What a Waste [Lixue]

by **Geothryn** on November 17th, 2012, 12:18 am

24th of Fall, 512 AV

Geothryn nodded to the Icewatch guards who stood at the gates, throwing a wave at their general direction, causing his lute case and spear to shift uncomfortably on his back. Rolling his shoulders and letting his arm drop, he maneuvered and shimmied his muscles so his precious cargo would once again rest easily. There were a few other people on the road out of Avanthal, but not many. Geo gave each a nod and a smile, but for the most part he was ignored. That was fine with him; the people were likely busy, and probably wouldn't want to have a friendly chat. The times were tense, and given the stormy weather and stormier politics, Geo couldn't wait to leave, if only for a short while. The weather had let up for the day, so it was really perfect timing. Pulling his hood over his head, he took a deep breath as he stepped out of the city.

After walking for some time, Geo looked at the sun's position and determined it was some time before 12 bells. Or maybe some time after. It was hard to tell when the sun was so high up. It may have been as late as two or three, but it really didn't matter overmuch; As long as Geo made it back before sundown, he should be fine. He had told Felix after working nearly all morning that he needed fresh air that wasn't tainted by the smell of old books (The latter portion he of course kept to himself), and to his surprise he was given the rest of the day off. Having no other plans, Geo decided to take a stroll in the wilderness.

Geo wandered for a bit, distracted from his pondering the suns' position by cloud formations that reminded him of great ships sailing across the sky. And there was a smaller canoe trying to keep up with them. And a school of fish following close by. And a dolphin or two. He smiled at the sea-in-the-sky and then stumbled, caught unawares by a pile of snow in the ground. Throwing his hands out, he flailed his arms about in an unsuccessful attempt to right himself before he fell.

Spitting snow and dirt out of his mouth, he gingerly got up to his hands and knees, and then carefully sat on the ground, not wanting to roll over and damage his lute. Looking around, Geo saw water some distance off, although by the reflection of the light the ice floats started only a couple hundred meters away. Sighing, he pulled the case off his back and jammed his spear point-first into the snow.

Holding the case close to himself for a moment, Geo took a deep breath of the cold autumn air. Unclasping the case, he opened it and took out his lute, a beautiful thing indeed. He knew every curve of its neck, every knot of its wood, every strum of its strings. Well, not every strum, but enough to make music. Beautiful, beautiful music. He toyed with the pegs for a few minutes, plucking the strings and making sure each one was tuned correctly.

He strummed the lute for a while, playing through the chords and doing exercises to improve the dexterity of his hands. With deft motions he plucked the harmony and wove it through the chords of his strumming. This wasn't a new song, though; In fact, it was a very, very old one. He would often hear his grandmother humming it over the oven as she cooked dinner for the family. As far as he knew, it had no words.

He started to sing, then, as he played his grandmothers' song. The words were unimportant - something about seal meat and lettuce, don't let mama forget us - but some portion of his mind tried to remember them. They actually fit quite well. He would tell his grandma when he went back to his family's Arvinta. She would like them. If they didn't already have lyrics, that is. Or maybe Geo rediscovered their lyrics by accident. And he became famous because he resurrected a dead song using nothing but his lute and his wit. The thought made him smile.

A grunting noise made his fingers slip and he mucked up the notes, leaving the air ringing with discordance. The sound of something sliding over the ice found its way through the chilly air and into his ears, where his brain, in a flit of panic, interpreted it as the hissing of some giant snake creature. Moving with deliberate slowness he gently put his lute into its case and then grabbed his spear, turning towards the source of the grunting, sliding noise.

Ten feet away lay a Waste Walrus, its beady black eyes staring at Geo with unblinking coldness that befitted a creature who made the wilds its home. It grunted again, a harsh guttural sound that made the hair on the young mans neck rise. He brandished his spear and jabbed it in the air towards the beast, hoping to scare it off. Although Geo was no expert, the thing didn't seem too mature - its tusks were roughly a foot and a half, and it didn't seem all that big. Maybe six feet long. Alright, bigger than Geo was tall. All in all, Geo was scared. Terrified, even. He took a few steps, not away from it, but away from his lute. If the thing charged his precious lute would be nothing but splinters afterwards.

