Upon Vestia: Chapter Twenty-Three

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"You have a tablet at least, right?" Asher asked Dawn.

Dawn nodded and smiled a little at him "Yeah, I'm well enough to go back on the roster to give all you some help and a bit of a break."

"Good. The other medics are such workaholics, it's tiring to watch them." Also James had noticed Asher's quiet gloom, and that was tiring to see too. He'd like to spend more time around Dawn, she might be a workaholic, but at least she wasn't his depressed brother. "It's good to have you back."

Dawn grinned at that and nodded. "They do like to work a lot, but that can be a good thing, so long as they don't overdo it."

"Maybe so, but then I feel like I have to work to, or I won't be pulling my weight," James said. "Me feeling guilty about not working enough, can you believe it? Maybe us robots really are as messed up as they say!"

Dawn chuckled then shrugged "Who doesn't have something 'messed up' about them? No one is perfect, ever."

James snorted. "Yeah, but we're like, a group of people. Groups aren't supposed to be messed up, individuals are. Anyway. Wanna go find Kay and ask him what the plan is, so we can decide what we're doing?"

Dawn frowned a little then nodded "Yeah, I kind of need his okay to start again anyway."

"All right, let's find Kay then," James said. "Hey Vestia, can you help us?"

"I could..." Vestia said evasively.

"Pleeeeease," James said, giving her a hopeful look.

"Oh, all right." Vestia snickered and told them where Kay was.

Dawn chuckled and stood to go with James to find Kay

Kay was in a random side room. He'd finished with forms, he was just working up the courage to talk to esk. gulp.

James peered into the room. "Hey there Kay, mind if we bother you?"

Dawn wavedat him and smiled "hi"

Kay looked up and a wave of relief crossed his features. He shook his head and gestured they should come in.
[I've been finishing up the forms for my brother's surgery. All I need now is his signature.]

"Oh man, so that's going to happen soon?" James looked nervous. "You don't want me watching, right? I mean I can, but I'd rather make someone else do it."

"Good, that was one of my questions, when's his surgery? I want to scheduled a date for my test."

Kay blinked, that was a lot of questions. [Tomorrow, if he signs the consent forms... ] He looked to Dawn. [Perhaps, you're the better person to talk him through it, I get the feeling he'll refuse just to be spiteful if I ask.] He shook his head, looking grim and tired. [Your test? You mean for your medical license? ] This time the smile was genuine. [Whenever you think you're ready.]

Dawn flushed and dipped her head in a nod. "Yeah, I want to get my medical license while we are here but not when Esk's in surgery. I will try, but he's been short with even me lately."

"I can try, Esk loves me," James said. "Or at least, he doesn't take me seriously enough to be really hostile. Usually, anyway."

Kay's frown deepened. [He's been short with everyone. ] He chewed his lip. [I'm worried about his mental wellbeing, usually he's very good at just burying his feelings but right now he's like a bomb waiting to go off. ] He shook his head, he hoped it would be better once he was well again. He looked to James. [Maybe you should both go. If he gets hostile you can defend Dawn, but he certainly usually reacts better to both of you than he ever does me. Whatever you decide, make sure he signs this form and get it back to me. I can get everything in order.]

James nodded. "Esk hasn't been acting like himself lately. I guess being seriously injured must just be terrible for your mental state. Hopefully once the surgery's done, he'll feel like he's actually getting better or something." He glanced at Dawn, "Yeah, maybe we should handle this together."

Dawn nodded and reached for the forms. "Yeah, he's getting tired of still being sidelined like this. He's not used to being hurt for so long." She said softly. She was worried for him too. "That may work to our advantage though, since he would want the surgery so he can get better faster."

Kay nodded. [That's why i've pushed to have it done now. Ideally i'd have liked to wait a little longer but i'm concerned about his psychological wellbeing and having weighed the risks, I think it's better to get this over and done with. I admit, I don't know him well enough to start to psychoanalyze his behaviour, all I know is he's not himself and he's becoming increasingly hostile and retreating further into himself. I hope feeling physically better will improve his mood, but I might be clutching at straws.] He shook his head, looking gloomy.

"All right, we'll go see if we can get him to sign the forms. Being hurt certainly isn't making him happier, anyway," James said. "Ready for this, Dawn?"

Dawn nodded and smiled at Kay. "We will do our best" She said then waved and headed out to find Esk

James followed Dawn, looking for Esk.

"Vestia, where is Esk right now?" Dawn asked once they were in the hall

Vestia would tell them where Esk was.