It's Only a Flesh Wound (Sahashkalila)

[Asha]

Timestamp: 81 Spring, 512
Location: Injury Ward/Base Camp

Asha grumbled darkly as she walked through the Base Camp, heading for the Injury Ward. Her large black legs covered the distance quickly, bringing the makeshift first aid station closer and closer. Her right hand was grasping her left tightly; a few drops of blood marked her path. She felt quite the fool at that moment, and her eyes darted around to see who was witnessing her self-proclaimed ordeal. Only a few minutes before she had been helping some elderly Jamoura to strip bark from a sapling with a sharp knife. Her hand had slipped and the knife had cut her finger, much to the elder’s mirth. Wicked old creature. The wound was superficial, nothing more than an annoyance really but the blasted thing just wouldn’t stop bleeding. Once the elder’s laughter had subsided he had instructed her to scat and get her “gaping wound” seen to. An elderly female Jamoura who had been overseeing the bark stripping had patted Asha’s shoulder in sympathy, shaking her head at the laughing Jamoura. With a curt farewell she had trudged off to nurse her finger and her pride.

Asha’s mood was rather sour at the idea of visiting the Injury Ward. She hated the smells that accompanied such places, the metallic scent of blood and astringent medicines stung her nose and nauseated her stomach. She had a weak stomach for illness and wounds, even her time in the fog of the Spires and the fights she witnessed had not improved her disposition towards matters of the health. Having the metallic scent of blood rising from her own finger was extremely unpleasant for Asha, her stomach began to churn as she thought about it. And as all fears go, the more she thought about it the more irrational she became. With each step towards the Ward her mind created a new fear: what if it got infected from the blade? What if it didn’t heal properly and fell off from gangrene? What if she bled out completely and was nothing more than a husk of fur and bone? Suddenly she was at the entrance of the Injury Ward, she was slightly surprised to find herself there, having somewhat displaced her sense of time and place while lost in her fears. She shook her large black head a few times to scatter the silly thoughts away, they were of no use. Determined to get it over with, she stepped through the door.

“Can somebody bandage this?” Asha loudly called across the ward and stuck out her injured finger, keeping the dripping blood as far from her body as possible. As the healers inside glared at her she realized that perhaps she had been a bit too loud with her request. As she saw that some of the patients were in far worse condition, she felt a bit sheepish for her selfish way of demanding service, and brought her finger back towards her body to clutch again. She looked down at where a few drops of her blood had marked the dirty floor and felt her head begin to swim. The sight of the ruby spatters was a bit too much for the Jamoura to handle.

[Sahashkalila]

After an emotionally trying day yesterday, Kalila was back in the injury ward attending to the patients who were still afflicted with the strange fever. Some had pushed through it during the night and were sleeping peacefully, while others still tossed and turned in sweating fits, trying to ease their burning skin. The best she could do for them was continue to give them the medicine that Jorg had made early that morning, seeming to have recovered from his...condition...temporarily at least, while she placed cool clothes on their brows. Her body was weary and her mind exhausted, feeling it more so today after the loss of her cloak, the cold seeping onto her bones. If she wasn't careful she would slip into slumber, and quite possibly not wake up until a few months later until the weather warmed up. She was grateful for the bit of a break that she was given when the patient she was tending to finally fell into a calm slumber and she left the wet upon his brow before getting up with a sigh. Her back cracked as she stood and she moved to go take a bit of a breather before the entrance of a young Jamoura female caught her eye.

The female Jamoura was easily much larger than Kalila, and her golden eyes studied the Jamoura intently, noting that she looked rather nauseous from the look on her face. Her concern immediately mounted as she saw the blood dripping from the female's outstretched finger, although she cracked a smile at her words. Things suddenly made sense to Kalila and she looked around the rest of the injury ward, seeing if anyone else was going to take care of the injured giant. There did not seem to be a rush of volunteers and Kalila sighed once again, stepping forward to handle the situation.

