002 [ Video ]

[doctoral_bird]

[ It may be an unfamiliar face to many! Malkus is actually appearing on the feed without his signature mask. Even a plague man like him needs fresh air now and then. His sickly facade wasn't far from the norm! That's just... his face. ]

Greetings fellow residents. It has been some time, but with the lull in disturbances I feel now's a better time than any to- ah-... discuss...

[ He scratched his claws against the wood of the bench outside, trying to remember what the hell he was going to say. As the pause grew, he could feel his social anxiety build.

Don't give them dead air, Malkus! The people hated pauses! ]

I am sorry, sleeping outside has left me- e-eh-... melancholic. I'd forgotten what I wanted to bring up. Ah! Yes!

[ He moved the feed to the mask sitting beside himself, placed daintily on a heap of papers and glassware. ]

As it often becomes a point of conversation, I would like to ask my fellow residents if anyone has actually had an epidemic ravage their land. I've come to realize I may be alone in this topic.

Comments

[video]

[fliplizard]

I think one started ravaging my land right before I got dragged into this dump. If invisible things attacking everyone all at once counts as an epidemic.

...Wait Malkus is that you?

[doctoral_bird]

Ah, Miss Fangbattle! I'm so terribly sorry to hear about your land. Some diseases can indeed be considered "invisible monsters" to those uninitiated in dark spirits.

[ This knowledge, of course, coming from a land still rooted in superstition. Where sickness was chalked up to bad humors or angry little ghosts. Not germs, no way. What the hell was bacteria? ]

... Unless you mean in a literal sense, then I have no idea what on earth that would be.

[video]

[hot_mes]

[well this hits a little too close to home...

But the need to talk shop with other physicians wins out against discomfort for his own past]

My homeland was destroyed by one.

[or, well, the government soldiers attempting to eradicate one...]

[video]

[whip_poor_will]

[Ah yes, Malkus -- so lovely to see your face!]

You are hardly alone, though I believe that a more accurate term for what has happened to my world is a pandemic, if one were to be picky with such technicalities.

[video]

[sciencelizard]

Oh m-my god you're human.

[That... wasn't even the question, or topic, Alphys. She just. You know, when you're so used to seeing monsters and not humans you don't correlate beak face = human. Some wires have definitely gotten crossed. Immediately, after she's said it in the most deadpan fashion, she wings back to sputtering, trying to cover for what was probably very rude.]

I mean, not that there's anything w-wrong with that! Or! Anything oh my g-god I'msosorry.

[fliplizard]

Oh, I meant it very literally. But they probably were dark spirits. But—But hey, wait, is that your face? Were you wearing a mask this whole time?

[She'd thought the plague mask was his real face. And that hadn't seemed weird to her. Somehow Malkus being a human is weirder.]

[doctoral_bird]

[ It was a sad comfort to share such a cruel fate with others. He'd never wish such a thing on somebody else, but being able to commiserate with another was a needed feeling. Misery loved company and Malkus hated feeling alone. ]

My condolences. I am certain the plague doctors of your land tried their best as well. I know we certainly did.

[ Even after most everyone perished, Malkus still roamed the land with his colleagues to gather up things for the few remaining cities. ]

[video]

[tongueamok]

It depends on what you would define as an epidemic, I suppose.

[Boy, does Carlisle sound far nicer when he doesn't realize this is the infamous masked birdman.]

[doctoral_bird]

[ Isn't he quite the looker? Malkus owed his charming looks to a poor diet of plagued mushrooms and dried fish. ]

I can only hope my blight is not at that scale, yet. I can't imagine it crossing the sea, but I don't suppose I've ever seen the coast.

[ He'd only heard enough to understand his decay originated from the coastal region, but not the actual (eldritch) origin. ]

Can't help but worry about my colleagues, and how they're doing without my guidance.

[text as always]

[aroundthecoroner]

Not in my lifetime,
at least not on a massive scale.
But way back in history there were a few.
Smallpox, the black plague, tuberculosis.
The black plague was mostly Europe, though.
Technically not "my land".

[There are a few others that might count, but the plague doctor mask tells Michael that Malkus probably means... bigger. But more importantly...]

You've been sleeping outside?

video;

[hasitsthorns]

There have been some through history. Not any recently, actually. Medicine has come pretty far where I'm from.

