Scene #9744: Cursed Blood

Owner	Pose
Holly Asturias	It's surely not unusual for THE Lilian Rook to receive invitations to hospitals and labs on the regular. It's probably not even that unusual for it to be something worryingly new or weird, though whether all of it can get a piece of her day or not is another matter entirely. It's a voice mail, left in the middle of the night. There's scrambling in the background, the agitated tones of an electrocardiogram, and Nicole can clearly be made out to be shouting instructions like 'pin his arms down' 'don't let go of the legs! what are you doing!' 'on three, one, two-'... "Lilian. I'm sorry for how last minute this may be, though, rest assured by the time you get this it's handled on our side. A voice has been nagging me to ask for help on this matter, and I decided to humor it before my complacency returned. If you could drop by the Sanatorium at your earliest convenience, there's something I'd like to pick your brain about. It's..." Clang-SNAP. 'He's never moved this much before! Doctor we need a hand!' "Right. Sorry. I need to handle this. I'll explain when you drop by. If you'd like to commit ahead of time to anything, bring something you can carry blood samples in." It cuts abruptly, though the reason is self-evident. There's nothing unusual to the Sanatorium when Lilian finally makes time to visit. Whether it's in the dead of night, minutes after receiving the message, or the next day - or week - the place runs the same around the clock. The only difference is the weather, and the place certainly looks better at night if you're coming for the ambience. It's busier than before, for sure; the first steps taken to purify the forest of its lingering ill spirits mean that those needing treatment have a slightly easier time making the trek, and word of mouth passes a bit easier. There are more patients, and more staff - Concord hands, visibly, who stand out from generally not having Revenant-red eyes - but things are nowhere near operating at full capacity for the building size yet. Setting but one foot in the lobby is enough to give Lilian a general idea of the new vibe. It's a bit tense, between the greater influx of patients, but she's greeted immediately by Milly - they'd met, the first time, oh-so-briefly. Average build, average height, face behind a blue mask and goggles, wearing blue scrubs and blue gloves; the only way to tell her apart from the rest of staff is her mid-length brown hair worn loose, because those bright red eyes aren't unique at all. She smiles, subtle of an effect as that has on her eye shape. "Oh, Mrs. Rook! Are you here to see the doctor?" It's rhetorical, it's hello. She's already motioning towards Holly's office and stepping forward into a 'follow me'.
Lilian Rook	Man. Lilian is so sick of hospitals and labs right now. Practically inheriting Saoirse HTO from out under Allison Rook was when people started getting interested in her doctorate, then more-or-less joining up with Laplace was when they largely stopped paying attention to that part and painting her as 'an esteemed researcher, too!', but neither of those really have to do with why. It's the obscene politicization of Laplace's rehabilitation ward, and the little menace(s) running it, that's inflamed her preexisting dislike hospital settings, especially with a tinge of medical science, into outright antipathy. Holly Asturias is the beneficiary of a sort of incidental miracle in Lilian actually showing up, in that 'anything is better than Mesmer' has reached the point of 'even someone part of the same political circus', and her disastrously recorded voicemail being so incredibly unprofessional that it made her sort of curious. Or at least, it has her well aware of the fact that Holly just isn't the type of person who is capable of putting her through the sort of bullshit that's defined her professional life recently. So, though Lilian isn't usually the sort to 'commit ahead of time' to anything, the hassle of theoretically going back and forth has her showing up a second bag (she's not leaving tactical gear at home for this world) that's barely been altered since she took it to outer space a week ago. The pleasant memories of stopping in while still on her honeymoon do a lot to improve her mood the moment she's through the Warpgate, thus cementing the genius of Tactical Plan: Hotsprings in retrospect. Enough for her to smile at seeing Milly again, remember her name inside a second and a half, and say "Naturally. Did you happen to be waiting for me, by chance? Or were you just the one closest to the door? Either way, it's a pleasure to see you again." before following. %
Holly Asturias	"A pleasure here too! Especially since you made our corner of the world a bit more liveable. I'm just in charge of the lobby right now," Milly answers, opening the door to Holly's office without even knocking because she knows it's empty ahead of time. There's nothing new or unusual here, save that the literal doorcage of the elevator in the far corner reveals an empty shaft, and the elevator is audibly on its way down, an old mechanical model that probably needs a bit of oiling but endures. "That ought to be her, actually. Well, if I'm needed..." She jerks a thumb back. "Oh, and thanks for coming." The door closes behind her. Unprofessional and a bit late, when the elevator stops with a thunk, and the cage creaks open, Holly lets out a sigh, briefly in her own head and not immediately noticing Lilian. "Hateful, hateful shade..." Like muscle memory, she goes from the elevator to her desk, righting the wooden chair that'd been knocked over but leaning on it rather than sitting. The little chains and baubles hanging from her hat seem less lively, less jingly, more muted, and the feather-shaped one up front, new since a certain loss, is unusually still. "Mm...?" Thumps, and blood flowing. Ichor. Nicole's upstairs. So's Bea. Who's here with her? Holly turns, eyes widening at the sight of Lilian, and she straightens her posture instantly. "Lilian!" She takes a step-- Remembers Lilian is not a huggy one. And does not take a second step. "Oh what a relief. I know your time is precious, but I'm unsure how much longer it can wait. My how do I even begin... perhaps by asking if you'd like anything to drink? A snack?" It's beating around the bush. That she asked Lilian for help was an impulsive 'not this time' reflex to avoid shoving it under the rug again. Now she has to fight the urge to say 'it's okay after all'. The fact her right arm suddenly twitches and makes her wince and makes that much harder. "... it's about my health. My bloodline's, really. It's complicated, is what I'd like to say, but it's being upfront about it that is."
