his train of thought. It shifts his gaze from the horizon to the floor. There's a crab scuttling across his feet; it pauses in between them, freezing when it senses someone's attention focused on it. Then it's moving again, faster, making a beeline towards the water.
He takes a step forward to follow the trail left by the little crab. He doesn't get very far, interrupted by a sudden, agonizing pain in his head. He folds over with a gasp, pressing a hand against his forehead. He does not see the towering shadow taking shape from behind, unaware of its presence until a white-gloved hand grips his shoulder.
The creature shoves him down. He collapses like a marionette cut from its strings. And as he looks up to identify his assailant, he swiftly realizes there is nothing to truly fear. He immediately recognizes that metal mask. It's why he doesn't struggle against the hand holding him down, merely gazing back at the familiar Persona: Thanatos.
The Persona unsheathes its sword and releases an earsplitting wail, driving the weapon's sharpened tip through Minato's shoulder. But Minato makes no noise, even as it cuts through flesh and blood pools beneath him. There's no need to be afraid. After all, Thanatos must be here simply to remind him that, out of everything in the world, Death is the sole certainty. ]
iv. wildcard
[ Let me know if you're interested in a starter! You can send a private plurk to me at
iii
Fortunately for her, her time spent mastering sandbending comes in handy, both because the events ring clearly to her through the sand so she knows what happened, and so she can skid across the cresting sand banks over to Minato's side incredibly quickly. ]
Hey, what's your damage?! Quit it, Thanatos!
[ She hovers nearby, already in an earthbending stance if she needs to enforce her command. Seriously, are all Persona like this? What the effing heck? ]
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And though Minato hasn't responded to Toph's presence, it seems he's still exerting some control over Thanatos. Instead of reacting violently, the Persona chooses to try driving Toph off through a status condition.
Even in his daze Minato tries to ensure Thanatos doesn't physically attack those around him. Should any harm come to Toph, Minato would never live it down. ]
...Toph?
[ Minato blinks as recognition returns to his irises. ]
It's okay, it doesn't hurt.
[ It's hard to feel anything through the haze in his mind. Something whispers in the back of it: remember.
Remember: you, and everyone around you, will die. ]
...I've been looking away lately. That's all.
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What's that supposed to mean? [ she demands, scowl of disapproval deepening as she has to spend some mental effort resisting the skin-crawling desire to leave. Is that supposed to be comforting and/or explain anything? Because Toph has zero patience for metaphor and subtext. ] And how could it not hurt?!
[ She points directly at the immobile Persona radiating dread at her. ]
You have one more chance to knock it off, or I'm going to take you down.
[ She has been practicing specifically to fight under the influence of mental status effects, and Toph is more than ready to put it to the test to defend her friend. The only thing stopping her so far is that Minato was able to respond to her coherently, if stupidly, and she knows enough about Persona at this point to realize it's better off if he dismisses Thanatos on his own. ]
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I don't -- I don't know. I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore.
[ It wasn't supposed to be this way. He wasn't supposed to wake up with a second chance. He knows he shouldn't let it go to waste. But what if there isn't anything after all, nothing he could think to reach for? Toph had been the intended target of Thanatos' Fear, but Minato also finds himself sinking into self-inflicted despair.
Without warning, a splitting ache bursts behind Minato's eyes. His ears ring as he chokes in pain, the strangled sound drowned out by Thanatos' shrill wail. The Persona releases its hold on its sword as its body jerks erratically. Thanatos crumples to the ground, leaving behind a puddle of shadow. From that liquid darkness emerges a new figure in the shape of a lion.
It's Barong. Something's not quite right with the Persona though, eyes glowing an eerie yellow instead of orange, canines far more exaggerated and claws cruelly elongated. It turns its sights on Toph and lets out a terrible screech to Distress her.
The appearance of a new Persona means there isn't a sword lodged in Minato's shoulder anymore. It's a turn for the worse, as more blood is allowed to seep from the open wound. But based on how Minato squeezes his eyes shut and clutches his head, the shoulder hurts far less than the agonizing headache. ]
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[ Toph is getting increasingly frustrated. It's like Minato's not even fully aware she's present, and now he's cycling to another Persona, and she tenses further. That seems like a prelude to an attack, and it is: the Distress scorches down her nerves, rattles her with the learned awareness that she is utterly vulnerable while under its effect. No more time to mess around, then, especially with Minato making choked noises, slumping to the ground, and spilling blood across the sand. The Distress makes Toph feel the need to act even more urgently, like a crisis is happening she has to address immediately -- and what is Toph's normal response to a crisis?
