The HMS Equalizer's infirmary is considerably better appointed than the dusty facilities that the ground forces must make do with. The polished wood floor is tiled in ceramic, glazed white so as to be easy to wash. Examination tables line dot the room, several of varying length for Naga patients to stretch out on. What looks like a stove vents charcoal smoke out of the room, and seems to take advantage of the current glut of iron by heating water in large iron cauldrons. Glass-paned cabinets contain everything from gauze to disposable scalpels of obsidian, while larger bone saws made of chitin are arrayed on trays. Various reptiles of (to Lilac) indeterminate gender staff the infirmary, though currently there are a few patients here, apparently higher ranked officers who sustained injury in the taking of Viper's Hold.

After securing some clothes from among the spoils of war, Lilac is once again wearing something she's used to: a skirt and a blouse. She managed to recover her boots as well, and has tried to clean then, but they seem eternally road worn, much like the bardess herself. After stepping inside the infirmary, she pauses to take a look around, having never been in a medical facility this advanced. "Wow," she breathes, impressed by the order, and yet somewhat nervous about how sterile it all seems. The sheer cleanliness of it all makes her skin itch, which bothers her on multiple levels. "Hello? I'm looking for … Head Surgeon Shirvinj?"

For a few moments, some of the sawbones and nurses exchange uncertain looks, but eventually a voice speaks up. "I am Shirvinj, Head Chirurgeon and healer for His Majesty's Ship, the Equalizer." It isn't immediately apparent who the voice belongs to, until a tiny head peeks up over one of the examination tables. A garter Naga in a crisp white coat with shortened sleeves snaps her fingers, and one of the nurses lifts her up and places her the rest of the way on the table. "Yes? What's the trouble?"

Lilac's eyes widen, and for a moment she stares at the miniature doctor with mouth agape. Oh come on, Lilac! You've seen weirder! She blinks, then clears her throat, agreeing with herself and, further, deciding any giggling would be highly inappropriate to someone about to examine her. "Oh, yes," Lilac spits out, forcing her best, most winning smile in an attempt to cover for her momentary lapse, "Ummy – I mean, Governess Umeko sent me. I have an … appointment? I'm Lilac, I need to talk to you about some, um, medical problems I'm experiencing."

The little Naga (she couldn't be longer than three feet) squints through thick magnifying lenses perched on her nose. "Mm, yes, I remember now. What is your condition? You look healthy enough to me."

"I … " Lilac casts a look at the others gathered, feeling suddenly on the spot and very uncomfortable! Her inner ear begins to redden, and she tucks her tail. "Well, um … Can we discuss this in … private?"

Shirvinj eyes Lilac appraisingly. Her gaze strays to the ears, wings/ her small, slender body sort of tilts to the side as if to try to see around Lilac to glance at the tucked tail. "Hmmm. Very well." She hops back down from the table, gesturing Lilac to follow before she does. "The Governess' note did say you were an unusual case. My office is at the back, come along."

Lilac shifts uneasily when inspected, feeling even more self-conscious for having her peculiarities examined. When the doctor bids she follow, she does so, slipping between tables to join the little Naga. She can't help but wonder if she's supposed to pick the doctor up or not, and certainly isn't sure if it's appropriate to ask. So, she merely holds out a hand, as if offering to take the doctor's OR to pick her up, and looks about expectantly.

The doctor either doesn't notice or simply ignores the offer, dropping to the floor and slithering along the clean white tile toward a door at the back of the infirmary. Her name is seared into a wooden plaque there, and there is a second door latch at the bottom of it… she turns it, and pushes… and only a section of the door opens, a smaller one on separate hinges opening into the office. She closes it behind her, and there's a knocking sound as the upper door latch releases.

Reaching out, Lilac carefully opens the door so as not to dislodge the small doctor. "Thank you for seeing me, by the way," she says, poking her head inside the office. "I've never been to such a … A modern medical facility. It's so clean!"

