The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

    It's a simple proposition. To get together and chat. Wake or Uta proposed it some time ago. Was it.. before or after the rebel alliance? Or was it during the library work? Either way, it has never exactly happened as planned. Until now. Pushing aside the world for a morning is not easy for either of them, no doubt, but regardless, it has been managed.

    Elly, in her new, strange priestess garb, is sitting on the veranda, overlooking the garden. She thinks Uta will be here. It's probable. But either way, it's a lovely, fall day. The roses may be gone for the season, but it's peaceful and the wind is surprisingly mild for the mountains.

Uta is, as expected, in the garden area. The weather is still nice, and Uta is sitting at a table. Likely thanks to the constant efforts of Wake's entourage, she is clean, well-fed, dressed in clean clothes, and seemingly rested enough. Those who don't know her might be surprised at how obsessively neat and tidy her portable pharmaceutical laboratory has been laid out in the table in front of her. Flowers and plants, sorted by hue in a sort of palette of gradients, are arranged in a grid of boxes, and she is busy mixing concoctions. People familiar with her, however, would know that her apparent scatterbrained behaviour does not correspond to messiness: she alphabetizes -everything-.

Her eyes, however, are laser focused, and -this- is unusual. She mutter-rattles out complex herbal preparations by heart, without skipping a beat, as she prepares her experimental medicines.

    Elly eventually spots Uta. It's not exactly joining for tea, but considering things, it's an achievement. Strange moods are impossible to shake for long. This is why Eas has learned how to work with them, rather than against. It is also why so many found solace here before the war. Hopefully one day soon they will come in great numbers.

    She rises and walks over to inspect the nurse's work. It is very neat and tidy. And so is Uta. All is as it should be.

    "I understand the idea, my dear, and I greatly appreciate medicine for my people and for all Landers, but I am curious what took you in this direction."

    Elly settles herself in a chair. "I have been meaning to talk to you about many things, really. Hopefully you can multi-task."

"Pain. So much Pain!", Uta exclaims. She does not avert her eyes from the trickle of liquid that is being poured from a slanted test tube into a vertical one. A puff of smoke blows out of the container, and a deep violet liquid turns a light green.

She stares at the result for a couple of seconds, and when she seems satisfied that the color is stable, she turns to Wake and pierces her with an intensity that's rarely been seen on her. "All those refugees at the clinic of Tolbana. We have no choice but operate on them without anesthetic. The tears. The spasms. The screams." A shudder runs down her spine as she says this. "We still are at the point where they have to bite on things or other similar primitive means."

The test tube is placed on a rack, and a clear vial is picked from a different one. "Most Adventurers are not aware of this. We have pain dampening. And, well, non-healers don't get to be around when medical procedures take place." A couple drops of liquid are poured into a mortar. "But the Landers...", she trails off.

She shakes her head, picks a few polychrome flowers from the array of boxes, with such speed and precision it seems reharsed, and drops them into the mortar, and begins working her pestle immediately after. "I couldn't take it anymore. Something had to be done."

She doesn't comment about the multi-tasking at all, as if the question, not directly related to the task at hand, didn't even register. But her actions speak by themselves.

    "I see. Yes, the suffering is of great concern." The Baroness frowns in thought. She is so used to healing with magic that the more mundane approach didn't settle in her mind. Not everything can be solved with artes.

    "How is your work going so far, Uta?" she asks. "And what does it feel like, changing the world so much all the time?" She is so used to strange moods, that the focus and loss of focus is almost expected. Seeing Uta this locked-on, though, is always a bit unusual. The nurse is, after all, the patron saint of distraction, too.

"Not as fast as I would like," Uta mutters in response to the question about how her work is going, over her determined grinding of herbs. "A little progress every day, but there is still so much to do, so much to do...", she mumbles, back to mumbling something about medicinal herbs and ratios.