"Hello my friend,"she said softly as she reached the Jamoura, a kindly smile on her face since her veil was tied around her waist. She reached out slowly to take the Jamoura's hand in her small ones, looking at the cut before she looked back up at her. "I can fix thisss without trouble if you would like me to? Come on over to thisss bed over here." She then gestured towards and empty bed and led her newest patient over to the bed, sitting her down and then pulling up a chair so she could sit down in front of her. "My name iss Kalila, can I know yourss?" Kalila knew from experience that patients always seemed more comfortable when they were able to talk about things that were familiar, and asking for a name was always a great start. Kalila had also never really gotten a chance to talk to another Jamoura besides Jorg in the four days she had been there.

[Asha]

Asha watched curiously as the woman approached her and gently took her finger. She assumed the woman must be a healer, and since she did not recognize her it was likely that she had come to the Spires with some group or other bringing aid. When the woman spoke Common she seemed to have a strange accent, one that was difficult for Asha to place. Asha had not had access to many travelers before the djed had plunged the city into a mad descent, and even then she had been hesitant to approach strangers. Now that she was surrounded by so many new creatures and beings in the Base Camp she felt her knowledge base expand every day. Her experiences with the new arrivals had taught her to pace her questions and begin slowly though, a few seedier characters had not enjoyed her inquisitive nature.

Asha allowed the woman to escort her over to a bed, sitting down obediently. She was eager for the woman to bandage the little cut and hide the wretched blood from her eyes. The queasiness of her stomach had not improved, and she was beginning to worry that she might embarrass herself by revealing her lunch on the floor. The thought of that threat brought a little shiver to her spine and she determined not to focus on the cut anymore. It would be taken care of, no need to concern herself. Asha concentrated her attention on the woman’s words as she set about tending Asha’s cut.

“My name is Asha. You must be one of the new arrivals brought to help. From where do you hail? How has your time in the Spires been?” A gentle smile accompanied her words. A head cocked to the side marked the start of a bout of curiousness. She couldn’t help but ask questions, though she told herself to take it slow. It was best not to scare away the woman so quickly, else she might end up with only a half-bandaged finger and that would not do. The other staff present at the moment didn’t look to promising either; she knew Jorg by reputation could be difficult to keep out of the fog of memory and there were few other competent looking staff in eyesight.

[Sahashkalila]

Kalila scooted closer to the female Jamoura, reaching to grab a rag and dip it in the basin of water that was on the bedside table and looked down at the cut that was on the Jamoura's finger as she listened to her speak. While the cut may have been rather small to this....Asha....it was rather large to Kalila, since Asha's hand easily dwarfed Kalila's. It wasn't deep at all however, just a surface scrape, but it needed to be cleaned and bandaged lest it get infected with something else.

"Thiss might ssting a little,"she said softly as she began to gently clean the Jamoura's finger to get rid of any dirt that may have accumulated since she was cut. "It iss a pleassure to meet you though Assha, I have not had the chance to sspeak to many Jamoura ssince I arrived here." She looked up at smiled at Asha, pleased that she seemed to want to be friendly and talk. It felt nice to actually have some sort of conversation with another being that was not sick or had trouble remembering things. "I wass one of the volunteerss from Ssunberth to offer aid to thosse who needed it....and it sseemss that many need aid." She looked back down at Asha's injured finger and dipped the rag in the basin once again before she continued cleaning it, her thoughts wandering slightly. There was so many that seemed to need help, things that were sometimes out of her own hands and had to rely on Jorg to help with, but he could not always remember what needed to be done and so...she felt as if she was floundering without a way to get out. Her knowledge was limited, but she tried the best that she could, and that was all that she could really do.

Asha seemed to be just as curious about her as Kalila was about her, and Kalila welcomed the questions. It was also good to get her to focus on something else besides the cut on her finger. "The Sspiress iss actually quite beautiful, but it iss cold here. Almosst too cold for my boness," she said with a chuckle, deciding it would be best to be honest. "I am not ussed to thiss closse clusstering of vegetation, and sso I feel a bit clausstrophobic here. My real home iss in Ahnatep in Eyktol, where the land and sskiess are wide open.." She inspected the cut once again before she placed the rag in the basin, deciding that she had gotten all of the dirt out of the wound. SHe then picked up a bottle of salve that would aid in the healing process and prevent infection and opened it, its pungent odor none to pleasant. "Each to hiss own though, I ssupposse. For thiss iss your home and sso it musst be lovely to you. I would love to ssee what it iss like with out thiss fog, it troubless me."