It slapped the ground with its stubby little flippers, and grunted its challenge once again. Geo locked eyes with the walrus, and, trying to test something, bared his teeth and growled at it. It pushed forward, surprisingly fast for something so large. Two tons of grey flesh and gleaming white tusk approached him, grunting and hissing and slapping the ground with its massive weight. Geo didn't even have time to turn before the thing headbutted his legs, sending him sprawling backwards. He fell to the ground and rolled twice, spear gripped close to his body, trying to gain some distance from the beast, before it slammed down on his right foot, bending the extremity in an angle it was not supposed to bend. He felt his foot go numb. Another shove. Another grunt. Geo screamed as he felt something in his leg snap. His leg felt suddenly warm, as blood gushed from the wound. The walrus tossed its head, his tusk tearing open his pants and the skin underneath. More warmness. More blood. Geo gritted his teeth and, spear still in hand, contracted his abdominal muscles and, with both hands gripping the spear, brought the cold-iron point down, aiming for the creatures eyes. The spear made a wet crunching sound as the tip pierced skin and bone, and the walruses weight bore down on him in its entirety. He stabbed twice more, screaming all the while in both pain and determination, before passing out.

Geothryn woke up, and it was dark out. His teeth chattered and the pain in his leg flared as he tried to move his body. So cold. The blood had lost its warmth long ago, and now it just made him wet. Wet and cold. Cold and dying. Geo cried a bit, praying to Morwen for help. Praying that he didn't die out here, in the cold. He let his head fall against the ground, cold snow sapping the heat from his neck. Before he closed his eyes and fell back into the deep sleep of unconsciousness, he thought he saw a light approaching from the city.

Pain in his leg. He was jostled awake by movement. Hands on his arms. He was found! He was saved! A voice was talking to him, and he groggily opened his eyes to look at his savior. The Ice Watch. "Lute..." He tried to say, but his jaw wouldn't move properly. "Lute." He tried again, pronouncing the word with difficulty.

"We've got your stuff. Don't worry. You'll be okay. Why were you all the way out here by yourself? You're lucky the thing was alone. You might have died." Came the voice. Geo closed his eyes, ignoring the question. "He must be from Snowsong Hold. Can't bring him back here like this, though. You, ride back and alert his family. We'll bring him to the medical center. See if they can fix him up..."

Some great animal grunted in answer, and for a brief moment Geo thought he was being abducted by Waste Walruses disguised as humans. The thought was so absurd, and so clear in his mind, that he broke into a chuckle, which soon devolved into a fit of coughing. He fell back into the world of darkness, with a prayer to Morwen on his lips. He had to share his song with his Gam-gam...

by **Lixue** on November 18th, 2012, 5:30 pm

The day had been a busy one. People were in and out of the Whitevine Medical Center and the doors rarely stayed shut for a moment before opening again, allowing the cool fall air to grace the center and taunt the patients within. Two attendants staffed the greeting counter because the day was so busy. One would take the message and the other would run to notify the appropriate doctor. Though busy, the medical center was efficient. Patients waited no longer than five chimes before having their ailment taken care of.

The staff themselves were worn thin. The day had been long and busy. Those who worked the night shift the day before found themselves stealing quick naps in their offices before continuing to work. Tempers flared, but the staff only spoke harsh words behind closed doors, away from the patients. There was no need to worry the patients or cause extra stress. All doctors on hand found their schedules fully occupied with patients. Assistants were tasked with fetching more supplies. A few even managed to step into the shoes of a doctor for minor injuries.

Lixue herself never stopped moving. She rarely had time to even think! From one room to the next, Lixue glided. Patient after patient occupied her time. She saw simple injuries, such as the slicing of a finger that needed a bandage, a fat lip on a young boy needing a herb to reduce the swelling after he unwisely picked a fight with a bigger child. Lixue handled more serious situations as well, including a concussion where the person kept wanting to go to sleep but needed to be kept awake. That was interesting; trying to keep a patient awake while simultaneously trying to handle their extensive injuries. Thankfully, Lixue had managed to handle the concussion and sent the person home with the instructions to stay awake and sleep once every three bells for twenty chimes.

One after another, Lixue took patients. Her knee began to hurt through the day at such a demanding ritual. Lixue, used to the change in comfort level in her lifelong injury, handled the leg with ease. She simply blocked the pain from her mind, knowing it would only distract her when necessary and hinder her work. Between patients, Lixue massaged her throbbing knee. But she knew the pain would only quit when she either stopped moving so much or when she used a herb to reduce the pain and inflammation.

