Closed [The Purging]Missing[Snaeha]

[Aranta]

31 Summer, 514AV Aranta hissed as his movements pulled at the wound on his shoulder and upper chest-- while he had been out hunting, he had not been the only predator out there. Some sort of large feline had taken offense to Aranta's presence, and he had also probably killed its intended prey. It had attacked him, getting in one good swipe before he was able to grab his kill and fly away. This was why Aranta was not fond of nights with little moonlight-- much harder to see. Aranta had excellent hearing, but cats were quiet. Quiet enough that Aranta had not heard until it was too late to do anything but jerk out of the way, grab his kill, and flee. His pride stung at the thought that he had almost been bested by an animal, some dumb beast, and his wounded pride combined with his wounded shoulder and chest made him much more irritable than the normally-calm Zith was. The hunter carefully made his way across the silken ropes bound together that stood for streets. He was heading to the Place of Purging; his wound would need care, Aranta could feel-- the cat had struck deeply. It may even scar. Aranta found himself pleased by that thought-- scars showed that a Zith was a survivor, a fighter. A good mate. It didn't take long to reach the Place of Purging, and Aranta made his way inside, calling out in Common, "Hello? Can someone help me?" His voice clearly revealed how aggravated he was; in those few words, his tone was clipped, his voice rougher than it had ever been before while speaking in Common.

[Snaeha Datura]

It had been a fairly quiet day at work for Snaeha. No surrogates had given birth, her Symenestra patients (all children and infants) were all making good progress, and the only emergency had been a young lad who had had a bad skin irritation to a plant his mother used to fragrance their home. For a medic at the Place of Purging, such a quiet day was almost unheard of.

The lack of stress to her day had put Snaeha in a wonderful mood, though it soured slightly when she heard a strained voice calling out across her workplace. The male voice had spoken in common, which made she and Haiven - the guard who was also sitting in the staff quarters with her - both frown. "A tradesman, perhaps." She suggested, smoothing down her work clothes as she began to head towards the voice. Haiven, who seemed to pay her a little too much attention as she walked away, followed at her heels.

Snaeha led the way, but as soon as Aranta's big form came clearly into view, the guard pulled her back, and shoved his way to the front to stand between Snaeha and the Zith. "Can we help you?" Haiven said frostily, clearly suspicious as to what one of the winged-people was doing in the Place of Purging.

"Aranta!" Snaeha's voice was in shock, but when she spoke again, Snaeha was also clearly concerned, "what's wrong? You're injured!" She slipped past the male guard, who looked mightily concerned as to why his pretty co-worker clearly socialised with a Zith male. Snaeha instinctively reached up to touch his wound - but froze before her fingers reached the Zith's skin. "Follow me, I'll take a look at it." Not waiting for Aranta to answer, Snaeha turned on her heels and strode back the way she had come, leading both Aranta and Haiven to the staff quarters. It would alert the rest of the staff if she followed the correct proceedings by officially admitting Aranta, and doing that may result in the zith being refused treatment - it was incredibly rare for his kind to drop by for medical treatment.

"I'll smuggle you in for treatment." She threw the Zith a playful look, and Haiven gave a horrified gasp in response.
.

[Aranta]

Aranta grinned when he caught sight of Snaeha-- he'd almost forgotten that she worked here. The other Symenetra, he wasn't so happy to see. He didn't like the way the other male watched his friend. "Thank you," he said to Snaeha, following her through the halls. "I was hunting and it seems that I stole a jungle cat's prey. He was not pleased." Aranta gave the male Symenestra a heavy glare when he walked a bit too close, and if Aranta's wings happened to knock into the other male, oh well. He dind't always have complete control of them. "What have you been doing since we hunted?" Aranta asked, waiting for further instructions as Snaeha bustled around the room she'd led him into. "I have not seen much of you since that night."

[Snaeha Datura]

Snaeha pointed to a pillowed stool, indicating that Aranta should sit there in order to receive his medical treatment. Then she turned to the guard. "Will you watch the door, Havien? If Svorador sees me treating a friend in here he'll never let me hear the end of it." The young Symenesyra male huffed and puffed in response, not entirely sure of the words to display his displeasure at her request. Eventually, after Snaeha had folded her arms to indicate her stubborn plan to remain where she was until he left, Havien skulked out the staff quarters. Satisfied, she turned back to Zith and delved her hands into her pockets.

