Setting
His Imperial Majesty Nobuo Takayama Medical Center
Recovery Wing
A week later.
The first flurries of snow danced delicately outside the window, and the sounds of the city were muffled by the sounds of medical equipment. It had been a long trek from Gaia, through the caves, and to Niihama. Livia's charge had undergone multiple surgical procedures, and had been placed in a coma and intubated until the serpent venom wore off, and the body could heal. The soft hum of the television, which was playing some variety show offered background noise, and Livia was seated in one of the chairs, looking at a tablet.
She had shed her armor, and tunica for a soft white tank top, denim jacket, and jeans, with her hair pulled into a ponytail. She definitely looked a lot different than she did during her expedition on Gaia. She swiped on the tablet, and cast a glance over to the man she had rescued, as General Hama's words rang through her head.
"We will hold you responsible for any incidents that may arise from bringing him here."
So Livia had ensured that Ragnar had been restrained, his wrists, neck and ankles bound with stout leather restraints that had been affixed to the bed, and Livia didn't stop there, she recruited two armed ISSP officers, one stood directly outside the room, and the other stood down the hallway, while Livia herself opted to stay inside the room to watch her charge. Fortunately she was informed that Hama was planning another operation to recover the bodies earlier in the week.
The door chimed, and a young nurse wearing all white, trimmed with red, and a simple white paper hate with a red cross emblazoned on the front stepped into the room. Her face was hidden by a white surgical mask, and only wisps of black hair framed two eyes, which were adorned with a fairly nice pair of glasses.
"Kon'nichiwa!" The nurse said to Livia with a smile. "Kare no baitarusain o shirabemasu.." The nurse said with a nod. Livia nodded in reply, gesturing to the man in the bed. "DΕzo." She answered, and slowly went back to her tablet.
It was at that moment that consciousness would return for Ragnar Sigurdsson as the sedatives wore off, jolted into the land of the conscious by a bright pen light that the nurse shined into each of his eyes, after pulling his eyelids open. The Nurse listened to his heartbeat, and checked over his wounds, one by one, ruffling the teal blue fabric of the hospital gown he was now wearing.
"Kare no kizu wa umaku naotte imasu, watashi wa kanarazu isha ni shirasemasu." The nurse said with a smile, notating something in his medical charts.
Slowly Livia stood up, and looked him over, definitely looked a lot better than the day she found him, sophisticated Taiyou medicine had ensured his survival, and he could help her make the case to dig up the bodies of the people killed by Sigurd Hring.
Livia crept up behind the nurse, and looked down on Ragnar, they had just changed his many bandages, and even the cross on his forehead had been sutured, and bandaged. Of course Livia's crude sutures had been removed, and replaced by a doctor's steady hand.
Livia grimaced slightly, and then smiled at the nurse, before looking back down to Ragnar.
"Kare wa me o samashite iru yΕ ni miemasu." Livia said to the nurse, whom replied to the affirmative with a nod of her head. "Hai! Isha ni ikimasu!"
Livia smiled slightly, before greeting Ragnar in english.
"Welcome back to the land of the living."
As the sedatives wore off and his eyes adjusted to the light in the room, Ragnar slowly regained his eyesight, just in time to have a small Asiatic woman lift his eyelids open and shine a small pen flashlight into his eyes. His eyes were icey blue like the sky under the flashing light as his dark black pupils became small and dilated. He followed the pen light with his eyes before glancing down to see the Taiyou nurse checking his heartbeat with a strange metal instrument. His pulse and breathing had returned to normal.
The nurse then proceeded to check on his wounds and see how he was fairing. Ragnar was healing quickly, much faster than he would have possibly recovered back at Iskjerne Bay, though he had completely lost his sense of direction, where he was, and the time and date. His body was still numb and recovering from his loss of physical feeling. The surgeons had done a fine job of cleaning all the dirt and blood off of him and stitching his wounds. The scars left behind by his injuries would be very fine and thin, and would likely fade over time. Soon, he would be back to his normal self again.
At that moment, Livia would creep up behind the nurse and look down at him. Ragnar did not recognize her, even for a moment as she examined the stitchings on his forehead. What she would have noticed from him was a weariness and weakness that few Norsemen ever showed, yet there was also a fury, madness and crudeness in his bold blue eyes, the likeness of which Livia and her Taiyou nurses had never seen before. Was he a very angry individual, or was that just his natural facial expression? It was hard to tell with someone like Ragnar Lothbrok, and she must have wondered where he had come from, and how he came to be in the condition he was in now. Surely someone or something had meant to kill this man, but had failed thanks to her helping hands.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Livia greeted him with a straight face, smiling slightly.
At that moment, Ragnar's feeling slowly started to come back to him. He tried to sit up, but something was stopping him. Ragnar could suddenly feel the leather restraints around his neck, wrists and ankles as he wiggled around for a moment before looking up at Livia from his hospital bed. He peered into her own eyes quietly before speaking.
"Where am I?" he asked softly, his deep mellow voice clearly not matching his expression. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ragnar still thought he was dead. Was this the Christian heaven? Or their hell? He wondered quietly, taking a mental note of the bright red cross on the nurse's hat as he glanced over at the tablet and everything else in his view point.
