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Jen the Quiet Vice Captain
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 Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2005 7:54 pm
Donato finally started to calm down a bit, taking a few deep breaths to pull himself together. In a voice still threatening to break into laughter, he spoke to Julia. "Haha... Sorry, what was that, Julia?"
"Whatchoo laughin' at?"
Patting her headspikes gingerly, Donato replied. "Oh, nothing. It's just a crazy day."
"Really? Whyzat?"
Oh, dear. This could last a while. "...Nevermind." Donato reached for another plate and put some food on it. Then he placed it in front of Julia, drawing his own away from the little hedgemiss and back before himself, where he could eat his meal without trying to reach around tiny paws.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 12:32 am
::And so they left the hubbub of the Great Hall behind them; upward they went to the infirmary; their abbess there sleeping in all her grandeur with a tiny spit bubble being blown in and out of course as she lay up in bed, Jasmine gently pulling the curtain closed as she passed::
Shoulder wounds are tricky... no way to really get to them properly without a deal of discomfort I''ll admit... just now if I can get you to lie down on a cot so I can take a look first...
Shune, herbs for the burners, please... may just make it a little more comfortable I hope...
::Of course, this was Ather''s first time in the infirmary; although Salamandastron''s was equipped to deal with many dozen wounded soldiers at a time; this room seemed to be maybe just as big; the half dozen cots there were the forepart, with the normal red walls and a fireplace yet to roar into life, with many hanging lamps it seemed for the burners; and beyond the cots was the main part of the infirmary, with all the shelves of different herbs and remedies and supplies as well as a work table and many other instruments, it was a modest place; but perhaps a healer as himself would have appreciated it::
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 2:12 pm
::It looked like a respectable place; It did remind him a lot of Salamandastron''s infirmary (the size and all), yet it lacked the many wounded creatures, loud noises from both patient and healer alike, and just the simple chaos he had witnessed before. He looked around a bit until Jasmine spoke to him. With a nod, he sat up on one of the closest cots, laying back into the cot and trying to keep himself from getting nervous. He didn''t mind the infirmary usually, considering he was the one doing to diagnosing. But when he was the patient, it did creep him out a bit. Luckily, though, Terra was standing just beside him, smiling::
You tired? ::She asked, noting the fatigue that had settled into his face. I almost looked permanent. Ever since their parents had died, both raccoons seemed to not sleep as fitfully as they would have liked::
::Ather nodded a little, turning his head to watch Jasmine:: Do I need to tell you what happened?
::He didn''t want to, really, but he wouldn''t mind if it was needed. Recalling the moment was hard for him, considering he was teetering on consciousness most of the time::
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 2:36 pm
Shune had stood off to the side in perfect silence and patience, watching as Jasmine started to get to work. As soon as she was given an instruction, she moved with alacrity. In the next blink she was off to the shelves, knowing exactly what she needed and where it would be.
She took a stool and pushed it close to one of the shelves, clambering quickly up onto to it. With small patient paws and a practiced eye, she picked out a couple different small pouches of herbs. She climbed down from the stool and was back at Jasmine's side in moments.
She never spoke a word during this, though that wasn't really a surprise. She was well-known at being quiet, even among her Dibbun friends. It was rare to see her in a talkative mood, though it did happen. She traditionally only spoke when spoken to. It wasn't a polite habit of hers, nor really a shy one. It was just her personality to observe and soak in information rather than speak.
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 3:32 pm
Well... it may help to know what to expect before I unwrap that shoulder of yours...
::She accepted the herbs in open paws; with a smile and quick nod of thanks to Shune:: Better get the water ready too, Shune, I'll see to the burners...
::She set about moving this way and that between the aisles of the cots to the burners, slowly lighting them one by one with the herbs sifted gently in by paper funnels:: Although... guessing roughly so many various ideas... you haven't got the thing set in a splint, so it can't be broken... stab wound... either a vermin sword or one of those nasty scorpions...?
How bad do you believe? ::This was a difference for her to ask advice, but then, he himself was a healer too; maybe she was trying to calm him down and think rationally of the situation just now...::
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Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2005 3:54 pm
::Jasmine was very talented at healing, Ather guessed quickly. She was quick to assume what had happened to him, and she was right on as well. He gave a nod:: A scorpion's tail.
::He tried to remember how deep it had gone in, even though it was a hard thing to recall. He remembered feeling it stick in his skin; it was in pretty deep. Enough to make it hard for him to be released. Eula had to yank him back before the scorpion's tail let him go::
I...I think it went all the way through.
::Terra simply listened, not letting any emotion in her head showing on her face. She was proud of Ather for going into battle, but upset because she hadn't been there to help him. She always claimed she was the better fighter, which was slightly true. terra wanted to be a warrior, Ather didn't::
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:24 am
::Jasmine suddenly grimaced, but not at the thought of a scorpion's tail going through him... rather what the scorpion's tail going through him would DO...::
::If it went through and there was no splint now; she had to assume it had just missed the bone... but above that would nearly shred the arm off; below it would be just as bad an injury... she remembered the bloody tinge in the gauze... it must have been some days since they'd left Salamandastron and it was still bleeding...::
::She didn't let them see her face as she finished the last burner... she didn't want to say anything until she'd spoken to Ather in private:: What did the Salamandastron lot do for the wound?
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 1:17 pm
They did what they could. From what I can remember, they cleaned it up and tried sewing it. But there were a lot of other creatures in there...more banged up than me. ::it had been a war, after all. His leg wasn't falling off, and he hadn't been covered in scorpion acid...his shoulder wound was treated lightly and then dismissed::
It took too much time. They ended up just wrapping it tight, giving me some herbs in this tea drink to help with the pain, and moving on. I've been changing the bandages myself since I left the infirmary.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:36 pm
::Jasmine grimaced again, and slowly thought how to go about this... if she asked Terra to leave now, she was very sure that she would suspect the worst... so she continued stalling with her little chore of hers there...::
You've been changing the dressings? How does the wound look to you?
