Of Flails and Wails

by **Lixue** on November 10th, 2012, 3:37 am

Fall
Day 74
512 AV

Lixue was never certain when the day began and ended. All she knew is that she rose with the sun and slept when she could no longer properly function. Scattered throughout the day, Lixue would take sporadic naps. The working day was always busy and full of people whose faces Lixue would not remember in a season unless their case was something drastic and unique. Cases of all sorts would cross her path, but Lixue tended to stay away from pregnancy situations. Being around what she could have been only helped memories arise that needed to stay below the surface.

During work, Lixue had created many friends. Not ones she would share her secrets with or invite them over for dinner, but those she would trust and who would trust her in the case of an emergency. Occasionally, conversations would commence between Lixue and her friends, or perhaps acquaintances was a more suited word. The person Lixue was closest to in the hospital had to be Seiled, her supervisor and head person of the medical center.

Seiled was a tall man compared to Lixue's short height of four foot nine. He measured in at five foot nine and, if Lixue had to guess, about a hundred and fifty pounds. Curly hair highlighted with amber skirts to his shoulders. Lixue had seen Seiled with and without a beard and mustache, but found he looked better with the scruffy facial hair. His colorful eyes were highlighted with this fact. Though other doctors claimed he was a very serious individual and never smiled, this was not totally correct. Lixue had seen and caused Seiled to smile on more than one occasion, even surprising a laugh out of the man. However, he was an incredibly serious individual. Lixue had learned to listen when he talked because there was a meaning to nearly everything he said. After their first meeting, Lixue had quickly learned to not drive herself crazy trying to decipher his words because, more often than not, Seiled said as he meant.

On more than one occasion, they had swapped stories. If they passed each other in the hallway and the ever changing tensions between them was good, they would swap secret looks. Sometimes, Seiled would keep Lixue company during lunch. Other times, he would randomly appear when Lixue was working the nightshift. Over breaking fevers and sharing winter-snaps, the pair had bonded. Rumors, much to Seiled's amusement and Lixue's distress, flew around the hospital on a daily basis. Some were outrageous, claiming the pair were having an affair and others were right on topic, claiming they were only friends. Seiled's favorite was that they had a daily round of sexy times in Seiled's office, where no one entered without knocking first. Lixue's favorite was that they were secretly brother and sister from a long distance aunt and Lixue's mother.

Lixue enjoyed her work at the medical center. Besides being fulfilling, the work had pulled Lixue out of her reverie after Ly had died. Lixue had fallen into a deep depression. She worked before Seiled even arrived and much later than when he left. Nightmares plagued her and many of the days were spent in a hazy fog of routine motions. Seiled had helped, forcing Lixue to face situations that she would have rather avoided. He held her in a professional manner and forced Lixue to handle the situation appropriately, learning to work around such intense emotions. Seiled made her face harsh memories and the ever lingering question of "what if".

On this particular day, Lixue was on critical care duty. She was in charge of changing dressings, checking for infections, and breaking fevers. Lixue had to watch for patients accidentally endangering themselves or others in their fever-ridden haze. This was the most demanding job on the staff, Lixue believed. There was much turmoil and tension, especially if a patient were to die. Sure, there were others on the same task, but the fact did not help Lixue. She lost only one patient; a Vantha who had caught the rough end of a blunt blade to the side. An infection had slipped into the wound and the red line of death had traveled up his side. The man's body heated up, in an attempt to force the fever out of the body.

The man died from dehydration, not the red line of death. It had been a close match.

There had been other close calls, as well. Like the pregnant mother whose baby had been breached and was born still. Such a birth had been risky. Many hours were spent in labor and Elders murmured about how long it was taking and prayed to Kihala. Some prayed to Rak'keli for a miracle. Though Seiled had put up a magnificent fight, the child was dead before it even left the woman's womb. The woman had lost a lot of blood in the battle and her body was slow to recover. An infection set in, both from the left over residue and the tears the birth had caused in her lower section. She had lost so much blood her body shut down, existing only on the necessary.

Day in and day out, the would-be mother would sit and stare at nothing in particular. Meals had to be fed to her and never did she speak. She would have been moved to her own personal room if not for the raging infection and the chance of her trying to commit suicide. Instead, the woman was kept in the critical care unit.

The accident happened on a busy day. The doctors were full with patients and had left several competent nurses in charge. Lixue was assigned to oversee these individuals with the instructions to intervene if necessary. The day was to be a learning one for the nurses who were fresh to the center. As the day wore on and Lixue instructed to the end of her voice, one of the nurses timidly approached her. Apparently, the would-be mother had been bleeding for several minutes and the nurse had just decided to fetch Lixue when the bleeding did not stop.

