Closed There was a Crooked Dog and, He Wobbled a Crooked Mile

[Ablation]

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Winter 5th 513 AV

he painful bay of the dog scuttled across the tundra. A meek mouse of a dog snuffled in the snow his whiskers bitten white. His coarse black coat was dusted with snow while his back legs and tail were sopping wet. Having fallen through the ice while pulling his masters sled he had been cut loose to prevent him from dragging the others under the ice. His paws had scrambled at the slippery ice but as cracks appeared his master had been forced to abandon him.

He knew the way back to Avanthal instinctively. His legs were frozen so stiff he couldn't feel the pain as he dragged himself toward the walls. Little did the beast known he was a scrambled version of himself. Both back legs broken between the hard ice and sticking out at angles. Crawling on his front legs for so long had torn the fur and muscle beneath.

That was how Lusina found him. A black husk of fur on the snow. A monochromatic scene pink blood flushing the scene with the stern Vanthas hands encroaching on it. Pulling the large dog into a bundle strapped to her back she waddled hunched toward to walls. The hunter had reported the Zypherian lost as soon as he had slid home.

As she stumbled into Avanthal the Vantha turned to the Icewatch guard. "Fetch Spirit Frostfawn Immediately." She moved toward the hospital ignoring the gaping stares of the doctors. This dog needed their equipment, and though she knew they were loathe to clean up the hair and feces left by dogs she wasn't going to let the creature die to give the janitorial staff an easier night.

Moving with effortless practice the assistants moved the rocks warming in the fire to the bed. It was a high bed that was meant to be filled with hot rocks, a fire stoked beneath to keep them timidly warm. Worn weathered planks of wood with wide spaces were placed on top for the patient to be draped across. It was specifically designed for shock patients. As she placed the dog on the table top her frown never wavered. Even with technology like this the dog was likely to die...he certainly would never pull a sleigh again.

They had needles here so she easily loaded the end of the needle with a glass jar of water. "Pull the back of the neck up." Lusina demanded having heard Spirit open the door behind her.


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[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit watched the trio of dogs romp around, excitable to a fault. The snow was as deep as ever, and she’d decided to take a few out to let them run around outside the Frostfawn arvinta. Fog, Apple, and Orange’s fur was now covered in snow, along with the surrounding air space. They’d seemingly been cooped up too long, for all this excess energy. If she could let them hunt… but she wasn’t quite skilled herself. Vaguely, she considered gifting one to her cousin… but decided against it. She’d sold him a puppy anyways… his hands were full enough. They looked so playful, so happy… too bad Wind had opted out, whining at the thought of leaving his comfortable place. She’d been noticing he’d been getting older and older, stiffer and stiffer. He was an old dog, and this frightened her.

She was ripped out of her depressing thoughts by a bright orange blur before her eyes, then crashing over with a big pawed puppy in her arms. Orange had gone on the offensive, licking her face excitably, as if demanding the Frostfawn join in the fun too. ”Off! Off!” she squealed, attempting to shove the remarkably heavy dog out of her grip. Orange was getting much bigger now, though not quite the size of the others. Luckily, Fog came to Spirit’s rescue, pulling the puppy off by the scruff of her neck. The Vantha was then able to push herself up and brush off the snow, panting a little. The wetness on her face was already feeling colder.

When she stood, however, a new sight met Spirit’s eyes. An Icewatch guard, identifiable by his armband. His partner was nowhere to be seen, and he was…. Looking at her. ”Spirit Frostfawn?” he asked, smiling a little. She nodded, nervously. What was this about? ”Lusina wants you… she was carrying some kind of dog, at the time. Do you understand it?” He looked utterly curious. Understanding came, and the younger girl nodded. He gave her directions, and she set off, leaving the dogs in the care of her Uncle nearby..

She quickly found herself in the room she’d been told to go in, and found Lusina with a patient. The black dog lay limply on a bed, and there was obviously some blood around… though she wasn’t quite sure where it came from. The minute she walked in however, her boss meant business. She dashed over with a quiet ”Yep”, pulling up the dog’s scruff carefully. The needles that the older Vantha was looking at told a decent explanation of what she was supposed to do. Anesthetic? She was a little worried that ‘neck’ might have meant the entire head… since you can never lift up just the head. There were a few possibilities for the request… but this felt like the most likely.

