Haunting Memories

by **Lixue** on November 5th, 2012, 8:42 pm

Fall
Day 40
512 AV

Ginger has the ability to be more than just a cooking element. It can be used to treat stomach aches, nausea, and diarrhea. The herb reduces stomach and intestinal spasms plus supports digestion. Ginger serves as an anti-inflammatory tool. With arthritis, Ginger can reduce joint pain and swelling. The user should beware becoming injured while taking Ginger, as it reduces blood clotting. Ginger is popular with pregnant women as it helps cure nausea and vomiting. For nausea and digestion, Ginger should be given in tea form and users should consume no more than six grams a day. For arthritis, place one to two slices of ginger in bath water and soak. Gin-

"Come with me."

Lixue was startled from her work and dropped the book. Her hands flailed as she failed to catch it, but the book landed with a solid smack against the floor, bending several pages. Lixue sat staring at the book for a moment before taking a deep breath and slowly turning to meet Seiled’s eyes. How long had he been standing there? One eyebrow raised in a silent question, her mouth pursed. Without replying, she carefully leaned down and retrieved the book, gingerly dusting off the cover and straightening the pages. The book was silent as it was set on the desk, closed.

"Come with me." Again, the speaker repeated his words, more impatient this time. Lixue paused for a moment, sitting still in her chair, before nodding jerkily. Satisfied Seiled had received what he wished; the man pushed off the doorjamb and left the office. He left a lingering scent of herbs. For a moment, Lixue did not move.

Who was he to order her around? She was not at his beck and call! Nor did Seiled have control over her! Sure, she was his employee, but there was no excuse for his bluntness or his egotistic orders. As if everyone would jump to his call! Lixue had to admit, most did. In fact, she herself did. But she did not want to, did not want to follow his every command without a choice or opinion. For all he had known, she had been trying to learn a difficult surgical technique and would never remember it now. Or had been reading a steamy romance. Highly unlikely, but he did not know that!

Pulling the door to her office open, Lixue tugged the pack off the hanger in the back. Seiledhad given her no information, so Lixue was only to assume the worst. Someone could be lying out in the cold wilderness, their life bleeding out on the snow below. Or an Icewatch member could have had a bad day and taken a half-hearted swipe at someone, catching the other person by surprise. Perhaps... perhaps another hunting party was attacked, like Ly had been.

The depressing thoughts were shoved away as Lixue roughly, perhaps more than necessary, packed her bag. Several sets of bandages went in, a closed container of honey, a clear thread and needle, two canteens, several herbs, a makeshift splint, rags, scissors, and several other instruments. Lixue still packed her bag as though she was in the Spires: With extra everything. What she thought was enough bandaging had to be doubled. Honey was carried by the jarful. Everything was neatly organized inside the bag, to Lixue's specifications. If there was an emergency and she could not reach a bandage in order to stop someone's bleeding, a patient would die.

With this in mind, Lixue shoved a couple more rags inside.

by **Lixue** on November 5th, 2012, 8:43 pm

Tossing the bag over her shoulder and retrieving her cane from the vase it sat in on the floor, Lixue glanced around one more time before gently shutting the door to her office. Seiled's head snapped up at the sound of someone entering the waiting room. He had been sitting in one of the chairs, elbows on his knees, appearing deep in thought. An emotion flickered across his eyes, gone in the next tick. Lixue, used to his mood swings, paid this no mind as she met his eyes and then continued walking past. Her cane tapped against the floor, the only sound in the room besides Seiled pushing to his feet and following.

For a long while, Lixue walked in silence. She had no destination in mind but did not let Seiled in on this fact. Let him stew and think she was mad at him for disturbing her reading. She was not, but he did not know that. Perhaps next time Seiled would ask, or at least knock instead of scaring the daylights out of her! Even as she tried desperately to hang onto her anger - it would keep her thoughts from straying too far on depressing topics - Lixue knew it was a futile task. The man had done nothing wrong and had even requested her assistance on a task.

The snow beneath their feet crunched and small clouds puffed from their mouths. The wind nipped at Lixue's cheeks, snapping them into a rich pink color. Suddenly, she wished she had remembered to grab her jacket. It was not as if the cold bothered her, but she sure would have been more comfortable! Neither spoke and, if not for the slight smell of herbs, Lixue would have completely forgotten Seiled was with her.

