A Needle and Stitches (Waisana)

[Irea Rasar]

8th of Fall, 513 Seventh Bell of the Evening Irea sighed to herself as she made her way back to the place that she had pitched her tent. Less than two days in Endrykas and already she was wearying of the tasks that lay before her. The healer had devoted this day to getting to know some of the other healers and establishing a bit of a name for herself by assisting in the care of those suffering illness. She enjoyed her profession well enough, but the great work of ridding the city of the sickness that was sweeping through the Drykas had only just begun, for her. Irea preferred tending wounds and the elderly, not dealing with a disease that could strike her down, if she were unlucky. The healer was momentarily distracted from her thoughts by a group of four boys and girls seated on the grass near a large tent. All nearly marriageable age, they chatted amongst themselves as they worked at various crafts, the boys carved handles while the girls worked embroidery into brightly colored clothing. Irea allowed herself an amused chuckle; the boys were clearly vying for the attention of their female companions, trying to impress them with their craftsmanship. Irea could remember a time when that had been her life, as well. The plague had kept her far too busy to worry about marriage, however. She would be of more use to her people helping the sick than carrying some man's child. There would be time enough for that later, Lhex be willing. One of the boys jostled the other in the elbow in an attempt to mar his carving. Instead, the second boy's knife missed the handle entirely and sliced across his forearm. With a choked cry, the boy doubled over around the wound while his three companions drew back, wide-eyed. Instinctively, Irea drew closer to see if the boy had been hurt badly. Seeing her white garments and associating them with the Opal clan, the three began babbling excuses and explanations while Irea thoroughly ignored them. The boy was still curled around his arm and resisted the healer's attempts to get a good look at the cut. Judging by the amount of blood she was seeing, she needed to take care of it quickly, or soon it would not matter. "Look for another healer," Irea instructed, cutting off the babbling trio mid-excuse. "I need help with this."

[Waisana]

There were obviously quite a few healers who still thought they could block  her attempts to heal and thus make her consider marriage. It wasn't happening. Waisana had taken to waiting just beside the tent flap in the hopes that she'd catch a patient when they came in. However, her plan seemed to be failing, she found herself unable to get more than the occasional consultation. If anything major came in, the older healers, mostly men, would rush forward and push her out of the way. There were very few of them who would even let her help in procedures, it was frustrating. 

Just then the tent flap opened and a hysterical girl came running in. The healers glanced at her, saw that she wasn't injured and allowed Waisana to deal with it. The girl was her own age and she knew her though she couldn't understand what could have her so flustered.

"Norsa, what is it? What's wrong?" she asked the girl, stepping forward to grab her shoulders in an attempt to keep her calm. Incoherent babbling was all she got in reply. She could make out the words "Brice" and "blood" and that was all she needed to here from the shocked teen.

"Where is he, Norsa? Show me." The command in her voice seemed to bring Norsa somewhat to her senses because she jumped a little and then rushed out of the tent. The young healer quickly grabbed a portable medical kit and jogged after the girl. She had to move quickly before the other healers realised what was going on. If she could get there and start treatment then they wouldn't disturb her.

Waisana found herself slowing down as they reached the site. There was another healer there, a woman. She moved around her to see the injury and realised immediately that the woman had sent for the assistance of another healer. The amount of blood suggested the boy had cut something he shouldn't have.

"Did you want some help?" she asked the woman, who she now recognised as one of the new healers. She hadn't been in Endrykas very long but she seemed to be very hands on. "Brice! Show her your arm." The youth flinched at her tone but shook his head, reluctant to remove the pressure. "We can't help if we can't see."

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[Irea Rasar]

Irea's brow creased as she looked over the situation, having thus far failed to get the boy to unwind himself from around his wounded arm. The healer was frustrated; the boy had almost a man's strength to him, so she couldn't force him to do what was needed, but he reacted as a child would. A thought skimmed across the fringes of Irea's mind, Those girls won't think much of him, after this. "Did you want some help?" A younger voice over Irea's shoulder asked. The healer glanced up in surprise; there was a girl barely older than the boy she was tending to. She wore the telltale white of the Opal clan, and held a healing kit. Good thing; Irea did not think to bring one with her. "Brice! Show her your arm," The girl instructed, causing the boy to flinch and shake his head, "We can't help if we can't see." Good. The girl did have at least some experience. Few her age would be able to act so objectively in the same circumstances. "Thank you," Irea said without removing her attention from Brice. "Do as she says, Brice," The healer instructed, quickly adopting the use of the boy's name. "If he doesn't, help me tug his arm out." Slowly, Brice's arm uncurled and lay limp, still spouting blood onto the grass. Irea quickly set to work, beckoning the girl closer. "Help me get the bleeding stopped," She instructed, "Tie something about his upper arm to stop it, so we can work. Oh, and get a few rags so we can get rid of this blood." Irea's words became short and clipped as her mind worked. The boy had lost too much blood already. They had to work quickly.