Lixue had just finished with a patient who claimed she was ill but had no signs of having any type of ailment, yet insisted that her throat hurt. Then her foot hurt. Then she thought she could not breathe. Lixue, ever the docile doctor, had given the woman a thorough check up. Despite the individual's loud declarations that she was ill, there was nothing wrong. The woman, upon hearing this news, declared Lixue was an unfit doctor and needed to be replaced. She would like to see another, more competent, doctor as well. Lixue had quickly set the woman in her place, with sharp words that told of how busy the day was and how the doctors did not have time to waste with someone who was not even ill when they be treating people who had a true problem.

The woman had left in a hurry, declaring she was going to talk to Lixue's supervisor. Lixue informed Seiled of this and he did not seem shocked. In fact, Seiled told Lixue that the woman came in at least five times a season because she thought she was sick. Nothing was ever wrong with her. But the medical center performed a checkup each time.

When Lixue finished with the hypochondriac, she headed back to the waiting room to fetch a new patient. The plans changed along the way. Seiled appeared out of nowhere, quickly speaking and telling Lixue that someone in critical danger of life and death needed to be tended . Surgery would be necessary. Seiled told Lixue nothing else, not even what to expect, before he raced off, saying he had a different patient waiting for him.

Lixue wasted no time in heading to the surgery center. She paid others no mind, working to place a cover over her clothes. This cover would keep blood from being able to soak into the clothing and ruin the piece. A good thing to have for someone who is a surgeon. Otherwise, surgeons were very popular with clothes merchants. Slipping her arms through the cover, Lixue had someone tie it in the back. Next, she pulled her hair back and tied it with a leather thong. A few strands slipped out of the hold and tickled her face. Using recently warmed water, Lixue scrubbed her hands and arms. This way, any dirt on her skin would not fall into the wound and cause infection. For this task, Lixue was careful. She scrubbed under her fingernails and between her fingers, making sure every tiny grain was gone. Only when her hands were as soft as a baby's bottom was Lixue satisfied enough to step away from the basin and dry her skin.

Several people were already awaiting Lixue when she stepped into the room. All heads whipped her way and, judging only from the worried looks upon their faces, she knew this was going to be a difficult task. Lixue recognized four of the five people in the room because she had worked alongside them before. The fifth was obviously new. The individual's eyes were locked on the person lying on the table, horror and disgust covered the fifth person's expression. Lixue raised an eyebrow at the person. "And who are you?"

The individual stuttered, tearing her eyes from the horrific sight on the table. "I-I-... Um. I am n-new. They said I could s-stay and l-learn. And you would n-not mind!" Judging only from the voice and attitude, Lixue estimated the girl was no more than sixteen years of age. And obviously petrified of Lixue.

With a sharp nod, Lixue consented. "You can stay. I will expect you to not be in my way. If everyone else is busy, and they will be at times, I hope you have been paying attention during class. You will be expected to hand me the objects I request, no matter what it is. This includes taking the tools away or holding a light closer. Other times, you will be required to work with the patient." A pause as Lixue firmly met the girl's eyes. "I am not certain what you expect. I do know you have never been in the surgery room before. The patient will react. At times, it will be necessary to hold him down. Or to change rags on his forehead. If necessary, you will have to step in and help." Someone shuffled and Lixue was silent before quiet regained the room. "If you are told to do something, do it. Do not hesitate. This is not class, where you can take chimes to think things through. This is a life and death situation and I will not tolerate losing a patient because you had to think something over." The young girl nodded feriously.

"Good. Now, what is the status on the patient?"

Lixue worked as she listened. Quickly, and with surprising ease, Lixue removed the patient's shirt. An assistant helped her slightly. Her hands were agile with strapping the upper torso of the patient down. One strap across his upper chest, one across his forehead, and one across his abdomen. All the while, Lixue's eyes thoroughly ran over the person's skin, looking for blemishes or signs he was injured. Though a few tiny cuts scattered his torso, the man was relatively unharmed.

"From what the Icewatch could tell, the man was attacked by a lone Waste Walrus. They are not sure why he was out there, although he had a musical instrument and a spear. The man managed to kill the Waste Walrus, but suffered extensive injuries."

Lixue nodded, eyes on her task. Lixue's experienced hands pulled the man's pants away from his skin. With a scalpel on the side of his thigh, Lixue quickly and efficiently ran the sharp edge down the man's pant leg. When she came to the blood soaked part, Lixue did not hesitate to grip the fabric and cut through that as well. Thankfully, the seam at the end of the pant leg was not twisted and sewn over, which meant the fabric was easy to go through. Lixue repeated this on the other side of the man. With the help of an assistant, Lixue cut the pants away by circling the upper thigh.

Gently, Lixue ran her hands down the man's upper legs, searching for more extensive injuries. Besides deep bruising on his left leg and several small gashes on his right, the man was relatively okay. It was his lower legs that needed help.