After much mumbling, mixing, and pouring, Uta shakes a vial, which slowly goes from smoky black to a pale amber color. "I don't know what you mean by changing the world," Uta continues. "I'm just doing my job as a nurse. Nothing more."

A sigh, a grumble, as her wings flatten against her back. "And I'm not even a real nurse. The game has made me one." Her determined stare returns, and her wings spring to life again. "Nonetheless, I'll make the best of my lot in life."

    "The best of your lot in life?" asks Elly, growing curious at that comment. "What do you mean by that?" She has other things she might say, but they suddenly seem unimportant.

    The Baroness watches the work closely, but does not understand it. She always found chemistry interesting, but in this world, the knowledge that was, is no more. Those memories are like daydreams.

Uta, for a few moments, is lost in her own world. Powder is scooped up from the mortar, and sprinkled into the liquid from before, which fizzles into a foamy concoction. Without overflowing.

"Have I ever mentioned that my approach to character generation was just jamming on the 'random' button? Not only for appearance, but literally for -everything-?", Uta finally asks, as soon as her swirling her potion leaves her some brain power to engage in more conversation.

    The Baroness looks thoughtful, considering. She doesn't recall if that was brought up. The implications are rather fascinating, as well.

    "I do not believe you mentioned that to me before. When given all the choices of this world, you entrusted yourself to fate, full willing? That is not unheard of, but you seem to wear what you are well. Or have at least embraced it. Are you displeased now?"

    The work Uta is doiing is well beyond Elly's ability to follow. Not that she is trying terribly hard. Light magic is her means for healing, after all. The calling of more traditional medicine is something she cannot see ever pursuing, herself.

"I have?", asks Uta, with sincere surprise. Her eyebrows raise as she turns to Wake. Her mouth remains open, not quite slack-jawed, but hinting in that direction.

She returns to look at her reflection in the glass vessel she's holding. As she stares in the image of her own eyes, or her own face, her expression is merely of confusion, but as she looks down at her immaculate nurse's uniform, waves of unease chase each other on her expression, as she ruminates the last question.

"I am not cofmortable," is how she frames the response, as she resumes composture. "But being made uncomfortable is literally what I was after, so... uh... I guess I cannot sue?"

Uta returns to fidgeting with her flasks and vials. "I thought I was merely taking a shortcut. I understood none of the character options. It seemed like randomizing would allow me to just get on with the game," she continues. "The easy way out. Well, it turns out that the system might have a mind of its own. And gives people... something... uh..." A pause. "Fitting?", she hazards, unsure if it's the right word.

    "Uncomfortable." Elly tilts her head slightly. The priestess cups her chin as her eyes settle on her friend. As she considers Uta, it occurs to her how unusual a friendship it is. They work together frequently, true, but they are very different. She wonders just how it came to be that she grew to care so deeply for this other woman.

    "Feelings are a gift. At least, love is, whether it be romantic of platonic. The Landers prayed to the Goddesses and they say those prayers were answered by our appearance. I have no reason to doubt them on this point. That they might, in one way or another, find something that suits you is not shocking. After all, the beings of this world can pierce our memories and pluck out A drink and dessert that will move our hearts. Those beings aren't even divine, though they have great power."

    The Baroness, priestess, whatever title is put to her, sits a in a more relaxed fashion. Which is to say, her posture edges ever so slightly from its usual near-perfection. Yet even this is calculated precisely to reflect her feelings. It is not chnged to put herself at ease, but to communicate explicitly how comfortable she is with Uta.

    "But in any case. Uncomfortable in what way? And fitting in what way?"

"Love."

Silence, while Uta seems to sink into somber reflection. After that, she resumes her task with renewed zeal and drive. "How much do you associate the divine with power, and how much with Love?", she asks, after Baroness wake mentions divine beings and power in the same sentence.

Uta, at the moment, does not even turn to look at Wake's shifting posture. She isn't snubbing her. It's the Strange Mood.

