PM to join Symptoms (Devi)

[Kalvina Skyglow]

~
49|S P R I N G|515 AV
7TH BELL, 43RD CHIME

Kalvina couldn't help but stare at the contents of the chamber pot to the left of her bed, cradling her stomach in severe discomfort. This morning's sickness was horrid; she'd been up since the 4th bell, slowly regurgitating the night previous's stew and bread. She was already used to the sickness, but it was so horrible that morning, all she could do was moan slightly.

Asina whimpered as she watched her owner curl her hands around her own stomach, groaning in pain.

"Not now, Asina. Mummy's tummy hurts..." Kalvina barely managed to say, burping slightly. It tasted like stomach acid, and it smelled rancid.

Whimper.

Kalvina looked at her wrinkly puppy, whose eyes penetrated her own grey ones. It was a stare-off between the two, and the dog was winning.

"Gods damn it. My petchin' stomach hurts, and you still wanna go for a walk?"

Yes.

Kalvina sighed at her dog, standing ever so slowly. She had went to sleep last night in most of her street clothes, so all she had to put on was her long black cloak, a new pair of trousers, and boots. She put the hood up, knowing it was raining rather hard outside. Asina jumped from her master's bed, tail wagging, tongue lolled out in the goofy look that seemed to be trademarked with the Kipon pup.

"C'mon, you little nag. It won't nearly be as long as used to; Mummy's gotta get some tea."

She opened the door, and Asina rushed out, yipping and barking. Asina sighed as she followed suit, feeling the beginnings of indigestion in her gut.

8TH BELL, 2ND CHIME

The Maiden District was fairly deserted in the heavy rains of spring, the few outside donning thick coats and walking with a purpose.

Kalvina walked closely behind the little wet dog, who jumped around in the puddles forming over time due to the rain. Her pregnant belly extruded from the cloak around her torso, causing her shirt to get wet from the precipitation.

Petch. My favorite shirt- all soaking.

She watched her little puppy play around in the puddles of rainwater, and was prepared to chase after Asina playfully, when something hit her crotch.

Hard.

She stopped moving suddenly, leaning her arms against the closest building. The pain was horribly unbearable.

"AHHHH!" Kalvina suddenly fell to her knees, clutching her most sensitive of spots. It hurt, and it wasn't stopping anytime soon. Kalvina cried out in the pain of it, trying her hardest not to faint. Asina could sense her master's distress, stopped moving, and came to her, whimpering.

"AHH! Please! Someone help me! Oh, Morwen... AHHHH!"

She needed help, because she knew what this pain was. It was the beginnings of labor, the beginnings of having her baby.

It was coming, and it wasn't stopping.

~

[Devi]

Devi gave the little boy in front of her a reassuring smile as he looked down at his leg once more. His face was sweaty and distressed, though no longer crying out in pain. She eyed the container of Tulja Poultice still sitting beside her bag for that particular blessing. It would not deaden the pain forever but, having applied it to the boy’s open wound, had allowed her to bandage him up relatively easily. She had also added some Vyfox, a herb she had read about in her mother’s journal. After experimenting with it a little at Soothing Waters she had taken to augmenting her wound-based poultices with some crushed flowers. Her mother wrote that it had natural antiseptic and coagulant properties so would be suited to open wounds perfectly. She had also given him some Fauxsil, infused together with Vyfox leaves, in a tea. Whilst the Vyfox leaves would help the boy’s overall healing process, Fauxsil was a leafy herb that she had recently taken to adding to her regular kit. Dried and added to tea, she could moderate the dose depending on her needs. A small dose, like that she had given to her small patient, would help calm a person. In larger doses it could help a person relax enough to sleep, despite difficulties caused by illness or wounds. The dried leaves and seeds were far cheaper than some of the medicines she had been taught to rely on, though extra time was needed to prepare them and their effects were slightly less. Still, it was enough that she could be a lot more liberal prescribing aids for those of her patients whose budgets were limited. She finished tying off the splint and stood, breathing a deep sigh. In short time she had separated out some further doses of tea for the boy’s mother in case he became agitated again or had trouble sleeping before her return. She also promised a return visit the next day but asked the mother to seek her out if the wound began bleeding again so she could replace the bandages and avoid infection. Out of the door, Devi started walking without pause towards her next appointment. She had finished earlier than expected. She tended to leave a lot of time for open wounds and splints due to the amount of pain and panic involved but in this case the additions she had made to her kit had served her well. Feeling rather pleased with herself, she made a mental note to add her own notes and references to those in her mother’s journal. Whilst Elysse had been a skilled herbalist, she had never required the use of the kind of medicines Devi used as a doctor. They were proving to be invaluable supplements to her supplies though and so more than deserved to be documented. The sounds of a woman in pain filtered to her ears through the general hubbub of the Maiden District. Scanning the crowds led her towards one of the exits to the external street. She shouldered her way through the crowds lingering by the doorway and looked out into the rain. A small crowd of concerned people were huddled next to an obviously pregnant woman. She was bent over her stomach, her face contorted in pain. She marched towards them, seeing vague recognition in some of the faces once they eyed her face and the kit she carried at her side. “Bring her inside out of this rain. You there – take the dog’s lead.” She reached for one of the woman’s arms herself, gesturing for one of the strangers to take her other side. “That’s it, nice and easy. We’ll get you out of this rain and then we’ll take a look and see what’s causing you pain.” She tried to keep the tone of her voice steady and calm when talking to the woman, though it became much snappier when addressing the crowds by the door. “I’m sure you all have better things to be doing than holding up a doctor and her patient...” She would have continued but coupled with her patented glare, people had jumped to move out of their way, though all of them seemed contented to continue ogling the pair, curiosity evident in their expressions. As they got back into the internal corridors of the district she directed her voice at the pregnant woman, noticing as she did so the unusual lavender hue of the hair clinging to the woman’s face. “Could you tell me your name?”

