21 Jul 2022, 02:38
A Bit Long in the Tooth
@Opeila WInters
The pain in Howard's gumline had been bothering him for weeks now. It had started as a slight discomfort, a bit of sensitivity when drinking cold liquids or brushing his teeth, but had rapidly developed into a constant ache. Dental issues were not uncommon in both the Muggle and Magical world, yet for Howard it was a bit different. The pain in his mouth was coming from empty spaces where most peoples canines could be found. Gaps between his front teeth and molars where his fangs were housed.
For Dhampirs these particular teeth were retractable and unless he chose to bare them they would remain hidden in his gumline. A choice he often made as have them exposed often made people uncomfortable. Not that he blamed them really, they were for biting after all. Yet the pain he was experiencing didn't make sense. He brushed them at least twice daily. They looked to be in good shape just like the rest of his teeth and it wasn't like he used them regularly! Why on earth would just these two be causing him such a problem?
Finally one afternoon Howard had had enough. The hospital wing was surely not his favorite place. A trip there usually meant he had crashed his broom or worse yet, had gotten into another fight with Aurelia! Dark memories came to his mind as he walked towards the wing, but what choice did he have. As he entered the hospital he would look around and as fate would have it his red eyes would see Opeila tending to her duties. Out of them all why did it have to be her? Not that he dislike the Slytherin, but their interactions had always circled around Howard's darker nature and the last time they spoke he was sure she had feared him. He considered leaving, but another sharp pain in his mouth propelled him forward.
"Uh, hey Opeila. Do you have a moment to help me? I'm having an issue with my teeth." Howard's presence may be intimidating, but at the moment his expression would be one of pain and need.
10 Sep 2022, 23:32
A Bit Long in the Tooth
@Howard White
Opeila had a quite usual busy day. Starting with her usual morning jog with Flash, followed by a short breakfast and classes. It was a routine she enjoyed, but the more change it got, the happier it made her. Whether that was the opportunity to spend time in the castle at night for prefect patrols, broom racing practice- she had already gotten better at flying, although not half as good as the Basilisks- or as today, a few hours in the hospital wing.
Usually those hours were uneventful. Mostly younger students with minor injuries that came from accidentally touching a hot cauldron, failing a spell or just playing around on the grounds. The occasional broom accident too, yes. Nothing that couldn't be fixed by a spell or potions, some of which she could already use or apply herself.
No, Opeila didn't want to become a healer and helping out in the hospital wing had made her even more sure of it. The young Slytherin tended to feel nauseous, whenever a bleeding student came in and sometimes she even asked someone else to look after a bleeding patient, pulling up some quick excuse as to why she was busy.
Had she been prepared for Howard White entering the hospital wing on this afternoon, she would have probably done the same. After class she had quickly changed into something more comfortable, tied her hair back and went to the hospital wing to help with whatever was up.
And just as she was done tidying up, she heard her name behind her and turned around to face the Hufflepuff.
Her first instinct was flight. Maybe this was a bit of a natural thing, since dhampirs, or vampires even more could be a threat to humans. Opeila had been threatened and attacked by dhampirs before, though not by this one, but there had been other things that gave her good reasons to be wary around Howard. The last time she had seen the older boy, he had brought in an injured Aurelia- injured by him. The time before, it had been to discuss the hags, with whom he had made a deal and who had cursed her.
And now he was here, asking for help with... his teeth. Of all things, Opeila was now to help with his teeth? Great, that was just something she had no experience with at all. She had never been asked by any student to help with dental issues and she imagined dhampir teeth were a different matter altogether again.
After looking at him for a moment, Opeila nodded. "Yes, sure. What's up?"
12 Sep 2022, 03:02
A Bit Long in the Tooth
@Opeila Winters
As Opeila turned to address him, Howard did his very best to present a body language that would hopefully put her at ease. He clasped his hands behind his back, bowed his head slightly and did his best to keep a neutral, even pleasant expression. Yet as she looked to him he thought he saw a brief moment of apprehension. It was something he had seen in others and he knew that it wasn't undeserved with Opeila, but it nicked his spirit all the same. Here was another one of his peers that potentially saw him as a threat. Howard felt a pang of demoralization and for a moment was tempted to tell her never mind and seek help elsewhere. The fresh wave of pain through his gums would quickly change his mind and as his red eyes met here he suddenly became determined to have her see him in a different light.
