A Day at the Clinic (Solo)

[Maya Frostfawn]

Timestamp: Summer 15, 523 AV Location: Doctor Petricious's Clinic Maya had left home later than she had intended. She had gotten distraction by the drawings she was casting in her dry flesh with the tips of her fingers, the edge of her nail. A sloppy design meant to match the slope of distant mountains; she had hoped it would appear like the bark of a tree. But her efforts had been for naught--she could hardly tell what they were intended to be when she sat back and scrutinized them with squinted eye. She had hastily dashed a dusting of dry dirt into her wrists, onto her cheeks, as though she were applying a cloud of rouge, before running out the door as she raised her hood over he head, completely neglecting her belongings as she scurried through the streets as quickly as she could manage toward work and the crazy doctor she had left behind but a mere day before. The good doctor made no comment when she finally arrived on his doorstep, her clothes disheveled--marred by a mixture of wrinkles and dust. Merely waved her inside the clinic's depths, so they could get to work. There were already patients about, some of which he had seen without her, in varying states of disarray, and disrepair, some moaning about the amount of pain they were in, others sitting stoically, bathed in their own silence as they awaited their turn with the good doctor and his latest assistant. Upon entering the Clinic, Maya fought the urge to wash her hands--for that would wash away the dirt and her disguise, and simply listened as the good doctor explained that they were currently open for clinic hours. At this time, patients would march in one by one, explain their ailment, and they would offer a cure as quickly as possible before sending them on their way so they could get on to the next one and help as many people as they were able. This caught Maya off guard--she wasn't accustomed to the good doctor acting... normal. She narrowed her eyes, they were hidden within the depths of her hood. She kept her gaze trained on the doctor's back as he took the first patient in. A young man, perhaps thirty years of age. With sandy blonde hair and sea foam green eyes. There was a nasty scar over the left one that looked like it had been there for quite some time and he was dressed in rags, which looked as though they had been soaked in a mixture of mud and grime. Maya blinked at the patient, wondering what was wrong with them. Then turned to the doctor, when he said nothing, she spoke. "What's ailing you today?" The patient blinked, as though they had not been expecting her to be the one to speak. "My stomach." He said simply. "What's wrong with your stomach?" she asked. "It's been hurting." Maya frowned. "How? Is it a pain... nausea..." Her voice trailed off. "Nausea. And I've been having some trouble eating." At this point, the good doctor finally tore his gaze away from the patient that sat on the table before them, looking glum. "What would you suggest as his course of treatment?" the doctor asked. It seems as though he's using this as a teaching moment... how oddly... normal... Cautiously, unsure as to why the doctor was acting this way and for how long it would last, Maya answered. "There are a few things we could do for him. We could suggest rest." She shrugged. "Some tea." "What kind?" the doctor interrupted. "Peppermint." The nuit replied instantly. "Ginger. Chamomile." She paused. "The chamomile is also good if one's sleep is poor." The doctor nodded. And Maya was thankful she knew this simple information from when she was a kid. "And what should the patient avoid in order to keep from making his situation worse?" the doctor inquired. Maya blinked, didn't answer for a moment too long. "Things like milk. Alcohol. Spicy foods. Heavy foods. Coffee, although I doubt he could afford it," the doctor went on as he eyed the man up and down. "Yes, doctor." She said before turning back to the patient. "So tea and rest are in order. Come back if you don't feel well in a few days." The patient nodded and scurried off. One down... she wasn't sure how many more to go.

[Maya Frostfawn]

