ORIGIN

There was an answering flutter of wings, and then a glide: the ruffle of feathers as the vulture's near-ten-foot wingspan carried him in a carrion feeder's soar down to land slightly above the pair, near Delta's feet.

He was cheerful, as always, folding his wings and waddling up with enthusiasm.

"Ahh, hello, hello! Mm--Delta, yes? Garnet-Delta was it? I do apologize if I have that wrong! A little scatter-brained, you see-..." He trailed off, turning to make his way down a final little drop.

Behind him, on his higher ledges, there were experiments. Rats--paralyzed, always, with a careful break in their spines. These were partly woven through with what looked like grass, unmoving, but breathing in rapid jerks. Upturned skulls which would've seemed perhaps more gruesome if they hadn't been mostly buried in sand--these were overturned so that their open craniums served as bowls for water, or planters full of dirt, growing various herbs.

One good eye glanced over Kethri. He wondered, for a moment, if it were some friend of Delta--wounded--but Delta's mention of a 'gift' did make him wonder. Is this the gift, then--or is there something else?

Ahh--but best to ask! "Certainly, of course, I am at your disposal, yes? What is it I can do for you?"

If a vulture could smile brightly up at Delta, he would have; as it was his expression seemed brightly kind, if almost unconcerned with the battered state, thus far, of Kethri. That isn't to say he didn't look her over--he did, and with interest. Broken wing, if he was any judge; and shivering, scraped-up. Obviously in pain. But Doctor would leave it to Garnet to explain.

He considered himself a happy, humble servant--not entirely suboordinate and fawning, but happy to oblige his comrades in science.

The owl's anger took him aback, and he blinked his single eye, pulling his head away just a tad. His attention then shifted to Delta, fully on it as it spoke.

"Hm? -Ah, yes! Yes, I am well, very well, of course! Well, my experiments are-... heh, a little slower than I'd like, a little problem with necrosis, tissue rejection you see but nothing to worry about! Not a problem," he added, ruffling his feathers.

He looked back at the owl as Delta explained that it had attacked. Hm. Wariness entered the Doctor's demeanor, a little tenseness and he edged back half a step. "Attacked-? Ahh, is it dangerous?" He was fairly certain that given her much smaller size, he could easily restrain her--but Doctor had little combat experience and that, he knew, counted for a great deal.

So did magic.

And while he did not know Garnet-Delta well, he trusted it to be a better gauge than he, particularly with a creature it had already tangled with once. But--ahh; Garnet-Delta was making a very clear threat. Doctor didn't doubt that the owl would, if she could, make an escape (and he was already warily turning his one good eye at a slight angle so she couldn't nab that).

"A venom--how fascinating! Do you think you could show me how it--provide a sam--oh, no no no no, my apologies you are busy, of course, of course--to business, to business." He shuffle-hopped around Kethri to get a better look, keeping a couple feet between them. When at last he addressed her it was still in a cheerful manner, despite the rather grim situation. "Broken wing, is it? Hurts? I have something for the pain, but let's see... Hm, you're already an adult--are you not?--so you shouldn't experience the damaged growth from an early break in the way of Subject One... Bacterial infection? Its effects on bone growth are fascinating but we have ways of cleansing that so it is--Hm. No, no! I know. It... will take a bit and it will certainly hurt but not if I administer-... hm, yes--right, I do think I have a plan. Thank you, Garnet-Delta--do stay? Have a rat?" he chattered, happily, even as he turned and hopped back up the few steps to his garden. He passed the rats, going instead to the planters, pulling free the long and winding twists of dry grass from the one on the far right.

"Please, please, do make yourself at home. Have a rat," and this time he looked to Kethri; "It doesn't matter which one, I am already almost done with them, you see--oh, and I can put that learning to use with you! We'll have your wing fixed up in no time, eh? Free food? A place to rest--perfectly safe, I assure you, yes? Healing your wing-?"

He seemed positively enthusiastic to have company; maybe a bit too much. Possibly, having only a single miserable test subject and dead or dying, paralyzed rats for companionship wasn't great for one's state of mind.

He was a bit taken aback, to say the least--not first of all by Kethri's assertion that Garnet-Delta was a 'mongrel.' "Oh, that's--not very nice," he murmured, concerned. Then Garnet was insulting back, and oh it was all so very unpleasant, but at least they were staying for dinner-!

He tried to lighten the mood. "Oh, come now, there's no need for all of this! No, no, I'm not going to kill you. My work here is to help with healing, not harming!" ...Which was technically true but 'means to an end,' and all that; "Here." He'd set down the dry grasses and now, instead, he brought over a few green leaves, round and small.

"Eat these--ahh, Subject Three; it'll help dull the pain."

He seemed enthusiastic about this much, at least. If the owl didn't want to eat, well-... There wasn't a whole lot he could do about that, but the next bit would hurt a little worse.

He paused, then, stepping back to focus on the two. They both seemed healthy enough--an infection would have made heal-time slower and a bone infection--well he had yet to investigate the real repercussions but he suspected that the answer would have been "not good."