[open] a little truth arrives in the dying of each day

[eolasemah]

WHO: Sina and you
WHAT: here we go
WHEN: mid-Harvestmere
WHERE: Hightown and then the Gallows
NOTES: All Sina logs from this point onward will involve discussions/dealing with death and illness, so if you're sensitive about those topics I recommend passing these by.

I. Just outside the Forest Garden [single thread please, 1-3 people max]

Sina still looks like Sina, but if Thedas had photographs, and the ability to compare a person's image of two years ago to their image today, only then would it become achingly clear how much mass she's lost. As the weather grows chill, she has to bundle up more and more just to go to work in her gardens, and even then is constantly cold. But she's been all right, all things considered; she's still upright, at least.

Until she isn't. Having felt a little strange since they found the elf children in the warehouse, Sina has chalked it up to the usual business and the gut-wrenching trauma of what they found. Her chest has felt a little heavier, her step a little slower, her hands a little colder, nothing worth calling a healer about until today: she's nearly down the stairs of the former Chantry when she abruptly loses consciousness.

Crumpling like a doll, Sina scrapes her leg on the last few steps and collapses to the ground, basket of herbs on its side, its contents splayed everywhere. She wakes up at once, but with bleary confusion, disoriented and burning with fever.


II. The Infirmary [ota]

Those who spent any significant time with the rescued elven children may also have caught what ails Sina now, but with a body already so ravaged by weakness, fighting it is clearly difficult for her. She's asleep most of the time, coughing when she's awake, and unable to keep food down.
It's not the first time she's been in this position, but it may be the last.

Comments

II

[youwonscience]

Cosima isn't here for Sina; while she knows of Sina (and her condition, at least in its very general outlines), they haven't actually had a chance to meet. No, Cosima's here for her own reasons, but that doesn't mean she doesn't notice those around her.

She considers letting it alone; some people wouldn't want a stranger to intrude. On the other hand, she knows intimately how it can be to feel that bad, how a cough like that can wear you out.

"Hey," she says, coming over to Sina's bed, leaving a little space for Sina's comfort more than out of hesitation. "I'm sure they're taking good care, but you need anything not medical? Books, flowers, one of those little cakes from the kitchens?" She's willing to risk rebuff, but if she can help, she'd like to.

[eolasemah]

Sina has been resting with her eyes closed, but they open when Cosima approaches, and she offers a thin smile out of habit. It grows slightly when the offer is made.
"Flowers," she sighs, "that would be nice." All the available ones are, at least in a small way, her children. "...but... potted, please?" She winces, realizing she may be asking much. "Instead of cut."

[youwonscience]

"I can totally do that." She may ask for some help to make sure she doesn't accidentally pick up something totally culturally inappropriate, but she has enough people she can check with. "I'm in the infirmary pretty regularly, so I can make sure they're watered too, if you don't feel up to it. I know sometimes people get so focused on the technical part of healing, they forget you need something to look at that's not 'infirmary walls.'"

A pause, then, "I'm Cosima. If you think of anything else you'd like me to bring when I stop by next."

[eolasemah]

With a sigh of relief, Sina smiles more easily. "That's kind of you," she replies, meaning it. "I'm Sina. ...and... finding myself here somewhat increasingly." The smile dwindles, but doesn't fade altogether. She's not happy about it, but not about to be a bummer either.
"Many of the herbal remedies are mine," she adds, "from the garden."

[youwonscience]

"Being stuck here at length sucks," Cosima agrees, sympathetic.

"You're a herbalist? That's really cool. Plants aren't my particular area of expertise, but they're fascinating. Both in Thedas and just, like, generally. Are you mainly focused on medicinal stuff, or is that a side line?"

[eolasemah]

The comment elicits a laugh from Sina, which turns into a cough, which she stifles into her hand. It dwindles, not prettily, but she smiles again once it's passed. "Cool," she repeats, a word she has never personally associated with herbalism-- is it to do with temperature? "I-- ...yes, mostly medicinal. Poultices, tea... remedies for pain, trouble sleeping, trouble with..." She smirks, going a bit red, "...other things. Any problem a person could have."