"I'm not quite sure." Howard answered before he gestured to the closest chair. If she allowed it he would sit. Being much taller than her it would hopefully give her a better vantage point to check his teeth and hopefully made her feel less intimidated as well. "I don't know what's going on, but I can't get my fangs to retract." With a long, clawed finger he would pull the corner of his mouth back to show his teeth more clearly. If she were to look closer, Opeila would see the tip of his fangs protruding from his gum line and try as he might, Howard could not get them to go back in. It frustrated him because for so long he had had complete control over them. What could have changed?! As his index finger lightly touched the exposed tooth, Howard would wince and cry out in pain. It left him looking a bit helpless as his eyes reopened and he looked back to her. "Please. Do you have any ideas. It really hurts."
8 Jan 2023, 01:12
A Bit Long in the Tooth
@Howard White
Opeila did notice the moment of hesitation and immediately felt a little bad. Had he noticed her discomfort? It was an automatic response of hers, caused by her experience, and one that she would have to learn to change in time. There were dhampir students in the Hospital Wing occasionally and Opeila did her best not to show them how she felt about their kind all the time. It was not their fault and she refused to treat them unprofessionally over experiences they didn't cause.
But then Howard gestured to a chair nearby and Opeila took a few steps towards it, a wordless invitation for him to sit down. As Howard began to describe his issue and even showed her his fangs that would no longer retract, Opeila began to panic a little, but did her best to hide it from the older boy. She had not the slightest idea what to tell him. She really had no clue what would make his fangs hurt like that.
But she swallowed it and thought. Howard was obviously in a lot of pain and only because they had a rather unpleasant history she wouldn't make less effort to help him. "Okay... so since when are they like this? Have you eaten something specific, or did you hit your mouth on something?"
25 Jan 2023, 03:14
A Bit Long in the Tooth
@Opeila Winters
Howard thought on Opeila’s question. How long had it been like this? Weeks now, a month? He had first noticed the discomfort as he had his dinner a while back. It had been a scrumptious pork chop that night and although not the best table manners, he couldn’t help but to chew a little on the rib bone. Yet just as he began to pick away at the meat he had bumped the empty space in his gun line where his fangs rested and the pain that came with it nearly made him drop his supper. From that point on Howard couldn’t quite retract those fangs and a growing pain in his gums became harder and harder to ignore.
“It’s been a few weeks, maybe a month.” He answered. “Started out just as an annoyance really, but now it just hurts all the time. Everyday it seems to get worse. I was having a bit of pork when I first noticed, but I didn’t bump them or take a shot to the mouth.” A bludger or a rogue Quaffle would have made sense, but that just wasn’t the case. Then Howard remembered something else he had noticed. “Um, here look at this if you don’t mind.”
Again he would pull the corner of his mouth back and with a flexing on his facial muscles the fang would protrude the its fullest extent. Howard winced as he did so, but hopefully Opeila would be able to see something he might not have. With his free hand he extended a clawed index and as gently as he could he touched the tip of his fang. Tears threatened to fill his eyes, but if she was looking closely she may see the tooth wiggle ever so. after gaining his composure he would move his hands away. “Does it seem loose? Or something with my gums, perhaps?”
17 Jun 2023, 23:15
A Bit Long in the Tooth
@Howard White
It was the role of an everything but well trained dentist that stopped Opeila from becoming either too awkward or uncomfortable to help Howard, but when she thought of it as a riddle to solve it was quite bearable. Not that she would tell the sixth year that, it was quite clear that he was in pain. Likely he would not be able to appreciate being called a riddle too much.
"So um- truth be told, I don't know much about... well, dhampirs and even less about their teeth, but I don't think pork should-" She stopped when Howard continued to explain his observations and even leaned forward a bit to be able to see when he wiggled his tooth- yes, wiggled. Although just slight, the fang was undeniably moving. The young Slytherin straightened herself again. "Yes, it does look loose actually."
"What if... you're like 16, right? 17? Is it possible that dhampirs have baby teeth? Just that they fall out later than the human ones? You think you might grow new ones if you pulled your current ones out?" The moment she had said it, she regretted it. Howard was clearly in pain when only touching his teeth, surely he didn't want to even imagine pulling them out.
Her brows furrowed, she looked at him. "Do you have any family who you could ask about this? All I can help you with are some highly uninformed guesses that may well be wrong.", she asked carefully. Opeila didn't know Howard well- was it something insensitive to ask? Opeila knew that dhampirs could be born, but also turned, so... hopefully she didn't say the wrong thing.