there's so many ways to give in | dusti

[rhys alexander greyback]

template by punki of adoxography

rage is a quiet thing

you think you've tamed it?

January 3, 2026
@dusti

Rhys fidgeted in his chair, the hospital didn't seem any more crowded than it normally was on this floor, but everything seemed to be taking much longer than usual by his best guess. Typically he was more distracted than this when he walked into the hospital. Dislocated joints, wounds bleeding out, concussions--they had the tendency to warp one's sense of time. For once, Rhys had walked in here, though on his bosses' orders at the bank. This strange island that had appeared and as far as he knew the Ministry and the bank had swarmed its crimson shores searching for what secrets lay there. Was it new magic, was there treasure? The previous day Rhys had run into a reporter, so he knew the world was watching curiously. The bank wanted to make sure that their Curse Breakers, especially more senior-level ones as himself, hadn't come back with some degenerative curse. It took too much time and gold to train new Curse Breakers, so just as one maintained their tools, they had sent Rhys to be checked out.

The poking and prodding had annoyed him immensely, though he had been used to frequent Healer visits throughout his life from being a werewolf and also from his work. To add to his fun, the full moon was that night, and he felt more on edge than ever. Rhys missed his routine from the previous year, but nothing was normal ever since he'd gotten back from Egypt. Rhys slumped in his chair and crossed his arms, the main physical was complete, and all that was left was bloodwork. A surly expression was on his face. If he had the choice, he would have been back home sleeping after three days on the island, especially since the Heliopath leadership wanted him to return. His Curse Breaking experience provided an important perspective among the highly trained Aurors that were also going, plus Poe expected him up bright and early as possible. Rhys fidgeted more, trying to keep himself out of his thoughts though he hardly had the energy at the moment. However, he heard the door click open, and immediately he looked over.

[Deleted]

January 3, 2026
rhys alexander greyback

This. Was. Stupid.

Dusti thought most days were stupid, to be honest. Everything was stupid. But today was particularly rough. Not because stressful days at the hospital bothered her. They didn't. No, it was the fact that the lab was having to run countless tests on those that had scurried off to that magical island to check for side effects. Again, not something that would normally bother her. She liked running tests. The cold, calculations. No room for interpretation of the data. It was the combination of the previous mentioned workload.... with the fact that the lab was running all the tests themselves. Meaning Dusti had to interact with... people.

Now, it was no secret that the lab had some of the most antisocial staff in the hospital. It was also well known around the floors that Dusti was particularly volatile on an off day. Dusti just didn't play well with others. Something that often got her in trouble, though in her line of work she rarely had to interact with others so "people skills" was not a part of her job requirements.

So, obviously, the current work load AND the human interaction had riled Dusti up into a near frenzy emotionally. She was a hair away from losing her temper, all day. While the curse breakers and Ministry employees she was testing did not appreciate her attitude, the rest of the lab was quite impressed she hadn't unintentionally stabbed someone. Yet. But you never knew she was like a caged animal in these situations. You poked it enough times and the animal would eventually lash out.

Thankfully, one of her coworkers had already run through a physical exam of the next curse breaker. Dusti grumbled, but silently appreciated them handling that for her. All she needed to do was run all the blood work. Though, to be honest, the tests they were running on the curse breakers were intense, so say the least. Of course she'd run them all many times... They just weren't your standard blood tests. You didn't go in to the healer with a cold and expect them to test you for literally everything. Magical and nonmagical. But the bank was being precautious, a rational decision. The hard part was that they were also trying to find anything unknown. Things they didn't already know. Because what if these curse breakers came in contact with something new? Isn't that how so many societies had almost been destroyed? Someone came in with an ailment that the residents had no immunity to.

So, taking the chart from her coworker she headed to the exam room, turning the doorknob and stepping inside. She didn't even bother to look at him for more then a second. She had her usual "resting bitch face" on, something you shouldn't take seriously. She always had a resting bitch face. Nope, she just wanted to get this done with. No pleasantries needed. They were stupid (though she thought most everything was stupid). She set the clipboard down on one of the metal trays, where the vials, needles, and everything else needed to draw his blood had already been set up. "I need one of your arms." She finally said, eyeing his folded arms with scrutiny.

[rhys alexander greyback]

template by punki of adoxography

rage is a quiet thing

you think you've tamed it?

January 3, 2026
@dusti

If the woman had walked a bit faster, she would have barged into the room. Rhys only watched her as she looked at the chart in her hand and only looking at him when she demanded his arm. Rhys paused a moment, not budging. He wasn't in the mood to be taking orders as an instant feeling of annoyance started to bubble up inside of him. Wasn't it enough he'd barely slept since New Year's Day and not to mention been sober the entire time only to come back to London to deal with Maria in a very temperamental mood? Then he'd had to deal with paperwork at the bank, and then he'd come here to be poked and prodded. He preferred hospitals when he'd been in some mortal peril because he at least wasn't conscious for all of this. "A please goes a long way." He commented, unfolding his arms and folding up his sleeve up to his bicep, exposing his various scars and marks from narrowly avoided curses and mishaps while working (those scars didn't quite fade). He wondered if it was possible to request a mediwitch next time. Tia always had a soft spot for him, even if drawing blood wasn't really her job.

Rhys couldn't tell if this was likely her usual disposition or she'd had a long day. He knew he wasn't the first Curse Breaker to come through for a check-up, but also, he'd felt it was nonsense as he seemed the least affected by the island next to his sister. Still, he knew this would take some time, and the quiet only let him slip back into thoughts he didn't care to think about at the moment. All he wanted to do was leave. He needed to find Ilija to ask a question about the island. He hadn't seen him at the bank earlier. And afterward, go home, prepare for the next day and drink enough whiskey to sleep through another full moon. "I take it I'm not the first Curse Breaker you've seen today?" Maybe on a day that wasn't the full moon, he might have entertained the possibility of polite conversation or even just sat here in silence, but today was not one of those days. And the longer he sat here with his only movement, the fidgeting he couldn't help but do, the more he felt his exhaustion creep over him.