Dwayne jumped a little when his patient awoke. He was not expecting it, but his shock quickly changed into relief. At least he did not have to get rid of a body now. Dwayne gathered his composure quickly, responding to the stranger's questions with a calm tone.

"Hey, I'm Dwayne. I found you dying on the side of the road and decided to help. You're in the Bothwell Apothecary--still in Sootopolis. Now lay back down you're gonna mess up the gauze."

Dwayne would wait for the man to follow his directions before continuing. Now that he was awake, maybe Dwayne could get a little context for how he got into this mess. "So--who am I treating today and like--the fuck happened?"

Noel Parker

Dwayne watched as Noel tried to get up, making no attempt to stop him. Some lessons just had to be learned the hard way. The man struggled, eventually succumbing to his pain and falling back onto the table. Dwayne shook his head lightly, "Riiight. Yeah you don't seem ready for a rematch yet."

Dwayne resumed his work, readjusting any gauze that may have shifted during Noel's attempts to move. "As someone who has just used a majority of his herb inventory to keep you alive, let me offer you some advise. I don't know who did this to you, but they are clearly out of your league. If you go off looking for him again, you will die. So what you gotta do is get out of here, get to a pokecenter or hospital or whatever, and once you're better start training. Then try again when you're stronger. I don't mean a little stronger now, I mean at this guy's level."

Dwayne's tone was soft but direct, the last thing he wanted was for this guy to go off and get himself killed after he went through the effort of saving him. What kind of lesson would that teach Dwayne? That there was no point in helping others? What a sorry reality that would be. After a few moments of silence Dwayne would tighten the last bandage before slowly leaning away. "Do you have a ride? None of my pokemon can fly so it will be up to you to get out of the city."

Noel Parker

Dwayne leaned back, his brows furrowing as Noel insisted on leaving to find his attacker. A long grumbling sound could be heard behind Dwayne's mask, a sign of his growing irritation. He looked around at the now empty jars of balms that he had used to heal this stranger, which he would very likely have to compensate with his paycheck. It filled him with a sense of resentment, and the gnawing feeling that he had wasted his time.

Perhaps it was his own sense of preservation that caused Dwayne to be unsympathetic to Noel. Yet even with his vehement disagreement, he would continue to speak to his patient with the softness of a doting caregiver.

"I shall tell you what happened, you picked a fight with something beyond your capabilities and paid for it. You may leave whenever you feel ready, but know that at this point seeking out your assailant shall be suicide."

Dwayne pushed back his chair slightly and folded his arms, solidifying the supposed lesson he had learned. "I don't know why I care what happens to you anyway. We're strangers, you and I. Get going so that I no longer have to reflect upon my wasted effort."

Noel Parker

"Hmph." Dwayne crossed his arms, looking away as the man rose to his feet. It pained him to see Noel push himself, but he had to fight back his urge to help further. The man was on a mission, and Dwayne would not be able to convince Noel to rest further. Not that he could rest here, this was not Dwayne's property after all.

Dwayne responded to Noel as calmly as always, "I'm not a doctor, I just work here. But whatever, you're wel--come." Dwayne paused as he instinctively looked around for Noel's belongings, only to suddenly remember a terrible fact. "I um--hm--belongings?" Dwayne began to sweat a little, nervously laughing as he scratched the back of his head.

"You uh--you didn't have anything on you when I found you. I might have missed them anyway--heh." Dwayne did not know why he was nervous, perhaps he thought the man would turn on Dwayne and accuse him of being a thief. Or maybe he was just embarrassed that he did not notice Noel's stuff earlier, if he even had them after he was knocked out.

Regardless, Dwayne just hoped that Noel would head out so he could clean up and put this night behind him.

Noel Parker