A Trip to the Infirmary

Writers: Kurt, Vix
Date Posted: 20th October 2008

Characters: Quilya, Drisha, Resall
Description: Drisha comes to the infirmary with a scraped knee
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 4 of Turn 4
Notes: Mentor Approved

It was a fairly busy day at the infirmary, and there was plenty for
everybody to do. Healers moved between patients being tended, while
apprentices bustled here and there, taking care of various tasks.

Quilya stood off to a corner, cleaning a basin of examination tools with a
redwort solution. She was focused and efficient, balancing speed with
attention to detail. The implements would be needed in a timely fashion,
but it would not do to have any of them unsanitized. From the redwort,
they went into a hot water bath, and then to a drying rack.

"Quilya!" The apprentice looked up as her name was called. "Get to a
stopping point and come over here, I'm going to need some assistance."

"Coming!" Quilya finished cleaning the tool she was currently holding
dried her hands and hurried over to see what needed to be done.

"He's hurting me!" A little girl, knee scraped and bleeding through a
layer of dirt, sat on the examining table, wriggling as the healer tried
to clean the wound.

"I most definitely am not," Resall, the healer who was attempting to tend
to the child said, in tones that were somewhat clipped. "But this will
sting until we can get it cleaned, and I'm in no mood to fight over it."
Resall was known for his competency, which was quite good, and for his
patience, which was quite lacking.

"I can get it cleaned for you," Quilya offered. "And then you can come
evaluate her after that?"

"See to it then," Resall nodded. "Call me over when the wound is clean.
And don't take forever. There's a lot to do today."

Quilya murmured assent, and waited for Resall to depart. Then she walked
over to the little girl and crouched a bit so that she was at the same eye
level with her. "Hello," Quilya offered a gentle smile. "My name is
Quilya. Do you want to tell me yours?"

The girl eyed the healer for a moment before replying. "Drisha. I only
came here because Momma was busy and I didn't want to bother her."

"Oh, well, that was a very brave thing of you to do, Drisha," Quilya's
smile didn't leave her face. "You must be a very brave little girl." She
picked up the washbasin and cloth that Resall had been using and showed
them to Drisha. "Before we can do anything else, I need to get all of
that yucky blood and dirt off. Can you be brave while I do that?"

Drisha's expression was wary, but she nodded in agreement. "Just don't rub
too hard."

"Okay, here we go..." Quilya soaked the cloth in the cleansing solution
and squeezed out the excess. "This is going to prickle, but just a little
bit...be brave now..." She applied the cloth to Drisha's knee, applying
gentle, slow pressure, trying to let the solution do as much work as
possible to minimize the amount of abrasion. "Oh, you're doing very well
Drisha."

The girl had been gritting her teeth against the stinging, a single tear
threatening to ease from the corner of her eye, but forced herself to ask,
"Are you done soon?"

"Soon...very soon..." Quilya worked as gently as she could, but, at the
same time, she knew that it was important to get the wound absolutely
clean. "Just a little bit more...I think that's the worst of it. Let me
just dab around the edges..." She re-soaked the cloth and began to clean
up the area around the wound itself. "This is quite the scrape, Drisha,"
Quilya remarked, keeping her tone light, hoping to take the girl's mind
off of the cleaning. "What were you doing when you hurt yourself?"

Drisha's body stiffened as she looked up at the healer. "Do you promise
not to tell?"

"Well..." Quilya demurred, "if your momma asks me, I have to tell, because
healers can't keep secrets about that sort of thing. But...if she doesn't
ask me, I won't tell her...how does that sound?"

She thought about it for a moment and then whispered. "I was trying to see
the eggs."

"Mm." Quilya gave a little frown at that. "That sounds dangerous, Drisha.
I won't tell your momma, but I hope that you think twice before you do
_that_ again." Honestly, Quilya knew very little about dragons and their
eggs, but the idea of Drisha sneaking around them did not sit well.
"Okay," she put the cloth aside, "all cleaned up. That didn't hurt, now
did it?"

The little girl looked at her knee, surprised that the cleaning had
proceeded so quickly. "Only a little, I guess. Can I go now?"

"Almost," Quilya promised. "The healer needs to come look at it and make
certain that everything looks all right before we let you go." She looked
up and caught Resall's eye and gestured that Drisha's wound was cleaned.
Resall gave a curt nod.

Quilya looked back to Drisha. "Resall will be just a moment, and then
he'll have a look. Don't worry, he won't have to do any cleaning this
time. I made sure that I got everything."

Drisha glanced toward the older healer then whispered loudly to the
younger. "I don't like him."

"Oh, well, he's a very good healer," Quilya assured Drisha, softly. "He
just can be a little bit...short on patience." She pulled herself up onto
the exam table and sat next to the girl, patting her back reassuringly.
"Don't worry," she whispered, "he'll probably just look it your knee, say
that it's a superficial dermal abrasion, ask me to bandage it and to write
a note for you to take to your mother."

"Well, took long enough to get you cleaned up, hmm?" Resall drew near and
gave a tight smile. While he might have been attempting candor, it felt
like condescension. "Let's have a look."

Resall took hold of Drisha's leg under her heel and raised it slightly so
that he could examine the knee. He studied it from a few angles and
flexed the leg slightly before letting it down.

"Dermal abrasion," he said finally. "Shed a good bit of flesh, but
fortunately it's all superficial. There's no benefit to be had in
stitching it, so go ahead and bandage her up, Quilya. Write out the
standard care instructions for her caretaker and let her go." He smirked
and reached out to muss Drisha's hair. "You be careful, hmm?"

The child ducked her head away and glared at the healer, all the while
clutching tightly to Quilya's hand.

"Hrm." Resall looked slighted, but he turned and walked off. Quilya
patted Drisha's back again, then slid off of the exam table and fetched a
roll of bandages.

"You're an excellent patient, Drisha," Quilya remarked as she bandaged the
girl's knee. "If some of the grown-ups in here had as brave an attitude
as you, we'd sure have an easier time."

"Maybe they don't fall as often," the girl remarked. She peered at the
bandaged knee. "I guess I have to tell Momma about this."

"Well, you'll have to tell her why you have a bandage, sure," Quilya
agreed. She lowered her voice and leaned forward. "You don't have to
mention eggs unless she asks." The apprentice smiled and straightened up.
"I have to write a note for you to take back. Just wait here, okay?"

Quilya ducked into one of the offices off of the main room of the
infirmary and returned presently with a rolled strip of hide that was
bound with a string. "All right Drisha." She helped the girl down from
the exam table and then gave her the hide. "Make sure your momma gets
this, all right?" She put her hand into her apron then and drew out a
cookie, which she slipped into Drisha's hand. "For being such a good
patient," she smiled. "You're all fixed up now."

"Ok, bye!" The girl ran toward the door before turning to wave. "Thanks!"
and with that she was gone.

Last updated on the October 23rd 2008

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A Trip to the Infirmary