"I found you in the back of a wagon clinging to life, some townspeople found you." She answered, while the nurse nodded, and turned to leave, the door chiming with her departure as she went to go get the doctor, and let him know that Ragnar was awake. "I brought you here, you're in a hospital - a house of healing." Livia said, the modern english like dialect muddled by a somewhat latinized accent. "Your wounds were grave, this was the only place I knew of that could treat them." Livia answered as best as she could. "I am Livia." She said, holding her hand to her chest, to introduce herself.
The Machines in the room let off a soft whine, with the occasional intermittent beeping sound, a soft whir, and a soft hiss could also be heard coming from the machinery in the room, much of which had been disconnected for some time. At that moment an orderly stepped into the room with a cart that had an assortment of containers, the Orderly greeted Livia in Taiyou for a moment, before moving a cover tray over to a small extendable table that swiveled around, and could hold various things in front of the patient.
Livia looked down as the orderly removed the cover, grilled squid, rice, with a fried egg over it, a bowl of Miso soup, and natto served with soy sauce. The meal had been expertly prepared, and was piping hot, which the doctor had already removed the nutrient IV lines when Ragnar's breathing tubes were removed so they could bring him out of the coma. Everything was planned according to a strict regimen. The Doctor believed enough time had lapsed that he could try solid food.
The tray was placed down on the table, and the table moved in front of Ragnar as Livia moved to unfasten one of the restraints. "I'm going to undo your restraints, please don't do anything rash." The Legata pleaded as she began to unfasten the restraint binding Ragnar's right arm.
Livia looked down to the tray, which also had a glass of ramune soda, with ice and straw to be drank with the meal.
"Can you eat? Are you hungry? Can you tell me what happened to you?"
"Hospital?" He repeated with a strong Swedo-Danish English accent. He was familiar with the Latin term hospes, and the Anglo word hostel, but he did not imagine he would be waking up in one. His eyes continued to trail around the room as he listened to Livia's words over the feint beeping and other strange noises. There was a lot for him to process as he glanced at the lights on the ceiling and the medical table and life support machines against the wall beside his headrest. This was nothing at all like the hospitals Ragnar had seen.
"I am Livia," the casually dressed Legata would inform him, placing her hand over her chest. He took note of her white tank top and denim jacket, a clothing style which seemed very new and foreign to the former medieval chieftain, who was now wearing nothing at all apart from a teal blue hospital gown. Besides being thinner and more ruffly than what he was used to, the gown actually wasn't too much different from some of the long robes and tunicas he had seen back home.
As the door chimed again, Ragnar tried to glance over Livia to see who it was. When the orderly brought the cart around and moved the swiveling extendable tray in front of him, Ragnar would glance over at the containers with a bit of paranoia in his eyes. He could hear the squeeking small cart wheels rolling across the hard floor, and he didn't understand a lick of Taiyou as the orderly greeted Livia in the native tongue. But as the lids on the containers were removed, revealing a small entrΓ©e of strange and foreign foods, Ragnar became less tense and squinted a very light smile that seemed more apparent in his eyes than on his face.
"I'm going to undo your restraints, please don't do anything rash." The Legata pleaded as she began to unfasten the restraint binding Ragnar's right arm. Ragnar would rotate his wrist for a moment, regaining some of the feeling and blood flow back in his arm as he tried to sit up again, forgetting about the leather restraint around his neck. He could barely wait to be free again. He waited patiently for Livia to undo the strap around his neck, before reaching around her hands with his freehand and rubbing his throat with a grimacing sigh of relief.
There were knobs and buttons on the arm of his hospital bed which could be used to make the bed recline forward, helping him to sit up. Ragnar Lothbrok wasn't aware of this technology yet, however, so he just sat up on his own instead. At that moment, he got a slight head rush, but he would just squeeze his eyes closed for a moment and shake it off before opening his eyes again. For the first time since his arrival at Emperor Nobuo Takayama's Medical Center, he could look around and see everything clearly.
He glanced over beside himself to the wooden nightstand with opening drawers and the television set on top of it, the large rectangular clear glass window with open grey curtains flanking it, the solid white hard tile floor, the wooden furniture and baseboards, the white walls, wooden cabinets and wall decor. There were picture frames, and medical charts, medical machines with tubes, valves and buttons on them. He took notice of his grey framed medical recliner, and the teal blue gown that he was now wearing. He also noticed the door from where all the chiming sounds had kept coming from, and the denim jeans that Livia was wearing which matched her jacket. He then looked down at his food tray, to the steaming contents in front of him, some of which he was already familiar with, and some of which he didn't know what to make of.
"Can you eat? Are you hungry? Can you tell me what happened to you?" Livia asked curiously.
He picked up the glass of ramune soda and tried to peer down into its straw with one eye, not sure what to think. He listened to the fizzling liquid within, holding the glass up to his ear before taking a swig straight from the glass, ignoring the straw. He tried to swallow, but he couldn't. The soda would tickle his nose and fizz against his tongue. Ragnar would turn his head away from Livia and spit it out, spraying soda all over the wooden cabinet beside him. He turned and cringed, looking at Livia disgustedly before setting the glass of icey soda back down on the tray.
Next he looked at the entrΓ©e, a steaming hot dish with squid, rice and fried egg, with a bowl of strange looking soup, and natto served with soy sauce. The only thing that looked even remotely familiar to him was the squid. He cringed again for a moment, picking up a piece of fried tentacle before dropping it back on the plate again. He then picked up the bowl of miso soup and sniffed it, allowing the vapors to touch his nostrils. He glanced back up at Livia the Legata for a moment, before testing the soup with the tip of his tongue. He blinked and smiled at the taste of the soup before suddenly chugging down the whole entire thing with a few large gulps, spilling some of it down his dirty-blonde short bearded chin and on to the front of his gown, before setting the empty bowl down on the food tray and wiping his mouth with his arm sleeve, looking up at Livia.