[youwonscience]

A bit of coughing hardly bothers Cosima under the circumstances. (Though it makes her think, briefly, of Katja in a way she hasn't in a long time.)

"Cool's slang from where I'm from. It means, um. Good, in this context. Interesting." She rubs her neck, idly. "It's really impressive, though, what herbalists here can do. My world does medicine differently, and I think when I first arrived I underestimated how much knowledge was out there. You can do a lot to make people's lives better. I think sometimes, I get so focused on Inquisition stuff I forget how many people are just... living their lives."

[eolasemah]

Another small giggle, and Sina repeats "cool," again, enjoying how it sounds with its new meaning. How charming.
"How is medicine different where you're from?" she asks, settling back with a curious smile, "not everyone has access to magic, or fear it, so herbalism is a way to help prevent problems in the first place. Or make them better without intervention from another person."

[youwonscience]

"A lot of it was based on plant-based remedies, hundreds of years ago. A few things still are. But mostly these days we create the medicines we want in laboratories. It lets you isolate particular properties; you can avoid some side-effects and control dosing better. We also have surgery, except we don't have magic at all, so we had to develop other ways to deal with pain and infection and that kind of thing." Cosima considers, then decides Sina's interest is genuine enough she might like a little more detail.

"There's also stuff that's not quite ready yet, but really promising. Like, say someone has a weak heart -- not because they got sick, but they're just born that way. People are trying to, um," she thinks how to put it. "We're basically hoping to take the 'instructions' from a body with a healthy heart and introduce them to the person with the weak heart's system, so their body can fix itself." It's a simplification, sure, but she hopes the suggestion makes it through.

[eolasemah]

Listening quietly, Sina is unable to disguise her weariness, but it wars with her interest in the matter. And, in a way, her regret.
"It sounds like magic," she observes, not combatively, "taking instructions from one body to another." A deep breath follows, containing the audible wheeze of protesting lungs. "Perhaps you can find a way to use it here." Her tone suggests she has no illusions about this being anytime soon, but it's a nice thought.

[youwonscience]

"I'm working for the research department, adapting what I can. I hope I can help." Cosima hesitates, unsure whether she should be more direct, then settles on: "I'm sorry it's not going faster."

You're not a rifter working on the projects Cosima's working on without hearing at least a little about Sina's situation. Her tone isn't pitying, exactly, but it is sympathetic.

[eolasemah]

It's hard not to be alarmed by Cosima's frankness, but Sina doesn't mind. Her eyes do widen slightly, but with a sympathetic twitch of her eyebrows. "That's not your fault," she insists, her tone gentle.

[youwonscience]

"Maybe not, but even so." She sighs. "It's weirdly familiar. At home, I'm working on a cure for something threatening my sisters and me, too. I'm doing my best, but part of the reason I decided to be a researcher instead of a doctor -- my world's healers -- is I'm not great at staying objective when someone right in front of me is in pain."

She knows her compassion is, on balance, probably an asset. But she cares about individual rifters, the way she cares about her individual sisters (at least the ones she's met). It makes it harder to consider the problem with an objective eye.

[eolasemah]

Sina's brow knits deeper when Cosima mentions her sisters. "I'm sorry," she breathes, "that you have to be away from them." She can't even begin to understand half the afflictions suffered by Rifters, but some things remain true across all lives. "...but I'm glad you're here."

[youwonscience]

"Thanks," she says, with a warm smile. "That's kind of how I feel too, these days? Like, I miss them, I get homesick, but I'm also invested in Thedas now." It's not home, not exactly, but it's a world she's come to care about too. She's put in her lot with the Inquisition actively now, and she doesn't regret that.

[eolasemah]

"That's good," Sina sighs, and seems about to say something else when she's interrupted by a cough instead. She holds both hands over her mouth, eyes squeezed close as she curls forward to minimize the impact. Not that that helps much.
It passes quickly, however, and she rests back again, all the more exhausted. "Sorry," she whispers.