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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Jan 24, 2010 21:49:32 GMT -5
I had been in the City of Elua for several weeks and during that time had often thought on going to Balm House. I admit that I shied away from Mont Nuit, not being overly interested in the pleasures of the flesh. Well, perhaps I was interested, but quite inexperienced and nervous of taking the first step down that slippery slope. Perhaps it was from being raised mostly by my father and brothers, but I had not spent much time in the company of other men. Consequently, the idea of visiting the Night Court colored my cheeks every time I thought about it.
Still, I was interested in Balm House for their knowledge of Healing and one of the Priests at Eisheth's Temple had encouraged me to go; even going so far as to write a letter of introduction to the Dowayne.
And so this day I arrived at Balm House, letter in hand. The Dowayne was very gracious and we chatted for some time before a young apprentice was called to give me a tour of the House. Now that the Dowayne had put my mind at ease, I was looking forward to learning more about Balm.
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on Feb 7, 2010 1:37:58 GMT -5
I had been told that I would escort a priestess around Balm and was excited for the opportunity. I had not yet had the ceremony in order to start my services as an adept so I was happy to have a job of some sort. I was of age, but to be honest I wasn't in a big hurry. I wanted to heal wounds more so than anything else. Though I knew that sometime soon I would have to start attending to my other duties.
I put on a nice dress and made sure my hair was looking it's best before walking down the hall to meet the priestess. I was excited but hope that it didn't show too much and made me look silly.
I walked into the Dowayne's office with a smile and greeted both the Dowayne and the priestess with it.
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Feb 16, 2010 19:34:49 GMT -5
I was relieved to see that the person who would be showing me around was a woman, a younger one, and I felt immediately more at ease. I smiled as the Dowayne made introductions and then left us to attend to something more pressing.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Cosette," I said, smiling shyly at her. "I suppose we should get out and see the rest of Balm before the Dowayne returns," I laughed softly, "in case the use of this office might be required for something more important than showing me around."
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on Feb 22, 2010 0:42:13 GMT -5
I smiled at Noelie's suggestion and decided that I liked her. She seemed warm and friendly.
I lead her out of the room. "Is there any place that you would like to see first?"
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Mar 18, 2010 22:01:16 GMT -5
I thought about her question, but since I was fairly unfamiliar with the Night Court in general and Balm House specifically, I shook my head.
"No, not in particular. I am just interesting in comparing some of your healing methods with those that are used at Eisheth's Sanctuary. I am studying there, and hope to perhaps someday become a physician." There, I'd said it, my life's ambition that I usually kept to myself. I knew that my father only wanted me to marry well and have children, and I did not necessarily not want those things, but I wanted more - I wanted to heal.
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on Mar 19, 2010 23:07:05 GMT -5
I started walking down the hall toward the infirmary where we took care of those who had larger problems than those who usually sought us for assignations. "I think that is a great goal," I said with a smile. "I still haven't figured out which direction specifically I want to go in. Something related to the healing arts though."
Our patrons were separated depending on what their problem was. Some were given single rooms while many where not. Balm house did have its limitations. We came to a room for those who were waiting to be given the word to go. Most of them were already healed or stitched and the adept in charge wanted to make sure all was well before they did leave.
"Would you like to see some people who have already been ministered, they could shed light on how they were healed."
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Mar 21, 2010 13:57:36 GMT -5
"I would love to," I said warmly as we walked the halls and she showed me the different places for patrons with different illnesses or injuries.
"This is similar to the way the Sanctuary functions, different wings depending on the severity of the illness or injury." I commented, as we entered the room of people who were ready to leave. I smiled to myself, this was my favorite part of healing - watching someone leave in good health.
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on Mar 28, 2010 18:01:50 GMT -5
"I have not been to Eisheth's Temple yet," I said, trying to hold back a blush. It was time for me to start my service to Naamah, but since I had not been pushed yet I was volunteering those particular services. I would be happy enough concentrating only on the healing aspects.
I distracted myself from those thoughts by leading Noelie over to the one patient I knew in the room. "This is Phoebe," I said standing next to a girl barely 16 as I was. She had taken ill 3 months ago and had toiled here for quite some time. Just when some had lost hope she made a dramatic turn for the better and healed rapidly. I attested her recovery to a new herb we had acquired from Ch'n. "She was sick for some time, but is better thanks to some Ch'n medicines. She is due to go home tomorrow."
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Mar 29, 2010 23:53:25 GMT -5
"A pleasure to meet you, Phoebe." I said, giving the girl a warm smile. "I am glad to hear of your recovery." Cosette said something then that merited my interest, and I turned back to her with a raised brow. "Ch'n herbs, you say? I confess that I have quite the curiosity about their healing arts. I should love to see what you have, if it's no trouble."
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on Mar 30, 2010 23:28:50 GMT -5
Noelie's interest pleased me and I was more than happy to show her what we had acquired. "That would be no problem," I said. "Thank you Phoebe," I said, "for letting us interrupt your peace." She smiled sweetly and bid us both farewell and Eula's blessings. I returned the same and then lead Noelie toward the exit, pointing out some of the other patients, their ills, and how they had been helped.
