Welcome Home, Knight-Lord
The summons to Dr. Starfrost were hand delivered by a Blood Knight Master and their Adept in an envelope that not only bore the insignia of the Blood Knight order, but markings of classification of utmost importance.Â
Dr. Starfrost - For your eyes only - Immediate attention required Your presence is required at the Hall of Blood tomorrow morning, one hour after dawn. You are to perform a physical fitness examination on a knight, as part of their reinstatement process. We trust that you will perform this duty to the utmost ethical standards as a former member of our order, and esteemed physician serving QuelâThalas. Signed, Knight-Lord Bloodvalor
Once the message was securely in Gattiusâ hands, the two knights offered him crisp salutes and were immediately on their way.
The following morning, the streets of Silvermoon City were just barely starting to come to life. A gentle golden glow shone between the towering spires of the city. Knights and Farstriders had begun their morning training, merchants made their way to their stores and stalls, and those who had seen the sun rise were wandering home to retire for sleep.Â
Dr. Gattius Starfrost was received by the two Blood Knights from the night prior, who led them to a small office room in the back of the Hall of Blood. It was an unusual request to summon a physician to the Hall, rather than send a Knight needing examination or treatment to a clinic. Whatever was happening was clearly of utmost importance to them.
âRight here, Doctor. Weâll be waiting outside.âÂ
Once inside the small office, a singular knight sat on a chair in the corner. Bereft of her armor and makeup, Inaâthia Dawnblade didnât look particularly intimidating at first glance. With her arms crossed and legs stretched out in front of her, the black tank top and leggings she always wore underneath it revealed skin weathered by time and even more battles. Her hair had fallen flat and dry over the years, and sheâd long foregone her usual dark kohl liner and red lips.
Upon realizing the door had been opened, she immediately stood up and leveled her gaze on Gattius. Inaâthia all but hissed, and the turbulent holy energies of her aura as a Blood Knight seemed to crackle in the air.
âI want a new doctor.â
âOh, shut up.â Gattius groaned in response, as if already exhausted with her. âYou know I'm the best there is.â
Gattius knew it could only be Ina'thia, even though the letter didn't say outright. He had heard the rumor the other night from Syrielle. Then, all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the missive's delivery. Knight-Lord Bloodvalor wouldn't put his name on an order to reinstate just anyone. And being summoned to the Hall, rather than the reinstatement case just be sent to his clinic? High profile and secretive. He hoped he was wrong. Maybe it was someone else. Anyone else.Â
Nope.
Still, he stepped through the door and closed it behind him, resigning to his fate. He knew. Part of him resigned to it as soon as he got the letter. The rest of him was just catching up, now. He set his bag down on the small corner table, and opened the folder he'd been handed on his way in. It all could've been hallucination up to that point, but for some reason, seeing her name inscribed across the top of the examination form solidified everything else.Â
Inaâthia Dawnblade was back.Â
He stared at the form a moment. Just at her name, reading it over and over againâ hoping maybe it looked like he was just reviewing her chart intently. His body moved ahead of him, hands digging his cigarette case out of his pocket to pluck one put and light it up. The familiar taste, the warmth hitting his lungs, all seemed to reel him back. His golden gaze lifted from the folder to look at her, now. Slowly, he exhaled a plume of smoke.
âPlease state your name and date of birth for the record.â he instructed, all-business.
Inaâthia bristled at Gattiusâs groaned response at her, quickly sitting down. She crossed her arms and slouched in the chair, pouting that this was the doctor that had been assigned to perform her physical. Gattius Starfrost, of all people. It couldnât be some other rank and file Master, a spiritual knight who she pissed off years ago, or hell, even an Argent Crusader.Â
No, it had to be Gattius. Former knight, former Captain, former lover.
She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, trying her best to push those thoughts from her mind. He could very well be the one obstacle that stood in the way of her reinstatement if he wanted to be vindictive, and she knew it.Â
âGods damn you, Bloodvalor,â she grumbled under her breath, then sat up straight. Just answer the questions.
