#adjustable serotonin & dopamine ring

[toysoldiers-rwby]

[CS] 10. Learning Pains

Cutting Strings

Characters: Penny Polendina, Aurora Glade, Winter Schnee, May Marigold Word Count: 5.5k

Everything crumbles under a weak foundation.

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Faunus Oddities: 1  

Penny looked down at Aro, watching her carefully. She breathed in, and in, and in. So deep Penny thought she was part Aquarian mammal. On the exhale she pressed her hand firmly, but gently to avoid waking her up, on Aro’s exposed cleavage, as close to the center of her lungs as possible-  

“Wha…”  

Penny locked her joints. She could feel several hydrolic system stiffen, making her jerk anyway. Thankfully Aro was exhausted from yesterday’s combat class. Her scared ears twitch and she cuddled her pillow, hair splayed out without any horns to cradle it in.  

Winter and May looked mildly amused but mostly confused. Winter cleared her voice, speaking in a normal volume this time. “What, pray tell, are you doing Ms. Polendina?” Winter asked, her voice faux professional. Her cool mask soften by slight tilt of her lips and raised brow. Though she did still held her hands behind her back.  

“I’m trying to figure out if Aro purrs,” Penny answered.  

“Can’t feel it even though you laying on her?” Winter asked, her voice perfectly leveled. May grabbed her shoulder biting a finger to refrain from laughing. She did snort when Penny stuck her tongue out at her.  

“My sense of touch is… not sensitive.” Penny answered carefully. It was a wonder her father got it working at all. Penny settled back on Aro again, careful not to knock her leg off of the couch. Penny had missed her chance to gather data and had to wait. Again Aro took a deep breath that went on far too long. Long enough for May to comfortably lean against the back of the couch and for Winter to hover next to her.  

On the exhale Penny placed her hand back on Aro’s cleavage. Luckily organic beings had remarkably even breathing when they sleep, so it was easy for Penny to keep an even pressure-  

"I definitely heard something," May mubmled, understandably skeptical. “But she’s a goat Faunus.”  

“Feel it!” Penny grabbed her hand and dragged it to Aro’s chest. She tried to pull it out but Penny adjusted her grip and strength.  

“This is so inappropriate!” May hissed, blood quickly rising to her cheeks. “You fell asleep on her again! It’s alright if you- well not touch but- but!” Penny pouted and let go. May barely stopped herself from flying backwards.  

“You said it was bad to touch strangers without asking.”  

“This is, it’s different- Winter!?” May’s voice took on an odd strangled and restricted tone as she failed to stop from yelling. Winter had placed a hand on Aro’s chest and another delicately around her neck. Penny was a little worried about how much blood seemed to be in May’s face but she was also enthralled at the pressure Winter needed to maintain around Aro’s neck. “What are you doing?!”  

“Trying to listen and feel, Marigold.” Winter answered. She leaned in and closed her eyes, ear directed at Aro. Finally on the next exhale there was that soft sound again. Winter nearly jumped. Instead she pressed just a little more on the hand on Aro’s chest until the noise drifted off. “Aurora purrs.”  

“I told you!”  

"She does not! She’s a goat." May yelled back.  

“I didn’t peg you as a racist.”  

Winter jerked back while Penny and May screamed. Thankfully the deaf women didn’t wake up startled. Instead she roused gently from all the movement. Penny made an odd noise. Perhaps a yelp as she was suddenly shifted and held. Aro had clasp a hand on her should to leverage herself into a sitting position while her other one was on Penny’s waist to make sure she didn’t fall off. The metal women went from nestled atop Aro to in her lap.  

Penny stilled trying to calm her processors. Her father was able to upgrade a few drivers to better accommodate all the physical sensations but the artificial skin wasn’t meant to be artificial, but rather synthetic, in combination with organic analysis and inputs. Too much all at once caused her Aura to glitch her systems, a flood warmth and power to hardware that didn’t need it. Such as the one that simulated dopamine and serotonin.  

From the kitchen Xanthic and Ciel grinned and sneered. Xanthic looked at May and Winter, signing something. Penny’s sign language has gotten better but she didn’t feel accomplished when the only sign she recognized was ‘forget’.  

“Did ya’ll forget my house is bugged?” May whispered to Winter. The Specialist groaned into a hand. Aro snapped her fingers, getting their attention and signing at them with a frown. May cleared her throat and translated. “What… are you all doing?”  

“These idiots,” May pointed at Winter and Penny. “Was trying to find out… if you purred.” May said.  

