video ➳ action {feel free to handwave appointment setups and drop by!

[blackbirdsing]

[The camera comes on, and Sarah smiles as she greets Wonderland.]

Hi, everyone. If we haven't met, I'm Sarah Weller. I've been here about two months now, and I've noticed in between the insane things that happen, there's a lot of training going on either magical or physical sparring, weight lifting, all the good stuff. Injuries can happen, and while I do realize we have a few great doctors here, I wanted to offer my service, too. I'm a physical therapist. Specifically orthopedic which means I'm a pretty great masseuse. If you have a lot of aches and pains or joint problems that won't go away, muscle groups that regularly hurt, I can help. I can also help you come up with an exercise regimen that might be better for you.

If you're into water therapy, we can arrange something at the pool, but otherwise, you can find my therapy room down on the first floor, nestled between all the training facilities in room twenty-three.

[She pans the camera then to give everyone a view of the room before focusing the camera back on her.]

I won't live in this space, so let's go by appointment, any day of the week, normal business hours, nine to five. There's of course no charge for obvious reasons, and I'm happy to do something I know to help people. Each session goes about an hour and I'm starting now.

Oh, PS: Massages are great too for just relaxation, so even if you don't have a problem area, treat yourself sometime.

Comments

[ Action ]

[widows_kiss]

[ Considering she's just a door or so down in the Training Center when she sees the message, it's easier for Natasha to step out and wander down to peek in and sate her curiosity in person. She appears in casual work-out clothes, comfortable and relaxed as she pokes her head in the door and glances around with a friendly smile. ]

I wondered what was going in down here. This looks amazing.

[ Action ]

[blackbirdsing]

[Sarah turns and smiles, running a hand through her hair.]

Yeah? Thanks. I didn't want it to look too clinical but...wanted to stray away from it seeming too dark and mysterious seeming.

[The candles and incense part is not her thing.]

Are you interested?

[widows_kiss]

You succeeded. This looks very relaxing.

[ Natasha smiles as she glances over at the woman, assessing her with the same intent curiosity she'd given the room. ]

I might be. I can't say I have a problem area, but I'm usually one of the ones frequently in the Training Center, and this would certainly be a nice indulgence every now and then.

[blackbirdsing]

[There's nothing spectacular about Sarah, or at least she doesn't think there is. Single mom, no powers, no extraordinary skills, no secret government work. Even her brother has a leg up on her in that department.

She's honestly so boring she has no idea what Wonderland saw in her to bring her. The worst event that could be pulled from her mind is the time she burned two dozen peanut butter cookies and Kurt's apartment smelled like burnt peanuts for a week.]

This will be the first time I've ever done massages for pleasure and not purely for medical reasons, but it's all mostly the same. And maybe it'll be something for people to take their minds off of life here for a while.

[widows_kiss]

[ The phrasing of that has Natasha's glance cutting back to the woman again with a curious expression. The woman had mentioned being a physical therapist, hadn't she? ]

I'm sure this isn't quite what you're normally accustomed to working with. Even if it had been for purely medical reasons. This place has a tendency of changing all the rules we thought we were comfortable with.

[blackbirdsing]

If people can get banged around as much as I've heard, and I can help them feel better, then hey, I've contributed.

[She smiles a little; that's all she cares about in the end, honesty. Whether people just want to relax, or they legitimately have some sort of medical issue, she's here for it.]

I've gone through some things here by now, but probably not enough to call myself a veteran yet.

[widows_kiss]

Some of us get banged around even when there's nothing going on. [ Natasha supplies this with a faint laugh, because often training can occasionally be as rough as some of the more violent events in this place. Then again, when training with superheroes and mages, you never know what new interesting experience will pop up. ]

I've been here a while now and I'm still not certain what qualifies one as a veteran. Even those who have been here for a year or longer still get surprised by this place.

[blackbirdsing]

Well, I guess one thing we can say for sure is that we'll never be bored for long. But even without events or this place doing crazy things, it seems like people manage to find things to do.

[ She's explored the place, but she's spent a lot of time here, building up her own place, making her brother's room more homey alongside her own, and hanging out at the bar. ]

What do you do when you're aiming to relax around this place?

[widows_kiss]

That answer's going to be different with every person you ask. [ Natasha chuckles as she crosses her arms over her chest. ] The library and the bar seem popular places. The cafe, the diner. The beach, or the pool. There's a lot of fighters here, or people who are used to being on high alert from whatever world they hail from. We tend to congregate in the gym or the Training Center a lot. it's hard to break that particular habit, when you're used to watching over your shoulder all the time.