[Asha]

Asha kept her eyes on the woman’s head as she leaned down to clean the cut. Asha dared not watch her proceedings, she knew it would be too much to handle. As the blood was quickly mopped up Asha felt herself relax somewhat. It stung a bit, but it was certainly better than the alternative of dripping blood so Asha didn’t mind the sensations. The mention of Sunberth intrigued Asha, from her elder Jamoura who had travelled through the land she knew that Sunberth was a place of little law and much aggression. It was difficult for Asha to see a gentle healer such as Sahashkalila fitting in among a city of rapscallions. Though she imagined that there was probably quite a need from all the fighting she had been told of. “Sunberth is a chaotic city, isn’t it? I’ve not done much travelling but I’ve been told it can be a frightening place at times.” She left out that many of her elders had warned her that it was no place for a gentle Jamoura such as herself. She didn’t wish to offend the kind woman seeing to her cut.

The mention of the desert was what really perked Asha’s interest. The concept of a desert was so completely foreign to everything she knew. She had been told it was an ocean of sands, often not a plant for miles. It sounded like a desolate place, yet somehow it sustained life. The desert was almost a mystical place in Asha’s mind, the kind of location where fairytales and adventure stories took place. “What is Eyktol like? I’ve heard it’s awfully hot there. That a Jamoura can sweat right out of their fur in the heat. It sounds so peculiar, I must admit. I’ve spent almost my entire life in the Spires. A few years ago my parents took my family on a trip to see Avanthal, but that is much different from the desert. I can imagine how cold you must feel if you grew up in the desert. Especially when you don’t have any fur, you humans really ought to have grown fur. I think you’d be much better off. Though you may get a bit warm in the desert, that is true.”

Asha pursed her lips as she thought about human’s lack of fur and the implications of it. The poor things really were quite worse off without it, it greatly aided survival. Fur provided such warmth she couldn’t imagine not having it. Asha had often wondered at the hairless bodies of humans and the discussion of fur seemed perfectly normal to her. She did not realize how bizarre discussing fur might be to a relatively hairless being whose only experiences with fur were animals and clothing. Asha was always well meaning but often did not realize that the things she pondered may not be as appealing to others.

[Sahashkalila]

Kalila could feel some of the tension leave her patient's body as she finished cleaning up the blood, and a small smile found its way to her lips. She had the sneaking suspicion that her patient was not very fond of the sight of blood, coupled with the way the she did not look at the cut and the way she had made her entrance to the ward. Kalila did not mind, many people did not have the stomach for the sight of blood and that was fine, not everyone could handle it. Kalila took that as a sign that they did not have a violent heart, at least that is what she liked to believe. She placed Asha's hand into her lap for one moment to place some of the salve on her own fingers before she picked up Asha's hand again, looking up for a moment to smile reassuringly.It was a simple salve made from marigolds and agrimony, which helped speed the natural process of healing to the skin. "Thiss will ssting a little bit, but it will help keep the cut from getting infected and heal fasster,"she said, always feeling the need to explain what she was doing before she listened to Asha speak, feeling the her patient was a rather curious person.

She gently smoothed the salve onto the skin, making sure the she got all areas of the cut. "Ssunberth iss a rather chaotic place, but I ssuposse it hass itss meritss at timess. You are never sshort of ssurprissess, but it iss alwayss besst to keep up your guard there. Mosst people are not the friendly ssort,"she said with a chuckle, her fingers still moving gently on the Jamoura's. "Ass for Ahnatep.....it iss the jewel of the desssert, one of the mosst beautiful placess you will ever ssee, and rather exotic. It iss full of bright colorss ass if every day iss a party of the grandesst ssort." She found that the more she spoke of her home, the more that she missed its sandy walls and the exotic sights...but she burst out laughing at Asha's comment about growing fur, the sound ringing around the ward and causing some of the people to stare at them oddly. She did not think she could grow fur if she wanted to, scales seemed to prevent that.

