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 Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:15 am
Yulu hated having to bow her head over and over when she was getting chided by the Journeyman Healer in charge of the infirmary, her neck growing stiff from the odd angle she was required to keep it at while enduring the tirade. She was being reminded that despite being a Candidate she was also a Healer and had specific obligations to fulfill, as well as rules to follow. She couldn't just do as she pleased, she was told, and Yulu felt one of her ears start to slowly melt from the inside out as she was forced to listen.
As punishment, or whatever it was they said Yulu had to do in return, she was told to stay and clean the infirmary at the end of the day instead of returning to her room after chores. It would continue on like this at least for a full sevenday, maybe two, until she properly learned her lesson. Or something.
Yulu actually didn't mind being in the infirmary, she rather liked the smell that seemed to be eternally mixed with the air. Different salves always lent a new odor each time she opened them or moved a jar, so it wasn't like things were boring. Plus, it was something to do before bed each evening instead of laying around feeling idle. Who know how long it would be before the eggs on the sands grew hard enough to hatch and in spite of herself Yulu was overly excited.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:32 am
Today was not a good day. Well, it had been, she'd been assigned to work in the kitchens for the afternoon which had pleased her a great deal, but some kind soul - a very small part of Layla was capable of sarcasm and doing its best to get heard - had crept up on her while she was chopping meat to marinade over night. As a result, the sharp knife she had been using had made a nasty gash in her left forearm.
The journeyman who had been overseeing the last jobs of the day, practical but not especially warm, had slapped a rag over the wound, pressed Layla's hand over it, and ordered her down to the healers. She would have liked a bit of sympathy, Layla considered vaguely as she hurried along attempting not to cry; it would have been really nice if somebody had cared at all that she'd cut herself, but apparently it was her fault for being so jumpy. It wasn't fair, she couldn't help it, and surely only idiots came up behind you suddenly when you were working with a sharp blade. Probably the apprentice had done it on purpose, he never had liked her from what she could tell.
Sniffing unhappily and still trying to blink away tears, Layla stepped into the infirmary. "Umm... Hello? Is anyone here?" There was always somebody here, but late on it was often just a journeyman or two asleep in the back room, in case of emergencies. She didn't want to have to wake anyone up, but she did need her arm cleaned and bandaged properly; a rag just wasn't going to cut it in the long run.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:47 am
Yulu had been dozing off in one of the chairs before she'd heard the voice, her feet propped against a small box in an effort to relax. She'd been left alone and left in charge for the time being while the Head Healer went out to check on someone for some reason or another, leaving Yulu to slack off from her tasks and actually dare to think about a nap. She was interrupted though the moment that voice came the air, and she snapped sitting up quickly. Song, who had been dozing in Yulu's lap, raised her head in question before being lifted to Yulu's shoulder, where she curled softly about the girl's neck.
"The head healer is off duty, but what can I do for you?"
She got up and rounded a corner towards the entrance, making sure to at least straighten out most of her appearance. A Healer had to look professional, not that Yulu really cared, but she didn't want more chores tacked to her already growing list. When she finally got in sight of the entrance she paused, her eyes trying to place the face before her.
"Layla? What are you going here?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:59 am
Yulu! Layla's eyes widened a little in surprise at the sight of her friend. "Yulu? You work here? Umm... I'm hoping for some bandages and for somebody to clean up this cut." Layla sniffed again, and raised her injured arm for emphasis. "I don't think it's really that bad," she went on, "but it's, it's not just the sort of things you can leave to get better on its own either. I was cutting things up in the kitchen, and somebody scared me and... and yes, I cut myself, and I'm bleeding, and nobody cared."
She was rambling, she knew, but if she rambled it distracted her, and kept her a little bit further from tears... Speaking of distracting herself, what was Yulu doing here? She'd never been assigned to work in the infirmary ever!... She supposed Yulu must be a healer then, she hadn't known that, but then there was plenty she didn't know about the other candidate yet; they'd only met few days ago after all.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:20 pm
Yulu frowned as Layla presented the cut on her arm, the woman taking a few steps forward to get a better look at what she would have to work with. The bleeding appeared to have slowed to a soft splurt every now and then shoulder Layla move her arm, and Yulu took that chance to lift the cloth up and see what she would be working with. Her eyes seemed to spark with energy and life as she surveyed the wound, taking care not to touch it at all with her hands - doing something like that without properly washing her hands first was a bad idea.
"So you say it's a kitchen wound? It doesn't look too bad on a first view but it's covered in drying blood and I'll need to get a better look at it. Come with me and sit down and I'll treat it for you."
Yulu smiled softly at the younger girl and motioned for her to have a seat, her own actions turning out to be her going to get some redwort to clean her hands as well as the wound. She slowly removed the wraps on her fingers, showing off the stained red digits that looked a little shriveled under the low light, and she cleaned her hands up before getting the proper items needed to clean up Layla's arm.
