Restart

by **Jeremy Casing** on June 29th, 2015, 1:29 pm

3rd Summer, 512AV

The Casing family had moved.

This change in location had been sudden and unexpected. And despite his mother's kind smiles and gentle words of encouragement, Jeremy believed it to be utterly his own doing. If only he hadn't attacked Matthew Blecker, his parents wouldn't have had to abandon all their ties in Sunberth and, quite literally, fly the coop. Julienne Casing tried her best to reassure her boy, but in truth she was frightened for him. Jeremy had always been a meek lad, easily targeted by childhood bullies and taunts. She'd longed for her son to stand up for himself, but when he finally had done just that, he'd caused more trouble than she'd imagined possible. The lad he had attacked had almost lost his sight in both eyes, and had also suffered horrendous injuries to his face and head. When she had seen the damage done to Matthew Blecker, Julienne had instinctively done the unthinkable: she had regarded her son as a monster.

Leaving Sunberth had been the only thing Julienne and her husband Thomas could think of doing to protect their family. Matthew's father was a violent, stupid man (it really does run in families, ey? Thomas Casing had said with a snort), one who would take great pleasure in seeking revenge for the damage done to his son. To avoid this, the Casing family had simply ran away.

Or more accurately, flown away. Jeremy and Julienne had left first, taking their respecting Gyrafalcon and Swan form and flying West. Julienne had been born and raised in Lhavit - in fact, a sister of hers still resided in the Crystal city - and so it was a natural decision for the Casing family's new home. Thomas Casing had departed from Sunberth sometime later, having done his best to sell off the families' belongings. He arrived in Lhavit in his two-legged form, carrying whatever goods and fortune he had managed to salvage in his sudden departure. By the time of his arrival, Julienne and Jeremy had already settled down into the home of Alexandra Mitton, Julienne's sister.

Lhavit was unbelievably different to Sunberth, and it suited Jeremy far better. There were no bullies here to make his life miserable, and in fact the very populace of Lhavit seemed kinder and prettier than that of Sunberth. He could walk the streets without fear of being mugged, stabbed, or murdered.

It was a rather pleasant feeling.

Jeremy's childhood would be short, he knew. His kind generally did not have long lives, but this wasn't something he mourned. He had been chosen by Caiyha to do all he could for her flora and fauna. And as long as he succeeded in this task, it would be a life well lived.

by **Jeremy Casing** on June 29th, 2015, 9:00 pm

Lhavit fulfilled this desire, as well. Unlike Sunberth, which gobbled up anything natural and green and quite literally shat it out, Lhavit seemed far more at peace. The gnosis on Jeremy's arm did not pull him into a sense of restlesness or exhaustion like he had felt in Sunberth. His longing to balance out urban settlements with nature was now permanent and instinctual to him, like breathing. But in Lhavit, that pressure had eased. He finally slept well at night.

Which could only be a good thing. Jeremy had been given a gift from Caiyha, and he was not about to let it go to waste. He would make the most of his time in Lhavit to improve himself and learn. Then, when the inevitable time for him leave the Crystal city came, he would equipped with enough knowledge and skills to do his utmost for his Goddess.

Today, his mother was teaching him the basics of medicine. She had worked as an herbalist-stroke-nurse in Sunberth for the maniacal doctor there, though now she was employed as a cook in some tavern or another.

"Jeremy, please focus."

His mother's dulcet tones broke through the young man's distracted man. He glanced to her and smiled a silent apology. Julienne in turn extended her hand to gently caress her son's shoulders. "I know you have a lot on your mind, son. Just... pay attention."

She desperately wanted to help him. A mother always wanted to do her best for her children, but in this instance it was out of Julienne's hands. Her son was now a missionary for Caiyha, and in that sense another woman had succeeded her maternal role. He might love Julienne in a way different to Caiyha, but he would never worship his mother like he did the Goddess. She tried not to be too jealous. At least I have you whilst your still my boy, she though pensively. "What did I just say?"

Jeremy hadn't the foggiest idea. He shrugged guiltily.

Julienne sighed before repeated herself. "I was telling you about the different types of fractures. Some of these might not even be possible in some animals, but others will be." She briefly adjusted herself, shifting in her seat and placing both hands onto the table before her. Several sheets of parchment, each with sketchy drawings on them, were laid out in front of her. "Firstly, fractures and broken bones fall into two broad categories. Complete fractures are those where the bone has quite literally broken into two. Incomplete, however, is where the break does not go all the way through the bone." She picked up one diagrams and passed it to Jeremy. It displayed two rough pictures of bones, made up of two pairs of vertical horizontal lines joined at the top and bottom by bobbly ends. One bone featured a line going all the way through, whilst the other featured a line that stopped several inches from the other side. Simple diagrams, but they matched Julienne's descriptions perfectly. "See? A complete fracture is far more severe than an incomplete, for obvious reasons. In the case of legs or arms --" She faltered minutely and gave Jeremy a small smile, "I guess arms aren't something you're going to see much in your patients."