Lilian Rook	'A pleasure here too! Especially since you made our corner of the world a bit more liveable.' "I try to do so wherever I go." Lilian says. "When I have the time." is actually slightly less sincere than the part that should be a self-aggrandizing deflection. "I suppose it'd be odd to say 'I'm glad to see you more busy'; it's not as if you're running a business; but if this number of people needed help in the first place, then it's a good thing that they're actually getting it." Seeing the direct results of clearing the forest is good for her. Lilian Rook may be among the leading voices in the business for taking the time to actually absorb the fruits of one's own labours as an Elite, to stave off the risk of it losing meaning and blurring together, but she still has the luxury of doing so less frequently than she'd like. So even though she truly despises being sloppily made to wait, Lilian waves Milly off, spends a few minutes in thoughtful reverie on the subject, and finally greets Holly with, 'Hateful, hateful shade...' "You too, huh?" Lilian, arms crossed, a little rudely leaning against Holly's desk, isn't thinking of her evil family (dead and all), but relates to the vibe a little too well right now all the same. She greets her with "Doctor Asturias." 'Oh what a relief. I know your time is precious, but I'm unsure how much longer it can wait.' "It is." says Lilian, examining her nails. "But you've caught me at an unusually slow time." Because of taking time off to go to space, being stuck on interminable 'desk work' with the Storm Reformation Bill, and needing to squeeze in being on-call for Bloom Business(tm). "Let me think . . . Surely you have decent coffee." she says, looking up again. "Honestly, if someone has grapes and jerky at hand, that'd be nice. I've grown fond of them since taking a trip." With Petra. No hesitation, it seems. Her eyes dart down to Holly's hand. Her posture doesn't change. Looking so worldly and vigilant like this is a complete accident; if it were Holly'sleft she wouldn't have noticed. '... it's about my health. My bloodline's, really. It's complicated, is what I'd like to say, but it's being upfront about it that is.' "I'd gathered." Lilian says, smoothly. "It has to do with my field, because you paid attention when I told you, and it must be private, because I've been summoned to your study, and it can't wait for long, because you left that godawful voicemail. If it's me, then you don't want it getting out within the Concord, and if it's just me then it isn't something you can point a gaggle of do-gooders at without making a right mess of things. So it has something to do with . . ." She starts counting off on her fingers. "Genetics or heritability, plus being a Revenant and-or the use of Gifts, plus physical disfigurement or mental decline or both, and in addition, it's a complicated niche case that's resistant to evaluation and treatment, which isn't caused by a big scary monster or an evil curse, but which could make other people view you as a danger to yourself and others." She looks to Holly. "Am I close?"
Holly Asturias	"You too, huh?" "Me too...?" Ah, come to think of it, she'd overheard, once or twice, more negative-leaning mentions of family, between Lilian and Petra, openly aired on the broadband. It was rude to ever ask, and now it's apropos, and still somehow feels rude. She wonders if she should've let Flamel take a few shots at that, when he poked his head in. Smoothen the nightmares Mesmer hadn't, just to see. "My... relationship with my fath... Camilo, is... tense." That's the best she has. It's awful. "Honestly, if someone has grapes and jerky at hand, that'd be nice. "Oh, yes! Let me..." She turns towards her desk, to tap her tablet awake. It's in a thick case, hospital-proofed. Not nice at all, but it'd survive a Medical Incident, which is invaluable. She sends a text, real quick, and then smiles to Lilian. "It won't be long. Having real food in ample supplies has probably been one of the most enriching parts of my Partnership, if I'm setting aside the obvious work-related answer." "I'd gathered." Lilian casually hits Holly with a round from five miles away. Then five extra. She squirms a little bit more at each escalating observation, until letting out a small laugh and seeming to relax. "My, I pity anyone who underestimates you in a life or death situation. Correct on all counts. Bravo~! I might as well explain." Holly moves towards the examination table off to the side. She hops onto it to sit, and spends only a second giggling at the fact under any other circumstances she'd want Lilian on that table, not herself. "In the simplest terms, the Luxuria bloodline as a whole is cursed. Every Revenant in this facility... myself, and Camilo. Not an 'evil curse" as you suspect, we've simply taken to calling it one. It is some manner of degenerative condition, from birth, which reacts to both our potential to process Ichor into healing energy, and the actual act of doing so. It is a cruel, cruel blight, and the price we pay for healing." "Revenant healing techniques don't usually work on other Revenants very well, but those developed by those of Luxuria blood can. Most of the staff here is average - they'll live long lives, as long as they don't overdo it." Holly's legs kick back and forth idly, just a bit uncomfortable. It's not something she's explained in-depth to her staff, and so Lilian is the first time she has to really generalize it. "You've seen my arm, of course. The mutation creeps along our bodies like red gashes and vines, until it turns us into Horrors. It is painful, restricts the use of our healing Formae, and makes it all but certain that we'll meet an unsavory end. Nevermind the risk of taking others down with us." Her head angles down, staring at the floor. "Camilo has been in the final stages of it for the last few years. He hasn't woken up in months, now, except to kick, scream and flail. I don't know how much longer I can keep him from turning. Optimistically? A year, if it doesn't substantially worsen. And, doing that, has been affecting me in turn." Back up, to look at Lilian with a weakening smile. "In my case... I shouldn't have made it past childhood. My mother strained herself beyond recovery keeping me stable. That I'm eighty-six, and only now starting to deteriorate again is... nothing short of a miracle." She tilts backwards, hands supporting her on the table, looking at the ceiling now. The little ornaments make noise again. "... nothing comes free in nature, but don't you think, perhaps... that's a rather high price to pay?"
