There was always someone else to blame...They occupied the city, but somehow it was the league's fault. They fought a dragon of legend but that too was for someone to blame, and now he was essentially put to death, but that too had seemed to be the league's fault. All excuses. 

"I want her to be not associated with me in this. The last thing I need is someone from League to hold her to my actions."

He tried to think of anything else, something that could give Sophia a leg up or keep her any better than she was now. Being here was hard on her anyway, with an eye on her and rocket, Laurence had hardly any moments to give her what she wanted. Going to parks became more stressful than he needed, his only saving grace was that she'd been under some other adult's supervision when at school and at home. At least with this, he'd have one less worry. 

"Rocket will keep her safe. That's what I want. Nothing more. "

In a short motion, Laurence took the man's hand, shaking it with a firm motion before letting go. 

"Just tell me what I need to do."

howard slayte

You will do so because you must.

Laurence had turned around to face the audacious patient, those brown eyes burning a hole in him momentarily. The information had been laid out before him, the idea that the league themselves would turn a city to rubble over something so small as a war dawning on him in the most grotesque of ways.

They will kill your parents, your siblings, and your children.

It was then that a noise escaped his throat, a strangled sound between a cry and a laugh. This...there had to have been some lie in it, somehow. They were a resident before this occupation, they’d fish them out somehow…right? The idea that both he and Sophia could be killed in something they had little to do with, couldn’t have been real.

Laurence took a moment of silence, his brain triaging the situation he had been given. Join, or die. There was little room for debate, and yet he could feel the acid rise in his throat. The sound comes back again, an echo of its previous cousin, only more pronounced. He hadn’t even noticed that Howard had gotten from his cot, the man hardly making it close enough before Laurence caught a spasm of his muscles twitching in reflex, forcing him to take a step back once more, closing the distance between them. He wouldn’t be touched by him, a man who’d chain him and his child to this potential massacre. He didn’t trust himself enough to react any more peacefully than had the admin truly done such.

“So you doom us and then tell me I have to join with no choice? You’d damn us, and tell us to find a way out?”

He’d take any silence as a yes, and any “no” as a lie, the question, however, was not Howard to answer, but rather for Rocket itself. Another silence fell onto the room once more, more oppressive than the last. No choice. There was no choice. And with how the city had been, moving hadn’t been an option before, but in the midst of this, there was never going to be a way out unless he tried to find a solution. And him not ending it be damned, he would find a solution. It’d take a moment for the man to speak again, his words before had been cold, but now they’d go frigid, exactly how Howard had walked in.

“Sit down. If you move I’ll leave you as the popsicle that you used to be.”

The anger was justified, something that could easily have boiled over into much worse than words, but Laurence had managed to keep it as just that. Anger. Hatred, if for better terms. But, he’d have to get over it, this was the hand he’d been dealt with, and the only hand he could play. Sophia peaked in his mind a final time before his eyes went to the clock on the wall, 6:32 pm. She’d be questioning at this point, he’d never been gone this long. It’d be a start, however. Laurence shook his head, trying to dismiss it as much as he could. Fine. This was the hand he’d been dealt. But it wouldn’t mean he was out of the game. In that same cold voice, Laurence gave his final negotiation.

“I want my child’s safety prioritized first. Get her out of the city, and I’ll join."


howard slayte  

"Again, I'll let you answer that."

Laurence's brows knit together as Howard gave his grand speech on how the war could go. He knew exactly those wars led to death, that was obvious, who didn't? But that wasn't what he wanted to know. He wanted to know when this thing end would. People dying, yet he was to bet his life onto a hand that already seemed to be losing. Sophia flickered in his mind, her smile being the one thing that made him confident he could keep her safe. But, with this fool asking him to strap into a war, that wouldn't be possible. He could feel himself deflate at the idea of not being there for her at all...

"Pioneers are for those who want to be one, and I can care less of being the "best" doctor there is, Slayte. I asked when this war would end. Chaining my soul for a plaque isn't worth it. I don't know about you, but I have more than a life than in this building."

His voice rose an octave, a wave of heat beginning to flood over him. The doctor had already conscripted himself to Rocket due to being here, treating the criminals because there was little, he could do to ensure else could bring in the money for him and her. It wasn't just a bet, but a damn sentence. Before he could say much more, he turned around, hoping that maybe turning from the man'd at least calm him down. Laurence had listened, but he wasn't caught on this idea fully. Silence fell onto the room, only pierced by the occasional cry of a monitor and the rhythmic drip of the IV bag. 

"I'll let you answer that question, Mr. Slayte."

Laurence ignored his chuckle, trying to focus on the IV bag and not on the decaying structure he'd had to adjust to. However, when Howard continued to ramble, introducing the idea of PTO and those coveted weekends he'd bargained for, he almost fumbled with the IV bag entirely, taking a quiet grave breath to make sure he'd heard that correctly. The admin was correct, though he didn't interact with many of the other doctors, he'd heard the rumors of hospitals being flooded with patients, and the number of hands dwindled by the day. Laurence put the needle in the admin's arm, letting the new liquid try to loosen the icy veins of Howard even if but a little. However, the bargain had been what stopped him from jumping on the offer immediately. No one knew the time of war.

"You drive a hard bargain...However, I have to ask since you're so quick to throw an offer. How long will this war last then? I don't want to agree to something that will be deemed an eternity. I have responsibilities outside of work too."

The question had been serious, enough to have him not get up and simply reject such a thing. 