"I am Regnerus, called Ragnar... Lothbrok..." he said softly, looking over her shoulder to his reflection in the mirror behind her, noticing the gauze bandage on his forehead.
"I was captured by King Aella of Northumbria on my way to Jorvik... yick," he cringed again while picking at his food, obviously not interested in eating whatever the heck it was that the Taiyou doctors had on their menu.
"The King wanted me to convert to his White Christ and repent for my sins... But I refused," he smiled unremorsefully, ripping the gauze bandage off of his forehead to reveal the cross-shaped stitches and scars underneath before picking up a tiny grain of rice with his fingertips and finally nibbling at it curiously, clicking his teeth against his tongue as he tasted it. This too he would spit on the floor beside him before pushing the swiveling food table away from himself, no longer interested in what they had to offer.
"I was whipped, chained, beaten with staffs and clubs, prodded with spears, hung from a tree in a cage, starved for several days and made to walk on hot stones, but still I would not squeel. So the king had me branded and crucified, but still I would not repent. So he let me hang again up in the tree for a few more days, allowing the ravens and crows to peck at my wounds. Then finally, he let me fall into a pit of vipers and other snakes before closing and sealing the door to my earthy grave. With my last bit of strength, I prayed to the gods and my ancestors and tried to claw my way out of the earth. I remember seeing my Christian friend, and for a moment I thought I was in heaven. But then I saw one of the valkyries, and I knew I must have been stuck somewhere in-between... That's all I really remember. Now I'm here," he said before flexing his other arm and snapping his other leather wrist restraint with remarkable ease, despite its thickness and his healing wrist wounds.
Ragnar tried to bend and stretch forward to remove his ankle straps as well, but he quickly winced in pain and laid back down on his hospital bed, having forgotten about the lacerations on his back and the spear wound on his side. He would breathe heavily for a moment, relaxing and regaining his composure before looking back up at Livia the Legata with a look of humour and a slightly perked smile, feeling an increase in his appetite.
"So... what's for dessert?" He asked.
βThe food here takes some getting used to, too.β Livia added, gesturing down to the squid. The orderly that brought them their food had already departed, but Livia could call down to the food court to have something else brought up that might be more palatable to the medieval viking.
Quietly, Livia listened to his story, and she didnβt react visibly when he managed to snap the other restraint before she could undo it, the leather made a popping sound as it separated from the bed, and to that sound, a figure in dark blue, and black stepped into the room from outside, carrying a strange looking weapon holstered at his hip, the man had on a ballcap that had strange symbols emblazoned in white on the front, dark blue BDU shirt, and pants, with a dark gray vest worn over it, the vest sported a series of white symbols across it, latinized english letters that read ISSP, and Taiyou characters under it that read βSpecial Police Unit.β The man rested his hand on the sidearm holstered at his hip, but made no threatening gestures. Quickly, Livia signalled with her hand that all was safe, and the man nodded, before returning to the hallway. By his body language, and demeanor, he was clearly a guard of some kind, posted outside the room to make sure everything was safe.
Livia was familiar with crucifixions, she had presided over thousands of them, and she knew how brutal they could be, but this brutality was beyond even what the Argosians usually did unless they opted to make a point, and the extent of the manβs wounds meant whoever this King Aella was less than merciful.
βWell, this King cannot reach you here.β Livia commented, walking around the bed, and opening the window to let some of the natural light in, the clouds had blown away to reveal a vast cityscape, towering glass skyscrapers stretched into the cloud layer, among white puffy clouds, and the entire cityscape had a white sheen of freshly laid snow. Livia also reached for the remote, to turn the television set on, the news anchor speaking in Taiyou, as strange text scrolled on the bottom of the screen. They were talking about a young man, an image of the young man flashed across the screen, a snake-like arrogance played on his face. The image was brief as the man delivered a short statement in Taiyou to a small crowd of reporters, the television then shifted to a variety show of some kind.
βYouβll probably be stuck here a few more days, so Iβll try my best to answer any questions you have. Youβre in a place called Niihama, itβs very far away from where I found you.β Livia said, trying to figure out how to best explain space travel. She knew a little bit about Viking lore from her previous encounters, so she pondered a moment, and then she picked up the phone, saying something briefly in Taiyou.
A moment passed, and the door chimed again, this time a middle aged man in all white walked in. He wore white pants, a white laboratory coat, along with a white surgical mask covering his face, and a white surgical cap that covered his salt and pepper hair, of which only the sideburns could be seen. The man also wore a simple, but stylish set of glasses, and had a stethoscope around his neck, and a nametag. Unlike the nurse, he did not have a cross on his outfit, but a simple Kana symbol embroidered above the right breast pocket, and the universityβs logo.
βHello.β He said in heavily accented english. βI am Doctor Takanaka.β He said, introducing himself. βI am the surgeon that attended to you, I see you are healing nicely.β He said with a hint of pride as he approached the bed.
βHow are you feeling?β The doctor asked. Livia offered a smile as well, explaining something to the doctor in Taiyou, causing the doctor to simply nod.
βYour wounds were very serious, but I think you make full recovery.β Dr. Takanaka added.
