Doc, I Can't Sleep [Day 4, LM]

[Hin'biki]

A small slip of paper was practically soaked through with the rain, but still held a partially legible address on it. He looked at the building ahead of him, and under his hood he sighed. The sound lost in the deluge. He approached and knocked on the door. It was surprising, he'd actually never been to a clinic or a hospital before. He had nearly died of Balmorran flu and through luck or stubbornness managed to survive. But even then he had curled up in an abandoned apartment and weathered it. He'd had wounds mended and bones set by underworld "doctors" but even then it was just the back room of a seedy shop.

And yet, here he was, spending his hard earned credits just to get to the capital, to go to a posh hospital. He really hoped it was worth it.

[Yara Suhr]

Inside the clinic doors Hin would find a small but neat waiting area. From behind the reception station, a basic, far-from-new protocol droid--lacquered white, with red trim--hails each unfamiliar newcomer with a cheery mechanical, "Greetings, patient! Welcome to the Neda Ulably Memorial Medical Center. Do you have an appointment today?"

[Hin'biki]

"Uhhhh," Hin replied with his usual eloquence. There was no mistaking, the cleanliness, and niceness took him off guard. Sure it was still a rustic clinic, but it was nicer than almost any place he'd been in over two years. I brought back mixed memories of times when he was surrounded by the height of wealth with all the fineries the galaxy had to offer.

....it was also a time when he was a slave.

He stopped gaping and snapped from his reverie to give a shake of his head and a piteous noise to emphasize that he had no appointment.

[Yara Suhr]

"Do not worry, new patient! Walk-ins are welcome." With a slight wheeze of metallic joints, the droid picks up a datapad and slides it over the counter toward Hin. "Please complete an intake form, current concerns, and medical history, new patient!" The droid must have managed to detect something of Hin's uncertainty, because its glowing optical receptors flicker briefly and it adds, "If you can't answer one of the questions, you may leave it blank. Our clinicians recognize that not all Noventan patients have consistent access to medical care."

[Hin'biki]

Hesitate was all over his face. A paper trail (so to speak), with personal information, seemed a really terrible idea. He saw visions of bounty hunters coming into the clinic, tearing it apart in search of some patient file. And not particularly choosy about collateral damage to the staff.

All the same, he took the pad and went through the questionnaire. His brow furrowed with both consentration and irritation at the form. None of these questions were relevant to why he was here.

Inevitably he only put down two answers:

Name: Teb'depiy
Contact Address: Wookie's Codpiece, Lower Providencetown

Taking it back to the droid his passed it over.

[Yara Suhr]

"Thank you, patient... Teb'depiy," the droid says in the same cheerful metallic voice. "You may wait for a clinician in Exam Room Two, down the hall to your left. It should only be a few minutes!"

[Hin'biki]

There was a standoffish reply, as the young twi'lek just kept his eyes averted, sending only occasional glances at the droid. Following its instructions, he found exam room two, noting the furniture. The snug room, however, didn't give him a sense of comfort. It felt claustrophobic and with little avenue of escape. He tried to allay his paranoia with logic, but that didn't do much to settle his nerves.

So, he instead stood and paced slowly about the room.

[Yara Suhr]

A knock comes on the exam room door, and a female voice--most likely human--asks, "Ready? May I come in?"

[Hin'biki]

Hin stopped moving instantly and just looked at the door for a second. Then gave a faint noise of affirmation and a nod. He would later think back and realize that the nod was stupid thing to do to a mostly closed door.

"C-come in," he immediately felt dumb inviting one of the staff into their own exam rooms.

[Yara Suhr]

The door slides open and Yara steps in, wearing a crisp white coat and with a datapad in her hand. "Hello, Mr Teb--hang on." Looking up from the datapad screen, her eyes focus on him and mild perplexity washes across her expression. "That isn't the name your boss used for you, is it."

[Hin'biki]

"Force of habit," Hin said by way of explanation, as though that cleared up everything. He didn't particularly look or feel like he wanted to elaborate.