The office isn't large, but it doesn't seem as though the Head Chirurgeon needs much room. The center is is cleared and dominated by an intricate circular pattern. Lilac can see Naga furniture on one side of the room, but it seems to be in miniature, as many of the things here are. On the other side of the room is more normal-sized furniture, and between, spaced around the chamber, are bookshelves and cabinets laden with tomes and curiosities like labeled bones and skeletons, all of which have twisted wooden poles leading up and down them. The smell of herbs is strong and bitter here. "We do pride ourselves on having one of the most advanced facilities in the Empire," Shirvinj hisses, betraying a little characteristic Nagai smugness. "It wouldn't do for the Emperor's flagship to have less. Now then, what seems to be the problem?"

Taking in a breath, Lilac considers if she should trust this woman. On one hand, she belongs to the Naga Empire, something Lilac knows very little about. On the other hand, the Empire is her ally, at least so long as Umeko is with them, and they seem to be interested in the welfare of the Governess's servants. This may be the only real chance Lilac has to seek real medical advice before her mission takes her to battle, and then, who knows where. Exhaling, Lilac nods a little. This is for the best, she decides. "I … Well, I … am pregnant," she answers, pausing as the enormity of admitting her condition hits her all over again, " … and I have had encounters with unusual, um, beings, that may have … injured or … changed me in some way. I am, well, besides that, I am also cursed." She gestures at her wings, finding it almost laughable that being cursed isn't the worst of her medical problems.

The little Naga arches a brow, adjusting her glasses again. "You do have an unusual physiology, for a human," she says, gesturing at the extra limbs. "I was guessing you were perhaps some offshoot or perhaps mutation… this is a more recent occurrence, then, is it?"

"Yes, yes it is," Lilac says, giving another nod. "The, the curse isn't really a … big problem, not anymore. I've, well, I've learned to manage the … urges, and I don't lose my mind when I turn into a beast." Lilac's left ear suddenly wilts, while the other goes askew. Her answer didn't sound nearly as positive, not to mention sane, as she had hoped it would.

Aside from that arched brow rising just a smidgen higher, the doctor seems to maintain a clinical detachment. "I see… where does the curse originate? And what exactly do you turn into? This is quite an unusual condition, it's rare to find such spontaneous magic."

"That's not really what I'm here for, but … Alright." Lilac glances around, clutching at her upper arm with her other hand. "I think it originates in Sylvania, but I … I don't remember how it happened, or why. My life was very, well, hazy after … whatever happened. My life only began to seem to be continuous and clear after I met Lady Umeko, and I've been helping her ever since." A pause, and Lilac reaches back to pull her tail around. "A beast," she admits, sounding a little distant herself. "Four legs, claws, big teeth, wings, black fur … It's very menacing – or so I'm told."

"I see." The Naga looks closer, now slithering in a slow circle around Lilac, studying the bardess from every angle. "Very interesting. Many strange things come out of Sylvania, that is for certain. To say nothing of Bosch… yes, your alterations aren't so strange, after some of the things documented from that bizarre place. Mm, but I digress. You say, then, that this… curse of yours actually has no bearing on what you're here to see me for? You are concerned about your spawn, then?"

Lilac's ears swivel to follow the doctor, as do her eyes. "Yes, my … spawn. I … I want to know how my baby is doing. Can, can you check that? Can you tell me … if I'm okay down 'there'?"

Shirvinj seems almost puzzled by this, flicking her tongue. She gestures with an open hand at a smaller examination table off to one side of her office, wiggling her way over to it herself and crawling up what almost looks like scaffolding around it. "I can examine you, I'm familiar with the physiology of many species. But you must not have been pregnant long, you still have no outward signs. There wouldn't be much to tell you, at this stage. Do you have any injuries, any pain or strange sensations? Changes in dietary habits, moods, anything like that?"

"I … No," Lilac answers as she walks towards the table. She pauses next to it, rubbing her arm uncomfortable as she stares down at the slab. "The father is … unusual," she offers quietly, before lying down on the table.

The doctor swings a small lantern on a wooden boom around the table, positioning it so she has plenty of light to work with, and perching a glass reflector on top of her head, held in place with a strap that goes under her chin. "Yes? Who is the father?" Shirvinj asks, meanwhile peering into Lilac's eyes and ears, and momentarily interrupting the bardess with a tongue depressor.