When Lixue arrived at the scene, the mother had managed to snatch a scalpel and slash her wrists, across. Several intense chimes were spent holding the woman's arms above her head and applying strict pressure. Lixue wasted no time in inspecting the wound. The main idea had been to get the bleeding to stop. And it did, but at a high price. The woman had nearly died and Lixue had nearly strangled the incompetent nurse who had seen it fit to only fetch Lixue once the damage was done and had spiraled out of control. Seiled had seen fit to try and take a bite out of Lixue's hide as well, because she had been in charge.

In another instance, a patient in the Critical Care Unit had been hospitalized after a vicious attack by, what the patient claimed to be, a Frostfawn Deer. The staff had speculated and, inspecting the injury, declared it to be a wolf. The man's right leg was torn to shreds and his whole leg had been broken in five different places, including the shattering of his kneecap. The man had been in the Critical Care Unit long enough for Lixue to know him by the soft gasps of breath he had while sleeping. She had also come to know his flirtatious behavior. Seiled had stepped in upon seeing Lixue be harassed one day and taken charge of the situation. The man did not bother Lixue again and even though she questioned him, Seiled would only say it was his job as her superior to make sure she had as few problems while working as possible.

While unattended, the man had somehow managed to get out of bed and drag himself quite an impressive distance from where he had landed. When the nurses discovered him, the man was sobbing violently and yelling about a drink of water.

There had been a pitcher next to his bed.

The staff deduced the man had been insane.

All of the interesting scenes happened while Lixue worked Critical Care Duty. One time, a Kelvic swapped multiple times between his forms and had been driven by his instincts to chew on the sheet covering his bed. Or anything he could find. Including the stuffed pillow beneath his head, his own clothing, and the patient information sheet hanging at the end of the cot.

A different patient had tried to compose music using pitchers filled with random amounts of water. Though he had not succeeded in creating the song he had been so inspired by, the man had amused and calmed the Critical Care Unit to some degree. Lixue had even invited him back once his swollen throat was fixed to entertain and lull the unit. Seiled had not been happy by this idea, but agreed the music had helped.

To some degree.

by **Lixue** on November 10th, 2012, 3:39 am

"No! No!"

Lixue's train of thought was shattered with the abrupt shouting. Her nearly green eyes scanned the room quickly, looking for the problem. A sliver of panic slid through her body, squeezing her heart. What if someone was seriously injured? Or if a patient was having an attack? Or had decided to attack one of the assistants? An unlikely situation, but one that had happened before by a fever driven individual. As she tried to spot the problem, Lixue's eyes ran over drowsy patients awakening at the yelling, nurses trying to also discern the problem, patients sweating with fever, sporadic bandages on damaged bodies, and movable tables littered with medical instruments.

There! A large man, nearly the size of a Jamoura, was throwing a fit. His long hair flung back in forth as his head shook and the bandage on his head had been removed by the situation. Blood gushed from his forehead, blinding him and splattering on those nearby. Big hands flailed, attempting to remove the sheet that held him to the bed only by his own weight. A nurse stood nearby, within reaching distance, a hand pressed to her shocked mouth. With eyes as big as saucers, she stared at the patient, stricken with fear.

Lixue wasted no time trying to grab her cane. It would only slow her down and she would need both of her hands for this situation. Plus a couple more if Lixue could get the shock to wear off of the inexperienced staff. Weaving between beds, Lixue was careful not to step on anyone's toes or shove anyone. They could already be injured, after all. No need to add insult to injury (pun intended). All the while, she kept her eyes trained on the situation, in case it were to spiral out of control. In case she needed to step into the path of harm.

When Lixue reached the nurse who was within reaching distance of the fevered man, Lixue shoved her back into the crowd and barked, "Step back! Clear a circle!" Hesitantly, the crowd did so, wary of the man and his antics. The nurse had stumbled back into the crowd as well with Lixue's encouraging. The man paused only for a moment before resuming his struggle to free himself of his sheet, this time renewed. "I need three experienced nurses." The command slipped through the crowd and Lixue found herself backed by three of the staff she trusted.

Good.

Turning to face someone behind her, Lixue snapped, "Fetch me long, strong rags. Now!" The frightened individual raced off to do as he had been bidden. Lixue wasted no more thought on him as she accessed the situation.

