Completed Helping Hands [Job Thread 1]

[Enthere]

The infirmary was a bustling hub of light and noise. Enthere blinked in surprise when she walked in the door. She had expected it to be quieter, a haven of healing. Instead it was energetic; people moving about their duties, patients coming and going, orders given and fulfilled. Enthere quickly found herself in the center of the hustle, moved by the steady flow of people towards the epicenter of the infirmary. Thankfully this epicenter was someone she knew, if only by acquaintance. Mistress Claira had assigned her this job just two days previously, the Kelvic hoped she remembered her. "Mistress Claira?" She asked, not knowing why it came out as a question. The uneasiness of starting work must be getting to her. The elder woman's eyes flicked toward her, and Enthere sensed her unspoken acknowledgment of her question, though presently she was giving stern orders to someone else.

Enthere didn't crane her neck or wave to capture mistress Claira's full attention, she simple found the nearest spot of clear ground and stood there patiently. Waiting for the mistress to finish with what she was doing. It was a long while before Mistress Claira turned to her, and she was clearly in a rush. "Goodness!" She exclaimed, "we are busy today! We've had so many broken noses and bloodied fists today! It must be something in the air." She stopped speaking for barely long enough to transfer a large basket of soiled rags into Enthere's arms. "Theres a place to wash out back." She said, then turned away and was back to her other business.

Slightly bewildered, and unsure where 'out back' was, Enthere meandered through the halls until she found what she presumed was the washing place. Three wooden tubs stood in the small outdoor courtyard, each was filled with water and two were already in use. Enthere dumped her load in the third, resigned to the wash work. She had been hoping for something more...helpful, she supposed. Enthere wanted to heal people, not wash dirty rags. But Mistress Claira had told her to wash rags, and Enthere's job was to obey Mistress Claira. She set to work scrubbing.

[Enthere]

Elbow-deep in murky water, Enthere rubbed her hands raw with effort on the bandages. It took her the better part of a bell to finish the basket of rags, and, by the time she'd finished, there were several more heaps of rags and bandages to wash. People came and went, their purpose was always to deliver more cloths, or take the clean stuff away. None of them showed any interest in Enthere, and the Kelvic kept herself as aloof as always. Though she did find herself wishing for a bit of company, washing was lonely work.

Eventually, Mistress Claira herself came to deliver more wash. After depositing her load, the elder woman settled herself onto an upturned basket to watch Enthere. The old lady's watchful gaze unnerved Enthere, who kept sneaking glances up at the woman, wondering why she was paying so much attention to a rag-washer. "Well," Mistress Claira said after several long ticks, "you are a quiet one. Though I'm not sure I should complain about that; my old ears do get tired sometimes, they could do with a rest." Enthere's gaze flitted up to the Mistress's face again, but this time she fixed her eyes on her. "I'm washing." She said simply. "I don't think talking helps to wash bandages."

"Ah, well I can't agree with that. But I'm not here to argue with you Enthere, I came to see how this was going for you." Claira made a general gesture with one hand. Enthere only stared at her. "Well?" The Mistress asked.

Enthere started to stammer, "I-I" she said before stopping herself. She hated stammering over her words."I hope I am helping." She said finally, cocking her head to the side. Mistress Claira laughed, her voice was roughed by age, but she had a fine laugh. "Of course your helping, child! I wouldn't ever pay someone to be un-helpful." The old womans voice sobered, her eyes softening, "I can see what you see, though. You are wondering how much good you're doing by washing rags. You want to help people get better, eh? Well you are, and don't argue with me." She added, giving Enthere a stern look. Though Enthere would never argue with the elder woman. "You're healing people, Enthere. You think your washing rags, but your doing much more." The old womans tone changed suddenly, "Ukalas! I don't know what we would do without clean bandages, it would be impossible to get anyone better that'a way!"

*I have no idea if "Ukalas!" would be an exclaimation/expression used commonly on Miz, but I originally had it as "heavens!" which I didn't think was appropriate...

