Happy Little Bunny

by **Spirit Frostfawn** on May 3rd, 2014, 9:17 pm

Spring 47th, 514 AV

The bunny was adorable, though its appearance was ruined by a few obvious blemishes. Namely, the large tear in its ear. As sad as it sounded, Spirit personally thought that the creature would lose the ear, or at least heal with no change. However, the owner, a girl no older than seven, seemed determined that the pet would remain healthy and whole. It wasn’t, in all honesty, a huge gap, and was placed near the base of the ear, and went nearly a third through. Maybe a quarter. Spirit could do stitches… sort of… but the skin simply looked much too thin for that.

“I’d just… let it heal like that. I don’t think it would leave any permanent damage…?” she suggested, but she already knew the answer. “No! He must get better! He can’t have a rip!” This young Vantha was just so firm that the Vet honestly didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t say no, after all. Instead, she glanced up hopelessly at the parents behind the girl, looking to them for salvation. They simply shrugged. Spirit simply sighed and returned her attention to the rabbit that was currently being cradled in the girl’s arms.

It was large, compared to the ‘average’ rabbit size, but wasn’t too large compared to the fact that most Avanthalian and Talderan animals were simply… bigger. The Icewatch bears were an extreme example, but it was true. This bunny was no exception. He practically spilled out of the child’s hold, one paw sticking out that hole, his nose buried in her elbow. He whined pitifully, and there was blood coming from the obvious wound that stained his white fur red.

“Alright, what happened?” she began, talking as she turned to fetch some basic supplies. First… something to mop up the stain and clean out the wound. As she gathered the usual items, the rabbit-holder explained her story. “A mean cat tried to bite him, but we chased it away. It got his ear though. He looked so sad…” She drifted off, frowning pitifully at her injured pet. Both of them looked like the epitome of disparity. It was too much. “He’ll be alright,” Spirit told the girl soothingly, even though she hadn’t wanted to promise anything. Her customer sighed in relief.

It was funny. Every case Spirit faced as a Veterinarian was a new challenge, a new wall of things to be faced and prodded. She learned every day. There were the usual things, like limping horses or dogs that just needed rest. Sometimes there were things she couldn’t handle. For example, she didn’t know much about diseases. Flesh wounds she could handle. But if the creature had diarrhea, or was vomiting, or smelled funny… she’d simply to Lusina and ask the older Frostfawn for a medication that would help. She needed to look into it more, but… when she had time.

Carefully and gingerly, she picked up the bunny, taking care to have a hand under the creature’s back legs. It was like that with all animals. If they weren’t standing on something… well… it was like they were falling. Luckily there was no resistance, something which she knew rabbits did a lot. They were squeamish creatures, and had every right to be. They were the prey off all prey. A wolf wanted a snack? Chase down a rabbit. It was instinctive for them to be… twitchy.

Her patient soon found a comfortable place on a soft cloth, where she would have room to work. It was on a small table, the same surface also dotted with various medical instruments. The things she’d gathered earlier… warm water, a cloth, and so on, as well as various sizes of needles and threads, antiseptic and anesthetic liquids, and other strange tools. She only knew the uses of about half of them.

“Alright,” she said pleasantly, directing the soft words at the wide-eyed rabbit. “Let’s patch you up then…” As she said this, one hand stroked the creature, and the other reached for cloth and water.

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by **Spirit Frostfawn** on May 3rd, 2014, 9:17 pm

It took her barely half a chime to clear out the wound and its area of dried and fresh blood, then disinfect it… it was something she was so used to. She had to be very careful as to not agitate the cut, however, and startle the bunny. The whole time she kept a light hand on its back, half to reassure it, and half to keep it still if it tried to dart away. Rabbits could be fast.

The next step would be a little more challenging. She didn’t want the bunny to dash away in the middle of the procedure, and she didn’t want it in too much pain either. It was still whimpering pathetically, a sound occasionally echoed by the girl who stood behind her, watching silently… and a little creepily. Spirit tried to ignore the little Vantha. There were a few ways she could administer anesthesia… one was chloroform, though that was more effective on people and larger animals… and for larger procedures. It didn’t exactly stop pain, but it put you to sleep rather quickly. The rabbit was too small for that, however.

There were two other options, both similar, with the same method of administration: a needle. She could simply numb the area around the ear, with a cream and then an injection… or she could put the whole rabbit to sleep. The latter was more serious, and occasionally had a few awkward side effects. The former kept you awake through the whole thing, though feeling nothing… and you’d keep that feeling for the next several hours, while being awake. She’d heard from human patients that it felt very strange.

Finally she turned around and addressed the girl. When in doubt, ask the owner. “Do you want me to put him fully asleep while I try the stitches? Or numb the ear?” There was a confused frown, so Spirit elaborated. “He can sleep through the whole thing and wake up in a few bells… but he might be a little odd for a bit afterwards. Or… he can be awake, and just feel nothing around his ear…. And that will stay numb for a few bells.” The Frostfawn finally received an understanding nod, a few moments of thoughtful silence, then…

“Let him sleep.”

“Alright.” That done, the Vantha set to work. She quickly picked out the smallest needle she could find in the jar of anesthetic, to fit the small animal. She didn’t want to give too much… give an overdose, and the rabbit might never wake up. But that was in an extreme case. If there was too little, she could always give more. Carefully she tented the skin of the scruff like Lusina had told her. It was interesting… most animals had scruffs, the looser section of skin along the back of their neck. She’d once decided that humans had them too… the skin there wasn’t anything like a dog would have, but it certainly stretched further than the skin, say, on the back of your hand.