Aro nodded. Though in understanding or confirmation was unsure. She paused to wake up a little more. She stretched her back and arms high above her head. Penny watch, her shoulders and arms flexed. She could see the muscles in her neck and shoulder jerk. From Penny’s place on her lap she could feel several joints pop back in place.  

Lazily reaching for May’s hand she pressed it firm on her bralette covered chest, fingers splayed wide. May let out a strangled noise body tense and blood rushing to her head. Her posture relaxed a little when a deep and loud rumble vibrated from Aro’s entire torso.  

Penny tensed. Nearly feeling her Aura surged to several systems. Particularly her visual analysis, which was for some reason searching out May’s reaction, and her incomplete sensation of touch.  

May took her hand back, signing back to Aurora. “Okay, okay. The goat can purr.” Aro gave a tired and crooked grin, ears wiggling slowly and lethargically. Penny allowed her leader to slide her onto the couch.  

“Shall I get ready now or make breakfast first?” Xanthic translated this time.  

“Get ready now.” May said, her signs stressing ‘now’. Aurora laughed, grabbing the baggy shirt from the armrest and walking up the stairs. Penny noted how May’s eyes traveled Aurora’s form, lingering where the shirt barely covered her bare thighs and boy shorts. Winter’s gaze was similar to Penny’s brushing across her neck and chest.  

Once out of sight, May practically collapsed over the couch. She had a hand over her chest. Her heart must be beating hard, trying to spread her blood across her body instead of just pooling at her cheeks, ears and neck.  

“I’m dead. This had to be a dream.”  

“I don’t think the dead can dream,” Penny said a little slowly. Her commentary was usually interpreted as ‘snark’ rather than facts. But Winter and Ciel laughed so Penny didn’t mind too much.  

“Considering how tame that was it’d consider it a nightmare.” Xanthic called from the kitchen. “You’ve been crushing on her for what? Five years and not even fucking in your dreams?”  

“I don’t know it definitely had that softcore porn vibe until you interrupted,” Ciel said, her dry tone-  

“Wait, what?!” Penny asked. She felt her circuits nearly frying. Her general knowledge included basic sex education. Basic. Between human men and women. For analytical reasons she was able to recognize signs arousal and simulation but her processors struggled to directly link her own actions to intercourse.  

It was easier when she remembered how flush May was. With new context her processes suddenly rewrote May’s lingering gaze as ‘hungry’ and Winter’s hands on Aurora changed to possessive. Then dominating.  

“Oh.” Penn took a deep breath, trying to cool down her power unit. Her temperature was slowly increasing to dangerous limits. Luckily Winter handed her a glass of water and she gulped it down. Penny will have to do more research… Perhaps she’ll request Aro to make her one of those backdoor Scrolls.  

Morning classes was a little difficult to focus on. As students of the Accelerated Program their schedule was altered to focus on their strengths and smooth out any weaknesses. Team APCX was smart, as a team their academic scores passed most fourth years so they focused heavily on combat training, Grimm studies, and military vehicles and other equipment.  

Physical Conditioning was in their morning routine. While the other students try their best to regulate their behavior around Aurora and Xanthic, they prefer to completely avoid them locker rooms. They were too intimidated by the pair, even if their civilian lifestyle meant their bodies weren’t as tone.  

Those brave enough to share the same row of lockers as Team APCX were also controlled enough not to stare. Unlike Penny who took far too long to change. Her eyes constantly wandered to Aurora.  

“Soo,” This time Aro held Penny’s stare. She crossed her arms under her sports bra, “Any other Faunus related curiosities I can satisfy?”  

“I think I’m legally obligated to stop you two from fucking,” Xanthic said in her usual dead drawl, “It’d be unfair to May.”  

“Blatantly ignore the actual law in front of your Officer teammate,” Ciel scowled. She then looked at Penny and Aro. No matter how hard Penny tried to focus her gaze on the floor her peripherals kept her alert to any movement. “Serious request, no more softcore porn.”  

“You two should fuck if that’s where your mind goes. They were being completely appropriate,” Aro laughed. Her voice was loud and ringing in the locker rooms. Penny was vaguely aware of clothes shuffling and metal clacking against metal as lockers closed. “Hold on, I got another Faunus secret to show off.” Aro pushed off her locker and walked towards the more populated area in nothing but her sports bra and boyshorts.  

Ciel and Xanthic sneered as there were some shocked noises. A gasp of surprised and louder slamming lockers. A few of the shyer students hurried out of the locker rooms.  

“Hey Neon.”  

“Good morning Aro! How badly did you piss off General Ironwood to get Conditioning in the morning.”  

“As bad as you, it seems.” Aro laughed. “Can I brow your nunchakus?”  