Lilian Rook	'My... relationship with my fath... Camilo, is... tense.' "My condolences." Lilian says. "Mine killed himself more than two years ago." automatically reframes it as 'condolences for him being alive'. She speeds through it so fast and smoothly that it's a wonder what she could possibly be hoping to accomplish. 'It won't be long. Having real food in ample supplies has probably been one of the most enriching parts of my Partnership' Lilian allows herself a very small smile. "One of the things I've thought about most while expanding my interest in botany is just how often it is that people take their food for granted until they suddenly don't have it. I'm hardly ever shocked at how often it comes in handy." Then, she sighs. "And yet, despite the many gifts I can apply to bread and wine, I've been cursed with an incorrigible taste for protein. Alas." 'My, I pity anyone who underestimates you in a life or death situation. Correct on all counts. Bravo~!' Lilian brushes back her hair on one side with a self-satisfied expression. "Now now, I can't take all the credit." she says. "If I were wrong, that'd mean you were quite stupid. Give yourself some credit for being sensible enough to read correctly." She cracks open a smugly shut eye at Holly's giggle. As if she had just now read her mind, and is quietly holding the word 'pervert' in mind. 'It is a cruel, cruel blight, and the price we pay for healing.' Strangely, the first thing Lilian asks is "Are the other cardinal bloodlines cursed in a similar fashion? And, if you intend to say no, do they have good reason to hide it if they were?" Then, as if it were a clarification, she says, "I won't claim to disavow Petra's political cynicism, but I can think of several reasons all the same." But the subject is unpleasantly familiar. This sort of thing was one that Lilian had often counted herself fortunate to be distant from. In her darker moments, when she would otherwise be consumed with thinking about the unfairness of the world, a little reminder that she has barely lived a fraction of her natural lifespan would usually set her back on track. She had always kept 'If I can just get through this, I'll have all the time in the world to forget about it' very close to her heart, even though she wouldn't utter it. And just in the last couple of months, the idea that she couldn't hope to even reach Holly's age had suddenly entered the discussion, and it hasn't sat well with her at all. That Holly has so much to go on makes her a little bitter, and a little jealous, but that she has so much greater need of urgency makes Lilian think, for a moment, 'I suppose it could be worse', and her long, silent contemplation comes to a close with a heavy sigh. '... nothing comes free in nature, but don't you think, perhaps... that's a rather high price to pay?' "Nothing we're talking about has anything to do with nature." Lilian says, closing her eyes again and lifting a hand to wave the thought away. "You're not paying a price; there wasn't a sale, contract, or deal, and you didn't consent. The sooner you get rid of that juvenile mindset, the better." she says. "You're being punished for subverting how things would otherwise be. There was a quota of suffering and you and yours are getting in the way. If the world didn't punish compassion then everyone would do it." Lilian pushes herself up off the desk, standing properly on her feet again, so she can pace.
Lilian Rook	"Just to get it out of the way: Prolonging your father's misery is an unjustifiable waste of time and limited resources, and there may be countless people who won't be saved because you burnt yourself out on him. Put him out of his misery." She doesn't even pause for someone to fit a 'Wow.' and a frown in there. "Now. If it reacts to Ichor use at all, even if ostensibly only in specific forms, it's not something you can fix with Revenant powers; yours or someone else's. No more than you can fix a rotting log by lighting it on fire, at any rate." "What you're describing isn't an infection or mutation; if it's localized, tissue-agnostic, and variant in structured use of Ichor, it's more likely that it has to do with the entropic delta of Revenant biology and it's metabolic use of Ichor in the first place. I'd be tempted to use the term 'degeneration', and begin investigating for something similar to telomere shortening, but it doesn't appear to correspond the Ichor channels being most actively used if it's most concentrated in that arm; pardon me for assuming. Scarring phenomena, even in metaphysical cases, typically follows a pattern governed by a hayflick limit-equivalent observable. I happen to have extensive research already done on something that sounds similar; in which the term was 'burnout' I recall." Lilian pauses mid-exposition, thoughts jumping to-- "Oh god that'd imply a lot about Horrors now wouldn't it?" Lilian shakes her head back on track. "You'll have to give me much more detail on what exactly your mother did if you want more than my off-the-cuff consultation, but lengthy remission and then sudden resumption without a lower buffer of abrupt acceleration implies a thermocline in corrective effort rather than merely symptom suppression or a sudden change in circumstances. If that's the case, seeing this onset means that there will already be quite a lot of inertia behind it, and it'll be very difficult to see timely results in any applied tests." Lilian sighs, abruptly annoyed. "God. So I suppose this is my problem now isn't it? You're begging me to do experiments aren't you?"