The man was clearly panicking. His expression showed it, as did the frantic movements to remove the sheet from underneath his body on the cot. But he was also just as clearly enraged. Red colored his fact, his hands were fisted when he swung them around, and his body bucked in anger. The man had a fever, Lixue could tell. The long gash across his forehead was swollen and inflamed. Pus lingered on the edges of the puckered wound. Sweat and blood fell in rivulets down his face. Lixue made a mental note to beware the man's tight hands and avoid hitting the man's forehead, in case she caused more harm.

"Bloody petching 'ell!" the man screamed. "Let me out! Get me out!" Blind eyes tried to find a source. Lixue wondered if the man had lost his sight. "The one who did this shall die, you petching hear me?" Lixue did not try to decipher the man's words. More often than not, a fevered individual would say and shout things that made little sense, if any. "Arrrgh!"

Someone tapped on her shoulder. Lixue twisted to find the man she had sent scrambling for the rags had returned. He carried more than enough for the task and briefly Lixue wondered if she had scared him. By the way the man quickly relinquished his hold on the rags, Lixue believed so. Oh, well. Right now she had an emergency. Hurt feelings could be mended later. Turning to the nurses who awaited nearby, the ones who had stepped forward in the crowd, Lixue took charge without hesitating. "We are going to subdue him. Unfortunately, as no one can get close enough to verbally soothe him, we will have to physically restrain him until he is calm." Glancing at the three expectant faces staring back at her, Lixue felt as though she was back in the Spires, taking charge and spitting out commands left and right during emergencies.

"As he is still under his sheet, this will be easier. I need one of you, preferably the lightest, to sit on his legs. Be careful, he may have injuries there. We mean to restrain, not harm. The other two must gather by his shoulders; one at each side. When I give the word, you will need to move quickly. Your job will be to immobilize his arms. I would recommend actually sitting on his arms or shoulders and using your hands to still any movement. I see no injuries on his arms and those are the deadliest weapon we must be wary of currently." A pause. "Do not let go without warning us." A nod sent the nurses moving stealthily around the bed. The man was oblivious to any of the words that had been exchanged and continued cursing loudly.

Lixue tucked three rags into her pocket as she waited for the nurses to take their positions. She moved the crowd back with a sweep of her arm, a surprisingly easy task. Tossing the rest of the rags down a short distance away, Lixue retrieved one from her pocket and moved closer on silent feet. All three nurses waited for her signal and, once Lixue gave the sharp nod, they attacked.

by **Lixue** on November 10th, 2012, 3:39 am

One of the nurses wasted no time in plopping down on the man's legs, careful of injuring the flailing man. The second grasped the man's wrist and, with surprising strength, pulled the arm downward. The man, stunned for the moment, momentarily let his arm fall to his side. The male nurse pushed weight down on the man's arm, at the bicep and wrist. The third nurse was not as lucky. The man had become aware of the situation and thrashed wildly. The nurse grasped the man's arm but was not strong enough to force his arm to his side. Instead, the man attempted to roll to the side. No one noticed the blanket slipping out from under the man's hips. The nurse struggled for a few more moments before someone from the crowd stepped forward and helped. Lixue was immensely grateful to that individual.

Rushing forward to the side where two individuals help the man's arm down, Lixue crouched down and slipped the rag through the opening on the side of the bed and around the man's thick arm. She crossed the fabric, circled one end under and pulled it tight, careful of cutting off circulation. This was completed one more time, in the opposite direction when pulling the end under, before Lixue stepped back and nodded quickly. The two released the arm and, to mostly everyone's surprise, the knot held.

Even better.

"Petching 'ell!"the man yelled, struggling in earnest now. His head twisted from side to side and his shoulders attempted to rock. Blood splattered across Lixue's face from the man's antics, but she ignored this. Pushing back into a stand from her crouch, Lixue was barely aware of someone yelling and then a force hit the side of her face.

Lixue stumbled backwards and to the left, head reeling and vision swirling. Pain erupted from the right side of her face. There was a soft thud as she landed on her bottom on the hard floor and a gasp was shoved out of her body at the impact. Through blurry eyes, Lixue spotted the nurses trying to restraint he man. One of his arms had come loose. Lixue was not oriented enough to figure out whether it was the one she had tied or the one that had yet to be tied. Blankly, she lifted a shaking hand to her cheek and watched as it came away red.

Her blood?

