Who

Kyara, Neve

What

Kyara suffers an injury that affects both work and leisure time. Neve does her best to help.

Description of finger injury

When

It is afternoon of the first day of the eighth month of the fourth turn of the 12th pass. It is the thirty-first day of Summer and 110 degrees. Sand coats everything.

Where

Infirmary, Igen Weyr

OOC Date 14 Apr 2015 04:00

 

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"I've always worried about something like this…"


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Infirmary

From the astringent smell of redwort, to the gleam of counter and cabinet, this place positively defines the concept of antiseptic cleanliness. Despite the yawning exit to the Dragonhealer Courtyard, the floors remain scrupulously swept of sand and particulate matter. Back behind the counter where the healers usually are, are shelves full of bottles and jars, as well as cupboards hiding away more delicate items that shouldn't be exposed to too much sand. Beyond the counter, there is the Desk, where patients are checked in and taken to one of the examination areas by a healer. The windows are usually kept open for the flow of air, but there is both shutters to shut out dust storms, and curtains for other occasions.


Kyara isn't one to make a scene - unless it's for the sake of teaching weyrlings a lesson. Angry or excited, overt reactions displaying the fact are not really in her repertoire. The same goes for when she's injured, though the temptation is much stronger then. So it is that when she wanders into the infirmary this hot afternoon, she could just be coming by for a restock of numbweed or tea. Overbright amber eyes cast around slowly from a blanched, tight-lipped expression - the first clue that not all may be well. The second might be the hand held tight to her chest, cradled by the other. But she's silent, unobtrusive, off to the side…but distinctly uncomfortable compared to previous visits.

Fortunately for the greenrider- or unfortunately, depending on her view of healers- there is a sixth sense that those in the medical profession develop. One glance, and they are eerily aware that all is not well. It has a great deal to do with the way a person is carrying themselves and Kyara certainly shows that characteristic stiffness. The infirmary is quiet this afternoon, after a morning rush involving a barrel being raised from cold storage that tumbled back down the stairs and exploded on impact with a step. Only one cot seems occupied, its curtains drawn, so the attending journeyman is at loose ends- or, more accurately, spending this rare free time fighting a losing battle with sand. It's everywhere, on everything, and yet as soon as Neve lifts honeyed eyes to that flicker of movement, she drops her willow-branch broom and hurries over with hands extended. Does she mean to support the other woman to a stool? It seems likely. "Oh goodness, what happened here, ma'am? Have a seat, please."

The moment Kyara has to open her mouth to answer, the support Neve offers will be partially taken advantage of despite the greenrider's determination to make it to a seat under her own power. She's in far more pain than she wants to admit, the fact manifesting as the lack of color in her face and a clenched jaw rather than as verbal expresion. She doesn't want to talk, but it's preferable to the alternative. "I got…a bad grip on a carry strap," she manages, her tone low and strained. "Heavy load. Wasn't warned before it got set down." And the result? Reluctantly pulling her good hand away, she allows Neve to see her left hand, the third and fourth fingers of which sit at a distinctly wrong angle - not broken, but dislocated at the base joints. She keeps her head turned and injured hand against her chest, not wanting to even glimpse it. She's seen worse, of course. But there's something much more disturbing about being actually attached to the injury herself.

That is a sentiment that the healer well understands. Neve is a sturdy little thing when it's called for, and then she is a sympathetic little thing as fingers thrust askew are studied. No touching, not just yet. Visual assessment only for now until she's certain Kyara is settled and not about to keel over. Only then does she gently slip her hand beneath the supported arm, lending additional support as she carefully checks each fingertip for feeling and circulation. "The person who didn't warn you owes you a hefty apology. They've been dislocated, ma'am. I can set them easily but first I should give you a little fellis. Just enough to take the edge off, and help you settle. You're in shock, I wouldn't wonder, walking over here in this heat. Would you take a little fellis syrup?" She glances up to study the other woman's face- registering mood as well as general color. "Some riders prefer to avoid it but, ah. I recommend it. In cases such as these."

"Shock…" Kyara echoes, her eyes widening a fraction as Neve tests her fingertips. "Am I?" She knows how it works on a purely academic level, so can only question from that. The fact that she is simply doesn't occur to her. "They…tingle a little," she notes, belatedly registering the suggestion of fellis and finally turning her eyes to meet the Healer's warily. Normally she'd put up a bit of protest, but right now she just wants the sharding pain to stop. "Fellis." Focus. "Alright." A slow nod, and she looks slightly away again, her eyes squeezing shut. "Will I be able to use them like I always have, once you reset them?" she asks quietly, an unvoiced fear underlying her tone.