"I would suggest you stay away form jungle cats. They're not friendl- Ah!" She revealed a small glass vial of dried, wide leaves. Holding the vial closer to Aranta for him to see, she explained the effects of the medical plant, "This is Vyfox. It's an antiseptic to avoid infection. And this...." Her hand snaked its way into the pocket of her uniform, and once again the tiny sound of jingling glass could be heard. After a tick or two, she revealed a similar looking vial, this time which hold dried pink flowers, "... is Lidgefar. This will help stop your wound bleeding."

She pulled up another stool, setting it next to Aranta, face-on to his wound. "First I'm going to clean the wound. This might sting a little." She warned gently, before dabbing at the bloody skin with a clean bandage, also whipped out from her seemingly bottomless pockets. Conversation, she learnt, was the best way to distract a patient from discomfort. "I have been working a lot, staying away from jungle cats." She flashed him a grin before returning to focus on his wounds. The slash on his shoulder was deeper than that on his chest, so it was the former that Snaeha concentrated on most carefully. The majority of the blood had dried now, though with each pulse, the wound pumped out more blood.

"What about yourself?" Snaeha asked, opening the first vial of leaves. She placed two leaves running down the length of the slash, pressing on the dried blood either side to ensure a good amount of pressure. The Vyfox would remove any dirt that may have otherwise made the wound go bad, but it would need redressing the next day to truly avoid infection. "Other than losing to jungle cats, of course." She moved swiftly and neatly, disposing of the Vyfox and moving onto the Lidgefar. Each little flower was carefully dabbed along the length of the cut - Snaeha made sure to not touch the pink, raw flesh. She repeated this action for or five times, her hands steady and meticulous so as not to miss a single inch. After a few chimes, the blood flow began to lessen, until it had nearly stopped. "You're almost sorted."

Next, she had to bandage the wound up to further avoid infection and to speed up the healing process. This time, the cotton strip she used did not come from her own pockets, but a storage unit in the corner of the staff quarters. Snaeha laid the bandage down the cut, ensuring it completely covered the wound, and began to tightly roll it down his chest, turning it back upwards at the bottom of his rib cage to snake up his back and come down again over his shoulder. She repeated the loop several times. "You might need to take it easy for the next few days," she warned, giving Aranta a look to emphasise the seriousness of her tone.

.

[Aranta]

Aranta took the indicated seat, watching Snaeha intently as she worked. He hissed a little when she applied the-- what had she called it?-- Vyfox, but refrained from moving or making any other noise until the third time the Symenestra female mentioned 'jungle cats.' "Do you need to keep mentioning that?" the Zith grumbled, looking at her balefully. "I cannot help circumstance. There was little moonlight, and cats are quiet, even for Zith ears." He was quiet for a moment before answering her first question. "I have been hunting and exploring. Still have not satisfied curiosity about this place. Though I admit, it is good to see you once again." He held still while Snaeha finished her work, and then carefully tested the bandage; the wound still stung a little, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been before. The bandages seemed sturdy, but he paused in his examination when she said that he would need to 'take it easy.' "What does that mean?" he asked suspiciously. "I do not like the sound of that."

[Snaeha Datura]

She chuckled at his moody response; it seemed in any race, men were still men, and they did not appreciate reminders of their failures. "I won't mention it again, promise." Though the little giggle that accompanied her vow indicated that Aranta could expect more teasing. When she spoke again, there was more sincerity to her words, "it is good to see you too, Aranta."

Snaeha watched him test the bandages, how his muscles flexed beneath the thin cotton. She nodded, appreciating her neat handiwork. The dressing should stay on for at least another day, though the real test of that statement would be whether it survived his flying. His confusion over her previous instruction made Snaeha chuckle. "It means... relaxing. Don't do anything too strenuous." She realised this would be difficult for a Zith, if not impossible, "but if you do do anything that damages your wound, come and find me." This time, the tone of her voice evened out, losing its usual musicality and becoming firmer, tougher. Snaeha meant business.