âInaâthia Dawnblade, July twenty-first.âÂ
Scribble scribble. Gattius jotted down notes on the parchment. The form wasn't anything he hadn't filled out a million times before. He checked a few boxes, and filled in some of the basic information he knew about her already, like blood type and the like.Â
âYour last physical exam was over five years ago. Have you sustained any notable injuries since your last exam?â He asked, ashing his cigarette carelessly onto the floor beside him. âAnd were you seen or treated in the field or by any other physician in that time?â
His eyes remained fixed to the form. Voice monotone and interrogative, like he either didn't care⊠or cared intensely.Â
Inaâthia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Her fingertips dug into her bare arms, pressing into the muscles and skin marred by scars both old and new. Her ears twitched and she took a moment to breathe in the sweet smelling smoke of his cigarette. Light, sheâd kill for one of those right now. But then she wouldnât get promoted. So she remained sitting⊠begrudgingly so.Â
âI was treated the monks and residents of Temple of the White Tiger at the Kun-Lai summit some six or seven years ago. Frostbite and exposure. Climbing that mountain is still an absolute bitch, by the way.â The knight exhaled sharply, catching a fleeting glance at Gattius before pointedly averting her gaze to the small pile of ash on the ground.Â
âI was treated in the field with my own first aid and other menders I crossed paths with. Too many to count.âÂ
Scribble scribble. He took down more notes as Ina'thia shared the information.Â
âSimple or routine mending, aye?â He asked, seeking clarification. âNothing major, like broken bones or internal organs rupturing? Nothing requiring surgery?â
His tone leveled as he settled into the chair. Maybe the cigarette was doing its thing. Or maybe the routine of it all was helping him manage. It helped to have a focus of questions to ask, keeping him from asking his own. Like âwhat the fuck?â, or âhow dare you show your face here again?âÂ
âJust papercuts from too much paperwork and bruises from stubbing my toe on desks,â Inaâthia retorted in the most sarcastic voice she could muster, and even threw in a very annoyed eyeroll at him for good measure. The end of her eyeroll met Gattiusâs gaze and she quickly found a spot on the wall to look at.Â
âMy broken bones were set, the lacerations sutured and the burns treated with remedies both magical and herbal. You know that treating these things in the field can be unorthodox. No surgeries.âÂ
With another heavy sigh, she shifted her posture in the chair and slouched in it somehow even more. The enchanted lantern light in the room cast a deep shadow over her features, which were set into a deep frown with the whole experience at hand.
âDo you really have to ask all of this?â
ââPatient declined examination, physician advises against reinstatement.ââ Gattius retorted, equally sarcasticâ quill moving, but the distinct sound of it scribbling on the parchment was notably, obviously absent. âOr maybe you'd like a different recommendation today, aye? I don't wanna ask them any more than you wanna be asked. But if we're gonna do this, we're gonna do it right.â
He gave a warning side eye; one well practiced over a couple years of fatherhood. Then, back to scribbling downâ for realâ a few notes from Inaâthia's responses.Â
âGonna need specifics on the breaks. Otherwise, I'll have to find them all manually.â he commented. âI think this is plenty awkward as it is, don't you?â
Something about Gattiusâ response earned a concession from Inaâthia with regard to her sarcasm. Perhaps it was his own sarcastic remark in turn about not recommending her for reinstatement. Or maybe it was the stern side eye that he had given her. Either way, she sat up a little bit straighter and became slightly more cooperative.
âDislocated my left shoulder. Broke several fingers in my right hand. Cracked several of my ribs on the left sideâŠâ To demonstrate, she held her left hand up into the enchanted light. Her ring finger had healed out of position, and leaned slightly to one side. âMore bruises than I can count, but those have all since healed. Just like the other injuries. What else does that blasted form have on it?âÂ
âThe usual.â Gattius replied shortly, whilst filling out more of the form. âDo you smoke? Yes⊠Do you drink? Yes⊠Is there any chance you may be preââ
He let that question fall off, instead answering it for her without finishing. Most of these he knew the answers to already, unless something had DRASTICALLY changed. Then, he turned the pageâ rarely a good sign, and a guarantee that this was far from over. He scribbled a few more things down without asking for her input. Either not needing it, or knowing well enough already.Â
Then⊠he sighed. He finally looked at her for more than a glance or narrow-eyed glare. Quiet. He ashed his cigarette, then leaned back.
