Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Perceptual Cosmos

Chapter Two: Being Patient

"Sal! Saaaaal!"

"...Yeah, Splashy?"

"Th-this water..." Unable to continue speaking without excitable choking, spluttering sounds, Splashy gestured wildly to the cup in their hands.

"Just what you needed, right?" Sal pat them on the back, as Splashy nodded gratefully and sniffled.

The doctor's office was humble, cosy and well-lit, sunbeams illuminating a colourful, hand-woven rug on the stone flooring. When they had arrived and explained their symptoms, the doctor made Sal and Splashy go through some basic physical exams and gathered some samples from them, eventually leaving both of them to wait upon some comfortable cushion-seats in the main room. Across from them, a pink-furred nurse hummed cheerfully, refilling a ceramic pitcher with water from a tap on the wall.

Sal held his tail close - not necessarily because the doctor had been intimidating, no. Rather, he simply didn't want to accidentally light up the doctor's furniture, given that being a Charmander with a constantly-lit tail still felt so new to him. Next to him, Splashy's beak clicked and clacked on the ceramic cup as they turned it upwards, gratefully downing the last drops of water it contained.

"You feeling any better, buddy? You've hardly spoken since we got here," said Sal, chuckling and ruffling Splashy's blue head-feathers.

"I've never seen someone so good at hydrating!" said the nurse, Audino, giggling as she walked over with the refilled pitcher. It was true. Splashy had already drank four cups of water during their visit.

"Thisth is... the best water, I have ever tasted," said Splashy, eyes sparkling in delight as they held out their cup to the nurse.

"If only our other patients were so enthusiastic," said Audino, sighing wistfully as she poured more water into Splashy's outstretched cup. "I wouldn't need to make so many home visits."

"Nurse Audino."

Sal jolted in his seat. How on Earth did this doctor manage to sneak around so silently?

Dr. Luxray padded back into the room from a doorway behind where Sal and Splashy were sitting, her dark fur and volumnous mane a stark contrast against the warm hues of her office. Her sharp, golden eyes made Sal shiver; even for a brief glance, it was if they were piercing right through him.

"Yes, ma'am?" Nurse Audino placed down the pitcher of water on a nearby table and nodded at Dr. Luxray, her fluffy ears raised in attention. How was she not affected by the doctor's gaze?

A pause. "Try not to breach patient confidentiality," said the doctor, blinking slowly at her soft-and-fluffy coworker. Nurse Audino only giggled in response, a paw at her mouth as if to contain her warm smile.

...Was that meant to be a joke?

Stepping into the centre of the room, Dr. Luxray sat opposite Sal and Splashy and silently turned to face them both, her gaze ever intimidating and unreadable. With her form blocking out some of the sunlight from the window behind her, the shadows only seemed to only emphasize how large and imposing her presence was.

"I have some good news," she said, addressing them both.

Splashy gasped, nearly dropping their cup in excitement. "Good news!?"

"...Yes."

The doctor warily eyed Splashy's cup, her round ears flattening ever so slightly. Sal hoped, for both their sakes, that Splashy didn't manage to break her tableware while they were here.

"It appears that you, Splashy, are in good physical health," continued Dr. Luxray, nodding at Splashy. "Your bones are fine. Your muscles function correctly. There are no signs of injury, internal or otherwise. Your test results seem normal for an individual of your age."

"I was so brave for the tests," whispered Splashy, showing Sal a small bandage on their arm where their blood had been drawn.

"So brave!" remarked Nurse Audino, beaming as she pat Splashy on their head-feathers.

"However." Dr. Luxray paused, tilting her head and almost seeming to frown. "This suggests that you may be experiencing psychological symptoms, or some form of chronic psychic damage. That... is more complicated to treat."

Sal's heart sank. Without thinking, he had already put his arm much closer around Splashy.

"Okay. So..." He took a deep breath, mustering himself to look directly into the doctor's eyes. "How can we help them?"

"It is hard to say," she replied, tail flicking as she gazed back. "We have no medical history. No background information."

She was right. While Splashy had correctly identified where the Pokémon village would be, nobody here seemed to know them. And, for as much as Sal talked with them on the way there, they cheerfully didn't even seem to know much about theirself.

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" asked Splashy, quietly staring down into their cup.

"No, dear," said Nurse Audino, rubbing their shoulder and smiling gently. "You've done nothing wrong."

"I would like you to remain here, if possible," said Dr. Luxray, nodding at Splashy. "I can arrange an examination with a psychic specialist, to rule out any potential chronic psychic damage. We can monitor your condition, and formulate a care plan if your symptoms persist."