The young Kelvic grinned and shook his head.

by **Jeremy Casing** on June 30th, 2015, 10:26 am

Julienne continued. "Under this category, there is another subset of fractures: the compound and the simple.

The former is when a broken bone breaks through the skin. In most cases, these are far more severe than simple fractures and so take longer to heal." Jeremy watched as his mother displayed another diagram. This time, four more lines, to indicate an arm of leg, encased the broken bone sketch. "See how the bone pokes out from beyond the skin?"

Diagram :

"How can compound fractures be healed?" Jeremy frowned, pursed his lips in concentration. It was impossible for him to imagine having such an injury, the subsequent agony that must follow. Likewise, how would one go about fixing such an injury? "Do you just... poke the bone back in?" Even the young Kelvic knew his suggestion was inaccurate, but it was the only thing he could imagine.

Julienne smiled and shook her head. "It depends. I've seen two methods: surgery and amputation. But the former usually leads to the latter, especially if the fracture was in the leg or arm, where the bone is so strong it's difficult to correct with splints and the like." Her smile wavered, turning sad and remorseful. During her time as an assistant to the doctor in Sunberth, she had seen many ugly, traumatic cases where patients sobbed in agony, even begged for their death. In most cases, Doctor Petricious ignored the poor souls' wishes and continued on with his torturous, mad methods. She had seen people walk into the clinic with a broken thumb and leave with a hand missing and half an ear. There was never any logic to anything he'd done

Jeremy would be different. He was a cautious boy, and Julienne could not imagine that her son would suddenly outgrow his quiet patience. The very fact he seemed dedicated to learning as much as he could proved this.

And yet she still found herself worrying about him. The very existence of their people centred on a connection with another being, a bondmate. Would her son's newfound responsibility as Caiyha's servant conflict with this basic Kelvic instinct? She hoped not. Julienne imagined her son in the future: a dedicated Phylonurist, but without a bondmate. A semi-circle, who's other half was lost to him, never to be known. It ached her heart.

"Let's continue." She said brightly, trying her best to sheath her worry and motherly concerns. "We still have simple fractures to discuss, as well as the symptoms and treatments."

by **Jeremy Casing** on July 5th, 2015, 8:26 pm

"These are fractures that don't break through the skin. They're far more common, less dangerous, and easier to treat than compound fractures."

Jeremy nodded along, his face stern in concentration. Julienne continued on, sliding another parchment piece closer to her son for him to see, this time with the diagram of a sketched leg wrapped in many layers of cloth. "Usually, the typical way to treat simple fractures is with a splint - a thin plank of wood tied to the limb to keep it straight and wrapped in bandage. Depending on the bone, it can take anywhere from fifteen to fifty or so days for the bone to heal.

Sometimes it never heals properly, and you'll see someone with an arm that is a little... crooked. In these cases, the arm is pretty weak, if not completely useless. The ability to write will almost definitely be gone, as will much of the strength in that arm." Again Julienne's voice faded. Many a botched job from Doctor Petricous had left patients with such chronic problems. She'd seen aggressive thugs be turned into bawling babies because suddenly they couldn't wield an axe any more. Without their weapons, they were nothing.

"And how do you know when a broken bone is healed?" Jeremy asked, head tilted and brows frowning.

"Generally, less pain. Increased strength and flexibility in the limb. Less swelling - though that's not always possible to see if the limb is wrapped in bandages."

Jeremy watched as his mother began to neatly organise her papers, sifting through them to ensure they organised in the proper order: types of fractures first, followed by treatments and finally symptoms. It was the latter that she focused on now.

"The basic symptoms of a broke bone are: swollen limbs, extreme pain, bruising, loss of function."

Jeremy tried to apply this knowledge to his own future patients. In dogs and cats, he predicted that it would be relatively easy to recognise a broken leg; they would walk on three instead of four. In horses, though? Birds? As much as the young man appreciated his mother's time and dedication, both of them knew that Jeremy needed someone to teach him specifically about animals. He knew relatively little about them, despite his feathered form.

by **Jeremy Casing** on July 5th, 2015, 9:00 pm

"Now we've gone through the very basics, which is really all I know," Julienne threw her son a smile. Self-confidence was not her strong suit, "I'd like you practise tying a splint to my forearm." She rustled about the table for a brief moment before revealing to Jeremy a thin piece of torn fabric and a flat, weak-looking piece of wood. "Unfortunately, you'll just have to imagine that these are the proper medical supplies."

"It's perfect, mother." He encouraged appreciatively.

