<strong>Ruth</strong><br/><br/>To be honest, getting an escort is sort of a relief. Sure, Ruth knows the way to Esther's quarters by now, but walking around the compound by herself always feels a little risky. Rationally she's pretty sure she's safer here than anywhere else in Esther's territory - if anyone knows the woman values having a quick hand with the healing around it's her own enforcers, so they'd know better than to pull any serious shit with her where Esther would be guaranteed to hear about it - but knowing that doesn't shake the feeling of being completely outgunned whenever she has to walk through that gate. Maybe someone a little nicer than Righteous would have been, well, nice, but hey, it's better than nothing. The redhead earns a small smile for her abrupt greeting and they're on their way.<br/><br/>There's not exactly a whole lot of time between being picked up by Righteous and stopping outside Esther's door, so her periodic checks to be sure Ruth hasn't chickened out and run off probably aren't necessary. Can't blame her for it, though, considering how reticent the latter has been about stopping by the compound lately. Internally she says a little thank you to fortune that she didn't end up with one of the more gossipy members of Esther's crew; no need to worry about Righteous prying into why she finally decided to come calling.<br/><br/>In fact, the only thing she ends up saying to Righteous comes just as they're parting ways, a genial, "Thanks for the walk up," as she's dismissed. There, that's that. Now comes the fun part.<br/><br/>"Esther. Glad to see you're taking care of yourself." One of the perks of being a medic: you can cover possible flirtation with what might just be medical observations. Professional ambiguity at its finest. Ruth takes up position on the opposite side of the desk, not sitting down unless Esther does first. "Not a good times meeting, I'm afraid. I came to talk to you about Cringe. Anise is less helpful to me in my infirmary if she's there as a patient. According to her it's one of Cringe's girls who did a number on her with a bat. Skull, arms, ribs - she's pretty useless to me for at least a few days, probably closer to a week. Now I know you're no babysitter and shit happens, but what the fuck?"