“Of course- Oh! Are you gonna show them your freckles!!”  

“… It was a surprise.”  

Neon Katt came around the corner, dragging Aro behind her. Unlike Team APCX she was partially change for a military work out.  

“Fun fact! A lot of nocturnal Faunus,” Neon stressed, eyes on Aro who only rolled her glowing ones in return. “And some other types have a secondary coloring only visible under UV and neon lights!” She cracked her nunchakus, a bright purple light imitating out, then held them to Aro’s skin. Under the violent glow bright blue and pinks dotted her cheeks and down her neck. Further down there were intricate… patterns across her chest…  

Penny had to focus really hard on the scientific mysterious to keep her hands from wandering. It was easier to put them in nonsexual context when Neon shined the glowing nunchakus on her torso. Her pattering was large sports that grew into large planes. It wasn’t as intricate or bright.  

“Wow, that sure is interesting to my cybernetic eyes,” Xanthic drawled. Neon and Penny giggled as the hacker finished dressing for class. "I’ll wait outside and stall if you idiot take too long with the anatomy lesson."  

“You seriously need to get laid,” Neon taunted. She slipped her shirt completely on and following her out. “I’m sure Ivori would-”  

“I’m like 20… Wait I think 21. Find someone older.”  

Their chatter slowly faded among the crowd. Ciel held her Scroll to her locker, and was satisfied when it clicked closed. She left and Penny focused on changing, trying to keep her eyes forward even as her partner waited patiently.  

“No more Faunus questions…” Aurora’s teasing tone drifted off. She closed her eyes briefly, ears shifting around out of habit as she focused her senses through her aids. Penny paused, waiting for her to continue and was a little startled when her hand was suddenly on her abdomen. Her processors struggled with the input. The area wasn’t as vulnerable as organic ones but it wasn’t a common area to be touched. Perhaps May had a point about inappropriate touching and asking permission.  

Aro to lean in and splay her hand wide across her artificial skin. The pressure she applied gradually increasing, glowing eyes watching her hands. Her artificial skin didn’t give as much as organic ones…  

“Penny, there is no one in the else in the room.” Aurora whispered. The tone was tense. Her power unit slowly leveled its output, the simulators mimicking serotonin gradually stopping. For a moment. Aro’s hand brushed a completely flat surface.  

Organics had belly buttons.  

“How much of you is metal? Is… is this why I never see you eat anything solid?”  

“That’s…” Penny struggled to answer. Aro lifted her hand off her and took a step back. Her head and brows tilted with worry. There were so many protocols it choked her from saying what she wanted. “That’s classified.” Penny said. Pain flickered across Aro’s features before Focus could hid it. Penny never saw her ears pointed so low and she never wanted to see it that way again. Aro sared at her for a few moments before nodded and leaving the room quietly.  

Penny took a breath and rested her head against the cool metal locker. She stopped all thought that wished for the impossible, such as the simulations that weighed Winter and Aro’s reactions. Penny knew May would be furious. The Happy Huntresses would steal Elm’s rocket launcher and shoot it at General Ironwood.  

Penny slapped her cheeks and focused.  

Her next test was the Vytal Festival a few months away. Perhaps if she does well Ironwood would feel safe and confident enough tell Winter…  

Neon and Aro was already on the track, stretching. This time Harriet was able to join them, adjusting settings to randomly create hard-light obstacles or even rotate the individual tracks backwards or forwards.  

Ciel and Xanthic were doing more general body conditioning with Flint and Ivori. As Accelerated students they were privileged to the more advance training equipment but also had higher expectations. She could see Xanthic eye the panel their instructor was using to set up the usual suicides run and weights. Ciel elbowed her partner, a warning glare to not hack the technology.  

A loud explosion signaled the start of the speedster’s race, plus Aro. For once the mechanic was leading right from the start. Harriet seemed to struggle to catch up, her semblance needing a warm up to reach top speeds.  

For those with well-conditioned bodies and above average strength, Atlas Academy decided to focus on strength and Aura. Penny and Kobalt went through their usual warm ups at their own pace. Penny did it to blend in at first, but found that it helped her Aura and power unit prioritize and optimized her systems.  

Her conditioning consisted of maintaining high Aura concentrations to bolster their physical bodies and further increase their offensive and defensive capabilities. Kobalt was skeptical of Penny at first. But after the first day of taking metal fist to her sides with little damage to her Aura levels he looked at her as a challenger. The rest of team FNKI and APCX were worried. That expression slowly stopped after the first few days but sometimes Ivori or Ciel would stare a little long. Aro adjusted much slower.  

