melodiesoflife | #7 | Return from the Brink

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#7 | Return from the Brink

Characters: Sephiroth & OPEN (except 8th Feb: CLOSED to Jade Curtiss)
Where/When: 8th Feb - Republic of Esdham: A makeshift clinic, 9th Feb Onwards - Aqures Ixen: Hospital
Summary: Sephiroth's ordeal out towards the Desert of Roalie has left him battered, most notably with a leg which is now broken in two places. Even with potions and white magic available, the resources at Esdham are strained in the wake of the recovering effort after the attack by the Herans. Sephiroth is later transferred to Aqures Ixen Hospital where help befitting a Hero of Light is more readily available. Still, it's going to take time for him to get back on his feet.
Warnings: Cuts, bruises, broken limbs; as expected considering. Also he's lost a good few inches from the length of his hair but probably best not to talk about that.

EDIT: Added a #3) Here

#1) 8th Feb - Republic of Esdham: A makeshift clinic [Closed: Jade Curtiss]
Late on the 7th Feb, a rush of activity had ripped through one of the makeshift clinics set up to deal with the aftermath of the attack by the Heran Empire. Someone had been found, much further out than anticipated, by one of the preliminary patrols sent out towards the oasis, and even though the medical staff on hand had tried to keep their tones hushed on account of the late hour, the clinic was already over-capacity and so the urgent healing required by a Hero of Light couldn't be kept a secret.

The unmistakable sound of rain hitting the roof of the tent, or rather the absence of it's wetness hitting his face was what greeted Sephiroth as he came around. The afterglow of a Cure-spell receding it's color as the white-mage Tarutaru currently on shift lowered her hands and offered a kind smile in his direction before leaving just as he squinted eyes first and then chanced to open them. There was no more open-sky above him; so he hadn't dreamed that patrol after all. It had been difficult to tell, given the hallucinations -that dream a few nights ago, for example- that had to have signaled that his body were finally giving up on him.

As if it were waiting specifically for him to regain more consciousness first, the pain then all came crashing back. Sephiroth had gotten an elbow under his one side -the other were in a sling tight up against his chest- but the reeling nausea, centered in particular around that deep agony of bone moving like it shouldn't put him back down prone instantly. With stars across his vision no less. He blinked, registering details as he looked down over himself. There was a plaster cast up to his thigh, and also a supportive brace around his left leg and it were elevated just slightly by way of a few pillows beneath his ankle. He couldn't feel his toes as they poked out of the bottom. He swallowed a rising sick feeling that was stirred and -for the time being- drew his focus into the roof of the tent.

#2) 9th Feb Onwards - Aqures Ixen: Hospital [Open]
If there was something to say of the Aqurean government, they cared for their Heroes a lot. As soon as Sephiroth were out of the immediate hypothermic danger he'd been found in, arrangements had been made for his transportation to a better facility. A small airship had been arranged -no small feat considering the devastation to the airport that had been inflicted- and he'd been away.

Still, not much that Sephiroth could do with one arm still strapped in close to his chest and his leg throbbing away in it's heavy plaster cast and brace which was more often than not elevated into a position from which he couldn't miss it even if he wanted to. Talk about it being staged directly in his face. Hindsight really was 20/20, that leap had been a risk; but what was the alternative? To be killed anyway? Captured? Spencer had already informed him that some of the other Heroes had been taken. Sephiroth scowled heavily every time his thoughts were inevitably drawn that way; another failure to chip away at his pride.

His silver hair had been braided and was set down across one mostly-unblemished shoulder; it was noticeably shorter though. Having had to have had the singed ends cut away. Overall, Sephiroth sat mostly with the backrest up, alone in the ward they'd given him, in silence while the lesser injuries he had sustained; various cuts, bruises and burns, were gradually treated by potion, lotion or Cure-spells. Most often he could be found reading a book, slowly sipping at a glass of water, or reviewing some of the notes that he'd had Spencer bring him from his study area back at the house.

He hadn't the heart to have Spencer send a message to let significant others know he'd been recovered safely, as such exchanges would only lead to what he considered to be unnecessary concern; even as it became obvious that he wouldn't be getting back on his feet nearly as quickly as he would have had he been mako-infused, or so 'special' as he had been before. That and he wasn't sure he could take the pity.

