A Little Young For That

[Rob Snow]

Rob nodded along with Jason's logic. "And it's both sorts that make the world go 'round," he agreed, raising a glass in salute. As Jason had intended, Rob figured where the young doctor landed on the spectrum. Certainly didn't bother Rob: he very much ascribed to the "live and let live" philosophy. Made things a good deal more bearable. Probably didn't hurt that Rob couldn't much get worked up about anything that didn't involve girls or music.

And the occasional casual conversation, mostly peppered with facts and observations. Jason seemed to be figuring out his own position in the whole American thing. "It's a generality: you're just the exception that proves the rule," Rob replied, before letting out another chuckle. He fell silent to listen as Jason explained his profession.

"Ah, that would've been my..." he thought for a moment, counting off, "fourth guess? Give or take a couple. Right honorable profession: medicine. Nothing I could stick with," he waved a hand, "too flighty. So cheer for the dedication, mate," he raised his glass again, as if Rob really needed further reason, and took a sip. "So, you a surgeon or something a little bit too complicated for a wandering barfly such as m'self to ken?"

[Jason Campbell]

Rob was right, both sorts were required in this world and he rose his glass to salute with him. After all, without wanderers, America itself might not have been discovered. Many inventions as well but he was not going to think about all of that. Saying that they needed both types of people was enough.

Jason was not someone to get worked up easily either. He tended to get a little obsessed at times, but that generally implied his research, not people. Not even the people he did research on. So, of course, Rob could hardly say something to anger Jason. He could if he chose to try that, but the older man was more likely to leave his seat if not the bar to avoid any form of confrontation. It was not his type at all. He might have a few friends that could be considered hot heads but it certainly was not his case.

Had he taken the time to think about it, he would have been amused to see how easily he could talk to this stranger. Although, could he still call him a stranger? He knew his name, his age, where he was from, where he studied and what he was doing when not studying. Seemed too much information to call him a stranger. An acquaintance. Or a new drinking buddy of some kind. Either way, he was sharing about as much about himself. He laughed at the toast he gave him. “It is,” he agreed, only to laugh some more at his question, shaking his head. “No, nothing like that. I did emergency medicine for a time. That does include some surgery but not what you mean. Now, I’m more doing general practice,” he explained to him. A small smile came to his lips though as he thought of it. “Of course, if you want to complicate this, I can bring out some medical terminology. But then you can talk to me of music in the same way and I’m sure I’ll be equally lost.”

[Rob Snow]

He did some emergency medicine: Rob nodded along with that. The few doctors and health care personnel that he'd met before (mostly nurses) all mentioned doing at least some of that. They did pass them around during med school to get a fair amount of practice. The general practice Rob more or less understood, and he ended up chuckling as Jason mentioned terminology.

"Might surprise you a bit there, lad," Rob offered, nodding once. "I actually took some first aid training and got an emergency responder license at one point. Happened to have a natural gift for it, so to speak, and it only made sense to at least know enough not to kill folks with it. Ended up diluting it with some eastern medicine that would probably shame you though."

Rob clicked his tongue at that, before chuckling and raising his brows. "Unless I'm off m'mark and you're a little more openminded? Wait," he held up a finger, then pointed it at the man, "you strike me as the type who'd try anything to help his patient. And of course I'm right again, eh?"

[Jason Campbell]

Jason had no incredible specialty that allowed him to call himself something fancy that ended in ‘-gist’. Maybe that meant he was not specialized in anything in particular but he still did a lot and was capable of just as much. So many doctors, once they were out of the school or while studying for one of those more specific specialties, started at the emergency of some hospital. He enjoyed doing something that was more generic though. The rush can be interesting, the adrenaline you had when someone came in ambulance can be addictive, but it was also terribly draining. And he more often faced situations where his power could have saved someone but he could not do it because of other people looking. Here, he might not be running around as much but he could at least use his power. And help out those like him. It was a nice compensation.

Jason was a bit surprised there, as Rob expected him to be, when he said he took some first aid training. “Natural uh?” After the conversation they had, and what they knew of each other, Jason thought he had the right to assume that. “I happen to have a natural gift for that also. And I don’t mean by that the fact my father was a doctor also, even though it is also something I picked up from the man,” Jason told him. He was free to read anything he wanted through his words. Although Rob said he could kill someone with his ‘gift’. Now that was something Jason could not do. The only one in danger was himself. He chuckled though at what the young man said, ignoring his previous thoughts. “You have to give it some credit, when it works.” He had a little smile. It was an attempt of a joke but he was pretty sure it would fall flat. He wouldn’t hold it against the boy though, it was all on him. He was not good at telling jokes.