The man's left leg was horrendous. A gash nearly as wide as Lixue's thumb covered his calf. It started at the end of his knee and disappeared into the man's boots. Lixue eyed the wound and roughly estimated. With large stitches, the man would need at least twenty to thirty. With smaller stitches, Lixue estimated at least fifty of them. The most difficult part would be to get the skin together without tearing.

On the man's shin, Lixue physically resisted the urge to wince. Two sections of bone pierced the skin. One was just the tip of the bone, but the other was literally through the skin. Blood was dried around the injury, even as red still leaked. The skin was deformed and Lixue could see where the bones had physically shifted from their original paths, pushing against the layer of flesh. Lixue was already planning ahead to how she would handle the injury.

"What happened to the Walrus?"

While she awaited an answer, Lixue made swift work of the man's boots. Untying and unlacing them, Lixue made sure the boots were extremely loose before gripping his ankle and pulling the boot away by holding the heel part and slowly pulling toward her. One boot came off with ease, but the other clung to the man's foot. Lixue, borrowing a canteen, poured water into the boot to help wet the dry blood. Waiting a few chimes, Lixue attempted to pull the boot off again. This time, it slid away with a suctioning pop. Lixue handed the boot off to an assistant.

"The Walrus was killed. The Icewatch took it with them, but they plan to give the man the body. First, though, they are seeking to see if anything is wrong with the creature before carving it up. I suppose they will give the man what they can." A pause. "Although, with what he has been through, I hope they will give him the tusks, since he is from the Snowsong Hold and they carve the tusks for instruments."

Lixue listened with one ear as she took the man's pulse. Though low, it was fairly steady. Seventy four beats per chime. This was a good thing. Lixue also checked the man's pupils, to look for dilation. If the eyes were dilated, the man risked being in shock and Lixue would have to wait for him to come out of shock before she could complete the surgery. As it was, the man's pupils were not dilated. Another good thing.

Taking a rag from someone else, Lixue twisted it into a roll. She circled the man's head and slipped the rag through his mouth before tying it on the side of his face. This would keep him from screaming if he were to awaken and would also work to keep him from accidentally biting down on his tongue, an action that risked taking the tongue off completely.

With one more strap across the man's thighs, Lixue was ready to begin surgery.

by **Geothryn** on November 19th, 2012, 1:48 am

Geothryn floated in a sea of blackness. Two pinpoints of light floated above him, like two stars. Except they weren't sources of light, they were just holes through which light was entering. He briefly wondered where he was. He tried to remember what happened, why he was here, but the memories kept eluding him. They were tangible things, little bubbles of thought that would cautiously approach him, then flit away when he tried to grab them. Stupid things.

Every breath he took reverberated in the darkness. Every blink sounded out a drum beat. He scratched his arm, and the sound of his nails against his skin rang out. In fact, he found he could see the sounds. They traveled like waves on the sea, spreading out from their source. It disoriented him, and he closed his eyes and kept them closed until the echoes stopped. When he closed his eyes he began to hear a woman speaking. And there were hands running over his body. Something cold touched his skin every so often and he could hear fabric being ripped. He was no longer floating in the landscapes of his mind.

Someone forced his left eye open, and then his right eye. He opened them both after that and looked around. He found himself laying in a cot, strapped to its frame at his forehead, his chest, and his stomach. He widened his eyes and instantly tried to sit up, despite the fact that he was tied down and struggling against bonds that he was in no condition to break.

Being strapped to a bed was not his idea of a comfortable position (although he knew a few people who enjoyed that sort of thing), and he was about to open his mouth to speak when a rag was put into his mouth, impeding any words he might have formed. He widened his eyes. He knew what was coming. They only gave you something to bite when they didn't want to hear you screaming.

"Mmm Mmmph Mmmmph?" He tried to speak anyway, hoping to at least catch the surgeon's attention before she did anything drastic like cut off his leg. His leg... Geo realized he couldn't feel his right leg below his knee. His left leg was a vague feeling of dull, unpleasant pain, but his right leg... He felt the roots of fear squirming their way into his mind. If he lost his leg, he'd be useless. He'd have to be toted around in a wheelchair, always depending on someone else to get where he needed to go... He'd still be able to play his music, true, but to whom? Most people would simply look at him with pity or scorn. Oh Morwen, he didn't want to lose his leg.

by **Lixue** on November 19th, 2012, 10:05 pm

Lixue was so concentrated on her task that she did not even realize the man was awake. She was rearranging her tools to the correct layout: wash basin to the farthest corner, scalpel and other tools within easy reach, rags next to the basin, and a bowl of sugar next to the tools. The sugar would help stop any unnecessary bleeding that may ensue and Lixue planned to use it on the wounds she was not handling first. That way she would not have to risk the man bleeding to death on her watch and would not have to waste the bandages to temporarily cover the wounds.