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Zelda smiled a little sheepishly. "I know. I promise I'm taking better care of myself. I suppose that I just can't help it." She didn't want to take care of the heroes. She believed in their skills and might but she wanted to do what she could to help. To make their lives a little bit easier.

She clapped her palms together and turned towards the hallway. "Kopula? Can you please grab the book and food from the basket?" There was the light sound of fluttering, then a crash, then the little moogle dressed in green dragging a large basket. Zelda ran over releasing it from Kopula's little paw. "You didn't have to bring everything."

"I wanted to Kupo! Hello Sephiroth!" He smiled at the hero with a wide silly grin.

Zelda pulled an apron from the basket and tied it around her waist before grabbing some books and turning to Sephiroth. "How about I finish up the cooking. I brought some things that you can eat through out the week. So you don't have to cook and more books." She smiled. "I know you like to read and these are research books I had found. Oh! What were you trying to make?"

She glanced towards the kitchen realizing that she had stopped him while he was cooking. She hadn't notice what he was doing.

Cloud was as much a product of his home and circumstances as Sephiroth was in all of this. It wasn't merely the propaganda that was written, but also the fact that Cloud was among the target audience. Young boys and men who grew up in backwaters and were desperate for a way out. A life as a soldier certainly appealed over the fate of a miner or a farmer or a reactor grunt. How many like him threw themselves into the gears of the war machine just because they thought that peace was boring?

If it wasn't for Zack and his positive influence, then Cloud might have become just another face in the masses. Another casualty on a post combat report. But with his best friend in crystal form, Cloud was looking to his original hero for validation.

Cloud couldn't help but sulk a little as his hope of friendship was rebuffed, but he was prepared for it. His interaction with Sephiroth in this world was many times longer than anything he had hoped and prayed for back home. Even so, he never really felt like he was in a special position to make demands, just lucky enough for fate and coincidence to be nice to him.

His sadness was doubly short lived as Sephiroth brought up that task and the young man snapped to attention with almost comical speed. "Yes sir! Whatever I can do to help!"

“Oh...”

She follows his gaze down over the cast. It does look pretty bad. She's never broken a bone before but it's obviously not pleasant. Ib can't help but worry when he admits that it hurts, but she'll still try to cheer him up. She smiles, bright and encouraging.

“Don't worry! You're really strong, so I bet you'll get better soon. Is there anything I can do? Something else I can bring you?”

She's eager to help him if she can. He's done a lot to encourage and support her, after all.

Spencer startled in the air some with a squeak, as Kopula came in from the hallway, he'd have rushed to help but Zelda was closer and got to him beforehand. Instead, when the basket came into range Spencer hung around just above and behind Zelda to peer curiously at what else was inside. Sephiroth's friend didn't do things by halves, for sure, and he was surprised she'd managed to carry all of it over all by herself. She was stronger than she looked though, being a Hero of Light.

Sephiroth blinked and looked from Zelda to Kopula as he greeted him, nodding once and offering a light smile.

"I don't think I've ever read so much, as I have over the last few weeks." He tried to make light of it, though really keeping his mind occupied had been no easy task. There were days where he quite often just napped, or wasn't able to concentrate very much past the quite-often spiking pain that lanced through his leg which usually made him want to get up. Sometimes it helped alleviate, sometimes it made it worse. Even keeping on top of exercising his upper body was awkward and he had to be so careful.

"Oh I was-" Sephiroth also glanced back towards the hallway door and the way they had come. He hadn't forgotten, par se, but it seemed a long time ago already that he'd inched himself in there with the intention to cook. "-it was going to be a broth, out of what I might find in there."

In other words, he had the intention of throwing whatever he could find that was edible into a pot and seeing what the result could be. Sephiroth was hardly the culinary expert.

Zelda lifted up a book with a smile. "This one has more pictures. In case you were tired of reading. It's a book on plants here and there are a lot of pictures and then short descriptions about the plants. I had bought it when I started my garden." Which was why the book looked worn and used.

She placed the pile of books on the coffee table near him and moved the small table a little closer so that he could reach without to much effort. He still had enough room to stand if he wished though she hoped he would be able to take a quick break.