"I- … He, he's aaaaahhhhh," the bardess pauses until the tongue depressor moves on, " … a … important be- … Person. You could say he he's a … religious figure. I, well, I'd … rather not mention who he is."

The doctor flips the tongue depressor into a can that's secured to the floor with a clasp. "Fair enough… is there anything I should know about him, then? History of illnesses, family traits, that sort of thing."

Lilac can only imagine what the doctor would say if she told her the truth, so she quickly ponders what she can say. "Well," says the human, who fidgets, " … he's … not normal? He isn't my … species, exactly. I think he's … multi-species." Multi-species? I suppose that's true, but … Lilac shakes her head at herself, wondering how she managed to be a bard this long and be so bad at lying. "Let's say he's very unusual?"

Shirvinj seems to have a practical bent to her. "'Club foot' unusual?" she asks. "Nohbakim unusual? Or… " She reaches out to briefly grasp one of Lilac's ears between thumb and index finger. "This sort of unusual?"

Lilac's eyes flicker, and for a moment she can't quite hide what she's thinking. It reflects in her wide eyes, suggesting something beyond even her own state, as if she were seeing him now, somewhere in her mind. "My … my sort of unusual," Lilac answers, quietly.

"I see. Both what you mean, and why the Governess sent you to me specifically." The doctor pushes the boom away and directs Lilac to sit up, then slithers down her scaffolding and begins moving around among the garter-sized counters and shelves, beginning to gather up armloads of what can only be assumed to be tools and… medicine, maybe? Herbs? Powders? "You require a more thorough kind of examination," she says, as much answering her own question as she is speaking to Lilac.

The bardess sits up, folding her hands in her lap as she watches the doctor gather her materials. "Do you see a lot of individuals like me? Or, well, anyone like me," she inquires, head tilting. Before the doctor can answer, Lilac adds, "And, well, I'm sorry for gawking at you. You'd think I'd have better manners, with Lady Umeko around, and, well … looking like I do. I know what it's like to be gawked at."

The Naga seems to wax thoughtful. "Oh, I've seen a lot of things during my career. It comes of studying magic, and being stationed on a warship. Nothing quite like you, however. I've seen mostly battle injuries, and… " She pauses, smirking in the subtle Nagai manner. "And I suppose I've been involved in making my share." Instead of taking the materials to where Lilac is seated, she takes them to the circle in the center of the office, arraying them around herself, and using one of her freed arms to wave dismissively. "I have come to expect such from those outside the Empire. Even some within it. I am satisfied with my place, and nobody questions my authority in my infirmary."

"I'm glad you're satisfied, at least. I'm still adjusting, although it's not as bad as it once was. Maybe some day, I'll find somewhere to live where this," Lilac gestures to her wings, "is as usual as someone your size is in the Empire." Twisting so she can watch the woman, Lilac's head tilts. "I've actually become much more accustomed to the variety of species in our world. I never imagined I would see so many. You see, I'm actually a bard. Well, when I'm not … Lady Umeko's bodyguard, or, I suppose, agent. The governess is my patron, you could say. Which reminds me," Lilac's head tilts the other way, " … has there been any mention of Lady Umeko in her lands, and of a … bard that kidnapped her?"

Shirvinj has lit several candles, and traveled around the circumference, placing them, and now she works at filling the circle with odd patterns of powders. Every so often she places a small container of herbs, lit with a spare candle she's holding, creating a pungent smell that drives away the sulfur of the matches she used. "No, the Equalizer hasn't put into Nagai City in a while. If news is buzzing around about a bard who kidnapped the Governess, or her inclination to babble, I haven't heard it. I would surmise such news would be outdated."

"Oh. Well, I'll stop babbling, then." Lilac reaches up and a lips sealed gesture across her lips, then simply sits and watches. Her perked ears swivel forward, and she waits.

The doctor just flicks her tongue, and goes about her business. "This will take a while," Shirvinj says, the tone and cadence of her voice sounding rote. "I shall use a ritual to analyze your body. It is the most thorough method we have. I hope the Governess appreciates the expense involved."

