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 Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 3:55 pm
Since she had discovered the grim fate of her mother, Highfog kept going from a shocked apathy, to the sad awareness of the event, to her very real bleeding foot, and so forth. At least, some good soul among the other Teachers told her where she could find a Medic quickly. From what she was just told, Fairaday was a competent Medic living in a misshaped, odd tree near a river.
Indeed, when the Ghost landed, still clumsily hoping on a single pair of toes, on what she thought was the right location, the first thing she noticed was the moss-covered oak tree.
Still shaken, she hoped slowly in direction of the hollow. She hesitated a few seconds, almost too ashamed to ask for help when her mother couldn't get any, but her guilt was not enough to keep her from calling, loud enough to be heard: "E-excuse me, miss Fairaday? I th-think you could help m-me".
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 2:42 pm
"Heef-heef, too heffy!" Scamp grunted past the seeds crammed into his mouth, his tiny claw-like hands dragging the mishapped lotus-head carcass through the dirt. Fairaday chuckled from overhead - that guiltily amused kind - as she watched the Skurri struggle with his load. His tufted ears quivered, a beady-black glare shooting up into the gloom. Fair-bottom had no good humor, no-no! Making him do all the work, well then, he'd just eat the seeds and give her none and the--
A squeal pealed through the evening. Scamp just barely caught a hold of the lotus head before he was sent catapulting into the air by the scruff of his neck. He swung listlessly for a few moments, his eyes squeezed shut - he opened one eye, then the other, finally realizing he was airborne. Curses only those well-versed in Skurri ensued.
The trip back to her territory was leisurely - after all, she hadn't been expecting anyone. Perhaps one of Fairaday's (many) vices, an especially debilitating one for a Medic to have. Always expect the unexpected, always be prepared; weren't these lessons drilled into her by Lichen? Perhaps, but that was an awful long while ago. As it were, she very nearly fell from the air when she spotted the awkwardly balanced figure in her tree.
E-excuse me, miss Fairaday? I th-think you could help m-me. The words were buoyed in the stagnant air, and a breath catching in her chest, the Sentinel drew in her wings and swept onto a bough opposite of her visitor. Scamp just barely avoided being crushed into the branch.
"Oh, good heavens, dear!" she all but squawked. As the Skurri crawled out from beneath her, Fairaday absorbed the bleeding foot, "Oh, oh! What in Noctus' name happened? Have you waited here long?"
She cut herself off with the stomp of a talon, "Lizards and gizzards! I've done it again! Follow me!" She hopped several paces down the branch, stopped, and flapped her wings.
"Oh, I'd rather you not, actually! Scamp - get the supplies, you silly thing!"
The young Medic finally ceased speaking, head bobbing in guilt and apology for her absence.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 3:37 pm
Such a noisy arrival wasn't expected. Absent-mindedly, she watched the hyperactive Skurri run and move. As she let Fairaday check her foot and hop around, the Teacher spoke softly, as apologetic as Fairaday: "N-no problem, the most important is that you're here."
She came closer, wings spread to keep her balance. She had to flap to move faster, as she was getting tired of hopping helplessly. Half flying, half walking, clumsy. Then, at last, Highfog tried to explain what happened. "You see, I was hunting, and this Hunter helped me, and it went well and I caught a ferret, but he b-bit me hard, as you can see, a-and..." , she said quickly, and as she was getting short of breath and remembered the event, she couldn't help but start sobbing again. While her dignity was expected to appear untouched later in front of her students, right now, she had to spill her emotions in front of a complete stranger.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 5:40 pm
As Scamp disappeared through a part in the boughs with the day's gathering, Fairaday threw all of her attentions upon the Ghost female. She would have told her it didn't look too bad - after all, it was still attached! - but her fellow Sentinel refused to even rest gingerly upon it. The Shadow reached out with her Will and steadied Highfog, her tufts bobbing up and down.
"Oh, my dear," she tutted. "A ferret nibble is hardly a thing to cry over!"
Fair looked up, and, for the first time it seemed, really saw with whom she dealt - those markings about her eyes were hard to miss. Her words, though already spoken, crept back into her beak. Her bright gaze grew solemn, her movements less erratic as if she were drawing them all back in. Oh...my. She did not know Highfog, but she had heard - a few Sentinel had as news of her mother's passing snuck down the Medic grapevine. Bumps and bruises she could deal with right quick, but she had never been taught the art of comfort. This did not mean she wouldn't try.
"Perhaps we should move you inside, out of the open air and the like," she said, more kindly this time. A wing outlined the back of her visitor and patient, her will firm in its assistance.
"Ferrets are quite dastardly indeed!"
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Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 3:18 am
Hearing the Medic's opinion on her injury, Highfog looked down to take a better look at it. "I... you may be right", she apologized, "It bled a lot more an hour ago... I guess."
