• Completed • The Wounded Veteran

[Ashira Ward]

Vhalar 36

The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.

Ashira was not at all happy about what she was currently doing. Which, for the curious, was heading to Andaris' Adunih Outpost. The Thorns had a thing about the Adunih. They thought it was a fantastic idea, and wonderful for the rest of Idalos, but they didn't want any part of it. Had, in fact, been extremely offended when at one point Adunih had made a move into Oakleigh and offered to let the Thorns join. As if they needed the Adunih. As if Oakleigh or any of the Eastern Settlements needed the Adunih with the Thorns looking after them. Eventually the Adunih, somewhat baffled by the reaction, had withdrawn. They weren't an invading force after all, they were only trying to help. If an area didn't want or need their help, well, those resources could be better used somewhere that did. Still, it had become something of a point of pride for the Thorns.

Ashira needed work though. She wasn't well known enough, or in truth skilled enough, to attract enough clients to her home to make a living. The common folk here all knew to bring their troubles to the Adunih though, and they would likely be more than happy to triage some of the overflow to her. Likely they'd never think anything of it. Even if her surname had still been Thorn, odds were they wouldn't know or care about the 'incident'. The only one who gave a damn was Ashira.

And she knew that it was stupid, she did. And she was able to convince herself of that enough that she was swallowing her sizable pride and going, but not enough that she was happy about it.

As she drew near, two healers were on their way out. She knew they were healers by the satchels and pouches criss-crossing their forms, with various goods, useful to the medic acting away from a clinic poking out. No other citizen outside of the medical field would have call to be hauling so much about unless they'd just robbed a clinic, and by the leisurely stroll of these two, it was unlikely. Out of habit, and because there was nothing else to steal her attention, she listened in on their conversation as they passed.

"-bit unrealistic though, I mean I know I'm still swamped."

"Mm, I can't believe they honestly expected us to be at their beck and call. With all the casualties, most of who need ongoing follow-up, I only have time for real people."

"Don't get me wrong, their contribution is crucial, I'm happy to do any major surgery they need, but I'm not hanging around to change bandages. I have human patients who need me."

"All the people who work at the Lodge get a touch daft. It's probably all the ammonia."

Small smile sneaking out to grace her features, Ashira turned on heel and headed for a new destination. Perhaps she wouldn't need to appeal to the Order for their scraps after all...

[Ashira Ward]

The Skye Verath Lodge, for all that it had a regal name, and quite the reputation, was a fairly small unassuming building. This of course was because the building the humanoids used didn't need to be extensive. The stables and training yards on the other hand.. Ashira knew of it of course, but she'd never visited before. It was noisy, smelled, and there was no reason to. She had nothing to do with the Skyriders after all, nor did she want to. But if they needed basic healing skills on hand, if they paid, well that was good enough. It probably wasn't that much different from tending to people. She'd never been particularly good at the bedside manner part of her profession anyway.

She did have a few slight worries about the differing physiologies, but she wasn't a surgeon so she didn't have to worry too much about exact internal layout, and the effects of herbs stayed fairly similar and predictable across the board. Besides, she would figure it out. Rynmere had enough of a history with these creatures there were surely resources she could access. The library probably had oodles of books if the Lodge itself didn't. There was no point in discouraging herself regardless. She was capable, she could do this, and confidence was more likely to be met with success. So, chin up and standing tall, or as tall as the petite woman was capable of, she let herself in.

And was met with borderline madness. The lobby wasn't full of people, but all of the ones it did contain seemed exceptionally busy. Striding about. Talking seriously before striding off elsewhere. And they were dirty. Almost to a man, they were covered in.. dirt was probably being hopeful. There didn't really seem to be a neat, dedicated reception area. The few desks set up in direct eye-line of the door, the ones she would expect to check-in at were empty, so she wasn't really sure where to go.

But she didn't intend to stand about looking lost.

She approached the nearest man with determination. "Pardon me, do you work here?"

"Yes, and no, we don't sell them, I don't care how much your kid wants one Lady."

"That is the stupidest thing anyone has said to me recently. I was led to believe you were shorthanded in healers."

