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 Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:34 pm
Lex stared at his phone for a while, murmuring the words on the backlit screen as he pushed himself out of bed. Stormy said someone was dead? Certainly not a patient, he hoped. His a** would be grass if someone died on the med ward. Being careful not to nudge Ami (she was finally asleep for once), he pulled on a shirt and a coat, and decided to bring an extra sweater for Stormy too. Poor girl was in an odd frame of mind lately, but she hadn't said much of anything. All Lex knew was that she'd gone on a mission for an artifact, and it'd failed.
Two mugs of coffee were in his hands as he opened the doors to the room he knew Stormy would be in. Without words he placed one cup in front of her and handed her the sweater, probably two sizes too big for her lithe figure. In fact, she was looking a lot more unhealthy lately. Wear and tear was common fashion for Hunters, but he was beginning to see her hip bones and ribs pressed to her skin whenever her shirt lifted.
"Hey, Eeyore." Lex whispered, sitting down across from the girl, ruffling her wig. "Drink up and tell me what that text was about. Who's dead?" Concern was painted mildly on his face, usual smile turned sad. Seeing her in pain humbled him, the same way Eva and Ami did when they went through rough patches.
He hoped to God it was no one he knew, though. Hopefully just some random Hunter that had been wheeled in and Stormy had thought to text him that a patient he'd seen earlier was dead. He could deal with that. The pained look in Stormy's figure told him a different story, though. This was someone she was close to, and that meant Lex more than likely knew the deceased Hunter. He braced himself for impact, sipping at his mug.
"Stormy, who are you burying?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 11:16 pm
The wigs were so bright, it made her self-conscious just being around them. The one she chose to try out for the day was the closest to her original hair she had of the three, and quite possibly the only one she would ever have the nerve to wear; the other two were long and, in one case, even more eyecatching, which was exactly what she wanted to avoid. Too many layers of clothes, while the norm now as her subconcious bid that she keep as little skin showing as possible, would impede her work, and so Stormy chose to wear only a few light layers that, for whatever reason, felt baggier.
She tried to remember the last time she had eaten something substantial, then gave up because she would need her brain power for the life labs.
It had been a while since she had taken a turn at the infirmary, which her Mist training required her to do a little of even though it wasn't the field she was interested in. Still, helping others with little aches and pains, bad spars gone wrong or this or that, took her mind off things. She could pretend for a moment that she actually made a difference.
There was an empty cot Stormy was eyeing for nap consideration when Lex's voice startled her. She winced as he ruffled her wig, scrambling to put it back to rights with a frantic air before gazing at the offered sweater with evident confusion. Then silently she took it and let it sit in her lap for the moment, the other mug of coffee ignored. She didn't want to be more alert; it made her think things too much until details, like little needles, stabbed her.
It took her a moment to understand his question. Then Stormy remembered that Lex had been part of the hazy collection of texts and seemed to shrink at the thought of having to talk about it aloud, in public. Even mildly resentful. Worse yet, it wasn't just the obvious answer that was available anymore; more and more she was starting to think they might as well call her a corpse as well.
"Hello, Mr. Lex. Please tell Ms. Ami I'm sorry for missing work last week," she told him in a near monotone. "I'll be there for sure next time."
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 10:28 pm
Monotone. Flat. She wasn't thinking about it - he knew the feeling. Concealing and bottling whatever anguish and anger and sadness were spawning in her soul, infesting her brain and heart with worms of darkness.
"Don't worry about Ami, we understand you have to help all divisions." He waved her concern off, not bothering to deal with the walls she'd put up. "Now tell me, Stormy. Who is dead. If a patient died, I need to file a report." He reached out to grab her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze.
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Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 11:26 pm
"I know that she doesn't like it when I fall behind," Stormy insisted, able to easily picture Ami giving her scathing looks. She had already slipped up before and didn't imagine another one would reflect kindly on her, even though the translations were much slower in progress than usual.
She ran a few fingers over the sweater to get a sense of its make, still unable to look at Lex. Something in her expression shifted at his response, a brief moment darkness that was quickly masked.