"Ummy – Lady Umeko – isn't one to overlook details," Lilac insists. She idly lets her legs sway, draped over the edge of the examination table as they are.

"Something to be said for that, I suppose." What that may be, the head chirurgeon doesn't let on, instead beginning the active part of her ritual, abruptly switching to a tongue that Lilac can only vaguely recognize as Imperial… ish. The tiny Naga has occupied one of the inner circles of the ritual diagram on the floor, her own white-smocked body curled into a little loop within. Every so often, she adds another bit of herb to one of the braziers already burning away. The smell of medicine is strong in the air, biting. It makes the head swim a little.

And Lilac, with her supernaturally heightened sense of smell, can really smell the herbs in the air. It makes her eyes water, and she has the urge to sneeze, which she resists. Magic isn't as exciting as I thought it'd be, she decides, rubbing at her nose, Xander's much better story material. Plus, I think she hates me, anyway. Looking around, Lilac tries to find something to entertain herself with.

The office does have a lot of interesting things lying around. Texts, diagrams, tools of both recognizable and unrecognizable purpose, bits of furniture both large and small, suited to reptilian bodies, jars labeled in Imperial containing liquids and preserved specimens, and several things that look like awards. Shirvinj looks up every so often to put her beady black eyes on Lilac, but whether that's for the ritual or just out of suspicion, it isn't clear.

Lilac glances at the doctor, catching her beady gaze. The bardess's ears suddenly shoot up, and she quickly looks away. I bet she thinks I'm going to break something, or maybe steal it. It's not as if Lilac's never had that sort of look cast her way before. As a traveling bard, the only thing that makes her higher than a vagrant is her musical ability. But, she had hoped that at least here she'd be treated better – isn't she supposed to be a governess's lackey? It's all very insulting, and so Lilac frowns as she leans forward to peek at some of the assorted specimens.

If Shirvinj can do anything about it, she doesn't, simply staying where she is and continuing to mutter her incantations. While the labels can't be understood, some of the jars have recognizable contents. One is clearly an eye with some optic nerve trailing after it, floating in some sort of solution… the pupil seems to be frosted over with cataracts. Another has an organ that might be a kidney. A wide glass dome has a dead grabbit in it, dissected, with pins peeling the carapace away and parts labeled. A wooden base has a small skeleton displayed on it… it LOOKS like a skeleton belonging to a Skreek, complete with bony tail and long incisors, but it's impossibly small. Perhaps it's just a vermite that's been doctored. One jar seems to have a rock and some sand in it… though when Lilac looks closer, the rock reveals tiny legs and scurries frantically around the edges of the jar. Sometime like a tiny skedat. A picture frame has several coolects pinned to a cork board behind glass, and more terrariums hold plants and fungi that Lilac can't recognize. Time continues to pass.

As she looks at the jars, Lilac fidgets nervously. She can't help but picture herself scurrying around inside a giant specimen bottle, and she's glad to have Umeko's protection while she's so close to a major force that might take an interest in her. When she's looked at all there is to see among the jars, she twiddles her fingers and looks elsewhere. Maybe I'll understand her better, if I see what she's done, Lilac decides, and so she turns her attention to Shirvinj's awards.

These too seem to be in Imperial, but so not all of them are impossible to figure out. The ones that are simple certificates behind glass, or ribbons, don't make much sense, but at least two have what look like academic crests on them, as well as small icons like a pestle and mortar, or a stylized drop of blood. Most have what Lilac recognizes as Imperial military crests, both the army and the aerial fleet. There's a small model of an airship, next to a larger model that Lilac can distinguish as the Equalizer. There's another model that looks like a piece of wood carved into the shape of a sky island, but with some sort of egg-shaped thing sitting on top of it. More time passes, and Shirvinj stops chanting.

I guess she has the right to be proud; she's really done quite a lot in a world that must be hard on her. For a moment Lilac, too, feels proud of the woman – and then she remembers the doctor is probably glaring at her as she thinks. The cessation of the ritual only makes Lilac more aware of Shirvinj's presence, and so Lilac turns her head from the awards to regard the woman.