"Take a right up here." The command was unexpected and Lixue jumped, startled. Eyes that were slowly losing the black shade glanced up at Seiled before flickering away. Had he known she was ignoring him? Most likely. There seemed to be no reaction.

Lixue was pleasantly surprised Seiled was walking the same pace as her. Most people could not help but to go faster and would, accidentally, leave her behind. Others did not expect her to move so fast and would be left behind. Rarely did an individual match their pace to hers. Especially when she/he was in a hurry.

With multiple more direction, the location they arrived at was the Makutsi Springs. Lixue had never actually been there before, but had heard rumors about the pools. Strange objects would appear out of nowhere at random times, just like objects would disappear from the springs. The descriptions people have told her were non-comparable to the real thing.

The water was hot and steam rose into the air. Perspiration stained Lixue’s hair, encouraged her body to sweat. There were six pools, she counted. Five fell into the next, clear liquid splashing. A strange light glowed from the pools and Lixue was curious. What was keeping them lit? Glancing at Seiled, Lixue noticed his eyes searching for something; someone.

by **Lixue** on November 5th, 2012, 8:44 pm

With a more scrutinizing glance around, Lixue spotted what he was looking for. A dark haired woman was laying in one of the pools, leaning back against the side. Her head was thrown backwards and a look of pain covered her face. Fisted hands scraped the edges of the pool, trying to grasp something, anything. A swollen belly protruded out of the steaming water. Reaching out with a pale hand, Lixue grasped Seiled’s sleeve and pointed in the woman’s direction. Seiled showed no appreciation before striding towards the pool. Lixue was left to follow.

When she was closer, Lixue could distinguish the female to be Vantha. If not for the look of pain, the woman could have been stunning. Bright pink mingled with amber and turquoise in her almond shaped eyes. Full lips were opened with a silent gasp and thick eyebrows were pulled together tightly. A lean neck scooped at her collar bones and a puddle of water –or was it sweat?-pooled there. She was completely nude.

One of the woman’s hands reached out and grasped Seiled’s, who gave it willingly. Her fingers clenched over his and Lixue spotted his quickly hidden wince. Lixue wondered who this woman was. His wife?Lixue lost her breath for a moment. There was a look of affection in his eyes, after all. Then again, it was not her business. Seiled’s hair was long enough to hide a Cheva mark, so Lixue was not entirely certain. Looking closer, Lixue could tell the woman had a Cheva mark, in the shape of a crescent moon.

“Hello, I am Doctor Lixue,” Lixue spoke smoothly, allowing only a comforting tone to slip into her voice. As she spoke, Lixue laid her bag off to the side and crouched down. The woman’s colorful eyes zeroed in on her form, a question in her eyes, and Lixue nodded. Yes, she was here to help.

Seiled seemed to have jumped back from his momentary reaction and burst into action, releasing the woman’s hand. “How far apart are the contractions? Start counting, Lixue.” He, too, set his bag off to the side. Instead of standing still, however, he rolled up his pant legs and waded into the water. Lixue glanced away as he parted the woman’s legs, inspecting. One hand sat atop her stomach, feeling any movements and keeping the woman in place.

Lixue did as she was instructed; counting the chimes between the woman’s pained gasps and her attempts to recover. It was easy to tell when a contraction was happening. The woman would arch her back, moan, and reach for her stomach. Her face would screw up in pain and the water would splash with movement as her head fell backwards, rolling side to side. The recovery was less intense, with loud huffing, falling back against the side of the pool, and the clenching and unclenching of her fists.

“Three chimes.” Seiled nodded, busy.Lixue did not look to see what he was doing, did not want to see the process of a man inspecting a woman. Instead, she trained her eyes on the horizon, keeping both Seiled’s hand upon the woman’s knee, and the woman’s flailing head in sight.

Once upon a time, Lixue had dreamed of being in this position. Of giving birth to a piece of herself.Of having Ly’s child. They had tried for a long time before Lixue had begun to be worried. If nothing was wrong, why did her stomach not grow from a child? Keeping it a secret from Ly, Lixue had seen a doctor in the Spires. The woman told her no sturdy information and claimed Lixue’s stress level, which was very high at the time, was keeping her from becoming pregnant. They continued trying, wanting a family so desperately. Ly said he wanted a batch, Lixue just wanted one. Just one miracle.