When there seemed to be an open spot, she asked carefully, ”What happened to him?” The blood seemed to be coming mostly from one of the legs… an injury there? Or was there more to it? You could never tell without putting your hands fully on the animal’s body and testing that way… touching was more reliable in this area than just sight. Still, the leg didn’t look too pleasant. Quite bloody, really… it made her wince with a bit of sympathy. Poor dog… it must have been scary to get such an injury.

OOCCan we do this on the... fifth?

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[Ablation]

"He fell through the ice and broke both of his back legs. We use heat and subcutaneous liquids to treat shock. With dogs we can put it here, in their scruff." Lusina explained quietly, the young girl was very capable in her mind but she was still young and the usual terminology made otherwise simple concepts difficult for the young girl Lusina thought so she was always careful to explain things simply. The dog yowled when she injected the thick needle and Spirit would be forced to hold him down to keep him from trying to leap off the table.

"We are going to put his legs back together, you will do one and I will do one." Lusina smiled faintly at the girl trying to convey confidence. The dog was likely going to die so learning to do the basics of the bone surgery on him was a good opportunity. The assistants had begun to bring in the bone tools, impressive and thick metal instruments they looked intimidating and impressive even to Lusina. She rarely got to use such well crafted and impressive tools, her own were very limited.

This was well beyond her own ability, and as she moved about injecting the dogs forearm with the sleeping agent to whisk him away to dreamland she could feel her hands shaking. The doctors wouldn't lower themselves to help an animal. She was lucky they hadn't already kicked them both out. She would have to do the best she could. The dog began to go limp in their arms halfway through the injection and Lusina smiled privately to himself, if he died in surgery at least he wouldn't be in pain.

"Here, you give him the pain injection. Sometimes they don't stay asleep when we grind against their bones and this helps." The girl had seen Lusina give injections several times now but she still guided the girls hand showing her how to tent the skin, press the needle in and check to make sure it hadn't accidently come out the other side.

Handing Spirit a pair of scissors she used her own to trim away the hair along the back leg. With the extensive coat it was neccesary to remove to keep the surgical site as clear as possible, "Why are we cutting the hair off Spirit?" Lusina quizzed. If Spirit got the answer right Lusina would nod if she didn't know Lusina would explain the importance of keeping a wound, especially one that goes to the bone, clean.

Once the area was slipped as short as possible Lusina handed Spirit the water to scrub away the dried blood and dirt as best they could. Alcohol was used afterward to clear away the rest of the blood and sterilize the area. "Why do we use water and then Alcohol Spirit?" Lusina quizzed without looking up. If Spirit knew she would smile impressed, if not she would explain the importance of using the Alcohol to sterilize, using water second would wash it away.

"Alright...I am going to start cutting. Watch what I do and copy me okay?" Lusina instructed without looking up to see if Spirit was paying attention. Her hands shook as she removed the knife from the steam sterilized pack and handed one to Spirit. She glanced up at Spirit at the last second obvious anxiety in her eyes. "If you ever get a chance...learning to do this stuff from the doctors...you will save a lot more lives...for now we will just do our best okay. But if he doesn't survive or we have to amputate that leg...it isn't your fault okay. Just remember that."

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit relaxed a little when Lusina confirmed her actions of holding up the dog's scruff. The explanation made sense... and she knew shock was a big problem when treating for things. It could lead to a myriad of less-than-pleasant side effects. Technically, it was a medical condition all on it's own. The dog breaking both his back legs didn't sound good either... would he ever be able to walk properly again? Dogs could walk with three out of four working legs, though maybe not work, but two out of four? They'd be crippled.

She saw the injection needle coming, and was prepared for any kind of reaction from her patient. So, when the dog spasmed and yowled, she used used both forearms to press most of his body down with all her strength. Luckily, he was weak and tired from pain, so there wasn't too much resistance.