After completing what look like urgent tasks, Uta reprises, "I had managed to get my life back in some sort of working order, out there. All the ghosts of my past properly gagged and silenced, somehow. A balance of sorts. Everything was quiet." A syringe is taken. Its needle is dipped into the vial, its plunged pulled, and light green liquid rises through the barrel. Uta, cross eyed, focuses on it. "Too quiet. A rut. A pointless existence." She turns the syringe to point upwards, pushes the end of the plunger up a little, and a few drops of liquid squirts out. "So I decided to shake things up a little. Get out of my comfort zone. I distrusted computers, so, why not try this newfangled videogame for a change? It was going to take me out of my comfort zone... but safely! And, hey, you'll get to see this fancy new expansion during your first session!"

After a short ironic laughter, she lowers her syringe, and continues, "The game must have somehow sensed my desire to get out of my comfort zone..." She turns to Wake, eyes wide in mild worry. "Every facet of myself I was too scared to face seems to have shaped a different aspect of this Avatar. Now I have no choice but..."

She goes silent, sighs, then focuses on the syringe held in one hand, limp. "Do you think the goddesses did this to me?", she asks, while looking down at herself, whith the kind of intonation that makes it sound like she's asked herself the question before, that she cares about it, but hasn't found an answer yet.

    "I associate the divine with the divine. With aspirations to aim for, with guidance that I need to be a better person. Of course with values that I hold dear. They are all a power of their own, and the Goddesses have a special power, as well. After all, The Beautiful One made me a Legend, and in so doing reminded me of my calling."

    Whether seen or not, Elly remains as she is. If a meeting happens in the forest and nobody is there, will the Baroness still curtsey? Yes. Yes she will.

    "Ghosts have a funny way of not staying buried. This I know well. In the dream that was, I was haunted for a very long time. For me, and maybe for others, what I thought was handling the past was simply being unable to fully confront it. Not because I had some failing inside me, but because I was not yet in the right place, with the right person, to find healing. To find Elly, you might say."

     The next question gives Elly some pause. The Priestess considers the question about the Goddesses for a time.

    "It is my belief that they did bring us here and they had a hand in you being as you are. But then, you did put it in their hands, so you played a part, as well. I would even be inclined to think you played the greatest part of all. I do not believe the Goddesses have any intention on mastering us. They are not out to control our fate. We are given a path and it falls to us to put our feet forward and select the direction."

Methodical, disciplined, controlled. Uta's movements are repeated over and over and over for different patterns of flowers. Vials, tubes, mortar and pestle, shaking, syringe.

"I still don't know for sure if this world is real or a carefully crafted digital illusion to maximize our engagement and thus the profits of some corporation," she mutters. "And the Goddesses with it. Yet-"

Her eyes focus with an intensity that cannot be described as anything short of burning. "I cannot stop. The pain of those Landers. I... just... -have- to soothe it," she says, and jabs her own arm with one syringe, closing her eyes and biting her lower lip as she inject a liquid. It doesn't look pleasant.

"But no matter whether or not the Goddesses are real creatures or merely fictional characters in a videogame, well, they -are- goddesses as long as we are trapped here," she continues. "Or, another way to put it, the goddesses are as real as Uta Furore."

A pause.

"I do, in fact, think that whatever I've been given, has been given for a purpose." More jabbing, more pained grimacing. "...I just don't know what the purpose is."

    It's rather soothing to watch Uta work. At least, until the whole injection thing happens. That's just unsettling. The whole time, Elly is making sure that Uta is okay. Light magic is held at the ready.

    "Reality is a subject that is beyond me. I can tilt my head at it or simply move on. I believe this world is as valid as the dream before. We make decisions, we learn, we grow."

    For a time she is silent, watching Uta work away at her task. She makes a note to keep a much closer eye on her friend. Randomly injecting one's self seems rather dangerous. "You know, maybe you should inject me a few times," she proposes. "It's important that whatever you find works on all races, or that you find the proper dosing for each."