[Yara Suhr]

"I see." The corners of her mouth twitch upward a bit as she taps the door-close panel, but she doesn't seem offended. One might guess this isn't the first time she's treated someone who couldn't or wouldn't give their real name. "So, what's your medical concern today...ah, which name shall I call you by?"

[Hin'biki]

"Hin is fine," he stepped back to give her more room. His lekku seemed to relax and unfurl once the door was closed. "I...."

He hesitated feeling suddenly very foolish for coming. The doctor, however, would be able to note some things even without him saying. The skin around his eyes was a half shade darker, implying fatigue. That was compounded by faint trails of green entering his pupils, another sign that the young twi'lek was suffering from exhaustion. His weight was already below what it should be, and likely had stunted some of his growth. Venturing a guess, he'd likely been dealing with malnourishment for a good 3 years now? Maybe 4? Hard to say.

That seemed especially problematic given twi'lek's didn't carry much excess weight reserves as humans. Meant they could go far less time without food and drink.

Hin took a deep breath, "I need something to keep me awake at work."

[Yara Suhr]

"Hm," the doctor says in a gently neutral sort of way. "Are you feeling more fatigue than usual lately, Hin?" I half believe this boy's heart would give out if I really prescribed a stim... Lecturing patients about their lifestyles hasn't worked very well for her in the past, though, at least not without getting some better sense of the situation. At least he's here and not out buying glitterstim in a dark corner, that's promising.

[Hin'biki]

The twi'lek nodded brining a hand to his brow to quickly massage it then dropped his hand. He seemed unable to look the good doctor in the eye. "I've been taking double shifts at the bar. It feels like all I do. Wakeup, eat, go to work, go to sleep."

"And this stellar cycle...I thought I'd gotten used to it."

[Yara Suhr]

She Hmms sympathetically. "It's awful, isn't it? Temperate world, breathable air, suitable for agriculture... then there's that one poison pill, sixteen average hours of daylight." She sighs. "In any case, with fatigue, it's important to sort out the causes before treating the effects. We want to be certain we're not masking an underlying problem that could give you more trouble later." She watches Hin cautiously, trying not to look too intent. "So you've been feeling this way since you started pulling doubles? How many hours does that add up to? And, hmm. Any other symptoms you've noticed over that period?"

[Hin'biki]

Silence followed for a moment either out of contemplation or a general sense of being overwhelmed. In truth he didn't know how to answer the question in either respect and it shown on his face. "Uhhh," he managed to eek you.

"I-I don't think so. I'm just tired, but I really need the credits." He sighed, "And I guess it would be something like....I dunno, 16hrs total, maybe a little more or less depending on the day. As soon as the bar opens in the afternoon till it closes. I'm there the whole time. It was fine starting, but it's been getting worse and worse."

[Yara Suhr]

Yara swallows most of her sigh before it escapes. "I'm sorry. That sounds quite difficult." She produces a compact little medical monitor from a drawer. "I'm going to take your vitals, and we'll see what I can do for you. But I'll tell you now that there's no sustainable treatment that will let someone from your species--or mine, or most people's--work many hours a day with inadequate rest and nutrition." Her tone is briskly professional, but at least attempts gentleness. "Stimulants may give you more energy when you use them, but you're only burning your own reserves. It's rather like spending borrowed credits. If you spend more than you can repay, when the debt comes due it's uncomfortable at best."

She summons a reassuring (she hopes) smile. "We'll find a way for you to feel better. It may be more complicated than an auto-injector, that's all. Would you hold out your arm, please?"

--
Behold the bedside manner of the physician with Presence 2...

[Hin'biki]

That wasn't exactly what Hin wanted to hear, so he let out his own sigh as he offered his arm. "I don't have much money. I can't afford anything fancy."

[Yara Suhr]

"It may be as simple as getting better rest and some nutritional supplements. That's quite a bit cheaper than stimulants," Yara says a little absently as she touches the scanner's contacts to Hin's arm to measure his basic vitals--temperature, respiratory rate, and so on.