I then walked her down the hall. "We have a few storage areas, and a pharmacy. All of our herbs, tonics, and the like are kept in there. I will give you a tour of the place." While knowing traditional medicines was important I had found my interest leaning towards methods and medicines from other countries. Ch'n was especially interesting since they had done many autopsies and other strange things to further their knowledge.
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Apr 2, 2010 12:21:16 GMT -5
I gave the girl Phoebe one last smile as Cosette and I moved on. I listened with interest as she talked about the pharmacy and their herbs and tonics. Immediately I wanted to compare notes.
"What do you use for fevers?" I asked, thinking that perhaps those of us interested in the healing arts should be sharing more knowledge than it seemed we were. "Willowbark?" I wondered if there were some Ch'n remedy for fevers, and if I might learn it and bring it back to the Sanctuary.
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on Apr 9, 2010 10:11:58 GMT -5
"We normally use willowbark as well," I told her. "We were told that there was a fruit in Ch'n but we have not received any seeds yet to attempt to grow our own." I walked over to a jar that held a herbal mix. Opened it and put a small amount in my palm. "This is good for a lot of cold and flu symptoms but nursing mothers can not take it." I tried to think of what the mix was called but my memory failed me. With a slight frown I said, "I caan not remeber what this is called but I could find out for you."
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Apr 9, 2010 22:23:25 GMT -5
"Is it difficult to grow Ch'n plants here?" I asked, curious. "I have not studied the country extensively, but it does seem like things like weather and soil would be different enough as to cause some difficulty."
I perused the herbal mix she showed me, taking the jar from her and smelling it gingerly. "That would be lovely, thank you." I said, smiling at her and handing the jar back. I was finding this visit most instructive, and I was rather pleased.
"You should come to the Sanctuary some time," I told her. "I would love to show you around and perhaps there we can also share knowledge?"
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on Apr 17, 2010 21:02:17 GMT -5
"Some are difficult," I said. "It helps that they can be dried, its hard to import from Ch'n since it is so far away, but we can bring large amounts. So far there is only one herb that the house has deemed crucial enough to pay for that expense. I took a jar that had dried root in it, "this is Dong Quai," I said. "If a woman has early cramps in her pregnancy sometimes this will quiet them. It can help with womanly cramps as well, but due to the difficulty in getting it we save it for pregnant females."
I blushed a little with Noelie suggested I visit her temple. I really needed too, and not only for a learning experience. I liked Noelie so I asked, "if you don't mind me changing the subject for a minute, have you ever performed the ceremony for an adept?"
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Apr 19, 2010 0:32:47 GMT -5
I made a note of the herb she showed me, meaning to speak to the Priests about it when I returned.
She changed the subject, her cheeks flushing and then I was blushing too. "Oh, I'm not.. I mean, I study there, but I'm not a Priestess," I said, hoping that I hadn't somehow broken some rule by appearing as a Priestess even though I was not. "I didn't mean to misrepresent myself," I said, hoping that she would not think that I had.
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on Apr 23, 2010 19:58:08 GMT -5
"Oh," I said, blushing a shade deeper. I looked around, a little embarrassed, but then I smiled at her and said, "it's ok. Is there anything in particular that you want to see next?" I looked at the herb collection behind me. "I don't know if we have anything more that is unusual to Terre d'Ange."
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Apr 25, 2010 13:46:04 GMT -5
"Cosette," I said, touching her arm gently, "If you want to come to the temple, I would be happy to come with you, even if I'm not a Priestess." I then smiled and allowed the subject to turn back to what I had come for.
"I suppose not, or at least not that I can think of, but you don't mind if I come back if I think of something, do you?"
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on Apr 25, 2010 23:16:43 GMT -5
I was glad for Noelie's offer and assured her that I would take her up on it when the time came. I would have to visit the temple after all, and probably soon.
"Of course you can come back," I told her with a smile. "It is nice to talk with someone on the outside," I said, and emphasized the word outside as if it was something special. I then laughed a little at my jest. Mainly it was nice to talk to someone who didn't always have assignations on their mind.
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on Apr 26, 2010 22:55:24 GMT -5
I laughed, feeling much the same. "Oh, I know what you mean. I'm not even a priestess and I barely leave the temple, I can imagine what it must be like for an adept!" I gave her a quick hug as we walked back toward the front of the House.
"I'd love to see you again, maybe for tea or lunch," I said, smiling at her. "We can talk shop and maybe other things as well, what do you think?"
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on May 1, 2010 20:44:29 GMT -5
I returned Noelie's hug, and was happy for it. It was nice to have a break from the usual. "I would enjoy meeting again," I told her. "I don't get out very often at all and it would probably be good for me to do so." I smiled at her. "I would enjoy getting to know you more as well, both work-wise and just personally."
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Post by Noelie de Maignard (H) on May 3, 2010 16:19:13 GMT -5
"Same here," I said, laughing softly. "I'm always holed up in the Temple or the Library or somewhere like that. I didn't even realize it was winter until the masque crept up on me! Well, I shall drop you a note and we can choose a time and a place, how does that sound?"
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Post by Cossette nó Balm on May 6, 2010 0:12:27 GMT -5
"That sounds like a grand idea," I said. "I will look forward to your letter!"
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