"You're a healer? Hold on. Gaspard! HEY GASPARD!"

A voice used to yelling over a stable full of shrieking and hissing beasts cut through the air. For a split second, silence fell in the room. Part of Ashira was mortified, but she was set on not showing it. A young dirty-blonde haired man looked up from what he was doing and made his way over.

"I told you, I can't give you more leave right now-"

"'Cause you're a terrible bastard. Yes. This'un" a thumb was hooked in Ashiras direction "is a healer."

Immediately Gaspard looked more interested.

"What do you know about Volareons? Jacadons?"

"I've seen them. Quite frankly I've no specific knowledge. I've only treated humanoids up until now. I am not a surgeon, I'm primarily a herbalist, I know all basic treatment, bandaging, disinfecting, cleaning wound and so forth."

"So you're saying you've never- You know what? Never mind. I can use you. Either you'll make it or you won't."

Ashira had a brief internal debate about whether or not she ought to snipe back at him for that. Or at least glare. Just one little icy glare. Eventually though she decided that even if he was young and rude, if he was going to be the one handing over pay to her in the future, she'd best not.

"I assure you, if I feel I'm not capable of something you will be made aware. I don't foresee a problem."

"Great, great." He turned back to the other man "Who've we got who can give her a quick run through?"

"Jords probably not doing anything important."

"Good, fetch him would you? And get her into some leathers."

"Will do!"

"Leathers?"

"Did you plan on coming here this morning when you got dressed?"

Ashira blushed, she was wearing a dress, as she did most days. It was fairly utilitarian, and she did her normal healing in it, but it was perhaps not the best suited to this environment.

"Doesn't matter. We have spares. Probably grubby, and likely big on you but better than ruining your own, plus gives you a little more protection from love bites. Come along."

[Ashira Ward]

A little big was something of an understatement. There were women working in the lodge, but even they tended to be several inches taller than Ashira, and by the cut and the smell she was fairly certain the clothes she'd been given had been made for and worn by a man. It seemed to her to be somewhat indecent to be wearing some strange mans clothes. If this was to be a regular thing she was really going to have to get her own. Another expense.

"Ah, you must be the healer! A bit overwhelming all of this isn't it, ha, I remember when I was just starting out myself, don't be too intimidated though, with me to guide you through you'll be fine."

There was something about the oily, smooth tones which greeted her that Ashira objected to on a bone deep level. Like the whine of mosquito it triggered the urge to smack.

"Mm, Ashira Ward, you must be Jord then?"

"Just so! Animal Handler, husband, father, and maker of a pretty damned good pulled pork if I do say so myself! The wife agrees anyway, and she's a charm in the kitchen so, I take her word on it!"

"How.. nice. There are perhaps beasts that require attention?"

"Ha! Ready to dive right in are you? Good, good. Of course it's not quite that simple, these are extremely dangerous creatures you know. Trained to kill. Excellently trained of course, at least the ones I've worked with. Magnificent beasts.."

At this point Jord was looking off into the distance in a dramatic misty-eyed fashion that was stretching out longer than Ashira found comfortable. Ashira cleared her throat.

"Still, you must start somewhere, and I'm the best man for the job! Lets go."

Ashira couldn't help it. As he breezed past her, gesturing grandly for her to follow, she rolled her eyes. If this kept up by the end of the day she might have rolled them so much she was left permanently dizzy. She couldn't help but wrinkle her nose as they drew near and entered the first stable. It looked.. well very stable-like. Like there could be horses in there. She did notice however, that the roof looked to be specially reinforced. She'd not thought of that but with flying creatures she supposed they had to. Otherwise any beast that didn't feel like training or didn't want an injury looked at would just fly away. Hardly practical. Even this musing though, couldn't distract her fully from the sound and smell. It was very nearly overwhelming, especially as they opened the doors and stepped in.

"This, as I'm sure you've gathered, is where the Volareon are housed. Most women love them, fluffy and cute are used often. I prefer majestic myself, but of course those who don't spend time in the library don't have quite the same vocabulary. I notice you have a little bit of a rural accent. Did you know we had a library? I take my family there regularly, have to make sure the boys are educated like their old man!"

This was going to be a very long day.

