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 Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:45 pm
Eione was still an apprentice healer but somehow she had talked her way into helping out an actual patient- and not just any patient, it was a rogue. While he was being kept somewhere fairly public so he could be kept an eye on, primarily because of the news he would receive shortly, he was also kept away from the more obvious signs of plague and decay to put him more at ease in the meantime. Despite the unfortunate situation he had found himself in, his wounds were simple and that was why Eione, a dedicated, quick-learning apprentice, had been allowed to take care of him. It helped, of course, that she had been the one to find him.
The rogues wound was already cleaned and treated, Eione was back after giving him some time to rest to see how it was doing. He didn't seem to be awake so she was very quiet as she came up to get a look at the gash on his shoulder. Hunting never seemed less appealing looking at the wound it had earned him.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:10 pm
Oh, what an awful time Dabulamanzi was having as of late.
Firstly he'd not found a single scrap of glory to gloat to his brothers about and now he found himself wounded. It was a bad wound, too. And not one gained through honour. He'd been hunting and the deep ash was from an antelope. Not against some villainous lion who had been terrorising some poor innocent community. He would not be dubbed a hero. Instead he would be pitied. The poor pride-born playing at being rogue.
Thankfully for him, he'd been picked up by some locals shortly after his injury - probably because he had unwittingly been poaching from their own herds. Needless to say, his wound was getting better and with it his temperament was improving. He'd been a little sore in the tooth in the days that had followed his injury and he hadn't made the best of patients. Thankfully he had a good attendant and - if he wasn't mistaken - that was her coming right now.
He'd been sleeping deeply some moments before though even in a state of wakefulness he had opted to rest his eyes and lay there allowing the time to wash over him without much thought. It had pained him to walk and even now that he was healing he was still reluctant to push himself in case the wound burst open and he was back to square one.
Sensing Eione close by, he forced his reluctant eyes open and lifted his head to throw a shaky grin across at her. "Hey there, Doc. Come to check up on the poor rogue again?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:25 pm
She started when he suddenly opened his eyes and addressed her- she definitely didn't have enough practice actually dealing with the patients, they were so unpredictable. Still, she managed a smile, shaking her head at the question. She did, privately, like that he called her doc, though.
"Does that mean you're feeling OK now?" she asked, straightening up and waiting for an answer before getting a better look at how his wound was healing up. It would have been rude to just lean in without his permission if he was awake.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:32 pm
"Better than yesterday." He replied, wrinkling his nose as if seriously considering his condition. He shifted a little as if to make room for her to inspect her wound and then gave her a pleading-eyed look. "So, honestly Doc, how long do you think it'll be until I'm back to full health?"
He gave a startled chirp as if considering something he hadn't before. "Do you think it'll leave a scar? If so you need to come up with a feasible story - that doesn't involve antelope - as to how I came across it." His ears fell back into his raggedy mane. Wow. If there was a mark he'd definitely have some explaining to do.
"Something more manly, okay?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:43 pm
She beamed when he responded, mentally noting his change in attitude. The better he got, the more cheerful he got and that was a good sign. Maybe soon he'd be cheerful enough to hear that he may be infected and definitely had to stay here now. But Eione had been told to keep that quiet while she treated him, it was a tricky situation and an adolescent and apprentice was not the best person to reveal it.
"It probably will scar, the antelope got you pretty good. We'll see what story I can come up with," she said, snickering, "Do you mind if I take a look?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:06 pm
"Ah well, so long as you can come up with a good story, I can't complain too much. I...guess I'll have to get used to not looking my usual perfect self." He laughed and then winced as his frame shook and sent a twinge of pain through him. He had to be careful...
"Sure, sure. I'm not dead yet which must mean you know what you're doing." He shifted his weight even further and peered down at the wound himself. It was looking pretty good considering what it had looked like after it had happened. There had been a lot of blood and a lot of pain and he was certain that he'd passed out of conciousness more than once. At least the worst of it was behind him now.
"So, Doc, what's the verdict?" He asked after a moment, feeling strangely nervous of her answer.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:22 pm
Eione started again when he winced, making note of this. He was still obviously in quite a bit of pain, it might be time to try and get him up and moving around more before disuse made his muscles cause him even more pain. But the wound would be have to be healed enough that it wasn't a risk of opening back up.
So she leaned down and looked at his wound, gently brushing it with a paw to move some of the fur at the edge and get a feel for how sensitive it was. When he asked what she thought, she stepped back and straightened up.
"Well, first you can call me Eione," she said, "And it's looking good, you might be OK to get up and moving around a bit now. Would you like to go for a walk?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:35 pm
It was still sensitive but he was determined to get back onto his paws now that the pain had become a dull twinge instead of agonising pain. "Eione. Right. You told me that before, right?" He couldn't quite remember but it seemed like an easy enough name to recall now that his head was less fuzzy. "And since my name is such a mouthful, you can shorten it to Dabu or Dabula." He grinned through the pain as he stood. "Whatever you prefer." He'd been called worse.
