[The Sanctuary] A Meeting Of Like Minds (Kaveh)

[Kavala]

Spring 10, 515 AV

The Konti had a new student coming and she was running late. There was no way she'd make her appointment, not on time that was, because there'd just been too many crisis' at the clinic that morning. He was scheduled to be out there at high noon. And it was going on ten chimes till and still she wasn't anywhere near getting horses ready.

Instead, she was covered in blood and on the battlefield again. Only this time the battlefield wasn't a zith attack on the edge of town or fighting off invaders in Riverfall. It was taking place in her primary surgery in the clinic and the patient was a market hog that was a child's favorite pet. She'd managed to get the two hundred pound animal up on the table, but at that point everyone had scattered. Her two assistance were busy dealing with other crisis', and that had left only the grooms around to help. They'd scattered. And as a result, Kavala was knee-deep in digging through the body cavity of the porcine. It was filthy work.

She had work clothing on... worn leathers with a leather apron over the top, but still the pale Konti had blood all over her. And it was hard work, rooting around through layers of muscle and fat, pulling out the long coils of intestine, and feeling for whatever was lodged in the hogs bowels.

Kavala felt like she'd already threaded through miles of the stuff, carefully feeling for what the child had tearfully said was a set of hose. The hog had ate them, straight from a drying line, and then had proceeded to get sick. Two days had passed while the family had waited for some sort of sign the pig was passing them. But nothing had happened. Kavala already had probed from the procine's esophagus to its multiple chambered stomach and had found nothing. She had rooted through the large intestines and was almost done, afraid that the small intestines were indeed damaged beyond repair of that was where the child's hose had gotten too.

Kaveh, having arrived on time, would find the place quiet on the outside. And depending on if he'd arrived through the horse gate or the healer's gate, he'd be greeted probably by a groom or even someone taking a quiet lunch in the warm weather. They'd of course direct him to the clinic, and from there he could follow the sounds of a frustrated Konti at work.

When she'd catch sight of him... there was nothing more to do than put him to work. "You must be my noon student. Hi... I'm Kavala." The Konti said with a grimace, her arms still buried in the visceral cavity of the swine, looking for the last section of unexplored large intestine. "There's no help for it... I need a second pair of hands. Touch that glyph on the wall by the door please.... one of them anyhow... and say the word 'Zavika' which is 'clean' in Pavi... and come help me. I need someone to hold this hog open. I can't do it alone.. .there's too much flesh." She added.

If Kaveh followed her instructions and helped her hold the huge stomach of the market hog open, Kavala could dig even deeper and hopefully find what she was looking for... the missing section of intestine she couldn't see from the section she was grasping. If the dark-eyed stranger obeyed, he'd feel a warm tingling on his hands as he activated the glyph and sterilized his grip. The glyph on the wall would vanish, leaving random other ones of the same design. Then, the Konti would sidestep giving him room so he could help hold the tissue open allowing the woman to have more room to work.

[Kaveh]

Amidst the tangle of sheets, a warm body interwined, a letter resting in hand. He pushed himself up against the headboard, pulling the paper close then far, until his wrist fell to rest on his blanketed thigh. It was a letter from Jasna asking to meet, to clear the air and hopefully purge some of the bad blood between them. She hadn't written so many words, but Kaveh understood her intent. It was in her to fix things, to mend, to love. How long had it been since they had last spoken? Kaveh could not recall, though he found it disheartening to receive such a message. She never resorted to such formalities in communication, her writing oddly legible and language rigid, as though they were strangers once more. No, even as strangers their bond was strong, for ever since their meeting they had found a confidant in the other. He nearly smiled at the thought of her putting ink to parchment, fretting over her spelling and tapping the desk with her free hand as she often did. He could almost smell the scent of rose hips that always seem to linger in her long hair, its strands like river streams down the brown skin of her back. Rather than anger, at himself, at the situation, the Chaktawe could only thumb the letter's margin in grief.

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully, his thoughts preoccupied with the dread of meeting Jasna. Once or twice he had bumped into a Rivarian or two, their irritation left unnoticed by the healer as he went about his daily errands. Thankfully, he at least made it to the Sanctuary at the scheduled time of his riding lesson. Riding was a bit of a new interest for Kaveh, for he was never the type to delay on learning new things. He was never a fan of venturing outside of Riverfall to gather herbs and roots for his father, however helpful his racial ability to detect the motion of potential predators was, the Chaktawe never felt truly safe. Since he wasn't exactly proficient at his chosen combat style, he looked to making a quick getaway at the very least. Besides, he enjoyed the company of animals, and perhaps riding would improve his relationship with one of them.