"And some of them need medical attention?"

"Of course, of course, but first I'll introduce you to one. Follow me!"

Of he went again, chest puffed out.

[Ashira Ward]

"This," Jord postured before one of the stalls "is a Volareon. Tyrath to be precise. He's a bit over two arcs old, still working on his training."

Ashira peered in at the beast. This was clearly the bit where she was meant to be awed and left in wonder. As the creature scratch its chin with its hind leg and proceeded to take a shit however, she was decidedly underwhelmed. It was just a slightly grubby, simple looking beast. And, if she was entirely honest, a little bit intimidating with the claws and fangs and such. Still, Jord appeared to be waiting for a reaction.

"I see."

He deflated slightly.

"They uh, they.. As you can see, they are one of Idalos' many 'chimeric' monsters, though they're hardly monstrous, what I mean in this case is that physically, they are a mixture of two simpler creatures. Felines and bats." He was getting his stride back again, and sounded more like he was lecturing a class full of keen students than one slightly exasperated healer who just wanted to change some bandages, get paid and go home. "They've all been born and raised here, handled since birth. Most of them already have riders who've been working with them that whole time, but we've found it's best they're kept here so they can socialize with other people and each other. A volareon in the wild if a skittish beast! It's our job to lay the foundation to overcome that. Their favourite places for a pat are the bridge of the nose, base of the skull, chest-"

"Pardon me. It's not my job. It's your job. I'm not here to cuddle or coddle them, I came to see if a healer was needed, if not.." Ashira did not even particularly like animals. She didn't dislike them, she wasn't one of those folks who went about kicking any creature that crossed her path, but she did not get all warm and fuzzy inside or feel the need to resort to baby-speak every time some fur bearing beast approached her.

"Well.. I just thought.. I mean you need to know how to handle them safely!"

"Fantastic. I assume either a handler will be there to calm them, or I will sedate them. Problem solved."

"You can't just-!"

"Yes, Sir. I can. I am glad and appreciate that you are passionate about your craft. I am sure you are a fantastic handler. I am not a handler. I do not want to be a handler. Nor do I want to waste my time when there are patients, on whatever number of legs, that require my assistance. If you have advice regarding specific maladies or treatments that work better on these creature than humans, I would be happy to hear it, otherwise.."

There may have been some hubris at work here. Jord may have been an annoying, self-involved blowhard, but a wiser woman than Ashira would have listened to him all the same. She did not see much difference between a man, an Ithecal and a volareon, they were all just bodies that needed treating. And on one level this was true. But a man couldn't casually disembowel you because you'd upset them by making eye contact when you shouldn't or because you'd stroked their fur in the wrong direction, or you smelled like an individual of the same species that they particularly hated.

[Ashira Ward]

"Oi! That the healer?" Came a call from a man wearing a Skyriders uniform.

"Yes." Ashira responded immediately before Jord started another long winded exposé.

"Good, you come with me. Errol needs looking at. Now." His voice brooked no argument, and approaching, he took her by the forearm and literally pulled her after him, leaving Jord behind looking entirely put out.

Ashira was not really in favour of being told what to do rather than being asked, nor did she like being manhandled, or in fact touched at all by anyone not within her inner circle, but in the interest of getting down to work and doing what she actually wanted to do, she would tolerate it for now.

"Errol?"

"My jacadon. He took a handful or arrows for me, no ones even looked at him for the last two trials!"

"Really? Well that's unacceptable, you take me to him and we'll get him sorted." Ashira was feeling particularly smug. Arrows were easy enough, and if his rider hadn't been concerned enough to demand attention for him for over forty eight hours, chances were the wounds hadn't gone septic or anything like that. Disinfect, clean, re-bandage, there you go. Easy.

For all her likely unreasonable and unwarranted confidence, Ashira still froze, eyes going wide when they first entered Errols stall. Only the skyriders insistent hauling got her moving again with any speed. Jacadons were big. Volareons, particularly young ones, were large yes, but they weren't giants. And there was something about another mammal that you could shrug off. Blame it on hundreds of years of domesticating such beasts. Jacadons though.. Big, scaled, undeniably different and alien from herself. Claws and teeth that made sure you remembered at all times these were beats of war, where the volareons you could imagine curled up at someones feet in front of a fire. Ashira had never been this close to a Jacadon. And when it swung it's great head over to pin her with it's gaze.. There was intelligence there, and in this ones case, agitation.