[Waisana]

When the woman glanced up, Waisana saw the surprise in her gaze. It was her age she knew. New healers were always shocked when they first came across her, thinking that she was some youth who'd wandered in to the tents by accident or something. They had a hard time believing that she could possibly be a healer but this woman seemed to recover fairly quickly and returned her focus to the patient. Good. The woman had her priorities straight.

Brice still looked reluctant and the girl glared at him over the healer's shoulder. Norsa and Adreine were watching him too with fear in their eyes. Whether it was her glare, the order of the other healer or the presence of the girls that made him uncover his arm, she didn't know but that was the least of her worries. His arm was pumping blood at an alarming rate and he'd already lost a worrying amount.

Waisana set to work, following the woman's orders closely. She opened the medical kit and found a strong strip of cloth that could be used as a tourniquet. She pulled clean cloths from the bag too and thrust them into the woman's hands before stepping forward to tie the strip around his arm. The terror was clear in the boy's face which had gone white. All he could see was the blood and it was making him panicky.

"Relax, Brice. Just take deep breaths and don't look, you'll be fine. You know I've never lost a patient and I don't plan on starting with you," she told him, her face set in grim determination. The teen gave her a weak smile and averted his gaze.

"What else do you want me to do?" Waisana asked the healer woman.

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[Irea Rasar]

Irea was thoroughly impressed with the younger healer, to say the least. She was doing well with comforting Brice, and seemed skilled enough to be of use. "How good are you at suturing?" Irea asked; she herself had difficulty with it at times. The needlework was too delicate for her. A single misstep and the whole thing would be ruined. It made the healer nervous. "If you sew the cut shut, I'll prepare a poultice. Then we can get him somewhere to be taken care of." With the tourniquet in place, Irea was able to get most of the blood out of the wound. From the looks of things, the boy would live. Without waiting for a reply from the other healer, Irea stood and reached for the healing kit to get them both the appropriate supplies. She had to get one of her own, soon. It was too troublesome to rely on another for her supplies. For an instant, Irea was close enough to the girl to speak without Brice hearing. "Good job," She breathed in her ear before setting to work. Calming a frantic patient was never easy at the best of times, and in this case it had proved impossible for Irea to do so. The girl had used her friendship with the boy to give him some confidence in their ability. Judging from how easily that reassured him, she seemed to have a reputation among the youth.

[Waisana]

The mention of stitching filled her with dread. Her mother was well known for her magnificent embroidery work. It was neat and the stitches were perfect. She had tried to teach her daughter but Waisana had been more interesting in healing than in pretty stitching. She could use a needle but not very well. Hopefully she could close it but there was no guarantee.

"I'm fair at it. Should be able to close up a scratch like that," she replied, smiling reassuringly at Brice as she said the last part. His lips twitched as if he was going to smile but it was obvious that there were other things on his mind.

Taking the supplies from the woman, she was surprised by the woman's praise. Her cheeks flushed with pleasure and embarrassment. She wasn't used to receiving praise for her work even when she had done well. It was nice not only to have her work acknowledged but also appreciated. She set to work with a small smile curving her lips.

"Hold still now, Brice and don't look. I don't want you jerking away if you see what I'm doing. It isn't that scary but it might look like it is," she murmured, her voice low enough that the two girls couldn't hear her. The healer was sure that he wouldn't like them to think that he was weak and cowardly so perhaps her advice would give him some comfort afterwards.

Threading the needle was difficult. The girl's hands shook a little and it took her a few attempts before she could pull the thread through the eye. As soon as she had, she set to work, placing his arm into her lap to help support it. Pinching the skin closed, she pushed the needle through the skin, pulling the thread through his flesh and through to the other side. She heard him hiss in pain but she made soft soothing sounds as she continued her work.

After another minute or two, she'd managed to close the hole. It wasn't completely closed but at least it wasn't gaping anymore, there were just a few gaps in her rickety stitches. Her mother would be ashamed by such needlework but it was sufficient for now, though Waisana made a note to seek her mother's help to improve in the future.

The teen glanced in the direction of the other healer. "Is the stitching, okay? Do you need me to do anything else?" Waisana asked, biting her lip.

