closed to stephen strange + viktor.

[ipseite]

FORM: Sending crystal.
SENDER: Madame de Cedoux
RECIPIENT: Viktor + Dr Strange
NOTES: Discussion of amputation will follow.
references: wysteria broaches it, discussing with marcus + julius, seeking medical advice.

( madame de cedoux’s voice is particular, recognisable: pleasant, measured, her accent ever so slightly off-orlais, the diction and cadence of her speech always that little bit more clipped and cut-glass than is commonplace in the halls of orlesian power. still, it is habit to begin, )

This is Madame de Cedoux,

( despite the fact they can almost certainly hear, immediately, that it is. )

I am contacting you — both — regarding the matter of future amputation of my anchor-shard, as I have previously discussed with Madame de Fonce and Dr Strange. believe it would be appropriate and, I can only assume, useful to begin planning for a prosthesis whilst I have a healthily attached limb for comparison…? It seems to me that this would dictate, somewhat, the time frame of proceeding, and— well, particularly considering recent events it seems increasingly absurd to delay the matter further.

Madame de Fonce had offered me, at one point, the lend of her own. It was not my wish, but I understand that the work done on it was particular.

Comments

[portalling]

( The Head Healer is immediately so stressed-out upon hearing this message. For likely obvious reasons. So even though he’d grudgingly, mostly, accepted this prospect the last time they spoke of this, it’s worth grasping at— )

Your anchor-shard hasn’t started negatively affecting your health yet, has it?

[ipseite]

( her firm answer is delivered politely, not sharply: )

I believe that I have been clear with you already that that is not the conversation we are having. That having been said, if this is a matter you’re uncomfortable proceeding with outside of accidental circumstance, I understand and I believe there are alternatives available to me.

( less ideal than being able to simply work directly with the head healer, but not out of the question; isaac must be on hand either way. )

[portalling]

( a Sigh )

No, I’m not having this happen without my oversight.

I’ll let Viktor speak to the prosthetic. On the medical front, I can oversee the actual amputation but I’d be more comfortable if we had a magical healer attending your recovery afterward. The risk of infection is extremely high, as we’ve just experienced— and, frankly, I don’t yet have the scientific resources I need to fight it as efficiently as I’d like.

[ipseite]

I intend to speak with Enchanter Isaac—

( she’ll never quite not stumble when she hasn’t got a surname to use formally, )

—specifically and personally. I don’t mean to presume over your authority in the matter, ( or to doubt his ability to manage the infirmary and those who work in it, ) but I think it appropriate given his and my shared history.

[portalling]

( You and the doctor both, de Cedoux. He’d prefer if every colleague had a surname. But curiosity drives the next question: )

Shared history?

[ipseite]

( it’s a mark of her respect for isaac that she keeps this so vague, now,

though she’s not exactly known for being direct and forthcoming at the best of times. )

My time in Thedas has ever been primarily the business of mages. It behooves one to know with whom they get into bed, figuratively speaking.

[portalling]

I was about to wonder if the two of you had made a— well, actually, not an entirely implausible couple, I suppose—

( Both mages. French. Political. Cryptic and guarded in hard-to-read ways. )

[ipseite]

( he startles her into something very close to an outright laugh, )

I am so rarely associated so with men who don’t consider me of particular threat. Perhaps a cause for self-reflection.

( that is one (1) entire joke. )

[portalling]

( It hadn’t come easily but it’s nice, finding his stride with the cryptographer for once. The rarity of her laugh and the joke itself stirs a chuckle out of him, too, adding: )

Enchanter Isaac doesn’t consider you a threat? His mistake.

[ipseite]

Oh, no, I assure you that he does, (with no small amusement. )

But I shall broach the subject with him myself, yes. I think between ourselves and Monsieur Viktor we might come to an agreement on when is suitable to schedule— this procedure. I understand, of course, what impact our work may have on attempts to schedule anything, but I think to have as much of a plan as is possible would be ideal.

[grindset]

[ Ah, second namedrop—sounds like his cue. Now that he's got the ferric chloride put away, ]

Before her departure, Madame de Foncé had the foresight to have the prosthetic examined, and all its components catalogued, for future reproduction... so, since the most time-consuming part of the work has already been done, the build's timeline will be determined mainly by how we choose to alter the design.