But before she could clear her throat to respond, they were suddenly interrupted by a Taiyou police officer of sorts as he opened the door and entered the room, placing his hand on the pistol grip of his holstered sidearm. Livia had quickly signalled to him that everything was okay, and the officer nodded before turning around and leaving the room again. But not before Ragnar Lothbrok had gotten a good look at the ISSP officer, scanning him over front and back quietly and taking note of the brazened man in uniform. The medieval Dano-Swede gathered that he must have been a guard of some kind, for although he was not at all familiar with the people, the setting, or many of the objects in the room, Ragnar had a very keen observation for most people's voices, voice tones, confidence, body postures, military discipline and body language. Ragnar casually glanced at his leather ankle straps before looking at Livia's eyes again silently.
"Well, this King cannot reach you here.β Livia Caesarius commented after turning to look back down at him, having listened to Ragnar's story, a bit taken in by the suffering he had just endured. It was amazing that he was even still alive to tell the tale.
The Argosian Legata walked over to the window and opened it to let some airflow and light into the room. But because he was still partially restrained to the hospital bed and laying down, Ragnar Lothbrok was unable to see much of the cityscape below. What he did notice, however, as his eyes quietly followed Livia's movement to the window and opened it, were the snow-sprinkled rooftops of a few rectangular buildings which had windows on them and appeared to be rather tall. Little did he know at the time just how big that city was, or just how tall those skyscrapers actually were.
He then watched Livia Caesarius grab the remote and turn on the TV, two things that the long lost medieval chieftain had never seen before. Ragnar's face became blank and void of expression as he watched with unblinking eyes, staring at the television screen for a moment before looking back at her with a slightly distrustful look of concern, unsure what to make of it.
"Youβre in a place called Niihama, itβs very far away from where I found you.β she informed him. "Nee-ha-ma", he repeated back to her slowly, making sure he got it right.
The door chimed again, only this time a Taiyou doctor entered the patient's room, wearing a white surgical mask and glasses with a stethoscope draped around his neck. He stepped closer and looked directly down at Ragnar before introducing himself.
"Hello... I am Doctor Takanaka," the doctor said, having a very strong Taiyou accent that was much different than Livia's accent, or the patient's accent for that matter. It was quite obvious that English was not really any of their native languages, and yet it was one of the most common tongues that all three of them seemed to understand. Ragnar gave him a feint smile and a slight nod.
βI am the surgeon that attended to you, I see you are healing nicely.β He said with a hint of pride as he approached the bed. As the doctor spoke, Ragnar would glance at the man's name tag and the university logo on his breast pocket, clearly absorbing everything for the first time with a sort of curiosity that seemed to be quite common among Iskjerne Vikings, only there was something very different about Ragnar Lothbrok that was difficult to pinpoint, probably because he seemed more light-hearted at the moment and wasn't acting very suspicious or violent like the other heathens that the Argosians and Taiyou had encountered on numerous other occasions in the past. This, of course, only added to the mystery of who he was. Clearly, he was not like all the others.
"How are you feeling?β Dr. Takanaka asked him.
"I feel like shit," Ragnar smiled jokingly, his bright blue eyes trailing over to the window again before looking back at the doctor. At that moment, Livia also smiled and mumbled something to the surgeon which the Swedish Dane couldn't understand, and which had sounded to him like the same language the nurse had spoken earlier. Dr. Takanaka nodded before looking back down at Ragnar Lothbrok, his squinted eyes hinting that behind his surgical mask, he was still smiling.
βYour wounds were very serious, but I think you make full recovery.β Dr. Takanaka said, causing Ragnar to make a sort of duck-lipped nod. He then did something that neither Livia and her Praetorians, or the Taiyou had ever seen before from the Vikings they had encountered in the past.
"Thank you" he said, giving the doctor a light-hearted grin, nodding once again with a quiet sense of humility before turning his head to glance up at Livia the Legata with a more serious expression.
"Where exactly -did- you find me?" he asked suddenly, showing that despite his silent and humble demeanor, and their informal small talk, Ragnar Lothbrok had been listening intently the whole entire time while he had been observing.
The Doctor acknowledged the policeman briefly, before slipping past him, letting Livia focus her entire attention on Ragnar Lothbrok. "I found you in the back of a wagon in a place called Iskjerne Bay, on the planet Gaia." Livia replied, letting her attention drift up to a large portrait in particular, one of an older man wearing a silk white kamishimo, and hakama pants. On both sides of the kamishimo's chest, were the chrysanthemum emblem. The man appeared dignified, even regal, the hilt of a Katana jutting out from the Hakama he was wearing.
Livia turned back to Ragnar and offered a frown. "Unfortunately, beyond that, I don't know what to say, you were already in someone's wagon when I found you."
At that moment the door chimed again, this time an older man with greying hair stepped in. He was wearing attire that was vastly different from the doctors, nurses, and other medical staff that had come into the room. He was wearing a purple tunic, adorned with a few golden medallions, and in the crook of his arm was a polished helmet, with a plume of purple, black, and white feathers that spanned in a wide arc across the helmet.
"Ave, Legata." He said, bringing his fist to his chest. "Et hoc paratus est incipiunt altera Generalis operatio. Iskjerne malum ego adduco ab nuntio, quamquam."
"Hrollaug saevus quae reddidit." The man mentioned solemly.
Livia nodded and bore a grimace on her face as she nodded. "Gratias centurio."
