Solo Hands That Heal [Job Thread]

[Snaeha Datura]

|| 23rd Spring, 513AV || The Place of Purging. ||

”Snaeha, I thought you were going to work?”

She threw her younger brother a withering look, but nevertheless Snaeha continued to apply the finishing touches to her make-up. ”I am,” she began, holding up her mirror and smiling at her appearance, ”but that doesn’t mean I can’t save lives and look good.” Her eyes darted to her brother’s puzzled face, but did not remain there long before they once again became distracted with her own reflection. How could they not when her cheekbones just popped out like that?

There was no reply from Druston Datura, but Snaeha saw him roll his eyes and shake his head incredulously. Men: they just don’t understand the important things in life, she told herself. Surely all this effort she had spent to make herself look attractive would not be a waste - someone was bound to appreciate it… right?

She moved on to her hair, brushing it several times until shone like dark copper. It was such a pretty, strange colour; she had been told as much so often as a girl that Snaeha now knew the fact better than anyone else. Modesty was not a befitting trait for her -- but then again, why should she deny the truth just to be humble?

Unfortunately, the time she had dedicated to her appearance meant that Snaeha had to rush to her place of work, which was all a great inconvenience. She arrived at the Place of Purging just in time, though she had hoped to relax in the staff quarters before her shift began. There was no such luck, though.

”You’re late.”

Snaeha scowled. No I’m not. I arrived perfectly on time. She kept these thoughts to herself, however; nobody argued with Svorador Hellbore (at least, nobody with an ounce of common sense). So she said nothing, but dipped her head in a silent apology and glowered at the back of his head as he strode off. Svorador expected her to follow, she knew, and begrudgingly she had not choice but to do so.

”A young girl came in today, complaining of stomach cramps. The herbalists gave her a root poultice to ease the pain, but it seems to have gotten worse.” The older male paused outside a room, signalling to the door so Snaeha knew the patient in question waited for her consultation beyond it. ”I want you to check up on her in between your other patients. I would care for her myself but…”

… she’s not important or lucky enough to be treated by you?

”… I’m busy all day already, so you’ll have to do.”

Snaeha nodded and smiled tightly. That was as close to a compliment as she’d get from the head medic, so there was no point in pouting about it now. Instead, she unlatched the door and stepped inside.

The patient laid writhing on her bed, one hand on her stomach and another clutching the blankets that covered her as she whined and grimaced. A petrified-looking older woman sat on the edge of her seat by the bed, moist eyes staring at the girl. Her mother, Snaeha assumed.

She sighed. Mothers are always such worriers, pestering and asking silly questions.

Annoyingly, this woman did not seem to be ay different. After she finally realised Snaeha was there, she leapt out of her seat and instantly began chattering away. ”Oh, thank goodness! Are you Nasessa’s doctor? She’s been getting worse, do you know what’s wrong with her? It started as just simple bellyache…”

No doubt caused by your incessant nagging and whining, I imagine.

Snaeha smiled politely at the woman and subtly shifted to the side, avoiding the mother’s pawing hands. ”I’m afraid I’m not entirely sure what is wrong with your -- daughter?” She paused momentarily to allow the woman to nod, ”but I can promise that I will keep a close eye on her. Sometimes these things just… go away. She’s in the best place.”

|| Snaeha's speech || Snaeha's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Snaeha Datura]

The mother sputtered out some little animal-like noise, and after Snaeha had wiped the spittle off her cheek, she approached her young patient. ”Hello, I’m Snaeha,” she said with her best ‘trust me, I’m a doctor’ smile. The girl looked up at her with dazed eyes, and Snaeha squeezed the girl’s wrist, frowning slightly as she concentrated on the tiny, quickened pulsates beneath skin and muscle.

Nasessa’s heartbeat was quicker than normal, though given how she much gasped and winced in pain, that was to be expected. ”Your skin feels a little clammy. Do you feel hot or cold Nasessa?” The girl struggled to make a small sound, though it was far from a coherent word. It would be difficult to get any answers out of this patient, Snaeha realised, so she saved her breath and didn’t ask anything else.

Once again, however, the mother piped up with her own shrill, nervous questions.

”What does that mean? Does she have a fever?”

Snaeha did all she could to not roll her eyes or grumble. She could empathise with a mother’s worry, but such questions were not helpful. They wasted time and were simply annoying

”It might be nothing, but I’ll have one of the nurses to come every half a bell to check up on her and keep her temperature down with cool water.” A raised body temperature could mean an infection, but there would be other symptoms if that was the problem. Viruses were uncommon in Kalinor given the small population, though if the girl had had recent contact with an outsider, the Gods only knew what bacteria and illnesses she might have picked up.

Before the mother could ask any more irritating questions, Snaeha dipped her head in farewell and left her patient’s room.