"And the name is Laurence. Laurence Whateley, a former Sootopolis resident." 

howard slayte

His joke had little to bring Laurence to try to laugh. Surely, he knew that there was little to joke about when it came to this. Laurence knew that. 

"I'm sure there are plenty of doctors and those who are willing to help with you all. And unless you're able to give me more PTO and the weekends off, then I'll keep refusing the offer. Plus, I enjoy the city, the life here. It was a nice place to live in."

Another shot was fired in his comment. It had seemed as though the city had more and more issues since the group and taken root here...He'd been a doctor before, but to this, though he promised he'd heal, every Rocket member he'd met had left nothing but acid in his mouth. But moving was of little option, he and Sophia couldn't just leave, especially having had a life here entirely...Laurence tried to not think too much about it, long as she was fine, then he'd remain fine. Rocket could dwell in the city; they wouldn't dwell in his time with his daughter. 

As Howard listed off his record, Laurence had begun readying the needle. It'd take a moment to see if he were even ready for the IV, the way that the sides of him seemed charred black, he'd be surprised the admin's blood hadn't turned to slush. 

"Alright, I'm going to use the needle. Don't move."

That was the only warning Howard would get, his fear and even the slight breath he took in wouldn't' be acknowledged when Laurence pierced his skin. To distract himself, the admin tried asking questions, as the needle sank deeper. A childish tactic he'd his own child do when she showed her hesitation towards check-ups.

"I let them go early, if need be, many of them have much more to do outside of work as it is. Unfortunately, that means that when people do come in, I have to deal with them on my own."

The needle would be pulled out, its pipe filled with what crimson liquid it could find before Laurence flicked a finger at it. He'd been at least lucky enough to have some blood flow...That'd be good for him at least. He'd staved off amputation or worse. Many may not have been so lucky.

"Luckily for you, I was able to draw some blood out but, I'll be hooking you up to an IV for a moment."

Laurence went and deposited the blood sample away in a vial when he could before he moved over to grab an IV drop and IV stand. After a few moments of fixing it, he readied the second needle and hooked it to the man, however, as he did such, he brought himself to ask:

"Are there any others who happened to be hit with this bad of frostbite? God can only know how bad it had to be for others who may have been hit directly."

howard slayte

But it did revolve around his schedule, if he’d have his way.

He’d have turned him away, left the man there with nothing but the frostbite to eat at his skin, but he knew that if he'd gone home, he'd show it. She'd see it, and Laurence wasn't prepared to answer questions about what had been troubling him, there were only so many times 'A lot of adult things are just going on for Papa.' would work on a curious girl like Sophia. She’d go prying for more, and Arceus knows how much digging she’d try to get into. That and the hassle that it’d cause would be more than he’d need for the moment. The bastard would get his help.

‘I know you all have enough to fill this room twice over…Before you take over a place, wouldn’t it be best to at least have enough to treat going against a beast of legend…’

But that would have extended things, he kept it to himself.

“More often than not, some come simply to get out of their tasks like the next person, but we’ll see what's the issue.”

As Howard dropped his shirt to reveal his wounds, the sight of the blackening frostbite would make itself quite evident. So, this was the handiwork of Kyurem…Laurence moved forward to get a closer glance, seeing where the frostbite began and where it ended. Depending on how far it’d have gotten and with this severity, it’d turn from a standard thirty-minute excursion to more than Laurence bargained for. His mind drifted off for a second, an image coming quickly of a young lady sitting at the table alone, only the TV on to keep her busy while she waited.

She’d be fine alone for too long, right? He’d put the leftovers in the fridge just in case something like this would ever happen…But just because he prepped for it, didn't mean he wanted the possibility to be coming to fruition.

“I’m going to go and do a quick blood draw to see how you’re going so far… then get you ready for an IV for a bit. I hope you have time, we’ll be here for a moment.”

Laurence scribbled something down on the clipboard he kept close and took a long sigh before he turned around towards the glass cabinets that had lined the infirmary. With a sure-fire grab, he’d grab a needle. Hopefully, he wasn’t squeamish, this’d only draw out more time.



“Howard Slayte, right? Go ahead and tell me your allergies...”


howard slayte

4:55pm... He'd been ticking down the time he'd been here, from the moment he'd stepped into the office, each second would not have gone unnoticed, not a minute missed. Then, he'd be able to get to hear her voice. 5 minutes left, 300 more agonizing till he'd be in the comfort of his home again...Laurence leaned into the back of his seat, his lids growing heavy as his head slowly filled with the ghostly sound of the voice of his world, he'd nap for those five minutes, to hear her voice once more--

Doctor.

He hadn't even been able to slip fully into his thoughts before someone disturbed him, that same repetitive honorific that would keep him at his job. Laurence swiveled in his chair, his tired eyes landing on the man who leaned against the doorway. A patient. Howard. Home...No, She, would have to wait a little longer. 5 minutes. She could wait that long, right?

"Come on, get onto the cot...Go ahead and tell me what's your issue and make it quick."

In a sluggish movement, Laurence got from his seat, grabbing the clipboard as he went towards the cabinet, trying to find the file for the man who would be taking up his time...And while Howard would be going to explain his situation, Laurence would hold little care but to speak his mind on such a matter that he felt. 

"You've got a lot of nerve coming on the last 5 minutes of a man's shift, you know?"

It wouldn't be long before he'd found the medical papers he'd need, putting them into his clipboard before he'd walk over, cold eyes glancing over the Rocket Admin to find any sort of "glaring" injuries that could have been so important to ruin his day.