Julienne demonstrated first, using Jeremy's bony shin as a model fracture. With a delicate finger, she pointed to her don's leg, "let's say it's a simple fracture on the front of the bone. We'd place the splint on this side, to provide solid support for the bone. Ideally, we want the splint to be as long as the bone itself, but that isn't always possible. In such cases, we need to make sure the splint is as close to the fracture as possible.

To find out where this is, feel the limb and find where it's the most swollen. It may also feel warm. Obviously, don't press too hard." Another smile was shared between mother and son. "And we lie the splint on the bone--" Julienne demonstrated this slowly, using one hand to steady the piece of wood whilst her other hand sought out the loose end of the material strip.

"Then wrap the bandage around, starting at the top of the splint and winding your way down." She began to do this, but paused half way, glanced up to Jeremy, "you want the bandage to be tight, but not so tight that it causes further pain and problem. I always make sure I can get two fingers down either side of the dressing to make sure it isn't too tight. You should do the same."

She wound the bundle of material down Jeremy's leg until she had approximately five inches left at the end.

"If you have a lot of dressing, you can tie the dressing in such a way that you can tie the two ends together. This is the most secure way, and it also means that should the dressing come undone, the patient themselves can usually tie it back tightly.

However, we only have a small piece of dressing and a long limb. We cannot tie the ends together. This is an important lesson to learn in medicine," She checked briefly to ensure her son was listening intently. When she saw that he was, Julienne continued: "you have to be ready to compromise and think on your feet. You might be able to fine a seamstress' pin to hold the dressing together, a handy-shaped stick, or anything. Here, the best we can do is tuck the loose end of the dressing under the rest of it. Not ideal, but better than nothing."

Jeremy looked down at his leg: the material was wrapped around neatly, securely. As he bent his leg, he was surprised at how restrictive even the thin piece of wood was. With the proper medical equipment, a splint would certainly ensure a broken bone would heal straight.

With a grin, Julienne began to unwind the bandage and passed the splint and dressing to her son. "Your turn!"

by **Jeremy Casing** on July 6th, 2015, 10:10 am

Julienne had made it seem so easy. Yet Jeremy's fingers juggled the splint and bandage clumsily, dropping the former a few times before he finally managed to successfully balance it on his mother's forearm.

"Remember to start at one end of the splint and wind the bandage down to the other end. Nice and tight, now"

The Kelvic nodded and began to unwrap the bandage. But Julienne winced immediately, inhaling sharply and clenching her jaw. When Jeremy glanced up to her face with a questioning look, his mother said, "a littletoo tight. Remember what I said?"

"To try and fit two fingers down either side of the dressing?" His mother nodded to confirm Jeremy's guess. When he tried to do just that, he realised quite how tightly he had wound the bandage around Julienne's arm: not even the tip of his finger could fit between the dressing and her skin. With an embarrassed smile, he released his mother's arm from the bandage and tried again. "Let's hope I don't do that too many times."

Julienne placed her free hand on Jeremy's shoulder, her fingers brushing his cheek affectionately. "You're only just starting out, love. Nobody expects you to be perfect straight away. It's a hard skill to learn. You'll be great, I promise."

Her words did not flourish Jeremy's confidence as much as Julienne would have liked them too. He could not shake his own incompetence off, or the subsequent doubts that haunted him. What if he caused more harm than good? What if he disappointed his family - or worse, Caiyha? He imagined the Goddess' face, how her appearance seemed to visually merge in with the trees and greenery around her. She had been the vision of beauty, all entangled in green and brown. What if she visited him again to take away her gift? I am disappointed in you, Jeremy. You said you would try. But you have failed me.

"Jeremy?"

His mother's hand startled him. Blinking, Jeremy pulled himself back to the present day. "I'm sorry, mother. I was--"

"Worrying? You mustn't, dear. You have been chosen by a Goddess. Do you know how precious and honoured that is? Nobody in our family has ever even met a God before."

That's even more pressure, then. Jeremy thought grumpily. He couldn't help himself: the boy felt the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. and though Lhavit certainly made some of these pressure feel lighter, there were others that just couldn't be shifted so easily.

"There, you see?" Julienne retracted her arm carefully away from Jeremy and held it up for him to see. Her entire forearm was wrapped in the dressing, and though his work was not as neat as hers, it certainly looked effective. "You're a fast learner Jeremy. Just don't worry or stress so much."

"Easier said than done."

by **Caesarion** on July 26th, 2015, 7:24 pm

Grades, my darling, grades

Jeremy :

Notes :

If you have concerns, questions or praise (inmydreams;_;) for your grade, drop me a PM and we'll do a number!

Skill	XP Earned
Medicine	5 XP
Observation	4 XP
Deduction	1 XP