Closed Being Useful [Kavala]

[Rhy]

24th Day of Fall, 512 Late Morning Sanctuary The common room of Sacntuary's Within has a large, ordinate fireplace hewn into the solid stone. The fire is always cackling or has been left to simmer into pulsing embers, as the staff never seem to let it die. Whether it is a fluke of design or a very clever strategy, the fireplace opens up to the large room in such a way that the heat radiates across the space evenly. Even the floor rarely gets cold in the crisp fall mornings. There is a space directly in front of the fireplace that seems to gather more heat then usual. The light reflects off of the chimneys jutting lip and the back of the fire grate to pool in a liquidy warmth that feels marvellous on a thick back of fur. And its all hers. Rhy's bones pop and crack like the fire at her back as she pushes the last of the sleep from her four legs. This is what she has dubbed 'prime territory', since every dog in the Sanctuary wants to get their paws on it. And it took considerable effort (and not a little backbone) to wrestle it from every dog wandering in looking for a nap. But its now hers. She has the rights to it before every other dog. One last heavy sigh and Rhy gets heavily to her feet and gives an almighty shake that starts at her scruff and shudders to her tail. Finally awake, she makes her way outside at a fast clip. Breakfast for the workers has come and gone, and most, if not all, can be seen going about their endless chores and jobs needed to keep this place running. For some reason she feels a sharp spike of guilt over this. She sleeps here now, plays here, she ranks well with the dogs, the workers even feed her if she's around at the daily meals. They have saved her life at least twice and she has made many friends inside the imposing walls. And she's never paid them back. They toil over construction, animals and healing while she sleeps off her dinner in front of the fire. She stops in the courtyard to consider this. Her brow knit and staring at the ground as if she has just recently discovered it. She's never had a problem with receiving charity. Her pride is thin at best and her guilt is reserved for special occasions. Then why is this different? Well for one thing, she reasons, she really doesn't need the charity anymore. She is perfectly capable of standing on own now, despite the rocky start. But deeper then that, she realizes she has to concede that she is of no value to anyone here. And the thought makes her balk. Her proud Drykas father would be spitting in his shallow grave if he heard his daughter was taking advantage of people like a criminal. Or a pet. She looks up to the open gate no more then a few feet away. Work and responsibility may mean less of this freedom she has been so enjoying. But the inside of her head is calling like a hollowed out echo: useless, useless, useless. She's a pet, a decorative thing with no substance. She has no one to serve. And it bothers her. With an angry snort and a clomping stride she turns her back on the gate and marches herself back towards home. She needs to find Kavala. Its time to start being useful.

[Kavala]

Kavala was knee deep in trouble, literally. A client had dropped off three large dogs, and they were all sick with the same thing. She wasn't sure what was making them ill, and even being a second marked healer didn't mean she could instantly diagnose diseases or see what was wrong with an animal. What it meant was that she could heal bones, mend flesh wounds, and stabilize patients rapidly. The problem was, the dogs could have had any number of things wrong with them and the client had brought them in very late in their illness.

Late meaning, they'd been sick a while, evidently, and were loosing weight rapidly. And they were all loosing it out of their back ends. These were not small dogs either. The three Falivan Elk Dogs were far larger than Kavala and simply unable to move. One moaned in pain, the other two for the most part were silent. Kavala worked on them rapidly, but she could see almost immediately that whatever it was that had been working on them had been working them for a while and it might be too late. The two listless ones were not broadcasting much at all, having slipped into almost a coma of blank suffering. The moaning dog was Kavala's best chance at saving all three of them. The bitch was broadcasting pain, rapid shooting pain, from her stomach radiating outwards throughout her gut region. She felt like, to Kavala's estimation, that she was being torn up from the inside out.

It hurt the Konti to even have her gift open wide enough to feel the dogs pain, but she needed to know. Kavala had to find out what was killing the dogs.

The Konti immediately fed the female dog large quantities of charcoal, pouring it down her throat mixed with water, knowing it would soak up any poison that might still be in her system. However, that didn't mean it would help with any poison that had gotten into her lower intestines. The confusing part, to the healer, was that the dogs seemed like they had swallowed something that acted like a weapon from inside out, and then were poisoned. Kavala just didn't understand it. She then rolled the dog on her side, palpated her stomach, and shook her head, not understanding. Even her pressing on the stomach caused the bitch great pain. She kept pressing and pressing, but all she could feel was a small hard lump that caused the dog shooting pain.