Livia muttered a few words in Argosian as the purple clad man offered a brief nod, and bow, he moved to leave the room as quickly as he entered, stopping briefly to move past the officer in the doorway, while Livia briefly thumbed her chin in thought.
"It will probably be a week or so before you are healed." She said to Ragnar. "I have an apartment here, we can stay there until you are strong enough to return to your people." Livia remarked.
"If that's alright with you, unfortunately these people will not allow you to roam freely, and have placed me under responsibility for your welfare." Livia commented, as a Nurse came into the room with a small covered bowl, placing it on the tray in front of Ragnar, this time it was something more familiar, fresh strawberries, and a few slices of oranges, with cherries, and small dollop of sweet whipped cream.
At that moment the door chimed again, and Ragnar was surprised to see an older man walk into the room who appeared to be dressed in more recognizable attire. Ragnar scanned him over with his eyes, still laying back somewhat sprawled out on the hospital bed while gazing up at Livia and the centurion as he introduced himself, bringing his fist up to his chest just as Ragnar had seen Livia do. He gathered that it must have been some way these foreign people used as a sort of salute. Ragnar fiddled with the switches and buttons on the arm rest attached to his bed. After a moment of tinkering with the controls, he discovered that he could cause the bed to recline back and forth. He would begin to play with the tiny joystick, listening to the legata and her centurion as he then, looking rather silly, started to move the bed up and down, making it exaggerate all the way back so that his back was arched humorously and he could glance at the wall behind him, before pushing the joystick forward again and sitting upright as he heard the centurion mention a familiar name.
The Legata and the Centurion had begun talking in Argosian, and although some of their words were hard for him to understand, given the difference in Latinization between their formal dialect and the more stylized one that he had learned from the English priest, Ragnar still managed to understand the gist of their conversation. He understood certain key words like Legata, Iskjerne, Hrollaug, and gracias centurio. In just a few short sentences, Ragnar Lothbrok had gained a great deal of knowledge already, and his brows would sink as the slightly angry, slightly concerned thought of Hrollaug the Walker crossed his mind at that moment.
As Livia spoke with the centurion for a moment, Ragnar regained his thoughts and glanced over to the TV screen, poking at the moving image with his finger tip before looking at the portrait on the wall again, studying the old Asiatic man's hakama trousers, the emblem on his kamishimo winged jacket and the shape of his katana sword. Ragnar looked amused, and was not very impressed at all with the small size, short length and thinness of the slightly curved pommelless single-bladed sword, or the saya that it was in. To the Viking leader, it looked more like a knife than a sword. What peculiar people, he thought silently.
"It will probably be a week or so before you are healed." Livia said after rubbing her chin for a second and looking back down at him. "I have an apartment here, we can stay there until you are strong enough to return to your people." She added, causing him to gaze back up at her.
"Apart...ment?" He repeated back to her, a little confused as to what she meant as he sat back up on his recliner to look at her. But anywhere would be better than the hospital, he figured, before giving a half-nod. "If that's alright with you, unfortunately these people will not allow you to roam freely, and have placed me under responsib--" Ragnar suddenly interrupted her, changing the subject as he motioned one of his bandaged hands towards the portrait on the wall beside him.
"Who is he?" the Viking leader asked as another nurse entered the room, placing a dessert tray down on the bed table in front of him. Ragnar would look down at the mixed fruit entree and smile, nodding humbly to the nurse, appearing more pleased with the items this time. He quickly picked up one of the cherries by the thin stem, swiped it through the dab of whipped cream and sniffed it before popping it into his mouth. Like a savage, he began filling his cheek with the delicious fruit slices, looking up at Livia with a grin. Ragnar didn't seem to be too worried about anything else at all at that moment, and he certainly didn't appear to be the dangerous, menacing figure that many people had thought he would be. Despite his silliness and strange mannerisms, for a man who had nearly perished from his injuries a couple weeks ago, Ragnar actually looked surprisingly comfortable, and perhaps even a little too calm. It was obvious that he had no fear at all, despite the fact that he was still experiencing a minor pain in his side and had his ankles strapped to the bed. Was this really the man that other Vikings feared and told stories about? It was hard to believe.
Livia turned her attention to the portrait after she had been interrupted by Ragnar's inquiry. "That is His Imperial Majesty, Nobuo Takayama." The legata answered, with a modicum of respect for him it seemed as her eyes fell onto the portrait at the end of the room. "He was the Emperor of this place, until his death just recently. His Son, Shimizu, is the current ruling monarch, but this Hospital was named after Nobuo because he was the greatest donor." Livia explained. "He is what you might call a great king who oversees this place, Niihama, which is his kingdom." Livia took great care to explain thing in terms the norseman could understand.
Her gaze moved to the television set, which showed a young man with long black hair combed, and frayed to the side, he was slender, wearing a suit and tie, and was addressing a crowd of reporters in a language similar to the one used by Livia, and the doctors. The man was speaking with an arrogant tone, demeaning whoever he was speaking about, Livia grimaced slightly. "That is the current ruling monarch, Shimizu." Livia said nothing further on the matter, rather she opted to explain a few other things.
"An Apartment is like a house, a large building where there are many houses, we have them on Argos, where many families can share one roof, pooling their money into a shared pot to pay for the property." Livia said, trying her best to explain the communal housing, but instead moved to the curtains, and pulled them aside to let a lot more light into the room, and give Ragnar a better look to the city outside.