Having entered through the healer's gate, he was quick to find a Sanctuary worker to question. After getting some directions toward the clinic where his teacher, the Sanctuary proprietar, was currently working, he made his way. The closer he was, the stronger the smell of damp meat and blood became. It wasn't particularly offensive, but Kaveh had never assisted his father in opening up any sort of creature and so when he caught sight of the large hog, he was immediately sobered from his reverie. Momentarily stunned, it wasn't until he was spoken to that he remembered why he was here. A blood-stained Konti woman appeared below him, speaking in Common laced with a Pavi accent which further confused the already dazed Chaktawe. "Kaveh." He first blurted, then added with a short incredulous laugh. "I am, but I must have signed up for the wrong class." She then gave him further instructions to which he followed automatically, figuring he might as well be helpful if he was already there. If anything, it didn't look as though the pig was very comfortable and he could help end its current predicament and quickly get back to the riding lesson at the same time. Two birds, one stone. Brother crow wouldn't be very happy to hear that.

Returning to the door, he briefly mused over the newfound concept of glyphs with a quiet, "Huh", before touching one and speaking the Pavi word. Although he had never been exposed to magic, he tend to be fearless when it came to the unfamiliar and so there was little hesitation in his move. Some called it bravery, but most who've met Kaveh call it recklessness. In activating the glyph, a warm tingle flowed through his fingers, likely sanitizing his touch if the Pavi word was any indication. The Chaktawe filed this information away, and noted that perhaps he should research more on glyphing in general. Another book to read to add to his growing list, a cringing thought for the hands-on learner. On his way back to Kavala, he grabbed a nearby leather apron like hers and quickly threw the already dirtied cloth on. Once she moved away, he took her spot in holding the hog open, though his grip stuttered for a moment, having underestimated the heaviness of the pig. "Got it." He signaled that his hold was firm before the Konti crawled further in. In the meantime, he asked into the creature's cavern. "So what are we looking for here? What's wrong with this pig?"

[Kavala]

Kavala looked up and offered him a bemused smile as he gave her his name and admitted that he must have signed up for the wrong class. Grateful that he jumped in almost immediately, Kavala shook her head though her eyes had already went back to her work. “No, no…. we’re doing a riding lesson today for certain. Unfortunately, you signed up to pick up some riding skills from a healer who runs the only animal healing clinic around and its prone to have crisis patients show up at any moment. I can feel Bugs pain here… so we work on him first, get him stable, then we can go ride.” She said, frowning and then pausing to re-examine something she could feel with her hands just out of sight.

Kaveh would find the open visceral cavity heavy. He was literally holding up a slab of meat and fat which let the Konti have more room to work. “Ahh… I got it. Finally.” She said, extracting a section of intestine out of the hog that had a noticeable bulge in it. “Bugs is a beloved pet of one of the Akalak children in town. His family is rather prominent and he is well loved by all of them. I have no idea how they ended up with a market hog for a pet, but these things happen. He evidently ate the boys hose straight from a drying line in the yard two days ago and when he didn’t pass it and stopped eating, they got worried.” Kavala explained, exposing about a foot of intestine that was definitely not like the rest. It was swollen and angry looking. The rest she tucked back into the body cavity.

“I hope this isn’t an imposition on your time.” She said in apology, glancing up a the man, not having a real chance to study him. She pulled a thin sharp knife from a little tray beside her stool next to the table and began to carefully slit the intestine open. Bright green fabric began to spill out, soaked with bile and smelling incredibly bad. She carefully extracted the fabric, checking the next section before and after where her incision was. The wad of foul smelling fabric was then added to the tray. Kavala ran her fingers inside of the intestine and seemed to concentrate, tapping her gnosis mark and pouring healing energy into the wound. Slowly she pulled her fingers out and ran them along the cut she’d just made. The wound sealed itself and she carefully took a deep breath and then tucked the gut back into the hog.

“Okay…gently … help me press this tissue together. I have to heal it as I cut it… so the muscle wall inside first, then the fat, then the skin… just like layers of stitches.“ Kavala kept working, gently pushing the layers of abdominal incision together and healing the layers before moving on to the fat and finally the skin. The hog was intact finally and there was nothing but a thin scar on its belly to show it’d had surgery.