"Not here," Stormy replied quietly. "No report needed. It was Nevada." She then proceeded to unfold the sweater and tug it on in spite of the fact that it was going to make her quickly hot and sweaty; layers were important in order to cope, after all.
Stormy then made to get up and smooth the sweater down, rolling the sleeves a little.
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 4:30 pm
Lex shook his head at her Ami comment, and sat in silence while she put the sweater on. He didn't blink, didn't think for a few seconds either, just existed as he absorbed the news that a friend had died. Nevada hadn't been his best friend, but they'd been on a few missions and had formed a small friendship. That friendship was erased now, gone from the fabric of the world.
An incredibly deep sigh mixed with a pitiful whine leaked out of his throat, head meeting a hand as it wiped his vapid facial features. Nevada, dead. No wonder Stormy was in such a funk, and what about Otto? "I see... and Otto?" He hadn't seen the boy in a while. If they'd both been taken out at once...
But the point here wasn't Otto and Nevada. The point was Stormy, the young woman in front of him with more than enough of the world on her shoulders, it would seem. He'd heard rumor that she'd gone on the failed mission for Nevada, but he didn't really question why. He was a bad friend. She was a saint.
"Stormy, I'm sorry." He mumbled, shaking his head and staring at the floor. He'd failed on his end of friendship. He hadn't checked in enough, he could have texted every once in a while. A simple 'are you okay' would have made him far more able to help the girl out.
But, how could he help her? All he could do was offer some kind words, maybe help her on that mission and maybe it wouldn't have failed. It wouldn't change much of anything, though. He never changed anything.
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Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:11 pm
Revealing who had died was the extent Stormy was willing to go about the conversation. She took Lex's sympathy with the slightest of nods, but asking after Otto was pushing. She stared at him, the hollow-eyed look turning into something a little darker, almost angry even that he would try to ask him about it here, in public no less. Stormy didn't remember how well Nevada and Lex got along at the moment, but while he probably wanted to know a little more, she wasn't a willing expositor.
Let him go find Otto, who clearly mattered more to Nevada anyway since he had been there when it happened. She was sure he had gotten or would eventually get all the comfort and counsel he needed to actually talk about it without cracking.
With the sleeves rolled sufficiently enough to let her work, her look softened again to the point that she seemed to look straight through him for a moment, her mind wandering until-- "I need to learn how to put in IVs correctly," she stated, as if they hadn't been talking about the dead, and then gave Lex an expectant look.
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Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 5:12 pm
Lucky for Lex, his head was still hung low as Stormy glared angry daggers at him. He wasn't aware of how close the girl was to Nevada, or that she felt so crushed by the fact that he'd concerned himself with Otto when she was the one dealing with her best friend's death. Lex was unaware of a lot of things - but he could at least help the girl distract herself from the ghosts of a deep loss.
"IV's, right. I can do that." Lex nodded, rolling up his shirtsleeves and grabbing a rubberband from a nearby counter top, wrapping it just above his elbow and drawing it tightly. "Just grab me a sterilized needle, and I'll do the demo."
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Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 6:48 pm
Grateful he didn't prod her about it again, Stormy nodded and dutifully went to fetch the needles without a word. It was easy to focus on small jobs, easy tasks. There was no overarching goal aside form bettering her understanding of Life duties, which was her worst skill set. No other dying, at least not of people who mattered to her if something did happen, no external worries as they were left at the door. Everything was self-contained in the infirmary, just like she was.
Stormy returned and offered him several, having a feeling she wasn't going to be getting things right on the first try. She wasn't as wary of needles as most people were, but her hands weren't the steadiest, especially as of late.
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Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 10:23 pm
Taking the sterile syringes with a faint smile, Lex began to tap around the dimple of his elbow, feeling for the vein. "You have to be pretty delicate when you do this - you're here to heal the patient, not hurt them." He lectured, thumb landing on his vein and he tapped the spot twice, indicating to the girl exactly where it was. "This part of Life is healing, and we like to think ourselves pretty swell at it, in all regards."