"Haven't you finished with your friend yet?" The impatient young guard came striding in, looking both confused and irritated. He glanced from Snaeha to Aranta - and failed to disguise his obvious disdain towards the latter.

The redheaded Symenestra rolled her eyes and nodded, clearly irritated by the rude interruption. "Yes, we're finished. And so is my workday." She hopped down from her stool in a cheerful little bob. It had been a long night for Snaeha, having worked from just past midnight to that morning. "What plans do you have for the rest of the day? I feel I should teach you how to take it easy."

To Haiven's disappointment, it was the winged male Snaeha was speaking to.

.

[Aranta]

Aranta scowled at Snaeha's explanation, and had opened his mouth to protest when the male Symenestra-- whatever his name was-- interrupted. Aranta did not disguise his dislike for the other male as he and Snaeha talked, and he couldn't repress the smirk that curved his mouth when Snaeha chose to spend her time with him. Not hat he tried very hard. He did wipe it off quickly though, before Snaeha could see it. "I was going to continue hunting, but if you think I should... 'take it easy,' then I suppose I no longer have plans for tonight. What did you have in mind?" Aranta may not see Snaeha in the same light that this other male apparently did-- it was painfully obvious how he saw Snaeha-- but Aranta could still appreciate the woman's beauty and intelligence, and value her friendship. Zith made few friends.

[Snaeha Datura]

Snaeha nodded fervently, once again taking on the role of concerned medic, as opposed to usually light-hearted friend. "At least for today, you should be careful with what you're doing." Any strenuous activity, fighting or hunting or perhaps even flying for any length, could risk opening the wound further, which would be extremely painful.

Her plan for the rest of the day was to wander through the Orchard market and other shops; a favourite pastime of Snaeha's for when she was feeling particularly restlessness. She doubted that Aranta would share her passion for shopping, though, so for a tick she considered their options. "If you were going to hunt later, would you like to visit the Gatherer's Respite? You might find some replacement for the food you would have hunted, so you won't go hungry?"

Plus, Snaeha thought with a sneaky little glimmer of excitement, the Gatherer's is near the Orchard market -- we may just have to pop along. Havien continued to pout moodily, but the young woman was now completely ignoring him as she imagined what wares the stall vendors must have in the market. Oh, how she loved shopping!


.

[Aranta]

Aranta had head of the Gatherer's respite, but he didn't feel like socializing too much-- so he simply shrugged with his uninjured shoulder. "Whatever you wish to do," he said graciously. "I would be glad to spend the day in the company of a friend." The life of a Zith outside of its colony did get lonely after a while, with few beings willing to socialize with Zith, to look past the reputation their kind had earned(well-deserved, as Aranta could admit) in the past years. As he spoke, Aranta noticed the disgruntled look on the male spider-person's face, and couldn't help but feel smug. However, it probably would not be a good idea to antagonize more people than necessary, so he refrained from commenting or smirking again. OOCWant the missing children to be brought up while they're in the market?

[Snaeha Datura]

Snaeha smiled in response to his statement, glad that her eagerness to spend time with the Zith was mirrored by his words. They'd have fun; Snaeha always did when it came to shopping, so she was sure Aranta would too. Eventually.

On their way exiting the Place of Purging, Snaeha ensured she had spare bandages and medicinal herbs. She struggled to believe that her Zith friend would be able to 'take it easy' as much as he needed to, and she wanted to be prepared for the worse case scenario.

The Orchard market, to Snaeha's surprise and suspicion, was quiet. Although plenty of people were milling about, there was not the usual hustle and bustle that came with a busy marketplace. Even the vendors were subdued; only one haggard old woman tried to tempt Snaeha and Aranta towards her blue stall, and even she spoke in a wobbled voice. "How odd." She whispered to Aranta, not daring to speak about the quiet, "usually this place is pretty hectic." It concerned her even more than very few passing Symenestra appeared to be noticing Aranta as he towered over most of them.

"Something must be wrong."

oocYep, sounds good! Go ahead and bring it in, if you like


.