He claimed Jason was the type to try everything. “I do,” he admitted with a nod. “But I’ve rarely suggested acupuncture, reflexology or seahorse soup to cure anything.” He liked to think he was ready to try everything though. He just so happened to have an ace up his sleeve when medicine proved not enough.

[Rob Snow]

Rob nodded as Jason repeated the natural. He was soon raising his brows as Jason spoke about how he had his own natural gifts, something that he picked up in a family way. Rob was pretty sure they both knew what they were talking about, though he was still more than a little tempted to show off his gift, as he so often was in circumstances like this. Unfortunately, it wasn't like there was someone laying around breathing.

"I try to do right by it," he offered, adding a little shrug. "Figure that if I got this naturally I owe it to the Universe or God or whatever to at least put in a little effort on my part. Plus," he raised a hand and pointed at himself, "I got lucky and it ties in to what I really want to do with life," he added another wink. Soon enough he was laughing again as Jason pointed out some of the wilder cures.

"Acupuncture can work," Rob said, bobbing his head. "'course, most anything can help a bit if you think it can and all. I don't know if I've seen seahorse soup work before. Sounds like something I ate in the Philippines though," he shrugged and took another pull of his drink before sitting the empty bottle down. He started absently drumming along it, mostly out of idyl amusement more than anything else.

[Jason Campbell]

If Rob was curious, Jason could have given more details. Showing however, he’d rather not. Mostly because he was too drained right now to really be of any use. He could heal, he was certain of that, but he might just collapse from it. And he didn’t want to wound up at the hospital and have some doctor tell him he worked himself too hard. Or have this Rob, or anyone else, drive him home to rest. There was also the fact they were not alone at the bar and even if he knew people tended not to care about what other people said to each other, but Jason preferred to stay safe on this.

“That is a good mentality,” he said with a nod. Jason believed the same. He had to put it to good use. But since this power also took from his own energy and he intended to stay alive for a while, medicine was the best career option. Truth was, he didn’t pick this job only because of his father. In fact, the man probably would have been the reason why he would have picked something else. But he liked it as well, he wanted to help people and it really seemed like the best way to do so. He arched an eyebrow at Rob’s words. “It helps being a musician?” Clearly he had another goal in life. Or Jason just got his power entirely wrong.

“You cannot underestimate the placebo effect. But I wouldn’t suggest acupuncture for anything major, or only as something to help soothe the minor symptoms, if it has no effect on the main treatment,” he replied, not adding anything about the seahorse soup. It was something he heard was used in Chinese medicine, but he never really studied that so it would be hard for him to be sure. He had an indulgent smile when he said Rob drumming against his bottle. “And I’m boring you. I’m sorry. This is a subject I tend to get carried away on. And I managed to restrain myself here.”

[Rob Snow]

Good to hear yet another doctor telling Rob that he had a good mentality. He'd gotten those since he'd actually finished that training. That had been back when he'd been at a proper school, which had been a few years ago now, back when he'd finished up enough training to have taken the EMT route if he wanted.

and clearly he'd gotten Jason somewhat confused with his ability. Rob chuckled at that, taking another sip of his drink while Jason went on. The musician wasn't sure that he wholly believed that everything was just placebo, but he also knew better than to argue the point with a doctor. Let Dr. Jason think what he would: Rob would still do what he did.

"M'little gift," Rob said, leaning in slightly to make sure they weren't overheard, "happens to be healing, as I said, but it also requires sound," Rob tapped Jason's glass. "I use vibrations to encourage natural cellular growth within the subject, thus ensuring that they heal up in a manner that they would more or less naturally. Can leave them feeling a bit shaken up, but it works," Rob paused then, winking. "You ain't the only bloke who got the medical training and don't mind talking shop."

[Jason Campbell]

Jason remembered when he went to Asia. It was true that he didn't spend his time there studying alternative medicine or anything of the like. But he still picked a few things over time. Doctors talk, even with interns or nurses, and it was not hard to learn about other people’s culture. He was not sure how good some of the treatments were. Maybe a long time ago, when they had not invented antibiotics and other medicine like that, but it couldn’t be as efficient. He personally knew he was not interested in a seahorse soup, when it was not something weirder or more disgusting in there, to heal a stomach ache. Looks to him that it would more do the opposite.