âWhereâve you been?â
Inaâthia opened her mouth to answer his questions, but closed it immediately when he began answering the questions for her. At this point, she couldnât help but wonder what the purpose of the questionnaire even was.
She leaned back as Gattius leaned back, and resumed her closed posture. Crossed arms over her chest, legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. Her gaze once again was going to burn a hole in the wall between Gattius and herself.
âIs that like, an official question? Or are you asking off the record?âÂ
âOfficial. Gotta know for localized diseases, parasites, all that.â he replied, calmly. âSounds like Pandaria, at least. Anywhere else outside QuelâThalas?â
Inaâthia couldnât help yet another eyeroll at the continued line of questioning. If hell was real, this was certainly it. âPandaria, yes. I stayed in Kun-Lai, specifically at the summit and temples, for about a year. Maybe longer. After it was attacked, I joined up with other visitors of the temple to take the fight back to the Black Empire. Tanaris, Silithus, Uldum⊠most of Kalimdor, now that I think of it.âÂ
âMhm.â Gattius nodded along⊠though didnât look like he was writing any of that down. âAnd in the past year, were you sexually active?â
Another drag off his cigarette.
The hopefully soon-to-be-reinstated Knight-Lord nearly choked on her own spit at that last question. It finally caused her to sit upright, and she gripped her knees with her hands. Her fingers dug into the fabric of her leggings like claws. âWhat the fuck kind of question is that, Gattius?âÂ
He shrugged, and tapped the parchment wordlessly.
âYouâre not writing anything down, though. Are you being an asshole just because?â Inaâthia threw her hands up in the air in frustration, then quickly crossed her arms again. As far as she could recall, this is about how their last interaction went. A fight. Both of them storming off. This time, there was no room to storm away. âYeah, I was. Have been. There, are you happy now?âÂ
âI remember what you said. Iâll write it down, relax.â he scoffed, shaking his head.
Slowly, he began to inscribe⊠something on the parchment. Occasionally glancing to Inaâthia, then back to the page.
â... Kun-LaiâŠâ he mumbled. âAnd⊠hmâŠâ
He tapped his chin, before ashing his cigarette again.
âIs there an apostrophe in âBeyâronâ? I can never remember.â
âLook, Gatto ââ the nickname rolled so effortlessly off of her tongue, it caught her by surprise. Nevertheless, she continued. â-- If youâre not going to be serious about this, then Iâm going to ask for another doctor to do this examination. You know how to goddamn spell.âÂ
Inaâthia almost hissed, she exhaled her frustration so sharply. Her gaze leveled on Gattius, fueled by the anger sheâd held onto in her years away.
âIf you want to ask me questions, then fucking ask them. Donât pretend to be filling out that stupid form.â
Gattius was expecting a reaction, sureâ but still, he jumped as Inaâthia raised her voice. Startled enough that he dropped his cigarette. Just as well; it had burned pretty low. Straightening, he pulled out another, and lit up in a fluid, practiced motion.
âThese are on the form, first of all.â he tapped the parchment again. âBut fineâ youâre right. Letâs set these aside for a moment, aye? Hereâs one thatâs not on the form; what the fuck, huh? Whyâd you run off to that asshole Magister, then run off the face of Azeroth?â
He frowned. Deeply. Lips curled almost to a snarl. Casting aside all attempts to mask it, he just stared at Inaâthia with anger and pain in his eyes. Heâd kept himself together as long as he could, to this point. Now, he wanted real answers.
It took all Inaâthiaâs willpower to not march across the room and fling the parchment and clipboard out Gattiusâs hands, and then punch him in the face. Doing so would all but destroy her chances at reinstatement, and so she kept her lips tugged into a deep frown as she rolled her head a bit to try and dispel some of the growing tension from her neck and shoulder.Â
Her gaze remained leveled on his, matching his anger with absolute contempt of her own.