“Aah, fuck!” Her face slammed right into a hard-light barrier and she stumbled back. Neon laughed, passing her and taking second. The mechanic didn’t get up right away, instead looking at Penny with guilty eyes.  

Penny looked away first and focused on her Aura before each impact from the robot’s fist. She tried to ignore the several blast that rang out from the track. After defensive conditioning, Penny’s next exercise was continuous Aura control. She’ll push a heavy block of metal, only unlocking the gears that bolt it down when her Aura level was at the threshold. Below and it would lock. If it was below for too long the block would slowly reset and push Penny back to the starting point.  

By the time their hour and half Conditioning class was done both Teams were exhausted.  

“I hate it when Harriet joins,” Neon mumbled as they walked into the lockers. “All we do is run!”  

“My legs are on fire…” Aro mumbled. This time Aro wandered directly into the showers, not bothering with her clothes or even closing the stall as she stood under the cool stream. It hissed angrily at her augments, cloud of steam quickly filling the showers.  

Penny stared at her for a moment. Normally she would gather her clothes and slipped into another stall, opening her own vents and letting the cold water chill her systems. But Aurora really pushed her prosthetic this time. She was able to overtake Harriet twice. She even in regular sparing it would overheat. While not on literal fire, the temperature could be dangerous.  

“Would you like some assistance in removing your prosthetics?” She asked.  

“No softcore porn!” Xanthic said. Some students chuckled softly, too exhausted to be shy. Neon let out a whistle.  

Aro didn’t reply or respond.  

Penny looked closer. She didn’t see the blue glow of her eyes through the steam. She tried to calm the protocols that instantly went to the worse scenario. Her tired Aura seemed to awaken again, energy suddenly flooding her system. It ramped up, as Penny took a step for closer observation. She barely saw any glow from all of Aurora’s cybernetics and augments. She definitely could hear it humming loudly over the shower- Aro’s body suddenly buckled. Penny watched as all power in her legs flickering off.  

“Aurora!” Penny lunged forward, catching her. Her footing slid across wet tiles and she slammed with unfamiliar weight pressed on her. Penny took a sharp breath. The metal prosthetic really was at a dangerous temperature, even for her. She quickly adjusted to make sure her artificial skin didn’t melt. “Aurora!” Penny laid a hand across her forehead and pulled her hand back. The horns around her head was the same dangerous temperature, even when it was directly under the cold spray.  

“Move!” Xanthic shoved Neon and a few random students aside. In the hacker’s hands was Aro’s Scroll and red flashing warnings. “Agh! That idiot overheated- Neon! Get some medics!”  

“R-Right away!” Neon was out of the room, a rainbow trail lingering behind her.  

“Don’t!” Penny quickly stopped Xanthic from reaching out with her bare hands. “It’s too hot.” The hacker’s solution was to slip off her shirt, taking the extra time to thoroughly soak it in the water before wrapping it around the cybernetic legs.  

Penny felt around Aro’s skull for that hidden button for her aids. She ignored several warnings about temperature or how all her senses felt numb. She struggled to trace the cybernetics to a familiar spot she’d seen Aro press down on before. She didn’t flinch at the hot steam blowing in her face when she finally found the manual release.  

Everything was oddly numb but focused. Her own senses narrowed down to the single stall and Aro’s breathing. Every so often Xanthic’s voice would pierce the fog but Penny moved without conscious thought. Her hands felt around Aro’s thighs without order. Pressing on the manual release when she barely felt the seam.  

She murmured an apology, automatic and flat as Xanthic scrambled away from the steam. Penny released the other prosthetic and the hacker kicked the metal into another stall and turned the cold water on it. Penny was about to carry Aurora out but Xanthic stopped her.  

“Penny!” It took a few yells of her name for her to focus. Xanthic’s expression was nearly grounding. It was too conflicted, too concern to calm Penny down but it was enough to get her to listen. “Her… both of our augments are deeper than they look.” The hacker confessed.  

Penny braced the women against her own chest. It slowly turned into a hug. She faught the instinct to hold her tighter. She could barely differentiate Aro’s breathing from the spray of water. She knew a tight grip would only do more harm so Penny focused on what she could feel. Aro’s steady heartbeat against her own Aura wild chest.  

That grounded Penny. Xanthic pressed a well-hidden button at the base of Aro’s neck. After holding it down for three seconds, several slits along her skull but mostly her neck opened and vented out more steam.  