"I'll be right back." With that she grabbed the basket lifting it while she beckoned Kopula to follow her to the kitchen. The little moogle hadn't been very talented before this job but now he was able to chop and prepare vegetables in order to help Zelda when she prepared meals for the house. There was audible sounds from the kitchen that sounded as if someone was cutting while the second person moved around dishes and pans.

After ten minutes Zelda returned with a tray. There was a steaming pot of tea that smelled like roses and cinnamon as well as two cups. She hadn't know if his moogle would want any tea and she wanted to be prepared. Next to that was a place with cheese and fruit that Zelda had managed to gather as well as some of her sweet breads from home. "I am making dinner but I thought to make you a snack."

Once the try was within his reach she poured him a cup of tea with a smile pulled across her lips.

Ramza entered Sephiroth's room, took one look at him, and wordlessly offered him the cup of tea.

"You need not bother with pleasantries." Sephiroth looked like he had little energy for it, and Ramza was not here for a social visit. "I came to see what I could do to help you."

He stood beside Sephiroth's bed, not wanting to take a seat and have the other feel obligated to entertain him.

"Discussing more...complicated issues away from so many ears does seem more prudent," Ashelia answered. She entered the living room, moving to deposit her materials on the table. "Do have a seat. Merlose will take care of the food."

The Queen settled herself on the edge of a couch, back straight and hands in her lap. She waited until Sephiroth to make himself comfortable before starting to speak - she wasn't the type to injure such a man's pride by flitting about adjusting pillows and such. "Firstly, I would like to thank you for your counsel during the meeting the other night. You were right; Biggs, Wedge and Jessie have been nothing but accommodating where they are able and are closer allies than I previously thought."

That...went well?

Sephiroth had thought that denying the kinship that Cloud wanted to procure with him might have proved a lot harder for his fan to take. Especially considering the circumstances in which there weren't all that many Gaians left that hadn't fallen into Crystal Stasis, one might easily come to wonder why or even how Sephiroth could stand to retain his position as a lone wolf. There were a lot of reasons and all of them would remain unspoken of; it was Sephiroth's business and he didn't want to fall into a position of vulnerability as a result. Especially considering his current bill of health.

The speed at which Cloud snapped back to attention just as a dutiful trooper should went a long way in dispelling Sephiroth's unease. He blinked, almost as if startled, and then canted his head in a sideways nod.

"There are some effects of mine, which I can only assume were taken away in Esdham once I was recovered. While the armor I wore might not, for the most part, be salvageable now but I would like to have it back within my possession regardless." His brow furrowed as he came to the next thought.

"And then there is Masamune. I wonder if you might assist to track these down for me?"

Ib wasn't the only one who had never broken a bone before now. Call it a consequence of the childhood wrapped in the thick bubble-wrap of the Company, and then later on in life he'd simply developed so extreme of a constitution that such injuries had been reduced to an impossibility. Not to mention the acute self-awareness and of his surroundings that had come with the training which he'd dedicated himself to.

He smiled a little sheepishly at Ib's bright smile; how could anyone deny that encouragement? Sephiroth felt instantly that he was making it sound a lot worse than it really was, which in turn helped him to box the throbbing pain away again. He was stronger than this, and Ib was right - he would be back on his feet in no time!

"It's fine, really. You already brought cookies."

Botany. He thought as the books were placed on the table nearby with the well-worn one that Zelda had pointed out to him on top; Sephiroth did his best not to pull a face but such subjects didn't really interest him. He wasn't green-fingered at all, having grown up in urban areas like Zelda probably had no comprehension of. Spencer remained behind, hovering there and looking at Sephiroth expectantly, as Zelda and Kopula vacated to go attempt to salvage the food that he'd been preparing in the kitchen.

He was very much of the opinion that he'd have to be a great deal more bored to pick up a book about plants, but thankfully after only a brief flick through of the same Zelda came through again into the room with a tray. She can't have been done already -right? Sephiroth blinked as he put the book to one side and took the tray carefully onto his lap, taking the moment needed to scrutinize what Zelda had put together. For a snack, considering he'd not been eating a great deal anyway, it seemed more like a full meal.

