Week 55: A chat with a plague doctor

Karishma was on the way back to her office with her usual rushed gait, when she noticed the door to Coraline's office pass by on her left. The memory of a very welcoming message and an invitation to 'drop by' surfaced in her mind, and she smiled as she turned to knock on the door.

"Hi, it's Karishma, the new Agent. Is it alright if I come in?"

Wondering to herself what or who 'helper' might be, Karishma lightly pushed open the door and stepped inside. She felt rather encouraged by the friendly-seeming way in which Coraline had responded, and she was also rather curious to find out what it was that was keeping the other Agent busy in there.

Coraline sat at the foot of her bed, a large array of fabrics set out before her. Well it only seemed like a large array at first glance. On closer inspection the fabric was almost entirely reinforced clothing and laser reflective, also mostly yellow. Coraline herself was doing something complicated with her hands which appeared to be cutting out and interweaving the fabrics at once. These fabrics were in turn, being held aloft by a silently floating Sir Helpsalot. Coraline glanced up at Karishma and smiled, without missing a beat in her work. As her face returned to the fabrics her right hand moved away in an arc which curved upwards. She then spun her hand at the wrist and moved her hand downwards sharply. There was a minute snap and the plague doctor's eyebrows rose in surprise. Nothing happened for a moment. Then Coraline's right index finger fell unceremoniously to the bed.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and her right hand shot to her mouth as the finger hit the bed with a tiny thump. "Oh my god, did I cause that? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to distract you! Are you all right? Is there anything I can do?" Karishma started forward then ground to a halt. "Although, come to think of it, I'm terrible at most things medical." She looked down at her hands as she clenched them in front of her, then glanced up at Coraline apologetically. "Shall I go? This obviously isn't the best time for visitors."

Coraline blinked up at Karishma. "What? Oh sweetie no, I just pulled too hard is all. Still getting used to these upgrades, don't know my own strength. Nanowire thread can be a bitch to work with but it's simply the only way to conceal modifications from stitching. Besides its not like I can feel it or am about to bleed to death or anything. Agent perks." She said brightly, retrieving her erstwhile finger. The sir Helpalot had laid the fabrics down on the adjacent table and now handed a bottle of compound H to Coraline. "Heh, you read my mind thank you Helper dear."

"Of course she's fine, she's an Agent as well!" she thought as she watched Coraline reattach her finger. Karishma chastised herself internally for worrying too much. "Oh, yes, of course. How silly of me." She smiled with a hint of embarrassment, then continued. "So, what are you working on here, if you don't mind my asking?" Karishma then grinned a little playfully. "Other than re-modelling your fingers, of course." She let out a small chuckle.

Coraline replied without looking up from her hand, although her voice was edged with amusement. "Fun though that sounds I'm just working on some fashion for illicit activities, nothing so groundbreaking as remodeling fingers. Myself, Fenris and Tansai are going on a competitive fashion outing, as something of a team bonding exercise you know the kind. And well, we need to look rather dashing." Once the plague doctor had finished reattaching her finger, a frown creased her forehead and she looked down at the bed. "Of course, finding nanowire once dropped is a task with a fulfillment all of its own." Coraline squinted down, attempting to locate the wire without the aid of her hands.