Someone rushed past her, a blurry of dark pants and shouting orders. In a flurry of motions Lixue could not follow, the man was subdued through force and vocalization. The man's mouth was open, most likely cursing, but the world was still ringing and Lixue could not hear what he was saying. Perhaps that was a good thing. Within moments, or was it bells?, the man was restrained to the bed. Someone was caring for his head injury even as he was still yelling.

Two people were standing in front of Lixue, who still sat on the ground in a daze. One pointed to Lixue and said something, but the other disagreed with a shake of his head. Lixue blinked twice to try and figure out who they were but gave up when the a spasm of pain shot through her cheek. Eyes swelling with unbidden tears, Lixue squeezed them shut. Was this how her patients felt when she cared for them?

When Lixue's world moved beneath her, she figured it was simply a way of recovering from the shock. Only when she became aware of the arms slipped under her knees and back did Lixue relax. She leaned the unharmed side of her face against the flat chest next to her and kept her eyes shut. To keep her mind off the pain, Lixue tried to recognize other things. Such as how the person carrying her had a long stride and a gentle walk, or how the person carrying her was obviously strong and smelled faintly of herbs. Or how the hands that held her were confident and shook a little. Perhaps it was how the person holding her was walking?

It was obvious when the person was setting her down. Though how long it had been since she had had the unexpected force smack against her face was a question.

by **Lixue** on November 10th, 2012, 3:42 am

Her world shifted again and the next second she was set on cloth that had little give. The warm arms holding her moved withdrew and Lixue could not help but feel a tad sad. The warmth from the individual was immense and Lixue enjoyed the difference between her almost always cold body to the warm one holding her. Perhaps if she lay still, the warmth would come back?

Chasing the childish thought away, Lixue waited until her world was somewhat steady before opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was how the room was slightly bigger than her own. How was that fair? The second thing Lixue noticed was that the door was shut. Was this a private room? Uncertain, Lixue let her eyes rove over the room. Impersonal was the best word that came to mind. Other than the winter coat hanging on the back of the door, the office showed no signs of attachment or that it was anything other than a seeing office. A notebook was open on the desktop. The man sitting in the chair by the desk rattling through drawers was definitely recognizable.

Seiled.

A light pink stained Lixue's cheeks at her earlier thoughts. Thankfully, Seiled was too busy to notice and Lixue did not let the embarrassment show. Instead, she slowly moved into a sitting position. The world spun in retaliation and Lixue was forced to lay back down. One elbow propped her up, keeping her head from resting on the aching cheek. And boy did that cheek hurt! Every facial movement Lixue did shot pain in a thousand different pins through the right side of her face. Still, in an attempt to recognize if anything was broken, Lixue gingerly moved her jaw and felt at the location. Pain erupted and Lixue's eyes sprouted tears, but she continued on.

Though bruised, nothing was broken.

Lowering her hand back down to the bed, Lixue became aware of the silence in the room. Seiled had fished all the items he had needed out of his desk and was studying her. The completely unguarded look in his eyes made Lixue glance away. The intenseness of his gaze made her slightly uncomfortable. It was though he actually cared.

Clearing his throat, Seiled spoke quietly, "What were you thinking?" Lixue's head was too clouded to try and figure out any underlying emotion. "You risked your life trying to take on a patient who was three times your size." Lixue resisted the urge to tell him, again, about the Jamoura and their size. This time, she was silent and let him continue. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him run a hand through his hair in... relief? Exasperation? "Even with the help you had, you should have waited until I was there. Or someone..." Bigger. The word lay unspoken. "I had been fetched by a bystander and had to excuse a patient to deal with the incident. I did not believe it was so out of control." Lixue, again, bit her tongue at telling him the situation had been under control but one of the nurses' grips had failed. "When I arrived, all I saw you... flying." Here, Seiled cleared his throat again and continued, "The patient had managed to slip loose and you were his accidental target. His fist caught you on your cheek and, since you have such a petite frame, his fist did not hit a specific place but all of your right cheek." That explained so much pain, then.

Seiled shifted in his seat. "You could have easily have been injured worse. In fact, I am going to check and make sure you were not." As was only proper. Seiled moved his chair closer, setting several items down on the cot beside Lixue. His fingers brushed at her stomach on accident and Lixue resisted the urge to arch away. "Go ahead and lay on your back." Glancing up at him, Lixue was surprised to see his hair tied back even though she should not have been. Hair in the way of caring for a patient was not a good idea.