The rest of Snaeha’s day would be dedicated to checking on three surrogates, a woman pregnant with some half-breed abomination and a hunter who had almost cut his own index finger off. The first of these jobs would be the most challenging; by a stroke of bad luck, two of the surrogates Snaeha was seeing were incredibly volatile and aggressive. A guard would need to accompany her, and on the way the surrogates’ wing, she picked up a handful of herbs to mix into a poultice to sedate them if needed.

As usual, the Surrogates’ wing was strangely quiet, with only the whispers of Snaeha’s footsteps making a sound. She came to the patient’s door; already her guard, Vertos Avenca, stood outside with a stern face that instantly lifted when he saw her.

”Sibeaha,” he said, head nodding in a greeting and a smirk on his lips. ”I didn’t realise I was fortunate enough to work with you today.”

Snaeha smiled coyly, brushing a strand of her red hair behind her ear. ”I wasn’t aware I was such a pleasure to work with.” Of course, that wasn’t entirely true. Snaeha always made sure she kept the guardsmen sweet by smiling and giggling at their bad jokes, or even pressing herself against them as they walked through the narrow doorways and passages.

Vertos snorted back a chuckle and unlocked the heavyset door. After taking a final calming breath, Snaeha stepped inside. She was greeted by screams of profanity.

What a joy…

The surrogate’s name was Jaden. She was apparently bastard-born into a group of bandits, and had spent the majority of her life bringing misery and suffering to innocent travellers. When her fellow criminals had either died or been caught by various law enforcements, she’d turned her back on Sylira and travelled Westwards. Despite her lack of support in numbers, the woman’s hostility and anger had not waned, and her last target to make a quick few mizas was a Symenestra male on his second harvest. Impressed with the woman’s vitality and strength, he claimed her for his new surrogate.

Pregnancy had not calmed the feral woman, and neither had she taken well to being confined in The Nest amongst the other surrogates in their prison of luxury and quietness. After living in forests and grasslands, such comfort was unnatural to the woman and she had protested day and night. To avoid her causing any stress or upset the other surrogates, Jaden was moved permanently to the Place of Purging for the latter part of her pregnancy.

|| Snaeha's speech || Snaeha's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Snaeha Datura]

Vertos stood over the bed; face completely blank with no trace of the smile that had claimed his lips just moments earlier. Jaden glared up at him, her silver eyes the picture of complete and utter hatred. She threw another mouthful of curse words and blood-curdling insults to Snaeha, who barely battered an eyelid. In her (albeit short) experience, she had come to the conclusion that surrogate women were either incredibly volatile, or strangely at peace with their fate. The latter reaction of the two was the most disconcerting: after all, what sort of life must a poor woman have had if sacrificing herself to pregnancy was an acceptable outcome?

When she stepped towards Jaden, the woman lashed out with her legs and fists, though thankfully Vertos pushed her back down before her limbs made contact with Snaeha.

I am in no mood to deal with this.

”You may as well restrain her.” Snaeha said coolly, turning her back to the thrashing woman. The young male grunted a low reply. He knew the general routine with such difficult cases.

”Don’t you dare touch me! No! Get off!”

Snaeha didn’t have to watch to know of the struggle that was going on behind her. Instead, she concentrated on mixing a poultice together to sedate the woman. Her father had always been a fine herbalist, able to whip up a remedy for anything from sickness to cuts and grazes. Snaeha, rather frustratingly, lacked this natural ability. She did, however, know that the dark prickly plant ironically named ‘fine nettle’ could be used to ease insomnia, and in greater quantities, bring about sleep. It grew on the surface above Kalinor, though was fortunately common enough for the Place of Purging to have it in stock consistently. When dried and mixed with water, the plant made a foul tasting liquid, though it could also be added to oil or fruit juice to disguise its bitterness. Unfortunately for Jaden, though, Snaeha did not bother to think of the woman’s taste buds.

She was only hoping to make her own day a little easier.

Being well over half way through her pregnancy, Jaden was in no position or physical form to battle against Vertos’ firm grip. Of course, that didn’t stop her from trying to head-butt the small glass vial out of Snaeha’s hands. Vertos yanked her back by those dirty blond locks, having finally managed to tie her hands and legs down to the bed. The woman gave a great, bear-like cry, her eyes bulging out of her head in a mixture of anger and fear. Her struggle was pointless; all three individuals in the room knew that and it was just a matter of time before Jaden accepted her fate.

Luckily for Snaeha, she did not have to wait long. When she offered the drink to Jaden for the third time, the other woman opened her mouth like a baby being spoonfed -- though once again those silver eyes concealed none of her hatred.

You are fortunate, Snaeha thought, your life will be sacrificed to continue our bloodline and heritage. A noble thing to die for. She had said as much beforehand, though Jaden had never fully appreciated her luck.

