Mystic Studies Institute

Carxanius had remained silent for the entire car ride along with the hours leading up to it. It had been an awkward silence that wasn't even broken by a simple goodbye from him or his family. They all knew what this meant, he wouldn't be returning home for the foreseeable future and they probably saw him as some kind of monster after what he did. A classmate of his had began to pick on him and antagonize him outside of school hours while he took walks through the forest. This time the bully had gotten physically violent with him and he didn't take well to it. Carxanius hadn't known that this person had a mystical side to him which had kept him alive with magical energy. Carxanius pushed the boy away forcefully only to see a shriveled and dried up body on the ground when he stood up. His parents knew what had to be done once they found out a week later.

He stepped out of the vehicle after giving the driver a blank stare, his feet crushing a few leaves in the process. He didn't like this place already, the strange atmosphere it had along with the stifling sensation it brought was overwhelming alone. But there was also the feeling of lots of magical energy inside the building. He had a feeling that this wouldn't be an easy experience at all. He adjusted his baseball cap and brushed a few errant strands of hair away from his eyes before slowly making his way towards the building, his eyes roaming back and forth across the building to get a good idea of how big it was.

Carxanius took a seat at one of the open chairs, still silent as ever while he waited for a doctor to show up. That stifling feeling was even stronger inside the building now. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, looking around the area silently. He didn't show it but there was a slight throbbing pain in his heart area. This was a common thing for him at this point although he used to take medication to alleviate it at one point in his life.

Leigha stepped into the hall, tapping the underside of her clipboard lightly. "Mr. Eldreanore?" She asked, noticing him sitting by himself in the cavernous foyer. "I am Dr. Amerson, I'll be handling a basic check-up and interview."

Based off the information in his file, he was a rather special person. He had some sort of parasite that resulted in his abilities. Leigha was facinated by it, and figured the check-up would be an interesting one.

He hadn't taken notice of the doctor until she had said his last name. He didn't like how abnormal it was. Too noticeable on paper. But it was his last name so he didn't have much of a choice on that matter. "Yep, that would be me." He said in response. It felt a bit odd to speak after being silent for so many hours. He stood up and stretched his arms for a moment before laying one hand back over his chest as a bout of pain hit him once again. "Let's just get this over with." He said quietly to himself.

He couldn't quite tell if she knew about his parasite but the thought of her knowing felt a bit uncomfortable. His family had already been uncomfortable around him because of it and he didn't want that trend to continue.

Leigha led him to a medical examination room, and motioned for him to sit on the examination table. She set her clipboard down on the counter, and began preparing a few medical instruments.

"I'm just doing a few basic tests, blood pressure, pulse and such. Then I need a measurement of your height and weight. After a simple interview, I'll show you to your room," she explained, going over the process.

Carxanius took a seat on the table and rolled up the sleeve on his left arm. "What exactly do you all do here? I don't really see why you all would have someone like me here after what I did." He said, looking around the room curiously.

He didn't have a whole lot of experience with doctor's visits. It really only extended to the occasional checkup and the examination after he had become host to the parasite now in his heart. He had been told that it was mostly benign at the time, although he knows better given what has happened lately.

"We study those with arcane or unusual abilities. We're here to help you further understand your powers, and develop a common knowledge of magic and it's origins," She explained, as she wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Carxanius' arm.

She took the reading and recorded the results, checking how it seemed to correlate with his current condition. She picked up a small, rectangular device for taking pulse levels, and gently attached it to his finger.

Carxanius was a bit intrigued from her statements but didn't let it show too much. The idea of the people here working to study and gain knowledge on magic made him think of secret government funded projects that try and find a practical use for magic for the public whether as a way to produce energy or make life safer and more convenient for the general public. Maybe this place wouldn't be too bad for him to stay after all. If he could find a practical use for his draining ability maybe he could make up for the things he had done.

Both the blood pressure test and the pulse test would come up being higher than what is expected of someone his age. He was in a resting state so physical activity was off the table. In addition, the pulse reader would pick up on an irregular pulse rhythm in his body, seemingly an additional weak pulse after every three to five regular pulses. It seemed that whatever the parasite was, it had a negative influence on his cardiovascular system to some degree.

The readings she'd recieved from the blood pressure and pulse tests she'd just finished were rather intriguing. It was higher than average, and his pulse was unusually varied. Whatever the parasite was, it was certainly slowly taking a tole on him.

"Thank you," she said, packing away her instruments after cleaning them. "All that's left is a quick height and weight check." She motioned to the large scale in the corner of the room.

Carxanius slid his shoes off and took his hat off his head, causing his dark brown hair that had been hidden underneath to cascade down to the base of his neck. It was a bit longer than expected but had evidence of being maintained rather well. He stepped over onto the scale which registered him at 118 lbs and standing at just around 5'7.

"My pulse was weird, wasn't it?" He asked rhetorically. He already knew it was wrong. He found out during a gym class recently and he had kept silent about it this whole time. He had a hunch that it had been the parasite causing this but he couldn't say for certain since he never got it evaluated.

Leigha recorded the height and weight measurements in a chart on her clipboard. "My pulse was weird, wasn't it?" He asked. The doctor nodded, sighing. "Yes, it was abnormal," she confirmed. "And I believe you know better than anyone the only logical source."

She flipped to a page on her clipboard with the interview questions, having a feeling that this interview would be most important.

"I've had my suspicions at least. I've also had to deal with chest pains from it as well." He said, relieved that she at least knew of the parasite. He didn't want to explain the cause to people so he was glad for that at least. He stepped off of the scale and sat back down, returning his shoes to his feet and the hat to his head, letting his hair simply hang down from the hat instead of tucking it back into the hat again.

Leigha nodded as she turned to face him. "That's to be expected... I have a few questions for you, just for an interview. If any of the questions make you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to answer them," she said.

"First of all, what is the extent of your powers? What do they fully allow you to do?"

Carxanius looked at her for a moment before looking down to his hands. "I'm not entirely sure of what I can do but I know that I can drain magical energy from living beings that have any and that can kill them sometimes if I'm not careful." He said, clasping his hands together in his lap. He sounded pained when he answered, as if he was reliving an unpleasant memory.

Leigha nodded, realizing the burden and pain that must've come from such an ability. Almost like a curse.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me about any changes you experienced after becoming host to the parasite? Anything abnormal you noticed may be of value," she continued.

Carxanius thought for a moment. He'd been host to this thing for almost a year now so there was a lot to consider. "I've been more aware of magic. Like I can't explain it very well but I can tell when there's magic nearby. I'm also able to live on magic kind of. If I absorb magic I can go without eating for a while but if I don't absorb enough I begin to starve and lose weight. I've also just felt more in shape as well but I'm not sure if that's because of the parasite." He spoke slowly, trying his best to recall as much as he could. He did keep a log of some of these things back at home but he never told anyone and he didn't think about bringing it along with.

Leigha quickly began filling in more file information, muttering to herself. She was lost in theories and possibilities, then realized she had a job. Snapping back into focus, she asked a third and final questios.

"That's all very interesting, thank you for sharing," she said, before reading the last inquiry off her clipboard. "What kind of pain or negative effects have you felt? Has this pain progressed or intensified in any way, or under certain circumstances?"