Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Going For Gold ❯ Chapter 23 ( Chapter 23 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G boys, I just borrow them from time to time and return them a whole lot happier. I do own the plot and any other characters, especially the equines, that you will find in this fic. Please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.

 

Pairing: 2x1x2, 3x4, 13x6, H+C

 

Warnings: Yaoi, lemon, sap, angst, vet themes, AU

 

Rating: NC 17

 

Archive: www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com Anyone else please ask.

 

Betaed by Yami_tai *snugs*

 

Summary: Eighteen months have passed since Heero was advised he was short listed for the Olympic games team. With Zero going well and young Shinigami almost ready to make his showjumping debut, Heero looks set to reach his goal. Life though doesn't always play by the rules.

 

Dedication: To Leslie who gave me the original idea for Equinity.

 

Fic 3 in the Equine Intervention Arc.

 

"Going for Gold"

 

January. 2007 ShenLong

 

Chapter 23

 

Heero made a few more minor adjustments to the advert for Zero before he was completely happy with it. He placed a phone call to the Hoofbeats editor and explained what he wanted to do regarding his advert. The editor was very helpful and after a short discussion, he emailed the ad through and waited for a response. It didn't take long to come, the editor thanking him for sending through and accepting the advert as it stood for publication. He also scored fifty dollars off the normal advertising fee for having done the layout himself.

 

Zero's ad would appear in the next issue which was due for release in another four to six weeks. The editor warned there may be a delay in release as they were hoping to cover the results from the Olympics in that issue and it all depended on how quickly their representative in Hong Kong got the results and photos back to them.

 

It didn't matter to Heero if the issue date ended up being delayed, he still had to make sure that Zero's leg had recovered enough for him to stand at stud, although Duo was very optimistic.

 

Returning from working the horses at Treize's, Heero found his lover in the stable block viewing the latest x-rays of Zero's leg. He walked up behind Duo and placed his arms around the vet's waist, pressing a kiss to the nape of Duo's neck in the process. "How's it looking?"

 

"It's looking really good, Heero. Much better than I'd dared hope for."Heero let out a sigh of relief.

 

"Take a look here." Duo indicated to a spot on the x-ray. "You can see the pins and plate here, but nothing else."

 

Heero squinted his eyes taking a careful study of the picture. The pins and plate stood out clear enough, but that was all. There was no sign of the hairline fracture at all. In fact, if the plate and pins hadn't been there, Heero wouldn't have known where the fracture had been. "You're right. There's no sign at all that there ever was a fracture," Heero breathed.

 

"Now that the bone has healed back up, I'm quite confident Zero will make a full recovery. I'd like Zechs to take a look at these too, if he agrees with me then I'd like to remove Zero's cast in the next day or two."

 

"That's great news!" Heero enthused. The sooner Zero's cast came off, the sooner the stallion could start to exercise that leg a little and build back up some of the muscle tone he would have surely lost.

 

"I'll give Zechs a call when I go back up to the house and see when he's free to call over."

 

"Has he heard any more from Treize?" Heero asked as he released his lover.

 

"I don't know. The Opening Ceremony is on in two days time, I was going to see if he wanted to come over for dinner and watch it with us. If he's free, I can get him to come a little earlier and we can remove Zero's cast the same day." Duo flicked the light off on the board and removed the x-rays.

 

"Good thinking. I guess I'd better start bringing in these animals then and give them their dinner."

 

"I'd better head back up to the house, evening consults start in half an hour and I've not even thought about dinner yet." Duo took the films through to the small dispensary.

 

"I'll cook," Heero said as he wandered towards the feed shed.

 

"Thanks."

 

* * *

 

Returning from evening consults, Duo informed Heero over dinner that he'd contacted Zechs and that the other vet would be calling around the next day to take a look at the x-rays. He would give his opinion then in regards to the cast removal. Zechs had also agreed to have dinner with them the following evening and watch the Opening ceremony for the games. With the main body of the games being held in Beijing and the opening held in the main stadium, the equestrian teams would be unable to take part in the opening seeing as they were based in Hong Kong.

 

They had been given the opportunity to travel to Beijing to take part in the opening ceremony; but at their own expense. Treize had already decided he wouldn't be making the trip, he preferred to remain with his horse and prepare for the event. The other riders had similarly opted to remain in Hong Kong with their respective animals.

