3372/Books. Books are the best medicine..

Books. Books are the best medicine..
Date of Scene:	12 November 2015
Location:	Njorun Station - Medical
Synopsis:	Toph gets a visitor in medical, as Eve brings gifts to make the road to recovery less boring.
Cast of Characters:	20, 857

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Thanks to quick action from her adoptive parents, Toph Beifong was rushed to Njorun medical. Whatever poison HK-47 used was indeed potent, as the earthbender was in pretty bad shape upon arrival. But the healers and personal in medical knows their thing, and thanks to their combination of skills and magic, Toph was stabilized enough to not get worse. It was a rough night however, and she was asleep for most of the time even as the nurses tended to her, giving her IV drips, medicine, inhalations and most of all, oxygen. But after the first hours Tony had been reassured that she was stabilizing.

    During the beginning of the day she began waking up, though she was quite tired at first, unable to stay awake for long. Still, she was stable and out of danger. As evening comes she's still lethargic, stuck in bed and on oxygen. The nurses aren't in her room right now, though they did leave her a mug of hot soup, as she has declined solid foods today, stating her throat way too sore after the poison gas.

    There are some marks on her arms from the ribbon attacks, but otherwise she looks okay, if only a little pale and tired. With what could have happened, she's been lucky, and she knows it. The radio is on, filling the room with some music on low volume as she reclines in bed, though the upper end of the bed has been propped up to ease up her breathing.

Eve (857) has posed:
    Well, Toph didn't say not to bring books, and she surely didn't say not to come by. She just said she didn't need any books... and Eve surely knows that a good gift isn't what someone needs, but what they WANT. Probably Toph's just too shy to admit it, or something like that. It's not like she could possibly prefer boredom to reading, right?

    Eve sees no need to ask further. She just shows up after first inquiring at the appropriate places and getting permission. From Medical that is, not from the Earthbender. She peeks inside, then pads over to Toph's bedside. Her first act is to deposit books. Books that give a weighty-sounding thump. She picked them special. A tome on geology, a history of Rock music, and a book in case something Toph was looking for a bit of lighter fiction called Painting The East. Which isn't about actual painting... probably.

    That done, Eve takes a moment to peer at Toph. "You look well." she says neutrally. "... for nearly dying." she adds deadpan. Bedside manner isn't one of her strong points really. "I brought you some books, in case you get tired of just, you know, sleeping." she adds, entirely without irony.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    When the door opens and she hears footsteps Toph opens her eyes slightly where she's resting. That doesn't sound like one of the nurses...

    The sound of the books dropping down on the bedstand is curious, and she's just about to inquire when Eve speaks up and explains her reason for stopping by. "Oh, heya Evie." Her voice is like it was on the radio, tired and raspy. The fact that Eve speaks in such a deadpan voice makes it hard to get a read on her, but... she assumes she's joking. "Yeah, I bet I looked awesome last night," she sighs. And... great. She did bring books.

    The earthbender doesn't reach out to pick up the books from where Eve dropped them. Instead she closes her eyes. "I'm sleeping because I /am/ tired." It doesn't hurt to point it out, right. Eve does need to learn some more sarcasm. "I told you that you didn't need to bring any books... but..." A coughing fit overtakes her for a moment, then she speaks up. "But fine, what did you bring?" Amuse her.

Eve (857) has posed:
    Were Eve a somewhat more demonstrative person she'd be looking for a place on Toph to hug. Not that she has a problem with hugs even so, just that there's a time and place for such things. This is neither.

    "You'll get less tired well before they're ready to release you." Eve predicts. Not because she has any real knowledge of medicine, but because she simply can't imagine them releasing a patient who still needed to sleep most of the day. "And I know I didn't NEED to bring them." she adds, the emphasis clear. And perhaps, slightly smug. It's hard to tell. Eve doesn't give away her feelings, not unless she feels them particularly strongly. "They'll be here if you want them." she says. "And if you don't, they can still stay here. I've read them." she admits. Yep, used books. Oh well.