"I mean..." Splashy shyly looked back up at Nurse Audino and Dr. Luxray, peering over the edge of their cup. "Umm... I guess, I don't have anywhere else to be..."

"We do have some very comfortable patient rooms," said Audino, smiling encouragingly and clasping her paws together. "And... we do have plenty of water for you to drink."

Splashy gasped at the mere mention of water. Sal couldn't help but chuckle, seeing their sheer amazement and delight.

"And you," said Dr. Luxray, making Sal jolt in surprise as her intensely piercing eyes turned to him yet again. "Regarding your amnesia. It is unclear how you acquired such a condition. No physical issues seem to be present. No signs of sickness or head injury, and no clear symptoms. You told us of the body dysmorphia you are experiencing, but it is unclear whether that correlates with your amnesia, or whether it is an unrelated condition." She tilted her head to one side, sighing and closing her eyes. "Very perplexing."

Sal waited for her to continue, mouth slightly agape, doing his best to control his breathing despite how stuffy the room suddenly felt. He felt Splashy pat his back with one of their wings, and heard them making a small, quiet concerned noise.

"For the time being... I would also like you to stay," said Dr. Luxray, opening her eyes again and looking down at him. "I believe an appointment with a psychic specialist would also be beneficial for you, Sal."

"Whuh... a psychic?" Sal clutched his tail, teeth gritted. The mere thought made his skin prickle.

"Yes. If you would allow that." Her fur bristled ever so slightly, tail twitching. "If nothing else, to rule out CPD and CPD-related conditions."

"That's 'chronic psychic damage'," whispered the nurse to Sal, noticing the blank look on his face.

"Well... I mean..." Seconds passed. Sal sighed, face in his palms. "...Okay. Sure." As uncomfortable as it sounded, it probably was his best bet.

"Excellent. I will arrange that as soon as possible." Dr. Luxray got back to her feet, tail aloft and seemingly pleased with Sal's answer. She gestured a large paw towards Splashy, nodding at Sal. "I presume you will be staying with them?"

"Ack!" Splashy near enough fell over in their seat, feathers ruffling, taken aback and flustered by the doctor's presumption. They quickly turned to stare at Sal, eyes comically wide. Even Nurse Audino had turned to look at Sal, with similarly wide sky-blue eyes.

"I... uhh..." Sal stammered, unable to formulate a coherent response under the stares of everyone.

"O-oh... umm, please?" said Splashy, eyes beginning to glitter with tears. "I mean... you don't have to, but I..."

"...Splashy?"

"Y-yes?"

"I already told you," continued Sal, "that I wouldn't just ditch ya."

Splashy gasped in delight, tackling Sal with such unprecedented enthusiasm that he never stood a chance.

Groaning on the floor under the weight of such fierce hugs, he couldn't find it in himself to be mad.

"Well, then," said Dr. Luxray, beginning to step away from the group. "I trust that Nurse Audino will show you around our patient rooms, when you have composed yourselves." She paused near the door, looking back over her shoulder. "...Please do try not to injure yourselves immediately after you've been examined."

Splashy burst into giggles, both laughing and sobbing happily into Sal's pale-yellow chest, while Nurse Audino giggled and waved to the large, retreating presence of the doctor. Sal... kind of felt like he was taking damage from all the moisture he was being subject to. (He was fine, really.)

As Splashy's uneven breaths and giggles steadily calmed to a slightly more normal pace, they looked up at Sal... or, down, since they were both still on the floor.

"...Sal?"

"Yeah?"

"You... you're the nicest person, in the whole world."

"The whole world is a pretty big place, Splashy," he replied, chuckling under his breath.

"Doesn't matter!"

Taking a deep breath, Splashy blinked away their tears and slowly got to their feet, wobbling and leaning on Nurse Audino's fuzzy pink arm when she scurried over to help. Once Sal was able to get to his feet again, Splashy walked over for a proper hug, happily and tiredly humming as Sal held them in his arms.

"Thank you so much, Sal," they said, quietly sniffling. "I think... everything's gonna be okay."

"You know it," said Sal, ruffling their head-feathers. "We'll make sure of it. Don't you worry."

Sal pulled away and paused, thinking back over the appointment. He slowly bent down and whispered to Splashy behind a hand, hoping the nurse wasn't paying attention. "...hey. Weren't you scared of that doctor?"

"...Huh? She was really nice!" said Splashy, blinking puzzledly. "Why would I be scared?"

"I... eh, never mind."