It took Lixue a moment to realize one of her assistants was gathering her attention. Snapping from the trance she had put herself into, Lixue moved quickly to her feet. The man was awake. Fabulous! Shuffling to his head, Lixue leaned down and forced one of his eyes open, if not further. With a scrutinizing gaze, Lixue studied his eyes. No dilating of the pupils. "Follow this finger," Lixue commanded absent mindedly, shifting her finger slowly back and forth in the air. If the man followed her finger, Lixue would release his eye. If not, she would have him repeat the practice until he could follow her appendage with a steady gaze.

"Good. Hello, I am Doctor Lixue and you are at the Whitevine Medical Center. You were injured out in the wilderness by a stray Waste Walrus. The Icewatch are uncertain of how long you were injured before they found you. They will return your items soon enough. Unfortunately, you sustained several injuries. Your right leg is broken and there is a gash down the side. Your foot is damaged as well, but not severely." Lixue, as if noticing the man's growing agitation, slipped a soothing tone into her voice. "You will not lose your leg or foot." A limp, though... "If you will relax, I will get to work. The sooner this operation is complete, the faster you can heal and the less chance of permanent damage."

Without waiting for the man to attempt to respond, Lixue moved back to the end of his body. She pulled a stool up and plopped down, already thinking about what to work on first. The bones sticking out of the leg looked dangerous, but they had ceased bleeding for the time being. Although this would have been a good spot to start, Lixue considered the other wounds. The gash was dripping blood and would need stitches, but placing stitches in would only cause the skin to be tight and prone to ripping when Lixue fixed the broken bones. The foot was covered in dried blood, but one toe seemed to be bleeding heavily. If Lixue were to fix the broken bones first, she risked pulling the skin tight and would not have enough flesh left to handle the toe or the gash.

The toe was first, then.

However, Lixue cupped a handful of sugar and slathered it over the gash on the side of the man's leg. She also sprinkled some on top of the broken bones. The sugar would keep them from bleeding and that was normally a good thing.

Dipping a cloth into the warm water in the wash basin, Lixue dribbled the liquid over the foot before holding the sides of the man's foot and, with gentle strokes, dragging the rag away from her and back toward the ankle. Water downed blood dripped to the floor below, a minor concern for Lixue. One of her assistants slid another basin under Lixue's operating table, where the blood had fallen to. Dipping often into the warm basin, Lixue slowly cleaned the foot. The toes were the hardest because of the space between them and, as the blood cleared away, the middle toe was badly damaged.

The upper half of the toe was clinging to the rest of the appendage, only by a sliver of bone and flesh. Skin dangled, appeared to be shredded from the ferocious ripping of flesh from flesh. Blood steadily oozed from the injury, painting the once white bone a deep red. The other toes were uninjured, amazingly. The only reason the other toes were uninjured, Lixue could only assume, was because this one has somehow gotten stuck in an awkward position at the top of the boot and, when pressure was applied, was broken.

Lixue let the rag drop into the nearly dry basin below and, without missing a beat, used her freehand to sprinkle a touch of sugar over the toe. Though it did not quell the blood, it did stall the liquid. Lixue used this time to reach out and, without cringing, gripping the loose piece of flesh. She lifted it away from the still attached toe, peering into the injury. The bones were connected only by a sliver, thinner than a fingernail and the flesh was still connected fully on the top half. Lixue pushed against the bone with her nail and found it relatively stable.

Picking up her scalpel after hurriedly dipping her fingers into the wash basin, Lixue held the tool between her thumb and first finger at a downward angle. Unfortunately, Lixue was left handed and the man's right foot was injured with the bone being on the left side. Because of this, Lixue had to hold the scalpel at an awkward angle and one she was not comfortable with. The scalpel also barely fit in the limited space between the toes. Besides, the little bone left would dull the scalpel blade. Blood tickled Lixue's fingers and made her hold on the scalpel iffy. The liquid was slippery.

Given all of these factors, Lixue set the tool down. How else could she remove the toe if her tools had failed her?

