As the hours of Alex’s work shift was getting close, the doctor quickly made her way to her office. She arrived early in case anyone needed additional medical assistance. To the young doctor’s surprise, upon her arrival, there was a lack of patients and coworkers. What normally had a decent flow of people in the hallways was now quiet and calm. She let out a breath of relief, thinking this could be an opportunity to catch up on some of the paperwork.
Then came Tia, a veteran doctor who trained Alex and Red when they arrived, had white hair and was slightly taller than most human-like people who came to the Realm. She walked into the office stumbling with a large stack of paperwork. The sound of it hitting the desk broke the silence, slightly startling Alex as a result.
"Have you heard?" The white haired woman asked; Alex peeked out from her cubicle, giving her attention to the larger woman. "Another Library backdoor guard has quit."
“At this point, I am not surprised.” Alex said with a sigh, “That position sounds like a curse at this point.” She stood for a satisfying stretch as she got up from her chair. “I feel bad for whoever they rope into that position…” The two then spoke of their recent patient experiences, putting the guard topic aside for the time being, not expecting to hear about it again until a few days later.
On that very afternoon, there was then a knock on the door. Tia was the one that stood to answer. She usually does, being the one that’s closer to the office entrance. "Ye- Oh.”
The woman’s words made Alex curious and she peeked out from her desk. She was surprised to see Adeina, the "Queen" of the Library, coming in. A rare sight to behold, because the woman is usually hidden. This is, perhaps, the first time Alex had seen her in person. The woman had brown hair while wearing a maroon skirt, light red shirt, a red vest, and a large bow to top it all off. The dress reminded Alex of the old days, not just the era of her parents, but generations back.
“Adeina.” Tia expresses her acknowledgement of the woman’s presence. “How may we help you?” The medic stood up straight and proud, ready to be of service.
"We have a new guardian for the southern gates that requires a full body health examination before she can begin work. I understand we didn't call ahead of time, but we're kind of in a rush here. Are you…?” Adeina eyed Alex and the doctor stared right back at her. From the way the woman spoke, Alex had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like her. It didn’t help that Adeina’s accent was also rather off-putting to her, too.
“The Rat asked for the guard to be examined by uuhh....” Adeina then tilted her head at Alex. “Pardon, what is your name, please?”
“Alexandra Dienoss. And Gwady asked for me?” the doctor responded, confused on why she was chosen for such a task. “There’s already a replacement? What poor soul did she get this time?”
“Yes, Alexandra. Gwadeweido asked you to do the examination.” Adeina was slightly taken aback by the subtle mockery, but understood it was just friendly banter. She remembers how Gwadeweido mentioned Dr. Dienoss' more ‘playful’ side during the earlier days when she first arrived here. The woman huffed and smiled once more, nodding.
“Now then." Adeina took a step back and turned to leave the room. "Miao. Return to me when you’re done here. Understand?" She said as she passed through the doorway and turned to the new guardian who was hidden from the doctors’ view. For a moment there, Alex almost mistaken it for a cat noise, and thought she misheard her, looking in Adeina's direction once more, curious.
As Adeina left the room, the guardian stepped in. She stopped after the first step. "Shall I close the door for you, doctor?" The woman asked, gesturing with her hand.
“Y-Yes, thank you.” Alex’s mind was a bit confused not only of the name, but if this woman was to really become a guardian. “So, your name is Miao, correct? What is your full name?” She asked as she started to write some general notes down. Tia saw that Alex had things under control and went back to her own work.
'Off of first glances. No visible scars. Build about average. Below average height. Brown hair, short. Amber eyes with no visible straining. Name, Miao…' she stopped for a moment, waiting for the woman to answer.
The guardian frowned ever so slightly. “Just…. Miao.” She said and tightened her lips. There was an upward tone every time she said the word. Not something that Alex was used to doing when speaking, so she assumed it was a different language from hers.
“Name, Miao.” She repeated, but without the tone, for it sounded like a question to her with it. “Now, did you have any conditions before coming here? Allergies, high blood pressure, or even back problems?” She asked, getting ready to write the response. Alex took note of the woman’s stature, it was very professional. It made her wonder what her profession was before coming here, she even was calm for someone who seemingly just arrived.
Miao’s frown grew even more. She looked to her right and thought hard about it. “Not that I am aware of.” She said to the doctor, eyes shifting back.
“That is great, certainly makes my life easier.” Alex chuckled, happy to get out of doing paperwork. “Now, how long have you been here? Are you adjusting well?”
“I can’t say.” Miao said, and it caused the doctor to look up in curiosity. “I’ve only been here for less than… two hours? I’ve been given a semi-tour of this place. I’m told to come here and then…” The woman looked out the window. “...Back to there.” And pointed at the Library’s building on the island across.
‘Only a few hours? What were they thinking? Are they that desperate to fill that position?’ Alex thought, feeling bad for the new guardian. Even Tia took a peek at Miao when she heard that.
“Well, you are a busy woman, shall we get started then?” She suggested as she finished taking history. With the basic records down, Alex escorted the woman to the other side of the room where they did all of the examination required.
The examination didn’t take long as Miao was completely healthy. The only thing that Alex had noticed was that Miao seemed unfamiliar with any of the equipment that was used, and was thus making her nervous.
“I think we are all good, you took very good care of yourself before coming here.” Alex smiled as she finished her final notes. “I don’t want to keep Adeina waiting, just give her this when you see her.” She handed her a folded note, “It is just a note that your examination went well, don’t worry. I look forward to seeing you around, Miao.”
The new guard took the note with both her hands and gave Alex a deep bow, expressing her thanks, then a light one to Tia as she left the room.
“Well, that was interesting.” Tia said as soon as the door closed. “I didn’t expect her to be filling the spot of the backdoor guard.” Even the doctor herself felt like she was a better fit for the position than Miao was.
“Poor woman, they are so desperate to fill that position quickly, they didn’t even give her time to rest. Surely, that can’t go well…” Alex took a deep breath and fell back into her chair. “I give her two weeks. Tops.” She then spun her chair around, sinking ever deeper into her seat. “What do you think?”
“Did you even see her size and strength?” Tia said, doubting Alex’s bet. “A week at most, I’m afraid.”
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