Aurora let out a low groan that rolled and vibrated through her chest. Physically Penny relaxed. She adjusted her hold on Aro to angle her better under the cold water. Internally she felt ready to combust herself. Fear driving her systems so hard they temporarily malfunctioned and now her processors were trying to fix corrupted or missing data. Penny dropped her head onto Aro’s shoulder. Her skin was much cooler now but still a dangerous 106 degrees.  

The last conscious thing Penny remembers is watching the medics lay a soaking wet yet still feverish Aurora Glade onto a stretcher and pushing her away. Harriet gave Penny a look that barely held any guilt. “Team APCX will be notified when she wakes up.”  

Her high cognitive functions didn’t return until lunch. She remembered a few hours after Aro feinted, Xanthic was called to assist in something regarding Aro’s technology. As Xanthic’s primary supervisor Ciel was forced to follow. Penny took notes throughout her classes with no real attention to what the instructors were saying. True to routine her body automatically wandered to the mess hall but Penny stopped. Without her teammates she had no reason to enter and pretend to be organic.  

“Salutation Penn!” May’s voice called out. Penny turned around to see the Huntress approaching her. She found herself burying her face into her shoulder, the pressure somewhat relieving the Aura building behind her eyes.  

“Hey, hey,” May gently whispered to her. Her hands rubbed up and down Penny’s back attempting to calm her down. “Aurora will be okay. She survived the journey from Menagerie to Atlas and several White Fang assassination attempts. She won’t die from her own augments.”  

Penny buried her face deeper into May’s shoulder and nodded. She knew it was an unreasonable feeling but her protocols, processors, no line of code knew how to rationalize the fear and worry. Instead the same thoughts looped as if it would answer herself. What if her overheating cybernetics caused permanent neural damage? What could she have done to prevent possible said damage? How much metal Aro had hidden under the surface? Then Xanthic’s suspicions of experimentation-  

Her thoughts clouded her analysis and kept spiraling until May pulled her into an unfamiliar area of the Academy. The dorms. APCX was one of the few teams that didn’t live together or on campus. Xanthic’s home was slowly becoming their usual base of operations but everyone also had their own places to retreat too.  

In the elevator May pushed the button for one of the highest floors. When it stopped she popped the ceiling open. “By the Brothers,” She chuckled, “Winter was right, they still haven’t fixed this yet.”  

“Where are we going?” Penny asked.  

“It’s a surprise!” May said as if it was a suitable answer. She easily jumped through the hatch and offered Penny a hand. The metal women tried smiled and a pretended to accept her help. The elevator shaft looked a little unkempt, with a large panel missing in between floors. Before them was an open crawl space dust and cobwebs caused May to hesitate long enough for lock on the elevator cable to open and it slowly lowered.  

“Ah, fuck!” May jumped into it and Penny followed after. Luckily the pair didn’t trip on each other. They barely had enough room to walk normally and getting tangled or pressed against each other would be uncomfortable for May. The Huntress pulled out her Scroll, illuminating the crawl space for herself.  

“Ugh. I remember this place being a lot bigger.” May muttered. Due to the thin space she occasionally bumped into her. Penny grabbed her hand and held onto it. It was a numb feeling and she wasn’t sure why she did it until May squeezed back and flashed her a small smile. Whatever locked Penny’s systems at minimum finally lifted enough to at least try and recuperate May’s efforts.  

“Can I get hints to where we are going?”  

“Depending on what you ask.” May answered.  

“Is it a restricted area?”  

May laughed, “Of course! Those make the best hideouts.”  

“Is it… surveillance?”  

May’s grin turned a little wicked for a moment, “Nope.”  

“Does Xanthic know about it?”  

May winked, “I’m the better spymaster.”  

Before Penny could ask any more question they reached the end of the crawl space. May carefully pushed the wall, trying to slide it up out of it slits. It took four tries but it eventually popped out and she slide it aside. She had forgotten it was in the middle of the day. Her internal clock had told her lunch would be finishing soon and she should be making her way to Military Machinery Operations class. She deleted the internal reminder and adjusted the aperture in her eyes to filter less light in.  

May stepped out onto a hidden platform, shadowed by another overhanging piece. The view was unobstructed by other buildings. While it wasn’t at the very edge of Atlas, it was tall enough to get a view of Mantle below and the white snow of Solitas that stretched around for miles.  

“Welcome to the… uh…” May’s boisterous voice quickly lost steam. Her cheeks flaring pink again.  

“I believe Robyn called it the Dove’s Nest-”  

“Winter!” Penny gasped and ran out. She stopped short of throwing herself onto the Specialist. Winter gave her a tired smile and relaxed into the misting white fur of her summon. This time an Alpha Manticore. It lounged on its side, completely at peace with being used as bedding for two. “Aro…” Her Faunus was curled at Winter’s side, eyes closed and those soft sleeping purrs rumbling from her.  