[Kalvina Skyglow]

~

Kalvina watched as a group of curious onlookers made a circle around her in her vulnerable state. She didn't like the unwanted attention, and it made her more uncomfortable as time went on. In the few chimes they stood in a complete standstill. No one did anything to attempt to help the woman, who was obviously in pain. Her puppy growled at the slew of onlookers, who whispered amongst themselves.

Petchin' bastards. Not helping someone in need.

But then, salvation came.the form of a dark-haired woman.

She sternly told the crowd too make way and to grab Asina. The woman, who had the aura of a healer our someone important, took Kalvina's hand and led her from the external streets to the internal ones. Kalvina could barely stand on her own, so she leaned rather hard against the woman.

She asked for the Mutt's namd
name.

"My name... is Kalvina."

That was all she could get out before another wave of pain racked her body. She went silent as the helping woman led her to safety.

She felt faint. Why did get baby choose now to come?

~

[Devi]

“Kalvina, let’s just take a quick rest here.” Devi could see the woman was already tiring, feeling faint from panic and pain both. She and the stranger eased her down onto a bench once they were safely inside the hallways of the Maiden District. From the size of her belly, Devi would guess that Kalvina was fairly close to term. It was important then that they get to a more secluded place than this so Devi could examine her properly. She gestured to the young boy loitering nearby, still holding onto to Kalvina’s dog. “You’ll stay close by boy won’t you? That little creature will be frightened so he’ll need lots of attention.” The boy nodded gravely, bending down to stroke the dog immediately as though to emphasise his dedication to the task. To the man who had helped her guide Kalvina inside and out of the rain she turned a steely gaze. “I think it’s time that these people stopped loitering and went about their business. We need a little space whilst Kalvina recovers her strength enough to move again. You can see to that, yes?” He agreed silently, nodding his approval and stood, waving people back where they stopped to gawp. Devi grasped for her kit, reaching inside it to find a particular packet. She drew out a small bag containing a green, leafy herb with small leaves. She pulled loose a few fronds and passed them to Kalvina, gently nudging her to eat them. “This is Fauxsil – it will help calm you a little so we don’t panic baby into thinking there’s anything wrong. Chew on some for me – it will help.” As she did so Devi began counting in her mind. True contractions could begin irregularly but always tapered out to a regular rhythm eventually, each getting progressively stronger and more painful. She would start Kalvina moving again as soon as this pain stopped, counting each bout of pain and the amount of time between them as she did so.

[Kalvina Skyglow]

~

The Mutt was led to a nice, hard bench inside of the Maiden District. Well, anything was comfy when you were in that much pain.

She felt another huge burst of pain, and she shrieked shrilly as she was laid down on the hard carved wood. The woman's name had still slipped her mind, and that was really all she could think about between contractions.

Morwen's ice, you're getting help from a woman who's name you don't even know! Well, I'd still probably get the help anyway...

Then, the woman, a medic obviously by her bag, gave her a small herb with an abundance of leaves. She told the woman in labor to chew on it, as it would help calm her.

Calm her? It would be better to alleviate the pain, but alright. Kalvina slowly placed the plant in her mouth, Fallil or Fauxsil as the medic had said, and chewed. It was horridly bitter and she tried not to swallow the leaves, which were meticulously getting trapped between her teeth.