To throw rocks at it, of course.
She's been deliberately training in how to fight a Persona-user in the past month, which means she doesn't waste time trying to attack the Persona. She swiftly gestures a lump of sand to spring into the air, compact itself into a hard enough wedge to serve as a bludgeon, and then sends it at Minato. It shouldn't seriously injure him, but hopefully it'll wake him up enough to get some control or knock him out. ]
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The compact sand landed true to its target. It hits Minato in the head and leaves him dazed, enough to interrupt his mental connection to his Persona. The pool of darkness where Barong emerged is gone as well.
It takes Minato a little while to regain consciousness. He blinks blearily as focus slowly returns to his eyes. His head throbs, though he's not sure whether it's from getting hit in the head or the headache that still rages behind his eyes. He squeezes his eyes shut and, with his uninjured arm, reaches up to aching shoulder. Something warm stains his fingers, confirming the severity of the wound.
He's probably too exhausted to summon a Persona again, whether it be intentionally or unintentionally. It should be safe for now. ]
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Minato comes to on their way back to the clinic, Toph wasting no time letting him bleed out on the beach. She's yet again using her earthbending to transport them, and she's so tuned in and sensitive, nerves jangling from the earlier Fear and Distress, that she catches it immediately when Minato shifts into wakefulness even as they rush smoothly down the streets. ]
We're going to the clinic, [ she says harshly, voice rough with worry. This is the second time she's transported him this way, and she doesn't like it. ]
What's wrong with you?
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It may be the second time Toph's had to transport him this way, but he sure as hell doesn't remember the first time. He blinks, exhaustion weighing on his limbs. The pain in his shoulder is dull and distant, just like Toph's voice. It takes him a moment to respond even though he's able to make out her question.
"What's wrong with you?" asks Toph, and because Minato's not quite sure where to begin, the answer comes out as: ]
I don't know.
[ If they're going to the clinic though... ]
...you're not telling Ethlyn, are you?
[ She won't tell Ethlyn what she saw, right? ]
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[ Toph snaps back in sheer incredulity without a moment's hesitation, never wavering as she keeps them moving forward with continual strides and flowing hand gestures. Of course, since she doesn't have to look where she's going, she stays oriented entirely toward Minato.
She's not a healer, she's just the transport. She has no idea how dangerous Minato's injuries are and she's taking no chances.
Not satisfied with his weak answer, she pushes again, ] Why did Thanatos attack you like that? Is it going to happen again? [ Does she need to warn Ethlyn to keep him unconscious? ]
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...do you have to?
[ He has to try one last time, even if he knows it's a losing battle. Suddenly, his shoulder doesn't hurt as much compared to the headache that intensifies at the thought of trying to explain what had just happened to Ethlyn. Trying to come up with answers to Toph's perfectly reasonable questions aggravates the pounding behind his eyes. ]
I don't know. I don't -- I don't think so.
[ Minato knows he doesn't sound particularly persuasive. However, there is one thing that's probably safe to say. ]
...I don't think I have enough energy for Thanatos.
[ At least the Persona won't cause anymore trouble. ]
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Have your bleed out pity party on your own time. I'm not letting a friend hurt themselves right in front of me. Now shut up while I get us there.
[ Toph's voice is tight, revealing a layer of genuine concern and fretfulness. It was a disturbing image and she's worried about what it might mean for Minato, so she tries to cover it up with bluster, only somewhat successfully.
She focuses intently on earthbending them as fast as she can to the clinic, and when they rumble to a graceful rockslide halt outside, she yells loudly, ]
Ethlyn!
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If she didn't already know the sound she'd be quite alarmed--earthquakes are rare things in Jugdral--but instead, she grabs the kitchen's first-aid bag, ducks into the closet for her staff, and rushes outside as Toph bellows louder than a rockslide.
Minato. He is covered in blood, but it's his shoulder where everything looks fully saturated. Far paler than normal, but conscious, which is a mercy.]
She touches Toph on the shoulder and hands over her staff.]
Hold this, please. [Her voice is crisp and calm; this is work she's done too many times to count.] What is your name, sir?
