[sylvanSpider]

Dr. Analoka was beautiful. There was no denying that. The way her skin shone (if one could call it 'skin') lighting the room Ashi felt like she was gazing upon some mystical creature of Daoweian fairytales. Instead, she proved to be another personification of a potentially good friend lost, forever. Flame shot up, warming Ashi's cheeks and it was hard for Ashi to tear her eyes away from her, though at this point she wasn't sure if it because of recent memories squelched or her shimmering body, safely tucked away in protective gloves.The princess swallowed some spit that had gathered at the back of her throat and looked down, “You will be saddened to know, then, that she is no longer with us. She was killed like so many of us back on Hazoo. She...was alone. If we would have known... she would have been with us...” Her breath shook as she inhaled and exhaled, “I suppose I should be grateful you passed then. You seem to be working magic on my own body. I have done all the mental preparing I'm capable of. I'll...I'll handle what he throws at me. I have in the recent past and I will again.”

Ashi scoffed rolling her eyes, a small smile creeping across her lips, “I couldn't have pegged them better if I tried. They're the same type regardless of which planet they come from.” She stopped for a moment, mind still stuck in the previous conversation. It was hard not to think of Toka when one of her rare species was sitting right in front of her, alive and well when Toka, the purest of all, lay in ash. Her mind was brought back immediately with Analoka's echoing of her own thoughts throughout the past few days when she was wracked with pain. “I've...I've been thinking about it. But,” she sighed, “I don't know what to say. I'm, ah, aware of potential consequences if I go about this wrong – or even if I go about it right. There will be blood on my hands, and I'm not sure I am ready for that.” There was already blood on Ashi's hands, blood of one she loved, but that was a secret that only she and her father knew, and neither would dare breathe a word to anyone on that subject for different reasons. This, was if one discounted the guilt she already felt for Toka.

The princess took Analoka's outstretched hand gratefully, wobbling on her newly fixed legs, half amazed that pain didn't shoot through her body. She noticed Analoka's hand placement and offered one of those smiles that came so freely to her face as a side effect of always being watched. “I'll help with that,” she said, turning invisible and stepping out of the tub. Analoka could see exactly where she was without seeing the actual body of the princess, pink tinged verdaqua fluid dripped from her body forming a small puddle where she stood. Following Analoka's gesture, she made her way to the drawer with scrubs, glancing up as Analoka left the room, leaving her alone. It had been so long since she'd been alone, the silence was almost deafening.

As she slid into her new scrubs, turning visible to examine her appendages, feeling like new. The verdaqua was already beginning to dry forming pink-tinged scales that fell off with a touch. After peeling one of the scales off, she made her way to the door, placing a hand on the wall for stability. It had only been two galactic days since she'd been injured, since the massacre at Hazoo, but it felt like a millenia since she could walk. Now, she was pain free and in desperate need of a bath.

Out in the hall, she could see the door that Dr. Analoka had spoken of and she was faced with the choice of a shower or seeing her friend. Given the circumstances, she knew that he wouldn't be bothered if she showed up as she was – if he was seeing anyone. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

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Mendez clamped his mouth shut as the large frame of the doctor appeared in the doorway. He wasn't a small man by any means, but the doctor seemed to dwarf him. The man in the labcoat had the appearance of one who was nearing the end of a very long shift, though Mendez wondered how busy he could have possibly been judging by the empty hallways. True to his word, he was on edge and watching the man intently. It wasn't that the man scared him, more than the actual size of the man. Did they choose him specifically because he was intimidating? One who could potentially restrain a Terskix? He watched as the man glanced down at his dataslate and tapped the surface a couple of times and then back up at Atrix, “Those are all very good signs, when was your last molt? It sounds like you may be getting close. Of course it's best to fix cracked chitin if it doesn't heal so that there are no complications during the molting process...” He turned to a counter that Mendez hadn't noticed before and grabbed two different bottles. As if sensing the tension in the room, he sighed, “They didn't choose me because of my size. They chose me because Terskix don't threaten me. The ones that come in need to be fixed and they don't attack if you're giving them something that they want or need. My specialty is arthropopoda, or humanoids closely related to arthropod species. Etymologically, I find the word redundant as it's an unclever combination of 'arthro' and 'anthropo,' but I didn't write the language. In short, I'm not going to hurt you, and chitin cracks are a pretty routine issue that I deal with. You're in good hands. That said, I can give your mate a physical, but that is all I am authorized to do for him given my training.”

Mendez breathed. A specialist. Terskix probably got a specialist for all their needs given their unique anatomy. The man's size had nothing to do with his specialty. The job was chosen. He did wonder briefly as to why, but then, the doctor could ask him the same thing being a willing mate to one. “Now,” the doctor said interrupting Mendez's reverie, “your last molt will determine which cream I use; both work essentially the same way, but one is more permanent in case you feel your molt is still a significant way away, the second is more temporary and will supplement certain minerals that will aid in the shedding and hardening process during your next molt. It's up to you which I apply.”