It took about five chimes before the surrogate’s eyelids began to droop, and then another three or so after that until she was snoring softly, head resting down on her chest and muscles slack.

”This is getting easier.” The guard grinned and stretched his arms in front of him, sighing appreciatively as his bones clicked and muscles contracted.

Snaeha nodded, though did not smile. Gods, her professionalism astounded her! Outside a patient’s room, she was happy enough to laugh and flirt, but when in the company of a patient - even an unconscious one - Snaeha demanded that she control herself. After all, this was her place of work and where she did Viratas’ bidding to heal and purify the Symenestra bloodline.

”It always does later on in the pregnancy.” she muttered quietly, ear pressed to a small metal cone that rested on Jaden’s ever-growing stomach. Vertos remained silent whilst she listened to the tiny heartbeat from inside the surrogate’s womb. When Snaeha stood up straight and nodded, he knew that there were no irregularities or worrying symptoms with the fetus.

She threw the guard a questioning look. ”Has she been eating?” It was not uncommon for surrogates to rebel in such a fashion, though the strict punishments of potentially losing a hand tended to sway even the most stubborn of women. Jaden, however, was just as likely to chew off her own hand if she thought it would help her escape. Either way, the extra work of monitoring an amputation wound was seriously something Snaeha ideally wanted to avoid.

Vertos shrugged, pulling a face that implied he had no petching clue. ”Nurses have told me nothing, so I guess she must be.”

|| Snaeha's speech || Snaeha's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Snaeha Datura]

The answer was far from the ideal, though Snaeha was happy enough with it. Jaden was certainly showing no signs of starvation -- or even hunger. Perhaps the woman thought that if she nourished herself well enough, she would survive the pregnancy and birth. Her reasoning didn’t’ matter: as long as you keep nurturing that baby inside you, it’s good enough.

The last thing Snaeha had to do was to check the position of Jaden’s foetus. She pressed her cool fingers down on the woman’s swollen belly, eyes half-closed as she imagined the tiny life form beyond the skin and fat. The baby had not altered hugely since the last time she had checked up on Jaden -- though that was to be expected. The foetus grew rapidly and its living space did not so much, so movement would be restricted until nearer the birthing, at which point the baby would shift position and drop, ready to make its first killing to be born all in the same day.

”I’m done.” She said, collecting her things and nodding to Vertos. ”I think all three of us would prefer it if we weren’t here when she wakes up. The nurses will check on her soon enough.”

They left through the same door they had come in from, and Snaeha waited whilst her guard locked it behind them. She shivered, and he brushed her arms with a gentle hand. The surrogates’ wing was no colder than the rest of Kalinor, yet that deadening silence always made Snaeha uncomfortable.

They began to walk down the narrow hallway, though a voice distracted them both.

”Snaeha? There you are!”

She recognised the woman bustling towards them as one of the nurses -- though Snaeha could not remember her name.

”You’re Nasessa Orchid’s doctor, yes?”

Snaeha frowned. Nassessa Orchid…? Names had always slipped through her memory…. ”Oh! The girl with the stomach pains?”

The nurse rolled her eyes but nodded, irked at the young medic’s forgetfulness. ”Yes, her.” she snapped, signalling for Snaeha to follow her. Now it was her time to glower and pout, though she followed nonetheless, Vertos at her heels. ”Her condition has worsened. About five chimes ago she vomited, though she bought up more blood than anything else.”

And you’ve only just thought to tell me?

The three of them began to jog through the surrogates’ wing, though Snaeha was still a little unsure as to why the guard was still tagging along. After throwing him a quizzical glance, she focused on the new task at hand and followed the nurse back to Nassessa’s room.

Then they pushed open the door, and all three medical professionals gasped in unison.

Nassessa was lying on her bed, but her muscles twitched and jolted as if possessed by some spirit. The mother had fallen to her knees, holding onto her daughter’s hand -- though struggling as the girl’s limbs jerked about violently. When the older woman’s eyes met Snaeha’s, they were shining with tears, though she no longer looked panicked or fearful. ”You said she would be fine.” She spat out, glaring at all three medical professionals in turn, though the coldest look was reserved for Snaeha.

No, I said that I didn’t know what was wrong with her, and that she was in the best place. Snaeha thought stubbornly, but she knew better than to vocalise her opinion.

Now was the time for action, after all. She glanced to Vertos and then signalled towards the girl. ”Vertos, stand by the bed. Don’t restrain her movements, just make sure she doesn’t throw herself off the bed.” restraining those spasms and jolts could result in anything from a pulled muscle to a broke bone -- all things to avoid. She turned to the nurse; damn, I still can’t think of your name. That was no matter, though. ”Filan essence. Please." The nurse nodded and hurried out the door. Finally, Snaeha investigated the convulsing young woman. She glanced to the mother, ”how long--”

”A chime ago? Maybe two. I don’t know. Nobody was here to help me.” Of course, those final words were said with a spiteful sneer, but Snaeha barely heard the actual spoken words, let alone the unspoken meaning behind them.

