Wardrobe

Villager: Seraphina

Curious at the building marked with a hanging sign with the doctor’s crest clearly painted on it, and what could only be the doctor's stardust uni grazing calmly on the grass nearby, you open the door only to have to dodge an overexcited watercolor raptor child pelting out the door.

"Ahh, don’t mind Caspian, he’s just excited to finally get the bandages off. Boy cut himself up good on a piece of sea glass some idiot dumped into the ocean..."

The winged velociraptor grumbles under his breath, scowling.

"Right, sorry, you’re not here for that. My name is Seraphina, and I’m the village doctor. And you are?"

"Splendid, we don’t get visitors as often as I’d like. It does wonders for the community; being out on an isolated island does no favors for us in regards to immunities, lemme tell you. We don’t get exposed to the variety of illnesses that one normally does just living in a well traveled town, and while that seems good at first glance, well. There’s a reason why Faolan, Kahjah, and Brenna, as well traveled as they are, usually end up carrying bugs and not catching them. And Azalar, that dunce! One of these days he’s going to get himself in serious trouble sneaking himself off the island as often as he does!"

"Oh yes, that child is a sneaky one. Took a shine to the King of Roses and decided stowing away and taking off was a great way to go follow him around like a starstruck puppy."

Seraphina chuckles, shaking his head.

"Ah, kids. Don’t worry, it’s not like they’re trapped here - the Singing Tide is for more than just deliveries. Azalar just doesn’t think he gets to take supervised trips off the island - or rather, to where Koa lives - often enough."

"But you’re not here to hear me ramble. Was there something you needed? An injury that needs looking at, or an illness that just won’t go away? No? Good, I’m glad to hear that."

"The unicorn? Oh, that's Pleiades. She's a treasure; both calm in disposition and a beauty to behold. She's been a steadfast companion ever since I got her. Which was relatively recently, actually."

"Am I from Quetzal Palace?"

Seraphina chuckles.

"What gave it away, the six wings and robe? Or was it my angelic bearing? Hahaha. Yes, I'm from Quetzal Palace. I moved here though after an argument with my old boss, and opened my own clinic. And let me tell you, I've never been happier."

"Brenna? Oh no, what she’s got isn’t an illness. I’ve taken to calling it a curse; there was nothing in all my training, medical journals, or medicines I own that could do anything for her. Just about made me rake my feathers out with worry until elder Zinnia recognized what it was. And then the carnival responsible started up again - and guess what? Just about everybody kept coming back cursed! And then after I got them cleansed, they went back and guess what? They came back cursed! Again!! How was I supposed to help release people from their curses if they just kept coming back with new ones?! Argh!! Just the thought of it freaking drives me up the dang wall! Why couldn't everyone be more careful, huh?! It's not like it's super hard to avoid getting cursed! It's like washing your dang hands; just take the proper precautions and the-"

"Huh? Oh no, it wasn't a serious problem or anything. Just extremely vexing. But don't worry, they were in good hands; I made sure to research everything about these curses, as well as how to cure them. Because apparently since they can’t be cured by conventional medicine, my professors decided that they weren’t worth bothering to teach about."

Seraphina sighs, rolling his eyes.

"Anyways. I'd gotten quite the stock of golden apples prepped - still do, actually - for those who wanted to be cleansed instead of twisting their curse to their own advantage. Because as terrible as these afflictions are...well, that's just genius, isn't it? To make the curse work for you, instead of against you."

"No, what I was most concerned about were the kids, to be honest. It was a carnival, of course they’d been there. I mean, Azalar's fine, he's already dead, so it's not exactly like he can get infected with another curse, but the others...the last thing I want to see are the little kids coming back hurting and scared."

"Why am I a doctor? Helping people heal is my life’s work. Seeing the hurt become mended, the pain lessened, the illnesses departing, well. What greater work is there? And there is plenty of work, what with the multitude of warriors and explorers on the island."

"What? You didn’t think warriors simply ate chocolate candycorn and miraculously got better, did you?"

Seraphina chuckles in amusement, shaking his head.

"Anyway. As much as I’d love to sit down and have a proper chat with you over a nice cup of tea, I need to go over my supplies. I know I’m running a bit low on gill lotion, and I might as well take note of what else needs to be restocked. Do come visit if you need anything, you hear? Safe travels, traveler. Don’t be a stranger here."