Holly Asturias	I've been cursed with an incorrigible taste for protein. "Oh you would love our fruits of abundance. Let me get one sent over. They're a new type of fruit that started growing after the Resurgence, and which is quite easy to grow and harvest. Fantastic flavor, every macro that matters, though some humans struggle a bit with the... appearance, and texture, and smell." Well that sounds so, so normal. "Are the other cardinal bloodlines cursed in a similar fashion? And, if you intend to say no, do they have good reason to hide it if they were?" "What an interesting question. The bloodlines keep their flaws, if any, under wraps. I'm aware of only one: that those of the Gula bloodline can lose themselves to their powers, like rabid beasts, but once again it seems to be a conditioned based on one's... potential? The stronger the Revenant, the more prone to it they are. Like a... check." But then, politics. Holly nods. "I'm sure when the politics between houses and bloodlines were more urgent than the decomposing world, it was a prime concern. Not anymore, but... well, haven't we so well established what goes on beyond these walls is not my forte?" "Nothing we're talking about has anything to do with nature." "That is a... hm..." Holly shifts her view of the world just a bit. "That's a little bit flattering, even if it's pessimistic. I don't like the idea that the world pushes back on kindness, and yet here I am telling you that my kindness will be the death of me." But then Lilian goes and... "Mine killed himself more than two years ago." "Put him out of his misery." "No!" Holly hops off the table, to stand straight, and tall, and... Angry? "He hasn't earned it. When there's a cure, I'm going to cure him. And I'm going to make him apologize for leaving my mother to die. I will not let that man have his way in death the way he did in life." Fists curl, and she takes a moment to breathe. "I need him to be accountable, Lilian. I... need to hear it from his mouth. Why he did it. I won't be able to rest until I know." Venom so unlike her. She needs a moment to regain her composure. A cheerful smile, the little clatter of golden chains as she lifts a hand to gently tap the ornaments with the tip of her purple nail. It's fine. "I'm sorry. Continue." "I'd be tempted to use the term 'degeneration'," "Telomere shortening may be a closer guess than you think. I am right-handed, and I don't think it's a coincidence that that arm scarred first. But that would only explain the active part. I was ill from the moment I was born, long before I used my gifts for the first time." "I happen to have extensive research already done on something that sounds similar; in which the term was 'burnout' I recall." "Mhm. What I've pieced together, and I can give you a copy of my research, has found countless similarities between the Luxuria blight and the standard process Revenants undergo when turning. But where Revenants turn due to, as far as we know, an external phenomenon - corruption, other Horrors, or direct exposure to light from a Resurgence-like event - those of the Luxuria bloodline turn due to a degeneration-like effect within their blood, as though Ichor were a poison. And yet, the end result is the same."
Holly Asturias	"You'll have to give me much more detail on what exactly your mother did if you want more than my off-the-cuff consultation," "I'm sorry, but I don't know. I was frequently unconscious in those days, and I was not even five. ... I regret to that say only Camilo would know. And he was never inclined to say more than 'she saved you'. You can probably guess but he wasn't very fond of talking about her. Or talking to me about anything but this place. Once he was done teaching me all he knew, we essentially never had a meaningful conversation ever again." "You're begging me to do experiments aren't you?" With a smile and a finger pointed up, Holly tilts her head slightly and approvingly. "Perhaps I am. But more importantly, I think what I'm asking..." Oh her knees??? Holly's still tall, even kneeling like she's about to propose, and she shamelessly seeks Lilian's hand to grab it, to make her point. "I believe what I'm asking you is to save my life, and to help me finish my research so that we can save my world." "Room service!" Milly interrupts, entering with a platter onto which rests a hot pot of coffee, two cups, sugar, cream, grapes, jerky, and some kind of beige fruit that looks like a mix between an apple and a heart, and smells a bit of sweet berries... and blood. It's all Concord-sourced, except the fruit, so it's all quite good. The fruit is also good, but that's local. She squints, at the sight of Holly kneeling in front of Lilian, with or without the addition of holding her hand like that. "Oh wow look at the time I gotta get outta here." She elegantly backsteps through the door and closes it with a motion so fluid it may have been instantaneous.