[Because Minato might be conscious, but she doesn't yet know how conscious. She sets the bag down on the convenient new table in front of the clinic, pulls on a pair of nitrile gloves, and starts to cut his shirt away to get a better look at the wound.]
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Minato doesn't resist as Ethlyn cuts away at his shirt, vision a little unfocused but not yet dazed. He recognizes Ethlyn's voice and bright pink hair. Not quite understanding why she's asking for his name, he blinks at her for a moment with a puzzled expression.
He does respond even though her voice sounds distant. ]
It's Minato.
[ And because he's too tired filter himself, he adds: ]
...it's okay. I'll be okay.
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[With his clothes out of the way, she can see the wound better--a puncture, right through his shoulder. Someone has run him clean through on either a sword or a spear. She uses a pad of gauze to wipe the majority of the blood away so she can see it better. It looks like a fairly clean hole, not complicated by ragged edges or more gashing.
Did someone really attack him and run him through with a sword? She looks up at Toph again, running her eyes up and down over the girl. She doesn't appear to have been hurt, at least not on the outside. She looks harried and upset, of course, and there's always that fine patina of dirt, but there isn't any blood, she's not standing as though she's in pain.
But that might not mean much. A body can do a lot of things to shut up its own warning signals until it can save someone else.]
Toph, are you all right?
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But... there's nothing for her to directly do anymore, so she stands nearby, tense, expression pinched. ]
Me? [ She jerks her head from gazing sightlessly at Minato, monitoring his breathing. ] Yeah, I'm fine, [ she says shortly. ] He almost got me, but I knocked him on the head before I got hit. His Persona were running haywire.
[ Toph is so not keeping any part of this secret. That would be extremely stupid. ]
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You're Ethlyn.
[ He flinches a bit as the woman wipes away blood at the edges of his wound. The initial shock of injury's worn off, leaving the skin near his injury especially sensitive.
Otherwise, Minato's making a pointed effort to avoid looking at either Ethlyn or Toph. He can't exactly recall what happened after Thanatos was replaced with Barong, but he knows he'd lost control of his Personas altogether. The newly-revealed knowledge that he'd almost hurt Toph weighs on him. ]
...sorry.
[ Guess all that training against Personas really paid off after all. ]
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[Ethlyn already knows a little bit about Personas. She witness Kotone's rampaging once, though from a great distance, the year before, and Kotone had been kind enough to explain it afterwards.
Minato is still lucid enough not only to keep names straight but to feel guilty for losing control. That's a relief. It probably means he hasn't lost too much blood. Ethlyn holds a clean pad of gauze in her hand to keep from getting blood on her staff as she takes it back from Toph. With a touch, she awakens the healing magic that is contained in the stone at the top. It lights up with a brilliant glow.
The magic knits from the inside out--first stitching Minato's blood vessels back together, then the severed fibers of muscle, and finally the skin to close the wound. The magic in the staff is designed to get soldiers up and back in fighting form right away, but Ethlyn knows (partly from her own experience) that the body will want its rest as soon as it's allowed to stop,.]
There. How does that feel?
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I warned him a couple times and it seemed like he wasn't in control -- I wasn't gonna just stand there. [ Practical and down to earth to a fault, that's Toph. ]
I don't want an apology, [ she snaps huffily at Minato, inadvertently interrupting Ethlyn's attempts to actually check on her patient. She's seen it enough times by now to basically ignore the magic healing and get right to the point. ]
I want you to stop being an idiot. How did this even happen?!
[ Could this really just come out of nowhere? From working with Shinjiro, Toph would think this kind of thing can be anticipated and worked on. Has Minato just been keeping issues with his Persona to himself, silently, expecting them to go away? She doesn't appreciate being put in danger from a friend without warning and she especially doesn't appreciate any resulting attempts to wave it off with a simple sorry. ]
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Better. Thanks, Ethlyn.
[ There's no fight for him to return to. Minato stays on the table as his eyes drift shut. He can feel the way his body demands rest, and he'd give in if Toph wasn't standing right there demanding answers.
He teeters on the brink of consciousness while doing his best to collect his thoughts. It was different from the times when Shinjiro lost control of his Persona. When that happened, Castor was left rampaging without a care about who was caught in the crossfire. Thanatos, on the other hand, seemed more targeted, as if the Persona were trying to communicate something to him.
The "what" and "why" of it escapes Minato. Toph isn't going to like that. ]
...I don't know.
[ On the upside, there is one thing he feels fairly confident about. ]
But... I don't think it will happen again.
