Whitehouse Road [Reida, Siobhan]

Reida couldn't exactly say she was glad she was out of the City of Lights when everything had happened, but if nothing else, she was glad that things seemed to have mostly settled down by now. The last thing she wanted was to crowd medical with her routine checks when there was serious shit going on, after all.

"Afternoon, Doc. Doin' alright today?"

She was pretty used to this whole routine by now, and despite her displeasure at the feeling of exposing her hollow eye socket, it was obviously necessary if she wanted to get everything checked out. The handful of unused cybernetic ports on the inside, leftover from failed attempts to replace the eye itself, were always a little annoying, and she didn't like having to keep it from just sparking inside her head.

Could've been worse, she supposed.

Siobhan's clinic was still a mess from the sudden rush of patients that had passed through its doors in the past few weeks. What had been looking like it might be a quiet year had quickly spiralled into a disaster, and that had certainly shaken up some of her juniors. Those that were a little too green to remember when that chaos was the day-to-day, and the supplies they had now were a far-off luxury. But they had pulled through, even if she had spent several nights catching what little sleep she could in the storage cupboard before starting another eighteen-hour shift.

On anyone else, that level of deprivation might show. But there had been a near-constant air of tiredness to the good doctor ever since she had arrived at the city of lights. She did live on a diet of cigarettes and cold black coffee after all. Glancing across the consultancy room at Reida's arrival, a lopsided smile split across those weary features as she waved her over towards a single empty seat.

"Oh aye, we're just peachy over 'ere, Reida."

She sighed, relieved at the distraction rather than frustrated at her patient, and set down her mug with a hollow thud. There were plenty of staffers within the Vandenreich that were scheduled for regular checkups, most of them she bumped down to her students when she could. Reida was one she didn't mind making an exception for, both because her case was genuinely a little interesting and because she enjoyed the woman's company more than the average joe.

"But I spose I should be askin' yous that question. How'd that mission go then? No tech problems?"

Honestly, every time Reida heard the doctor speak, she was half surprised the two of them could even have a conversation. She knew her own accent wasn't exactly subtle, and the doctor's wasn't either. But they both could have been far more unintelligible, she guessed, so it worked out.

"Nothin' outta the ordinary, praise God. Always get worried it'll go haywire when I'm travelin', and I got a quick spark once while I was over there, but nothin' worse than that."

It was just sort of the reality of her situation. Reida had hardly known back then that she'd been cursed, and not just wounded. The idea of a cybernetic replacement had seemed like a perfectly good idea at the time. If she'd known it would end up being this much of a nightmare, dealing with broken electronics in her skull, she wouldn't have even bothered.

"Praise be, n'all that."

That was definitely another thing they shared in common, faith. Wasn't exactly a common thing for people to have around these parts, and they probably didn't see eye-to-eye on the minutia of it all, but there was certainly a show of mutual respect from Siobhan at the mention of the Lord above. She did keep a little cross pendant on her, but she wasn't the type to show it off either.

Though the rest of Reida's comment did draw one of her eyebrows flicking upwards. It was a tricky little thing, Reida's eyepiece, and, unfortunately, Siobhan had not specialised in cybernetics. There weren't many people that had, but she did try to read up on what bits and bats she could scrape together.

"Anythin' particular happenin' when't spark occurred? I know it's nae pretty but it might be best if I took a wee look myself."

With that, she rose to stand and went to one of her drawers to fish out the appropriate tools. She wasn't expecting to find anything new, but it was best to catalogue these occurrences so that perhaps they could be better mitigated in the future. Nodding in the direction of the empty desk that was between them, she started to arrange everything that she might need. This was far from her first rodeo, if she were to use a term Reida might find more colloquial.

"Jus pop yourself on't desk there so I can get a good look at ya. Wish there were more space but, well, y'know how it's been."

"Nah, just business as usual. Hate to say it, but that's somethin' I've kinda gotten used to over the years."

Still, Reida didn't hesitate to set herself on the desk, letting the doctor have a good proper view of the hole in her head. There wasn't too much left in there, thankfully, but the handful of remaining plugs and such that couldn't be easily uninstalled remained. In theory, they should've been a non-issue, but she was pretty sure they broke along with the rest of the attempts at a replacement eye.

"I getcha. Can't imagine you've gotten a whole lotta time for any rest, eh? Then again, I wouldn't think you're quite the type to care about that."

That was really what Reida found most relatable in the doctor, that willingness to simply forgo sleep for the sake of work.