âBecause you do this,â she gestured vaguely around her. To him, to the form, to all of this, âYou get angry and jealous, and you let it fester by being an absolute passive-aggressive jackass before you finally explode.âÂ
Inaâthia exhaled sharply, finally breaking eye contact. She resumed staring not just at that one spot on the wall, but through it.Â
âThere was room in that relationship for three, Gattius. The kid showed up and it was time for me to leave. Iâm not good with them, anyway.â It was a half-truth, but at least it wasnât an outright lie.
It was uncomfortably quiet after Ina'thia finished speaking. The silence hung heavy and tense in the air. Gattiusâ eyes never peeled from her, cigarette burning down between his lips. Less anger in his expression, replaced more with pain. Frustration, if anything else.Â
With a sharp exhale, he turned toward the small desk and set the parchments flat on it. Ached his cigarette, scribbled down more notes. But otherwise, the silence sat a moment longer.
âMedically, no glaring issues.â He said calmly. âIf the fingers bother you, I can get you the name of a good orthopedic surgeon out by Fairbreeze.â
He stood with that, and began to dig around in his medical bag.Â
Inaâthia froze in the lingering, uncomfortable silence. One sidelong look revealed the pain and frustration in Gattiusâs eyes and entire countenance, but looking back at the wall and ignoring it was far easier for her than continuing to confront it. She shifted in the chair, finally replying.
âAm I cleared for reinstatement, then?âÂ
âYep.â
His response was exceptionally short, tone both defeated and uncaring. He pulled a stamp and small portion of sealing wax from his bag, and pressed it with an overly firm hand to make it all so. Then, carelessly, he tossed the stamp back into his bag and closed it up. The papers left laying open on the desk beside him as he turned to face Ina'thia.
âIt was gonna be worse. I was daydreaming the whole walk out here about subjecting you to all kinds of needless and unflattering tests, today. Numerous blood draws just so I could stab your arm a few times. Planned to miss the vein a few times until your arm was black and blue. Undignified shit like making you strip down and put your hands up over your head, or touch your toes to inspect joint range of motion. Or a fucking colonoscopy. I came in here wanting to hurt you, Ina. Something close to how you hurt me.â he admitted, laying it all out. âBut, just now, I realized I don't care. I used to care. I cared A LOT over the past seven years even through being mad at you. I worried the Magister had done some bullshit love spell to pull you away from me. I worried when I didn't hear from you for months and months that you got yourself killed somehow. I worried because I cared. And I cared because I loved you. But now, I realized you don't. You don't love, you don't care. Not nearly the same way. This was never gonna work, and it's not because of Tannis. It's because it was so easy for you to leave me, when I would've rather died than do anything but stay.â
Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes but by sheer willpower he wouldn't bid them to fall any further. He plucked the cigarette from his mouth and smothered it into the parchment beside him, before tossing the butt away.
âWelcome home, Knight-Lord.â
With that, he moved for the door.
Inaâthia threw her hands up in frustration yet again, this time standing as Gattius started for the door. Although she stood, she didnât pursue. She stayed put, almost as if her feet were glued to the floor.
âSure would have been fucking easier for us all if I would have died, wouldnât it have been? I wouldnât have to be doing this formality for reinstatement with you of all people, and I wouldnât have to be doing this tour of trying to make amends with people,â she snarled and continued, raising an accusatory finger at Gattius.
âI was going to try with you. I was going to give you a full explanation, but I donât think you could even see through your anger to believe any of it. Guess itâll just be a mystery for the ages.âÂ
She rested her hands on her hips, then tilted her chin up to the door as a signal to leave.
âGood day, Doctor Starfrost.âÂ
Gattius stuck around for Inaâthiaâs last word, but didnât respond to it. Not directly, anyway. After he was âdismissedâ, he simply rolled her eyes at her, and departed.
ââOh no, the consequences of my shitty behavior!ââ he grumbled in a falsetto voice clearly meant to mock the Knight-Lord. ââSure wouldâve been easier to die than to take responsibility for any of it!â Boo-fucking-hoo⊠wonât argue with that, you miserable⊠âŠâ
His mutterings grew inaudible the further down the hall he went, stomping and huffing like a tantruming child. But, to their credit, the Knight Masters guarding the door kept their bearing through it all.
[RP scene with @thefugitivemango] đđđ