[Enthere]

Enthere smiled, the elder woman was clearly very involved in the infirmary. The Kelvic wouldn't have been the least surprised to see Mistress Claira washing rags herself, and Enthere knew that the old woman wouldn't be the least ashamed of it.

The Mistress was quick to notice her smile, and seemed to know what it signaled: She had earned the Kelvics admiration and respect, and given her much needed encouragment. The old woman stood, dusting off her apron. "Well then, I have work for you. Come along-oh, and take those clean ones with you." With that she marched primly through the door, leaving Enthere no choice but to follow her.

The basket of bandages was surprisingly heavy as Enthere carried them, though it was a rather large basket. Enthere followed Mistress Claira as she swept purposefully through the building, apparantly with some untold destination in mind. "Um, where are we going?" Enthere asked, walking a step behind the Mistress. Claira didn't even glance at her, "I told you," she said, "I have another job for you."

"Does it involve bandages?" Enthere asked, staring down at her load. "Indeed it does." Was Claira's only reply. Enthere did not have to wait long to find out what the infirmary Mistress was up to. They arrived at a simple room containing a simple bunk, a bench, and a small table with various medical articles on it. There were no bandages. There was also a young boy sitting on the cot with his leg cocked up onto the bed. The leg of the boys trousers had been rolled up above his knee. Enthere could see a long red scrape running from his knee to midway down his calf. Claira bustled over to the lad, patting him on the shoulder. "Enthere, this is William. William, this is Enthere. She'll be bandaging your leg." She smiled warmly at the boy, an expression Enthere tried to copy.

Mistress Claira continued. "The scrape has already been scrubbed clean. Will was very good about that, and its too shallow to need stitches, so we'll just bandage it up for you Will, I told you we had plenty of bandages." The rambling elder woman finally stopped, turned to smile at Enthere, then promptly left her alone with the youth. She gave Enthere a pat on the shoulder as she left.

Enthere set her basket on the table, carefully selecting a long strip of dry bandaging cloth. She approached the boy as warily as she would a dangerous animal. "Hello Will." She said, trying to keep her tone light. Enthere was far more nervous tending to a little boy than she would be caring for an adult. Children were delicate, and she had little experience with them. The boy gave her a bright smile, showing a mouth with several teeth missing. "Hi." He said, not seeming in the least nervous. He seemed perfectly happy to be with the Kelvic instead of Mistress Claira, or some other doctor.

"Um, where are your parents?" Enthere asked, inspecting his injury. Of course it had already been tended to, but she inspected it anyways. "Not here." Will said, "Mum's takin' care of the baby an' Pa's doin' his work." Enthere nodded, beginning to bandage Will's leg. "Ah, I guess you're big enough to get yourself fixed up. How did you hurt yourself?" She was surprised to find herself talking so easily with the boy, and he didn't utter a single complaint as she wrapped his scratch.

"I climbed a tree." He said, as if that explained everything. Enthere nodded as if she understood, "that can be very dangerous."

Claira appeared almost magically the moment Enthere finished patching up Will. She had a sweet piece of candy for the boy, which he gobbled with delight. "You did a marvelous job." Claira told Enthere, smiling when William hopped off the table, testing his leg. Then he gave Enthere a happy hug. The Kelvic was pleased with herself as she watched the young boy scamper away, and she was amazed with the cleverness of her employer. The Mistress had showed Enthere that she could help people in small ways, and that she didn't need to act as doctor to heal people, she simply needed to help them.

[Gale Austin McCenry]

Enthere

Experience

Cleaning	+1 XP
Medicine	+1 XP

Items/Consequences

Item	Description
N/A	N/A

Lores

■	Location: Zeltivan Infirmary
■	Mistress Claira: Head Medic
■	Healing: You need clean rags
■	How to Bandage a child's leg

Additional Comments

That was a pretty sweet thread. I really liked the moral Enthre learned and it was cool to have her bandage Will's leg. It was an adorable picture.

If you have any concerns or questions about your grade though, please don't be afraid of contacting me and we can get it sorted out! Remember to replace your request so it says 'graded' for the ST's. Thanks!