Rolling onto her back, Lixue stared at the ceiling without blinking. There was some shuffling by Seiled, moving closer until his knees rested against the cot's side, before he released a coiled breath. When he applied only an inch of pressure on her cheek with nimble fingertips, Lixue jumped in reaction. She had not been anticipating his movements! "Relax," Seiled coaxed quietly, waiting until she had quit fidgeting before touching her again. This time, Lixue did not recoil or jump.

Seiled's hands were gentle. They did not apply more pressure than was necessary and barely skirted over her skin, teasing the her nerves into standing on end. His fingers did not force Lixue in any certain direction or push sharply against her cheek. Once, Seiled's hand paused over a certain spot and his finger ran in a slow circle before continuing on the examination. "You will have a nice bruise." Seiled's voice was closer than Lixue expected. "It will cover most of your cheek and I would not be surprised if you had a shiner as well, if not a fat lip." Here, Seiled's deft fingers lightly ran from Lixue's high cheek bone to curve around the right side of her mouth. "I am going to apply a herbal remedy I have to help take some of the pain away and reduce the swelling."

Uncapping an item, Seiled shuffled for the next few moments. Lixue was patient and continued waiting, fingers toying with the sides of the cot. When Seiled's fingers, covered in a cold liquid, touched Lixue's cheek, she had to physically resist the urge to move in the opposite direction. Not because she did not trust him, she did.

In fact, a lot.

by **Lixue** on November 10th, 2012, 3:43 am

But the concoction was cold and even colder against Lixue's red hot cheek. It also had a bitter, onion smell to it that stung Lixue's nostrils. As Seiled smoothly rubbed the liquid in, Lixue's eyes drifted shut. Even though she should have stayed awake, Seiled's motions with his hands was extremely relaxing. It almost made her want to sleep.

At least, until Seiled started talking.

"This is Aloe Vera. It is a hardy plant that grows every year. It has yellow flowers low to the ground and is a very spiky plant thick with moisture. By crushing up the leaves, it is possible to gain a gel which can be used to cover wounds in order to relieve inflammation and help prevent infections. Aloe Vera has also been found to be used as a laxative, or a herb that speeds up the digestive system." A pause as he dabbed a bit more onto Lixue's cheek. "The gel should not, however, be given to those who are pregnant. The liquid travels through the bloodstream and will infect the breast milk, in which case the infant will risk illness. Extreme use of Aloe Vera can and will cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. Aloe Vera can be..."

Lixue could not resist the urge to see Seiled's face. He was always so passionate when explaining something the individual did not already know and Lixue learned best by looking at the person speaking. Seiled trailed off as she did so, hand stilling on her cheek. He was closer than Lixue had believed. In fact, she could feel his breath on her face when he exhaled. Green eyes glanced up at him. A myriad of colors stared back at her, running over her face and full of a million different questions. Questions Lixue was not even sure of how to answer.

Idly, one finger ran in a small circle on her cheek. Whether he was aware of that or not remained to be seen. "Thank you," Lixue whispered, "You are a wonderful doctor." Seiled swallowed, nodded. His eyes glanced downward for a moment before meeting hers again. Lixue moved to shift back, to give them both space and lay back down on the cot so he could finish tending to her wound, but was held still by Seiled's hand.

Lixue barely had to time to be confused before Seiled shifted closer. His breath tickled her lips and Lixue could not help the automatic reaction but to exhale back. Her heart thumped loudly, beating against her chest. Seiled, feeling no smack against his cheek, closed the distance. His mouth covered hers, gentle and coaxing. Once, twice, he pecked her lips, swift and fast. The third was slower and Seiled tugged on her bottom lip, encouraging her to relax and give in.

But Lixue covered his hand with her own, pulling his away by the wrist even as she moved backwards. The silence was full of tension and unanswered questions. Lixue acknowledged none of that and stared at his shoulder. Seiled moved backwards, clearing his throat once before gathering up the tools on the cot next to her and placing them in their appropriate places in his desk. "I should g-"

"No. Stay here and get some rest. Your injury should heal in about a week. If you have any other problems, come see me." His abrupt manner drew Lixue's eyebrows together and turned her mouth downward. But she said nothing when Seiled left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. And she said nothing when he glanced back only once before the door actually shut.

What had she done? It had not even been a season since Ly... since Ly died. And she was kissing another man. A coworker, much less. A supervisor, someone who was her boss! How would she work around him now? How could she go home tonight and sleep in the same bed she and Ly had shared? How could she look Ly's relatives in the eyes without feeling shame and remorse? How could she so easily forget about Ly in such a moment? What would change?

What would change?

by **Valkyrie** on November 18th, 2012, 2:56 am

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 Of Flails and Wails