 

Heero could understand their reasoning and would have done the same thing himself had he been there competing. They discussed a few of Duo's cases over dinner and Heero recounted how things were going over at the Kushrenada stable whilst Treize was away.

 

After clearing away and washing up, they retired to the lounge room to watch some television before going to bed.

 

* * *

 

As promised, Zechs turned up in the afternoon to take a look at the x-rays, timing his visit so that Heero would be home from work to hear his opinion. Zechs couldn't hold the grin when he took a good look at the films. “Well, I have to say this is one of the best results I've ever had with a fracture.”

 

“It's healed up beautifully,” Duo commented.

 

“It has,” Zechs replied. “Most fractures of this nature usually heal reasonably well, but this one, well, all I can say is you have to look really hard to find even the faintest trace of where the bone was broken.”

 

“Then you agree that the cast can come off tomorrow?” Duo asked as he shut down the light board and removed the x-rays.

 

“I can't see any reason for it to stay on,” Zechs mused. “Probably best to get it off soon and let the leg muscles start to regain some of their strength, they're bound to have atrophied a bit with the lack of use.”

 

“That's what I was thinking. Heero's got his ad in the next issue of Hoofbeats, by the time it's released, Zero should have roughly five weeks under his belt to strengthen up that leg and be ready to stand at stud,” Duo said.

 

“He should be fine providing you're not planning on letting him run loose with the mares and paddock serve them,” Zechs said with a smile. [1]

 

“No. I wasn't going to let that happen at all, too many risks involved even if it is the natural way for them. I was going to hand serve the mares,” Heero said. [1]

 

“That's a much safer option,” Zechs said and then lost himself in thought for a moment before continuing the conversation. “Have you ever had any experience with hand serving mares, Heero?”

 

“Aa. No.”

 

“You know what's involved?”

 

“I've done a little research.”

“What about you, Duo?”

 

“Not much. Only really what we covered in university and that was a while ago now,” Duo replied. “I'm sure I will remember most of it though.”

 

“I've not done a lot myself, but I did help out a few times when I did some locum work at a thoroughbred stud a few years ago. If you'd like a hand with the first couple of mares, just to sort of refresh your mind, Duo, and give Heero a clearer insight into it all, I'd be happy to help.”

 

“Are you sure, Zechs?” Heero's eyes widened a little. He really didn't have a lot of experience in this sector and would be grateful for any and all help.

 

“I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it,” Zechs replied with a smile.

 

“Fine with me, I could use a refresher course,” Duo chuckled.

 

“Great. Just let me know when you have your first mare coming in to be served and I'll make sure I'm available.” Zechs looked at his watch. “I'd better get going. I've got a case to see on my way home and I'd rather not be doing it in the dark. I'll be over tomorrow around five to help remove the cast if that's okay.”

 

“That will be fine. We will see you tomorrow then. Thanks, Zechs.” Duo walked the other vet out to his car, Heero went to fetch the equines in for their dinners.

 

* * *

 

Treize relaxed into the rhythmic sway of Goose's stride, letting his body meld with the horse. They had been in Hong Kong for a week and a half now and Goose had settled well. So far Goose had been working nicely, calm yet obedient and Treize was quietly confident that the stallion would hold his own well enough in the competition.

 

Zoe was working Periwinkle, the mare also having settled well and was as fresh as a daisy. Zoe was having quite the time keeping the active mare listening to her aids and working properly. Michael's horse, a rather large chestnut had suffered with mild lameness, something not uncommon after a flight. The lameness was gone after three days rest and Michael had been given the all clear to start working the horse again.

 

Bringing Goose to a walk, Treize took the moment of relaxation to watch the rest of the team. Zoe and her mare he knew well, but the other two were a bit of an unknown quantity, thus Treize was keen to see just what the other two team members were capable of. Michael entered the work area and mounted up, his big chestnut stretching out and walking with a long stride. The horse was big all over, solid, with a large bone structure and rippling muscles. Treize guessed he stood around seventeen hands.

 

Phillip rode in on his gelding, drawing Treize's attention away from Michael. Phillip's horse was also tall, about sixteen-two with a proud head and light movement. His coloring was a little unusual for a show jumper; a skewbald. Large, brown and white patches covered the animal as if someone had spilled a pot of brown paint over a white background. He was certainly eye catching. Treize only hoped he jumped as well as he looked, but then again, he wouldn't have been selected if he wasn't any good.