"Lots of those buildings are apartments." Livia explained. "Mine is in another part of the city, close to the Imperial Palace."
She watched him eat quietly for a moment, taking time to move around the room, looking at all the equipment, the Doctors had left them alone for a time, but Livia figured she would try to at least get him out of the bed, and moving around. So she opted for the wheelchair that was sitting outside of the hospital room. With one smooth movement, and the scuffling of her shoes on the polished linoleum floor, she grabbed the wheelchair, and slowly started to wheel it into the room. The ISSP officer standing just outside the room paid them no heed, and Livia rolled the wheelchair over by the bathroom, which contained a shower, toilet with bidet, and some sanitary supplies.
Livia rested her gaze back on Ragnar, he was a curious man, unusually calm for the situation they found themselves in, from her previous encounter with men like him, it resulted in battle, and it resulted in conflict for the Taiyou. The Taiyou were especially apprehensive about having another one of their number on Niihama, but Livia had assured them that she would not allow anything to happen.
"You seem to be taking this surprisingly well." Livia remarked, with a slight smile. "You took it a lot better than I did when I found out about this place."
----
Outside, along a bench in one of the hospital's many cooridors, people went about their business paying no heed to the girl seated on the bench, the hospital was afterall a busy place.
Being inside the recovery room, Ragnar was scarcely aware of the people outside in the waiting rooms and lobbies. He was not aware of Tori Scarlett's presence, or Minori Okiumura's presence as she got up from one of the benches, obviously disgruntled about something which neither Ragnar nor Livia could see or hear from the other side of the doorway to the patient's room. Ragnar was still laying on his hospital bed, recovering from his injuries, as Livia tried to explain things to him.
He would soon finish devouring the fruit slices and whipped cream, savoring the flavor, vitamins and nutrients provided by his hosts. It was apparent that he had enjoyed the entrΓ©e, as his face glowed with satisfaction. He watched with widened eyes as Livia then fetched the wheelchair, another strange apparatus that the Dano-Swedish barbarian had never seen before. At that moment, he was suddenly reminded of his crippled son Ivar, and how his brothers used to tow him around in a small wooden wagon when they were younger. Ragnar secretly missed his wives, and his sons, but he suppressed his feelings as Livia finally unfastened his ankle restraints, giving Ragnar Lothbrok the freedom he so patiently desired.
Alas, he was able to move around. Ragnar would sit up again, doing a few neck rotations and shoulder rotations before turning and lowering his legs off the side of the hospital bed, placing his bare feet on the cold white tile floor. He dangled, curled and wiggled his toes, allowing the blood to flow back into his feet. At that moment, a sinister smile formed on Ragnar's face as he humorously stared down at his own feet, wiggling his toes. His retinaculum was still bandaged with gauze and tape which wrapped around the tarsals and archs of his feet from where he had been crucified. He had lost partial feeling in his toes from nerve damage, but given enough time and opportunity, this strong and independent follower of Odin would be able to walk again. Perhaps sooner than later, it seemed, as he placed his hands on the edge of the bed and struggled to push himself up.
Ragnar would stand up slowly, and at that moment, the Argosian Legata would see just how big he really was. For even though his back was slightly arched and he was still slumped over, Ragnar was still considerably taller than she was, and Livia would find herself having to look up just to make eye contact with him. Ragnar Lothbrok was over six feet tall with broad shoulders and lean, powerful muscles, a trait that was quite common among the Vikings due to their rough lifestyle and harsh environment. With his neck bent downward and his shoulders slouched, he continued to stare at his own bare feet for a moment before turning his head to look at Livia with cold blue eyes.
He let out a slight wince and gasp, doing his best to conceal his aches and pains as he turned his body slowly and limped towards her, keeping one hand on the edge of the bed for balance and support. It was obvious that Ragnar was a poker faced, independent, masculine individual who didn't really like being helped, and probably wasn't very used to it either. Even now, in this weakened state, he appeared quite hardened and strong. He moved slowly, dragging one foot in front of the other, taking small baby steps towards Livia, appearing more powerful, bold and daring with each step he took. Even now, the hatred and hardness in his cold gaze had never quite left, and it had seemed as though he was masking his pain behind an expression of anger and fury. Ragnar was a brick, and he had sought to portray that undaunted persona as he limped over to the bathroom, resting one hand on the door frame while nurturing the bandaged spear wound on his side with the other.
Once he reached the bathroom doorway, he would breathe heavily and lower his head again, bending forward slightly to move the hand that was on his side over to the wheelchair, only to let it rest there instead. He would stand there quietly, pausing for a moment to regain his composure again, for his face had turned red and it was clear from his heavy breathing that he was in pain. A small tear of blood started to seep through the wrist bandage on the hand against the bathroom door frame, running down his arm, caused by the loosening of a stitch when he had previously snapped his leather wrist restraint on the hospital bed. But this minor injury paled in comparison to the pain in his side, or the wounds on the bottom of his feet as he lifted his head to gaze up at Livia, suddenly asking a very unpredictable and untimely question.
"Where... are my shoes?" he asked abruptly, wincing in pain. Until now, Ragnar had been wearing absolutely nothing but a simple hospital gown, and was completely naked underneath. Yet apparently, despite everything that had happened to him, the only thing he wanted at that particular moment, was something to wear.