"Okay, so let's go on this walk before I turn coward and change my mind." He gave another short laugh - followed by a wince - and moved stiffly out of the den. The air felt strangely cool, though perhaps that was because he had spent so much time indoors.
Looking down at the dirt on his forepaws he realised just how much he needed to groom, too. Maybe if he felt well enough when he got back he'd spend some time cleaning himself up and making himself more presentable. "I'll let you lead the way, Doc--uh, Eione." He corrected himself with a grin. "Your pride definitely don't mind me being here, do they?" The last thing he wanted was to be beaten up by a lion who thought him an invader rather than a...well, some poor invalid.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:47 pm
She nodded when he asked if she had told him her name before- she had, but she didn't blame him for calling her doc. He must have a lot of things going through his mind after everything he'd been through, from what happened to where he was and where he would be going..
"Alright, Dabula," she said, smiling at him, "Careful, careful."
Eione moved around to be at his side in case he needed some help staying upright after so long off his feet, when he was ready she gave him a smile and started slowly stepping along to take him for a short walk. Perhaps they would stop by one of the healers to get something for his pain, of course, that could wait until they circled back since they were pretty well surrounded by healers.
"O-of course not," she said, unable to help her stammer at the start, knowing it was tricky topic, "We do plenty of healing here, I think they like having such a simple project to keep me busy."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 3:57 pm
Grateful for her assistance, he managed a few tentative steps before settling into a comfortable walking pace - doing his best not to look too laboured. Once he was pressing on without too much difficulty, he trusted himself to pick up the thread of conversation,
"It seems like I was lucky in that at least. If you're going to get yourself wounded, do it in the vicinity of creatures who know how to help. Anywhere else and I would have been left to lick my own wounds. I'd probably be racked with fever and jabbering delirious sentences at passers by if it wasn't for you." He had unwittingly quickened his pace and drew in a hissing breath when it began to take its toll. He slowed immediately.
"In any case, you and your pride have done me a great courtesy, Eione. I shan't forget it." He grinned. "Even if I was used as a test subject for you to practise on."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:05 pm
"Whoa, slow down, Dab," she said, nearly coming to a stop herself but resuming when he naturally slowed himself down anyway. He was eager to be moving, obviously, a good sign that he was well. She smiled when he presented a potential scenario if he hadn't been taken in and thanked her and the pride.. but she couldn't help but feel he might retract his gratitude once he knew more about them and why he was here. Eione had only recently truly understood what the plague did to them, it was why she had started training as a healer.
"A nice, uncomplicated wound like yours is good practice for an apprentice," she said, smiling and trying to focus on this half of the conversation, "Though I think it helps that I'm the one that found you, and that my mother is the queen."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:15 pm
"Getting a little ahead of myself there." He gave another low chortle and lowered his head, finding the posture easier somehow. Life was certainly going to take an interesting turn for this lion. One that he certainly hadn't expected.
"Well, I'm glad that you found me--what?" He hastily backtracked. Had he just heard her correctly? Daughter of the queen? His eyes widened and he ground to a halt, shifting his weight so that he could block her path and look directly at her. "You're a princess?" He spluttered for a moment and then looked down at his dirtied fur again.
"If that's right, then what are you doing healing outsiders like me? Shouldn't you be doing princessy type things? Like chatting with other royals and being waited on by your loyal subjects?" Perhaps royalty was expected to learn these healing arts? Even still, it seemed a little odd to him.
Urgh...and he'd called her doc.
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:27 pm
"For now," she said, snickering at his spluttering over her bring a princess. She was a princess, she didn't need to mention she had been trained as heiress for some time, and she would be a duchess when she was finally considered an adult. Then he asked why she was working as a healer and she realized she had kind of talked herself into a corner. Her pace slowed down considerably and she glanced around to see how many others were nearby.
"Well, the queen has to be trained in basic healing and while they thought I might be a suitable heir, I was trained, too," she said, almost trying to make it sound like it was a noble, family thing, "Healing is kind of a big deal around here."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:31 pm
His jaw jutted as he gave her the beginnings of a pout as she laughed. He felt like he knew nothing. About her. The pride. The world in general. To realise that there were prides that did things differently from the one he had hailed from...it was a strange concept. He supposed he ought to have realised that, though. Lions were different and they gathered for different reasons.
"Suitable heir? Wait...so, you are going to be queen someday?" Although from the way she had worded that sentence, it sounded like maybe the original plan had been changed. Had she been superseded by another? Was it not her birthright as eldest child? Or...only child, maybe? "So why all the healers? A tradition?" Akin to an adolescent's first true hunt, perhaps?
"Your life is...weird."
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 4:40 pm
Well, they weren't alone, if he put himself or her in any danger when he heard then she was sure someone would intervene. She had to tell him now, if she changed the subject or avoided the question it would be far worse.
"I was heir but we're pretty sure I'm immune so I can't become queen," she explained, carefully keeping the story focused on herself for the start, "The queen has to be diseased, she has to show that she truly understands the suffering of her pride. And that's why we have so many healers, they try to ease the pain and suffering of the infected. Our pride is home to a plague."
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