[hot_mes]

They weren't plague doctors but...yes. The doctors did everything they could. It was no use, there wasn't a cure. I'm the only one who survived.

[doctoral_bird]

O-Oh- well then. I am less nuanced in actual combat with maligned entities, but I pray for your land's perseverance.

[ Having his oddly proportioned limbs slapped onto a relatively human face was probably jarring. But still, he was surprised that so many people just took his mask as his face! How did everyone think he ate?! The doctor smirked, this time completely visible without the covering. ]

A-Ah yes. That equipment you'd seen was a repellent for evil. Normally I stuff it with herbs and spices to combat the smell of my more pestilent work.

[doctoral_bird]

Well of course I am!

[ Any offense was completely averted. Malkus simply had no ability to feel insulted regarding his humanity. On the contrary, to imply the opposite would probably be the thing that got his goat. ]

Oh goodness, did you take me for a monster? Not a bad one- I mean as in the race- your- you know- Hah! Hah. No no no, no apologies! My apologies, b-but yes I'm rather mundane. 'Side from a bit of decay.

[ He slightly gestured to the unnaturally sharp teeth. He thought it'd just been damage from chewing bones, but then they'd grown back when he lost some. A strange little bit of corrupted evolution, like his arms. ]

[doctoral_bird]

[ Malkus visibly raised his eyebrows, recognizing this man. Wasn't he the scared fellow with the unnatural ability? He squinted, completely taking the advantage of a mask for granted now that his expressions were worn on his sleeve. ]

Ahhh-... Well, one that threatens civilization as a whole. By which I mean... Er what do I mean...

[ He hummed, trying to find the words. ]

My country, for example, is currently cocooned in a web of blighted mycelium. To put it lightly. Which does not give it the respectful loathing it calls for, but-...

video

[sheathes]

Plague was one of the few things my land was spared. Famine and invaders were a far bigger threat.

[ Though there were plenty before and after her, historically... still. She can't speak from experience there, nor would she want to. ]

But I would not wish such a thing on anyone. You have my sympathy.

[fliplizard]

Uh, thanks. Me too.

[She's actually kind of disappointed that Malkus is a human. ...She's not sure if he is entirely human, but she'd been hoping to rack up some non-human contacts in Hadriel. Oh, well.

His description on the mask seems phony, but she's kinder than to tell him that.] That's smart. We all need something to repel evil in a place like this, huh?

Video

[knifecollecting]

[Wait...Ignoring the plague.]

You're sleeping outside?

video

[bythewaves]

Ah! Is that you Malkus?

[ Maglor smiles at him ]

Tch now, you should leave off your mask more, look at you! You really must ask Elrond to take a look at you, I worry about your health!

As to your question - we Elves are more resistent to disease, but plauge and pestilence happened amongst the villages and cities of Men, and were a favoured form of attack from our Enemy.

[tongueamok]

[Carlisle doesn't quite understand the look he gets in return, but that's nothing new.]

Should the blight of undeath count, then the answer is yes.

video

[evocation]

Uh, sort of? I mean, what do you mean by "ravage"? Every year someone freaks out about swine flu or ebola or whatever, but it's not like black-death-we're-all-fucked style.

[doctoral_bird]

It's comfirting to hear your kind has pulled themselves through such disaster. Multiple times, even. I hope the window to such recovery hasn't closed on my world.

[ It almost certainly has, but there could always be a new beginning for something. Regarding the second part of that correspondence. ]

Yes

After the fire I was not certain the extent of damages.

All the same, I could do with new quarters.

[doctoral_bird]

Good to hear, Miss Rose. I suspect your medical weeds help the populous. It is a comfort to know your world will still be there when you return.

[doctoral_bird]

[ Goodness, that is heavy. Malkus hadn't expected there to be someone who had suffered more then himself. The doctor had to take a moment to let it settle in. ]

You must be very strong to make it this far. Surviving carries weight. I won't give any more soft platitudes as we still have hell to walk through, in this city.

[ Malkus felt awkward, waxing poetic about survival anyway. He cleared his throat but got a bit silent. ]

[hot_mes]

[a moment of silence for Flevance, then. Law doesn't deflect the compliment, for once, he simply nods once in acceptance.]

I agree. I take it, then, that you've had a similar experience - or else you wouldn't have asked. What was it?