Gardening Accident

[Adin nó Alyssum]

If I ever cursed, this would be an appropriate time. I was walking into a clinic, hoping the chirgeon had a few minutes to extract a large sliver of wood embedded in my hand. I spoke with the receptionist briefly, holding up my handkerchief adorned hand, and was asked to wait in one of the examination rooms.

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

That annoying Madame Pantoine (why in the seven hells did she feel the need to book an appointment every Wednesday, only to show up every other week?) had, once again, not come. Grumbling to myself, I stepped out, intent to giving Joelle an earful about allowing this booking, but she cut me off, indicating that a patient had come in and was sitting in the examination room.

I didn't wait any longer and came in. He wasn't very old, younger than me, I wagered, and seeing as his hand was bleeding, I didn't extend mine in greeting. "I am Siegfried de Strasbourg," I told him as I closed the door.

I moved by him, and motioned for him to show me his hand with an extended palm.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"Adin nó Alyssum," I replied. He moved confidently, and it would have put me at ease if the pain hadn't made me the opposite.

"Thank you for seeing me," I added, unwrapping my hand carefully and giving him a look. It felt like half the shovel handle was buried in my limb.

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

"Don't mention it," I replied, curtly, but not without warmth. He was circumspectly polite, and reminded me a little of my friend Caine for it. That made me just a little more gentle.

As he unwrapped his hand, I furrowed my brows, examining it, but I motioned for him to stop. "Let me help you," I said soothingly, but uncompromisingly. If the blood had had a chance to dry in the wound, it would be more painful - it was best I do it myself.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I studied him from beneath my lashes. Handsome enough, though in the rough cut way of the Skaldi. No, it was the vibe he sent out. Like he didn't want to risk himself, but couldn't stop himself from caring.

Well, that wasn't familiar at all.

I let him finish unwrapping the wound, wincing as it pulled at the drying blood. "I was helping my parents out in the garden, and the shovel caught on some roots. The handle just shattered."

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

I'd been focusing on the task, examining his hand as I unwrapped it. When he winced, I stopped, and pulling out a pair of scissors, I said, "I'm sorry, I'll have to cut it. Er. Your handkerchief, not the hand," I added clumsily.

Later, I would laugh at myself for such an awkward wording. But just now, I didn't want to laugh because it would make the work more painful for my patient, so I just grinned. As I spoke, I gathered the little pincers that I would need to remove the splinters and the dried threads. I didn't worry overmuch on the tools - everything was constantly boiled to sterility.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I was silent as he worked, though I had returned his grin with a tentative smile. He was obviously an educated man, but he didn't yet have the polish nobility granted you. I was glad. Gave me faith he had earned his position.

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

Deftly, delicately, I cut the fabric was much as I could, and set myself to removing the shreds of fabric from the open wound with delicacy. After a while, the flesh was visible, and as I set to remove the splinters, I said, quietly, not looking up, "Your cut is not very deep, and still quite fresh. You are lucky, Adin no Alyssum. It will not fester, and your hand will not have anything more dire than a small scar, barely visible once it heals."

He was remarkably calm. That reminded me of the young Eglantine dancer who had come in with a sprained ankle. She was very worried about whether she could keep performing her art. If he entertained such concerns, he certainly didn't express them at all.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

A small sigh of relief escaped my lips at his words. "How long do you think it'll take before it heals?" I asked, consciously keeping my voice steady. It was easier to deal with pain if you had your breathing under control.

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

His self control was commendable. I was done removing the foreign bodies from the cut, and for a moment, I entertained the idea of stitching it. It was one of those borderline cases, where stitching was no more than an option, really.

"It all depends on your decision," I replied thoughtfully. "I can sow it up, if you will. In this case, it will heal faster, but you will have more pain now. Or, I can apply the salve, and bandage you up, in which case it will take not one, but two weeks. Either way, it will heal, I think, and you would need to come back next week to remove the stitches, or to let me control the wound."

I raised my head, and looked at him in earnest. He needed to pick his option.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I took in a deep breath. I wasn't going to relish it, but I had to practical. "Stitch it then. But..." I hesitated for a moment, then the words rushed out. "Could you talk to me when you do?" I flushed, afraid he would think it childish.

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

"As long as you don't ask me to sing," I replied with a grin. I moved a moment, and brought back a sterile stick. "If you need it, it's there," I said. Not knowing if he even knew what for, I added, "to protect your teeth, Adin."

I started talking, as I prepared the yarn and needle. "So what shall I talk to you about, Adin?" It was very thin yarn, and a very thin needle. I used those to ensure there was as little scarring as possible - for adepts, it mattered a great deal.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"I'm afraid I don't know anything about you Docteur," I replied, relieved he hadn't even blinked at the request but unable to keep my eyes off his movements. "Whatever you'd like to talk about."

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

I smiled, and started to work, my eyes on the wound, the needle, and the delicate thread. "I don't know anything about you either, Adin no Alyssum." I started to stitch, the very fist one as I spoke. He didn't need that many, but I couldn't go too fast either - skin is a delicate material.

I knew soon, he may not be able to talk, but I had to give him a chance for distraction. "Tell me your happiest thought, then I shall tell you mine," I said as the needle went in for the first stitching.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I flushed, the thought enough to distract me from anything. "I... well... there's this woman." The memory replayed in my mind, the first time I had told Alli that I loved her. "And, well, she's simply amazing."