    Eve reaches out, placing her hand on the small stack. "Metamorphic phase equilibria and pressure-temperature-time paths." she says. She taps the pile. "Sound of the Beast." She leaves out the subtitle: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. Toph can find that part out for herself. She taps a third time. "Painting The East." she adds, somewhat tentatively.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Yeah yeah, I know..." Toph mutters. "They don't take any chances, I have been here before and well... Pepper would freak out if they sent me home too early." Not that she can blame her. Her adoptive parents are protective and worried about her when she gets injured, and it's something that makes sense.

    Used books, huh? Well, at least Eve didn't waste money on getting her new books. It's not something she cares too much for, but still. Eve brought her books so she can have something to do. At least she doesn't hear any sense of sarcasm or lies in Eve's voice. The blind girl lets out a sigh, though she is overtaken by another coughing fit, leaning forward slightly as her torso and shoulders shake. When she speaks again her voice is slightly hoarse. "The first one sounds like a snore... though the others sound fine. Except for the..." Ugh, how sore is her throat gonna be? "last one. Painting doesn't interest me." She lies back in bed, resting her head against the pillow, though she makes no move to get out bed.

Eve (857) has posed:
    "I'm not sure it's really about painting." Eve claims. She read it... and she's not sure? Well, that's easily enough explained. She just doesn't want to make a claim that could easily be false. For a 'book expert', she's a bit timid about claiming she actually knows it all.

    After a moment during which Eve watches Toph to see if she's going to be all right from the coughing, Eve unshoulders a small bag and passes it wordlessly to Toph. Inside the bag is a moderate assortment of hard candy. The kind of thing you can suck on for a while... also, it's got a slight infusion of mint and menthol, so it's at least moderatly effective as a throat losenge. Mostly though, it's candy rather than medicine. These aren't used, fortunately.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Well, Eve has a point. "Yeah... some books have titles that make no sense.," Toph mutters sleepily. When she notice that Eve is handing her something she looks curious, reaching out. "What's that...?" Her fingers don't fumble as she inspects the bag of candy. At least she isn't totally dismissive of Eve, nor asking her to leave her alone. It /is/ a bit boring to be alone in medical, after all."

    So you read these... were they boring?" Then again... Eve is a quick reader. So she corrects herself. "Do you think I would get bored of these books?"

Eve (857) has posed:
    Eve considers the question. Were they boring? No, of course not. She'd hardly bring boring books. The second question is a more useful one though, one that makes the little blonde ponder deeply. WOULD Toph consider them boring? Eventually, Eve's forced to shrug. "Probably." she admits. "But I don't know what books you would like. So unless you say otherwise, I just have to keep trying." she deadpans. "Oh, and that's candy. You suck on it." she adds, explaining the hard lumpy things in the bag. She's just so ... helpful.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Oh. Great.

5tToph lets out a small sigh. "I like action stuff, adventure, something exciting with not too much talking." Those tend to get boring in her experience. But she does hold out her hand. "So which book should I read first...?" Come on, give her a starting point. "And I know what to do with candy, genius."

    To demonstrate this she gets one of the candies out of the bag and pops it into her mouth.

Eve (857) has posed:
    Eve hides a faint smile, probably unnecessarily, as Toph reacts to the candy. Not a malicious or even playful smile, just one of pleasure. She considers the books though. She likes books, but she does acknowledge that she likes some books more, and that there are such things as good books and bad books. Or at least not-so-good books.

    After a moment she reaches out and rearranges the books. "Try this one." she says, tapping the topmost. "It's not about the kind of metal you'd probably prefer, but you might enjoy it most." she says consideringly. "I can bring some adventure books soon, so if you're too sleepy to read you might have something better when you're awake again." Eve notes. Forgetting, or perhaps just choosing to ignore, that Toph would read only if she were forced to, rather than simply because she's not sleepy.

    "Oh, and I'd also bring you scrambled eggs, but I don't think you're supposed to feed patients." Eve claims. The candy, obviously, isn't food. Clearly.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    She brought her a book about metal? Well, that actually sounds interesting, she has to admit. So the blind girl reaches out to touch the book, then takes it and places it in bed next to her. "You don't need to bring more books while I'm here, I spend at least a week on reading a book," Toph says. It's hard to be a quick reader when you use your fingers, after all. Not to mention it's not one of her talents. But compared to how she was when she first began reading... it's pretty good.