Kavala moved to a crank on the side of the wall and unlatched it. She began turning it and the table lowered until it was only about knee high on her. Then, she walked to the counter, giving Kaveh a smile, and picked up a clean cloth and uncorked a dark vial. She splashed the contents of the vile on the cloth and moved back to the hog. She covered its snout with the cloth and counted, forcing the animal to breath the tainted air the liquid soaked cloth produced.

“Rise and shine, Bugs. Nothing should hurt now. Come on… up … up… “ She calmly encouraged while the pig twitched, then thrashed its head a moment, and opened its eyes. It began squealing for a moment, angry or scared, until the Konti soothed her hands over its head and whispered to it quietly. It calmed a bit, wiggled until it mostly oozed off the table onto its hooves, and took a shaky step or two.

“Steady…. Steady…” Kavala said, gently herding the pig out of the surgery and down the hall.

“Wait here... I’ll be right back when Bugs is settled. I’m going to find an apprentice to watch him recover and make sure he eats then I’ll be back.” The Konti said, disappearing with only the sound of her hard riding boots clicking on the stone floor of the clinic echoing the hoofbeats of the swine. She was gone less than five chimes leaving Kaveh alone to explore the surgery.

Then, she’d be back, cleaning supplies in hand, and paused a moment studying the newcomer. She washed up, then began washing up the room – offering him the sink with the wellhead to do the same – before tossing her apron in the corner hamper with the other bloody towels and cleaning cloths that were now soiled. Pausing finally, bloodstains still in her hair, she turned to study him. He’d then realize that she wasn’t dressed as most healers, in robes or thin cotton healing garb. Instead she wore sturdy leathers like the Akalak were prone to. They hugged her form and left her forearms bare, tinted in a deep shade of berry that wasn’t quite red and wasn’t quite purple.

Her hair had come loose – mostly – from its braid and hung down her back to her waist. He could tell it was straight at the best of times when it wasn’t streaked with blood that gave the casual observer the impression she was indeed either a healer or a butcher. One fit as well as the other at times. Her boots were scuffed but expensive, wrapping up her legs to encase part of her knees. She kept the riding boots on for her clinic work because the thick leather had saved her more than once from an animal that had lashed out in pain or fear.

He was tall, inhuman with those dark eyes, and unlike the Akalak she was used too. She couldn’t quite place his race, though she’d heard vague rumors of desertborns with dark eyes much like their dark-eyed horses. “Well, tell me about your experience… what you want to learn. What exactly is your story? “ She said, looking at him thoughtfully, as if trying to decide what to do with him next. So while she waited for an answer, the Konti folded her arms over her chest and tilted a hip sideways, leaning tiredly against one of the exam tables as she watched him. Her eyes were curious and unashamedly roaming him, checking for weapons, analyzing his dress, and then finally arriving back at his face. The dark eyes unnerved her. She was used to being able to tell where a person was looking. With him, she had no idea.

[Kaveh]

In hearing Kavala's response, the Chaktawe found himself acknowledging silently for the most part, responding only to her empathy with Bugs. "Do you now? Are you a pig whisperer too?" He joked, the beginnings of a smirk tugging at his lips. Although he had a vague idea that the Konti were known as the pale seers, he was unfamiliar with the specifics of Kontis' gifts and their many varieties, unable to fathom that an empathy and knowing of an animal's mind would be possible. He refrained from further jests when he realized his grip was slipping on the large slab on meat that was Bugs, tensing his muscles in reaction. Already there was a light ache in his arms, unused as he was to much physical activity. For the sake of happy blue children however, he endured it.

When Kavala revealed the swollen bulge, Kaveh leaned a comfortable distance closer, fascinated as he was to see the intestine for the first time. Having never participated in any sort of surgery, the Chaktawe quietly took note of the procedure as it continued. The Konti then apologized for the situation, to which he dismissed more readily than even he expected. "It's fine, I could use a distraction today." His expression, however hidden by the darkness of his eyes, softened visibly, his tone dimming as well. Thankfully there wasn't much time for either of them to dwell, for the procedure went on. In taking note of where the animal healer cut, the Chaktawe leaned in, immediately regretting his decision as the smell of bile forced its way into his nostrils. He gagged, inadvertently swallowing a small gulp of foul air which nearly made him gag again. Kaveh suppressed a curse, not wishing to injest any more of the bile's scent. Thankfully the removal of the fabric was relatively quick, as was the closing of the cut. With silent fascination, he watched as the Konti tap a mark on her body, then like more magic, left the intestine whole where she touched. Finding little time to ask now, he simply did as he was told, pressing the indicated tissue, muscle, fat and skin together. Once freed from the weight, his arms thanked him by falling to both sides.