He was curious what Rob’s power might be when he believed the younger man implied he could heal just to say it was useful in his line of work. He was a singer so unless he lied about wanting to study medicine, maybe not a doctor but there were other options, he couldn’t see how it worked for him. He explained his healing required sound. Now that was a surprise. “Really?” He was interested for sure but also surprised by it. It made sense though as Rob explained. After all, they could cut or cauterize using very high frequencies so why couldn’t it work like that?

Jason was fascinated by this. He even wanted to see how it worked. But it might not be right to ask him. “I’ve only met healers who could do that through touch,” he explained. Like himself, or his father. This opened the door to new possibilities. “Are you also able to heal yourself with that technique?”

[Rob Snow]

Rob nodded at the really, then continued right on nodding at the bit about most healers only being able to do so through touch. That had been his experience too, and something that had impressed. Many healers did their thing through transfer of energy, usually pulling straight from their own reserves and dumping it into someone. Technically made their healing more effective and on some level more miraculous than what Rob could do, but he had some versatility. That and the singing usually distracted.

"Tried it a few times," Rob admitted in response to Jason's question. "Technically can do it alright; problem is that it does double duty. Power accelerates the whole," he gestured, making a cycle with his fingers, "natural process. Also takes my focus and often gives me a headache. So if you combine the side effects on both sides, well," Rob shrugged, "best be hoping that I don't need to be doing anything any time soon."

Rob tapped his glass again, acutely aware of the noise-making. He didn't quite seem capable of stopping it. Old musician's habit, he supposed. He looked to Jason. "So, yours do the whole transfer energy bit or use heat to stimuli or what have you?" Again: EMT training. Gotta love it.

[Jason Campbell]

Jason had witnessed many times someone healing a person through touch. First, there had been his father, then himself. And that was without counting the several power mimic who might have taken on his ability. There was nothing magical to it though. No blue light shining through the hands, no warm feeling for the person being healed. On the contrary, they could feel their tissue reforming, their bones getting back together, the blood pumping through newly formed veins. Not always a pleasant feeling from what he heard, and what he witnessed. Then, of course, there was the brain being unable to assimilate the fact it was no longer hurting and kept it up for a little while. He wondered if that happened with the voice too. Then again, seeing it with his own eyes would be easier than simply theorizing about it.

Jason was unable to heal himself, it was why he was curious. He nodded to what Rob told him. “It would work better on minor wounds obviously. The focus is easier to keep and the side effects are minor as well. But it’s usually for a major one that you want to bother using such power,” he said. He was unable to say if he was talking to Rob or just speaking out loud here. “Those powers tend to take its toll on the owner. People don’t seem to realise how draining that can be. It’s always pleasant to see them grateful because of your help but you sometimes end up wondering if that really was enough for something that nearly put you in a coma.” Now, he was definitely talking to Rob although more of his experience than Rob’s in term of their somewhat similar ability.

He straightened up, more in his element now that he realised this young man would be able to understand what he was talking about. “Energy. And through touch, obviously. A direct contact on the wounded area is best but as long as it’s skin to skin and I know where I’m supposed to direct the flow of energy, it’s fine.”

[Rob Snow]

Rob nodded, chuckling as Jason pointed out the catch for their power. You didn't want to waste it on anything minor, but doing anything major with it generally ended up kicking your ass asm uch as it did helping other people. "No kidding: everyone goes around thinking that we're Jesus or Muhammad or something, expecting us to just be all 'get up and walk, my son,'" Rob chuckled, but there was a bit of a painful memory attached. Sometimes he couldn't stay in some towns for long after he started doing the actual healing.

Jason continued, explaining, and Rob nodded along. The energy ones always struck him as being the ones that were closest to what people expected when you healed someone, especially if they had a nice little flash of light. The whole conversation was reminding Rob of that other path that still sort of stretched outward for him, covered in woods and leaves but still visible enough that if he wanted to slide there and start walking he could manage it. Always torn between healer and musician; Rob just hoped he could keep balancing.

"See, the way you describe that almost reminds me of the way Eastern monks and various practitioners of some faiths insist their healing works," Rob pointed out. He tilted his head for a moment, just a bit to the side. "makes you wonder if there's not something there. Maybe all those figures used to be mutants or something," Rob chuckled, though he sometimes wondered about that, seriously wondered.