"How is your level of pain tolerance? Will you be needing some Numbweed on the cut before I can begin to look at it, or will you be fine? Also, I'll need you to answer some basic questions for me before we can continue."
Yulu was all business, though the firelizard on her shoulder seemed pleasant enough. Song gave a chirp of greeting to Layla, whom she recognized as a person that her person liked.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 3:25 pm
"Umm..." Layla looked up at Yulu as opposed to looking at her arm, and tried to focus on the calm attitude her friend was displaying. It hurt, it wasn't pretty, but it wasn't that bad. It would heal. "I'm... I guess I'm okay with pain... normal? But if it wouldn't be any trouble to give me some numbweed... well that would be nice?" She didn't like pain, she didn't like it at all. She'd probably cry if the cut was poked at right now, and she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her friend.
Now looking for something else again to focus on, she looked up at the gold flitt on Yulu's shoulder and tried to send friendly thoughts. She wasn't too happy right now, but Yulu would fix it, and then she would be fine.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 3:46 pm
"It's not a problem at all if you'd like some. I'd rather not have to watch you make faces, you might make me laugh and we'd both get in trouble then. I want to make sure to properly treat your arm, you're too pretty to be saddled with a scar so early in your life."
Yulu reached over and grabbed a jar of salve off the shelf with a single hand, the other dipping itself in a redwort solution to prevent her own nerves from deadening. Once everything was properly coated she dabbed a little bit on her fingertips and moved Lalya's arm out, moving the towel away and smearing the streak over the wound. It was a bit bigger than she originally thought, the towel having covered some of the cut, but she wasn't going to say anything in order to upset her friend any more.
"Let me know when you can't feel the pressure, okay? And if it hurts let me know so I can put more on until it's completely numb."
Yulu was about to start pushing on the cut when she noticed the look on Layal's face in regards to Song, and with the hand that wasn't covered in Numbweed she reached and lifted her Gold, setting it in the lap of her smaller companion. Song seemed confused at first, why was her person moving her, but she soon calmed down when Yulu gave off an image that she would need to stay and comfort Layla.
After the move she waited a few more moments before touching the wound with a finger tip, slight pressure being issued.
"Does that hurt?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:36 am
The warm weight of the gold flitt in her lap improved her mood more than was probably reasonable. Sniffing again, though now she felt rather less like crying, Layla stroked Song's flank with her free hand. "No, it doesn't hurt anymore," she shook her head slightly and gave Yulu a smile. "Thanks, I can't feel it at all now."
It really wasn't pretty, but it wasn't bleeding that quickly anymore, and Yulu was going to clean it up which would make it look better and then bandage it. She'd be able to get back to work tomorrow with no problem, although this probably gave her an excuse to avoid washing clothes or dishes for a while; two chores she really rather disliked. It was fine, and Yulu cared that she'd cut herself.
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:43 am
"Alright then, let's get you cleaned up. If you're uncomfortable looking at open wounds or blood, feel free to focus on Song in your lap, okay? But I will need those questions answered too, so don't get too distracted."
There was a slight chuckle in her voice as Yulu started to work, water quickly being used to start cleaning the dried blood from Layla's arm. She made sure not to get too close to the cut, not wanting to completely wipe away the Numbweed just yet.
"What had you been cutting up with the knife you were using? Raw meat or vegetables? How long had you been using the knife as well before you cut yourself with it?"
She didn't sound like she was accusing Layla at all, more like like just getting the facts. She would have to put in a bit more effort if the knife was overly dirty and Layla had a chance of getting sick from it, but it wasn't any effort that she was unwilling to do. While Yulu may not have been keen to help people otherwise, while working in the infirmary no distance was too great to get someone healed and on their way.
When all the blood had been cleared away and all she was left with was a raw wound, Yulu frowned a bit at the sight of what she had to work it. It was nothing she couldn't handle, things like this were almost child's play to her after her years in the field with her father, but she knew she had to find a way to make sure that Layla wouldn't have any difficulties. Scars on women weren't pretty, or so she'd been told.
"It doesn't look that bad at all, there was just a lot of blood. I'll get you patched up and send you on with a note for no chores for at least a sevenday. How does that sound?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:21 am
"Sounds like I'd be bored honestly," Layla smiled sheepishly, "but light chores would be nice. It wouldn't be fun to try to shovel dung or something with a sore arm..." She didn't want to feel like a slacker, work needed to be done everywhere all the time, and so many people seemed to want to avoid it, but if she wouldn't be doing a given kind of job well while the cut healed, then there was no point in her doing it at all. A badly done job just needed to be done all over again, and then two people had spent time on it which was a waste of everyone's effort and patience. Better that she spent the next few days running messages and doing easy (if boring) things like peeling vegetables.
Now though, those questions, it was always important to make sure healers knew all the details before treating you or they might do something wrong and you might end up worse off than you had been before! Stroking Song, she ran them back over in her mind. "I was cutting up some wherry flesh," she said after a moment. "It needs to be marinaded over night which was why it was being done so late... Oh, anyway though, I'd only just started on it, and the knife was clean before that, just washed up from preparing things for dinner."