The concept of learning how to put bones back together was frightful. There would probably be some surgery to actually reach the bones, then fiddling around with them... the Frostfawn couldn't help but pity the dog immensely. She was pretty sure that the injected solution had some anesthetic, though. 'Subcutaneous' was a pretty complicated medical word (most medical words were quite confusing), so she could only infer it's meaning.

Lusina's next comment dashed that guess. Apparently she was now to give the pain reliever, so it hadn't been part of the subcutaneous thing. At the dog's earlier reaction, maybe it was to put him to sleep, to relax him? That would make more sense. She took the needle gently, and followed the given instructions on how to inject it. She folded the skin, pushed back some fur, and poked in the needle, though not far enough to actually go all the way through as she was told to.

She knew the answer to the quick quiz, as it was something you needed to do with all animals, especially the long-haired ones. "It gets in the way of a wound, and makes a mess when mixed with blood. If we cut it away and create a clean skin patch, it'll be easier for us to keep it clean..." It was mostly pretty logical. Getting hair stuck in wounds might cause infection or irritation, and it being in the way would interfere with operations.

"Use water before alcohol?" she repeated, as the next question came around. She was honestly a little confused on this one, but it made sense to do it in that order. "Well..." she started, buying herself time to think a bit. "Water washes away the mess, right? If you have alcohol first, and then wash stuff off with water.... well... wouldn't the alcohol go too? Then you wouldn't get as much of the sterilizing property."

When the knife came around, Spirit took it as carefully as she had the needle. However, the more surprising sight was Lusina's expression. She was... worried. Very worried. This must be very dangerous, and very risky. The explanation that the dog wouldn't survive, or have his leg amputated, was a little off-putting. As depressing as it sounded, she understood. If she didn't try, the dog would just die, right? If she tried and still died... she'd at least done her best. That was all a doctor could do, right? Even one who dealt with humans had to understand that.

To show she accepted the concept, Spirit nodded her head, and stared at what she would have to work with.

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[Ablation]

Lusina couldn't help but smile as she looked down at the wound. Spirit had grown a lot in the time she had known her, both in maturity and knowledge. She was very capable and though she still had much to learn she had an intuition about animals that reminded Lusina of herself at a young age. Unrefined ability was dangerous if one thought that was all that was needed but Spirit obviously knew she needed more than the talent she had. Though Lusina sometimes wondered if Spirit recognized her capabilities yet. She certainly was no creator of incredible medicine, and her stitches could use some work, but she had a bedside manner that rivalled the long practiced and certainly helped their mute patients.

Lusina bent over the leg cursing silently in her head at the dim light. Starting at the top of the injury she made a long straight incision to just above the foot. "Make your incision just above the wound and just below so there is a new wound to encourage healing." She explained into the wound. Gently she flapped the skin outward exposing the shattered leg. Breathing in sharply she moved the pieces around like a puzzle trying to reassemble the straight line it once was.

"The break here isn't on a joint, so we want to settle as many of the bone fragments as possible back in line. Knowing how joints look is important if you need to rebuild those...but if a joint is broken, beyond casting it, there isn't much a surgery can do without exposing the patient to undue stress. He is lucky...".

Lusina didn't look up at Spirit hoping she was competently arranging the bone by herself. Focusing on her own task Lusina slowly created the first edge and began fumbling other pieces into the grooves. Several bells passed while they pieced the leg together. 5 bells later Lusina leaned back placing a hand on her aching back and groaned. "How did you do?" She queried weary.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit felt a little bad about making a cut on an already injured dog, but… how else would they fix the bone? You couldn’t just touch it and ‘bam’ it was fixed… though she’d heard Rak’keli gave some kind of a similar gift to her followers. Some of the Whitevines had been marked, and used their gifts well. But neither her nor Lusina were in such a position, so… all she could do was wish. She watched the older woman as she pulled back a flap of skin, wincing obviously. It was a gruesome sight, even from the girl’s odd angle. Shards of bone all in pieces held by muscle and skin, and splashed with blood. She shuddered twice: once at the first sight, and again when Lusina reached down and began to move the pieces around.

