Blood & Bandages (Nay)

[Maya Frostfawn]

Timestamp: Winter 2, 523 AV Maya could hear the man's breathing. Although it had slowed since he first arrived, it was still faster and harder than it should be. As though he had exhausted himself after running for some time, or exerting his form in some other way. She thought she could hear his heart beating quickly too, but it might have just been her imagination. She said nothing as she continued to wrap the white bandage around his injured leg, weaving it around its flesh as though it were a coiling snake. Back and forth, around and around, as the man braced himself on the table, waiting. Trickles of blood continuing to seep from his split skin, soiling the bandages with each passing moment. Another moment, and she had run out of bandage. With a spare hand, she took the man's sweaty, clammy palm in her own and placed it on the edge of the bandage. "Hold this for a minute," she instructed, "I forgot to grab the clip," she said as she walked away, rummaged through the Clinic's supplies until she found what she had been looking for and returned to her patient, tucked the clip into the bandage so it would remain in place. "That should do it," she said before helping the man off the table. "You'll need to change the bandage regularly, perhaps once a day depending on how much you bleed." A pause. "You should try and take it easy, keep your weight off of it for a few weeks so you don't aggravate the wound and make everything worse." The man grimaced. "I need to work." A small smile. "I know, but not until you heal." She turned away for a moment, handed him a jar herbs. "The doctor said you should make a tea with this, drink it once a day. Should help with the pain." The man nodded. Began to head off. "Walking with a stick may help take some pressure off the foot too," she called, before watching her latest patient hobble away. As soon as the man was out of sight, Maya returned her gaze to the Clinic's operating room. It was a mess. Dusty. Covered in blood. Supplies all over the place. With a sigh, she began putting the supplies back where they came from. Took a moment to dust; she was just beginning to work on the blood, although she knew the effort was entirely futile when the good doctor came in and said she could head home for the day. With a nod, Maya gathered her things and headed out the door into a world that was surprisingly warm for the time of year. Devoid of wind. The sun hung high in the sky, casting its golden rays upon the earth, which seemed both strangely silent and grey. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, not from what Maya could see, and with a frown, she pulled her hood higher over her head, casting long shadows over her face as she stepped into the fading afternoon light and began her trek home. Her feet sounding steadily against the earth as she began to beat a familiar path back to the place where she spent so many of her waking hours, (not that she had any that were not waking hours anymore).