    Turning her attention back to the matter of purpose, the Priestess suggests, "A purpose does not need to be known, Uta. Though if it brings you any measure of comfort, I think you are living it right now."

"It is," Uta confirms to Wake's statement about the importance of her products working on all races. "Right now I'm injecting myself with purposedly painful substances to test how well the anesthetic works. Not... much as of now," she mutters. "I would normally advise against someone in your position against being a guinea pig for untested drugs, but-"

Uta's eyes glint as she whips out a Syringe. "The Pain. It cannot wait!", she exclaims. If Wake's priestess garb has any sleeves, Uta will ask her to roll them up, ready for the inoculation.

"Nice robes. So, uh, you've been made a legend... and a priestess?", she asks, mildly confused, as if she had realized that just now. "How'd that happen, again?"

    Elly laughs gently at Uta's swift acceptance of her help. She removes her gloves and sets them in her lap. The sleeves are short enough to keep out of the way.

    "Indeed, no risk is too great for my people!" she agrees. Plus it's not like the pain is the same on them as it is for the Landers. Which, upon reflection, is a serious problem. "This is remarkably important work."

    Turning her attention to the question, she nods slightly. "Though I think priestesses are not so much made as chosen. I had a sudden realization about myself and this world. Then in the morning The Right Clothes produced what I am wearing now. Gwen is making me a few real copies, so I get some variety." To her, this all seems reasonable as can be. "If a Goddess granted me the power of a Legend, surely it is my right to serve her in turn. To do that, I will protect my people, but not only them. The safety and well-being of all Landers is my concern now."

"Your power was granted to you by a Goddess...", Uta mumbles as she flicks her syringe. Droplets fly away.

As Uta then moves to jab Wake, she continues, "That's pretty impressive, I have to say." She pushes the plunger down, "I became a Loremaster by being given a pen," Uta explains, in a lower voice. "I thought it was quite an interesting story to tell, but now it doesn't hold up to comparison." As soon as she's done with the injection, she will flick her menu open, and show it to wake: it's a fountain pen, relic level of course. "Sarla's pen," she comments. "A stubborn little thing that, when activated, refuses to write a lie." She sighs. "So much trial and error..."

    "You have Sarla's pen?!" blurts Elly suddenly.

    "Ow!" She's kind of a baby when it comes to pain.

    "The Writings of Sarla have something to do with behavior of Landers and their Kingdoms. I don't suppose that relic might help us figure out what those writings are, will it?"

    The Baroness looks down at her arm. "So when do you do the thing that takes the pain away?" She's curious, not that sensitive. Probably.

    Oh yes. The Legend topic. "I made the Arcade of Eas. Well, I was the creative push behind it, though I imagine the Goddess was my inspiration. Either way, when it was done, she accepted it and the rest, as they say, is history."

"You have information about Sarla?!", Uta blurts out.

"I... I honestly have never heard the name outside of the flavor text of this pen. Hm." Uta looks up at Wake again, "This is supposed to be the one that takes away the pain," Uta mumbles. "Gotta inject the experimental anesthetic before causing extra pain with a second injection," she explains as she swabs the injection site.

"I can somehow know the reputation of things I am exposed to, like when I learned the general reputation of Queen Laira Lorelei, the city of Naval Monte, or information about some songs. I can also try and write down how an event transpired, but I need to be sufficiently close to where the event took place, and the event must not be too far in the distant past." She looks up and frowns. "Or... in the future? I've been wondering if I can write about future events. Haven't found the courage to try that yet."

But back to the main subject: "If you can think of a way to exploit that to learn about Sarla's writings, be my guest." She rubs her chin. "But I'll take any lead you might have on the subject for a more traditional research effort..."