The note about the joint was nice… joints were complicated, and she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to fix up one of those. A straight bone, however, seemed simple enough. Depending on the pieces. She sincerely hoped that hers had a few less than the other Frostfawn’s. As soon as she’d explained, the woman began her own work, slowly shuffling around shards like a puzzle. Taking a deep breath, Spirit began on hers.

First with the incision. She didn’t want to cut anything other than skin, right? Carefully, she pressed the blade at the top, and stared a bit when it easily moved down a few millimeters. How thick was the skin? Well… she could see at this level, and go deeper if necessary. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut as she slid it across, but knew that would be stupid. Still, she winced as a small spurt of blood appeared behind the razor sharp blade. It seemed she’d gotten the right depth, however, and the skin pulled away easily.

Her stomach rolled at the sight, but she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, still holding onto the skin. This was simply a puzzle… just a puzzle with bone pieces. She wasn’t a huge fan of puzzles, but she didn’t hate them either. It would still be a challenge, though. She’d have to be oh so careful…

Prepared again, she opened her eyes, and felt a little better at the sight. It looked like there were only… what, four or five pieces in it? Not counting that painful-looking shard lying against the skin. What would she do with that? Certainly not leave it where it was… it could cut, and cause irritation, when the surgery was finished. But would she remove it, or try and insert it back into the puzzle? She’d have to ask Lusina that when there was time. However, she had her own job to do, and focused on that now… Still, in order to not forget about the shard, she carefully picked it out and set it aside, where it wouldn’t get lost.

It was getting easier to not think of this as a leg, but rather a puzzle, and she focused more on the pieces than what was around them. There was a nice big piece that looked like it would fit well at the bottom, since it tapered there, and was nearly connected to the paw. She kept that there, pushing it lightly so it would stay where she wanted. The other few pieces were a little more scattered. Two looked like they fit side by side together, but there was a deep indent in the bottom… what went there? Not the main bottom piece, it was the wrong shape. However, since they were close, she tried it anyways. Her guess had been correct.

Leaving them, she fished around for any chunks that seemed like they would fit into the groove. This one… had a bulge, though it wasn’t quite big enough to fit in fully. But there was another piece nearby that fit with the first one, and… yes! That pair connected nicely with the original one. In the space between, there was a tiny crack that looked like it would fit the original shard… as long as she was holding them tightly together. None of the sections had moved too far from their original spots, but had been twisted and turned to fit tightly together. The last bit made a nice cap at the top, and all the chunks fit nicely. They were still loose, with little to hold each other but their own grooves, but…. it worked. She squeezed them together a bit, wondering what was next, and straightened with a wince.

Lusina was still hard at work with her own, but soon enough she too stood straight, looking tired. Spirit gave a small smile and wave, trying to ignore the redness on her fingers. It seemed the right time to ask. ”Okay. Lusina…” she began, plucking the tiny shard from its resting place. ”What do I do with this? I found where it fits in, but it’s so small…”

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[Ablation]

Moving toward Spirit Lusina gently placed the tiny piece into the crevice, hoping the young girls work wouldn't fall apart when she did. "Good job..." She complimented examining the girls work. She had only done the surgery once before and was vaguely ashamed and delighted that Spirits leg was done almost as well as hers.

Removing a needle from the tray at their sides Lusina threaded it carefully. The thread was a thicker higher quality thread than those used in the Frostfawn hold. Made of deer or cat gut strands it took a delicate and capable hand to make it. As she pressed the tip of the needle into the skin the dog began to twitch.

The panic and horror left Lusina white faced. "Quick get him asleep!" Lusian demanded struggling not to move and hold the leg together as he began to shake upon awakening. "Stop him Spirit! Stop him!" Her voice rose to a panicked pitch. She had never had a dog under for so long and she had been terrified she wouldn't be able to wake him...not that he would wake up in the middle of the procedure.

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[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit smiled at the compliment, and mentally noted down what to do with the little shard... just stick it back in, apparently. Lusina began stitching her own leg, threading the needle, and... twitch. The dog moved, just a little, as if in a dream. It was a movement that she recognized easily... practically all her dogs did that in their sleep.

