- 37
- Posts
- 14
- Years
- Seen Nov 23, 2019
Guren was back at the apothecary, silently grinding a fresh batch of healing powder, not thinking about what had just happened. Assault, false accusations of resistance membership—blatant or subtle, she'd witnessed the most egregious abuses of power. But what presently occupied her mind was something she'd never seen before. An epidemic was sweeping the streets of Istanbul, sparing the strong and picking off the weak. It was so pervasive that Guren only went outside to deliver medicine.
This one was finished, she decided, bagging the remedy and exiting the shop. The sky was a slight shade darker, and the crowded street was a few Pokémon sparser. She could no longer disappear among her surroundings, but at least a clearer road discouraged the spread of disease. She arrived at her destination faster than usual and knocked softly on the door. If only she'd visited this house previously, Guren could've Teleported. But all her patients had been new lately.
"Come in. We're so glad you're here," a Linoone greeted. Her unkempt fur showed signs of stress, and her bright eyes, of sleep deprivation.
Her bedridden husband had it worse. The Gardevoir had never seen such a lithe Pokémon looking so immobile and pathetic. His breathing was heavy, and so was his face, with beads of sweat. All her recent patients had something in common; they'd either been disabled, elderly, or unhealthy. So the Linoone's graying hair was not an unexpected sight.
"When did this start?" Guren asked.
"Well, my husband has always been sickly," answered the wife, "but it only got this bad after the Istanbul Central Hospital prescribed a drug that was supposed to improve his quality of life."
She'd heard that story before. Many times. Actually, from every patient she'd visited in the past week. They'd taken some miracle drug, then fallen deathly ill. The Gardevoir was used to changing roles, from an esteemed noblewoman to a humble apothecary, from a righteous rebel to a keen investigator, from one who drew blood to one who drew parallels. A single fact stood out to her, however.
"You know," Guren replied ominously, "that hospital is run by the state."
This one was finished, she decided, bagging the remedy and exiting the shop. The sky was a slight shade darker, and the crowded street was a few Pokémon sparser. She could no longer disappear among her surroundings, but at least a clearer road discouraged the spread of disease. She arrived at her destination faster than usual and knocked softly on the door. If only she'd visited this house previously, Guren could've Teleported. But all her patients had been new lately.
"Come in. We're so glad you're here," a Linoone greeted. Her unkempt fur showed signs of stress, and her bright eyes, of sleep deprivation.
Her bedridden husband had it worse. The Gardevoir had never seen such a lithe Pokémon looking so immobile and pathetic. His breathing was heavy, and so was his face, with beads of sweat. All her recent patients had something in common; they'd either been disabled, elderly, or unhealthy. So the Linoone's graying hair was not an unexpected sight.
"When did this start?" Guren asked.
"Well, my husband has always been sickly," answered the wife, "but it only got this bad after the Istanbul Central Hospital prescribed a drug that was supposed to improve his quality of life."
She'd heard that story before. Many times. Actually, from every patient she'd visited in the past week. They'd taken some miracle drug, then fallen deathly ill. The Gardevoir was used to changing roles, from an esteemed noblewoman to a humble apothecary, from a righteous rebel to a keen investigator, from one who drew blood to one who drew parallels. A single fact stood out to her, however.
"You know," Guren replied ominously, "that hospital is run by the state."
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