“Woah, slow, Penn.” May said quickly grabbing her shoulder. Penny didn’t even notice she was running again. She slipped her hand back into Penny’s and they walked closer. Aro was in a hospital gown, back completely bare but lower body covered in her boyshorts. Penny didn’t get a good look at her earlier, with all the steam and water obscuring her vision. Right now Aurora looked a little flush, skin a little damn… like she was recovering.  

“Is she doing better?” Penny asked.  

“Ideally,” Winter said with a frustrated sigh. “The hospital was making her… restless. So I took her here.” May let go of Penny’s hand and laid across the Manticore’s back and wings to reach Aro. She pressed a hand to seemly clammy skin. Winter glanced back at Penny who didn’t take another step. She smiled gently, completely free of the image she needed to maintain on military grounds. It reached her eyes. It didn’t have a literal glow like Aro’s but it did seem to light up, “My summons are completely under my control. Perfectly harmless unless I wish otherwise.”  

Penny couldn’t help the skeptical twitch of her nose. The Specialist always sent constant waves of white Beowolves at her during training. Winter laughed at it, soft and light. The sound and sight of May with Aro melted Penny’s guard enough to approach the usually dangerous beast. Her self-improvement codes told her skin contacted optimized her ability to performed under emotional stress. She mildly wondered if the Manticore would fulfill that odd requirement.  

Penny slowly reached out. At first the Alpha Manticore didn’t feel like anything. Just a cool pressure against her hand. Then slowly her processors adjusted, focusing on the tingling cool against her skin. Still very faint. “It’s… soft and cold. Oh!”  

The Manticore took a deep breath, pushing firmly against Penny’s hand and letting out a growling exhale. Aro jumped a little startled. She immediately calmed seeing May’s face and barely looked around to see Penny or Winter. A happy but high pitched purr came from Aro as she learned back into May’s hand.  

“Morning, doll.”  

May didn’t answer but smiled, a light blush dusting her cheeks. With her eyes close and no aids communication was limited to sign and writing. May grabbed Aro’s other hand, fingers tracing words onto her palm.  

“I feel… hot. Dizzy. Headache.” Aro’s words slowly started to slur. May jumped over the Manticore, settling next to Aro. The mechanic immediately curled up to her chest. “I’m okay. Tell Penny I’m okay.”  

“She knows,” May murmured, writing the words onto her skin.  

Penny walked around, taking Aro’s previous spot next to Winter. Once against the cool furs Penny nearly drifted into sleep mode. Her Aura was pushed during training and her simulations and processers kept burning an excessive amount of energy as well as-  

“Penny,” Winter gently called out. Her hand slipped into hers and gave a tight squeeze. The pressure paused the spiraling line of through. “Are… are you alright? Xanthic and Ciel informed me that we you a little… despondent. After the accident.”  

Penny looked at May and Aurora. Her eyes kept wandering end of her form and the abrupt end at the nubs instead of the usual prosthetics. She frowned and looked back up at Winter, “I was so scared…” She did everything right and it might have not been enough. It wasn’t a problem she could fix. “I couldn’t-”  

“You did well and prevented any permanent damage.” Winter quickly interrupted. “Xanthic and Dr. Pietro are drafting upgrades. The problem was a faulty part from my father’s company.” She practically hissed out. The Manticore let out another growling exhale along with several other frustrated twitches. Particularly its tail, which hit May and Aro. The two grumbled, voice a little scratchy with sleep.  

Penny giggled watching the pair try to adjust into the Manticore again. This time Aro was more awake and restless. She’d whine and wiggle, elbowing May several times. With a tired groan May propped herself up and pet Aro’s hair slowly lulling the deaf women back to sleep. Winter and Penny giggled. The Manticore responded with slight jerks.  

“If you wake her up again I swear…” May scowled at her. Aro grumbled and complained, a bunch of slurred noises and not any real words. She did manage to nuzzle May’s hand, pulling it off her hair and pressing a kiss her wrist. All fight immediately left May. It looked as if her flight instincts kick instead. Though she didn’t move with Aro curling against her.  

“Sleep, doll.” Aro murmured, pulling May back down.  

Penny settled back into the soft furs of the summon. Slowly sleep mode turned power consuming functions. Combat analysis and Floating Array was set to standby. Those thoughts that kept her alert, ready to respond slowly faded. She watched the sky, content to listen to Winter’s giggle and May’s soft groans.  

“You should have kissed her back.”  