"Yess I do ssupposse you would be a bit uncomfortable there,"she said with a smile, looking up at the female and tugging gently on her fur teasingly before she looked back down at the cut and nodded, placing Asha's hand back into her lap so she could wipe the excess salve off of her hand. "I could usse ssome fur right now though, I think I would feel much better." The conversation they were having was an odd one, but Kalila found that she was enjoying it immensely. It was nice to have someone to talk to that seemed just as interested in her, and Kalila always liked engaging conversation. She reached for a small roll of bandages and began to unwind it to place on Asha's finger. "You know, thiss iss the firsst time I have ever met a Jamoura, traveling here I mean. I admit that I feel rather ssmall compared to you." She smiled up at the female, not meaning anything offensive by what she said, just stating an obvious fact.

[Asha]

Asha grimaced for a moment as the salve made contact with her cut. The sting was light but hot, and the feeling faded quickly to a dull warmth. Now that the blood was cleaned from the wound and the thick salve spread over it Asha had a much easier time glancing at the cut. The ragged divide in her skin still unnerved her somewhat, but the queasy feeling was beginning to subside. Blood was the real culprit behind Asha’s fears; it was far too violent of a red for the gentle creature. The life of everyone was violent and hard enough without adding blood to the mix. Or perhaps it was blood’s imperative relation to life, and the implications of losing it that truly scared the Jamoura. Contrary to her typical nature, it was the one subject she preferred not to dwell on. Sahashkalila’s words helped to bring a smile back to Asha’s face, particularly her comment about Asha’s size. It was nice to meet a human who didn’t hesitate to comment on the obvious.

“I do not mean to insult your choice of residence, but this Sunberth does not sound like any place I would deign to be. I know that there are many in this world that thrive off the thrill of danger, but that is far too rough and tumble for me. Besides, I can barely tolerate a cut as you can see, I don’t think I would find Sunberth to be to my taste.” Asha did not mean to be rude to the woman, but she was not one to lie about her opinion. She tried to poke fun at herself to make light of the situation, her obvious distress at the measly scrape had caused her a bit of embarrassment in retrospect. Now that the cut was almost taken care of she felt how silly her initial actions had been. No need to dwell on that though, Sahashkalila had knowledge of the outside world that Asha hungered to absorb. “But this Ahnatep sounds grand. It would be worth putting up with the heat for such a sight. One day I will visit there. But I may need to shave my fur off first.”

Asha laughed lightly at her own joke. The woman’s laughter at her previous thoughts of fur had given her the confidence to express humor from a Jamoura perspective. Not all humans enjoyed jokes that mostly pertained to non-humans, and it was pleasant to find someone willing to be open and indulge in her Jamoura-centric jokes. “And it’s practically a compliment that you find me so large. You see, among my species I am considered rather small. There are some Jamoura males that tower above me and make me feel quite tiny. It’s nice to be big to somebody, though I know size can say very little about a person. But I’d best not indulge in that sort of vanity or soon my head will be fit for only keeping bees, as my mother would say.”

[Sahashkalila]

Kalila smiled as she began to gently wrap up the cut on Asha's hand, enjoying the Jamoura's quirky personality, her humor slightly more from an animal's perspective, but welcomed all the same. "You do not offend me my friend, becausse you sspeak the truth. Your opinionss of Ssunberth clossely match my own,"she said with a chuckle, continuing to wrap the bandage around her finger so that the salve would not get rubbed or washed off. "But it iss alright, not everyone iss able to tolerate the ssight of blood. I like to believe it iss becausse their heart iss pure, but that iss just my own ramblingss." She shook her head with a smile, placing Asha's hand in her lap once more to get the sealing resin to keep the bandage's edges together.