The doctor is looking at Lilac intently now, her expression more neutral than before, if very focused. The little garter's gaze is palpable, giving the itchy sensation of being looked at, but with the additional feeling of being looked at from the inside out. Little tingles rove across Lilac's skin, like insects running across it, passing along her arms, over her neck, down the back of her shirt, and over her belly. The feeling lingers there.

Lilac's ears twitch, as if they were trying to wriggle off her head and away from the oddly palpable gaze. Perhaps it's her inner beast, or just her own meekness, but Lilac finds it hard to meet the stare of the tiny doctor. She glances away, flicking her gaze back only now and then, to see where Shirvinj is looking now. "D-do … do you see anything," she asks, trying to sound calm. In actuality, she has butterflies in her stomach, and it's not from the gaze alone.

Shirvinj flicks her tongue, ridges forming over her eyes as her low, scaly brow knits. "Y-… yes, I do. Most curiousss." She sounds surprised in spite of herself, leaning forward a little in her diminutive coils and staring through Lilac. The garter tilts her head, then angles it to the side, as if looking up at something.

"Um, what? Please, tell me," Lilac pleads, leaning forward until she realizes moving won't help the doctor scan her better. Instead, Lilac dips her eyes, looking at her own belly as if she could see, too. "You … you don't sound like a woman who's surprised often. That worries me."

The doctor's head continues to rotate… now it's a full ninety degrees on its side, still staring intensely, and looking like it's well on its way to turning completely upside down. "No, not much does," she admits. "I've had a long career in His Majesty's legions, and seen many things the body can do, and many ways in which it can fail. This… well, let us begin at the beginning."

Lilac grimaces, ears flattening. "I don't like the sound of "ways it can fail,"" she says weakly, before nodding the doctor to continue. As she waits for the foreboding news, she stares at her stomach, wondering what madness lurks within.

"You ARE healthy," asserts Shirvinj, though there's a bit of uncertainty in her voice. "And yes, pregnant, still in the very early stages. There are… you have… growths within you. How to explain this… "

It's a curious mix of facial expressions Lilac goes through when the doctor answers her. At first, she seems relieved. Her eyes close and she reaches to wipe sweat from her brow, ears returning to normal. When she hears she's pregnant, she nods solemnly, as if she didn't expect otherwise, making her look more grim than relieved. Finally, when the doctor mentions growths, Lilac's eyes snap open, and her ears shoot up on shock! "Growths? Is that medical term for a baby? Or, wait, babies? Am I having more than one? Are they even human-like??" Realizing she had just said too much, she suddenly covers her mouth with a hand.

"No, no. Only the one, I think. Much too early to tell what it is like, and I admit I am less familiar with mammals than I am with the People, but it feels… " Shirvinj seems to be grasping for words, hissing a little in frustration. "Feels… unusual. That is all I can really put my finger on. The growths, however… definitely something else. They are like organs, and they are connected to your body, but they do not seem to be of your body. Certainly, I know of no such organs in humans, even accounting for your… additions." She gestures at Lilac's wings, tail, and pointed ears without actually seeming to look at them.

"So you're saying I'm not only pregnant, but … have additional organs?" Lilac's ears splay, and she returns her gaze to her belly as if it were alien and unfamiliar to her, eyes wide. "Do you know what they're doing? Will they remain even after I have my baby? I'm not going to … to turn into something else, am I?!" Lilac, for all her effort, can't manage to suppress her panic, her anxiety evident in her voice.

The doctor seems contorted into a very strange shape now, but is now busily scribbling on a piece of parchment without looking at it. When she speaks, she seems as much to be talking to herself as to Lilac. "They're… hmm. Redundantly connected to your circulatory system. Yes, like organs, but each seems to be, in its own way, not of your body. Parasites? … They seem to have their own functions. Your bloodstream is pure, no poisons that I can discern… symbiotes, perhaps. Situated around your womb… hmm, feeding blood, connected also to… what's this? The capillaries grow even as I watch. No, not… changing anything. Perhaps still developing, growing toward your unborn spawn. They are invasive, but seem to be doing no harm yet."

