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Denice gets et by a magic
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Denice is in speech therapy. Today is pretty much like any other day. She repeats random syllables back to the therapist, as usual.

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There is a weird feeling in the room, like a distortion. If you blink you'll see afterimages of something not quite in three dimensions, not quite black and purple and a whirlpool.

It swallows her. Then it's gone.

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She was sitting in a chair; now she's not. She tumbles to the ground with a surprised yelp and reflexively curls into a ball.

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She is in her office. Laeres and the children are at the park; Shen is at work. The voice doesn't sound like Shen (she's very familiar, at this point), but her first assumption is that it has to do with Shen.

She comes running into the living room. There is someone there.

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There is someone there, yes. A young teenage girl, very thin, in a short-sleeved shirt and sturdy blue pants, curled up in a ball on the floor.

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If this has to do with Shen then there is likely a very serious problem, but it is not a serious problem she could improve by trying to go after other pieces of it. She focuses on the person in front of her. 

She takes an image and sends to Shen with context, in case. Messages Laeres in case they were heading back or would soon. Then she walks over, slowly, body language meant for unthreatingness, stops a distance away.

"Hello? I'm Heria. I'm not going to hurt you. Are you alright?"

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She stays very still for a second, and then relaxes, obviously intentionally, and looks up. It's clear that she's scared; less clear whether she understood the words.

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She knows what intentional relaxation looks like. She sits down, still careful with her body language. Repeats the same in her native language, then after a thought in the occupation's language. 

(Hairstyle? Jewelry and such? Something really obvious like a note?)

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That doesn't seem to help, though it doesn't seem to hurt, either.

(Her hair is in a short, plain style, more suited to a child than to someone who cares about appearances. She doesn't have any jewelry, and except for the image printed on her shirt - she hasn't uncurled enough for Heria to see what it's an image of - her clothes are also very plain.)

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Probably not Earan (doesn't look it, and didn't react to the occupation language).

Vision-detectable injuries? Is 'very thin' the worrying kind?

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No visible injuries, but she is rather worryingly thin, yes.

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Shen messages back.

Haven't heard from her since last time. I don't think I - did anything. 

I'll be right over.

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That is - possibly worse, in as much as it tends to take longer to achieve.

Still with the same nonverbals she moves over to one of the cabinets, takes out a pillow and blanket.

"Would you like to move to the couch?" she points at the couch. "Would you like a pillow or blanket?" she gestures with the pillow and blanket, then lays them down between them and moves away. (In only Reynan and the local language, this time.)

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She doesn't react immediately, but then she stands - holding her left arm a little stiffly, she jolted it when she fell - and takes the pillow and blanket and sits on the couch with them. (She's not making eye contact, but it's not the careful avoidance of someone who's afraid to, even though she's definitely still nervous; it seems more like it's just not a habit she's in.)

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Does she seem to be using them to become more comfortable, or responding as though she is obeying a directive?

She knows people who look at the ground reflexively and are afraid not to, and she knows people who simply don't make eye contact; she recognizes the difference. 

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Definitely the directive one; she hasn't unfolded the blanket at all and is watching, still carefully calm, for the next instruction.

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Alright. That is - harder to deal with in conjunction with what looks to be lack of a common language, but Shen should be able to address that, if it is in fact the problem.

"Can you understand me? You can just nod or shake your head," she tries in both languages, in case.

(If she does not seem upset by the move to the couch it is probably still more comfortable.)

 

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She still doesn't seem to understand.

And now that she's sitting up, the design on her shirt is revealed to be a simple drawing of a gemstone, with a few words in an unfamiliar language underneath.

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Between that and the unfamiliar language on the shirt it is best to wait for Shen, on this.

She doesn't very much want to leave the girl alone; fortunately the house is equipped for facilitating this. On her datahook she checks safe amounts for in-case-of-possible-malnutrition (as best she can by guessing information she doesn't have, but the nutrition bars take that into account) then from a different cabinet takes a bottle of water and what looks like a food bar. Turns, visibly takes a swallow of the water, breaks a piece off the bar and swallows that too. Puts both on the table near the couch, then backs away again.

"If you want," she says, in case and anyway.

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She tries not to tense up at that, and she very nearly succeeds; she continues watching for instructions.

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She notices. Which could be many things, from 'expects it to be drugged anyway' to 'was punished for eating'. 

"You can take it if you want," she repeats, again in case. "And you can tell me if you need anything."

And for the moment she sits down again and reads on her datahook.

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She watches for another few minutes, then moves the bedding from her lap to the couch, toes off her shoes, and arranges herself in the corner of the couch with her legs pulled up to her chest, keeping a careful eye on Heria the whole time.

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Here is Heria reading. (She took a picture of the shirt and ran a search, which did not find anything).

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That's fine. She stays put. (She's used to being bored.)

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Does she seem to be becoming at all more comfortable?

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A little; not much. She's paying enough attention to Heria to notice when she looks at her and go back to attentively watching, but before that she was staring off into space.

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