Uta rubs her chin. "Much like when we dedicated the Libraries to the Goddesses." "Or when I first transcribed the scores of the three songs associated with the Strange Moods..." Some sort of reverence falls on her, with a shudder. "'Your actions have been noticed by the Beautiful One.' That was... an unsettling message to get. Never gotten anything like that before."

    If Tae were here, she'd be laughing at Elly. She was a baby about shots even before ETO.

    "I do not have information, other than what I overheard. King Gilgamesh seems to not follow the Writings of Sarla, but they were brought up at the council, when there was a discussion about him founding a kingdom. Which has since happened, as you are aware."

    Elly thinks for a moment. "I wonder if she used that pen to make those writings. Or he. I am not sure if Sarla was a woman, man, or, frankly, something else entirely."

    Songs. Elly heard songs mentioned. "I want to know the Songs the Landers sing in praise of the Beautiful One. The lyrics, the meaning, what it can do. I suspect that her power may be expressed in it. I'd like to gain the ability to help landers with their crops and with fertility." Yes, that is totally a thing the Baroness just said.

"The flavor text for Sarla's Pen says, among other things, 'The Pen once wielded by Salra Himself," Uta comments as she finishes swabbing and places the used syringe in a tray with other empty syringes, presumably to disinfect them later -- we're talking elaborate metal and glass ones here, not disposable plastic. "We'll have to wait a little now."

Uta gives the Baroness's question some thought. "The Second Song is heard within forest and agricultural communities. Common within places such as Zumfit and the Eastal Free League. I wonder if there's a relation," she comments. "In any case, we have recordings of that song at the Conservatory, you can listen to it whenever you want."

And after a pause, she resumes her preparation for the next potion. "And then there's the subject of the three songs associated with Strange Moods I was mentioning earlier. I am sure you have heard that when you medically inspect someone in a Strange Mood, depending on your skill, you might see their mood as a status effect, and if you are lucky, even some flavor text? Well, the text, depending on whether you are in a Fey Mood, Mujou, or Yuugen, says that the subject is Resonating with a specific song."

    "That simplifies things nicely. So Sarla, whoever he might be, has some manner of writings. I wonder if they are part of the Lander libraries we tried to gain access to, once upon a time."

    Elly doesn't look too closely at the syringes. Medical stuff makes her feel woozy. Light magic healing is so much more suited to her 'delicate' state.

    "You know, maybe if I just ask to see them I can. Especially if I ask the right person." She has a plan (tm). "The Bandit King mentioned them. I do not know him, but maybe he'd be willing to share. Though I will try starting a little closer to home, with my dear friends in the Dukedom. Or King Gilgamesh himself."

    "Council meetings are only exciting on paper, really. It's not that thrilling. Apologies if the notes are rather dry. The details of the writings were not discussed, so we are rather on our own."

    The Baroness shrugs it off with a smile. "But I will ask, of course. It is what I must do. Perhaps I will even be allowed to read them. Perhaps we can even make a copy for the library!" Not likely. The key to this is not asking and just doing it.

    "Why wait? I can go to any church," says Elly. She is a Legend, you know. It's like an important person fast-pass. "Why would they deny me the right to sing praises to The Beautiful One?" She clearly finds that troubling. "If they do, I will have to convince them of the error of their ways."

"Not any Church. We need to speak with the Church of Alba. I seem to understand they're affiliated with the Temple of Law, and last I heard, the Temple of Law was located in Mac Anu," Uta mumbles. "That's why I wanted to wait. I don't know if they have locations elsewhere. Hm. I suppose you could try writing them a letter to come out to meet us, but what if they've been Crowned?" A vivid amaranth colored potion is poured into a syringe, and Uta injects herself again. It doesn't seem to hurt as much this time. "Even if not, I suspect they -really- will be too busy with the war to discuss songs anyway."

    "I see. You know, it would do me a great deal of good to learn more about that church, as well. I am aware of some of the laws, but I am no expert." Elly adds that to her ever-growing list of things to look into.