Lilac listens with a a growing unease, but tries to assure herself she's is healthy and well. After all, she feels just fine, and the doctor confirmed her health. On the other hand, having new organs doing who-knows-what inside her isn't something she can easily dismiss or calm down about. "Could they be … there to … to support the baby? Protect it? F-feed it? To … 'gather unto it.'" Lilac inquires, sounding shaky.

At the notion, Shirvinj seems to consider these possibilities. "Given their location, and the network of blood they have integrated themselves into… it is a theoretical possibility, but I do not know of any parasite or symbiotic creature that would do so, it's simply unheard of, unnatural. To what effect they would have on your spawn, I cannot guess since the child as yet barely exists, very undeveloped." The doctor seems to consider this, her eyes still faraway, the tickling sensation still traveling around in Lilac's guts. "Your blood seems to pass through them, but little of it is diverted away for their own use. Indeed, they seem to produce some of their own… such an addition should have an impact on you, but… you feel fine, yes? They are almost like redundant organs, they seem to react to… ah, that should be an experiment, yes."

"Redundant organs? You say they aren't feeding on me, but are … producing too? Like, a … filter? Or … " At a loss, Lilac just blinks helplessly at the doctor, holding her hands palms-up as if she were a pauper of words. Her ears suddenly swivel forward after a few seconds of that blank look as she recalls Shirvinj saying something that caught her attention. "An … experiment?"

"Oh, and yes, I feel fine," Lilac adds after a moment, almost as an afterthought.

"An experiment," Shirvinj repeats, a little testily at first. She seems to take a moment to settle herself, her voice evening out. "I mean… yes. That is how we would learn more about these growths, or… organs. A magical diagnosis only goes so far."

Lilac's brows shoot up at the doctor's testiness, and she suddenly frowns. "You don't have to snap at me," she insists. "I'm sorry for what I did, I know you're very accomplished – I looked at all your awards! But please, the last thing I need right now is someone growling at me." She takes a breath, and sighs. "Now, what experiment do you have in mind?"

The doctor seems momentarily taken aback, and her eyes flash for a moment, but she shakes her head as if waking up from something, and the strange sensation leaves Lilac's innards. Shirvinj's gaze seems to become less intense, and when she looks at Lilac now, the bardess feels less, for lack of a better term, naked beneath her clothes. "I… you are right. I apologize, I did not intend to snap at you." The garter begins collecting the tools she used in the ritual, as well as the inkwell and parchment she had been writing with. "This is an unusual arrangement for me. I am accustomed to dealing with His Majesty's fighters and officers, and within the context of conflict, as my career has been primarily with the men and women who comprise the Emperor's fangs." Taking her ritual supplies back to a desk, she arranges everything neatly and begins coiling her way up one of the posts leading to the bookshelves.

"I, I know, and I really appreciate your help in this, I really do. I admit to being taken aback by your appearance, but your skill is obvious, and it's hardly the first time I've been a fool that jumps to conclusions and disaster," Lilac admits, before bowing her head to Shirvinj the way she's seen Umeko do to people she wishes to show respect to. When she looks up again, she adds, "If my lack of service bothers you, then you should know I have fought for the Empire. I've protected Lady Umeko, I've fought the forces gathered here, and I've helped the lady track them across the world. I may not be the Emperor's fangs, but I have used my very literal fangs for the Emperor. The Empire is my ally, though the lady. And, well, if we are allies, shouldn't we aspire to be good ones? Myself included – I've, well, been away from my family a long time, in lands I don't really understand."

The garter looks over one of her diminutive shoulders after putting the supplies back, and claps a little chalk dust off her hands. She goes to a basin and meticulously washes her hands, scrubbing them thoroughly. "It is not your status, though I confess that was a part of my initial reaction. Rather, I have seldom been called on to see to someone in your… condition. Mostly war wounds, or death magic. I suppose I have not cultivated the manner for it, or perhaps lost my touch for it. At any rate… " Properly refreshed, the garter slithers back to her desk and one of her seating bowls, coiling in it. "Yes, it will take some experimentation to determine what your redundant organs are for. From what I can discern, they are not malignant, and do not show signs of uncontrolled growth. They seem to have a purpose, a specialized one. Think of them perhaps as comparable to your wings or modified ears. What exactly the the purpose may be, time will tell. If it is any comfort, I believe that your spaw- … your child is suffering no ill effects yet, nor do I expect you to."