When they arrived back in Avanthal, one of the first things Lixue did was seek out a doctor. The lady told her Lixue was barren, infertile, could not have children. That her inner canal was extremely scarred and having children was out of the question. That was the day Lixue also learned her body quit having the seasonal process that enabled her to have children. There was no chance, no hope.

Before he had… passed on, Ly never learned of this fact. He obliviously assumed Lixue could have children. He still dreamt about having a small bed in their room, waking up in the middle of the night and cuddling the child back to sleep in the chair, of encouraging its first steps, and of seeing Lixue breastfeed. Lixue was not cruel enough to burst the safe bubble his dreams lay in.

by **Lixue** on November 5th, 2012, 8:45 pm

“Lixue!”Lixue’s head snapped toward Seiled’s piercing gaze. A scowl pursed his lips. Seeing the devastated look upon her face, Seiled’s expression softened, only momentarily. He knew of her problems. After all, it was in his hospital that she had been inspected and it was in his hospital where her dreams were crushed. Why would he bring her into a situation where he knew Lixue would be sucked into her own memories? Why would he choose her of all doctors to be in this situation, especially when other doctors did not have the harsh memories haunting them?

While she had been zoned out, the pregnant woman had cut off all circulation to Lixue’s hand. When had the woman grabbed it?

“Lixue!”Seiled nearly growled. “Come down here. I need your help. The baby is turned and my hands are too big.” A frightened tremor caused his voice to shake, if only for a moment. The pregnant lady did not notice, sucked into the vortex of another contraction. But Lixue noticed.

With quick movements, Lixue rolled her pantlegs up and pushed her sleeves back to her elbows. Wading into the water, Lixue was surprised at the warmth of the water. It was sort of… relaxing, in a way. Lixue shoved her ill thoughts away and focused on the task at hand. Letting her thoughts wander was not a good thing. Especially when she was working with a patient whose life was at risk. Not to mention losing the patient would cause the baby to be lost as well. If the child was not killed, it would grow up without a mother.

Seiled moved to the side, guiding Lixue to stand between the woman’s spread knees and himself. With one hand on her shoulder, he guided Lixue to kneel. Liquid seeped into her clothes. One finger pointed toward the woman’s canal and Lixue grimaced. This was not a situation she had been in before and, after seeing how today had been so far, not one Lixue would like to be in again.

Seiled’s voice was closer than Lixueexpected when he began speaking, warming her ear, “The child is turned. Its feet are trying to come out first and, if this happens, his arms can suffer damage if in the wrong angle. Not to mention the umbilical cord risks being torn out or encircling the child’s neck.” Hesitantly, Lixue nodded. “My hands are too big for her narrow hips. You will need to reach in and turn the child. Be careful of the cord and do not force any actions. You will want to turn the child to the right.” Obviously Lixue did not have a choice in this matter.

Lixue let her hands fall into the water. If they were wet, they were less likely to be rejected by the liquid of her womb. Besides, the woman’s canal was underwater. Scooting forward, Lixue reached out. From the contractions, the woman’s canal was enlarged and Lixue’s small hands slipped inside with some ease.

The first thing she encountered were feet, connected to chubby legs. The moisture in the womb was thick, extremely thick, and Lixue found gripping the child’s foot was a more difficult task than she expected. Besides sliding away, the foot moved.Lixue had known a child was alive before it came into the world, but she had not known it could move. If Lixue had been around more pregnant ladies during her lifetime, she may have known about a baby’s “first” kick or how the child’s movements could cause discomfort to the mother. But she had not been and when the child pulled away from her hold, Lixue jerked in surprise. Seiled’s hands on her shoulders tightened fractionally. Lixue pushed away her emotions and set back to work.