    She really must focus, however. "So we were talking about you earlier, and finding your purpose. A question came to me. Why does that matter to you, dear? Is there really such a thing as a singular purpose for someone as complex as you are?"

    Uta does a lot of things, from Elly's point of view. If anything, she has a whole pod of porpoises.

    Purposes.

It is unclear whether Uta is focusing on Wake's question or her next herbal potion, but when she answers after a long, intense silence, what she says is, "I do not believe in singular, unchanging purposes for people. I don't think a person has a single, unchanging purpose through their life." Pour. "We change, we learn, we grow, we evolve. We live through countless interwoven stories, sometimes as the protagonist, sometimes as the antagonist, sometimes as a love interest, or perhaps as a supporting character or a cameo."

She coughs and fans away the masive bright lime green cloud the latest attempt has produced, with a lot of coughing, after which she resumes, "Stories, one could say, capture a span of this eternal network, focused in space and time, and give it clarity and order." She gestures. "For... the most part. I won't go into the exceptions and experimental artistic movements which, on purpose, disrupt this structure. Anyway, it is pretty common, especially in the three act structure, for one of the major points of the story to be the one where the protagonist finally re-evaluate their goals and purposes."

Uta spins her hands while intoning a breezy melody, and a vortex of elemental Air magic blows the fumes away. "But I ramble. To get back to your question: I do suspect there is -something- I am supposed to do in this world."

There is a longer pause of silent work. "Gwen had been acting strange. I had never seen anything like that. Distracted, obsessed, weird. I'd never seen anything like that. So I decided to medically inspect her. And guess what I got? Fey Mood -- This individual is resonating with the Primordial Song"

Now, either through knowledge of Japanese or through the translation effect, Wake will be aware that 'Song' and 'Uta' are the same word.

"There was my name. Right there. It was... a shock. Mind-boggling. Was this... was this tailor-made for me? Is this my mission in this world?"

    Uta's many chemical surprises seem to have remarkably little effect on Elly. She makes a point to avoid coughing. It's simply rude to express any discomfort with Uta's work and therefore should be avoided. If her eyes water slightly, however, well, the spirit's will cannot always counteract the flesh's weakness, now can it?

    "It is. If you decide it to be," replies Elly to the major question at hand. "Just as I have decided to serve The Beautiful One. Just as I have decided to care for Landers. Just as I dream to give them greater agency and awareness. I dream.. to give them dreams, I guess. These are all parts of the whole, of what I am. My purpose. But it was my decision, in the end. At least.. on one hand."

    She tilts her head and says, with sudden affection, "Songbird, you need to find it. What the deepest yearnings of your heart may be is not something you decided, and yet it is the part of you that is most who you are. Is that not strange?"

"Life is strange," Uta replies.

"It's good to have dreams," she comments. "Especially dreams that have the well being of others in focus." A pause. "How do you balance dreams with reality?".

"Songbird. Fuka told you about her nickname for me, didn't she?" More mixing of potions. "That reminds me."

Uta fiddles with her menu, and the flush, mechanical-looking necklace she'd been wearing, the one Wake might remember Uta showing to Gilgamesh and asking about, shimmers out of existence, replaced by a different one, whose pendant looks like a hook with a gem at the end -- one which matches the amber color of Uta's eyes, with a pair of hummingbirds spreading their wings on it.

"Haru made this."

Another pause in her talking as more and more potion work is carried out. Such is the nature of Strange Moods. Hard to think of anything else. "We'll have to adjust so I can wear it while wearing Kein-Eintrag."

    "Balance dreams with reality?" Elly murmurs the question, as if it were somehow confusing to her. "Dreams are not balanced by reality. Reality is their point of origin, where your feet are at the start. Dreams and reality form a line or, more likely, a curve that you must follow. That, my dear, is the path you take."