Lilian Rook	'Oh you would love our fruits of abundance' 'though some humans struggle a bit with the... appearance, and texture, and smell. ' "Oh. Well now. That just sounds perfectly ominous." Lilian says. Pausing just for a second, she says, "I didn't say no." and decides that's the end of it. 'I'm aware of only one: that those of the Gula bloodline can lose themselves to their powers, like rabid beasts, but once again it seems to be a conditioned based on one's... potential? ' "Then I'll consider it true that all of them do." Lilian looks off into the most interesting corner of the room she can find, folding her arms deep in thought. "One bloodline having a freak mutation that makes them susceptible to a form of degenerative or entropic burnout, just happening to be one of the top seven, is unlikely but entirely plausible, as a matter of random chance and the success of the Cardinal Bloodlines. The chances that two of them have something similar going on, and the other five don't, are laughable." "Unless something vaguely in the ballpark of two in seven Revenant bloodlines worldwide have the same problem, it's overwhelmingly likely it has to do with the Cardinal Bloodlines themselves, or simply the upper power limit of a bloodline in particular." With that logic firmly cemented in place, Lilian decides to ignore all of her mirror neurons completely. 'I don't like the idea that the world pushes back on kindness, and yet here I am telling you that my kindness will be the death of me. ' "Kindness is something that animals, highly evolved and otherwise, only have the luxury of when times are good enough for mutual aid to work." says Lilian, with a tone clearly taking it as self-evident. "Humans are unique in God's creation for abandoning their young and attacking and preying on each other even when the times don't necessitate it. Outside of a few enclaves, and somewhat rare individuals, they're fundamentally soul-sickened by society." Lilian sighs, ignoring her own wording. "I don't see why Revenants would get a free pass. Bloodlines are families, and families are social constructs. They're the worst of both worlds." 'I'm sorry. Continue. ' Truth be told, Lilian is more than a little surprised when Holly jumps up and starts shouting. She'd taken her obsession with her father, clearly declining in health if she goes by the very loud clues that she's come across, to be something complicated and irrational, rather than just a matter of filial loyalty; but Holly's sudden change of character from flirty airhead to quivering Moby Dick leaves her taken aback all the same. It's only that, with the conversation having come to fathers and family, Lilian has shut off enough of her introspective and empathetic thought to look strangely unmoved by it all. A subtle bump of 10bpm is all there really is to show for it when she says, "Apology accepted. Just be warned that the only poison more deadly than revenge is closure." 'I was ill from the moment I was born, long before I used my gifts for the first time.' "If Revenants are born Revenants and have Ichor flowing through their veins from the very start," Lilian says, fully assuming that's the case already, "Then it's almost open and shut at that point. Either the power itself is toxic, and only unnoticeable in lower doses, or unable to catalyze without a critical mass, or, the parameters of the power itself exceed what the physical or metaphysical channels for it can handle, and burn them out. A child has a weaker, less developed set of internal systems than an adult, and would be more easily torched by it."
Lilian Rook	Letting her thoughts wander for a moment, Lilian says, "It was a common sort of controlled affliction at puberty with the cases I worked on. But that sort of thing isn't too rare in arcanist populations either, though usually to a less severe extent. And it isn't unheard of where I'm from either." Debating only briefly, Lilian tilts her head one way, then the other, then feeds the same line she used on Vertin. "I myself from severe physical burnout in my teens and early twenties." 'corruption, other Horrors, or direct exposure to light from a Resurgence-like event ' "At this point, it's easy to imagine those events merely provide the critical mass of whatever power that Ichor is a medium for, to those Revenants lacking it at birth." says Lilian, only just now arriving at the theory herself. 'Oh wow look at the time I gotta get outta here. ' Lilian, momentarily stunned by the sheer audacity of Holly's bullshit, coupled with the elaborately ostensible lack of need for any of it, turns her head to Milly at the door, opens her mouth, and impulsively blurts out, "Oh come off it. I'm not up here getting a blowjob." in annoyance.