Lower and lower the table went, the sound of turning gears giving an estimate of the distance. His gaze followed Kavala as she proceeded to wake the pig up, forcing it to smell from a soaked cloth. Then, amused in equal parts by the creature's groggy movements and the Konti's ability with the animal, his lips curved to a gentle smile. "Up and at 'em big boy." He added as he attempted to assist with patting hands. Then, once left alone, the Chaktawe naturally began to look around. He had popped into a surgery room or two while apprenticing with his father, but never got to look one this closely, often ushered out of the rooms by the Wellness Center staff. Before touching anything however, he washed the blood off his hands into the sink. Wandering to one side, he found himself looking at various surgical instruments, some of which he could only guess the use of. There was the scalpel and its many versions, a grabbing tool that resembled scissors, tongs with a curved ruler (maybe to measure the distance of opposite sides of an object?) and a handpump attached to a hollowed out metal tube. The latter he now held in his hand, pumping the sack as the other free hand hovered by the point, feeling the rush of air flow in and out. Noting that it had a seal that could be tightened with a few twists and a pointed end, Kaveh supposed that this could be used to suck up excess liquid or air from the inside of a creature that could be held in the sack.

It was then that Kavala returned, cleaning supplies in hand. Setting the instrument down, he approached the healer. In seeing her apron tossed aside, Kaveh remembered his own, tossing it too into the hamper. Now, undistracted by a suffering animal, the two got to take a proper look at each other. Unexpectedly, the healer was dressed in leather down to her riding boots, her blood-streaked hair escaping from its braid to fall to her waist. Kavala seemed to be a mix of cultures: her Konti appearance denoted by her iridescent scales and webbed fingers, while wearing leather that the Akalak were used to and sporting a braid that the Drykas enjoyed wearing. Already he had a sense that she was not like most other Konti he had met.

"Experience? None at all. I've never really found an interest in riding until now." Kaveh admitted, a shrug implied. "I'm a healer too actually, just an apprentice to my father right now. I get the herb collecting tasks dumped on me and since I'm still lacking this." He raised his hand, revealing the unmarked inside of his wrist where a Kuvan tattoo should be. "I need to keep myself alive outside the city some other way." Satisfied with his answer, the Chaktawe continued. "I want to ask what's yours, but I feel like it's a long story. Maybe one best saved for riding." He was never a good judge of a Konti's age, but he felt as though Kavala had already experienced a great deal. Perhaps it was the fact that this entire Sanctuary was hers, likely a labour of love if judging by the name, or simply the way she phrased the question as "your story", as though her own was an epic in its own. Of course all of this was just a hunch, but Kaveh tend to trust his gut more often than not.

[Kavala]

Swine weren’t Kavala’s usual customers, nor was she used to having to manage such heavy animals that weren’t horses. But the man with the strange eyes had come along just in time to assist and that made her more than happy. Rak’keli took care of her own and tended to those in need neatly, sometimes in surprising ways that always left Kavala somewhat startled.

The Konti chuckled. “No, no pig whispering involved. But I can feel the pain. Any marked Rak’keli healer can. My Goddess compels me to heal those that can be healed. It’s a trade off for her gift.” The Konti said, tilting her head sideways slightly and then finishing what she was doing. She would have said more, but Kaveh seemed slightly aloof, like he kept his own council. She didn’t want to tread on waters where she was unwelcome or upset him as a client. Kavala took her customer service seriously and disliked prying questions where none where wanted. All she’d been doing was trying to be friendly to the stranger who had done her the favor of helping our out when she needed a second set of hands.

He was more forthcoming on his experience when they got to that question of riding. She was glad he wasn’t afraid to say he had none. It was by far easier to teach those that had no experience than it was to unlearn bad experiences and habits. “Horses are good for survival. Not only can they get you one place swiftly, but they can also alert you to things you wouldn’t normally see. They can hear better than we can and they can see better in certain circumstances too.” Kavala added.