She laughed once again at Asha, the though of her actually shaving to to to Ahnatep was an amusing one, and for a brief moment she wished she could see that. It would be something that she would never forget. "You would get terribly ssunburned if you did that Assha, but I can't ssay that the thought doessn't amusse me,"she said still giggling, brushing the resin across the bandage and setting her hand back in her lap for it to dry.

"Your mother ssounds very wisse though,"she said a little more softly, a slight twinge of sadness seeping into her. Kalila's mother was gone, and there was nothing she could do to bring her back, so there was no point in sitting here feeling sorry for herself while she tended to a patient. "Now, you sshould be all patched up. Leave thiss bandage on for a few dayss and try not to get it wet, once the resin sstartss to crack around the edgess you sshould be able to take it off and the sskin healed. If it feels odd though, or starts to burn, or even if you feel ssick, then come back here immediately sso we can ssee if there iss infection." She did not really think that that was going to happen, but she was obligated to say it because there was always the slight chance that infection could set in, even in a cut as small as hers. "But I believe you will be fine."

[Asha]

Asha smiled as Kalila finished bandaging her finger, glad to be over with the process. Kalila had been gentle and patient with her, but it was a process she had a hard time enjoying. She held up the encased appendage before her eyes to inspect it, a most artfully done procedure indeed. She had noted a hint of sadness in Sahashkalila’s voice when she spoke of her mother, but the healer did not seem open to discussion of it so Asha respectfully stayed silent on the topic. The list of instructions that followed was simple enough and Asha nodded gently in response to them.

The healer had been gracious and patient, kindly engaging Asha in conversation and laughing at her strange jokes. Though most healers did not expect payment of any sort, Asha wanted to reach out and somehow show her appreciation to the woman. She knew that she was not an easy patient to deal with, and an uneasy Jamoura was not the most welcome of individuals to most people. Though she had precious little to give, she wanted to be kind in turn. Thoughts turned in her mind and an idea formed, edges of concepts slowly falling into place to form a complete solution to her desire. Asha stood hesitantly, unsure of how the healer woman would feel about her offer. “I can’t thank you enough for taking care of me Sahashkalila. I know it’s only a minor cut, but I’m not an easy patient so I appreciate your calmness and aid. I would like to give you something in return, something you may be able to use in your time here in the Spires. At least, I hope you will find it useful. Would you care to follow me outdoors? It’s not far.” Asha thought of a small patch of brush she had spotted earlier, and a hardy survivor of the cold spring among the weeds. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do.

Breaking free from that paradigm she considered how Sahashkalila might have taken her cryptic offer and quickly sought to clarify herself. “Oh, I only wish to show you a lovely little plant you might find useful. Its growth is fairly prevalent in Taldera, and I imagine it has relatives all over Mizahar.” Asha gestured an arm toward the opening of the Ward, wondering if the healer would be amenable to her offer.

[Sahashkalila]

Kalila moved back a bit as Asha stood, marveling at how much smaller she was once again compared to the Jamoura. She smiled and then turned to clean up what little mess had been made, turning back to the Jamora as she began to speak. She wasn't an easy patient? Asha was once of the easiest patients Kalila had ever had to deal with, and the thought made her laugh, her eyes twinkling in mirth. "Asssha, you have been one of the easssiesst patientss I have ever had to take care of. It hass been no trouble at all,"she said with a smile, patting her friend's arm fondly, and appreciating her offer of repaying her in kind.

"You do not have to repay me at all Asssha, healing sshould not come with a price,"she said, her personal feelings showing as she spoke. She did not think a price should be put on healing, because everyone needed aid at some point in their life, whether they were rich or poor. "But I am alwayss open to learning new thingss if you wissh to sshow me."

She moved towards the exit at Asha's gesture, letting her know that she was alright with following her outside. It was always nice to learn new things that she could put towards her work, and this would be helpful knowledge of the region for her. She pulled out the small notebook that she kept on her person and then took her veil and wrapped it around her head once more, her features covered except for her eyes. She then turned back to Asha, the slight crinkling of her eyes the only indication that she was smiling. "Lead the way."