Kuta glanced around the recovery room. They were tired, but they refused to sleep. They had just had surgery while conscious, and while everything had gone incredibly smoothly, Kuta felt weird. Like something was wrong.
“How are you feeling, Kuta?”
Kuta’s main doctor, Fetiir, was standing in the doorway. They seemed slightly blurry.
“Uneasy and anxious and scared.” Kuta decided to be upfront. Rethans being upfront with their emotions was somewhat rare, but Kuta had never been a normal Rethan. Despite being a hundred years old, Kuta looked like they were in their mid thirties, and had a somewhat childlike personality at times.
“Oh? Why?”
“That whole surgery felt wrong.”
“How comes?” Fetiir asked. “Everything went fine. Standard procedure. Is it because you were awake for it? You did get to see things most do not, because they are normally fully anaesthetized. Perhaps you were picking up on our thoughts as we worked?”
“No, no… I… I feel bad for saying this but…” Kuta glanced around the room. “I tend to be a good judge of character, for somewhat obvious reasons. But I just got… really bad vibes off that Doctor Inis…”
“Oh?” Fetiir was still confused. “All the staff seem to like Doctor Inis. Very smart, very clean and organized, very friendly. Lalkar was very happy with their work too… Is it because Inis has falsely coloured eyes?”
Kuta blinked. “What? No! Of course not! After all, I have falsely coloured eyes too! I… I do not know, they just make me feel uneasy. As if they are too friendly. As if they… were almost too curious in me.”
“To be fair, you are a very curious person. But you are one of many of my curious patients. I think Inis was only interested because you had something they believed was new and undocumented. They are very dedicated to their work in oncology, and you were one of two potentially unique cases here in this hospital recently. Speaking of which… I have some very, very good news for you!”
“What news…” Kuta was still feeling uncertain. Almost visually uneasy. Fetiir picked up on that anxiousness, then checked the file at the end of Kuta’s bed. As they scanned through a list of recent medication, they picked something up.
“Well, before I tell you, I think your anxiety currently may be a side effect from the sedative we used. Combined with the local anaesthetic, it can have a side effect of intense paranoia. Which your unusual traits tend to intensify. Anyway, first off, let me remove your straps.”
Kuta blinked again. They had forgotten that they were still strapped to the bed. It was standard practice for Rethans, since they often moved around a lot when unconscious, and since Kuta had just had surgery while awake, strapping them down was definitely a good thing, even if the local anaesthetic had numbed everything below Kuta’s chest.
Fetiir did as they said they would, and now that Kuta had free movement, they did feel better.
“So, the good news!” Fetiir smiled. “We did a biopsy on the lump that we removed. It is 100% non-malignant, it has been completely removed from your body and it turns out not to be anything too strange. The lump was a teratoma, just a very dense one.”
“What… is a teratoma?” Kuta asked.
“Oh… to put it simply, it is a tumour that is made up of several types of tissue. They are quite common on the ovaries or the testes, and the location of yours was typical. The only reason it was unusual was because it had a bit of plating on the outside of the lump.”
“… Plating?”
“Teratomas do sometimes contain pieces of plating, as well as muscle, fat and occasionally even teeth, in extreme cases. Yours was mostly just muscle and fat, with the plating on the outside.”
Kuta blinked. “That is disgusting.”
“Well, the insides of our bodies are somewhat gross. They are full of blood, bones, organs, tubes, hormones and other fluids, not to mention vast amounts of bacteria. Our bodies are a mess of things sealed up in skin and armour. Really, it is a miracle that we even function, and without the deities’ guiding hands, we would probably just be nothing but lumps ourselves.”
“That… does not make me feel better…” Kuta muttered. “Still, I am very thankful that it was nothing serious, and I am thankful for your hard work. When can I leave?”
Fetiir glanced at Kuta’s patient files again, then frowned. “Inis and Lalkar recommended you stay for 24 hours. Lalkar wants to do a final ultrasound scan in two hours and you need some time for the incisions to properly heal up.”
“And to remove the stitches?”
“Oh, do not be silly! We have been using a special bio-organic thread for decades now, that dissolves harmlessly over time. But that being said, you do need to stay lying down. You do not want to tear the stitches. You also need to wait for the anaesthetic to completely wear off. After the 24 hours rest here in the recovery ward, you are to rest at home for two days, doing no strenuous activities, you will have to come in for a check-in after those two days are up for a final scan, and then, assuming nothing comes up, you can go back to work proper.”
Kuta thought for a moment, then shrugged. “That… is reasonable.”
“Normally the recovery times would be longer, but, and I will be blunt here, you are a supernatural being.”
“Hah!” Kuta snorted. “That is very true. Is there any other news?”
“I do not think so. A nurse will stop by in a moment to bring back your belongings and clothes, although I request that you keep your armour off for now. I have other patients to check on, so get some rest, alright?”
“Yes, doctor.”
Fetiir smiled, then left the room. As they had said, a nurse came by, placed Kuta’s belongings on a nearby table, then placed their communicator by Kuta’s hand, before rushing off again. Immediately, Kuta grabbed the communicator and checked it for messages. One was from Taliv, asking when Kuta would be back in the office, just so they and their fellow captains could make the correct arrangements, but also asking something about the deity tracking that Kuta didn’t really care about right now. Retvik had sent a couple of messages, hoping that Kuta was alright, telling them they were brave and that everything would be fine. There was also a message from the High General, wishing Kuta a speedy recovery. However, Kuta also had a single missed call, from General Ritlir, of the 10th Legion. Kuta replied to all the messages, then decided to call Ritlir back.
As always, Ritlir took a few moments to answer. They were a busy person, after all.
“Hello Kuta! Are you alright? I heard you went to the hospital for something urgent and was worried!”
“I am fine, Ritlir, but I do appreciate your concern.”
“What happened? Taliv and Tessar said it was cancer!”
“It was a teratoma. But it was removed, and I am fine now.”
“Oh. Good!” Ritlir sounded chirpy, but there was some uncertainty in their voice. “Which doctors did you see?”
“Um…” That question instantly made Kuta nervous. “I only really spoke to my main doctor, Fetiir, and the oncology doctor, Lalkar.”
“Did you… see a doctor Inis?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Oh. Alright. That is good. They are an expert. Let me know when you are back on your feet, I would like to meet up with you and talk over cookies and drinks. We need to chat more.”
Kuta smiled. “Were you worried about me?”
“Yes. You only told your Legion you were having surgery. While, yes, you did tell me about your recent problems, I was very worried when you went in so quickly.”
“I was too, but it seems everything is fine.”
“Good, good! Anyway, I need to get back to work. Speak soon, Kuta!”
“You too, Ritlir. Stay safe.”
“Goodbye!”
Kuta closed the call. While they had been briefly concerned by Ritlir’s words, it did just seem that their old captain was just worried as a friend. With a smile, Kuta put their communicator down, then decided to get some rest.