Holly Asturias	"Oh come off it. I'm not up here getting a blowjob." "Ahaha... ah, my, I've done it again, it seems. I'm sorry, Milly is more easily flustered than the others, and thinks I'm perhaps a bit too physical with the patients at times." Holly gets up, like nothing happened, and heads towards the door, to pick up the platter left on the table near it. She reaches for the fruit of abundance on it, and walks it back to Lilian first, rather than the coffee, grapes or jerky. What it is from afar is an apple entirely too alike a human heart, red-ish and beige in color, slightly shimmery, and smelling of a big 'ol mix of berries, iron and blood. "Here you go. These grow all over the Frontier in little bushes; I can assure you they're not made of people, I've compared cell structures before out of curiosity. Though despite that, the resemblance is a bit uncanny, and most humans won't eat it unless it's cut up finely, or cooked." If Lilian dares it, it really does have the texture of tender flesh. If she's never bitten into a human heart before she might well guess it must be like that, though the fruit is definitely more tender. It does have an after-taste of blood, but not overwhelmingly so. The flavor profile is sweet and citrus-y, the inner appearance is like pomegranate, featuring four distinct chambers full of seeds, edible as if berries, it's loaded with fiber, protein, natural sugars, a dozen vitamins, and quite a few minerals including iron. It's as though nature put together a little survival package for humans, and then dressed it up such they'd hate eating it. "The seeds are easy to plant and will grow in almost any conditions, except the cold. They can be a little bit invasive, as a result, so I'd advise always harvesting the fruits unless you want the seeds to spread quickly. Now! Perhaps you'd like your coffee? Or shall I feed you the grapes?" She cannot help it. It's terminal. "Unless something vaguely in the ballpark of two in seven Revenant bloodlines worldwide have the same problem, it's overwhelmingly likely it has to do with the Cardinal Bloodlines themselves, or simply the upper power limit of a bloodline in particular." "The upper limit of a bloodline... I've always wondered, but I lack the tools to even measure that. It... is possible for a Revenant to overfeed, that is, consume too much Ichor from humans, and to suffer harm from it, akin to indigestion, so..." "Either the power itself is toxic, and only unnoticeable in lower doses, or unable to catalyze without a critical mass, or, the parameters of the power itself exceed what the physical or metaphysical channels for it can handle, and burn them out." "Though now I wonder if that might just be a way to ensure we don't eat humans to extinction. Nature, from my reading, favors predators that don't overeat, and those who can are eventually selected out. Perhaps it's the same for us? That I could, hypothetically, drink from many times more humans than other Revenants, makes me less than ideal evolutionarily speaking. If each bloodline has its own... check, for such, it might explain both the Luxuria blight and the Gula craze."
Holly Asturias	"Apology accepted. Just be warned that the only poison more deadly than revenge is closure." "I don't see why Revenants would get a free pass. Bloodlines are families, and families are social constructs. They're the worst of both worlds." "If you do not mind me asking... and you may most certainly mind, but... I've heard you speak quite fondly of your ancestry, generations past, the blade left for you, traditions and... well, not arcanum, I suppose, but magic, then... is it just your immediate family that let you down so? Do you hold the ones that came before in better light?" "It was a common sort of controlled affliction at puberty with the cases I worked on." "Would you tell me more? I've so rarely any chance to speak with others in my field, let alone those who know more than I do, I hope you'll understand if I pull up a seat and take notes?" Not literally. She's more likely to reach for the grapes and pluck them in Lilian's mouth at request, as incentive to keep going.
Lilian Rook	'Ahaha... ah, my, I've done it again, it seems. I'm sorry, Milly is more easily flustered than the others, and thinks I'm perhaps a bit too physical with the patients at times.' Lilian, in this situation, is just so bewildered by the response that she impulsively blurts out the first intrusive thought that kicks the door down and bursts fully-formed into her mind: "You're not sucking them off though are you? Right?" One and a half seconds later she coughs, turns red, and says "Oh my god ignore that I said that. That was so insanely inappropriate I'm so sorry." 'I can assure you they're not made of people' Lilian thinks of the one time she had a sandwich made of people, and thought it was pretty alright. If she says that out loud, though, it'll certainly get turned around on her later; in public, no doubt. "Their loss." she says, to the matter of preference. "Of all my flaws, I'm glad to at least not count food sensitivity amongst them." Eating is already complicated and weirdly demanding enough. It surely has nothing to do with the subtle physiological changes that have glacially progressed over the years since freeing Exis from the Tree of Crisis. Including just barely deniable teeth, which make it very easy to bite into a heart-fruit by coincidence. She chews, looks thoughtfully at the ceiling, swallows, wipes her lips, and says "Not bad, actually. It's too sweet to eat all the time, but once a day just for the nutrition, I could easily see. Do you have seeds for these things? Like, separately?" 'Now! Perhaps you'd like your coffee? Or shall I feed you the grapes?' Lilian narrows her eyes. "I'd like my coffee for the moment." she says. For some reason, she stares suspiciously at Holly's boobs for a second, like she expects to see something damning. 'The upper limit of a bloodline... I've always wondered, but I lack the tools to even measure that. It... is possible for a Revenant to overfeed, that is, consume too much Ichor from humans, and to suffer harm from it, akin to indigestion, so...' Thankfully, things get back to business before long. Lilian sluttily leans herself on the edge of Holly's desk, nursing her coffee and listening with curiosity over each sip. "That tells me that the capacity for processing Ichor is in the bloodline. Like with arcanists and Enlightened, actually; the amount of energy they can produce and use, as well as the amount they can absorb without it becoming toxic from various stimulants." She thinks immediately of picrasma. "Though I've never heard of--" She squints, holding her coffe halfway to her face. "No, that's not true. In some cases, arcane potential far in excess of what the body can handle causes complications." 'Though now I wonder if that might just be a way to ensure we don't eat humans to extinction.' "Somehow I don't see it." Lilian sighs. "Though that's nothing more than my intuition speaking. Evolution only designs things in as much as the unsuccessful ones die off and the rest reproduce. It doesn't do this 'bloodline' thing." 'If you do not mind me asking... and you may most certainly mind, but...' Lilian's voice echoes tinnily into her mug as she mumbles into her coffee. "I do mind. And 'arcanum' and magic aren't all that different in the end; ours is physiologically rooted and heuristically processed like that world. But if you must know, my immediate family and I aren't on the best of terms. They were all traumatized to some degree by fifteen years of mass death, including their brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, fathers, mothers; all of whom I've never met, because I was born too late. It isn't as if they're all arbitrarily evil people." Even her defense is obviouzxsly grudging, semi-sincere. "But I haven't forgotten who was absent, who was controlling, and who was despicable."