 

Noin joined them all after about ten minutes and the time for relaxing was over. It was time to work, see exactly how their horses were coping and adjusting to the new country they were in.

 

They weren't asked to do much, simply work on the flat to start with and give Noin a chance to see how both horses and riders were coping. She found a few minor faults with everyone and corrected them as she went along. Once the horses and their riders had settled and were working well, Noin thought it time to put them all over some small practice fences.

 

This would be the true test. Horses were very much like humans when traveling, they suffered with similar ailments from the pressurized air travel and it could take a few days for them to settle back to normal. Filling or swelling in the legs was a common ailment and Crackerjack - Michael's horse had suffered more than the others from this, hence his lameness.

 

Treize was pleased with Goose so far, the big bay had worked well and felt like a ticking time bomb beneath him. Out the corner of his eye, Treize could see Joe with Carol and Duck, the mini pony having traveled much better than his bigger counterparts. The flight, change of scenery and country hadn't affected the mini dynamo in any way, if anything, Duck seemed to be more mischievous than ever.

 

Somehow, the mini pony had also gained a fan club along the way.

 

Treize couldn't help but smile to himself as he recalled the looks of astonishment and disbelief when Duck had arrived at the stabling complex. The Chinese were very polite and helpful people, but even they had been left speechless when confronted with Duck. Treize had suffered through the usual round of teasing, questions and comments, not only from their Chinese hosts, but also from other competitors. Even though they were in a different country, surrounded by people from all races, colors and creeds, the comments were still the same; 'Can't afford a proper horse?' 'I thought they bred them a bit bigger down under?' 'You do realize you're supposed to go over the top of the jumps, not underneath them?'

 

Treize had suffered through them all with dignity and once all the run of the mill wise cracks were again exhausted, Duck suddenly had his own fan club. The Chinese seemed to be fascinated with the small pony and Duck had frequent visitors to his stable - and lots of treats. Poor Joe was kept busy keeping track of all the 'gifts' and ensuring the pony didn't have too many of them all at once. They didn't need Duck going down with colic simply because he'd gorged himself on carrots, sugar and apples.

 

Treize realized with a start that he'd been daydreaming and Noin was explaining the course of jumps she wanted them to do. Shaking himself mentally, Treize reminded his brain he was here for a reason and thinking about Duck wasn't it.

 

The four riders were all put through their paces over the course. It wasn't a particularly demanding one, the height and spread of the jumps remaining well below what they were used to. Noin explained this was more a training exercise, the chance to see how the horses were settling and finding their 'jumping legs'.

 

Goose jumped well, clearing everything Treize put him at with ease. Noin was pleased too. Periwinkle jumped with her usual flair, the courage of the little mare showing through as she tackled the course with enthusiasm. Zoe would have her hands full keeping the mare's exuberance in check!

 

Treize was keen to see how Michael's horse, Crackerjack went. The chestnut appeared to be fully recovered from his lameness and was calm. He had a long stride that ate up the ground and the jumps were nothing more than a pole on the ground to him. He cleared each effortlessly, hopping over them as if they didn't exist. Treize was impressed though. The big chestnut was obviously well schooled and attentive to his rider, and that big frame combined with the muscular hind end meant he had a tremendous jump on him. Michael finished his course and rode back to the group, standing just slightly away from Zoe, but giving the woman a smile. The smile Zoe gave back only confirmed that what the woman had said about getting to know their team mate better seemed to be happening.

 

It was Phillip's turn to jump and all eyes switched to the skewbald. Despite his size, the gelding was quick on his feet, reminding Treize of Periwinkle. There was a definite partnership between the two and Treize gave a wry grin. There was no doubt they had a good team here. He watched as the horse and rider completed the course easily, the skewbald's tail flicking as he landed over each jump, ears cocked looking for the next one. Noin similarly seemed pleased with them all and came to speak with the team once each member had finished.

 

She went over a few minor things with each rider individually, pointing out the little flaws she'd found and offering advice on how to combat them, then she sent them all out to do the course again, only this time it was raised by six inches.

