{Video}

[fliesonfour]

There is a reason why Saint Valentine is so very popular in France! Who does not like a handwritten note and a little favour at their doorstep, handed over by some pretty damsel-- or stripling? Hm? One should be willing to Rome very far indeed, to execute such a token with care to friends and loved ones, with all the haste of flying on a Cupid's wings!

Indeed, I wonder that everyone does not have a few recipients in mind already, for such favours? And to such an end, this question, most serious:

Is there a shop well-known for sturdy, pretty stationery and good pen-ink? Nothing pigmented, if you please!

If anyone knows of such a place, please point me in its direction. I'd thank you for the tip.

Ah! And for those of you who do not know me yet, salutations and introductions. I am called Joly, and I am a medical student, lately of Paris, presently as shell-shocked as the rest of the company. A pleasure to meet you!

Now, to end with a little seasonal joke, for the medically-minded among us:

Gapeworm is red, Cholera is blue,
Honey helps the lymphs, and lemon does too.
Thou are my love and I am thine;
So stay warm and dry, my Valentine!

It's very sound advice, at that. The winter months are dastardly.

Happy writing!

Comments

[fliesonfour]

Flattered and obliged!

Well, absolutely. I am all curiosity now; please do ask it.

[warrioreidlos]

I figured as a doctor, you might be the right person to ask for this sort of stuff.

I'm thinking of putting a first aid kit together. We're at war here, after all. Could you recommend any places to pick up supplies?

[fliesonfour]

Are we very much at war? I have been rather meaning to ask, but; with whom? And is it logical, that the soldiers in such a war, should not be the nationals of this place?

[He is still rather new, and his wits have been so assaulted by all the oddness of the place in comparison to his own home, that taking in another war so shortly after facing a death in battle had been beside the point thus far.]

My good man, I could indeed. In fact, I am in possession of such a friend who runs his very own clinic, and doubtlessly could supply you with such a pack, ready-made.

[warrioreidlos]

[He runs his hand over the back of his head for a moment. Joly managed to hit upon a particular sore point of Reiner there. The lack of information regarding their situation, their enemy, and this war did not put Reiner at ease. The less he knows, the more this feels like some trap.]

Wish I could tell you. I haven't been here long myself, but whoever is in charge here is very tight-lipped over who we are supposed to be fighting and how.

[It's damned suspicious.]

All the more reason for me to hurry up and get that kit ready, right? This might not be our war by choice, but I'm afraid they made it ours by force when they brought us here.

[The sort of force that invades and strikes tends not to stop and ask if whoever it is hitting is in favour of this war or not. He should know. He was the invading force once, after all.]

[fliesonfour]

Might I make a suggestion, then-? Perhaps rather less as a physician, and rather more...

[As a soldier? Not quite. He should never think of himself as thus, rather he had the wounds and memories to represent otherwise, or not.

Shaking away that dreadful conclusion, he finished, a little more seriously:]

As your brother in humanity.

Knowing for whom and what you fight is utmost important, to the spirit as to the heart, as to survival, frankly. There is defense, and there is offense. We speak of kits, and thus! Defense. And I hope you shalln't get defensive if I warn that perhaps offense is not yet the correct course. It should not chafe your manliness at all! For we are all warriors in our bones. But the bones surrounding the mind must be satisfied, before they agree to let those in the hands work their best violences.

Do I make sense at all, my new friend?

[warrioreidlos]

Think first, shoot later?

[This guy has a strange flowery way of speak, but Reiner manages to distill that much from his words. He has to suppress the wry expression, not entirely certain if he is successful.

It's advice that is several years too later for him, in a way. If only there had been a way to know then what he knows now. Perhaps things could've been very different. He had been a stupid, naive kid.]

Don't worry, I'm not offended. It's solid advice. Anything we do can't be undone later, right?

[He had learned that one the hard way.]

Honestly, I am not really planning on doing anything yet, just trying to be prepared. But if something were to happen [His chin lifts a little, his expression serious.] I am a soldier. I might not be home but I still have my duty to humanity. I couldn't sit by idly.

Sorry to be so late!!

[fliesonfour]

[He gets only the subtle arc of a brow at shoot first, think later. Very manly, very youthful! But in practice, Joly has noticed, it leads to blood upon the stone that cannot be put back into the bodies it came from.]

A solid sentiment, my friend. All right. If you are settled upon it, then Ορκος, I must do what I can to help.

Come by the clinic tomorrow. I will gather you a little bunch of supplies, eh?