《Draconic Transcendence: Cinders and Ashes》Chapter 18
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When she was awoken by Magnus, she found herself in a small courtyard, and before her was a large, two story building. It was made of grey stone and looked quite formidable. It also had no charm or aesthetics to it, the sort most buildings had. “It looks scary,” she admitted, staring at the utilitarian structure.
“Well, it was made to be practical, not fashionable,” Magnus explained, holding his hand out. He wasn’t able to hide a bit of his surprise at how quick she was to latch onto him, but he ignored it, and guided her into the facility. They entered two double style glass doors, and wound up in a whitewashed lobby of sorts.
A large counter with several glass panes was present; behind them were a few uniformed personnel. There were two passageways going left and white. Additionally, to either the right and left of the large counter were two formidable looking double style doors. Standing nearby was a woman who was obviously a nurse, judging from her uniform, which consisted of a white shirt and trousers, and a small cap atop her head. Pinned to her chest was a badge, which read Michelle Evans. Additionally, on the front of her uniform was an insignia she didn’t recognize, though later was told it was the Eir Facility’s logo- a caduceus in front of two triangles that intersected each other, one facing upward, and the other facing downwards.
The nurse moved forward, clipboard in hand. “Ah, Ars Magnus! You’re here! I take it this is the girl?” she asked him. “Good to see you too, Michelle. Yes, this is her,” he greeted her with a light smile. The nurse immediately fawned over Edna. “Ah, she’s so cute! Those red eyes are so charming! I just want to hug her!”
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That would be nice, so Edna quietly asked Magnus if she could. “Hm? You don’t really need to ask permission,” he told her. “Hm?” Michelle looked surprised when Edna approached her and hugged Michelle, though, due to her height, she was actually hugging her legs. “Ohmigod she’s so precious!” Michelle crouched and also hugged Edna, the two enjoying the moment, though Michelle quickly pulled away, a sharp look of concern on her face. “Eh? Edna, are you ok?” she asked, placing a hand on Edna’s forehead.
“If you’re wondering about her warmth, apparently that’s normal,” Magnus explained. Michelle tilted her head. “It’s not a fever?”
“Evidently not; I’m just as confused as you are, that’s why I’m hoping the researchers may be able to clear some things up,” his words caused Michelle’s eyebrows to furrow, but her smile returned. “Alrighty then! Let’s begin…” Edna took Michelle’s outstretched hand and followed her through the double doors. Magnus also followed suite, and Michelle pulled Edna into a small room, whitewashed as before. However, there was another woman waiting, in the same uniform. Her name tag read: Cardea Gaines.
“Ars, if you could kindly step out…?” Cardea asked Magnus, who nodded. “Eh….” Edna watched him go, a distressed look immediately coming across her face. “Now, now,” Michelle said softly, “he’s just outside the door. We’re going to be doing a physical examination, so it’s not proper for him to be in the same room,” she explained. Edna calmed down, until she heard Rosa’s next words: “Please take off your clothes.”
“Eh? But…”
“Edna, those clothes of yours are filthy, not to mention they’ll only get in the way of what we need to do,” Michelle gently told Edna, who slowly nodded. “Um…ok…” she reluctantly took off her clothes, though her face was bright red as she stood completely naked before the two nurses.
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“Alright then!” Rosa calmly examined Edna’s body. “Well, for a ten year old, you’re actually quite healthy, especially for someone from your background. Though…” she stared at Edna hard after she had the girl step on a scale. “…you’re quite underweight. Surprisingly, I don’t think an IV drip will be needed, but we’ll definitely have to boost your dietary intake with nutrition…”
Edna made a face at that, because she knew exactly what that meant: Vegetables.
As a side note, she did not like vegetables. Then again, most kids didn’t, though she thought she was lucky in that she didn’t have to eat them as often as other kids, though that was about as lucky as she was. Next, Rosa took Edna’s temperature, then checked her nose and ears. “Well, you’re full of surprises, Edna!” Rosa said, looking at what she wrote down. “Though your temperature is exceedingly high, I can’t know for sure if that’s just a weird trait you somehow obtained or if it’s an abnormal status without further testing. Please put on these clothes though…”
Apparently, to make things easier for the examiners, Edna was given a patient’s gown to wear. Once they left, the hours flew as Edna was subjected to various tests, some involving her blood, her spit, one test required lots of needles (she required extensive comforting from Magnus and Michelle after that harrowing experience), and apparently she had her bone structure looked at by a magitech device, as well as a scanner that checked her brainwaves, whatever that meant. Then, she was given a few tests to read, and had her language comprehension and general knowledge tested, both orally and from written tests, as well as a few other miscellaneous tests to confirm a few other things.
And then, after that, they had to wait a few days to get the test results back, during of which she was given meals that were absolutely disgusting, despite the fact they were loaded with nutrients; however, Michelle found out that Edna would choke it down if promised a hug and some play time, which she was more than happy to accommodate. Finally, Edna found herself in a room with Michelle, Magnus, and a surgeon named Tristan, who looked bookish with his clipboard and glasses, which he adjusted dramatically before reading off his report.
“So, to begin with, from Edna’s physiological and mental differences, we have concluded that ultimately, she is not human.”
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