This dog, however, was supposed to be flat out cold. The movement quickly drew Lusina into a panic, and in turn Spirit too. She became tense and a little scared herself, eyes wide. Waking up in a surgery was... bad. Though she knew that, majority of the worry was actually caused by the elder Frostfawn's reaction. Maybe it was because she knew better, or maybe because it was simply a contagious emotion, who knew.

The Vantha nodded jerkily, dashing over to where the medicines had been before. Where was that funny needle thing that Lusina had used? Needle needle needle... or was that the one before? The one in the scruff was the... pain one. What had Lusina used before? No... wait.. The second one. She'd done something to his leg, right? She glanced over the trays... and found a familiar needle, labeled with that incredibly long word from earlier. She grabbed it, suddenly careful to make sure it had the liquid, then stared at the dog again. This went... in the scruff.

She grabbed the loose area of skin and fur and made a small tent, as she'd been told earlier. She took a few moments to breath and calm down, after seeing her hand shaking just a little. Calm... calm. She breathed in, then out... and felt a little better. Slowly, carefully, she poked the dog's scruff with the needle and injected the medication.

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[Ablation]

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"NO!" Lusina shouted, kicking herself for not explaining the medications to Spirit properly. The dogs eyes widened as the thick needle punctured its scruff. Awake, and completely aware of the pain in its lower legs it fought Lusinas grip before throwing itself onto the ground. Legs useless, and the bones spilling from the incisions along with copious blood it snarled at Spirit, the closest and most threatening human.

Pulling itself pitifully forward on its front paws it crept toward Spirit. Pain-crazed and hallucinating from the sleeping agent its teeth lunged out at the girl. Frozen, Lusina watched in horror. The thwack of the arrow descended the room into silence.

The doctor stood, face as white as his coat a childs bow in his hands. His grip encompassing almost a quarter of the wood. From so near, even with such a weak bow the arrow had slid through the dogs neck with ease. Like a cliché parlour trick the arrow would looked like a joke costume if it weren't paired with the dead eyes and slumping body of the animal.

"And you wonder why we don't let you bring animals in here Lusina." The doctor spat. Assistants, too many for the small room, rushed in to the remove the body. Skirting the scolded woman. Both blushing and blanching Lusina stared at the doctor in disbelief. In her own hold she was treated with the utmost respect, to be treated as such made her both indignant and guilty. She deserved it. She hadn't taught properly, she had let herself do something she was inexperienced in without proper guidance and help. She had been arrogant.

Glancing at Spirit to see if the teen was alright Lusina didn't move to comfort her. What if the girl was judging her as much as she was judging herself?


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[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit’s slightly rushed decision had led to disaster, as the dog suddenly woke and pulled himself up. He thrashed, the pain becoming obvious, and tried to run away from the strange place… but failed. It was all one big mess, dog running away, hurting himself, ruining his work… he wouldn’t survive another attempt, probably. Then… snap. The strangest thing happened. An arrow pierced the dog’s neck and sent him crashing even further into the floor. The Frostfawn squeaked in surprise, jumping back a few steps then staring up to look at the shooter… a morbid-looking doctor with the tiniest bow. Since when did they have bows in here?

He continued on to berate Lusina about bringing animals in, whilst the youngest of the trio simply… stared at the dog. She’d been hoping that he’d survive, that they’d get it right. Even though it was unlikely… she’d been hoping. He wouldn’t have been able to work, but while setting up the bones… she had imagined him coming and spending his last days with her and her own pack. Even with the lack of room… it would have been nice. However, it was not to be. She’d made a mistake, and…

After several long moments, the Vantha finally tried to say something. “I’m… sorry.” She couldn’t think of anything else. What was there to say? She’d mixed things up… if only she knew better, remembered better… this wouldn’t have happened. They would have been able to save him. “What… do we do now?” Her voice was weak and quiet, eyes still locked on the dog’s bloody body. They’d have to clean up, bury him… the poor thing had gone through too much.

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