Lamia HRT Part III
First Checkup
I practically stumble out of Erian’s office after my checkup, colors still swimming through much of my vision. Thankfully, my face’s new heat-sensing pits are sensitive enough that I can “see” and walk about serviceably enough to get around, but I sit down in a chair closest to the door to try and recover just a little more before going home.
“I am not knowledgeable about this condition,” the doctor had told me, “but feel free to visit the hospital the next time these particular symptoms flare up.”
Not the answer I had hoped for, but I’ll take his word for it. Not like I’m the expert here. Though these symptoms - the dizziness, the vivid color hallucinations, the crawling feeling under my skin, the nosebleed that had thankfully stopped halfway here.. I’m having trouble trying to piece it together, especially in this state, but it sounds.. oddly familiar to me. One possibility skirts my mind, but I shake it off because it feels like nonsense, even in the context of an interdimensional city that lets you become an animal.. Or, in my case, a monster.
I primarily feel the heat of dozens of people passing by as I think and rest, uncertain how much time passes, until one shape in particular stops in front of me, holding something out towards me. It’s hard to tell when primarily using heat vision to “see” what’s in front of me, but it’s shaped like.. a leaf?
“Try this, Lady Serpent.” they address me, placing the leaf in my hand. I carefully bring the leaf to my mouth and try to bite it - it breaks easily enough, but attempting to chew with a mouth full of solely sharp teeth is a difficulty I’m still adjusting to. More of Erian’s words go through my mind related to them - “Your teeth are showing growth atypical to the known lamia species, and if you are indeed not taking other medication as you claim, I will need to run additional tests to be certain there are no other impurities in your system and/or potentially hazardous complications down the line.”
Seeing my difficulty, only partly due to my recollection, the stranger rests a hand on my own again and says “No need to chew, if you find it difficult.” I oblige and swallow the leaf shreds I’ve managed, and I start to feel invigorated rapidly, my normal vision slowly returning. Blinking away the mix of sight and infrared, then blinking twice more to be certain I’m not hallucinating, I find standing in front of me the most beautiful elf I’ve yet seen since coming to Hyper City. Their skin is an unusual yet familiar obsidian tone, their silver hair is textured, and their eyes sparkle of gold, all on a frame somewhat stockier than most of the other elves I’ve seen, yet still as graceful in movement and manner. On recollection with a clearer head, their hands as they gave me the leaf were also quite soft, lacking that lacquered wooden feel that other elves I’ve seen within Hyper City are known for.. at least to my limited knowledge. And the look of it certainly matched, making me wonder what made the elf in front of me different. “Feeling any better?”
“Y-Yeah, much, actually. I barely even swallowed, how-”
“Magic, of course.” The elf interjects. “I’m a mage, you see, and I grow.. medicinal plants as part of my research. Had a sample on me and you looked like you could use a pick-me-up.” The way they look me up and down as I rapidly recover suggests something more, but I dare not pry immediately after being helped.
“Oh, cool, keep forgetting there’s other magic stuff here, not just the HRT… Uh, I’m Robin, and I’m becoming a lamia, hence my scales and such..” I introduce myself awkwardly as I sit up straight in the chair, munching on the rest of the magic leaf.
“A lamia, you say? How interesting. I recognize you, by the way- we live in the same apartment complex. We don’t cross paths often, so it’s nice to formally meet you.” the elf says back, almost a recitation, which would probably make anyone else second-guess - I, however, don’t like to make assumptions. They continue, “Ah, forgive me, you can call me Marna. They/them.” they tell me after seeing the unintended look of confusion on my face. “As you can see, I’m an elf. Have been for approximately.. Two years. Just exited my own appointment and still saw you sitting here.”
“Elf, huh? That’s cool!” I’m genuine, but perhaps too outwardly excited - I find some unpleasant exomemories of a particular group of elves I once met surfacing. In fact, Marna’s obsidian skin, while not directly the same as those elves, makes me think of how such a skin tone was famously related to royal bloodlines in the Northern-.. I shake the thought away, sure that these dots I was connecting to a work of fiction was mere coincidence.
“Quite. Say, are you sure you are well? There was something slippery and quite warm on your hand.”
I look down at my hand, see the wet spot, and bring it up to my face. My pits do detect it’s a warm spot, but the heat is not transferring to the skin, almost like it’s been isolated. I sniff it next and recognize what it is immediately. “Oh! Right! I spilled butter on myself right before I collapsed, because I was making breakfast… But I didn’t really feel it, so maybe I tolerate heat better now!”
“Right before you collapsed?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said..”
Marna’s eyes narrow slightly, seeming to inspect my skin, but before I ask what they’re doing, they speak up as if nothing happened. “Apologies, Robin, I don’t wish to keep you, especially since you seem to be doing alright. You were sitting there for my entire appointment, after all.”
“Huh?” I pull out my phone to check the time. Geez, how long have I been sitting here, this was a 10am appointment and now it’s “3pm?!” I get out of my chair quickly to leave, barely remembering to have some semblance of politeness and turn back. “Oh! Right, thank you for helping me, Marna! We’ll talk later!”
Marna gives me a smile and wave as I rush my way out the door, then frowns a bit, deep in thought, and exits while mumbling to themself. “You suffer from symptoms of mana sickness, seemingly because you unknowingly put a heat protection enchantment on yourself. You recover rapidly from unrefined mana consumption and barely react to me being a mage. Your unsubtle expressions told me you registered my skin tone differently than most. And you are the resident of our apartment complex, which has experienced recent thinning of the mana I spread around the complex, an amount congruent with the presence of a-.. Hm. Sorry, Robin. Looks as though I’ll be watching you for a while.”
