The Day of Thunder

Enrou's pipe clicked between his teeth as it switched from one side to another, ostensibly so the man could glance over at Aoyama as she approached. "I've got about four new 'she's' under my care currently, but I'm going to assume you're referring to the one that's actually related to you. She's doi...

"Ah, yes, that. It's part of an upcoming ceremony for the village." Enrou clenched the pipe in his teeth for a moment, scratching the side of his head as he thought about it. "I can't say I've ever heard of it elsewhere myself. I'm guessing you have a lot of questions about it if you're coming to me."

"In that case I'm Enrou, here with the local villagers and some herbs of questionable lineage." Enrou paused for a moment. "From the dirt." His tone of voice didn't seem to lay any weight on whether it was he, the villagers, or the plants that were coming from the dirt in this situation.

"Well, that depends. If you're here to seek medical attention or ask a few questions, I might be Enrou, but if you're here to collect on some sort of debt, I might not be Enrou." He puffed idly on his pipe as he turned to face Tai. "So you tell me, who might I be today?"

Currently Enrou was bustling about the outside of his house, moving through the medicinal garden and taking cuttings of plants here and there. He didn't seem to notice anyone approaching him.

"Oh I have got to hear this." Enrou set his pipe between his lips and gestured for Reo to continue.

Enrou took a small puff of his pipe, standing up straight and crossing one arm under his elbow as he fixed his gaze on the Spider. "Tell me, Reo-sama. Is there any way you could have worded that more awkwardly? Just genuinely curious how far off center we can get in one conversation."

Enrou takes a step closer to Yukara, leaning in closer and squinting his eyes. "Huh, he's right." He then lightly licks the tip of his thumb and presses it to Yukara's forehead, wiping it in a small circle as if trying to scrub off some sort of smudge. "There we go. What do you think, Reo-sama?"

"If they did, they're in one of the side rooms. I haven't really had much time to look for something like that. Too busy disarming you, after all." The deadpan way he said that, and the casual way he smoked his pipe made it hard to tell what the intent behind that phrasing was.

"Pure happenstance, but yes. The individual in question is no longer around, but what they complained of was a feeling of their arm always being clenched tightly around something, even though that arm had been removed a long time ago. Cue incident with the mirror, and there you have it. Never really...

Enrou gave a short half-chuckle, as if he were amused that the idea had worked at all. "I guess there's some merit to the idea after all. I recommend you come back and try this at least once a day for the next few days, just to be sure it sticks."

"Exactly that. If I were running a contest, I'd have a prize available for you. But, unless you want to lose track of your head for a few hours I don't think I have anything suitable lined up."

"Essentially, yes. The inherent expectation of something being there that isn't anymore." Enrou gestured towards Reo's leg. "You've had quite some time to learn your body in the condition it's in now. She hasn't. One day I was helping a patient who fell in front of a polished surface. As he was flex...

"Yes, I do. It's called being a responsible fucking adult." There was a hint of bitterness in his tone, but it didn't seem directed at Norikage specifically. "I'm sure you've noticed how carefree some of these villagers tend to get, so imagine what kind of workload the only healer in the area tends ...

A few adjustments were made to Yukara's position once she'd sat down, with Enrou nodding once he was satisfied. The low covered block was immediately to her right, almost to the point of obstructing her view if she were to sit just a smidge closer to it. With a small flourish, Enrou pulled the cloth...

"In my unprofessional opinion, you should make attempts to walk whenever you feel up to it, but refrain if it feels like it's too much. Can't push yourself too hard, but if you don't push at all you'll only get worse over time." A small trail of smoke followed Enrou as he led the others into the nex...

"Well, when most injuries seem to go away with magical finger waggling, the more earthly means of healing do seem to fall to the wayside in terms of importance. That said, you certainly have my leave to inspect my stores at your discretion. I'll accept whatever help you wish to offer." Enrou clacked...

Enrou sent a puff of smoke in Reo's direction. "I think she was very clear about the answer to that being wolves. Or at least that one wolf that's dead now. Not to offend against your intent, but that might just serve to confuse her further. I might have something that could help." He looked towards...

Enrou nodded. "Memory of the muscles. Your body is so used to doing things a certain way that it naturally tries to continue doing them that way. Makes it a bit hard to adapt sometimes." A couple of tentative puffs. "It's not impossible to unlearn, but it does present a certain amount of challenge."

"Well, fortunately for you the wolves mostly stopped at the arm. You might have lost a bit of extra weight, beyond the arm, but that will come back as you start to heal." Enrou finished sorting his materials and turned to regard Yukara curiously. "I've heard about people losing limbs still feeling a...