    She examines the pendant with her usual calm smile. "It is love. And no, I called you Songbird because it is you. It is not a shock that my niece put the name to you as well. It suits you, dear."

    The potion work is fascinating. Not in the sense that is for Uta, but in the beauty of it. The way colors change. The way gas dances in the air. Even a drop clinging to the glass of a bottle or beaker has a shape worthy of appreciation.

"A flightless one for now," Uta comments, with a subconscious flick of her wings. "Fuka and you have been hanging out too much. You're being an influence of unknown moral classification on each other."

    "I will have you know, dear Songbird, that Fukaziroh is a good woman. She is high-spirited, of course. And as a stand-in aunt, I have nothing but the best intentions."

    The road to hell is paved with good intentions, right! "But truly, I like her, and I want to help her as I can. Sometimes the greatest way to show love for another is to simply listen to them, and be interested in them."

    She notes the wings and asks suddenly, "What is it like? I mean, having parts of your body here that were not there before?" She reaches out a hand, but stops herself to ask, "May I?"

"Fukaziroh is an excellent friend," Uta nods in confirmation to Wake. "She tends to make things weird, tho'."

Uta considers Wake's reaching for her wings. "Please go ahead!", she exclaims. "I had not considered about numbing sensitivity there, it's actually a thing to try!" To make things easier for Wake, she swoops her dark wings open to their full extent.

"It was -dang freaky-," Uta replies to the question while she flicks her syringe. "Out of getting a whole new body, the wings certainly were the single most unsettling change I've undergone! And... you can move them, and feel them, and- they get your balance all off at first!", Uta rattles out, while she attempts to reach her own back with her needle. Without much success. A discussion that ties closer to her obsession seems to be far easier for her to focus on -- in fact, it's harder for her -not- to keep rambling about it.

"It took me -days- to just learn to walk straight again, and weeks to be fully confident! Granted, it was not -just- the wings, I also had to adjust to arms and legs of different sizes, and being shorter, and-" Abruprly, she hangs her head and sighs. "Ok, I guess there's no way I can do this alone," she declares, after she realizes that she cannot reach the base of her wings and still have enough maneuverability to perform a proper injection on herself. "I'll need to ask a fellow healer to do it once I'm back at the clinic."

"Fukaziroh is an excellent friend," Uta nods in confirmation to Wake. "She tends to make things weird, tho'."

Uta considers Wake's reaching for her. "Please go ahead!", she exclaims. "I had not considered about numbing sensitivity there, it's actually an important experiment to perform!" To make things easier for Wake, she swoops her dark wings open to their full extent.

"It was -dang freaky-," Uta replies to the question while she flicks her syringe. "Out of getting a whole new body, the wings certainly were the single most unsettling change I've undergone! And so many people that meet me don't even think of it. You're probably the first one to notice without me having to mention it explicitly." Chin turned up, gaze lost in the distance, she scratches her chin. "Well, with the possible exception of Haru. He seems to check my wings out a lot. Perhaps, just like you, he's worried that they feel freaky?" She returns to look at Wake with full attention. "And... I can -feel- them, and -move- them, and- they got my balance all off at first!", Uta rattles out, while she attempts to reach her own back with her needle. Without much success. A discussion that ties closer to her obsession seems to be far easier for her to focus on -- in fact, it's harder for her -not- to keep rambling about the subject.

"It took me -days- to just learn to walk straight again, and weeks to be fully confident! Granted, it was not -just- the wings, I also had to adjust to arms and legs of different sizes, and being shorter, and-" Abruprly, she hangs her head and sighs. "Ok, I guess there's no way I can do this alone," she declares, after she realizes that she cannot reach the base of her wings and still have enough maneuverability to perform a proper injection on herself.

    Elly rises, seeing Uta struggle. "I have wondered what it would have been like, to be so different on top of moving between worlds. You know, I tried to talk Taeyeon into rolling up a catgirl. She knew what was on my dirty little mind."