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

I smiled. I couldn't see his face, focused as I was on the task, but I was glad, because he didn't wince at all for the first step of it. "A woman, is it?" I asked as my needle worked through. I'd toyed with the thought of making him drink - sometimes, it was necessary, though I always gave the patient a chance to go without. The quantity of alcohol required to make them numb to pain was great enough, that it became a hazard in it self.

Nevertheless, the uisghe was there in the cupboard if he needed it. "Strange that women have such an effect on us. Mine does too, for that matter." The needle pulled out on the other side, slowly. It was purposeful - the last thing I wanted to do was break more skin. "I take it she loves you in return, then?" I asked quietly. If that was what he needed, I'd keep him on the matter of love affairs. For once, I wasn't the one batting other people's ears about Rae. It was a nice change.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"Aye," I replied with a happy smile, which faded as the pain reasserted itself. It burned where he was pulling the thread through. "But do you have those moments when you don't understand them at all?"

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

"Do I ever," I replied with a sigh. His tone changed as he spoke, and I knew pain had gone through his loved-up daze. "Do you need a drink?" I asked quietly as I pulled out the thread and knotted the first stitch. With a small scissor, I cut the thread. I paused, and looked at him. It was likely burning, but it would hurt more on the next one.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"If it'll help," I replied, trying not to think on the thread in my skin. "What's your happiest thought?"

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

"I have several," I said as I put his hand on the side table. "Please don't move," I added as I stood to get the uisghe. I poured him a healthy cup of the Alban liquor, and came back, still talking. I deposited the cup on the side-table next to him.

"I'm not sure which is the happiest - the memory of the day she said she loved me, or the day she accepted to marry me," I said as I sat down. "I have a foster-son. He is always my happy thought," I added as I delicately took his hand back to prepare the next stitch. "I suggest you down that," I added, pointing to the cup of spirit.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I followed his directions, and coughed from the potency of the liquor. "Distracting me from one burn with another?" I managed with a little teasing smile. "How old is your son?"

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

Inwardly, I shook my head, but I said no more than a reply I hoped was witty. "What ever works," I replied as I settled again.

I set to making the next stitch, my needle breaking into his delicate skin. "He is five years of age, and an angelic terror," I told him as I worked the fine yarn in.

"He gets along wonderfully with my betrothed. Calls her Princess," I said, my voice turning tender. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm the only adult, but in truth, she'll make a wonderful mother."

The needle peeked on the other side. I was just about to knot it and cut, and I stole a look at my patient to see how he was faring.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

"I remember when my sister was five. Angelic terror seems a good way of describing it." I agreed, then concentrated for a minute on keeping my breathing even. "How many more stitches?" I asked, not looking down at my hand.

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

I gave him a reassuring smile, and tied the knot. "Only another two," I said as I set out the next one. "We're half-way there. But tell me about your sister," I added as the point pierced yet again to stitch. "I never had any siblings, so I don't know what it is to grow up with one," I explained as the needle peeked out.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

I had a goal now. Only two more, only two more. It'll be fine, and you'll be fully operational in a week. "She's at Balm now, but when we were both at home, she would never shut up. Used to drive me crazy. I love her to bits, but we never were very compatible."

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

As he spoke, the thread came out on the other side. I started tying the knot, and once I'd done, I gave him a doubtful look. "You're not so quiet yourself," I teased. "But maybe it has to do with the situation, yes?" A snip of the scissors, and the thread was cut, and a new needling was prepared.

"This is the last one," I said with a smile. "You're a trooper, really. So tell me, what were you planting when you had this accident?" As I'd asked the question, I started the last stitch. Talking did help - kept the mind off of it, at least enough to give him control. I respected that.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

He was right. It had everything to do with the situation.

"The end result will be a retaining wall. I was clearing the space for the bricks. My mother has been trying to plant herbs, but the soil didn't drain well enough on its own." I gritted my teeth as the last stitch came through the other side, all of the points burning from the thread thrust through them.

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

"A common task," I noted as the thread when out the other side. "I plant herbs as well," I said with a grin as I tied the last knot with surprising delicacy, considering the size of my hands. "Although my intended is the one with the green thumb. Give her a parched piece of land, and she'll make it green in a jiffy." I reached for the scissor. The yarn was cut, and I smiled. "There, you're done," I said. "Congratulations, Adin. You did it."

I retrieved the tools and put them in another bin, to be sterilized over. Deftly, I picked the salve, and came back, opening the cup. "This won't sting, but it will help with the healing," I explained as I dabbed the healing ointment on the stitchings.

[Adin nó Alyssum]

It was still hurting enough that I didn't feel very proud, though I smiled in thanks and then nodded my understanding. "Any thoughts on tonight? Should I go home and get quietly drunk?"

[Siegfried de Strasbourg(D)]

"It depends what kind of a drunk you are," I replied as I unrolled a strip of gauze. Gently, I too his hand and wrapped the palm in it. "If you want to, and you know you won't move too much, then I'd agree. But never forget that too much ethyl will affect your bilious humor, not to mention the ensuing migraines," I said as I finished with the dressing.

"In the morning, you can remove the bandage, and attempt to go about your day," I added as I finished with it. "In two days, already, you'll find it has improved drastically. Just... don't go about doing too much manual exertions until your are entirely healed."