He took a needle then, and held it up against his skin, the cool metallic mosquito nose causing goosebumbs to run up along his entire arm. "Now, you just apply gentle pressure - don't stab, and try not to miss. You've only got a few chances before your patient comes out looking like a heroine addict." He joked lightly, pushing the needle in easily and hitting his vein, then quickly pulled it out and dropped it into the hazmat bin beside the cot he'd sat himself on.
"Need to see how it's done again?"
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Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 7:23 pm
Don't stab. Gentle pressure. Try not to miss. Heal, don't hurt.
(A little too late for that.)
Again Stormy nodded dutifully as Lex spoke, studying the way he handled the needle carefully with an intensity she normally saved for good books. Then, shaking her head when asked, she stretched her arm out and mimicked him, searching for the same vein. She had to run her fingers a few times over the spot to make it more noticeable, and after some hesitation and a few seconds to stop her fingers from trembling, she eventually inserted the needle with a twitch of her eye.
She had to admit, it was a little nice to feel pain and remember she was alive.
"Think I got it," she told Lex briskly as she pulled it out and tossed it into the hazmat bin as well. "What next?" If he was going to stay, she was going to make sure they were busy and couldn't talk anymore about sensitive subjects.
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Posted: Thu May 15, 2014 11:40 pm
"That's just for normal shots, or taking blood. Figured I'd get you the basics, since the elbow is the easiest place to learn." Lex drawled, picking up another syringe and holding it against the flat of his hand, drawing a little circle in his skin with the needlepoint.
"IV's are a little more complex. The process is the same, in essence, but you need more equipment." He stood, pulling a few things off the surrounding shelves. Bindings and a bag of nutrient filled liquids, a catheter from nearby, and a cannula. "I'm not that great at self-demos, so I'll be showing you using... well, you. If that's okay?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 1:38 am
She didn't answer at first. Stormy's eyes swept warily over the items in question, debating the pros and cons of using herself as the subject. Needles didn't frighten her, but pain did. Then again, feeling anything at all was welcome--better pain that came for a reason than pain just for the sake of it.
"Okay," she said quietly after a moment, and without needing to be prompted she held her arm out to Lex. It was only her thoughts and the fact that she trusted the Lifer's medical knowledge that she didn't otherwise flinch or grow anxious. "When do we use IVs again?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 9:47 pm
"IV's are used for liquid medications, such as anethesia, or at times nutrients that the patient can't receive due to an inability to process food. Fluids, as well, if the patient is extremely dehydrated. Blood donations are also done by IV." Lex taught, holding a different bag then the one he'd brought out initially upside down, taking the end of the cannula and inserting it into the bag, then stringing it up to a pole. "The procedure is simple enough - just adjust the flow depending on severity and the size of the patient." He drawled on, washing his hands and snapping on a pair of latex gloves.
"Do you want me to use that same injection site, or show you how to insert the cannula into the hand?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 11:45 pm
"Uh . . ." Stormy watched him set up the bag and wondered if it was really a good idea to use actual liquids for this. Then again, it was only a demonstration, and it wasn't Lex trying to pry about her emotional state. It could be information that meant saving someone's life.
She rubbed her fingers against sweaty palms, shifting in her seat to get a little closer. "Show me the cannula thing," she replied, adding a, "Please," before she forgot. So long as Lex was being nice about this, it wasn't any excuse for her not to be polite back.
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:15 am
Nodding, Lex took her left hand and swabbed the area around the middle of the index and middle fingers, stretching the skin taut so he could find the vein that the needle would be going in to. "It's basically just like finding the elbow vein. Swab, draw taut, and..." He inserted the needle easily, using a gentle upward angle and increasing the tilt gradually as he went along. "Make sure you tilt upwards a little bit, and once you see some blood enter the chamber, pull the needle out and-" He worked quickly, removing the disposable needle and immediately tossing it into the hazmat bin, then attached the tube from the stand. "Attach the tube, and the medicine should start flowing."
He sat back down on a nearby stool, checking his watch briefly. The anesthetic he'd hooked her up to was strong, and it would only take a few seconds for it to work into her bloodstream. "I'm going to need you to keep breathing, and have sweet dreams..."
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