[ipseite]

( reining her distracted warmth in— )

I’m pleased to hear it. What will guide those choices?

[grindset]

Well... you, Madame. That is, your measurements, as well as your aesthetic preferences. You may also wish to consider accessories. For example, certain exterior features could be exchanged for different occasions... or, like Madame de Foncé, you could keep an assortment of functional tool attachments.

[ Mentioning Wysteria in conversation is markedly less uncomfortable now that they've had their little visit. ]

There are many possibilities... though they needn't all be determined up front. To start, your comfort takes priority. The fitting will be very important.

[ipseite]

( although she imagines what she and wysteria might require must be different, it’s not difficult to imagine that there are tools that would be useful for her day to day, and she sounds thoughtful as she says, )

Is that something we ought to proceed with ahead of the limb’s removal or after? I am at your disposal, in the first case— and I would very much like to explore what’s possible and, of course, reasonable to budget for with regard to accessories. I presume there is a limit to what I can expect merely as a benefit of our positions; I have some money set aside, further.

( juggling best use and her own vanity; what’s the point of having spent these years painstakingly managing her money if not to at least think on how she might use it? )

[grindset]

That will be of great help. I've been reserving materials for this purpose as much as it's been possible on our budget, but there isn't enough to cover a single prosthesis completely, let alone two.

[ Plus, he himself has nothing against wearing whatever they can scrounge up, but he's seen the way she dresses. ]

And, ehh... we can begin roughing it out, if you will, whenever you're prepared for it. There is, of course, a limit to how much material progress can be made in advance of your procedure. We should wait to form the socket until after you've healed. But the hand itself—that work can commence any time.

[ipseite]

( she, too, is thinking of the way she dresses; the absurdity of something permanently matched to the clothes she might wear to hightown contrasted against the simpler, bedsheet-in-origin dresses she wears about the gallows. there might be something to being able to dress up a simpler prosthesis with accessories or attachments, such that might be removed, too—

perhaps more pragmatic, financially, than something too ostentatiously intended for diplomacy in the battlefield of ballrooms. the scrape of a nib against paper suggests she is already beginning to take notes and consider figures, )

Then I would like very much to begin it, ( she says. ) I believe the sooner the better; I’m certain Madame de Fonce must agree I have dawdled on this matter sufficiently.

[grindset]

She did go to considerable trouble to prepare for it.

[ It's like she's in the room. ]

How does tomorrow sound? Doctor?

[ipseite]

I’ve no obligations tomorrow I can’t rearrange. On the note of schedule— I’d be grateful for a sketch of an expected timeline, that I’m able to inform my division head and my direct supervision when to expect my unavailability and a projected idea of when I may return to work, with and without a prosthesis.

( man makes plans and god laughs,

but the plan is easier to adapt if there is one in the first place. she has the air of a woman with a checklist, now; at least that is a benefit to her long consideration. )

[portalling]

( The Doctor has tuned out a little, only half-listening to the ebb-and-flow of the rest of the conversation as the others discussed the mechanical design of the prosthetic. Quite possibly he’d stopped to have a sandwich. There’s a moment where he experiences a disoriented stab of alarm at Viktor’s words — what, tomorrow for chopping it off?? — but then de Cedoux keeps talking, and he sees what they mean. He chews his sandwich. Swallows the bite so he won’t sound quite so muffled. )

Yes, of course. I’m free tomorrow, although I suspect Viktor will be more useful at this point; my part comes later.

I’ll start reaching out to some of our external Healer contacts as well, to see if I can have one on standby. In case Enchanter Isaac is indisposed, when it comes time.

( You never know. God laughs, etc. )

[ipseite]

Or unwilling, ( a frank acknowledgment of a real possibility. forcing his hand in an emergency and receiving his willing assistance are two different things, and she’s not unfamiliar with the considerations that the enchanter is likely to navigate for his own part. )

[portalling]

( wistfully, mostly joking, sort of: ) I miss bossing around colleagues and having them actually listen to me.

[ipseite]

I often think fondly of my armed forces, but needs must.

[portalling]

( This time, it’s his turn to be surprised into an approving laugh. )

[grindset]

See to it that your vetting process is rigorous, Doctor. We cannot risk anything less.

[portalling]

( Dryly, a little tired— there’s no real bite to his voice, but he is perhaps still thinking and stewing over how poorly it had gone last time: )

I’m well-aware.