Seizures were uncommon, and could be caused by infection, virus, allergic reaction or simply a biochemical imbalance within the body itself. The latter could be discounted; the girl would have had seizures before if that was the case. Infection would explain the slightly heightened temperature, too, but not the vomited up blood. ”Has Nassessa eaten anything strange recently? Or… drank anything?” Snaeha asked, her mind full of potentially deadly plants that the girl might have accidently eaten.

The mother shrugged her shoulders and frowned. ”Not that I know of. She was complaining that her back was aching, and was itchy, yesterday.”

Snaeha listened to the words, a single brow quirked as she tried to think of how such random complaints could be linked to girl’s other symptoms.

|| Snaeha's speech || Snaeha's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Snaeha Datura]

Footsteps told her than the nurse had returned, and Snaeha opened her palm for the other woman to slip the vial into her hand. Even without removing the glass top of the tiny bottle, she could smell the heady floral aroma of the Filan flower. She moved swiftly, pouring a few drops of the essence underneath the girl’s tongue. ”This will make her stop convulsing after a little while,” she explained, glancing at the mother who nodded slowly in agreement. ”But in the meantime, do you mind telling me exactly what your daughter did yesterday? Right from the start.” Perhaps the girl had been showing symptoms throughout the previous day that only a medical professional would pick up on, or had been somewhere she might have picked up an infection or insect bite.

Nassessa’s mother looked as though she was wanted to argue against Snaeha’s request. After all, it would take a while to describe everything that her daughter had accomplished the previous day. Nevertheless, she sighed and began to run through her daughter’s routine.

Snaeha listened carefully, frowning and nodding every so often to indicate that she was still listening. Nothing the mother described seemed out of place for any adolescent girl; school, dancing, meeting with friends, and arguing with her parents and siblings. There was nothing that caught Snaeha’s attention, until-

”…Then she went out with her father to hunt. Nassessa has always loved hunting, and can use a shortbow extremely well for her age. In fact--“

The young medic held up a hand, uninterested in the mother’s boasting about her precious daughter. ”Did anything happen whilst Nassessa went out hunting with her father? Say -- being stung by a plant or… insect?”

The mother shrugged and scoffed, irritated at the questions she could not answer. ”How should I know? I wasn’t there. It was her father that took her.” She extended a hand towards her daughter, who was now convulsing less frequently and not as severely. The essence was working, but that simply meant Snaeha needed to come a decision sooner rather than later.

”Yes, but you said that your daughter was complaining of a sore back. Was that from her dancing lesson, or after she went hunting?”

She watched as the mother frowned in thought, lips pursed tightly together. After a chime or so, the woman’s brows relaxed and she nodded fervently. ”Yes, yes. It was after she’d come back. I just assumed that she’d pulled a muscle --”

Aah, the sweet smell of victory and success…

Snaeha smiled and signalled for the nurse to come over, who stood one side of the bed whilst she remained on the other. ”It’s possible your daughter was bitten by an insect, the poisons of which might have caused all her symptoms. I am no specialist in that field though, but if we can find a bite mark…” She nodded to the nurse and the two of them worked together to roll Nassessa away from Snaeha, revealing her clothed back to her. She gently pulled the silken top upwards, higher and higher, until--

”There.” The mother leaned forward and gasped when she saw the red, swollen bump in between her daughter’s fine shoulder blades. ”As I said,” Snaeha was saying as she and the nurse placed Nassessa onto her back once more, ”I’m no expert in poisons, but one of our other medics or herbologists will know exactly what to do. It should be as simple as basic medication and then us observing her for an extra day or so.”

For a moment, she thought that the older woman in front of her might start sobbing, but instead the mother let out a great, jittery sigh. Her eyes were certainly glistening with tears, however, when she turned around to shower Snaeha with thanks.

The young medic merely smiled. To her, working to save the life of a young woman was… admirable work, sure, but nothing entirely special. She was simply doing the job that Viratas bid her to undertake.

I am no miracle worker, she thought humbly -- only to smirk and shrug in response to her own mind, I’m just brilliant.

|| Snaeha's speech || Snaeha's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Poison]

THREAD AWARD!

Skills: Cosmetology 1, Observation 5, Medicine 4 , Herbalism 1, Interrogation 2

Lores: You can save Lives and Look Good; You don’t argue with Svorador Hellebore; Patient: Jaden, the surrogate; the Uses of fine Nettle; the Causes of Seizures; Patient: Nasessa Orchid

Notes: A well written thread! I especially liked the part with the surrogate. If there are any issues with the way I graded your thread, PM me!