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"What do you mean we're out of bandages? I asked Peter to bring in a new box over an hour ago!" A young woman glared hotly at the man in front of her. "I'm sorry ma'am, but Peter hasn't been seen since you sent him off." The man winced at the look she gave him. He was just a lowly servant, what did he know about medical needs!
Sighing, she brushed back loose strands of her dark blond hair and then pointed behind the man. "Since Peter has went missing I'll give you the task to retrieve new bandages for us. We have wounded men here! Why is everyone being so incompetent?" Turning quickly, she made her way in the opposite direction of the servant and didn't bother to check on if he had left.
Briskly walking down the long corridor to the south wing, she stopped briefly as she caught her reflection in a window. Tired hazel eyes stared back at her, a mixture of green and brown. Her dark blond hair was tied back to keep the strands away from her patients as she worked. She had recently celebrated her 20th birthday and the memory caused a sarcastic grin to appear on her face. She was young for a healer, causing others to look down on her when they noticed her youth. Any doubts in her skill were quickly dispelled when they saw her in action.
"Miss Algori! Hello! Miss Algori!!" Throwing formalities out the window, a man walked up to the young healer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jin! Stop gawking at yourself and hurry to the southern wing." She jerked away from his touch and felt her cheeks redden. Noticing whom the man was, her embarrassment was quickly replaced by annoyance.
"Peter! Where the hell have you been? We needed those bandages over an hour ago!" She crossed her arms across her chest and waited for his excuse. Peter suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable. "Well I... uh... Christen distracted me. She uh... needed help and being the gentleman I am had to stop what I was doing to uh... help."
Jin's gaze was smoldering as she watched him squirm. "So, you were off fooling around with the kitchen girl while we have dying men in our care. Men who died already from the lack of bandages we needed! That YOU were supposed to get!" Pushing him out of the way, she continued her brisk pace to the southern wing. Peter watched her leave, and before she was out of earshot, "Well then, since you're so high and mighty, maybe explain to your patients that you're late because you were too busy looking at yourself in the window!" A smug look took over his face as he saw her fists clench. Curses could be heard under her breath the rest of the way to the infirmary.
Groans and cries of pain reached her ears before she opened the door. Once inside she busied herself with a wounded archer. The man had lost his right arm and a lot of blood. She could tell he wasn't going to survive as she took a seat next to him. His labored breathing was harsh and the ashen colors of his skin were telltale signs. "Am I gonna make it?" He managed to rasp out to her. "It's highly unlikely. You've lost a lot of blood and that torn off arm doesn't help matters." She told him wryly. His eyes grew moist at the information and weakly reached for her hand.
"Can you tell my family that I love them?" Jin nodded as she held onto his hand. The man started to cough and specks of blood stained her white robes. "My... my son is gonna be five this year." He coughed out proudly. She quietly listened to him ramble about his family until his life finally ebbed away. Gently closing his eyes, she stood up without a word and moved onto the next patient.
Avis, the senior healer, made his over to where Jin was bandaging a young soldier's arm. "Why did you tell that man he was going to die?" He asked curiously. Tying off the bandage, she stood up and faced him, her face blank of any emotion. "People die all the time. Why give him false hope in his last moments only to be disappointed as death takes its hold of him?" The elderly man shook his head. "That last shred of hope is something they can hold onto. Leaving a man to die in despair is a cruel wish." Moving away from the patient, she made her way past Avis. "I don't plan to lie to the people I take care of. In the end you can only do so much and when your skills are not enough to overcome death... that false hope crashes down on you as well." The ederly man frowned as he left Jin to care for another soldier.
Blood saturated his clothing in several areas, forcing her to gently peel it off. "Nice claw marks you have there. By any chance did you forget to use your shield?" The soldier glared up at her. "What do you know of battle? I fought hard and had my shield knocked away from me early on." Jin slowly began to clean the claw marks on his leg with alcohol. She ignored the sharp intake of air as the soldier felt the painful burning sensation. "Be careful woman! I didn't survive only to have you kill me in here!" The young healer began wrapping a bandage around the soldier's leg wound, and tied the ends off tightly causing him to cry out in pain. Smiling sweetly in responce to his murderous glare, she continued on to the next wounded guard.
[ 08-10-2006, 04:18 AM: Message edited by: Deiter Leafblade ]
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