“Shut up. It’s not that easy.”  

“Oh?” Penny glanced at May who seemed to fidget under both their gazes. Kissing seemed like one of the easiest actions a Huntress could do. “It takes at least 2 muscles to kiss someone. 23 or 34 for more rigorous types.” May let out a panic noise, a little strangled as she was forced to restrain herself or wake Aro.  

“I-I’m not. There’s a time and place and heavily drugged and sedated isn’t it!”  

“Five more years won’t be the right time either.” Winter said. She settled on her side, half propped up to talk with May. Idly her thumb continued to brush the back of Penny’s hand though her grip slipped into a comfortable position and strength. “If you’re that much of a prude ask her out first.”  

“Oh that’s rich coming from a Schnee.”  

“I’m deaf but I can feel you idiots talking.” Aro loudly grumbled. “Go the fuck to sleep.” May grumbled and complained, up until Aro suddenly propped herself up. She pushed May’s back firmly against the Manticore and hovered over her for a few seconds. “Fucking. Sleep, Marigold.” Then she practically collapsed onto her chest. May dropped an arm across her eyes, face a vibrant red. Winter hid another giggle behind her hand and completely relaxed against her summon.  

Penny closed her eyes. Her low Aura levels and safe environment triggered Sleep mode, primary systems entering a low performance state and easing cognitive thought to the bottom of the power list. Power to her sensors was cut, limiting Penny to just her sense of touch and hearing. She couldn’t feel the soft Manticore fur or the cold it gave off, instead she barely registered Winter’s hand in hers. The soft purrs from Aro was temporarily hidden by May’s deep breaths, a little shaky from how hard her heart was beating. Sometimes she heard Winter and May but couldn’t truly process what they were saying.  

Oblivious relations: 4. Useless Lesbian: May Marigold. Penny Polendina.  

Error: System corrupted. Invalid analysis detected.

[functionalmedicinehealing]

What Is Integrative Functional Medicine & What Do Integrative Functional Medicine Doctors Do?

In the very early 1990's I attended my initial Practical Medicine workshop. In those years there would certainly be 100-200 professionals in a class, always shown by the field's founder, Dr. Jeffrey Bland. Dr. Bland would lecture for a full day, sometimes two, seemingly inexhaustibly and we would certainly be motivated to continue the job. His work was actually the centerpoint wherefore has actually ended up being a whole area of natural medicine.

In those years if you had a space of 100 knowledgeable present there would certainly be 90 chiropractic practitioners, a couple of naturopaths as well as a number of standard doctors, together with the strange acupuncturists. (Not odd looking, I indicate weird as in arbitrary) Now, 25 years later on, the training programs I attend are mainly gone to by MD's. It's a fascinating shift over the last generation from a "edge" field exercised by "alternative providers" to an activity take by doctors with conventional medical training. All this to say the approval of Integrative Functional Medicine is growing.

From those extremely early workshops to the existing main academic team, The Institute For Integrative Functional Medicine, the meaning of Integrative Functional Medicine has actually continued to be the exact same.

What Is Integrative Functional Medicine-- Definition?

So what is it? What is Integrative Functional Medicine. My interpretation is "a laboratory based system of evaluation that relies primarily on natural health options". We utilize science to identify the issues, i.e. lab work and concentrate on natural health and wellness therapies that are timeless, diet regimen, meditation, workout and often nutritional supplements, organic treatments all based upon labs The significance of the "Useful" component is that in Integrative Functional Medicine we make every effort to find body organ "Dysfunction" prior to the start of a condition procedure as well as restore "Feature" back. I expect you can call it "Inefficient Medicine" but that doesn't have a great ring to it!

What is an Integrative Functional Medicine Doctor & Professional?

An Integrative Functional Medicine medical professional restores typical physiology and also normal body "Feature" as opposed to concentrating on the treatment of particular illness. We discover, in general, that if we may restore typical body feature that most illness procedures clear up. So after that, what is an Integrative Functional Medicine professional? Ok, that concern takes some discussing.

In a sense Integrative Functional Medicine is a location of mainty unto itself. So you might have a medical doctor that methods medicine, internal medicine or senior citizen medicine, pediatric medicine AND techniques Integrative Functional Medicine additionally. You may have a nurse practitioner or chiropractor or acupuncturist or naturopath that practices nursing, chiropractic, acupuncture or naturopathy AND ALSO alongside that methods Integrative Functional Medicine. You'll have some doctors that just practice Integrative Functional Medicine and also cease to use their original training. A lot of docs combine whatever their initial training was with the Integrative Functional Medicine model.