 

Having completed their second rounds, Noin called a halt to the lesson. "You have all done very well and I'm pleased with your performances. The opening ceremony is tonight as you're all aware of and the games begin tomorrow." She paused to look at her team. "The jumping competition is on in six days time, between now and then I expect you to keep your horses worked and fit. How you do that is up to you, you're all experienced enough to have your own work plans figured out. I will have another three sessions with you all before the competition starts. This isn't going to be an easy competition, it will be tough, the course will be tough, the other competitors are going to be very hard to beat. All I ask though is that you each give it the best you have. I want you all to meet with me tomorrow when I will discuss things further with you regarding team order, strategy and so on. Now, go put your horses away and relax. I'll see you in the morning, ten-thirty in my room. Thank you." Noin gave them a smile and left.

 

The four stood around for a few minutes exchanging conversation before deciding to meet up at a restaurant in the village for dinner to talk and get to know each other a bit better.

 

* * *

 

Heero gave one last pat to Altron's neck before leading the horse into his stable. Shutting the door behind him he felt Otto's presence and turned to greet the groom. "Hey, Otto. I've rugged Altron up and he's all set for the night."

 

"Thank you, Heero. I'll feed him shortly."

 

"Have you heard any more from Treize?" Heero asked as he carried the saddle back to the tack room.

 

"He called earlier."

 

"How is he doing?" Heero placed the saddle back in its place on the saddle horse and hung the bridle up.

 

"They had their first team practice today. He said that Goose had settled in very well and was working nicely."

 

"Good."

 

Otto conversed with Heero for a little longer, letting the rider know what Treize had told him of the rest of the team, how Goose and Duck were coping, Duck's fan club and that Zoe appeared to have a bit of a crush on one of the other team members. Heero chuckled over Duck and was genuinely curious about the other two team members. Treize hadn't told him much, Otto had said, but they were getting together to discuss strategies and the like for the coming competition. Heero felt a twinge of disappointment and jealousy, but quickly squashed it. There wasn't anything he could do about it, what had happened, happened. He couldn't go back through time and change it, no matter how much he wished he could.

 

Once Otto had finished, Heero checked his watch; three-fifteen. It was time for him to be heading home. He bade Otto farewell and went out to his car. His face lit up with a grin and anticipation filled him as he remembered that Zero's cast was coming off today. Feeling much better, he got into the car and drove back to the surgery.

 

* * *

 

Pulling around to the back of the cottage he shared with Duo, Heero noted that Zechs was yet to arrive. Locking the car, he walked up the path to the back door of the house and removed his boots. "You home?" he called out as he stepped into the kitchen.

 

"In the bedroom," Duo called back.

 

Heero made his way through to the bedroom after stopping to fill the kettle and put it on to boil. He found his partner sorting through the laundry, folding and stacking the clean, dry clothes on the bed. He wrapped his arms around the vet's waist and pulled him back against his chest. His lips pressed to the back of Duo's neck, feathering kisses along the nape and enjoying the shiver of skin.

 

"Mmm," Duo murmured. "How was work?"

 

"Same as usual," Heero replied. "What about you?"

 

"Nothing new or exciting, same old stuff really."

 

"Zechs still coming over?"

 

"Yeah. He should be here around five."

 

"What should we have for dinner?"

 

"I thought about doing up some chicken, trying out that new sauce," Duo replied.

 

"Sounds good to me. You need a hand?"

 

"If you don't mind?"

 

"Not at all. You just tell me what to do."Duo finished putting the laundry away whilst Heero made them both a coffee. Once those chores were taken care of, Duo set to work on preparing their dinner. Heero was given the task of peeling and chopping the vegetables then mixing the ingredients together for the new sauce. Duo had found the recipe when he'd been shopping and it had sounded nice. The local supermarket often put out small recipe cards for their customers to take. It was just another little thing to help with ideas for something different with the meat their customers purchased. Duo had picked up a few from time to time and even tried some out. They had been delicious.

 

With the chicken and sauce now in the baking dish, Heero passed over the chopped vegetables to Duo who arranged them around the meat. Putting the cover on, Duo slipped it into the oven and set the timer for forty-five minutes.

 

Heero glanced at the clock, it was four-thirty. “I'll go on down to the stables and start to put the feeds in ready to bring the horses in.”