::She knew that final question would have to sum up what happened to him now...::
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:54 pm
Shune arrived a few minutes later, a basin filled with water in her small arms. She walked slowly and carefully, minding her steps to keep the water from sloshing over the side. She deposited it carefully on a stand beside the cot, standing on tip-paw to accomplish the feat.
Then she walked over and hopped nimbly onto the cot, sitting at the edge of the cot opposite from Jasmine and the wound the vixen was inspecting. Sitting beside the patients was a habit she'd grown into, most likely formed through the limited view she could get when a patient was laying down.
Again, she said nothing as she watched with a wide, alert gaze. She had a mostly expressionless face, not seeming terribly bothered by the sight of the raccoon laying their with his bandages seeped through with blood from his shoulder.
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:54 pm
::Ather decided he'd be honest with Jasmine now, even if Terra was there. His sister would just have to worry::
The fact it's still bleeding has me worried. There appears to be no infection, but it hasn't closed.
::Terra bit her lip, refraining from saying anything. She wanted to ask Jasmine what this meant and if her brother was going to be alright and all that, but instead she stood there, trying not to be rude. She was probably going to explain things anyway.::
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 2:18 am
::Jasmine finally turned back to look at Terra and Ather together; there was indeed no way to declare this without Terra finding out somehow::
I may need to perform some surgical procedures on the wound... ::She finally let out, not sure just how bad the sentence could be taken::
As I'm sure you both know... Scorpion's tails aren't just very sharp, they're quite big... the fact a stinger ripped through means their may have been a sizable gap that won't close by a simple stitching...
::She looked to Shune quickly:: We'll need help on this one... if you could find Triniwind for me... she'll probably be downstairs... I'll need both of you to help...
::And she looked back to Terra slowly:: This may be something not best seen Terra... ::She turned back to Ather, looking to examine the arm of the injured shoulder:: You may want to wait outside while we work...
::Without letting her reply, she wanted her to think it over first, Jasmine gently held Ather's hand and elbow; and gently raised, just an inch:: I need you to tell me Ather... the feeling in this arm... if you can still feel it very well? ::Her left paw gently pressed under his wrist, feeling for a distal pulse::
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:24 pm
::In truth, Ather had been expecting that. Didn't want to hear it, but expecting it none the less. Terra wouldn't take it too well, but Ather kept himself calm and simply nodded as Jasmine spoke.::
::Ather had been right. Terra sucked in a soft, almost unheard breath at the mention of her brother needing surgery. She wasn't aware that the wound had been that serious...
And the mention for her to leave, Terra didn't respond immediately. She wanted to stay by her brother's side; be there for him, considering she hadn't been before. But she didn't want to see him hurt, or in pain, or anything like that.
Watching this procedure go down was not a wise choice on her part::
Right. Well...I'll be...outside. ::she replied softly, still in a little bit of shock. Ather reached out and took one of her paws in his own, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go, allowing the young raccoon to leave the infirmary with a dazed sort of look on her face. She didn't stay outside the door; she left, hoping to find someone else to talk to and distract her.::
I can still feel it, but there are times when it just goes numb. I won't be able to move it for minutes, sometimes hours at a time. But it usually always come back ::He'd been afraid, though, that one time the feeling in his arm wouldn't return::
It'll suddenly start hurting as well. Like, out of nowhere, it'll feel like I'm being stabbed again.
::He was trying to be a thorough with Jasmine as possible, wanting to make sure she was able to get a diagnoses of this whole mess::
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:13 pm
::She closed her eyes for a second, pensive in thought... thinking long; good and hard after Terra had left...::
::Her last patient... she hadn't treated Kusaa or Tannia... she'd only watched over them... her last memory was Ayla...::
::Failing her... it was an unfortunate deal that came with a healer that sometimes you would lose a patient... but it was worse when you knew them... or knew something about them... or knew they put all the belief in the world in her that she could bring them from the brink...::
::She knew Ather's wound was not fatal... but blood loss was a problem... and she knew the worst case scenario...:: Ather... ::She began:: I'll be blunt...
Best case scenario... the scorpion tore up some of your tendons... I operate... maybe manage to repair some of them, you'll have the arm back working in a few weeks... maybe months... even a season or two... but... it-
Either way, it will never be the same as before...
Worst case scenario... it's nothing fatal... but your loss of feeling in it... I think the damage may have been slowly working upward... even if there's no infection... you may lose the arm altogether...
::She kept talking, not wanting him to panic:: I'll operate to the best of all my knowledge; and we'll see what happens... it may not be for days or even a week or two before we see if we were lucky at all...
I just need you to understand all this before we begin...
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 5:09 pm
::When one was told they might loose their whole arm, they find themselves thinking about what they could do with themselves with only one arm. Ather was trying imagine working on his healing skills with just one arm, and he couldn't even fathom it. An arm was an arm....you never thought twice about it, until of course, you were at danger of losing it.::
I trust you, Jasmine. Whatever happens, happens. ::he replied calmly, trying his best to keep himself optimistical. He knew what it was like when odds were against you; you wanted so badly to save someone but sometimes you just couldn't give them what they wanted. He remembered holding an elderly squirrel back at Camp Tussock; his leg had been torn off, and it was obvious he was going to die. It was all Ather could do but make him comfortable, and try his best to keep him alive for just a moment longer. He'd wanted to creature to live, of course, but sometimes things didn't work out the way you wanted::
We should get started soon, though. I've let it sit for too long ::he said bravely, breaking out of his memory with a slight shake of his head::
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