Now finished with the work, she lead Kaveh out of the clinic, past the waiting room and through a small courtyard that faced a large riding arena. “We have two choices. We can use the arena for some basic lessons, or go out into the world and you can learn on the trails. I recommend both… the first to get comfortable with a horse and the second to get comfortable with trusting the horse on various pathways.” Kavala said, chuckling slightly as she led him on an intricate stone pathway that lead to one of the big barns on the far side of the area.

“My story is pretty clear cut. Born in The Sea of Grass to Drykas parents, I went to Mura to study healing, and ended up here where I decided animals were far better to deal with than most people.” She said, absently rubbing her wrist where her Nakivak bracelet used to rest. The gesture was common of most Nakivaks and those that had paid off their duty to Riverfall. Kavala left out the part where she was ambushed by slavers on her return trip, imprisoned, and rescued only by Akalaks only to be thrown into indenturement here. That part of the story was no one’s business. And nothing anyone would have known had it not been for the three children that resulted in her position. One of which, currently in the custody of her head Groom, ran out to greet them as soon as he saw Kavala with the stranger.

He rapidly spat off words in Tukant and Pavi alternatively as Kavala took a moment to hug the six year old and lightly stroke his white blond hair off his dark blue forehead. He looked Akalak, all right, but the scales said he was something more. She calmly answered him in Tukant, following some of that with Pavi hand-sign, and then shook her head. The boy looked disappointed.

“Tasival, this is Kaveh. Kaveh, this is Tasival, my son. Tasi, Kaveh is my client and he’s here for lessons. That’s why you have to stay with Aweston today. You already know how to ride horses, but Kaveh needs to time to get some basics without you distracting him. I’ll be back for dinner and afterwards we can play that new game the bard taught you in town… with the dice okay?” She reassured him and once more gave the groom who was lounging against the fence rail a wry smile. “Thanks for watching him, Aweston. I’ll make it up to you I promise.” The Konti said, laughing, as she gave the boy a final hug before the groom lured him away with promises of allowing him to help chase a snake out of the stallion barn that had taken to coiling up in the raftors. The boy was utterly excited to assist and the two headed towards a far barn in rapid succession.

“He’s six. His attention span isn’t very…. Focused.” Kavala said apologetically and then absently touched her wrist again. She seemed to regroup and move on.

“I teach riding here in the Drykas style. You don’t get a saddle or bridal, but you do get a yvas and blanket, which leaves your hands free to fight or pick herbs. I can in a pinch teach traditional non-Drykas riding, but learning core values is easier if its just you and a horse and just a yvas. It’s whatever you want.” Kavala said, enerting a barn finally. There were horses inside that stuck their heads over stall doors and whickered softly in greeting.

Kavala gave him a moment to decide if he wanted to learn her way or with a traditional saddle.

Kavala turned to study Kaveh’s form intently then walked over to a door and selected a nice claybank dun gelding – a strider - one a larger size than most, and opened the stall door. The horse followed her out into the aisle between stalls. “His name is Sandstorm and he’s very swift when he wants to be. You’ll like him… he’s easy going.” The Konti said and grabbed a few things from a bucket of tools hanging halfway down the barn.

“Before we ride, we groom, taking off all the mud and dust from his coat. Just grab a thick brush from the bucket…” Kavala held it up offering it to him “…. And start stroking off all the dirt and mud going in the same direction as his hair is growing.

The Konti demonstrated carefully, then let Kaveh do the grooming. When he was done, she handed him a hoof pick, which was an L shaped rod with a handle and a flat nose on one end. She turned facing the back of Sandstorms body, leaning against his shoulder, and reached down and picked up one of his hooves and demonstrated how to clean them out and make sure there was no rocks or other items lodged in the well-trimmed foot.

She let Kaveh do that as well. The she fetched a yvas with its matching blanket, and showed Kaveh how to blanket the horse in the small back planet, then strap the yvas on over the top. When she was done with the demo, she had him do it repeatedly until it was just perfect…. Then she lead him out into the Arena from the end of the barn facing that direction and smiled.

“How about we do a quick lesson on mounting, dismounting, emergency dismounts, and basic walk trot canter here. Then we ride out?” She suggested, letting him have a moment to comment. Once they’d talked it out, she’d go right back to the lesson…. Wanting to make sure Kaveh got his money’s worth.