Kavala in desperation pulled out a surgery kit and prepped the bitch for surgery, and to put her out. She kept a careful eye on the other two as she worked, but not hopeful they'd make it.

[Rhy]

Kavala could be anywhere right now. Since her time here Rhy has learned that schedules are relative and hell can break loose at any moment. Meaning you are where you need to be at any given time. This place doesn't run by the bells, its dragged along behind them, kicking and screaming. Which, of course, can make finding the Konti a bit of a challenge. First stop is the stables. Manned by Aweston today, it seems, and no Kavala to be found. Rhy shifts to human at the entrance and waves a hello. "Afternoon! Seen Kavala around?" Aweston smiles when he sees her, stopping his sweeping to lean casually against the broom and take the opportunity to wipe at his brow. "A guy brought a couple of dogs in today, they looked to be in a bad way. I'll bet you she's still with them. Check by the clinic or out to the Kennels." She gives him an approximation of a demure smile, followed by a ridiculously exaggerated bow. "thank you, kind sir." He tips his imaginary hat in return. "Fare thee well, lass." Rhy waves merrily and jogs the rest of the way to the clinic. The door is ajar, letting the cold fall air bleed into the gap. She lets herself in and closes it behind her, dulling the sound of the usual Sanctuary bustle. The pads of her feet make a soft brushing sound across the stone floor like the scrape of insects. "Kavala," she calls, a smite too loud for the proper decorum of a clinic. Nobody answers. But there is a strong smell of some sort of antiseptic floating through the air, along with the sharp tang of excrement, and underneath that the strange, heavy smell of rotting fruit. Curious, she follows it to the exam room, and opens the door with a snick. "Oh!" Three bitches lay on their sides, listless, and one moans in pain as Kavala ducks behind her to retrieve a surgery kit. Rhy stumbles forward and pats at the neck of the nearest dog. If she's aware the Kelvic is there she doesn't let on. While Rhy may know next to nothing about healing, she still has enough sense to tell the dog is in a bad way. Really bad. She fights the impulse to run from the room. Her, the Kelvic street rat, asking for a job at a place of healing? Its laughable. She has no idea what to do. The dog wears her suffering like an aura and Rhy feels helpless against it. Leaning in closer and mumbles to the bitch in a voice a dog can respond too, full of soft, calming sounds, and stroking her in a way a human cant. The dog groans heavily, and Rhy gets a wiff of her breath. She smells of rot. Useless, useless, useless. "Kavala?" She calls, loud enough to be heard over the dogs moaning. "Tell me what to do."

[Kavala]

The Konti looked at Rhy and seemed relieved. "I know you can't talk talk to her, like us people can, but Rhy can you talk to her like a dog would, read her body language, her eyes, and ask her what happened? I know you kelvics can communicate to each other in your own language. I need to know what she went through, what happened.. .if a stranger gave her something to eat or she ate something that smelled bad. Don't waste time on the other dogs.. just her. She's conscious enough to be of some use. If we can get more information, we might save them. But the other two are pretty far gone. I don't think its going to help.. any of it with them. Just her. Focus on her, the one we can help." Kavala said, even as she got busy deadening the bitch's lower body so she could cut into her stomach.

As soon as the dog was not going to feel any more pain, Kavala opened her up and then felt along her stomach and GI track. As soon as she did so, the Konti gasped, reached for her scalpel, and made a swift incision. She reached her hand in, yelped, and quickly withdrew it, bleeding. Kavala swore, sealed the cut on her finger with her gnosis, and grabbed for her large tongs.

"What in the world?" She said aloud, fishing around and finally hearing the sound of metal on metal. Grasping with the tongues, she pulled the item out and stared at it, finally looking up and meeting Rhy's eyes. Dropping it in a metal pan, she moved back to the dog, shoving the tongs back into the dogs stomach, fishing around as if looking for more. There was nothing, so her hand replaced the tongs, healing the tearing and incredibly painful damage to the dogs stomach.

Then she had to repair the body cavity where stomach acid had damaged it, and then closed the incision after making sure the glow from her hands touched everything within the dog that she might have touched... preventing infection.