 

“Good idea. I'll be with you shortly. I need to pop into the surgery for a moment to get the saw to cut the plaster off,” Duo replied as he washed his hands.

 

Heero left to start the evening preparations for bringing the horses in whilst Duo slipped up to the surgery.

 

As Duo was approaching the stable block, Zechs pulled in. Duo waited for the other vet to get out of his car and then exchanged polite greetings. By the time they walked into the stables, Zero was in the crush and waiting for them, Heero standing nervously at the stallion's head.

 

“All set?” Zechs asked as he followed Duo into the small dispensary.

 

“Ready as we will ever be,” Heero replied. He patted Zero's neck, more to reassure himself than the horse. Zero was calm, nuzzling his master for carrots. He had no reason to fear, no one had ever hurt him. He could pick up on the underlying tension in his master though and it puzzled him a little.

 

Duo and Zechs returned, both wearing green scrub gowns over their normal clothes, the saw was in Duo's hand, Zechs carried a bottle and syringe. Both vets placed their respective items on the small bench to the side of the crush and advanced on Zero.

 

“What's in the syringe?” Heero asked cautiously.

 

“It's a mild sedative,” Duo replied. “Nothing that will knock Zero out, just make him a little sleepy. Even though he's a calm horse by nature and somewhat restrained in the crush, once that saw starts up it could upset him and I don't want him to do any damage to himself.”

 

“Aa.” Heero could see the logic in that. “Is the saw that loud?”

 

“It's not overly so. About the same as the one they used on you to remove your cast in the hospital. I want to cut almost all the way through the plaster and then we can pull it off from there,” Duo said as he bent to study the plaster cast alongside Zechs.

 

“I'd say to cut it straight down here,” Zechs said as he pointed to an invisible line down the outside of the plaster cast. “That way you're following the natural indent of the cannon bone.”

 

“That's what I was thinking too,” Duo mused.

 

The two vets examined the area for a minute or two then straightened up. Heero watched as they went back to the table where Duo picked up the bottle and syringe, drawing a few milliliters of the drug into the clear plastic. Capping the needle, he placed the bottle back on the table and with an alcoholic swab in hand, approached Zero.

 

Duo swabbed an area on Zero's neck, talking softly to the horse as he pushed his thumb into the groove and waited for the blood vessel to swell. Once it did, he uncapped the needle and slid it into the vein drawing some of the rich, red blood into the syringe before injecting the sedative into Zero's blood stream.

 

“That should take about five minutes to work,” Duo commented as he disposed of the used needle and syringe. “I'll pop the bottle back into the 'fridge and grab a couple of bandages. He should be calm enough to start by then.”

 

Heero petted the stallion whilst Zechs set the saw up and Duo replaced the drugs. He noticed Zero's eyes become a little glassy and his breathing deepen a touch. The sedative was working.

 

Returning, Duo pocketed the bandages he'd brought back and checked Zero. “I think we can start now.”

 

“Do you want to use the saw, or would you prefer me to do it?” Zechs asked.

 

“You can do it, Zechs, I'll get ready to pull the plaster off,” Duo replied.

 

“Okay. Make sure to keep talking to him and patting him, Heero.”

 

“Will do.” Heero began to stroke between Zero's eyes, the gray head resting against his shoulder as Zero seemed to be dozing. “Just stand easy, Zero. No one's going to hurt you, just a loud noise, that's all.”

 

Zero cocked an ear as his master's familiar voice soothed him. He was feeling quite sleepy and was more than content to simply stand there and have his master talk to him and pet him.

 

Zechs took the saw and lined the angle up. Pulling the safety goggles over his eyes, he nodded to Duo that he was ready to start. Duo pulled his goggles down too and let Heero know they were about to start the saw.

 

Flicking the switch, the saw buzzed into life, Zechs holding it still and away from the horse until Zero had the chance to get used to the noise. It was loud, but not as loud as the saws used by commercial tradesmen. Zero jumped a little and began to flinch at the first sounds of the saw but his master's hands and voice reassured him that everything was going to be okay and he let himself relax a bit.

 

Once the stallion had calmed again, Zechs slowly brought the saw towards the plaster cast, pausing for a moment to check that Zero wasn't about to move. Satisfied that Heero had everything under control, Zechs began to press the saw lightly against the hard plaster. He moved quickly and cleanly, slicing down the length of plaster from just below Zero's knee to the fetlock joint, pressing hard enough to cut through but not endanger Zero's leg in the process.

