To Nede

Continued from "Summoning Camile."

He had left the place of ceremony, heading south-west as he carried Camile in his arms. From a short distance, he followed the river downward expecting to find a bridge soon so he may cross easily without too much disturbance over Camile.

Karasu walked along the banks of the river idly, her eyes focused on a hair ribbon that was dangling in front of her, playing in the wind. She smiled as the delicate gold threads interwoven in the fabric shown coruscate against the sunlight which shone brightly this day. Oblivious to most everything around her other than the water, she walked until something 'cross the way caught her attention. Stopping, her hand moving to protect her eyes from the sun, she was finally able to make out a man carrying something in his arms. It wasn’t until she saw a blood-streaked arm that hung limply from a cloak did she realize the leavity of the situation. She points in the area he was already walking and begins that way also, approaching a small bridge. She runs ahead, reaching the bridge ahead of him. Never been a person of many words, she simply states.

"You must come with me."

With that said, she turned on her heel and moved swiftly towards the doctor's office behind the tea shop.

It was a bit random, slightly out of nowhere, and.. unwanted? But, looking down to the white cloak beginning to soak red with blood said otherwise. He had no real choice, she gave the feeling that she knew where she was going already and, with her leading, so did he.

"I'll follow you."

He repositioned Camile into a better grip, his arms enduring the strain quite easily, and walked closely behind the woman into Nede.

She walks briskly, glancing behind her every now and again to make sure he followed. Upon passing the front of the tea shop, she slows. She turns, guiding him to the alley that leads to the side door. Laying her hand on the rough-hewn door, she slightly bows her head. After a moment of peace, she slaps the door sharply three times. As the man drew the door open and saw who it was, he only stood staring while his mother wailed almost unintelligible insults at her son, warning him not to let Karasu in. Again, she glances at this man holding this waning woman and sighs as she waits patiently for the proprietor back away, allowing her access to the back room.

"There is a bed just there."

After he walks into the room completely, she closes the door firmly shut behind her, drawing the latch. There was something strange about this man...and what was with this woman he carried. Karasu has a very good sense about things and about people's energy and one thing she knew for sure, something was very wrong here.

He kept his mouth shut when they reached the back alley and the screaming filtered out the door. Instead of stretching his neck around to look what screamed at either him or one of them he rather peeked down to Camile, bending his head down as hushed whispers filled only her ears.

"Soon, Camile. It will all be over soon enough."

He passed the doorframe, when room was given, and moved quickly to the deignated bed to lay her body over the spread. He kneeled beside her, for a moment, letting not one touch her. His hand reached to her forehead, pressing the back of his hand gently against it. A sigh fell from his lips, shaking his head before standing and turning to them.

"Please, do your best to help her. I will pay, no matter the bill."

Karasu watched him as he went through his motions, listened to the words he had to say with an apparent calm detachment. Once he moves away, she steps in and kneels next to the woman. She spoke -- one word -- and he would have sworn it was the unconscious woman's name, a name she could not know. When entering the shop, there was a distant rumble which bespoke of rain hours away but upon opening her eyes, she could smell rain eminent upon the air; a realization which made her smile. Unspeaking, she stands and makes her way to the sink and washes her hands.

Beginning her physical assessment of the woman, she slid her fingers into the lank, greasy hair, slowly feeling around on his scalp until she was satisfied there was on head injury. As she did the examination, she looked closely at the woman's face and it was obvious she hadn't been taken well care of. As her eyes took in her features, she also noted the tattoo on the left side of her face and she thought "Very strange indeed." The whole of this situation smacked of oddities but it wasn't her place to question. She learned long ago that her only business was to treat the patient's physical wounds. As far as what else was wrong with this woman, that was up to herself to fix.

Her hand moves down the body to the oddly distended, soft abdomen which belied the emaciated features then she found the source of her blood loss. She realized this woman had just recently given birth and was still losing large amounts of blood through a jagged tear. Karasu, straighted her back and turned to face the man who stood quietly.

"I'm afraid I must ask you to leave."

A hand lifted to scratch the back of his neck, considering doing just as she said. Where would he go? When would he come back? Would he come back? Just being here in this situation made him feel awkward. He didn't fit in.

Instead of questioning, another look toward Camile told him not to get in their way.

"Send word."

He turned around and walked out the door he came in, shutting it behind him.

She wasn't sure exactly how she would get word to him but he was very unique in appearance, especially given that this area was predominantly oriental. People would talk, people would talk to Taru. If Karasu wanted to know anything that happened in the community, she always went to Taru who, always, told her more than she needed or wanted to know.

"I will send word. I can tell you now though. She will be here for a while. She will need surgery but it isn't her wounds I am so worried about. She looks as though she has been neglected for sometime and her lack of nutrition will cause her healing to crawl. Once I am done with her, I will have her moved to a room upstairs."

