H.M.S. Equalizer – Infirmary – Head Chirurgeon's Office

The office belonging to the doctor in charge of the infirmary isn't large, but then, it doesn't need to be. It's still quite well appointed, the walls lined with bookcases that have twisted poles leaned against them, perfectly sized and shaped for a garter to slither up and down. The furniture is also sized appropriately, desks, counters, and tables low to the ground like those back at Tsuguri manor, though not made to be knelt at like the furnishings Umeko grew up with. Glass domes and jars contain pickled specimens labeled in Imperial, and a circular area for spell working has been set aside with little foot(slither?)bridges to cross into it easily without marring any work that may have been done. Once Umeko and Xander reported to the infirmary, the pair were immediately ushered in, and Shirvinj herself was ready to see them.

"Back so soon? What's ailing you, Governess?" asks the garter briskly.

"Forgive the return, honored doctor," Umeko says with a short bow, "As I know you are very busy. But Xander advised, and I agreed, that I should seek your opinion on a small problem that has developed." She moves a bit closer to the garter and motions for Xander to as well. Then to show the doctor the problem, she pulls her left lip up, then her right, showing the now bloody sockets where her two canines were. "Two of my teeth have fallen out," she then explains a bit further. "Xander iis carrying the pair for examination and … perhaps reinserting them if possible."

Xander thrusts the two canines forward in his open palm to the doctor, and says, "She's growing venom glands in her mouth too! Maybe!"

"You do need to work on maintaining calm, Xander," Umeko tells the Lapi.

"I'm calm in battle," Xander mutters. "Can't be calm all the time though – I'm a Lapi… "

Dr. Shirvinj rolls her eyes at Xander, but she does take the tooth loss seriously, directing Umeko to sit in one of the few chairs that isn't actually just a bowl on legs or built into the floor. She takes the teeth from Xander's hand and gives them a brief once-over. "How did it happen?" the doctor asks. "I don't see any signs of breakage on these."

"Well, I was sparring with a friend of mine. Nothing significantly rough, just … spirited," Umeko answers as she settles into the indicated chair and folds her hands in her lap. "I went to speak with my ally, Xander, on another matter and my left tooth started bleeding. He touched it … and it fell out. The other I tugged lightly and it came out as well. There was no significant pain. As for Xander's concern, well, it was because I mentioned I had some minor swelling before the sparring. I attributed that to simple strain from the battle."

"There was a clear fluid that ran out too, after the bleeding stopped," Xander adds.

The garter snakes her way up something sitting next to the chair that resembles a coat rack, or maybe a tree without foliage. Her body spirals out around one of the limbs near Umeko's head, and a tiny hand gets placed under Umeko's chin. "Open."

Umeko's eyes flicks to the small Naga. She opens her jaw as requested and relaxes so that it can be held as far open as required.

Xander's cheek twitches a bit, since he suspects the diminutive doctor is going to go in for a very close-up inspection.

Shirvinj seems to dictate this personally… by holding Umeko's jaw and literally sticking her head in the Kiriga's mouth! Despite rumors of the Joyous Wiggle cult, the garter seems perfectly confident in what she's doing, a reflector on her head giving her enough light to examine the sockets that Umeko's sharp canines used to occupy. "Hmmm… " she says. "I don't see any tissue damage. No continued bleeding. It looks like… odd… it looks like new teeth are coming in. The tips have already broken the surface of your gums." Umeko can feel something prodding her gums now. "Odd," she repeats.

"Can you tell if they're… grooved?" Xander asks quietly.

Since she can do little else … and certainly say little, Umeko's brow goes up a bit at that. She does start to reach up to feel her gums, but stops herself short since the garter is partially inside her jaws right now.

"No, they haven't emerged enough yet. The tips do look very sharp," says the doctor, frowning in that uniquely Naga way. "This swelling seems consistent with… hum. One moment." Umeko can feel something swiping gently at one of her tooth sockets, nothing painful, and finally Shirvinj hauls herself out, patting Umeko's chin. "You can close now," she says unnecessarily. There's a small wad of cotton in one of her hands, which she carries down to her desk and wrings out into a small dish. "Family history, Governess… are you unusual compared to other Kiriga from Jadai? I mean aside from your noble ties."

Umeko's fingers tap nearly silently on the armrest as the doctor works. When she can close her jaw, she does so … only to open it again and feel the tips of the protruding teeth a bit. "My family is old; we can trace our lineage back at least twenty-five generations," Umeko answers, "Many were warriors, or other known people of distinction." She also taps her arm lightly with a claw tip, adding, "And my line is known for occasionally producing one of my coloring, though it is exceedingly rare; scales capable of taking a metallic-gold sheen when properly treated are not seen but once every few generations. The last was … at least four generations back. It was this coloration that I believe drew the noble, Hakuu's, eye to myself and my family. He also seemed to know more about my family history than I do, but what he knew died with him."

"She's duo-thermic too," Xander notes.

The doctor nods a little impatiently. "But nothing unusual in the sense that you regrow teeth. These were your adult teeth, weren't they?" She taps a little bit of some powder from a vial onto a droplet of the fluid she collected. Nothing happens. She tries a different powder on another droplet, and it discolors. "Mm. Any of your family happened to be venomous?"

"Ah, correct, yes on both my teeth being adult and what Xander noted. My body is capable of handling climatic extremes optimally," Umeko says with a small nod to Xander. "In warm climes, it works like any of the reptilian races, I can absorb from the land and need little food. In cold climes, it produces its own heat, though my dietary requirements also increases. As for venomous, none that I am completely certain on. I have never heard of a venomous Kiriga actually being seen. Though, there have been a few rumors, legends. One of which was an ancestor … Saisho Tsuguri, a gold-scale. Rumored to have slain a great adversary with nothing but his teeth. That was usually attributed to his ferocity in battle, but … rumors of poison were sometimes whispered."