She was glad she did it, though. The effects were near instantaneous; she felt a strange chill wash over her, and a little bit of the pain in her lower region did subside.

"Ok, Miss Healer, what should we-" She took a deep breath as another, yet smaller, wave hit her. "What should we do next?"

She allowed the healer to have full rein over her. She was in no position to do anything herself, let alone try and push her way through the surprise deliverance of her baby.

"One more question- would it be detrimental to my health if the baby happened to have a tail? A-a seal tail, to be exact?'

At that, she went silent, waiting in dulled throbs for her savior to make a decision.

StuffHi, Devi! With the statement above, I'd like to allocate to you full control of Kalvina! At least, for the next few posts or until otherwise stated. I'd love to see what you'd do with her!

~

[Devi]

Devi listened to Kalvina’s questions between the gasps of pain she let out, not answering whilst she was still counting in her head. The contractions seemed irregular still, which would seem to indicate the woman was not quite ready to give birth. She would still feel safer examining her further. “Kalvina I can answer your questions once we’re somewhere quieter and more private. Needless to say though, if your child was naturally conceived then your body must certainly think you are up to the task.” When it became clear that Kalvina was no longer in pain she requested directions to the woman’s apartment, once again keeping as accurate a count as possible in her head. She gestured to the boy holding the lead of Kalvina’s dog and the man who had helped her lead Kalvina out of the rain. “We’re going to try moving again. Kalvina is going to lead us to her apartment so I can make sure she and her child are in good health.” She looked at the boy, “You lead us, I’ve no doubt that creature will recognise its own home well enough and you can help clear a path for us to move in.” Then she turned to the man, still loitering close by and keeping people back as she’d instructed. She noticed the unsure expression on his face and she wondered if he had anticipated offering this much help to a stranger. She almost shook her head in exasperation. People were invariably selfish when it came to going out of their way to help people. Even now she could see people frowning at the interruption to their usual path, as though Kalvina had been incredibly selfish in falling ill in the middle of the corridors. She addressed the man, a little edge in her tone. “I’m going to need your help to support this young woman back to her home, then you may go about your day.” She coupled this with an eagle-eyed glare and then stood, getting ready to support Kalvina’s right side as though she expected nothing less than exactly what she’d asked for. In her mind she hoped he would continue to assist her. Small thing that she was, Devi could not carry a pregnant woman all the way across the district by herself. Fortunately the man did silently follow her instructions and together they made their way through the corridors, Kalvina and her dog guiding their way. Once they were safely in her apartment, Devi dismissed their two helpers, though decided to tie Kalvina’s dog beside the hearth. She had no idea how well trained the creature was and it would certainly be more hygienic if she could examine her patient away from the thread of fur and saliva. She lay Kalvina down on the bed and carefully felt her swollen belly. She knew from recent experience that she should probably talk to Kalvina a little more to put her at ease, lest she be banished from the apartment in a panic. “Well that’s much quieter. If you missed it in the kerfuffle then my name is Devi. I’m a doctor – I tend to many of the people who live in the Maiden district.” She paused to fill the kettle by the hearth with water and set it to boil. “I’ll make you some special tea to ease those cramps a bit. It doesn't look like the baby's coming now, your body's just practising a bit before the big day." Devi opened her kit and pulled out a packet of dried Tolm leaves, letting them sit in the infuser for a while and stirring it gently. Once it had been brewed for long enough she disposed of the leftover leaves and gave the tea to Kalvina to drink. Tolm, she had found, was good for relaxing aches and internal pains as well as relaxing a person, which is just what Kalvina needed. She left the young woman when it became clear that the contractions had subsided, leaving her with instructions to seek out medical attention if they resumed. Devi made a mental note to herself to purchase more Tolm leaves - it was proving to be a useful addition to her regular kit.

[Keene Ward]

Grades

Kalvin, once you get your intervention removed, please PM me if you would like your grade!

Devi

Skills

Medicine +3
Observation +2
Socialization +3
Herbalism +3
Tactics +3
Knot Tying +1
Organization +1
Leadership +3
Land Navigation +2
Planning +2
Rhetoric +1
Intimidation +3
Investigation +2
Persuasion +2
Negotiation +1
Philosophy +1
Storytelling +1
Teaching +1

Lores

Kalvina: Pregnant Lady
Herbalism: Fauxsil
Herbalism: Vyfox
Herbalism: Tolm
Location: Kalvina's Apartment

Rewards/Consequences
None


Notes
Nice little thread that displayed Devi's bossy nature with plenty of medical and herbal goodies thrown in. Nice work!

If you have any questions or concerns, please send me a PM!