OOC: Amputation takes place. After another moment, the good doctor shepherded the next patient in. This one was an older woman, perhaps 60... or 50... or 70... It was pretty difficult to tell, but she sat down on the table after hobbling toward it, struggling to get onto it, and waited. Her hair was white and wispy, held in a loose bun, with loose strands flying about her ears. Her skin was pale and wrinkled, same as her attire, and her hands were worn, twisted and gnarled. "How can we help you today, Ma'am?" Maya asked of their new patient after she had settled down upon the table. "My feet aren't what they used to be," the patient replied in a raspy voice. It reminded Maya of something being dragged across a bed of pebbles. "How so?" she inquired. "They hurt all the time, no matter what I do, how much rest I take. It's like I'm being stabbed over and over and over with a bunch of needles all day long. I can't get anything done!" Maya frowned. Any number of things could cause such a condition... the woman could have something small stuck in it, causing her pain. She could have a number of medical conditions... the list went on and on. "Would you mind if we took a look at it?" The woman shook her head. "Just fix the darn thing, would you?" Maya nodded as she approached the woman and slipped her slippers off and onto the floor. If she had been human, the nuit might of gagged. As soon as she removed the slippers from the woman's feet, a rotten stench filled the air that would twist any stomach, no matter how strong its constitution. The feet had been twisted, their flesh darkened. It looked tight, somehow, as though it were being stretched taut over the woman's bones. Their shape was imperfect, as opposed to being flat or even arched slightly, they were curled a bit in on themselves. Her nails were long and crusted with grime... but the shade of the skin was the hardest thing to overcome. And the hardest to understand. It was black. After a moment, Maya asked. "How long have they been this color?" The woman shrugged. "Awhile." "Can you give me an estimate on how long they've been this way?" The woman shrugged again. "A month, maybe more." A month?!? And she had only just come to the doctor? What in the world? "We can give you something for the pain..." Maya began feebly, before turning to the doctor, "but I don't think there's anything we can do to get rid of it entirely. You'll have phantom pains... we have to take the feet off before the inspection spreads to the rest of your body and more flesh has to be stripped away." The good doctor nodded, almost grimly, but Maya could see a nasty smile twitching on the edge of his lips. The woman began to scream... they hadn't even done anything yet. "Hold her down, Maya. I'll do the dirty work." Maya nodded grimly as she approached the patient, the good doctor produced their bone saw out of goodness knew where, and as Maya held the weak and flailing patient down, the good doctor set to work, holding her down with one of his own hands to try and make the cut relatively clean. He worked feverishly, slicing with quick motions through her very bones as the woman continued screeching until she finally passed out and blood had pooled around the first of her lost limbs. As the doctor readjusted to work on the second of the woman's two feet, Maya began mopping up her spilt blood with a rag she found on a nearby table and pulling out thread and a needle from storage to sew their patient back up. By the time she returned to the operating table, the good doctor was most of the way through the woman's second foot, and she was clearly losing a lot of blood. Probably more than she could handle. Maya pressed a pair of fingers to the side of the woman's neck. She couldn't feel a pulse. She held her head over her chest next, and couldn't hear her breathing. She looked down at the old woman. She couldn't see her chest rising and falling either. "I don't think she's with us anymore, doctor." The doctor wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and looked up from his work; he had just finished sawing the other foot off. "You're right, let's get rid of her and get ready for the next patient." Maya nodded and quickly, and unceremoniously helped the good doctor dispose of the body by throwing it out the door for the crows to enjoy.

[Maya Frostfawn]

By the time the pair had finished disposing of the body, the doctor was drenched in sweat and blood, but said nothing of his smelly and disreputable state, and Maya's limbs felt heavy and tired. Her arms were trembling slightly, but she too, said nothing, waiting for the doctor to be the first to break their silence. "Get the next patient," he said after a time. "Yes, doctor," she replied, before heading to retrieve them. She thought she had noticed more this morning when she arrived at work late, but there was only one human there now. The old woman's screaming must have frightened the others off, or they were simply too tired to continue waiting. "Come with me," she beckoned, to the man who was still waiting, an individual who looked to be of middle age with salt and pepper hair and a large beer belly. She led the patient into the operating room and gestured to the operating table; the patient calmly set themselves down on the table. "What brings you in today?" Maya asked after they had gotten settled. "Can't sleep." Maya nodded. "Are you having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or both?" The patient answered, swiftly, "all of the above." Maya nodded. "Do you know roughly how many hours of sleep you are getting each night?" she asked next. The man shook his head. "That's no trouble. There are a number of simple solutions to aid those who are struggling to fall asleep." The patient nodded as he adjusted his position so that he was reclining with his hands folded over his chest, his right leg crossed over the left. "You could try some tea. Chamomile is a favorite." She paused. "Lavender also works." She paused. "And lemon." She smiled. The doctor cleared his throat. "I think you mean lemon balm, Maya." If she had been human, she might have had to hide a sense of embarassment, but she felt nothing over her mistake. "Sorry--you're right doctor; I meant lemon balm." A pause. "I've heard meditating before bed helps some people fall asleep as well." The patient nodded. "I can try that." Maya smiled. "Wonderful. Is there anything else you need from us, today?" she asked as the doctor moved over to the storage shelves, retrieved something that she couldn't see--it was bathed in shadow, and returned to the patient's side with the item hidden behind his back. She wondered if he had retrieved some sort of treatment for the man. "No, that's--" the man was cut off as the good doctor cracked a glass bottle over the man's head, leaving a bright blue bruise behind as the light left the man's eyes. A red liquid spilled out and onto the man's clothing, the operating table, and the floor. Judging from its scent, Maya thought it was alcohol. Either something they used to numb pain or clean wounds. "Or my personal favorite... you could always render a man unconscious." The doctor smiled viciously as he set the broken bottle down beside their patient's unconscious body. "Help me with him," the good doctor grunted as he grabbed the man's arms. Maya knew what was coming... they were going to put the patient with the others. The ones who screamed long into the night. The ones who were unlucky enough to become the good doctor's pets and experiments until they expired... or were released back into the wild. Without saying a word, Maya obliged by running to grab the man's feet. She doubt they would have any more patients that day, after everything that had happened.

[Maya Frostfawn]

Awards: Maya Experience: +2 Medicine +2 Interrogation +2 Observation +1 Camouflage Lores: Peppermint Tea: Good for an Upset Stomach Milk: Bad for an Upset Stomach Alcohol: Not Good for an Upset Stomach Medicine: When Amputation Becomes Necessary Medicine: How to Check for a Pulse Chamomile Tea: A Wonderful Sleep Aid Notes: Please keep in mind herbalism and medicine are separate skills.