Xander leans in close to Umeko and whispers, "She doesn't know about the… regression… episode does she?"

Umeko shakes her head briefly to Xander.

The garter carefully seals her sampling away in a jar, pinning a label to the wax on the top. "Well… your saliva does seem to have some… unusual properties. And I do -not- recall anything like this when I examined you after the battle. This new development doesn't seem to be harming you, but it is not natural. Coincidentally, your assistant, the one called Lilac… she came to me for an examination some time before the battle, and she too had some… unnatural things about her, even more unusual than the features she already had. They clearly weren't OF her."

"Lilac had some unfortunate experiences in the haunted lands of Sylvania," Umeko explains as she watches the garter through slit eyes. "What unusual properties do you now detect in my saliva?" the Kiriga now asks.

"It's mildly poisonous," says Shirvinj matter-of-factly. She rests her elbows on her short counter top, and steeples her fingers. "There are venomous Jingai in the Empire, not of the familiar Naga body shape, so this is not unprecedented, but it is an… unusual development. As for your assistant, she did explain her wings and ears, but she also had an examination ritual performed, and there was something foreign within her. I understand she is with child, so I agreed to monitor her health, but I am concerned that exposure to something at the battle site has had these effects. Until we know more, I would caution people away… it may be that the Beastlands have a more extensive influence than we could have anticipated."

"Yeah… best to keep everyone way," Xander agrees.

To that, Umeko nods. "It has been my intention to declare this area quarantined until further notice," she says. She rubs lightly on the bridge of her nose, then asks, "So, Xander was correct. Those swellings are venom glands?"

"And how poisonous is 'mildly' poisonous?" the buck asks.

The head chirurgeon flicks her tongue. "It's too early to tell, but they aren't injuries, inflammation, or abscess. They appear to be healthy tissue." She turns to Xander. "Not debilitating or fatal to a grown, healthy adult. It seems consistent with certain Naga whose venom attacks the nerves."

Ears going down, Xander asks, "Is it only dangerous if it gets into the blood?"

Umeko rubs her fingertips over her eyelids for a bit. "Will this development be kept private between you and I?" she finally asks the doctor. "I am uncertain how … others may react to the news that a Kiriga has somehow developed venomous ability."

The Naga holds her hand up. "Confidentiality is my policy, Governess. Nobody under your rank has access to my records, or any right to interrogate me." Her mouth stretches into a grim parody of a smile. "And I pride myself on the integrity of MY infirmary."

"I mean, it won't be a problem if she drools in her sleep right?" Xander continues in a mutter.

To that, Umeko nods. "That is relieving," the Kiriga admits. "Now, to satisfy my friends concern, would I need to bite and draw blood for the venom to work, or would contact with it be enough?"

The garter has already begun jotting notes in a book, but she at least doesn't sound too distracted when she replies. "It should only take effect in the blood stream. It wouldn't be pleasant to get into the eyes or sensitive membranes. If it IS coming from newly developed glands and not your own saliva, well… I would guess you would develop some degree of control over it. I don't like to take guesses like this, but I've been presented with a great deal of unusual things these past few days, you and your assistant being the least of these."

"Then … would you be interested in monitoring how and if things develop? Providing I am able to contact you, of course," Umeko inquires as she interlaces her fingers. "And … would you like a larger sample for examination?"

"And can you measure her tail too?" Xander suggests.

At that odd question, Umeko turns to look at Xander. "Why?" she has to ask.

Shirvinj nods. "Of course, Governess. My office is always open to you. If you would visit me regularly, we can see how these new teeth of yours grow in, and make sure they're aligned properly at the least." At Xander's question, a brow ridge rises.

"To see if it's getting any bigger of course," Xander points out.

"Thank you, honored Shirvinj," Umeko says with another short bow of her head. Xander's comment earns him another odd look.

Umeko can't help but rub her tongue against the twin swellings at the front part of the roof of her mouth. "If you wish to measure my tail, you may, but without a point of reference, I'm not sure you could tell any difference," the Kiriga points out to Xander.

"We just keep measuring it to check for changes," the buck says. "I figure it would be the next thing to alter if you're going through any other changes."

The garter draws herself up a bit, jamming her quill into her inkwell pointedly. "I think I would have noticed something out of the ordinary there. Suffice to say, I believe you're merely subject to the typical mammalian obsession with tails. If there's nothing else of import, I bid you good day."

Xander can only blink at that.

"Please forgive my friend. He is only concerned for my health, truly," Umeko tells the doctor as she stands. "I certainly appreciate your time and patience in the matter and hope the rest of the day goes well for you."

"Do you want to keep the teeth?" Xander asks the doctor.

Shirvinj proffers the small pan she had set the teeth in. "You may take them if you wish. They appear to be perfectly ordinary shearing teeth, well-shaped, well-kept, and undamaged. That they came out wasn't due to any problem with them."

"Maybe you could attach them to your swords or armor?" Xander suggests to Umeko.

Umeko casts Xander an odd look as she collects the two teeth. To the doctor, she says, "I will leave you to your work. Thank you again. Should you have any further questions, send for me." Her tail tip nudges Xander's foot as she tells him, "It is time to go." And go Umeko does.

"Oh, right!" Xander says, and bows to the doctor before following after Umeko.