"There's my lad hey? Don't you worry, we'll get you looked at." The skyrider crooned, and Errols large head came around to briefly nuzzle the man who gave him eye ridge a scratch.

Ashira had spotted the bandage on the beasts chest. Pointing at it she asked "Is he all right if I..?"

"Of course! He's a good lad my Errol, even put up with my brothers brats climbin' on him and never nipped any of 'em. He's well trained, he'd not attack you here, even if t'weren't me here."

"Right, thank you." This established, Ashira swallowed once and stepped forward. Shoving aside thoughts of what she was working on and focusing only on the work, the injury before her. Still, she couldn't help but notice the odd, faint scent beneath the dung and urine scents that hung in the building. Almost.. spicy was the closest she could come to it and even that wasn't quite right, she wasn't certain the right word actually existed, at least not in the languages that she knew. That must be the scent of a jacadon.

[Ashira Ward]

The edges of the bandage, she noted, were damp. Raising her hand she touched the feathers next to the bandage, feeling something.. It was a little bit wet and a little bit greasy, and now that she as really looking, it seemed to cover Errols entire body, at least the bits that she could see which was largely the bottom half, scales and feathers both. Well at least it probably wasn't a sign of infection or weeping from the wound then. She had no idea what it was though. Well. Jacadon were also aquatic right? Didn't ducks have a thing? Something something 'like water off a ducks back'. She didn't really understand how it worked, but didn't they excrete some substance that kept the water from sinking in? Wasn't that why the water went off their backs in the infamous saying? Maybe this was similar. That made sense. Or maybe it kept their skin and scales from drying out so they didn't become brittle. Didn't matter. The point was that it seemed like whatever it was, it was meant to be there.

This particularly symptom discarded as not a symptom at all, she moved on to something she was infinitely comfortable with. Removing the bandage. Easy peasy, you didn't even really need any medical knowledge. She did have to be a bit careful not to pull any feathers off with it, but that was the worst off it, she just went slowly and meticulously. Once off, she examined the wound. She actually had to move his feathers aside to do this. She marveled once more over how soft he was. Somehow she'd not really thought of Jacadon as feathery, and certainly not as soft. Well, the top halves of them were scaly, and that was the bit you noticed and saw unless you were right up underneath them.

She examined the wound careful. It wasn't red or overly puffy, there was no obvious pus. Bringing her face closer she sniffed it, checking for any signs of hidden rot. All seemed fine though. The long and short of it was that it had probably been a better doctor than her who'd seen to Errol originally.

"Can you fetch me two buckets, one of warm soapy water, one of straight water and two clothes please?" She asked absently. By this point she'd forgotten the behemoth of a beast towering over her that she was prodding and was focused on the job at hand. The skyrider hurried off to comply while she continued examining. She didn't think there was a fever. He felt somewhat warmer than a human ought to but.. Jacadon shot steam right? And anyway, weren't most scaly things warmer? Or was that colder? She didn't know what the baseline for a healthy jacadon was, so barring boiling or freezing, she'd just have to assume he was good on that front.

The wounds had been neatly stitched. one of them was ready for the stitches to be removed. Left much longer it would start to grow into the skin and be a real bother. Tweezers and scissors were brought out as she carefully and neatly snipped the knots and pulled the threads free, always making sure she either cut the knots off or pulled from the other side. Errol stood through this, likely between the quality of the original work and the care Ashira took he didn't even feel much. A faint tug, that would be about it.

"Here." He was back, with the buckets.

"Lovely. I'll need to be back to check those other stitches, they should be ready to come out in the next three to five trials." She commented, taking the warm soapy water and the first cloth and gently patting the wound clean. This earned a snort from Errol, but still he stood. Once it was cleaned to her satisfaction, she used the plain water to ensure no soap was left. That done she used the second cloth to dry the wound and surrounding area.

"I brought back clean bandages as well."

