You're a drug dealer?!

[holbydelboy]

Characters: Fletch (holbydelboy), Jackie Ma (jinzhong), and Milyn (cherrywood)
Date: 15th March, following this thread
Location: Apothecary
Situation: Fletch found out Milyn made dangerous hallucinogens and wants answers. Knock, knock. It's Jackie, and he brings *~*~feelings~*~*
Warnings/Rating: Angry British guys, angry triad guys, and possibly more.


So. Dust and Lucid, two of the biggest drugs on Tu Vishan, and they were made by someone Adrian Fletcher liked. He doesn't like the thought of that... So he's going to get confirmation.

It's early morning when he walks up to the clinic in the water sector, finding it open, as usual. Kind of odd for someone who's just been outed as the primary reason many people got drugged and won over to some cosmic evil's side. But, then again, Milyn wasn't exactly normal. Even by kedan standards.

So, he's going to push his way into the room. "Milyn?" He calls out, finding the front of the shop empty. "It's Fletch."

Comments

[holbydelboy]

"So, you took a risk and thought it would pay off... and it back-fired." And her reaction. She isn't going off on tangents, she's sticking to the facts. This isn't how she normally acts.

"I've got one more question." He states. "This may seem... harsh, or... unwarranted, but..." He looks down. "Do you regret what happened with what you created?"

He wasn't going to ask if she regretted creating it. That much was possible. But if she regretted what it was turned into. That's another story.

[cherrywood]

Milyn laughed a little, finding Fletch's almost-abashed behaviour precious. "Oh Fletch, you're hardly harsh. But I never wanted Dust to work in Malicant's favour, I wanted that creature gone just as much as anyone else."

"But you have to understand, no one knew that defeating Malicant would restore the kedan. It was never even considered as a possibility, because it was Eshai's magic that had done it, a completely separate cause and effect. And the Foreigners... well, you have to understand. We knew you weren't here to help us. When you beat Malicant -- and truly, I have always believed it was going to be a when, not an if -- you would all return home, the duty forced on you by Eshai completed. And we would have stayed like we were, forever."

[holbydelboy]

A nod. This all makes sense. No guarantee of the magic wearing off, no hint of a future. That... Yeah, Fletch understands her viewpoint. Risks... they have a habit of being risky.

"I understand." He says, looking up. "And that's good enough for me." More than good enough. "I'm sorry I asked, but there's been question of your... morality. I... I just wanted to know where you stood by myself." Opinions of others can distort the truth after all.

[cherrywood]

The Healer smiles at him kindly. "I knew I could count on you, you know. You've made hard decisions before, when it's to save people. I don't really think this was all that different."

She does seem unconcerned by his statement about her morality, though. "You don't need to apologize. I'm happy to explain it to anyone who feels the need to know. That's why I couldn't understand why Valdis said I should run away. First of all, I have a practice to run here! What would I tell my patients? And besides, I don't believe I have reason to fear any of you, you've all been good to me until now. I've learned so much, you know."

[jinzhong]

Jackie can't believe it. He'd even tried to sleep on it, but sleep hadn't come easy. His mind had been consumed with thoughts of drugs and betrayal, and early in the morning he'd resolved to go see Milyn himself and get the story from her. Not that he didn't trust Valdis, but he had trusted Milyn, and she'd done well by them during the Dreaming Year.

He pushed the door open, and paused. Seemed someone had beaten him here.

"Um...am I interrupting?" he asked, briefly at a loss, the speech full of righteous anger and hurt that he'd been crafting in his head all night abruptly derailed.

[holbydelboy]

As the door opens, Fletch instantly turns to face it, before stopping, half-turned, forcing himself to calm down. Not everyone coming in is going to be a threat. The Clinic's still open, after all.

"Uh, no. I'm... Pretty much done."

[cherrywood]

"Jackie!" Milyn was delighted. "I haven't seen you in what seems like forever, dear, come in. I've got to say, I've had more visitors in the last two days than I had all winter. Don't rush out, Fletch, I have some more of that tea you tried last time, you liked it, didn't you? Jackie, some for you as well?"

[jinzhong]

Jackie paused, still totally at a loss. Milyn didn't seem bothered at all.

"Uh, sure, I guess?" he ventured, to be polite.

Jackie what did your mama tell you about accepting tea from drug dealers

[holbydelboy]

Fletch nods. "Yeah. Tea'll be good." He glances at Jackie, shifting his stance, trying to make it look more natural.

It doesn't work. He still looks apprehensive as hell.

[cherrywood]

She ushers them both to the little garden table that sits in the corner of the shop for just such occasions as this. Like Fletch has seen before, the colour of the tea resembles muddy water, but the taste is light and like lavender, and quite tasty!

"Now I don't want you two to fret, I'm certain this will blow over before very long at all."

[jinzhong]

Jackie sat down at the table numbly, shaking his head. His movements were a little stiff, showing that he was agitated, too. "I just...Milyn, I don't understand," he said, sounding a little bit lost. "I never thought you of all people would be involved in that stuff, you know?"

[holbydelboy]

Sitting at the table, Fletch leans his elbows on it, propping his chin in his hands. So, Jackie was affected by this, too? Seems a lot of people would be.

