Closed Doctor Doctor (Kechaiya)

[Koruma]

OOC: Outside the orphanage, 60th of Fall, 514 White clouds billowed overhead like mountains as they crept across the sky. The sun stood high as it gently warmed the slums, giving a welcome break from the crisp fall air. Even the wind had taken a break and given the citizens of the city some relief. Yet, it was only a small break from what was in reality, a mild season. Winter brewed in the distance and would be upon the city soon enough. The streets of the slums were mostly empty, with only the occasional vagabond marching on the dusty road. Rows of houses clung to one another as they desperately tried to remain standing. Come evening, the place would be crowded as people returned from their day of work and thieving. Koruma sat upon an old crate, the pliable wood bending slightly beneath his weight. Echos of children's laughter were audible from were he sat, just outside the orphanage. His lower back practically touching the front wall as he enjoyed the fall sunshine. The warm air caressed his bare arms and comfortably heated the cloth of his dark pants. His feet remained bare as they occasionally flexed, massing the earth beneath his toes. The older teen sat, leaning forward with his elbows propped against his knees. In his left hand was his dagger, sharp and bright as the steel glittered in the sunshine. His right hand bore a small wooden statue that bore the resemblance of a dog. Slowly and carefully the boy worked, easing the edge of his knife against the wood as he pulled ribbons away from his carving. A small pile of shavings lay scattered between his feet. A gentle and easy smile lightly accented Koruma's face while he worked. The carving was amateurish at best. The nose was too long and thin and his head was too big for the body. Yet, he hand managed to get it into a standing position with legs that at least weren't at risk of breaking on him. Koruma's lips pursed together as his blade caught on a section of the statue. He applied a little more pressure, pulling at the blade as he wiggled it slightly. In a flash of silver, the knife shot forward and practically flew from his hands. His surprised cry rang out in the streets before it turned into a hiss of pain. Koruma pitched forward until his body was between his knees and his hands practically touched the ground. His right hand balled into a fist as blood dripped from the side of his palm. The statue lay on the ground as a couple crimson spots soaked into the wood. Pain shot through his arm and his hand shook as it thumped. Gritting his teeth he righted himself to clean the dagger on his pants before he shoved it into the sheath on his hip. His left hand now free, he grabbed his wrist and shoved his palm into his mouth. The iron liquid made him want to gag, but he pushed hard as his eyebrows knitted together. His chest heaved as he squeezed his eyes shut. Yanking his hand away he glared down at the wound, eying it before it became too bloody for him to see. The wound wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. The large cut stretched from his wrist to the knuckle of his thumb, running along the side of his palm where the flesh was thickest. It was certainly deep enough that a simple patch job wouldn't do the trick. Hissing again, Koruma spit and shoved the hand back into his mouth as he cleaned it the only way he knew how.

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya finished wrapping the bandage around two wooden stints that braced little Hakmeil's arm. For a six year old, he was quite the little tough guy, never once crying as she set the bone back to its proper place. He said he fell off a stack of crates he was playing on, but Kechaiya knew that to be a lie. He had bruises on his jaw, an eye was swollen, and his knuckles were covered in scrapes and bruises. He'd clearly been fighting, but his pride seemed intact, so she assumed he'd won. "Make sure Noven and Jillene no find out you fighting. Keep splint on for forty days. I check on it. Be careful with arm. If let heal, you can fight again, good as new." She stood up from her stool and ruffled his hair. Being ever the stoic, he didn't thank her, but she didn't mind. He just nodded and walked off, likely to brag about his accomplishment. Packing up her supplies, she left the kitchen of the orphanage, nodding at one of the employees as she did. Moving through the home, the ebony eyed healer's gaze passed over the many children. Aside from being a little thinner than they ought to have been, most seemed fine. Taking care of these children was the only thing that truly made her smile. Her business of fixing people up was just that, business. It was what she was good at. And while she enjoyed the money it brought in, it wasn't her passion. She wasn't sure she had a passion. As she stepped out the door, a small girl's voice filled the air, "Ew! Koruma's drinking blood!" Kechaiya saw the little girl, unsure of what her name was, pointing at a young man with his hand to his mouth. Kechaiya still hadn't learned all of the orphans, and didn't recognize the young man. Since all of her work for the orphanage was free of charge, she approached the young man. "You hurt? How?" She may not recognize him, but he'd likely recognize her in some fashion. She came around often enough dispensing her services.