"Did you? Fantastic, thank you."

Re-bandaging, the area, she examined her work critically before turning to the skyrider.

"Keep it dry. Until the stitches are out and he's properly on his way to healed. Or, since the sea isn't bad for wounds if he absolutely must go out, take the bandaging off first. Wet bandages are no good for healing."

"So he can swim?" The man sounded anxious. "Only he's awful tired of being cooped up and I know he's not to fly until it's fully healed."

"Mm, swimming should be fine. Don't let him get too exuberant of course, but just a simple swim should actually be good for him. When you bring him in again afterwards, wash the wound as I just did and make sure it's properly dry before you re-bandage."

"Yes'm, we can do that. Hear that lad? We can go out!" He gave the beast an affectionate smack which was met by a rumble. It seemed like a positive rumble so that was probably all right.

"Hey are you done hogging the healer yet?" Another voice broke in...

[Ashira Ward]

The trial continued to pass in something of a blur, as one skyrider after another pulled her in to check on their precious beasts. Most of them were utterly fine, needing only a quick cleaning, one she prepared an antibiotic compress for, not liking the puffy edges of the wound.

Jacadons, she decided, were just fine in her book. Some of her best patients. They rarely complained, and at worst it was a snort and a dirty look. A bit of a rumble. They even pulled away less than humans. And they weren't as.. The volareons from what she'd seen were much livelier. Bouncing about, begging for attention. Like particularly enthusiastic children but with too many claws to be safe. Like very destructive children. No, Jacadons were definitely the superior animals in her book.

So when she'd finished with the last beast she'd been hauled in with, had no one else waiting to pull her in another direction, and noticed a jacadon that had managed to pull off it's bandaging revealing what looked to her to be a slash from a sword and which she was pretty sure was infected, she didn't think twice about letting herself into the stall. Without fail, each and every rider had reassured her of their mounts training. And it had been true. The jacadons had tolerated her but otherwise been entirely uninterested. They didn't want to sniff her or for her to pay attention to her, nor did they want to escape or attack. If anything she got the feeling that she was something of a bother, but that they were tolerating her.

Imagine then her surprise, and outright terror when this beast suddenly spun around with a roar, teeth bared, spittle flying. She'd already closed the door, and stepped away from it, her initial, gut reaction, stupid though it was, was to fling herself away from the maw coming at her. Which meant that she wound up huddled in a corner, and now much of the beasts mass was blocking her from reaching the door.

"No! Bad dog! Sit!"

It was stupid, and the first thing she thought of. And utterly ineffective. A rush of steam hit the wall a foot or so above her head, the hot water running down the wall towards her, her face pinking from the heat of even that near shot. It continued, snapping at her, though never actually making contact. Someone more used to such things, or braver, might reach the conclusion that it was posturing, that they were safe. Ashira did not. Cowering, eyes squeezed shut, she was quite certain she was going to die.

"Fuck! Get the ropes! DOWN. STAND."

Sudden footsteps and hands pulling her up and out as the beast continued to rage. Ashira was walked outside in a daze and leaned against a wall, where she promptly sat down, mindless of the fact that the ground by nature was probably dirty.

"Are you all right? Didn't anyone warn you?"

"What?" She asked almost dreamily.

"That one. He.. He lost his rider. We thought he was going to go stone for awhile.. He'll likely go back to the Sunset Isle, we're just trying to get his wound healed before he does. Best we can do considering what he sacrificed for this city you know?"

"What?"

"His riders dead. He's mourning."

"His wound is infected."

"He won't let anyone at it. I suppose.. If you reckon it's that bad we might be able to tie him down, get some of the other jacadon to subdue him or something.."

"No. I. I'll think."

"I should get back in there, are you okay?"

"Hmm? Yes."

[Ashira Ward]

She must have sat there for at half a break, gathering her composure. First she was afraid once the shock wore off that she was going to cry, and Ashira did not cry in public, and then she didn't know if her trembling legs would hold her if she tried to rise. Finally she was up, and had herself directed to the Lodges stash of medicines. More specifically, their herbs. It was interesting. Although willing to admit that most practicing doctors had more experience and were better than her, she still didn't trust must prepared medicines unless she'd made them herself.