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 7:50 am
"Boring or not it will keep your arm soft and clean and will prevent the wound from reopening or, at worse, from ripping itself open larger. I have seen many cases where people do work that they think won't injure them at all only to have them return to the infirmary with much more severe wounds then last time. I've even seen a few men lose the function in their arms before the refused to listen, or use of their legs. A Healer's word must be obeyed, even if your brain tells you that your body can do something else."
She tried not to sound harsh as she explained to Layla why the girl just couldn't go running off and do different chores right away, the injury she had going to be needing stitches in simply due to its location and the fact it was from a knife. A clean knife from the sounds of it, or at least one that hadn't had a chance to get too infected. She slowly rose from the chair she was sitting in to look for the jar of Mosstea, wanting to use that to pack the wound a bit just in case. It would do no harm to the girl to be overly cautious, and Yulu really didn't want Layla to get a scar.
"But I'm not saying you shouldn't try to use your arm at all, just limit what you're going to be doing. If you find that when you move it you feel the skin on your arm start to stretch, stop. It's something you need to avoid now, but later on that stretching will be alright in order to prevent the muscles from healing cramped."
The jar found and in hand, Yulu returned back to her seat and popped the lid off, using two of her fingers to pry open the cut before she started to pack the little herb inside. She didn't need to use much, so the main healer probably would never notice.
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:10 am
She really didn't want to not be able to use her arm, she'd be pretty useless if she only had one working arm. "Oh... right, I'll just do things that don't need my arm then?" she suggested carefully. "Just run errands and things like that?" So long as she could still do something useful while doing as Yulu told her, she'd be fine.
"So, I guess you're a journeyman then?" Layla went on for the sake of conversation, still stroking Song gently. "I mean, they make apprentices go and get a journeyman to supervise them, right?" She wasn't too clear on the whole thing to be honest, but that was the situation so far as she knew. If she was wrong, well, that gave them all the more to talk about; talking and listening would stop her thinking about the big cut on her arm, among other things. Life really was determined to stress her out lately.
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:27 am
"No, I'm still an apprentice, though a senior one in rank. I was slated to walk the tables before I was searched a little over a turn ago, so I just happen to know a bit more then the average apprentice. Also, I should be following the rules and getting someone to watch over me, but we'll have to keep this our little secret okay? I don't like being graded by the Head Healer here, they seem to think that my style of healing isn't exactly the best thing for the people I've been allowed to treat."
Yulu winked at Layla over the mention of them keeping it a secret, knowing that she could put some of her trust into this little girl. There was no reason for her to rat Yulu out, not if they were at the level of friendship that Yulu felt they may be. At least, Yulu liked Layla's company, even to the point she didn't mind the tears the girl had had when she came in with the cut. That was saying something.
"Is the Numbweed still working, or can you feel anything more than just pressure? I'm a little skeptic that I might have rinsed some of the salve off before it had a full time to set on you."
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:55 am
"No... The numbweed is just fine." Oh... good. So Yulu thought she knew more than the Head Healer. Oh good. Oh dear. She didn't want to get her friend in trouble, but neither was she too happy about being treated by an unsupervised almost journeyman who the Head Healer disapproved of. Layla shifted in her seat a little, but held her tongue. She liked Yulu. She didn't want her in trouble... but she didn't want something to go wrong with her arm either! No. She couldn't betray the trust Yulu has put in her. If it started to look nasty she'd go to the healers during the day, and say... say... something that didn't involve Yulu.
"So... so what is it about your... style the Head Healer doesn't like?" Layla asked tentatively, trying not to let her sudden resurgence of nerves show. She didn't want Yulu to think she didn't trust her; she did trust her... She just didn't trust her about healing as much as she trusted a Head Healer, that was all, and that was reasonable, surely!
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 7:43 pm
Yulu paused in her work and suddenly released Layla's arm, as if she could understand what the girl was getting at without her having to actually say something. One of Yulu's better features was that she was able to pick up on subtle remarks that people made even if they weren't trying to do so, and her radar had gone off the moment Layla had started asking about the Head Healer.
"Fine, I'm done with you then. Come back later if you're worried and they'll do the same exact thing I'm doing now, but since they're certified you'll be more comfortable."
She didn't sound angry or hurt, instead just a little disappointed. Rank was all that mattered to everyone, even if you were just trying to help someone out, and Yulu wasn't going to keep going if someone didn't believe she could do the job. Even if she did like Layla she was going to just stop halfway, leaving the wound semi-packed and almost ready to be sewn shut. From here on out the others could do it, since it appeared that was what the girl wanted.
"You can leave now, just make sure to wash everything out of your wound first and keep it moist. There should be a proper healer here in a little bit, since they're only out making the rounds."
There was a bite on the word proper.
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