Not So Different At All
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Aaron, Heather
Date Posted: 28th February 2019
Characters: K'don, K'lvin
Description: K'don works with K'lvin in the dragon infirmary.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 6 of Turn 9
}:You belong here. This is your home,:{ said Maciath. The two had been through this before.
**It's not the same! I don't just belong everywhere in the weyr just because I was born here!** Or because his mother was the weyrwoman or his grandfather the weyrlingmaster. This was a new place.
}:But it isn't new! You have worked here forever.:{
**Just because you can't remember a time when I didn't come here to volunteer doesn't mean I've always done it.**
}:Yes, yes.... Before you worked with the beasts, but it was the same! You healed them when they were sick or hurt. Now you heal dragons when they are sick or hurt. Same.:{
**I promise you, it's very different... The people are different, the... the patients are different, the work is different.**
}:But you do it for the same sake. You want to heal. I look up to you for this want in your heart. Go and do this without fretting, because you belong here. You will feel it if you believe it.:{
K'don took a deep breath and approached K'lvin, doing his best to put away his worries. Worries that he would not be good enough or that he would be dismissed for his age or any other worry he could conjure up in his mind. K'lvin knew him. And if K'lvin knew him and still wanted to help him learn, why should he doubt that?
}:Yes! You've found the heart of it. If you can't trust yourself, trust him. And if you don't, it's his wisdom you misbelieve, not yours.:{
K'don smiled and straightened. Of course. Maciath always knew how to see the right of these things. K'don could trust in K'lvin.
"Good morning, sir," he said, offering his hand to shake.
"Good morning, K'don," K'lvin didn't quite look up from his clipboard yet. There was no sense in telling K'don not to call him 'sir' because he knew that the young brownrider would do it anyway. There was certainly no mistaking the K'sedel bloodline, K'lvin thought, not for the first time, as he finally glanced up. K'deren would never have been able to disown K'don, not when the boy was a mirror image of him.
"How is Maciath this morning?" he inquired.
"He's well, sir." K'don's face lit up. As much as they might butt heads on some things, the pair supported each other just as much in all things. The joy in his eyes on thinking of his dragon was no less intense for having spoken to him only moments before. "I hope you and Xmrenth are well, also," he said.
"We are," K'lvin said, although inwardly he thought if he could make it through this shift without Xmrenth chasing a green he would be grateful. "I was just about to go on some rounds today if you want to go with me and keep notes of the observations."
"That would be great! I hoped that I could. That you wouldn't mind, I mean. If I helped." K'don blushed, but he did not let his awkwardness dampen his excitement. It was not as though it was the first time he had done this, but every time, it still felt as though he were being given an honor. Perhaps soon enough, he would finally get back to considering it routine.
"Of course not. I think the best way to learn is by doing," K'lvin said as he spun the clipboard around and handed it to K'don. They walked down the hallway to the first infirmary weyrcouch where a green rested. "Okay, read me what the chart says about her."
"OK..." said K'don as he looked down and began to scan the chart. "Vitals last taken on the overnight shift, so that's about four hours ago. Should be. Everything was stable then, heart rate normal, temperature slightly high, but not high enough to be scary... breathing normal..." He kept scanning.
"Here we go... She took a score to her left hind flank at the last Fall. No broken bones, no stitches... But I guess since she's here, that means it was deep enough that it needed to be watched for infection. Oh, here it is. The wound was checked for signs of infection about six hours ago. So she'll need all of that done again now. I think. Right?" He turned to look up at K'lvin.
K'lvin's lips twitched a little, "That's right." The dragonhealer passed around the green, rubbing his hand along her emerald side as he passed and earning a croon of appreciation from her. Experienced hands removed the bandage that was covering the wound. "What's the easiest way to detect infection?" he quizzed K'don.
"Um. Well, I think if there's, uh... discolored oozing," K'don said as he followed K'lvin around to take a look. "From the wound." If the green's temperature got any higher, that would also be a good sign, but the chart said it had been holding steady at only just barely above normal, so she probably did not... Probably. But a lot could change in four to six hours.
"All that's true," K'lvin chuckled, "but you're missing the easiest way to detect infection." The bronzerider tapped the side of his nose, "Smell. When you pull off a bandage, if there's infection, you'll smell it first thing, trust me. Sometimes you'll smell it before it's very visible."
Oh, gross! K'don thought to himself. Fascinated, he leaned in to smell. He suspected that if there was an infection, he would not have to ask.
"It looks like she's probably doing OK. And smells like." He looked down at the chart again. "How do you feel, Rossapath?" he asked her, reaching out to touch her as K'lvin had.
Rossapath warbled a sleepy sound and readjusted her head on the stone floor.
"I'll redress the wound and then you can go back to your weyr," K'lvin told her as he went over to the supply cabinet in the room and drew out the gauze and bandages. "All we're going to do is flush the wound with water, pack it with folded gauze strips, and then cover it back up," he told K'don. "Would you like me to watch you do it?"
K'don was nervous for a brief moment. This kind of wound was rare among beasts, so he did not have that experience to lean on. But K'lvin thought he could do this with his supervision. And that was how someone learned. His anxiety turned to excitement for the opportunity. He nodded.
"Should I fetch the water?" K'don had been tasked with mixing a bit of salt into water for wound flushing before, but someone may have already done that recently enough for Rossapath. He peered about to see whether it had.
K'lvin hefted the jug up and gave it a good shake, "Here you go."
"Oh! Right. Sorry." K'don blushed as he took the jug. It was also not the first time he had looked for something everywhere but right in front of him. He touched the green's hide again and said, "Here we go," not wanting her to be surprised. Then he paused.
"Er. I should have something to catch the runoff, shouldn't I?"
K'lvin held up a small metal pan, "I'll catch while you flush."
K'don smiled. He was already beginning to feel a bit more comfortable with K'lvin because of his encouraging demeanor. With the pan in place, K'don slowly poured the water over the wound.
"There we go. You're doing great, Rossapath," he said soothingly to the dragon.
Once the flushing was done, K'lvin took the pan and dumped it out before returning to watch K'don began dressing the wound, "It is deep enough that you only need to fold the gauze and pack it lightly in."
K'don nodded, folded the gauze, and then very gently began to pack the threadscore, watching and listening for signs of great discomfort or pain from his patient.
"Excellent," K'lvin encouraged as K'don finished up. "What do you think Rossapath? How did K'don do?"
Rossapath crooned gratefully, her talons scraping on stone as she made to stand, quite ready to be back on her own ledge.
K'don beamed with pride at both K'lvin's approval and Rossapath's gratitude.
"Be good," he said to the green as she stood. "And thank you." To K'lvin, he said, "Should I mark everything good for this shift on her chart?" he asked.
"Yes, mark down what you did and what was observed as we move on to the next one," K'lvin said leading the way out of the weyrcouch and moving down the hall to their next patient.
Last updated on the February 28th 2019