The Legata stood at a demure five foot five inches, so the viking towered almost an entire head over her. Though Livia appeared much smaller in frame, there was evidence she was quite strong, the toned musculature under her skin made that evident, as someone who had endured countless battles. Though she wore modern clothing, faint scars were evident on her skin.
She watched him closely as he moved to make his way over to the bathroom, her face emotionless as her eyes followed his movements across the room.
"You don't have to prove anything to me." She commented as he leaned against the wheelchair. "You're not ready to leave yet, not until the doctors believe you're healed up enough."
She grimaced slightly as she took a step over towards the door. Shimizu was still talking on the television, his haughty, arrogant demeanor was obvious as he addressed what was a crowd of reporters, his face smug, as he detailed some plot to overthrow the government, and how the plot was foiled.
Quickly, she moved over towards him, she placed a firm hand on his forearm, and another one to support him on his lower back, despite her small size, it was obvious she was quite strong, she was trying to help him back over to the bed.
"Let's get you back into the bed, we'll have the doctor check you out, and then we'll leave, okay? I don't want you hurting yourself."
"I'm alright..." He said reassuringly, though obviously still hiding the pain.
He pulled the wheelchair away from the doorway with one hand while supporting himself against the bathroom doorframe with the other as he slowly shuffled his way into the small patient bathroom, looking around. He noticed a sink and mirror, a bathtub with a showerhead and a porcelain toilet. It wasn't much, but to the medieval warrior, it had been the fanciest most elegant setup he had ever seen before in his life. Surely, the emperor was a very wealthy man, he thought to himself as he stood in the bathroom doorway, admiring its inner workings. He scanned the small bathroom, looking up at the ceiling and the tacky wallpaper. To the Argosian Legata, it wasn't very fancy at all. But Ragnar Lothbrok had fought and killed men for less money than it must have cost to build the place, as he picked up the bar of soap next to the sink faucet and brought it to his nose, sniffing it.
Once again, there was an awkward moment of out of place humour, for anyone who peered into the patient's room would find Ragnar standing in the bathroom doorway wearing nothing but a cheap pastel blue hospital gown which left his backside completely exposed and naked. There were many thin striped scars on his back, some more faded than others, from the hundreds of lashings he must have received at the hands of his enemy captors. He would scratch his ass for a moment before leaning forward and looking at his own reflection in the mirror. He grazed his fingertips over the cross-shaped stitches on his forehead, examining the tight, neatly worked threading. It was far superior to any kind of stitches he would have received back home, and he was amazed at the surgeon's craftiness in sewing him up.
After a moment, Ragnar lifted the front of his gown and suddenly started urinating into the bathroom sink, apparently mistaking it for the toilet. Livia could tell right away that it was going to take some time to civilize the medieval barbarian as he shook his little snake and belched loudly before slowly making his way over to the bathtub. He seemed to display no shame at all as he stepped into the bathtub and dropped his gown, not even bothering to close the door or curtains. He seemed to have no concept of privacy, as he stood completely naked in the shower, trying to figure out how to turn the water on. He fumbled with the showerhead for a second before playing with the knobs. After a moment, he figured out how to turn the water on as a hot stream suddenly shot out and hit him in the face, catching Ragnar off guard.
Perhaps as a natural reflex, he immediately slapped the showerhead away from his face as if defending himself from the unperceived threat. At that instant, the metal cord connected to the showerhead was knocked off of the hook and hit the bathtub with a loud scratching clunk that could be heard in the hallway outside the patient's room. Ragnar just stood there quietly, looking rather embarrassed as the bathtub slowly began to fill up with water around his feet. He wasn't used to this sort of setup, but he was observant as he looked down and studied the fixture. He toyed with the shower knobs again and turned the water off, before turning it back on. He then turned it off, and turned it back on. He turned it off again, and then turned the other knob. This time the water that jetted out of the showerhead was cold. Very cold, but for some odd reason he seemed to enjoy it as he began wiggling his toes again before slowly taking a seat and sprawling out in the tub, draping his arms over the side while resting his head back as if he were laying in an open spring.
Livia's grimace turned to a look of bemusement as she watched him survey the interior of the bathroom, she watched him pick up the soap, and sniff it. Was the concept of soap lost on the man? Even before contact with the Taiyou, Livia remembered how the soapmaker in her village would use wood ash, olive oil, lavender, and various other ingredients to craft a fragrant soap that her people used to bathe with. The Argosians had things like baths, and even rudimentary plumbing with lead pipes even before the Taiyou came into the picture.
The moment he lifted his gown and started urinating into the sink, Livia gasped slightly at the sight of such savagery, she even stepped forward to try and stop him. "Ragnar!" She called out, pointing to the toilet beside him. "Thats not for... thats, people wash their hands in that!" She cried out, gesturing to the sink in bemusement, and disgust. "That is where you do your business." She added, pointing to the toilet, moving over to flush it to show that's how you dealt with business in that front. But it was too late, the towering Viking warrior was already moving into the shower. So Livia heaved a slight frustrated sigh, and promptly buried her head in her hands, massaging her brow in frustration as the sound of running water filled the interior of the room. He was making a mess, as he batted the shower head. She even tried to stifle a chuckle, but figured she would leave him to his devices, but not before moving towards a cabinet, and grasping a bottle of shampoo and conditioner, and a bar of soap.