The Teacher swallowed a sob and sighed quietly. Was she really overacting? She realized she should probably just suck it up. Even her wound was too benign to worry about, though burning if touched.
About to give up to silence, however, she heard a completely different advice. Covering her chest with gray wings in surprise, she walked along and looked at Fairaday with a faint shock. "Are you s-sure?", she stuttered, surprised, "It's v-very nice of you!"
The Ghost was really confused concerning the bite, but as long as she could concentrate on it instead of remembering constantly the event, she was able to believe her deep sadness was legitimate. "Yes, I'm happy to have c-caught it before it attacked me again! Do you think you c-can take care of this quickly?", she asked.
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 11:38 am
"Well, we shall have it cleaned and bandaged and bleeding no more!" Fairaday all but sang, smiling broadly. She tutted casually as the pair sidled down the inwardly sloping branch, "Think nothing of it, dear. Simple hospitality!"
As they neared her bole, Scamp thrust his head out, a length of gauze in his mouth and roughly hewn dish grasped between his paws. The Shadow tittered profusely at the Skurri, her folded wing rushing out at once to motion the rodent back inside, "We're coming in, Scamp. Back-back, or we'll go right over you!" Chittering followed her command, and the Skurri disappeared once more into the Medic's home, his furry face twisted in frustration.
Fairaday waited for the Ghost to press herself into the shelter, where she would come to meet a comfortably sized nest. Slabs of stone lined one curved side of the dwelling, captured powders and jellies, oddly colored and smelling strongly of clashing herbs. The Medic followed in after her, Will slipping marginally as she hailed for Scamp.
"Oh, that's wonderful. The feistier, the tastier!" she hooed. Fair bent again to give the wound and inspection.
"Well, I could," she said, beginning to clean and dab the blood with a well-worn, well-used (but clean) cloth. "But then it'd be a bit of a hash job, wouldn't it?" Her eyes twinkled.
"Where'd you find this critter? I wouldn't mind having some weasely meat myself!" Scamp scurried forward to drag the bloodied cloth away.
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 1:07 pm
Scamp went unnoticed by the patient until mention was made of him. However, she paid no attention to the Skurri. Instead, her eyes went wide at the variety of accessories inside of the shelter. As an Artisan, had her father ever kept so many potions and... stuff around? Having no memory of a similar sight, Highfog supposed the dyes and inks he used were made on the spot when necessary. The flasks, the scented herbs, the oddly shaped stone and wooden tools with unknown use, hit her all at once.
"Whew, is it all yours?", she asked as she stepped in and stopped, still apathetic, but somewhat attracted to the stranger home. She raised her foot, and her wings slightly as well to keep her balance.
"You're right", agreed the Teacher with however not much spirit, "t-take your time." It was nice to have someone taking care of her in a place that gave her underdevelopped sense some work. "Oh... well, it might have been stray and unexperimented, really, since it was young. Anyway, I f-found it...", she started explaining, but before giving more details, flashbacks of the earlier scene rushed in.
She couldn't help but sob again. However, she gave the rest of the information: "a zone at the s-south of the Minder's Enc-clave, y'see, that's where I l-live, there is a lot of p-puddles. Maybe insects attract t-them." At least, while she was struggling against her emotions to maintain her social interaction, she kept a perfect balance.
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:26 pm
Fair bobbed her head, somewhat distracted - yes, indeedy! She only had so much because she hoarded more than a magpie, most likely. But what she never used was always saved for later; no need to be a wastrel! She whistled for the Skurri, whose head snapped up to regard her with black eyes. Silent communication passed between the two, and the bushy tailed critter was off again, scrambling for a bowl.
The medic fell quiet while listening to her patient's words. The sob made her feathers sleek, as though she wanted to hide from the other's pain. But she couldn't - her very job and task asked otherwise. Still, it felt as though she were intruding upon something intimate.
As the soft scraping of Scamp and the bowl filled in the awkward silences that fell between them, Fair forced herself to speak.
"Get it off your wings, dear," she urged. The noises from her companion nearly covered the quiet of her voice. She looked at Highfog in earnest, the pallor of her yellow eyes sincere.
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Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 2:00 pm
Breathing deeply, very deeply, Highfog did her best to not panic. A few words came out from the deepest part of her throat, dry and faint as if she were choking: “My poor mother whose body I found there! What has she done to deserve this?”
She coughed, her feeling hurt again, and hid her beak distorted in a grotesque grimace behind her wing. Her cries slowed down, reaching a regular rhythm and a low hoot with hiccups. It felt better now she said it out loud, but it hurt. She would probably suffer for a while still, and there was nothing more she could do about it at this point.
Suddenly, she realized the situation: she was with an unknown Medic, a very patient one at that, and she had been crying like a freshly hatched baby. Ashamed, she looked down, still partially hiding her face.