Someone who worked here obviously knew what they were doing though. She wanted to stop and take stock, to revel in all the possibilities. Instead she helped herself to Valerian and Wild Lettuce to start, and olive leaves for after. She then made her way to where the food was kept. One of the things they had on hand were whole fishes. Scrunching up her nose in distaste at the smell, she packed one of them full of the lettuce and valerian. This done, she made her way back to the stall in question. Steeling herself, she burst the door open, threw the fish in and slammed the door shut. The beast hardly had a chance to do more than shift and start growling before the door was shut again.

Heart racing, she waited, having ducked down below the window to where it couldn't see. Or spit anymore steam at her. There was some more growling, some snuffling, and then some wet noises that she assumed were probably it eating. Hopefully. It might also just be tearing the fish apart to spite her. This seemed equally likely.

She waited another half a break or so, there was some shuffling and then not a lot of noise. One of the skyriders she'd worked with earlier made his way over.

"So uh.. What are you doing?"

"Waiting. Is it asleep?"

He peered in the stall "Yep, he sure seems to be."

"Good, that was a sedative and a painkiller. Should be able to treat him now."

"You might be mad you know that? Ha! I like you, I'll help. What can I do?

"Bandages, warm soapy water, clean water, at least two cloths please."

"Right-o. Maybe wait for me before you go in. Just in case."

"Yes." Ashira agreed fervently.

When he returned, they entered. The Jacadon did not react. Approaching the wound with light steps she examined it. Definitely infected. Not terribly yet, but it wouldn't be long at this rate. First she cleaned it. Then she muddled the olive leaves, mashing them into almost a paste. She put half of this directly on the wound, the other half the put within the first layer of bandage so it would continue to seep in. She attached the bandage as tightly and as closely as she could, hopefully he'd not rip it off immediately. Even if the olive leaves only had the time he was unconscious to work, there should still be some improvement. Once done, she was more than happy to escape. Every twitch, every breath she'd been afraid he was waking up.

"Could I ask a favour?"

"After the first day you put in for us? Sure."

"I don't know who to tell, but if someone notices that he doesn't wake up in twelve hours, I or another healer should be fetched. I'm not.. I'm not exact on dosages for Jacadon yet. He'll probably be fine, but I would be remiss if someone didn't watch him and I'm not really sure who to tell."

"Aye, I can pass that on to the Handlers no problem."

"Thanks. I think I'm going to go home now."

"Ha! Have a drink when you get there, you've earned it!"

With a wave, still a bit unsteady and unsure of how she felt about all this, Ashira headed for home.

[Pegasus]

Ashira

Points!:

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 0/ 5 (solo thread)
Structure: 5/ 5

Knowledge:

Order of Adunih: Philosophy
Order of Adunih: Rocky past with your family
Location: Order of Adunih: Andaris
Location: Skye Verath Lodge
Gaspard: Works at the Sky Verath Lodge
Jord: Works at the Skye Verath Lodge
Errol: The Jacadon
Detection: subtle scents under strong ones
Animal Husbandry: Jacadon: Basic care
Animal Husbandry: Jacadon: Checking wounds trials later
Animal Husbandry: Jacadon: Removing stitches
Animal Husbandry: Jacadon: After care.
Animal Husbandry: Jacadon: Sedatives
Animal Training: Jacadon: "Bad dog, sit" doesn't work
Discipline: Not crying in public

Loot:

NA

Fame:

+1 general good deed (helping out!)

Magic:

These points may NOT be used for arcana

Overview:

General comments. To clarify, when you say in post 1 that the Order of Adunih 'withdrew', this can only be withdraw from asking your family to join. Their place, or not, in specific area of Rynmere would be something determined by the mods and would take into consideration all players. I'm sure that's what you meant, but I just wanted to clarify!
Story A well written, cohesive and coherent story which flows well.
Structure No problems, beautiful writing style.

Please do PM me if you've got any questions

[Ashira Ward]

Eastern Settlement Lore specifically states the Thorns are the only healers present. Should the staff choose to change this as well, I'll be happy to throw this bit of plot in the garbage too.