While she was doing so, it give Rhy time to either talk to the dog, or inspect the item. If she were to inspect the metal item, she'd find it roughly the size and shape of a small egg. Probably crafted by gadgetter, its smooth body triggered and opened up like a deadly weapon, sending razor sharp spines out in all directions. It was most likely something the dog had swallowed while smooth, and then had opened up once it was in her stomach, subjecting her to an agonizing death.

Kavala worked furiously and when she was done, she lifted the large dog over to a nearby table, and replaced her with the second dog. The third dog, it appeared, was already dead.

"Who... who would do something like this?" Kavala said, gritting her teeth in anger as she worked. She knew there was very little hope for the second dog, but she wanted to try anyhow.

Then as almost an afterthought, Kavala glanced at Rhy. "Talk to her? Tell her we know whats wrong and we can fix it if she just holds on? Give her some encouragement?" Kavala said, prepping the dog in record speed for surgery. Not even bothering to shave her abdonmen.

[Rhy]

Rhy nods in understanding. Talk? She can talk. Talking is easy. She bends over the moaning dog and tries to say something. Focusing on her simple task with a single-mindedness that will block out the other two that they are not helping. Leaving them both sprawled on the floor without even a gentle touch. Part of her hates Kavala for deciding who should be saved, the other half is grateful that she wouldn't have to make that decision. She tickles the dogs whiskers and her lips twitch in response. Her heavy brown eyes roll in Rhy's direction but she doesn't seem to see the Kelvic. Her eyes dilate and contract as she tries to focus. Rhy ruffles her ears to keep her concentration, she tells her where she is, and that they will make her better. But the dog is well past caring, so before she slips down to oblivion again Rhy asks her what happened. Why is she sick? The dog lets out a long moan. She speaks of meat wrapped in light doses of poison and a man who smells like hot metal. All three of them were bought only a week ago. And brought to a small place where strange half-dead mechanical things lay on the floor shelves. He would feed the dogs generously and watch their reaction, always looking for something. but it never seemed like he found it. Then the eggs were made. Little metal eggs that hummed. The man put his magic into the eggs and they came to life. She spoke of how he made all three of them eat the eggs, they tasted of iron. And of how they waited for hours. Then he spoke a word and there was blinding pain. Then it would stop, and her belly would replace the agony of the slicing intruder for the agony of new, open wounds. Then he would say that word again and it would start all over again. The bitch starts to fade again, just as a sharp exclamation hisses through the Konti's teeth. Rhy knew exactly what she would find, but it still made her recoil when the object was produced. It is a cruel looking thing. And just gazing at it seems to invite pain. While the woman works Rhy peers into the tray. I looks completely lifeless. She can't imagine It could be... alive. Her hand dips into the tray, fluttering around the thing like an anxious butterfly. Did it have a switch? Could the spikes go back? What did the bitch say. The man said 'open' when the pain started. Could it really be voice controlled from within a body? "Open", she whispers. Nothing happens. If not a switch, then a command? Is it intelligent? She puzzles over this, and wets her lips. "Close?" The needles disappear with a snap, causing Rhy to jump back in surprise. But Kavala is asking her over, the next dog is ready. Rhy jumps to her side, kneeling beside the dog and visibly shaken. She pets her in slow, methodic strokes, comforting her with the touch, but demanding that she stay awake. Rhy turns to Kavala. "I don't know what its for... But I think its alive. Or-or at least it can listen. These girls come from a place filled with automatons and strange gadget things. They were a test. This is a test." Something hard passes over her face, and her voice keeps a note of a growl. "He wasn't trying to kill them. He was trying to torture them."

[Rosela]

E
E

Congratulations! You've Been Awarded:

Kavala :

XP:
Leadership +1

Lores:
Divine Healing Doesn’t Include Diagnosis

Additional: As Rhy is retired, I didn’t award any personal lores related to her. If you’d like them anyway though, just let me know and I can add them in here. Otherwise, the big skill here is medicine, which you’re already maxed on.

Rhy :

Rhy, if you ever return to Mizahar, just let me know and I’ll add your grade here.

Notes :

Have to admit, a little horrifying to read, I really wish this could have continued if only so I could find out what happened! Also realized how much I miss Rhy, too bad she’s gone. In any case though, another great thread

If you have any questions or concerns about what was awarded, don't hesitate to PM me. When you're finished, please edit or delete your grade request from the grading queue.
E
E