This time, when she gripped the foot, Lixue did not let go. Her fingers curled around the thick ankle and held the infant in place. With the other hand, Lixue sought out an arm or hand. To do so, she extended her own arm further into the woman’s canal, now up to her wrists. The arm was the easiest to find, as Lixue first touched the fisted fingers and easily identified the limb. Gripping the appendage, Lixue paused for a moment. Only long enough for Seiled to correctly determine her hesitancy and murmur in her ear, “To the right.”

by **Lixue** on November 5th, 2012, 8:47 pm

Gently pulling the arm down and pushing the ankle up, Lixue encouraged the child to turn. At a certain point, she let go of the ankle and pushed only on the furthest leg, also letting go of the arm and pulling on the opposite shoulder. When both her hands were on the child’s shoulders, Lixue slowly released. The child fell into place in the canal, kept in only by Lixue’s hands. Gingerly, Lixue removed one hand at a time from the woman’s canal.

The woman screamed, both in pain and relief, and threw her head backwards. Her knees tried to clamp onto Lixue, but Lixue held them in place. The muscles in the woman’s lower half clenched, a head appeared. Taking the initiative and reacting only from instinct, Lixue laid her palms on either side of the head and pulled only when the woman pushed. It took only a few chimes for the body to appear and Lixue quickly lifted the child’s head out of the water.

As Lixue gazed down at the child, she was overwhelmed by emotions, none of them good. In place of the woman, Lixue saw herself. Instead of Seiled, it was Ly. The child was theirs, not this stranger’s.

Seiled had, while Lixue was intent on her task, slipped away. He returned with a rag and scissors. Lixue handed the child over without saying a word or even glancing at the infant and waded out of the water. The woman grasped her shirt as she did so and Lixue had to bend down to hear what the woman was saying. “Thank you. I do not know if my brother could have done it on his own.” Lixue nodded jerkily before stepping away. Seiled was cutting the umbilical cord and swaddling the child.

She had never truly known how cold Avanthal was before now. The cold seeped into her clothes, effectively freezing them wherever they had touched the water. Lixue rolled down her pant legs, leaving only a dark ring around her thighs. Lixue rolled down her sleeves as well when the wind nipped at her skin. The most horrifying part, however, was not how physically cold Lixue was, but how emotionally frozen she seemed. There was no reaction to the woman, Seiled’s sister, and none to Seiled at the current moment. Lixue did not want to be where she was. Did not want to absorb the situation and react accordingly. Did not want to smile and act like she enjoyed this part of her job, where the memories came back to haunt her.

When Lixue swung her bag over her shoulder, she was not surprised to see Seiled approaching her. The man wore a determined expression, as if he could somehow complete every task set before him. Lixue could not bring any fear to the surface and was left to wonder what he wanted. Perhaps helping the woman clean? Or fetching her new clothes? Maybe Seiled wanted Lixue to take the child back to the hospital with her. If so, he would not have left the infant suckling from the woman’s breast. Slowly, Lixue clenched and unclenched her fingers on the strap of her pack.

Before Seiled’s mouth even opened, the emotions in Lixue erupted. She shoved at his chest and caught him off guard. Seiled stumbled backwards, opening his mouth to protest. “How dare you! How petching dare you!” Lixue kept her voice low, so the new mother would not hear them arguing. Not like she would have noticed, so absorbed in the child was she. “You had no right bringing me into this situation with my current circumstances!” Again, she reached out to shove his chest. This time, Seiled caught both of her wrists and held them, even as she struggled.

“Lixue!” The sharp rebuke did nothing to calm Lixue’s emotional turmoil. Seiled’s grip on her wrists tightened, more in instinct as she struggled again, trying to tear her arms away.

“Why would you bring me into this situation, DoctorSeiled?” Lixue accented his title, an insult if there ever was one. It also put up a wall between the two and Lixue saw when he recognized it, his eyelids lowered to shield any emotion from showing. The emotion had changed and Lixue stood still, head bowed. She breathed deeply, more from her struggle than anything else. Seiled still held her wrists, in case of another attack. “Why would you torture me, Seiled? Why?” Instead of anger, depression and pain filled her voice. A small tremor shuddered through the words and was echoed by a harsh sob.

If Lixue had been more aware of her surroundings, she may have noticed Seiled’s thumbs running in soothing circles over her wrists. As it was, she stared at the ground and watched as the tears fell. In a whisper, Lixue informed him, “I am going home.” There was a pause, the air thick with tension, before Seiled released her wrists and stepped back.

And when she walked away, he did not follow.

by **Valkyrie** on November 8th, 2012, 10:15 pm

Lixue :

You Will Be Collected if Worthy

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.

Solo Haunting Memories