[blackbirdsing]

Well, I'm not a fighter, and I'm not on high alert. I'll leave that to my brother and his girlfriend. Uh, I'm just a single mom, and have been for eight years, so to go from that to this has been an interesting test in how to keep myself busy.

But, there's a pool?

[widows_kiss]

[ Natasha flicks her a sympathetic glance. ] Then it must be difficult, being caught here away from your family.

Yes, there's a pool. Not sure who made that one or if it came with the place, but it's on the second floor.

[blackbirdsing]

So this place does have perks.

[She smirks a little and well just ignore that she already mentioned the pool in her post and lets out a breath.]

It sounds like there are plenty of things to do then, even for the non-fighting types. I can finally catch up on all the days I wished I could float in a pool without screaming kids cannonballing on me.

[widows_kiss]

You'll just have to watch out for the screaming adults cannon-balling instead. Much more manageable.

[ Her lips twitch as she delivers that with an almost-straight face. There's no hiding that a good many of the 'adults' around here are still giant kids sometimes. ]

[blackbirdsing]

[ Sarah laughs a little, shaking her head. ]

Hopefully, if adults are cannon-balling, there's booze involved, and in that case, hopefully that booze also involves me.

[widows_kiss]

[ Natasha's grin is quick and easy at that. ] Most people are all too happy to share what they have here. I'm sure if there is alcohol involved, there will be plenty of it. I think it's one of the reasons the bar is so popular.

[blackbirdsing]

That's so interesting to me because...booze right out of the closets, you know? And yet people still head to the bar to do whatever drinking they wanna do. It's kind of...communal, I guess. Nice that people don't just hole up.

[ Even her brother goes to the bar instead of staying along in his room sometimes. There's a feat if she ever saw one. ]

[widows_kiss]

What do they say about drinking alone? [ Her lips quirk, even though she rarely lets things like that bother her. ] It is very social, even here. Commiserating, maybe. People here are already cut off from everyone they know. They look for connections in the most familiar ways.

[blackbirdsing]

Well, if you ever need a friend, then. [ Sarah smirks a little in response before nodding at what Natasha's saying. ]

That makes sense, and I'm glad it is. It'd be easy to isolate yourself in an unfamiliar place if no one particularly cared what you did or who you were. I'm actually really glad I've had the opposite experience.

[widows_kiss]

[ There's a momentary flicker of surprise when the woman offers friendship so easily and without hesitation. Maybe others can take such a thing in stride without it giving them pause, but Natasha's friends are much fewer and precious - a hazard of who and what she is. Still, after a moment of digesting it, she smiles and inclines her head. ]

I think I'd like that. We'll have to try it.

Have you? Didn't show up here alone, I take it?

[blackbirdsing]

I got here about two days after my brother and his girlfriend. I would have figured it out, how to be here alone. But I'm glad I'm not.

[ Sarah's got no reason to be guarded or not offer friendship where maybe a lot of other people here do. Even her brother's life makes sense for being here, he's seen and done insane things. But Sarah's own life is relatively normal with normal people who don't betray, backstab, or abandon her. Save for one asshole ex-husband. It's natural, then, for her to invite Natasha out sometime. ]

[widows_kiss]

I showed up to find many of my team already here. [ And apparently missing memories of her own of a previous time here. Which still grated at her to no end. ] Who is your family here, if I may ask?

[blackbirdsing]

Well, that's not a bad deal. People being here, I mean. And my brother is Kurt. He's...not the most talkative. Gruff, FBI Agent who takes on the world. And Jane. Can't miss her, tattooed head to toe.

[widows_kiss]

[ Natasha's eyes widen a hint. ] I know them both. I met FBI - Kurt, I mean - shortly after he arrived. Jane, too, I think. They're good companions to have keeping you company, I'd wager.

[blackbirdsing]

Having Kurt here, especially. He...practically raised me on his own. He's not a bad guy to know and have on your side. Jane, too. I just haven't known her as long and her story is more complicated than I think either of them have told me yet.

[widows_kiss]

I'm not surprised to hear that about him. He seems the sort. [ Natasha's lips twitch in fond amusement. ] And if Jane's caught up in FBI business, I'd suspect that to be the case, but I don't get the impression she's trouble. [ A hesitation before Natasha casts a knowing glance over at Sarah. ] She's very determined in looking after him, at least.