"Well, you're much better than the last person to see to my wounds. He closed my scar with fire, ow." Lilac rubs at her side, where the scar once was, and then nods. "I suppose it seemed like Lady Umeko was … abusing? … her power, to have you see me. I'm, um, well, glad you don't feel that way, everything else aside. As for my … growths, I don't believe they're meant to harm me. That would be, well, counterproductive, to having the child." Lilac dips her head, reaching her hands up to rub at her face. "I know I haven't been straightforward, but I have to be cautious. The father, he's … Well, he's very unusual. But, I don't think whatever he did to me would be to my child's disadvantage. Mine, maybe, but not the child's. I just wish I knew what he did, and what will happen to me. I have no idea what my child will even be."

If the chirugeon seems a bit mystified, at least she seems to more or less accept this. "Well. You did say all this happened under unusual circumstances. I also know better than to pry into the Governess' affairs. Understand that the more I know, the better I will be able to determine exactly what is going on. For now, at any rate, I've told you what I can without further testing."

Lilac nods her head, staring at the floor as she ponders her options. After a moment, she says, "The organs were … granted when I was … impregnated, so that I might carry it, despite my, my species. I think they are supposed to be there, or, well, this wouldn't work." She inhales, closing her eyes, and adds, "I'm willing to try this experiment of yours, but could you tell me what you plan to do?"

Shirvinj crinkles the bridge of her nose, seeming thoughtful. "So this was a planned event, something engineered. This becomes more understandable, from the perspective of a life mage. Our craft makes much of manipulating the body, though this… the degree to which these things are integrated with you, they are incredibly complex, and nearly seamless. I'm sure you can tell I wouldn't have guessed them to be created by any mage." At Lilac's question, the doctor nods. "I would be introducing different substances to your system to see how these organs react. Nothing that would harm you or your child, I assure you. Testing may still be inconclusive… way may not know more until your baby develops more."

"No," Lilac admits, head shaking. "Not crafted by any life mage, that much I'm sure of." She rubs her hands together, for something to do as she thinks more than warmth. Her nervous energy makes her want to pace suddenly. "Yes, yes that would be fine, I think. It may be difficult for me to protect and nurture my child, if I don't know how the organs that make it possible even work. I wouldn't want to make a … unwitting mistake. Not again."

The doctor nods again, and folds her hands over her coils. "Very well, then. I'll inform the medics and nurses that you're to be allowed to consult me when you wish, and to refer you to me when you come to the infirmary. Let me know if you feel anything strange, any pains or unusual sensations, and check with me every… mm, week or so? Do you know if you'll be remaining on the Equalizer for the foreseeable future?"

"I'll likely be entering battle against the forces arrayed against us, but I'm not sure when," Lilac answers, sounding worried. "As for feeling strange, well, I'll try. I feel very strange all the time, as you might expect, but some feelings are stranger than normal." She tilts her head to the side, adding, "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, and I'm not sure I'm allowed to say what I'll be doing, but I'll probably be back sooner or later."

Nagai may not be very good at smiling, but they seem to have the wry smirk mastered, and Shirvinj executes one flawlessly. "Ah. I would imagine the Equalizer will be brought to bear, in which case I imagine I will see you back in the infirmary, one way or another. Good day, then, Lilac."

"I didn't think of that," Lilac admits, blinking. "I suppose we'll be going into battle together, then." The human pushes off the table, standing up and brushing herself off to expend some nervous energy. When she's done, she walks over and extends her hand to the small doctor. "In that case, I wish you luck."

The garter reaches out and clasps maybe two of Lilac's fingers. "Good hunting."

"Good medicine," Lilac replies. With that, the human is off, to whatever future awaits her. At least she's wagging, if just a little bit.