The sweet smells from the tea quickly registered even before Zelda began to pour the beverage out for him, and no matter how Sephiroth would like to have hidden it, was followed by a loud squelching growl from his stomach. He rubbed his hand across his waist as if to calm an animal --that totally involuntary noise he'd made-- and tried not to chew too much on the corner of his mouth as he looked back up to Zelda. Thanking his body for betraying how much he'd not really been eating.

"Pardon me." He followed politely, forcing his expression into a neutral even if it didn't quite obey him that far. Finally tearing a piece of the sweet bread off. "This is quite some snack."

"Thank you." Whether he had the energy for pleasantries or not still didn't excuse Sephiroth from simple manners so he thanked Ramza as he took the tea from the tray with both hands. His upper body was still strong, and there was minimal shaking even if Sephiroth had to pay more attention in order to safely make the transit to between both of his hands, in his lap.

A small sip of the steaming cup followed with a long sigh which drained some of the palpable tension within the room away. Medicinal properties of the poppy-brew aside, the hot drink was perfectly timed. Sephiroth seemed to come around some from the stupor he'd been sat there in before Ramza had come. Somewhat lazy eyes looked over the knight as he stood there, before canting his head to a nearby stool that was positioned nearby.

"Please. Perhaps there is something I could entrust to your care, specifically."

He didn't particularly seem to need the help either. As Ashelia settled on to the edge of one couch in the large living area, Sephiroth made his way to the larger one that -it was fairly obvious, with it's footrest nearby- he'd been spending most of his time sat down upon. He turned, bringing both crutches together in front of him and lowered himself onto said footrest first, then lifted the apparatus out of the way so he could scoot himself back onto the couch with one hand on either side of him. Not elegant by any means and certainly lacking a particular fluid motion he had usually, but eventually Sephiroth settled well enough with his broken leg extended out front.

Apart from the fact that the impatience he had with his condition was tangible in his whole body language, he was silently grateful that Ashelia afforded it no more attention than it needed. Rewarded him back some of that pride that recently he'd had to bitterly swallow in the face of those that only meant him well.

"Ah, so you have been to see them." Sephiroth nodded, making the natural jump of logic. He took a careful stock of Ashelia then, mindful not to come across as arrogant even though his confidence could not help but to swell at the notion that she'd followed up, and his intuition had -once more- been proved flawless. It was a familiar feeling to Sephiroth, but as on Gaia, in Crystallis also it wasn't a matter of scoring points.

"It's good to hear that it went well, then. I presume?"

"It doesn't matter right now, however, it may matter if things go wrong," Genesis replied and leaned forward. "I know logically that the future is not set here and yet I know that the future could be echoed here."

He had his theories and some of them might not be right. They might be different or he may be missing pieces of the information or he could be chasing a tale in the wrong direction. But what he did know and what this place may give them, those things were just too close, especially with the dream. That woman was toying with Crystals. She had been toying with people. Who can say that she also was like Hojo in that she was using a piece of the Calamity in her actions.

What if the Black Crystals were actually Crystals infected with the Calamity?

If that was the case, then the night of the 13 Moogles made sense. It made sense that out of the three of them, they would prove to be the strongest of the monsters that the others had to face. After all, it was the Calamity's cells that were a part of them. There was nothing he could do except be gentle in trying to explain a small piece of the puzzle to Sephiroth.

"Do you know why I had attacked ShinRa? Do you know why I went after Hojo?"

It seemed like he agreed nonetheless, despite her concern. She's not quite experienced in respecting boundaries, since she was used to winning others with her insistence. Just as Sephiroth had felt that she was not like other people, Selen felt the same towards him. A difficult character, that perhaps she would have to reassess. She didn't want to be on anyone's bad side, but she knew her reckless personality would lead to people not not being happy with it.

She noticed his glance, though she said nothing to question why he looked at her in such a manner. His answer was at least something she was glad to hear. A smile lined her face, much more sincere than her teasing one moments before, "I'll get to it right away. I'm not sure what you would prefer to eat, but I'll just play with it."

She replied, preparing to leave the room, since she felt that the conversation went as far as it possibly could for the time being.

Well, that had been easier than Ramza had thought. He hoped that Sephiroth's cooperation was not in direct proportion to the pain he was in. The blond got the sense he was not the type to accept help so easily.

He gave Spencer a quick smile as he turned away from the Hero to pull the stool forward. He sat himself down facing Sephiroth's bed.