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[Irea Rasar]

While the girl was stitching the boy's wound closed, Irea busied herself with preparing a poultice for him. She carefully applied a few of the pastes in the kit, as well as a thin layer of adherent to the edges of the cloth bandage that would seal it away from the outside world. Coupled with a cloth wrapping, the poultice would be able to stay in place until it needed changing. "Is the stitching okay? Do you need me to do anything else?" The girl asked, drawing Irea's attention. She leaned over to inspect the stitch-work, and nodded in approval. It was fair work, enough to hold the cut closed even if it was a little sloppy. "Good enough," She said as she wound the poultice about the boy's forearm and secured it snugly. The intense burning sensation from the paste she had used made him suck in a breath of pained surprise, but it was fairly mild pain compared to the younger healer's ministrations with the needle. "Try to get the girls to accompany him back to his Pavilion. He's probably weak from losing too much blood." Irea stood and frowned down at her clothing; it was splattered with blood in several places. Blood stains were so hard to remove from white clothes. She looked down at the boy, gesturing to the poultice, "Get that looked at tomorrow, and don't do too much hard work for the next few days." Irea's lips quirked up in a smile, "If I see you've worked yourself sick, I'll keep you in the sick tents until you're thirty." The threat was mostly jest, though it had an underlying current of truth in it. She didn't like it when her patients were too stubborn to let themselves heal.

[Waisana]

Waisana let out a sigh of relief when the healer approved of her stitching. She'd been so worried that the woman would say it wasn't good enough and complain about her inexperience or something. It gave her some peace of mind to know that she'd done her job right. 

Smiling thankfully at the woman, she moved to where Adreine and Norsa stood and explained in a low voice what she wanted them to do. Adreine nodded eagerly, moving to the boy's side whereas Norsa looked more reluctant. Well it was clear whose affections the boy had won at some stage. His childish reaction to the incident obviously hadn't ruined anything for him.

The healer moved back to the other woman and stood somewhat uncertainly in front of her. Now that her help was no longer needed she should probably return to the healing tents, not that she'd be of any use there but she ought to be there. Yet she also wanted to talk with this magnificent woman. She wanted to know everything about her, whether she was married or not, how she was allowed to heal despite still being capable of child bearing. She could only be a few years older than Waisana yet there seemed to be eons between them. She had no idea how to bridge the gap.

"I'm Waisana," she blurted out, her cheeks reddening at her outburst.

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[Irea Rasar]

The healer smiled at the boy's back. Apparently the girls did not think less of him for letting the pain get to him. The gruesome-seeming stitching process probably had more than a little to do with it. After a moment, Irea came to realize that the girl was standing in front of her. She turned her gaze to the younger healer, who seemed to want to say something. After an awkward silence, the girl blurted, "I'm Waisana," before blushing deeply. Irea couldn't help the laughter that bubbled in her throat. The girl--Waisana?-- was uncertain, though she did not know why. The healer found it rather endearing. Many healers developed a strong self-control that allowed them to deal with the dying without sacrificing their sanity. It was refreshing to meet someone who had not had that thrust upon them yet. "Hello, Waisana," Irea said with a warm smile, her hand gestures indicating an open, friendly tone. "I am Irea Rasar, of the Opal Clan." The words were a formality, of course. The girl surely knew her clan, both from her profession and her garb. With that in mind, she glanced down at her blood-speckled top with a grimace. She'd need to clean it before the night was out, or it would stain. Then again, she also wanted to get to know this girl. The members of her Pavilion would be leaving once the upcoming Auction was over, and she would be alone. It would be nice to have someone to call a friend, when that happened. "I was on my way to my tent to prepare my evening meal," She explained, "Would you like to eat with me? If your family would not mind," Irea hastily added. She did not want the girl to get in trouble. Some fathers worried over their daughters to an unhealthy extent. Thankfully, her father had been a little more reasonable. A little.

[Waisana]

The girl's face showed relief when the healer seemed friendly towards her and introduced herself. Waisana smiled at her. "Nice to meet you, Irea," she replied, her gestures and her smile showing that she was being genuine. She was bursting with questions but she restrained herself, waiting for the other healer to speak. The woman looked thoughtful and Waisana let her think, waiting somewhat impatiently.

When Irea did speak, her invitation was worth the wait. Waisana thought she'd burst from excitement. The woman obviously wanted to get to know her and it was a perfect opportunity for her to get to know the other healer as well. She couldn't see her father minding at all so there was no real need to ask him, at least she didn't think so.

"I'd love to and my father won't mind or anything so we can go right now," she replied, her gestures betraying her intense excitement. She deflated a little as she realised that maybe she seemed a little to eager. She tried to calm herself down a little.

"I meant that we can go now if it suits you. If it doesn't then I can go with you in a little while or...something..."

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