"Yes ma'am. Your body has received a shock. You'll feel a little unsteady? Possibly sick to your stomach, and shaky? That's its way of telling you that you need to be at rest until it recovers its equilibrium. Our bodies know us better than we know ourselves, sometimes." Neve couples this with a smile meant to reassure. "I'll be just one moment to gather everything." Fortunately she needn't go far- there's a rolling cart one exam nook over, which is fetched with a minimum of fuss or time spent away. First order of business is filling a small spoon with a dose of fellis syrup, measuring it carefully by sight before angling the tip of the spoon towards Kyara's lips. "They'll need to be splinted, and you'll need to perform strengthening exercises once the swelling has gone down. It can take weeks to months, depending on how badly the ligaments have been stressed." She pauses. There is some hesitation in voicing what she has to say next, but…honesty is always the best policy? "If there is nerve damage, we'll have to take it a little while at a time. But the tingling might be from the shock, ma'am. Sip slowly, this should work in just a moment or two…"

Kyara does as she's told, sipping at the fellis carefully but almost automatically. Not a yes, not a no, just something that could be construed as a maybe. She has to force her thoughts off the decidedly negative track they're trying to follow, dragging them back toward reason and hope but feel as thought she's trying to drag a sleeping dragon by the tail in order to do so. Everything is sluggish, off-kilter… So yes, shock. She comprehends now. Once dosed, she scowls abruptly down at her fingers, unable to hold onto the sight of what's out of place for more than a moment before dizziness threatens to creep up and forces her to look away. "It'd better just be the shock," she mutters, her voice thickening with an upwelling of emotion that she stubbornly swallows back down as her good hand lifts to her eyes, hiding them beneath her palm. "Will I be able to go between?" she asks, trying to divert herself. "The skin isn't broken…"

"Considering that you walked here, in this heat, while suffering multiple dislocations…I would tend towards assuming shock first. You're clearly very strong but there are limits to human endurance. But we'll see, once the pain settles and I'm able to handle the fingers." Neve, without thinking about it, slides her arm across the back of Kyara's shoulders- steadiness offered not just against the dizzy, but also for the emotion aseen in that brief flash. "I wouldn't recommend Between for at least a day or two. The cold affects the joints, and these will be sore for some time. But after that, so long as you limit gripping- which the splints will ensure in any case- you can go Between, or ride as needed. You really are bearing up well. I know it's the worst possible site for an injury, for a rider. So much is required of your hands. How is your dragon? Ah…you may wish to warn them, of the fellis you've just taken. As it takes effect. If there's, ah. A close bond."

A day or two. It's a better answer than she was expecting. Kyara is mildly surprised at the arm across her shoulders, but grateful, allowing herself a shaky sigh as she lowers the hand from her eyes. "She knows," is said about Liareth with a slow blink, eyes flickering in and out of focus for a moment as a brief exchange is had. "I…didn't walk as far as you might think," she adds after another deep breath. "Just…further than I should have, probably." She quiets for a long moment, concentrating on her breathing, though her brows knit after a few breaths. "Not just for a rider," she murmurs. "For a Harper. I know I'm not that anymore, but…I still play sometimes. I've always worried about something like this…" Another clench of her jaw, and she silences for another small stretch. "It doesn't hurt as much now."

Neve does not stint on the support. She even throws in a careful shoulder-pat for free. "That you can recognize that now is a good sign," she murmurs, on the subject of distance walked. It must also be a good sign that there's a note of good humor in the quiet tone she uses- at least until Kyara speaks of the other implication of a hand injury. But that is the healer's cue and she steps aside to begin arranging strips of linen and sticks cut to size for splints on the cart. "In that case, ma'am, I will do everything in my power to ensure that your hand is in good working order as soon as possible. That will require diligent attention to my instructions, of course, but yours are not the first fingers I've splinted and my success rate is extremely high. Now, I'm going to have to manipulate these to get a sense for how deep the damage goes, then set them. There will be pressure, perhaps some pain. But I promise you, I will go as quickly as I can, and afterward, your hand will look like a hand again. Would you like to lie down while I do this? To save your poor head the strain."

It's good to know what to expect, but Kyara still flinches at the mention of all that must be done. At the offer to lie down, the greenrider nods readily, looking Neve full in the eyes for once. Trusting. Not only does she have to, she's encouraged by the Healer's assurances. "May I…have something to bite?" she asks, grimacing a little. "Just in case." She's been wanting to bite something the entire time, if she's honest. Whether it's granted her or not, she will quite willingly go to lie down, settling in for whatever comes and trying not to tense herself into one gigantic knot in the process. Perhaps she'll fall asleep soon. Then she won't have to think about it for a while, blank and oblivious. Maybe it'll turn out to be a bad dream. But she knows better.

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