"What can I do to assist you?" he asked.

Jade patiently waited for Sephiroth to gather his thoughts. Given the extent of his injuries, some disorientation was to be expected.

"You were found by a patrol last night, near the Oasis. Just in time, too -- any longer and you would almost certainly have died." Ah, perhaps sounding too cheerful about a patient's near-death wasn't the best example of bedside manners. Jade made some effort to turn it down a notch.

"Your friends have been quite worried about you, disappearing like that."

It May matter, If things go wrong. Genesis were leaving it incredibly unanimous, and besides, it led to the plain question of How Genesis could really know for sure. All this was simply supposition, overlaying how he knew things developed on Gaia over a could-be entirely unrelated set of circumstances in Crystallis. Never mind the glaring similarities that they both knew existed.

The others- they had spoken of him as if he'd committed a great crime. As if he were the very monster that the Genesis of his time had used, in himself, as an excuse to defect from ShinRa and get so many others to join him as well. Too easily thoughts were drawn back to that day in the plaza, to that night in the clearing; Sephiroth's frown sunk ever deeper between his eyebrows. Having these memories bug at him in the present company wouldn't do, especially in the case of the latter that he had spent a good few months burying away within himself as if he could forget that it had ever happened. He shook his head, unable to shift the tightening knot in his stomach even as he attempted to sit more comfortably and so lessen the growing tension across the top of his shoulders.

"You attacked ShinRa-" Boy, had his thoughts a stretch to go back to retrieve that; it had been over half a year, surely. Those moments before the building had apparently collapsed around him and he had then woken up here. Still, immediately Sephiroth was suspect as to where Genesis might go with this, but at the same time intensely curious. It was very much a case of the fact that he knew he had a right to know, with regard to the future- but was it right for him to know?

"-while my back was turned." Betrayal was quick to sting again as Sephiroth set his jaw and then flicked his eyes back up to Genesis, looking over the other man cautiously. He took a breath then, reminded himself that this Genesis were older, a product of a tumultuous future if all sources were correct.

"Not that I cared, but I can easily imagine it was something to do with Hollander."

Ashelia nodded slowly. "It did. I...did not speak to them of our plans," here Ashelia shook her head, "but only because, through speaking with them, I know they would never support us."

She continued quickly, not wanting to give Sephiroth time to argue. "Their position is precarious. I mentioned the invitations some of our number have received and Wedge urged them not to accept." She tilted her head to the side. "Prudent advice, but it would seem Wedge wants none of us anywhere near the Empire. I wager the only presence we would be allowed by our hosts is a small party of dignitaries."

As for the others? Ashelia waved her hand. "Jessie's concern is naught but the crystal research, and Biggs...while we tend to agree on more fronts than I wager either of us found comforting," Ashelia's tone was dry as a soup bone here, "was concerned only with what little he could do to prepare the war effort and support Esdham. Just so, I did share some information from Kalki's diary with them in a show of goodwill."

Zelda smiled shaking her head back and forth. "It's alright. I was informed that you weren't eating well so I gave you a little more than a snack but don't worry. Whatever you don't finish I will put away. I already filled the frig with some food that should last you for a few days." She turned listening to the soft sounds in the kitchen.

"I have Kopula cutting up some vegetables for the soup and I have some meats that I can put in with it. It might take some time though. I brought stuff to clean the house knowing that it might be difficult for Spencer to do alone." She knew what Kopula had done when she was sick and she didn't want Spencer to stress himself as well. Since her moogle was handy with kitchen prep Zelda moved over to her basket and started pulling things from inside. It appeared endless as she placed things out on the coffee table: rags, soap and other assorted supplies.

She picked up a rag and set to work on the far side of the family room, dusting the shelves and books that Sephiroth had collected. She didn't move anything without making sure to put it back in the same location. "Do you want me to put some of these books away?"

Sephiroth didn't like accepting help from anyone when it came down to it, especially considering he was so stalwart with his own independence and getting things done on his own. Though to a certain extent, the pain he was in dulled the edges of his pride a lot and had begun to wear away his resolve over the last few days where he'd been sat unable to move very far. He'd spent three hours just to get clean earlier, only to come back to bed even more tired and achy as a result.