    The Baroness laughs gently at the memory. "I'm happy she declined, of course. There is no way to improve upon my beloved."

    Moving behind the nurse, Elly takes the injector and looks at it. "So.. just need to do it right about.. here!" She administers the injection, which thankfully isn't brain surgery. She'll keep a close eye on Uta's condition. Light magic is at the ready.

Uta frowns multiple times, as if trying to understand what could be so dirty about a catgirl. And fails. "Oh. So, Tae is a scan too. Nice to know."

She lets her hand be guided to the correct spot. "Ok, I suppose it is time to-"

A wince, the buffer is pressed, the liquid flows into Uta's back and...

"...Now we wait." Silence.

She looks down. "Hm... seems like I have completed the preparations for today," she comments, and begins to pack her supplies and contraptions. "Thank you for having supported me in my endeavours, by the way. During my brief moments of lucidity I do realize that... that..." She squints and attempts to focus multiple times. "...that... wait, I could combine preparation #3 and #7 in a 2:3 ratio! That might-", she says, and ignoring the Baroness, she hastily unpacks her supplies.

    Elly is not sure whether to hug her friend farewell or order her tea. "Progress and epiphany waits on no circumstance," she murmurs. She will settle next to Uta once more. Perhaps she'll need to get more injections.

    "You know, what other things might be possible with these? I've been thinking when peacetime returns, I'd like to focus on the fertility sphere a bit, and help Landers who wish to have children. Perhaps with a proper diet and the right care, we can make childbirth far safer than it was. Also light artes, of course."

"Might be something worth looking into, yes...", Uta comments semi-distractedly while carefully dosing the contents of two ampoules with an eye dropper. "...hm. Epidural anesthesia. That is something worth looking into, yes, yes," she mutters to herself. After muttering more obscure medical terms related to childbirth, Uta looks up from her preparation once she seems done with it. "And Light artes, of course, of course! I will be glad to assist with those." While she shakes the test tube, she continues. "I feel blessed I got access to Light magic right from the start. Not everyone does. Not even Doctor Prophylaxis. It was... surprising to have access to the full range of healing methods."

    "Are vitamins something that would be useful here? I've heard that prenatal vitamins are a huge help in promoting a successful pregnancy. Also, I wonder what might be gained by early detection of a pregnancy." Elly is focused on something, now. It's no strange mood, but one could see how it might get there.

    She turns her attention forward then, staring off. "I wonder if light artes could do it. I know I can heal very well, but what else might I be able to do? And beyond things like hit points, could I correct defects in the womb, or grant a sterile woman or man the ability to have a child?"

"There isn't much research in this field," Uta explains, as she keeps focusing on her work. "Light magic can definitely heal, but it is no substitute for Pharmacy. The most important difference is that you cannot -diagnose- people by using Light magic only. You need Pharmacy for that. That is why I am so glad I have both."

A small puff of smoke, and a grayish substance turns a translucent golden, with much satisfaction of the nurse. "Ah, there we go."

She pulls the preparation into an empty syringe, while continuing, "All the questions you are asking about... are a whole filed of research by themselves, I'd say. Granted, that kind of thing is not my main specialization, I wonder if Adventurers have advanced the State of the Art in the last few months."

There is a moment of silence as Uta seems to consider something, then she turns to Wake. "Are you planning to train in Pharmacy? If you would like to go down that path, I would be glad to teach you."

    Elly listens closely. Uta is the expert here, after all. "That makes sense. So when we make the hospital, we will need regular doctors with the right equipment to enhance their diagnostic abilities. And then healers who know how to work with them. What a wonderful way to combine the two skills."

    She seems pleased with that thought. As for pharmacy, though? "I would learn everything, if there as time, my dear. But I will work with others who are more gifted, and dive more deeply into my study of light. It truly makes me happy. That I could work with someone, instead of trying to do it all on my own, makes me happier still."