[ He blinks blearily. His head throbs. He feels, as the kids say, like complete shit. ]
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[Minato's Persona is probably lucky that it even got the warning from Toph.
She does look up at Toph when she starts asking Minato how it happened. Now that Ethlyn has closed the wound, she's more worried about finishing the job of stabilizing him and then letting him sleep. It is important to know why exactly his own summoned partner attacked him and how to keep it from happening again.
But now isn't a good time for an extended question and answer session on the matter. She looks back down at Minato with a smile.]
I certainly hope it doesn't. I don't think one of those Personas will fit very well into any of the examination rooms.
Toph, is it possible for you to lift the stone over the floor? If not, it would be helpful if you fetched a couple of nurses so they can get Minato inside on a stretcher. We can ask more questions after he has some time to rest.
[She's seen Toph hurl things through the air, but she doesn't know how far that control goes.]
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And Minato is a friend. ]
I got it.
[ She lets out an audible huff, a big gust of air, at the mild question regarding her abilities. Toph never misses a chance to show off, so maybe her earthbending is particularly sharp and precise as she flicks hands and fingers. A perfect stretcher-shaped rectangular slab of rock pops out of the ground around Minato and lifts smoothly into the air like it's hovering. Maintaining it steadily is a lot more challenging that she makes it seem, but that's kind of the whole point, to her.
She keeps her hands raised in a defensive posture and strides ahead confidently, Minato floating on the stone slab ahead of her. ]
Don't think you're getting out of explaining this later, buddy.
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Minato blinks as he feels the ground lift into the air. It jostles him a little more awake, only to realize that, ah, the floor must be shifting due to Toph's earth bending. He exhales. Bringing him to Ethlyn at Willow Clinic was a perfectly reasonable course of action conducted by Toph. But now that he's here, it seems he'll have to disclose why his Personas were acting unusual to both Toph and Ethlyn.
That can be a problem for future Minato Arisato. ]
...I know.
[ He's come to learn that Toph doesn't let anything slip past her, and given that Ethlyn's treated his shoulder, it only seems fair to discuss things with her too. ]
Later though. ...tired.
[ And those are the last words that leave Minato's lips as his eyes finally drift shut, falling asleep on the table. ]
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But it's a strangeness that will only fully register later. Ethlyn gestures to one of the nurses to help her get Minato off the rock and onto the bed. Normally the next thing would be to get him out of his blood-soaked clothing into a patient's gown, but even though Toph is blind, Ethlyn is still a little hesitant about disrobing him in front of a young girl.
She can get his shirt off, at least. Not wanting to pull him around more than needed, it's time for a quick wash of the hands and the clothing shears.]
He'll sleep for the rest of the day, and probably for quite a while into tomorrow. Then he'll need a lot of water. [And iron. And vitamins.] But the wound is clean and you got him to me quickly enough to stop the bleeding and prevent infection.
I know you said that the Persona didn't get you. But I want you to think for a moment--is anything hurting? A lot can happen to you in a fight that doesn't hurt until it's over.
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Funnily enough, Toph doesn't mind the disrobing for more reasons than being blind. Culturally, and especially in a medical context, it's just not a big deal to her.
She waits silently nearby while Ethlyn works and is grateful for the summary report afterwards. ] He used mental effects on me, so it's not physical, [ she answers crisply. ] We've been practicing with those. It's just going to make me more emotional for a little while. [ The whole point of the practice has been to learn how to withstand that and keep her cool, so Toph is informing Ethlyn of this factually, not looking for sympathy. ]
... Thanks. I know this is what you do, but knowing where to bring people when they need help... makes it a lot easier.
[ Toph is very clear that she can't heal and whatever basic first aid she's picked up from assisting with the clinic is not adequate to emergencies. ]
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...It would actually be very useful if pointed at an actual enemy. But if Minato's Personas are escaping from his control, not so much.]
You're welcome to stay around here until the aftereffects wear off.
[With Toph having gone out to put the rock back where it came from--or at least somewhere not in the way, Ethlyn hopes--she and her attendant have had time to get Minato into a gown and under a blanket.]
I'm glad. This kind of thing is why I started the Arztenritter in the first place.
[Not for giant forest beasts or corrupted king cephalopods--although it's come in handy for those--but for the single incidents, the sudden, terrible catastrophes that no one expects on a sunny day.]
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