 

As soon as he was finished, Zechs turned the saw off and Duo moved in. Grasping the two sides of the cut plaster, Duo applied enough pressure to ease the pieces apart. They gave readily enough and Duo quickly pulled them off and tossed them to the floor. Kneeling beside the gray foreleg, Duo began to remove the light bandage and cotton wool that had been packed around Zero's leg to protect the stitches and act as a buffer. As the last bits came away his eyes scanned over the leg, checking the wound site and pleased to see that the stitches had all dissolved cleanly.

 

Zechs fetched a small bowl of warm water and betadine solution, passing it to Duo so he could bathe and clean the leg up a bit so they could see much clearly how things were progressing.

 

"How's it looking?" Heero asked from his position at Zero's head.

 

"Really good, Heero," Duo replied. "Want to take a look for yourself?"

 

Heero patted his horse once more then crouched down beside Duo and Zechs to take a look. The gray hair had started to grow back from where it had been shaved for the operation, a neat line where the stitches had been ran along the flat of the cannon bone, but Heero could tell that once the hair grew back completely you wouldn't be able to see it. Not that a scar would worry him, not at all, he was just happy to have his horse in one piece.

 

With the area now clean, Duo and Zechs began to examine it more closely. The wound had healed up well and there were no signs of any swelling at all. Gentle fingers probed over the area, searching for any sign of abnormality and finding none.

 

"Feels good to me," Duo said and shifted to allow Zechs to check.

 

"I agree," Zechs replied with a smile. "It's healed up perfectly.""What happens now?" asked Heero as he stood back up to pet Zero who was quite happy standing there and enjoying all the fuss.

 

"Now I'm going to pack more cotton wool around it and then put on a support bandage. He'll need to wear that for another couple of weeks as his leg gets used to bearing his full weight again."

 

"What about exercise?"

 

Zechs answered this time. "I'd leave him to rest in his yard for a few days first. Once he's starting to take a bit more weight on it you can start to take him for short walks. As the muscles strengthen and the lameness disappears a bit, you can take him for longer walks. Duo knows the basic plan for physical therapy in these cases so I'll let him explain it to you in more detail later. Right now it's important to make sure he doesn't do too much too soon, that's why I want him confined to the yard for a little longer. Once we see how he's progressing then he can go back to his paddock."

 

"Thanks, Zechs."

 

"My pleasure."

 

"I think we'd better get this leg bandaged up and Zero put away. Time's ticking by and if we want to watch the opening ceremony and have dinner we really need to get a move on," Duo stated with a pointed look at his watch.

 

"Ah, right," Heero replied.

 

The bandage was soon applied and Zero placed in his stable to rest. Heero fetched the other horses in, Duo and Zechs giving him a hand and in no time they were finished.

 

With steaming plates of Duo's baked, chicken casserole in their hands, the television was turned on and the three sat back to watch the opening of the Olympic Games.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc...

 

 

[1] Hand serving and Paddock serving: When breeding a foal there are two ways it can be done. Paddock serving means the mare and stallion share the same paddock and when the mare comes in season the stallion mates with her. Whilst this is the 'natural' way, it also has a large number of risks involved, risks one doesn't want to take when dealing with very valuable animals. Hand serving means that the mare is held by someone whilst another person (usually the stallion owner) leads the stallion up to the mare. The stallion then mounts the mare and mates with her, all under supervised conditions. Should the mare try to kick or show aggressive behavior towards the stallion (or vice versa) the human element can intervene and prevent any harm coming to either horse. If anyone has further questions feel free to email me. ^_^

 

Author's Note: I meant to put this note in before and forgot. Oops? Hoofbeats is a real horse magazine here in Australia. It was founded back in the 1980s here in West Aussie. There were many horse magazines available but none that pertained specifically to West Aussie. Hoofbeats was developed and launched purely for the West Aussie market, covering all aspects of equine ownership. Since then it has grown and expanded and now sells Australia wide as well as in some other countries. It still remains West Aussie orientated though.

 

Sorry this has been a little while in coming. My father-in-law passed away on July 24th and I haven't felt much like writing these past three weeks. Muse is slowly returning, but the next few chapters will probably be a little sporadic.