What do Integrative Functional Medicine doctors do in regards to first workups?

The majority of follow a comparable course. There is an initial brand-new person assessment, normally an hour or longer where they take a complete background, not just a medical history yet a history of your life stresses, working to locate the initial underlying source of the health issue you are experiencing rather than entirely focusing on your present signs. All Integrative Functional Medicine medical professionals will certainly order different types of laboratories, some used in traditional medicine yet most unique to our area. Individualized GI assessments for your microbiome, gauging nutrient degrees, amino acid levels, natural acids for brain wellness the liver cleansing pathways. SNP screening or hereditary testing prevails as is food allergy screening together with a selection of hormone assays.

Use of Individualized Integrative Functional Medicine laboratories.

What does an Integrative Functional Medicine doctor finish with all these individualized labs in terms of treatments? We suggest way of life adjustments, which are pretty basic, it's whatever you discovered in preschool for grownups primarily. Reach bed early, consume your veggies, obtain outdoors and play (i.e. workout) and behave to other people. That part is not brain surgery. The brain surgery component is the interpretation of the lab job and the development of wellness programs or wellness methods based on the testing. That ability of laboratory analysis takes years to master.

This is the area where Integrative Functional Medicine really stands apart due to the fact that the laboratories typically reveal surprise troubles that have pestered the individual for years. Persistent reduced grade GI infections or microorganisms that have actually interrupted the microbiome. A discrepancy in the microbiome itself may be ruining as well as is briskly recognizable from the laboratories making use of PCR or DNA modern technology to map out your gut germs. Toxic substances such as mercury, lead and arsenic as a whole are not so pleasant to the human brain and may be spotted in a full lab develop. The metabolites, or breakdown products of natural chemicals such as serotonin or dopamine give insight right into mind function and also salivary hormone dimensions for cortisol disclose the stress hormonal agent system's state of function. The checklist takes place.

Exactly how to Discover the very good Integrative Functional Medicine Professional

One trouble with finding out how to obtain the most Integrative Functional Medicine medical professional is that as of now there is no official single body that licenses all Integrative Functional Medicine medical professionals as there are licensing bodies for many sub specialties in medicine. For example if you're seeing an ophthalmologist you may be pretty sure they've had actually progressed training in what's up with your eyes, a psychoanalyst completes clinical school and then research studies psychological health and so forth. And considering that there are several sorts of practitioners doing this work, MD's, DO's, DC's, ND's, LAc's, NP's, etc. it gets even more complicated to determine who is or isn't trained in Integrative Functional Medicine since each of those teams has totally various state boards and different postgraduate degrees or field of expertise certificate programs. For now, the most, really the just, Integrative Functional Medicine academic/research oriented training program for doctors is The Institute For Integrative Functional Medicine. Their accredited knowledgeable have one of the most complete and also extensive training readily available.

As well as to address the question what do Integrative Functional Medicine doctors carry out in a more esoteric method ... They focus on the private not the disease. They take your spiritual and psychological life seriously as well as comprehend your physical health depends upon spiritual link as well as psychological connection. They believe what you eat on a daily basis may make you unwell as well as alternatively, what you eat every day may make you healthy. They assume meditation is incredible. They think exercise is called for. They count on the corrective worth of rest. They won't assume you're crazy if you are depressed or worn out yet all your standard medical tests are great. They love the concept of recovery without first relying on medicines and surgery yet are unafraid to utilize drugs or surgical procedure if definitely no other alternatives exist. They care about the earth as well as take ecological toxin/environmental air pollution really seriously as a health and wellness danger. They are here, on this planet, to be of service. To aid people. We're the great doctors!

For more information about becoming an Integrative Functional Medicine practitioner, please see our full variety of available training courses readily available to you!

A couple months ago I was instructing at an Integrative Functional Medicine seminar and also had the very good luck to be resting at a table with 8 or 9 other professors. Taking a look around that table I realized each of these doctors is the kind of doctor I want I had had the ability to find when I was more youthful. A person that would certainly listen prior to hurrying to judgement, somebody with extremely established clinical skills as well as crucial thinking abilities coupled with compassion empathy which recovery touch that just a few individuals are provided.

Integrative Functional Medicine is a calling and also by that I imply one is phoned call to this job and we are "in service" to people, not here to enrich ourselves or for our own ego satisfaction. As a group all the Integrative Functional Medicine doctors I socialize with are taking a transformation in healthcare, reviving some peace of mind to our clinical system by dealing with clients as individuals.

The article “ What Is Integrative Functional Medicine & What Do Integrative Functional Medicine Doctors Do?” was originally seen on Kalish Institute

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