The thought came to Lixue within chimes. She simply would not use her tools. If they could not get a job done, what was left but her own mechanisms? Her fingers already fit into the space and could grip the toe; she had found out as much. And, with some difficulty, she could grip the injury. Splashing her hands around in the wash basin, Lixue removed all the blood left over before thoroughly drying her hands.

Now, what was the best way to proceed? Lixue already knew she could hold the damaged end of the toe, but could she hold the undamaged part? To hold the injury, Lixue had to hold the left and right side. To hold the foot, she could come in from the outer side and place her thumb and forefinger on top and bottom of the toe.

Right?

With each moment she doubted herself, Lixue knew the injury would only get worse. More blood would be lost and the risk of infection doubled each chime a wound was left open to the air. Not to mention the patient risked falling into shock.

Taking the initiative, Lixue reached forward. She let her left hand hold the outer edge of the foot and clamped her forefinger and thumb down on top and bottom of the fully connected appendage. Positioning her right hand, Lixue grasped the sides of the injured portion. The rough edge of bone bit into her thumb and the blood threatened to remove her hold.

"On three." A pause. "One..." Lixue tightened her grip. "Two..." Repositioned her fingers to have a better grip on the whole foot. "Three!" Without waiting, Lixue rotated her right hand one hundred and eighty degrees. The bone squeaked in response, struggling to hold onto the foot. Blood slid under her fingers and her thumb slipped. Without hesitating, Lixue rolled her fingers along the chunk of flailing skin before once again twisting. The skin slowly ripped away from the rest of the toe and the bone broke. Cleanly, thank the gods and goddesses.

And then Lixue was left with the top part of the middle toe of the man's right foot.

Dropping the piece into the bloody basin below, Lixue snatched a rag off her table and slammed it against the toe. She applied harsh pressure and raised the man's foot until it was higher than his heart. For three times, Lixue held it in the air. On the fourth, she peeked inside before slapping the rag back against the toe and continuing. At the eighth chime, the blood ceased to a trickle.

Lixue did not lower the leg. Instead, she had one of the assistants hold the rag and foot in the air. Holding the rag had dried her hands and Lixue dipped her fingers into the sugar before tugging the rag away and, at a fast speed, sprinkling the sugar over the injury. The next step would be to sew the remaining flesh of the toe back together and create an artificial tip.

by **Geothryn** on December 2nd, 2012, 3:41 am

Geo had trouble paying attention at first. He followed Lixue's finger to one end, but then his gaze wandered off to look at what little of the room he could see from his strapped-down position. Again, she said. He followed the finger once more, but ended up staring at the doctor's face. So, this was his savior. She seemed... Small. Fragile, almost. It was hard to tell from his position, but she couldn't be more than five feet tall. Her pale skin seemed almost aglow. Her features weren't unpleasant to look at. Although the pale skin wasn't common, it still held some sort of exotic appeal to Geo. Again. He followed the finger all the way through, this time, forcing himself to concentrate. She seemed too small to be cut out for this sort of work...

Doctor Lixue. Was that an official title, Geo wondered, or was it a working title? Did Morwen appoint her doctor? Did it work like that? Whitevine... Geo's ignorance of the details didn't upset him. The life of a medical practitioner was not one for him. Right leg... Broken...? The one he couldn't feel. Of course. His memories came back to him slowly, the bubbles of thought merging with the rest of his brain as they were reminded of their origins. The Walrus... That damned thing... It was unjust, that he should be taken down by a Walrus. If it was something more heroic, he might have been okay with being injured, or even killed. It would have immortalized him. But, a Walrus? No, he couldn't die by such a creatures hands... Flippers.

He nodded ever so slightly, impeded by the leather strap on his forehead. He would not lose his leg. He held on to this belief with his whole heart, because to think otherwise would just depress him. Relax, she told him. Easier said than done. He took a deep breath and tasted the cloth in his mouth, then thought better of it and breathed through his nostrils from then on.

Unable to see what was happening, all he could gleam was Lixue's form from the bottom of his vision as she stood near the end of the bed. And then, a tugging sensation. She lifted his foot up into the air, and through the blood and sugar he noticed the length of his middle toe was marred and... It was shorter... He was missing a toe. Or part of a toe, at any rate. Oh, Morwen. But, can you live without part of your toe? There were men without fingers who got along just fine... Toes didn't seem too vital a body part. But... Why had she taken his toe? Why? To what end? What purpose would this serve? Geo briefly imagined the petite nurse chanting over his toe in a circle of magic, causing all sort of bodily and mental harm to him through the flesh-and-bone connection. But that was preposterous. Or was it? Did magic work like that?