"It's not as black and white as we were told, mate." He points out.

[cherrywood]

"But you know I've always wanted to help people," Milyn said, leaning over and patting Jackie on the arm. "And doing so, well, sometimes that doesn't always have the neatest and cleanest route, you know? Things can get tricky!"

whhhhhoops I spilled some feelings everywhere

[jinzhong]

Jackie shook his head in disbelief and looked into his tea. "No, like...my best friend Wei, back home...this guy we knew growing up, Dogeyes, he got Wei's sister addicted to drugs. The hard shit, you know? Heroin. Got her mixed up in all kinds of shit to get her to pay him for it, if you know what I mean. Wei and Mimi had to move to America to try and make a clean break, but...Mimi still couldn't kick it. She died, y'know, a few years later. Overdosed. So it was the drugs that killed her, but it was also really Dogeyes, 'cause he gave them to her in the first place and got her hooked."

Jackie looked up at Milyn. "So what I don't get is, what makes you different? You made Dust...so what makes you different?" He was trying to keep the anger in his voice under control, but there were tears in his eyes, too.

ding dong, who's there? *~*~Exposition~*~*

[holbydelboy]

Fletch keeps quiet during all of this. They got addicts through AAU quite a few times. Heroin, cocaine, methadone... It's never pretty, it's never easy. He sympathises.

He takes a sip of the tea, letting Milyn defend herself.

[cherrywood]

Milyn listens quietly with a sympathetic look; from the times that she'd spoken with Jackie, she had inferred that his life hadn't been rosy, but this helped frame it with more context.

"That's not something anyone can prove, sweetling. I can offer you an explanation, but the only person who decides if I'm different is the person asking the question. Do you think I'm the same as Dogeyes?"

[jinzhong]

"I don't know," Jackie shot back. "Because I don't know why you did it. Dogeyes, he was a fucking pok gai - he did that shit just to get ahead, he didn't care if it hurt people as long as it helped him. I think he even liked hurting people, t'be honest. But you're better than that, you're better than that piece of shit. You have to be." His voice broke on that last sentence - it was less of an assertion and more of a plea.

[cherrywood]

Milyn leaned back in her chair at Jackie's accusation of not knowing why she did it; that hurt, because she'd never made it a secret that she wanted to help the Foreigners, even when it put her at odds with her own people, such as the Families. With the Emperor regime gone, her title didn't carry nearly as much weight in Keeliai, but she'd tried to use it to make sure the Foreigners weren't thought of badly for being seen as abandoning the kedan when they were at their weakest, following Malicant's destruction.

"Of course I don't enjoy hurting people... how could you say that?"

[jinzhong]

"No, that's not...I don't think you like hurting people. I just...why'd you do it, Milyn? Why did you make the Dust? There has to be a reason, right?"

Jackie swallowed. "I know you're better than Dogeyes, which is why this is freaking me out so much. If I knew you were some asshole like Yunxu I wouldn't be concerned. But...I dunno. This just doesn't seem like what I know about you."

[cherrywood]

"Because I wanted to help wake the kedan up," Milyn sighed. "It simply had some very poor side effects, and Daseng wanted to keep it as it as, so I started on a new project. I really don't think I've done anything to warrant all this suspicion..."

[jinzhong]

Jackie shook his head. "Yeah. It was fucked up what Eshai did to you...we didn't know about that. I guess it's for a good reason, but M...that thing used it to hurt people."

He rubbed at his face. "This is all kinds of fucked up, Milyn, but...I believe you. I saw the kedan before, and I know how different you all are now that it's gone and the spell is broken. But Dust and Lucid...they're out there now. And they're still hurting people. And I know that's not what you meant them to do."

Jackie took a deep, heavy breath that turned into a disbelieving laugh. "Shit."

[holbydelboy]

"Bit of a mind-fuck, ain't it. And the way things were going on that radio call..." Well, it definitely sounded like the pitchforks were being sharpened... "Things usually get this complicated around here?"

[cherrywood]

Milyn smiles at Jackie, touched by the response. "You're so kind to me," she said. "I knew I could count on you -- both of you -- to understand. Of course I never wanted to hurt anyone. I wouldn't have become a Healer if I wanted to hurt anyone."

To Fletch, she laughed a little, shaking her head. "Oh, there's always something that's happening. I daresay the Foreigners do guarantee more than their fair share of excitement for me!"

SURPRISE. | Tag order: Meisheng, Jackie, Fletch, Milyn?

[ironrule]

The back door of Milyn's clinic had been left unlocked. That was probably why, a moment after Fletch asked his question and Milyn laughed, Meisheng stepped out of the shadows behind them, shedding any attempt to go unnoticed or unrecognised.

"You two," she said, speaking to both the Foreigners, though her gaze was on Jackie. She jerked her head towards the door. "Out. Now."

Her facial features had shifted to resemble a canine's, her favourite form to take - but anyone who'd met her before would recognise her. And there was no mistaking the mark of the Snakes she wore on the band around her upper arm.

[jinzhong]

Jackie stumbled to his feet in shock, overturning the chair and spilling his tea. "M-Meisheng?"

Oh, shit. What had Valdis started?