"I know it might upset t'apple cart, but I have been meanin' to see if I can track down a proper cybernetics specialist to try'n get those spare parts outta there. If yer up for it, of course."

Siobhan tossed the idea out casually, as she picked up a couple of her tools for peering into the garish wound and prodding away at those plugs. Certainly was a shame, she mused to herself as she studied the injury, because had twisted up Reida's face like it was a work of the devil. Her demeanour remained pretty nonchalant as she set about her work, prodding and swabbing as she went. It wasn't an easy thing to clean, nor did it really want to be cleaned, but she kept at it.

"Aye, been a little while since I saw my bed I spose. S'my team I worry bout more though, most of em ain't got the same level o' mental fortitude. A few more days and they might 'ave started to crack."

For some people, the war had never truly ended. Siobhan and Reida were certainly in that group, and it had plenty of downsides but at least they could handle all of this drama without really batting an eye.

"Sure's hell wouldn't be opposed to it. Can't say it's doin' anything in my head anyway, so if ya think someone'd be able to get it out, that'd be mighty welcome."

Reida had gotten fairly used to the feeling of having people poke around this particular wound, and she'd steeled her nerves with a bit of whiskey before she'd gotten here. Not near as much as she used to drink, of course. She was still trying not to use it as a crutch, but some things did call for a little support.

"Good they got a little bit of a break, then. Oughta get some downtime yourself, you know. Even if it ain't spent sleepin' or nothin', it'd be good to get out. Keeps your mind workin' right when you give it some time to reset."

Not that she really thought she needed to tell Siobhan this. She probably knew better than most, and she also wasn't the type to actually take a break until she had nothing that needed doing. And Reida knew that, much like herself, she'd always find something that needed doing.

Being her regular doctor, Siobhan was certainly used to the smell of hard liquor on Reida's breath. It was not like her patient tried to hide it either, given that Siobhan was often pressed right up against her face doing these check-ups. Though, whilst there was still a whiff of alcohol about Reida, she could not help but make a mental note that it did not seem as strong. Perhaps she had just been busy with other duties, or maybe the Lord was finally sharing some of that godly strength to see her through the days easier.

"Tha's Grand. Well, I'll make some inquiries then. Might take a while though, people like that ain't dime-a-dozen these days."

It didn't take Siobhan long to finish her work, compared to when they had started having these. Eventually pulling Reida's eyepatch back into place and making sure that everything was settled again. She exhaled at the mention of taking some time off, the prospect hardly seeming to excite her. Though little ever did, in Reida's experience.

"Aye, yer my last appointment for t'day, Reida. Savin' t'best till last, n'all that."

A dry little chuckle tumbled from her lips as Siobhan turned back to her drawers and began either returning items or tossing things into the sink to be sanitised by one of the juniors when they came through later. She certainly hadn't planned this, and she'd have said the same to anyone really, but sometimes things just worked out right.

"Take y'er time, ain't no rush. Been dealin' with it for a long while now, I can wait a little longer. Know you're plenty busy already."

Honestly, Reida had gotten so used to the general annoyance of what was left in her empty socket that she'd just sort of come to accept it as part of her everyday life. She could definitely deal with waiting for a while longer, and she simply grinned a bit to herself as Siobhan started tossing things into the sink.

"Flattery, huh? Ya sure know how to treat a girl right when she's in for somethin' right dreadful. Oughta come by the bar for a drink some time, get a little fresh air."

Really, she just knew staying cooped up with your work for too long could pretty easily start driving anyone a little stir crazy. Reida may not have liked to admit it often, but she was susceptible to that more than just about anyone she knew. Didn't want to see other people doing the same thing.

It was true enough that she was busy enough, but Siobhan wasn't a workaholic just for the fun. She already had compiled a hitlist of institutions, it would just be a matter of seeing which ones wished to consult on a case that dabbled in demonic curses and cybernetics. Not two things that often ended up getting paired together.

"Well I am morally obligated t'offer ya the best medical advice I can, even if it's pretty dreadful."

Slinging a coat over her shoulders, she managed a shrug in Reida's direction as she pondered the offer. On the one hand, she could just sit on her balcony for a few hours and wait for the numbness to set in, but, on the other, it had been a while. Reida hadn't exactly specified when, but if there was going to be a time then it was the present. Siobhan wasn't exactly the type to do well at making plans for later.

"Spose I could go for a pint or two of t'black stuff. If ya don't mind sittin' outside."