Lilian Rook	She shakes her head. "But it is what it is; it won't change and it doesn't matter any longer anyways. And I don't particularly respect the generations of early modernity, but as for those older than them, who had a genuine love and respect for magic, who kept the old traditions alive and cultivated their talents, arts, and strength of arms; why not? It's served me better than not to measure others against them." 'Would you tell me more? I've so rarely any chance to speak with others in my field, let alone those who know more than I do, I hope you'll understand if I pull up a seat and take notes?' Lilian slowly exhales through closed lips. "They were cases where it was quite common to awaken to explosive magical potential at a very early age, then be demanded to use it frequently and intensively in service to the state, such that the use of it through the undeveloped channels of a still maturing body would end up building up 'scarring' util they couldn't produce enough energy flow at all. The standard there now is to use an external, mechanical catalyst, but in at least one case, I was able to restore natural ability with medicinal intervention and intensive rehabilitation exercise."
Holly Asturias	"You're not sucking them off though are you?" "E-Eh?" The facade of sometimes-intentional and sometimes-not hornyposting melts like chocolate left in the sun. Holly would turn the same shade of red as Lilian, if her darker skin didn't make that impossible. It's definitely red though, deeper shade or not. "W-With a patient? Perish the thought! My I don't even know what I'm looking for in a partner, so..." Quick, think of something doctor-y to say. "In most treated cases such an increase in bloodflow would be detrimental, anyway!" She stops, placing both of her hands on her mouth. "S-So, you see... it would be... and..." "Not bad, actually. It's too sweet to eat all the time, but once a day just for the nutrition, I could easily see." Oh thank Idris. "Why, yes, I can get you a packet of seeds!" On Lilian's way out, because she doesn't keep gardening supplies in her office, but still! "You're quite right though, it's a once-a-day indulgence. You can combine the Fruit of Abundance with a certain mix of herbs to temporarily stave off a Revenant's hunger, even! It's more alike a trick of the mind than a real solution - a placebo, if you will. Trick the body into thinking it consumed blood, and the symptoms lessen for some time." "I'd like my coffee for the moment." "Of course! Right away." Holly hops off the examination table she'd been sitting on, and shuffles over to the tray left behind by Milly. Coffee is poured into just the one cup, and brought to her guest diligently. Sugar, cream or milk, there's some on the tray too, to flavor to Lilian's taste. Nothing happens with her tits, unfortunately. Or fortunately? "That tells me that the capacity for processing Ichor is in the bloodline." "Quite likely; it's notable that Revenants of the seven cardinal bloodlines are indeed stronger, on average. Whether they process more Ichor, or process the less more efficiently, is case-by-case and hard to measure except by 'feel', with our current equipment, but it's undeniable bloodline plays at least a part." "Though I've never heard of--" "But on that... well, the human body can suffer such conditions too, can't it? 'Energy' can be burned too quickly, or not quickly enough, and cause harm in that way. Then there's conditions that make you overconsume, or underconsume, whether you mean to or not - physical and mental alike. That we consume 'Ichor' instead of various other nutrients doesn't convince me it couldn't possibly be something of the sort." And yet if she had any more of a clue she'd not need to beg Lilian for help, now would she? "It doesn't do this 'bloodline' thing." Holly re-settles on the examination table, legs crossed and then hands back and on it, to angle her head and stare up. "It certainly doesn't, though I still wonder. Before the Resurgence, when food was freely available without putting either ourselves or humanity at risk, there are no records of Horrors at all. The Luxuria 'blight' was a footnote in the family's history. So why is it that when Horrors appear, and our ability to feed becomes an extinction risk... suddenly, the blight does this? Would that I had journals of the other bloodlines, to see if their 'blights' also worsened after the Resurgence." Her head tilts forward again, to look at Lilian and gauge her opinion. "You see how it looks, yes?"
Holly Asturias	"They were cases where it was quite common to awaken to explosive magical potential at a very early age," "Explosive...? My I'm quite glad I don't believe it has ever been this bad for us. I'm our house's worst example, as far as I know, and mostly I just got very sick and almost died! An external mechanical regulator though..." What an idea. Shame she's no Forma engineer. "Maybe someone at MagMell might know more about that. It could be a solution. Not a cure, as I envision it, yet better than nothing in the interim. I'd meant to take some of you there, anyhow, when the chance arose." She also just wants to go Literally Anywhere At All. She's never left her forest. "They were all traumatized to some degree by fifteen years of mass death, including their brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, fathers, mothers; all of whom I've never met, because I was born too late." "Oh." Holly rises from the table again, after a long minute of thought. "It's like that, isn't it? I was born... some seventy, eighty years after the Resurgence, depending on the date you want to use. By then it was just a scar on the world and its peoples. The family I've known was certainly shaped, and not all for the better, by that. My mother seemed to have risen from it. The distant remains of House Asturias are ashes and maddened survivors whose locations I don't even know. Camilo, though..." She chews on the disdain and decides not to voice it this time. "I'm sorry, for asking. Might you mind a hug?" She's learning to ask!