[Jason Campbell]

The fact they were healers seemed to mean they were at the people’s disposal. Jason figured he could make a fortune selling his skill to the highest bidder, but it was not the reason why he did medicine. “Yes. And when you refuse to use it because you know a more traditional treatment works just fine, they look at you like you’re cheating them or something. This is why I prefer not to say too much what I can do. Not everyone cares that you may end up in their state if they know they won’t in return,” he added. Most understood. And Jason didn't let himself be affected by flattery or threat. He did what he had to do. That meant making sure he was up for whatever emergency he can be called for. If a medication worked perfectly or the wound was clean and would heal on its own, there was no reason to do it. Not unless Jason had a good reason to do otherwise.

His power sounded nice, even impressive when explained, but Jason knew that visually, it did not match. You couldn’t have everything in life and truth be told, Jason like the fact it was so discreet. He could heal someone without them even realising it. He was even able to pull away halfway through a ‘treatment’ so that it was not entirely healed. Something he had to remind himself to do when in a hospital. It would be strange that someone was entirely healed when they could barely walk the minute before.

Rob brought back the older forms of healing techniques. Jason smiled at that. “Than maybe they were a community of mutant healers,” he suggested. Hey, why not? He had no idea for how long this mutation was going on. Why couldn’t there be a community like that? Probably because that sounded too much like something out of a bad sci-fi movie. “Why not? I’m sure there were plenty of people in the past who preferred to keep it hidden. They used to keep so many other things hidden after all.”

[Rob Snow]

in truth, Rob probably did enough to attract attention to his healing. He'd used it for headaches and the like mostly because, well, he could. It did become something of a second instinct for him, more than the traditional methods that Jason mentioned. At the same time, he knew the danger there, especially in a nonmutant community. It sounded like Jason did too: they could nod and sympathize with one another there for certain.

"Almost makes you wish you could do everything they wanted," Rob said a little, looking off into the distance a moment. If mutants ever got out, they'd surely have to register somewhere...and Rob wasn't sure what would happen then. The ones with violent powers would either be safe due to that or locked up. The ones like he and Jason...

Well, better to think of fun stuff. "I'd like to think that the whole recruiting network's not that complete," Rob mused. "that there's these little communities of mutants everywhere. School hasn't been around that long after all," Rob added a slight shrug. He knew the idea wasn't that popular. "Though you travel as much as I have, you begin to wonder if we're really not that different after all. Watch enough people do enough things that seem impossible..." Rob trailed off, gesturing at himself and Jason. They fit right in with those yogis as far as Rob was concerned: as human as the rest of the world.

[Jason Campbell]

“Of course,” Jason agreed. They had a power that allowed them to do good around them. There was nothing destructive about it, nothing violent that could have people fear them. But that did not mean they could just use it every time someone asks them to. “This is a terrible feeling to see someone in pain and know you could do something about it yet should not. It is tempting to simply heal them, no matter the consequences.” It might explain why he preferred to stop working at the emergency. Sure, you can end up with minor injuries or diseases but whenever someone arrived, severely injured and the chances they may die being high, it had been painful for him to know he could have saved them. Especially when his conscience asked him if he let that happen because he feared the consequences should people know about him.

He didn’t want to think about it anymore. He was here now, with patients who were like him that he could help. The feeling he could do more always came back to haunt him but he could take it better here. The amount of patients of his about to die if he did nothing was not as high. He thought about Rob’s idea of communities of mutants yet in contact with the schools. “I don’t know how they can detect when a mutant suddenly comes in their power. Some have parents who can warn the school, others manifest in an obvious way but for the others... And there are different schools around the world and who knows if there aren’t some not connected with those we know,” Jason answered, only nodding about the people doing impossible things. It was true that their view of the world and the word impossible was not exactly the same as everyone else’s. “Also makes you wonder what it is we don't know yet.”

[Rob Snow]

Rob listened as Jason kept on, talking about the whole people in pain bit. It reminded him of what several people had said when he admitted to having elected to be the wandering minstrel instead of the wandering healer. Not that he didn't try to mix the two together as best as he could, really, but there were times when people saw his healing and just assumed that he should be focused on that, on reducing suffering that way. Struck him as odd, but it might explain why he wasn't a big fan of tying himself to a specific place or ideal, or maybe that was just his knee-jerk reaction to that sort of thing.

The conversation continued along those deep lines, as Jason wondered about how they knew, all the different things. "Oh, I'm sure they're keeping something from us," Rob said, adding a wave of his hand. "There's bound to be droves of things that are just kept under lock and key, forbidden from having all of us common folk poke around. Probably for the best,' Rob added another shrug. "Well, this is getting too heavy,' he said, nodding, "So now I'm going to have to lighten it by having you tell me the best places to find amiable women in the area. I just hope it doesn't involve faking being a doctor again. Twice was enough."