[Koruma]

The taste of iron made his stomach turn. His body rocked ever so slightly as he audibly inhaled. His hand began to pound and he could feel the heat of his own body as put pressure on the wound. Thankfully, the pain was manageable. Koruma kept a razor edge on his dagger and the cut was clean; straight as an arrow and bleeding like crazy. A high pitched cry caught his attention and the teen's ashen eyes slid to find one of the younger girls staring at him with wide eyes. Her delicate nose was wrinkled in disgust and she had one tiny finger pointed at Koruma as she announced her disgust. Koruma blinked at her and popped his hand out of his mouth. A tiny, mischievous smile tugged at one corner of his lips and he offered his hand to her. "Want a taste, Nilly?" The little girl let out out a loud shriek and Koruma chuckled as he spit out another glob of red saliva before pushing his hand back into his mouth. Suddenly, the doctor was at his side. Koruma glanced up at her, recognizing her only superficially from her previous visits to the orphanage. She came around on occasion to treat the wounds of the orphans and her presence sent a chilling reminder to Koruma. For now, he wouldn't have to worry about her services, but in less than a year the story would be completely different. Her smooth and rich voice addressed him, striking immediately at his injury. Koruma pulled his hand away again, hissing as the wound protested the sudden movement. He half considered wiping it off, but the blood was quickly pooling in the wound and would only serve to irreversibly stain his clothes. He quietly offered his injured hand for inspection as he gave the doctor a half shrug in response to her question. "My knife slipped." Koruma spat again, his face contorting with displeasure as the foul taste lingered in his mouth.

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[Kechaiya]

Kech gently took the boy's hand and stuck her thumb in her mouth, wetting it. She then used it to clear away the blood getting a better look at it. It was a brief glance before the blood obscured it. The laceration wasn't overly long, only a couple of inches, but the blood flow indicated that it was moderately deep, and couldn't be fixed up with a simple bandage. He would need stitches. Kechaiya cast her eyes up to Koruma's "Come here. I clean and fix."

She moved over to the short steps that led into the orphanage, and sat down, setting her pack next to her. Thankfully, she'd down a set of sutures earlier and had some leftover poultice in a jar in her pack. She pulled it out and opened it up setting it on the step next to her. She also pulled out some bandages, her jar of grain alcohol, and her sewing kit. Undoing the lid on the alcohol, she held it up for Koruma, after seeing him spit and grimace. "Take small drink, get taste out of mouth. Need rest as medicine." She kept her face stoic, but this was a joke her father had played on her many years ago. She knew the grain alcohol would burn like Ivak's rage, even with the tiniest of sips.

She sat in wait for the boy's reaction, already planning out her treatment. She settled on a one or two vertical mattress sutures in the center of the laceration, and simple interrupted sutures for the rest of the length. The grain alcohol would be to clean out the wound, and the poultice would be used to promote healing and prevent infection. It was all really routine, so Kechaiya wondered if she could use this time to get to know this boy a bit more. He looked older, perhaps leaving the orphanage soon.

[Koruma]

Koruma gritted his teeth as her fingers passed over the wound. Pain shot through his wrist and his entire arm went rigid. His swallowed another hiss of pain as the doctor examined his hand. Despite her attempt to clean it, the blood quickly flowed back into the gap and obscured the wound. Koruma's jaw clenched and he nodded as he was instructed to follow the doctor. Rising to his feet, Koruma cradled his injured hand close to his chest. He kept the wound facing skyward while his let hand acted as a catch for any blood that might fall. He moved carefully, trying his hardest not to create a mess while he walked up the steps. Their trips was stopped short as the doctor took a seat. Koruma sat down besides her, one step lower so that he could turn and partially face her. Her hands worked quickly as she pulled out the necessary supplies. Koruma's eyes followed her work as he cradled his injured hand. She offered Koruma a flask and he quickly wiped his left hand on his pants before taking it. "Thanks." He tossed back the flask and quick a swallow. The liquid was like fire in his mouth and ran like a god's rage down his throat. Koruma pitched forward, coughing and spluttering as his eyes welled with tears. His hand shaking, he handed back the flask to the doctor. "Think I preferred the blood..." he mumbled. Koruma wiped away his teas with the back of his left hand while he held out his right for treatment. He steadied his breath and locked his jaw as he waited for what was sure to be a painful treatment. Koruma did his best to relax his arm, but his mouth still burned from the firey substance that he had been asked to swallow. Alcohol, but none like he had ever tasted before. Koruma didn't visit taverns or bars to drink, so his experience was limited to little sips that the gang had offered him. The stuff had never tasted very appetizing and his last bout with it did little to change his mind.