Lilian Rook	'E-Eh? W-With a patient?' "No! Come on! I said ignore it!" Lilian whines. Both palms immediately go to her face, pressing down on her with a mortified groan. 'My I don't even know what I'm looking for in a partner, so... In most treated cases such an increase in bloodflow would be detrimental, anyway! S-So, you see... it would be... and...' "Stopppp! Please! Stop dignifying the intrusive thought!! Oh my god!!" Lilian's whining little hissyfit turns to mortified-agonized groaning. Her hands hide just how read her face has gotten from sheer embarrassment. The longer Holly tries to stumble her way through giving her a serious answer, the worse it gets. "I'm married!!" Oh think Idris for the fruit indeed. Whoever the hell that is. 'Why, yes, I can get you a packet of seeds!' "Oh that'd be wonderful. Thank you very much." says Lilian, given ten minutes and a tasty treat to put that mess out of mind. "Though I'm afraid I've never been any good at keeping my indulgences to once a day. I couldn't tell you if the little Revenant trick means anything, but people have been finding ways to make use of what nature provides for as long as human history, so I wouldn't at all be surprised if it were only a handy emergent property." 'Whether they process more Ichor, or process the less more efficiently, is case-by-case and hard to measure except by 'feel', with our current equipment, but it's undeniable bloodline plays at least a part.' Calmed down and focused by a warm cup of coffee and the pleasant buzz of caffeine (one cream and one sugar), Lilian makes a thoughtful noise, but proceeds right to "I suppose that's where I'll begin, then. Given the conditions of your world, and the thing I've spent ten years studying, I've no doubt that my equipment is better suited to the task than yours." She grumbles into her cup, lending it a slight echo, "Which I've continued to develop, despite certain fetishistic accusations by delusional freaks." She's still mad. 'But on that... well, the human body can suffer such conditions too, can't it?' "Only very superficially. Perhaps closest in the case of refeeding syndrome, or perhaps digestive metabolic deficit. 'Before the Resurgence, when food was freely available without putting either ourselves or humanity at risk, there are no records of Horrors at all.' "Well, I'd presume there were no Horrors because the Resurgence hadn't made them yet." Lilian says, drily. "Though, if I'm to be serious, it does point towards an almost unified, global acceleration towards a sort of Ichor singularity. Ever more convoluted Ichor-processing bloodlines that generationally push the limits of Revenant ability, with the individuals accumulating long-term gains from repeated consumption and reinforcement that lead to maladaptively outgrown ability, both leading to more numerous and more powerful Horrors, which can and sometimes must be consumed for ever more Ichor. The entire situation makes my skin crawl. This sort of situation is meant to be entropic, not constantly accumulating new energy." 'You see how it looks, yes?' "I do."
Lilian Rook	'Explosive...? My I'm quite glad I don't believe it has ever been this bad for us. I'm our house's worst example, as far as I know, and mostly I just got very sick and almost died!' Lilian stares at Holly over her cup, blank-judgy. "Well, you have my condolences again. I'm certain it wasn't easy." she says, not insincerely. "Gifts in excess of what we're prepared to receive are difficult for us all. Even for me. I'm lucky to have made it." She shakes her head, and slowly returns to sipping her coffee. "Regardless, I wouldn't share anything with those MagMell people until I've had a chance to meet them face to face and run a proper investigation into their business. They have too much power, materiel, and privacy, for me to want to treat them like a friendly neighbourhood pharmacy. I don't mean that they're necessarily up to no good, but an organization like that is always made up of a great number of people with strong and unclear, often conflicting motives." 'It's like that, isn't it? I was born... some seventy, eighty years after the Resurgence, depending on the date you want to use. By then it was just a scar on the world and its peoples. The family I've known was certainly shaped, and not all for the better, by that.' Lilian really hates this sort of thing. In part, it's because all of her attempts to reach out along these lines to the people who need her help most, lost in darkness as they are, only ever result in her being freshly stung by her own traumas and disavowed by the people who should be like her. In part, it's because almost every time that someone had tried to bond with her over the same sort of thing had been a transparently parasocial, even manipulative, tactic to earn her approval for their own gratification. But she does know how it is. And when it comes to the subject of family, in this specific way, hearing it back is a first. Even if she has no particular inclination to involve herself in Holly's family business, being a grown woman with a successful clinic who is more than capable of looking after herself, here, there is still an undeniable understanding that she hasn't been able to share with anyone else before. So Lilian feels a certain way. 'I'm sorry, for asking. Might you mind a hug?' Lilian sighs, strangely resigned. She stares for another second, then slowly sets aside her coffee on the desk, sliding the half of her weight resting on it to balance back on her feet once again, and finally holds up her arms, a little half-hearted, but turning her face just slightly to the side. "Okay. Fine. Just the one."