    The talk about scrambled eggs, though? Toph shudders and makes a face of disgust that she doesn't bother hiding. "It's fine... I have soup, I don't want solid foods." She coughs, then reaches up and points to her throat. "My throat still hurts from yesterday." She had coughed up blood, they said. And her entire respiratory system was aching.

Eve (857) has posed:
    Eve frowns at Toph's look of disgust, mistaking it for criticism of her cooking. Or perhaps simply recognizing it for criticism of her cooking. "I'll have you know I'm perfectly good at making scrambled eggs." she says defensively. Okay, NOW she is. Most of the time. "And ... other things." she adds non-specifically. Her repertoire isn't that huge, but she's working on it.

    Not that she's unsympathetic about Toph's injury, of course. But some things just require a quick reaction. "Maybe... once you're healed." Eve says, with some sympathy.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "The first time you tried making scrambled eggs... it," Toph begins, stopping to cough some more before she resumes, "it... tasted like crud."

    No, she's not going to lie about it. Eve will just have to take criticism if she wants to learn how to cook better. And well... Toph /could/ have been even harsher in her judgement.

    "Yeah... maybe." Somehow Toph doesn't sound too eager to taste the girl's cooking again, but if others taste it too it should be safe enough, right? For now she tastes the candy, a bit careful at first. But heh, it's rather tasty, she decides, sucking on it before she nods her head slightly in approval.

Eve (857) has posed:
    "I wouldn't know. I don't eat... 'crud'." Eve says primly. "But I learned how to do better. You'll see." she promises, perhaps a bit ominously. She DID take criticism, reluctantly, and has turned it into an opportunity to improve herself. that's one of Eve's better points really... or two of them. She's a fast learner, and she's always looking to learn.

    "Just... hurry up and get better." Eve says softly. "So you can eat my cooking and see how good I'm getting." she adds. Though when it comes down to it, that first part sounds a lot more sincere than the deadpan last part.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "You made crud, there's no doubt about that," Toph weakly coughs. "And no, I won't see." Sorry Eve. That one was just too obvious to not take advantage of.

    As for hurrying up and get better, Toph adapts a deadpan look. "No, I /love/ being bedridden, coughing and not doing stuff all day." The sarcasm is obvious in her voice. Still, Eve is almost sounding like she wants her approval when it comes to her cooking? Is that right? Even so, she did sound sincere when she told her to get better. "They're taking care of me, and my parents will undoubtedly take care of me when I get home. So don't worry." After she finishes up her candy she reaches out to pick up her soup mug, blowing on it to take a sip of it. "Just... be careful out there. Seems that the non-Union people aren't going to pull punches in dealing with..." Another cough breaks up her words. "With people they disagree with..." Still, /why/ would those other two help the droid to begin with?

Eve (857) has posed:
    Eve frowns, not liking Toph's sarcasm, or at least taking it for mockery rather than playfulness. It's a flaw in her own outlook though, not in Toph's sense of humor.

    Eve nods though. "I'll be careful." she promises. She's not strong... or at least, she doesn't consider herself strong compared to certain others she looks up to. She may be closing in on them, beginning to reach her potential... but she can't see her own daily improvement and still remembers them being significantly stronger. "I understand one of the ones who attacked you was at my home, but I guess I never saw him." she notes.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Perhaps Eve will learn in time. Sarcasm is something that more people than Toph use.

    "He's not the only one who can be dangerous... just be careful if there are missions going on outside of Union territory. And make sure to keep your radio at hand." It doesn't hurt to warn Eve considering she is young and not that strong yet. Perhaps she will be in time.

    "Thanks for bringing the candy. And the books, I guess," she says. "Hopefully I don't have to stay here too long, and even if I do feel better I doubt Goldie and Pepper want me to go home too early this time." So she'll go along with it for their sakes.