Logic would always win out, and there were things at the forefront of his mind that needed to be taken care of. Things that Spencer simply couldn't manage on his own. Ramza seemed a little like Cloud, in that Sephiroth felt there would be less in the way of an advantage taken out of him later on.

Spencer nodded his head and flitted back and away from the two of them in the meantime. The moogle, too, clearly had other things he could be getting on with while they talked. He was pleased also, that Sephiroth had not turned Ramza away.

"You were something of a knight, in your world, if I am to remember correctly?"

"Something like that," Ramza evaded. He did not want to get into the specifics of why he did not hold the title. He knew the fighting style, and the mannerisms of a knight, so he figured he would be able to help Sephiroth, even if he was not technically knighted.

"Is there something you need a knight to do?" he asked.

Cheery much? Sephiroth dismissed that as not yet being focused enough to really interpret body language and expression. He blinked and closed his eyes briefly, trying to tame that knotting ball of nausea which seemed to want to overcome his entire insides, as a result of trying to ignore the pain he was in. His throat burned with the remembered sensation of vomiting, even though Sephiroth himself didn't remember clearly when that had happened.

Then finally looked back up to Jade again.

"Who-" But he had a good idea already. "-I was, pressing their retreat. It seemed that they might charge again."

"Yes, I did," he said, flicking that aside like it didn't matter. It didn't in his mind, but he had thought that Sephiroth would understand. That he would realize that Genesis did not want to fight his friend on an all too real battlefield. It was one thing to duel in the simulators, another to face off in the real world. Didn't he understand that.

"You were a friend and I did not want to attack you." Genesis looked at him and then his lips curved in a self-mockery at the words. He really was an idiot during that time. "Hollander did point me that way, however, he also did not realize I could read his scrawl upside down."

Genesis looked down at his hands, spreading them out and then delicately plucked the gloves off. Gloves might have protected them from some of the mishaps of swordsmanship, but there were still callouses and healed cuts, the slight enlarged knuckles from spending time holding weapons a certain way, the way the tendons flexed under skin.

"It was because of the experiments, not just of the mako infusions we three all shared in, but more. Did you know that both Hollander and Hojo made use of Calamity cells in trying to create a perfect SOLDIER?"

It was a good thing that she didn't give Sephiroth the time to get a comment in edge ways because it immediately looked like he would have retorted; his posture straightened, his jaw set and not just against his own discomfort anymore.

He waited though, holding the spark of his irritation beneath his usual guarded composure, until Ashelia had finished speaking. Fools, the lot of them. Furthermore, the so-called counsel that she'd referred to in her previous remark was all but dashed by the way side in some, in his opinion, flawed idea that their benefactors wouldn't help them if they but asked for it in the correct manner. That they couldn't be trusted, and the Heroes had to operate as a entirely separate entity.

"I see. Yet the plan is for all to go sneaking around in exactly the place where you've been advised to steer clear of." It defied all logic, really. Wedge was certainly better positioned to give that advise than any of the so-called Heroes were to stand to ignore it. He then broke Ashelia's gaze, and looked down over himself briefly before giving a random point across the room more attention, drawing his arms up into being folded across his front.

"So what did you share?"

It was really a complicated situation. There was a difference between hoping to be seen as this man's friend and the reality of it. Trying to break through the Great Sephiroth's cool shell was not something he ever expected to be easy. But he had to try, right? And unlike Sephiroth, Cloud had been doing a better job of reaching out and meeting the other people who had been brought here. He missed Zack and Angeal, but he didn't feel lonely at all.

Cloud's eyes went wide at the news of Sephiroth's legendary sword. The Masamune had been taken? Lost? "O-of course! I'll do whatever I can! Do you think the Imperials took it?" Even saying that made his skin crawl with nerves and bristle with anger all at once.

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#7 | Return from the Brink

#3) Recovery: Feb 20th -ish

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#3) Recovery: Feb 20th -ish

#3) Recovery: Feb 20th -ish

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#3) Recovery: The rest of the Month (February) [Open]

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#3) Recovery: Feb 20th -ish

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#3) Recovery: The rest of the Month (February) [Open]

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#3) Recovery: The rest of the Month (February) [Open]

#3) Recovery: Feb 20th -ish

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#3) Recovery: The rest of the Month (More like start of March, then :p) [Open]

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