Ragnar's lack of shame, and modesty didn't faze the hardened Legata, as she moved over to the bathtub, first pointing to the knob with the red sticker. "This is hot water." She said, pointing to the knob with the blue sticker, that he managed to figure out. "This is cold, you turn the two knobs until the water is the right temperature." She commented, before grabbing the bar of soap, and dunking it in the water.
"This is soap." She said, dunking her arm in the water, and running the soap across it. "You wash yourself with this." She placed the soap on the side of the bathtub, and then took the shampoo. "You wash your hair, and your beard with this, do not get it in your eyes, it will sting." Livia added, setting the bottle on the bathtub, only to be interrupted by a loud chirp, like the sound of birds chirping incessantly, loudly. Livia stopped, and reached into her jeans pocket, and pulled out her flip phone, and promptly opened it up.
"MoshiMoshi." She said, and then frowned deeply. "I see... Yes he's here... I'll be there as soon as I can." Livia then snapped the phone closed, and looked towards Ragnar. "I'll leave you to get cleaned up, the doctor will check you over, and we'll get you some clothes." She said, stepping up to stand, and make her way out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her to give Ragnar some privacy.
As she dunked the soap in the water, Livia could feel the ice cold water on her arm. For her and her people, the water seemed perhaps a little bit too cold for comfort, yet Ragnar Lothbrok Sigurdsson appeared to be quite relaxed as he remained sprawled out in the tub with his arms resting over the sides, looking at her. To the Legata's surprise, Ragnar didn't even have goosebumps. Apparently, his body had been adapted to the extreme cold temperatures in his homeland. In fact, as the running water in the bathtub was about fifty degrees, to the hardened Northman it seemed quite warm and comfortable. He started to peel his bandages off as the water began to loosen the tape and soak through the gauze. There was still some blood, but not much, and definitely not enough to be life threatening or turn the color of the bath water as he relaxed quietly.
Ragnar didn't say anything about the soap. He knew what it was, as the Vikings in his homeland had used all natural scentless lye soap to wash themselves regularly. In fact, for having a reputation as savages and primitive barbarians, the Vikings were actually some of the most hygienic and cleanest people of their time period. Whereas most medieval cultures were lucky to even find clean water, with high ruling queens, kings and monarchs bathing only once a year, and lower class people rarely bathing at all, the Vikings were known to bathe once a week on average, and the Northmen even had a specific weekday known as Wash Day in the Norse language devoted specifically to hygiene and cleanliness. Their taste for grooming and hygiene was one of the key factors why the Vikings had been able to avoid the bubonic plague that had swept through Europe and Rome as far as Asia, killing thousands.
Ragnar Lothbrok was one of the few exceptions, however. He had in fact contracted the plague, but only after he had decided to raid Europe and make a decent name for himself. He was sick for a very long time, even on his deathbed, but had managed to pull through with the help of some ancient Chinese medicine he had obtained from one of his slaves. It wasn't the first time Ragnar had almost died, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. After all, here he was again, recovering from several lashings and poisonous snake bites inside the Takayama University of Niihama, being cared for by some of the best doctors and nurses in the galaxy. As he took the soap and began rubbing it on his body, it was clear that Ragnar Lothbrok was going to make a full recovery. He had started to rub some of the soap suds through his hair and beard when Livia stopped him and showed him the bottle of shampoo. This was something new to Ragnar, for he had never heard of shampoo before.
Ragnar placed the wet bar of hypoallergenic soap back on the edge of the tub before cautiously taking the bottle of shampoo and conditioner, examining the contents carefully. Once again, he sniffed it before leaning back and making a strange face. There were so many different scents and fragrances throughout the Taiyou hospital, some more natural than others, he thought to himself as he squeezed a large portion of the shampoo and conditioner into his hand, rubbing it into his hair. It was way more conditioner than he actually needed, but he didn't know any better. It was his first time ever accommodating to such a highly technological and advanced civilization. As he continued to bathe himself in the water, squeezing his eyes closed as foamy shampoo ran down his face, suddenly he heard birds chirping. But they weren't like normal song birds. There was something off about them, for they sounded awfully mechanical and artificial to the Viking pagan chieftain.
Even with his eyes closed, Ragnar could tell that something was amiss. He picked up on the tone of Livia's voice as she began talking to someone over the phone. At first he thought she was talking to him, until she continued talking. Ragnar splashed some water on his face and slid down into the bathtub, dunking his head under the water before resurfacing with soaking wet hair wrapped around his face and neck. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and glanced up at Livia as she spoke.
"I'll leave you to get cleaned up, the doctor will check you over, and we'll get you some clothes." she said before standing up and making her way for the door, closing it behind her to give him some privacy. Suddenly, he felt very alone and uncomfortable again. Ragnar gazed around the empty bathroom, taking a mental note of everything once again and storing the images in his brain. He stood up slowly, feeling more revitalized after taking a bath as the water ran down his body back into the tub. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed one of the towels that was hanging on the wall, wiping his face off. His body was still slightly sore, but not nearly as much now that he had loosened up and moved around a bit. After drying himself off, Ragnar wrapped the towel around his waist like a skirt or kilt before opening the bathroom door and stepping back into the patient's recovery room. He grabbed the wheelchair that had been placed for him and sat down on it. He fumbled with the wheels for a moment, trying to figure out how to operate the wheelchair on his own. After a minute, he rolled himself over to the open window, dragging himself on his heels as he pushed the wheels with his hands.
Once he finally reached the open window, Ragnar Lothbrok gazed out over the open city, taking in the view while savoring the wind on his face.
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