“Could you just keep him down for a bit? This might hurt,” she requested of the girl, as both her hands would be busy. When another pair of smaller but equally gentle hands rested on the bunny’s back and head, Spirit lightly prodded the scruff she’d gathered, pushing in so the liquid would eject. Just as she’d predicted… just as all animals did… the rabbit stiffened, then tried to jerk away. The girl seemed practiced at this, as the movements weren’t enough to jerk the needle out of Spirit’s hand, and she was able to pull it out without much fuss. She wiped it off with another cloth and set it aside.

Slowly but surely her patient relaxed, only twitching occasionally, until it slumped on the cloth, quite obviously asleep. “Thank you,” the Vet whispered to her helper, nudging the girl away so she’d have space to work. The skin of the ear still looked dauntingly thin, but the girls constant and concerned eyes kept Spirit determined that she’d at least try. She knew that, if there were stitches there and they came out, it would possibly end up more scarred… but the owner had made her opinion obvious. “Okay,” she muttered to herself, glancing over the table in preparation to get started.

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by **Spirit Frostfawn** on May 3rd, 2014, 9:18 pm

Again she picked the thinnest needle, and the thinnest thread. In fact, the thread was so fine she had trouble picking it up and sticking it into the equally tiny eyelet on the needle. She grumbled for a few moments as, time after time she failed at the fine finger work… but eventually she succeeded. This was why she didn’t get into any kind of fine needlework. This kind of stitching was enough for her. All that, plus poking your fingers every five ticks with the needle.

Despite using the smallest things she could find, Spirit still felt like it was too large, for the ear’s thin skin. She felt like it would just rip, if anyone tugged hard enough. And the bunny’s attacker had done just that. But there was no going back now. She’d promised. The thought kept going through her mind, and the Vantha sighed quietly, almost not wanting to do this. However, she had to… so there was no point putting it off any longer.

Just as carefully as she’d done everything else, she began the slow stitches. It began easily, going carefully through one side of the bottom part of the ear, up and around to the back side of the upper part. Out it came, and when the thread was pulled tight, she went down again and repeated the action. She started where the rip began, occasionally wiping away the slowly oozing bits of blood. She was getting better at blood and gore too. At first she’d been kind of useless when it came to it, a burn or a protruding bone making her want to throw up. She’d even done that once or twice. Despite that, she kept turning around, kept coming back. It was a heavy determination. She wanted to help, she needed to help… enough so that she faced her fears and kept trying. It eventually got to the point that the sights just made her feel… sad. Sad for the pain of whoever had received the injury. And with that sadness came the desire to help.

Spirit contemplated this as she worked, the repetitive task allowing her to drift away a little, moving into her own thoughts. She knew some people didn’t feel as responsible for… everything… as her. She didn’t quite understand it, but she never tried to push people to explain. She liked her own company at times, but if someone came asking for aid, she always dashed to help. Even when that instinctive reaction put her in danger. That had been proved outright, back in… Fall, was it? There had been those men… who’d tricked her out into the wastes to help a hurt horse. She’d ended up tied up, until… another man turned up and saved the day. It had been bloody and violent, but she’d also learned a lot. She’d faced her own death, though that hadn’t been the first time. The first time had been almost a year ago, with wolves.

It also showed her two different sides of people. The kidnappers, who seemed able to try and pry and hurt without caring. She didn’t understand those people. Did they enjoy it? How? Then there were people like her, like the mercenary. But even then, there was a difference. She helped people by using her skills to heal them, to fix them… though that also covered animals. The mercenary had helped people by using his skills to fight, to hurt, to kill… also like the bandits, but also… different. He did it for money, yes… but not because of his own malice. She hadn’t know much about him, but she didn’t think he liked killing. He did so in a pinch, and when it was needed to protect others. But not for fun.

It kind of made her curious. If you killed one person to protect another, did it mean that the living person’s life was more valuable? How could you decide if someone was… valuable? Skills, of course. Someone good at farming or hunting or sailing could make someone better, and possibly more valuable, on an economic scale. But what if you compared a heartless but highly skilled sailor, to a maybe useless person… but who tried their best to be good and helpful and kind? Who was more valuable then? It seemed an impossible conundrum.

Before Spirit realized it, she was at the end of her stitching. If it was impossible, why try solving it? Because she was curious. But maybe… maybe… it was said that beauty was in the eye of the beholder. So what if value was too? A loved one is more important to you than a complete stranger. Someone you know is more likely to mean more, to be more valuable. To have… memories? Were memories valuable? Or maybe she was being too specific. Maybe value meant a different thing to every person, the way different music and art and stories meant different things. Some people liked fishing more than carpentry. Others valued love in a person more than skill.

Her mind sort of made up, the Vantha brought herself back to the present. She’d paused in her work, as the final stitch required more attention than all the others. Carefully she tied it up, using a surgical knot so the whole thing wouldn’t come undone. She pulled the needle away, set that down too… and sighed. She had no idea how long it had been, but the girl and her parents were still there. How long had she been lost in her own thoughts though, unmoving? Simply doing… nothing? She honestly didn’t know. Again she sighed, rubbed her forehead, and turned to the family.

“I think he’ll be alright,” she said carefully, though she didn’t have much of an idea. She took another quick glance at the sleeping rabbit. The stitches didn’t seem to be coming apart, at least. Success… for now. There was a quiet whoop from the little girl, and then Spirit was assaulted by a hug. It was the owner, muttering “Thank you thank you thank you thank you,” over and over again, almost too rapidly to decipher. The parents were smiling too, though a little tiredly. She valued people like this, simple people, in her own simple world. It was nice and satisfying and… pleasant. This was why she helped, this was what she did. To make others and those they loved and knew and valued happier, better. So everything would be… better.

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by **Ablation** on May 14th, 2014, 2:47 pm

Spirit :

Please don't be afraid to PM me with any questions ^-^ and please don't forget to remove your grading request from the list to keep My office spick and span.

Solo Happy Little Bunny