The Maimed Detective

True to his promise, Maimed returns to the infirmary the next day with some less toxic flowers to give to Zocalo, the beggar creeping in and trying to avoid making eye contact with any of the healers there. He knows they'd probably see him as a walking disease carrier, so it's in his best interests to make sure that his visits are discreet. He slips up to Zocalo and prods the otter awake, holding out a rather nice bunch of daisies, which he's /fairly/ sure are safe to eat.

Zocalo is in the depths of melancholy and barely bothers to open his eyes when the fox badgers him into waking up. The otter acknowledges the flowers and gestures towards a half-empty cup of water on the bedside table that a healer had set there earlier but he hadn't finished. "Evenin', mate." Z says, half-enthused. He closes his eyes again and sighs.

Maimed is rather puzzled as to why Zocalo is so miserable all of a sudden, and has to wonder whether or not it's due only to being wounded and forced to stay in bed all day. The flowers are deposited in the cup of water and the fox sits down on the edge of the bed. Reaching out, he nudges Zocalo's good shoulder to try and get his attention, then shrugs and points at the otter, trying to ask what the problem is.

It is indeed because he has been penned up and medicined all day long. Zocalo isn't much of one to lie in bed for hours on end and he now has a headache from inactivity. "I hate being here." He grumbles in response to Maimed's concerned gesture. "I'd heal better somewhere else." Namely, anywhere else. "Have you seen Kit today?"

When Maimed was in the infirmary, his irritation wasn't so much at being cooped up inside as much as it was just hating the infirmary itself, so he's having some trouble understanding Zocalo's reason. Naturally he just assumes it's because he hates the infirmary as well. The beggar takes out his board and scrawls down a question. "Why don't you leave?" A headshake is his answer to Zocalo's question, and he gives him a slightly concerned look, remembering what the otter said last night.

Zocalo shrugs noncomittaly. "Eh, I dunno. Where would I go? Back to the shop?" Honestly, he's a bit concerned about going back out on the streets. Skaggs may be dead but his friends aren't. His expression crumples when Maimed indicates that he hasn't seen Kit and he sighs. "I haven't either."

At the mention of going back to the shop, Maimed actually nods. To him, it seems like a good idea. It's still shelter and /isn't/ an infirmary, so it's a huge improvement! He scrawls some more on his board, turning it about so Zocalo can see. "Do you know where she is?"

Zocalo shakes his head and throws his forearm over his eyes to block everything out. "Nope. She can take care of herself, mate. Don't worry about her." He sighs. "I don't want to go back out there."

At this point in his life, Maimed is well out of touch with whatever diplomacy he used to have, and doesn't even have a mouth to try and soothe Zocalo with. As a result, he does the only thing he can really think of to try and get the otter out of this deep blue funk and back in a proper state of mind. He attempts to take hold of Zocalo's arm and move it, then aims a firm slap to the otter's cheek, his eyes filled not with anger, but with a look of stern disappointment.

Zocalo reacts relatively neutrally to the slap, absorbing the blow by turning his head to the wall and letting it sit there for a bit as he gains control of his emotions. Then he rolls his head back over to level a gaze a Maimed. "What can I /do/, fox? I'm stuck in a bed with absolutely no information to offer you. What, should we just run around like chickens with our heads cut off, looking for her? Have you even talked to Tangelo yet?"

Maimed heaves a sigh that sounds an awful lot more like a strange hiss by the time it comes out of Maimed's ruined mouth, and he shakes his head at whether or not he's spoken to Tangelo. That name sounds awfully familiar though... oh yes! The vixen who'd helped him when he was injured! Plucking up his board, he writes something to Zocalo and lets him read it. The board says, "Go home and stop being such a woody. I'll talk to Tangelo. Where can I find her?"

Zocalo rolls his eyes and replaces the forearm over his face. "She runs the pawnshop near Sarnith's shop. She's Kit's guardian of sorts. I don't think they're related but Kit lives with her and apparently those ferrets or whatever they were that attacked us that one time."

Maimed leaves Zocalo to his sulk, standing up and walking out of the infirmary. He's probably just being overly cautious, but what's the harm in checking up to make sure if Kit's safe or not? It's all Zocalo's fault for being worried the previous night anyhow! Besides, he still needs to thank Tangelo for saving his life during his ordeal with Thane. He makes his way towards the pawn shop, hoping that he won't be booted out for looking like a grubby mess.