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[Kechaiya]

The moment he began coughing and sputtering, Kechaiya let loose on the hopefully endearing giggle-snort she'd been holding in. She grabbed the jar as he returned it to her, "Best medicine always bitter." Her awkward laugh finished, it was time to take care of the poor boy. But being a child, even if he was older, he probably felt some fear. Kech normally didn't pander to her patients, but always made an exception for the children. Rather than perform her standard procedure of explaining what she was going to do, then breaking it down step by step as she did it, she decided to try distracting him. But not after the first warning, "This sting." She kept a firm, but not too tight of a grip on his wrist, her other hand picking up the jar of alcohol. Holding it steady, she tipped it lightly, letting a steady stream pour over the wound, giving her a better glimpse. It was slow, and would burn fairly intensely at first, but would abate.

Her eyes watched as the blood diluted and dripped away, and she set the jar down, grabbing a bandage. She dipped it in the alcohol, and was now rubbing at the wound. She kept her eyes locked on the gap in the skin, trying to make sure nothing was in there that wasn't supposed to be, dirt, the tip of the knife, anything. All she saw was red flesh and blood, and was relieved. She set the bandage atop his hand, reaching for her poultice, only now remembering that she was supposed to be talking. "So what you carve? Gift for girl?" She let go of his wrist and removed the bandage. Taking a clean end she dunked it in the alcohol, then the poultice, and used it to spread the green paste into the wound. She couldn't use her fingers as she preferred, for it simply wasn't large enough. She let it sit for a bit, knowing it stop the bleeding, fighting infection, ease the pain, and help the wound heal.

Putting the poultice and bandage down, she splashed her hands with the alcohol, cleaning off the blood and poultice. She grabbed her sewing kit and strung a curved needle, and set it down. She pulled out her grips she used now when during sutures, after hearing that it was safer, and set them with the needle. She was ready to do the sutures, but wanted to give the poultice time to work. "What you name? I Kechaiya."

[Koruma]

At least she enjoyed that, he thought bitterly as he handed the vile back to the doctor. The horrendous taste lingered in his mouth and he spat a glob of saliva onto the stairs. Ashen eyes narrowed as she spoke of the best medicine being bitter. "Bitter is one thing... that stuff is vile." He could feel the heat from the alcohol rising to his cheeks while it warmed his body in a rather uncomfortable manner. He considered spiting again but decided to just hunker down and hope the aftertaste left his mouth quickly. A quick warning was enough and Koruma suck in his breath as he braced himself. He could feel her hand firm against his wrist as he watched her pick up the jar again. The liquid spilled out of the mouth and the pain was instantaneous. His entire body jerked and his head ducked into his chest as he let loose a long hiss. Brows knitting together, Koruma bit back a cry while he dug the fingernails of his free hand into his own palm. The teen's jaw clenched and his vision began to cloud with held back tears. Still the torture continued as the doctor began to clean his wound. Koruma sat as silently as he could and managed to stifle every whimper that touched his lips. Yet he couldn't stop himself from hissing every time she pressed against his wound. A single tear dripped down his cheek and firmly pushed it away with his free hand. As he tried to focus on anything other than the pain. The doctor did her best to help Koruma as she struck up a conversation while she spread a green slime onto his wound. Her assumptions were difficult though and Koruma could only shake his head at her question. "A dog." His voice was as rigid and tense as his body, but he managed to continue. "And not a gift. I just like to carve." Koruma had no interest in girls, or boys, or anyone really. The idea of dating and relationships was somehow... off. He didn't desire any sort of intimate company and found those who flaunted their bodies or partners to be silly. His mind broke from the train of thoughts when she picked up a sewing needle. Koruma instinctively leaned away from the instrument and half pulled his hands towards his body. But it had to be done. Hesitantly he tried to force himself to relax while she prepped. Again, the doctor tried to distract Koruma with conversation and he gladly took the bait. "Koruma. Nice to meet you. How long have you been a doctor?"