[Sorry for the wait! I've been so busy currently... gonk ]
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:19 pm
(( No worries! I should be the one apologizing for the lateness of my former post! <3 ))
The quiet, trembling shake of shame and remorse, the sadness and urging patience, did not escape the young Skurri. He stood a fair distance away from the two Sentinels - out of reverence and respect - but it still reached his place behind the bowl he had fetched for his Medic. He did not understand the extent of the stranger's sadness, but all the same, his bushy tail prickled with worry. It made him want to simultaneously hide himself and reach his tiny paws out for her sleeked feathers.
Fairaday's ear-tufts fell back, though her countenance remained unchanged as she continued her ministrations on Highfog's injury. The poultice spread across her injured leg was thick, fragrant, and the young Medic's application of it was slow and deliberate. Any other time she would have slapped it on, gave her orders that her patient should stay off the leg (Noctus help them if they didn't!), and send them on their merry way. Today was different. The wounds Highfog harbored, the real, biting, bloody ones, Fairaday could not patch up with a bit of rag and cream.
"Oh, she didn't deserve it, not at all," she said. Her voice was gentle, quiet, firm. She gave Highfog the privacy of crying, and kept her eyes on the task at hand. "But perhaps it was her time, and what more honorable than to be carried away by the Thunderbird himself, whether by his very claws or otherwise?"
Death was never an easy subject; she had never experienced it within her family and she couldn't begin to imagine Highfog's own pain. She took a quick peek upwards before dropping her gaze again.
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:47 pm
Now she was aware of her embarrassing behaviour, Fog didn’t want to object. Her imagination had given her many terrible theories: maybe her mother had been hit by thunder and lost consciousness in mid-air, maybe hail and falling tree debris hit her until she could not stand it any longer, or perhaps… she shook her head, banishing these thoughts. It was no use, and nobody would ever tell her what happened exactly.
And even though she heard the truth, reality couldn’t be changed. She had to admit that, while her mother’s death seemed cruel, the life cycle was completed in a dignified way. The Teacher slowly nodded, reluctantly agreeing with Fair. “Yes, I know you’re right…”
She almost didn’t notice the Medic’s job on her foot. While putting her wing back in place, she finally swallowed with effort and said slowly, with gratitude but also melancholy: “Oh, you’re very careful… that’s nice. You’re quite motherly, it’s an important quality. Do you have any child I could teach something to? I’m not that soft with fledglings, you know.”
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Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 3:33 pm
Her beak gaped in the minutest of smiles, the kind that didn't reach her eyes. Fair could not possibly imagine losing her own mother, bless her heart, and while she it had been an honorable death, deep down it did not keep her from quaking. Scamp held up another folded bunch of cloth, which gathered her loose thoughts; she took it and dabbled at the poultice.
"Oh, fledglings? Me?" A girlish giggle broke through the tense monotony. "Not yet, not yet, but when I do, I'll send them to you first thing!"
This time the smile did find itself in her eyes. She paused as she drew the cloth away; granted, it didn't need any wrapping to see it heal, but she hesitated. In the end, she fastened the worn strap of gauze around her companion's leg, tying it slowly and meticulously to keep it from slipping.
"Oh, you flatter me! I've been told I throw my weight around a bit too much." She clucked, plucking at the makeshift bandage.
"Now, you stay off that leg, hear? And when you're all patched up and ready, you bring that bit of cloth back - not much to go around, you know?" Her eyes crinkled in good nature.
"Everything will heal in due time, dear. It may scar, but at least...at least we know in that sense it'll be with us forever. It's not necessarily a bad thing." Fair's tufts lifted and her eyes softened.
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:12 pm
Again, Highfog didn’t pay attention to the Skurri (though at another time, she would have complimented on the simple but pretty dye job on Scamp, for good measure). She half-heartedly laughed, but didn’t find anything amusing to reply. Instead, she looked at her feet.
As the cloth was being wrapped around her toes, she started feeling lighter already. Lighter, but not better yet. Her inner drama queen already told her she could limp more than she does already, and pretend the injury was made by an adult ferret… or anything even bigger. And despite all of this, she would say it was nothing, you have to expect this even when you’re an expert. Oh boy, will the kids be impressed.
Listening carefully, Fog however decided the bandage felt funny (or rather, was more itchy than her scar alone), and would get rid of it as soon as possible. After all, fledglings paid more attention to scars that gauze. “Alright. As much as I want it all to be done once and for all… you are the Medic, you know that better than I do!” she said with a bittersweet tone.
Moving slightly her left foot, she already started turning over clumsily. Realizing the cloth was not about to slip on its own anytime yet, she congratulated: “Good job, miss! That would get you a five out of five in my class.”
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