His mind wandering, and still overcome by the unreality of the situation, sent him into another bought of unconsciousness.

by **Lixue** on February 3rd, 2013, 11:52 pm

"Someone check his vitals, please. We do not need a live one dying on the table." The phrase was harsher than intended but no one besides the trainee reacted. The newest individual recoiled from Lixue as though she was a murderer and aiming for the apprentice next. Lixue's eyes flickered up to the girl and a laugh was exhaled from her nostrils. "What? Let me guess, your teacher never told the class about how many people die in surgery and instead let you travel along foolishly optimistic. By doing so, you are not trained nor are you prepared to handle death in any form. Not to mention by my hands, that of another doctor's; or, even worse, your own. Death is a normal occurrence in a hospital, trainee. At least one in ten shall die from simple things, such as infection or physical decay. Even more die from their injuries. Those few who manage to make it to surgery.. Well, let's just say not many live to come out on the other side. If I had to estimate, I would say nearly one in five die during surgery.

"There are numerous things that can go wrong. The patient could lose too much blood and die. The patient could go into shock, have too high of a pulse rate, and from a heart attack. The patient could physically or mentally be able to handle the surgery and the body could shut down. The patient could overheat or become too cold. Even more die at the hands of the doctor themselves. A doctor could accidentally slice a vein, forget to check the vitals and have the patient die, the doctor could stumble and spend too long during surgery and cause the patient to die. No matter the reason, the most deaths occur at the hands of those who are ill-trained or new to the field. Not because they are new, but because they have not been trained to handle such situations."

Lixue adjusted her grip on the toe. With nimble fingers, she checked under the rag to make sure the toe was no longer bleeding. Seeing as it was not, Lixue let the foot rest on the table once more. The cloth was carefully unwrapped and dropped to the pan below, where the toe had landed only moments before. Sprinkling an excessive amount of sugar on the injury, Lixue let the foot alone. She leaned forward and wrested on the surgical table on one elbow. Idly, she drew circles on the man's leg in what blood had pooled on the skin.

"Teachers in the classroom foolishly let their students be optimistic. They do not mention how many individuals die each season. They do not mention how many people they have accidentally killed. And they do not mention how each and every one of their students will murder someone within a season of exiting the classroom. No, they do not tell you those facts. They do not want to scare away the generation which will replace their own in the hospital.

"Do not mistake me. They will teach you how to handle the injuries you may see. They will even go step by step on a diagram or on a person. They will teach you about how a person could react, but they will not show you. The instructor may take you through the hospital or have a patient come in, but they have painstakingly gone through the list and chosen the ones with the least amount of impact. They do not take you on a tour to see the worst case scenarios, much less the scenarios you will truly have to handle.

"No, they will not show you a hands-on exhibit of a man screaming in agony as his body drains into the snow. They will not show you a woman giving birth to a still-born, which will then be ripped away by the doctor and shoved into the hands of a nurse to be disposed of. They will not let you handle a situation where the patient goes into shock and thrashes their limbs or froths at the mouth and, consequently, choke to death on their own spit as the assistants rush to save him or her." A pause as Lixue gestured to the man laying nearly base on her surgical table. "They will not show you an actual surgery. Not because they are afraid your stomach cannot handle it; no, they will expect that. But because they are afraid your psychological state will not."

Lixue drew a heart in the man's hairy leg encrusted with blood before wiping the image away. "They will not teach you how to handle telling a patient's family that their loved one has died. Nor will they teach you how to handle the guilt and regret as you spend sleepless nights thinking through what could have gone wrong or what could have been better handled." Drawing to a close, Lixue settled back onto her chair, spine straight. Green eyes met the girl's. "They do not teach you how to handle life and death."

by **Lixue** on February 3rd, 2013, 11:55 pm

Clearly this was a sign of dismissal toward the girl who had turned pale and shaky the more Lixue spoke. An assistant had given Lixue a dirty look before helping the girl to a chair. Lixue had simply raised an eyebrow in return and gone back to her previous task as though she had never spoken. "I need the patient turned on his right side."

As she waited for this task to be completed, Lixue closed one eye and threaded a sharp needle with clear thread. It took several tries before the thread flipped through the tiny gap. The next task was to sew the remaining flesh to the underside of the toe where it most easily reached. This would create an artificial tip to the injury and prevent any further damage.

Leaning forward to better see her work, Lixue grasped the flap of the toe and held it up. With a quick jab, the needle slid through on the left side of the toe. Angling the needle downward, Lixue pinched the excess skin on the side of the toe and carefully chose a spot of entry before pulling the needle through. The thread followed suit and once more as Lixue stitched the toe an in upward fashion close to the first. Here, she cut the thread and had an assistant knot it as her own hands were slippery with the new blood.

Taking a rag, Lixue dipped it in the water basin as she waited and let it drain on top of the toe. Particles of sugar fell off into the basin below. Nodding to show her appreciation to the assistant who rethreaded the needle, Lixue continued as she was. When she reached the top of the toe, in a metaphorical sense, Lixue started at the bottom of the right side. It was a slow process and one that ended with a middle stitch curled around the other to prevent any movement. Blood had slowly escalated to a run from the man's injury but Lixue paid this no mind as she worked. Once the toe was closed, the blood was slow.

There was a space of one eight of an inch between the pieces of the toe. This would allow any swelling at a future time to not cut off circulation or break the stitches. This technique would allow the toe to both breathe and release puss.

"Allow the toe to breathe for several chimes. Nearly fifteen, if you seek a time frame. Only then, if it is has ceased bleeding, will we wrap it. If before then, we risk causing the injury to clog with dirty blood and become infected." Though she was speaking to herself, Lixue was also speaking to the whole room and, truthfully, the whole room should have been listening.

"We move onto the broken bones next."

by **Lixue** on February 7th, 2013, 9:53 pm

The man's shin was a horrendous sight. Two bones pierced the skin. They could have been the same bone only broken, but Lixue was not certain. The tip of one was barely seen, just a flash of white in a sea of dried red, while the other one was nearly an inch or two out of the flesh. Each bone had physically shifted from the original path, either to the left or the right, and both pushed against the skin. Though it was a horrible sight, Lixue did not let this affect her mental state. No, this was a job and her stomach did not matter.

After rinsing her hands in the water basin, which had been refreshed, Lixue plucked the scalpel off the table. This was to be the most difficult part of the whole procedure: cutting the skin away from the bones and not nicking one of the many veins that rested below. Near the top, on the front bone, there would be one major vein resting just below the surface to the right. Similarly, another vein would rest against that one. Several veins encircled the knee and Lixue was amazed they hadn't been injured. Then again, she did not know what rested beneath the surface where there was room for veins to be pinched with breaks and fractures.

Nodding to herself, as if to confirm a secret thought, Lixue angled her scalpel to rest at a forty-five degree angle, held in place by her thumb and her the first two fingers. With the opposing hand, she set a finger on either side of the upper most break. The skin had some give when she pressed, and this worried Lixue. If the bones were more in place, the skin would not have a give. Especially with the break he had.

Ignoring this, Lixue bent forward to better see what she was about to complete. The tip of the scalpel hovered over the area just below the first break. Carefully, Lixue arranged the tip so it rested exactly where the bone broke through. With only a bit of pressure, the sharp blade bit into the skin. Lixue tested the skin underneath to make sure there was not a vein, which could be spotted by a raised lump. As there was not, Lixue cautiously drew the blade closer to her own person and applied medium pressure.

Given the body was in such a state of shock in the lower appendage, the leg only bubbled with blood instead of streamed. At the second break, Lixue repeated the actions. At one point, she had to cut around where a vein had been shifted and the consequence was a curved spot in an otherwise straight line. Blood fell in droplets onto the table below, red against the man's flesh.

Lixue set her blade to the side, wiped her hands on her pants absentmindedly, and continued without taking a pause. The next step was one of the more difficult ones. She would have to peel the skin, which still clung together, apart. Given there was blood near and in the incision, Lixue knew she would find the task more difficult than if the injury had clotted.

Oh, well. The task would need to be completed and each moment she wasted the patient would only lose more blood.

Taking her fingernails, Lixue set her hands on either side of the incision with her knuckles facing each other. Carefully, she adjusted her fingernails so they pressed into the bloody line. Given the life's liquid was on his skin, her nails slipped several times before they were able to gain a hold. And then Lixue pulled. Slowly, more pressure than anything. And the leg popped open with a sickening sucking sound that made several assistants wince. Lixue repeated the action down the length of the lower leg before sitting back.

The leg lay wide open, bloody flesh showing below, and nearly white bones emphasized in the darkness. Blood pooled but was held in by the sides of the leg. And before Lixue lay one mess of a leg.

by **Noblesse** on September 10th, 2013, 6:03 pm

Lixue :

Geothryn :

Additional Notes :

The Aurora flames coldly in the skies above

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

Closed What a Waste [Lixue]