Karasu watches as the man quietly left and she let out a slow sigh once the door clicked shut. There was much more wrong with this woman Camile than loss of blood, she was damaged...inside and out. If she had no will to live then any actions Karasu might take will be for naught.

After the commotion was over, Noah snuck into the doctor's place. He was sure that around this time, Karasu would be away, for lunch. He sure didn't want Karasu to catch him here... Noah remembered how bold she was, and her needles, and a part of him hesitated. It'd be pretty embaressing to wake up later, with Karasu standing over him with a needle.. It'd be very embaressing, indeed.

Noah had come to see the woman behind the curtains. He had put Caste to the inn, with Elrith to guard over her. He couldn't resist his own desires to come back to this place, no matter the risk it would put him in. Creeping through the door, he closed it soon afterwards. He reached the curtains, and extended an appendage.. Fingers reaching out, curling around to grasp the curtains; he noticed that his hands were shaking, and then Noah pulled it aside..

Camile lay upon the bed, covered in a thick blanket. The only part of her that showed was from her shoulders up and her emaciated arms resting at her sides atop the covers. The reason she was resting and not in surgery at the moment was that her volume was too low...dangerously low and needed to be replenished. There were bottles on a pole with sinuous milky-white tubes running from them and into Camile's body. Her parched lips were slightly parted and her breath passed so lightly over them, you wouldn't even thought she was breathing.

Even in her state, Camile knew something was wrong. She tried to fight from within herself but she felt as if she was drowning in a pit of tar. All she could think about was her baby and she knew he was gone. She could no longer feel him inside her.

Slowly, a tear formed and slipped from the corner of her eye, seeking haven in the dull, greasy strands of hair at her temple.

Noah turned and grabbed the pitiful chair that Karasu had pointed out to him the other day. Putting it next to where the woman was, he sat. Noticing her tear, his digits reached out. The tip of his index finger brushed away the tear, and his other fingers would touch her cheekbone, briefly. She is alive, that is for sure. But why is she crying? He has never seen people cry in their sleep before...this is rather strange to him.

Noah whispered softly, more to himself than to anyone, though if she was awake, she would hear, "Who are you?" He wanted to know so badly. It was as if her answer alone could change who he was as a person, and the beliefs he held onto for dear life. Who is she, and why does she have such power over him?

Throughout his life, she had been the guardian, the angel, in his dreams. She protected him when his reality was in turmoil. She was his other, more pleasant reality. Would she know him? Maybe she dreamt of him, too? Whether she knew it or not, she helped him so much. Without her, Noah would not be today. How could he ever repay her now?

"I am Noah." He knew not why he said that. Maybe she would hear him, and wake up to tell him everything? He hoped, but then he realized, too much hope is often worse than never having hoped at all.

There was a sensation, her brain couldn't register it.. couldn't tell if it was a touch or a sound. Whatever it was, it caused her breath to catch in her throat for a while and she stopped breathing. Once that happened, she felt different, like she was moving away. In her mind, she fought furiously, screaming and kicking but in the outside world, her fingers worked weakly at the covers; an almost imperceptible movement. What seemed like an eternity, she fought and after finally letting out one last scream deep down inside her, she sucked in a weak breath. It was just enough to keep her here.

She tried to concentrate. Focus. Focus. Focus on things that she knew for sure, things she could remember. How did she get to this dark place? She remembers one man in the end. He said he name was Lance. The first time she saw him, she had her baby. The second time she saw him, she didn't. She had questions that needed to be answered and she would rather spend her soul to have an extra day on earth than she would to go to heaven now.

Noah's orbs went wide when the woman's fingers worked at the covers weakly. His hand would snap out almost in a sort of reflex reaction, snatching her hand and lifting it gently. He pressed her fingers against his neck, letting her feel the slight warmth there, and the pulse of his heartbeat...if she could. He hoped she could.

"Wake up. Wake up." He was muttering, hoping desparately that she'd hear him. Noah bent some, leaning furthermore in. His fingers would thread with hers, squeezing lightly. Rarely had he shown such affection for anyone ...if it could be meant as affection. He didn't really know for sure what affection was. Noah was never taught to love. He never loved before, period. Does he love her? And for what reason, if he does?

Noah stared at her, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. Would she wake up? Maybe she could fight it. "Fight it...for me." He whispered this into her ear. For him? Who was he to her, that she would fight for him? How foolish of him to have said that. But as of right now, logic escaped his grasp.

She was sure she felt something then, her hand being lifted and she thought she might be leaving again. Wanting to fight against it but too weak to do so, the tears began to flow more freely from her eyes. Beneath her hand, she felt a pulse and she imagined her hand resting on her gravid belly, feeling that heartbeat of her child. Her lips moved slightly and inside her head she heard his words clearly.

"Come back to me"

She couldn't leave. Not now. Not without answers.

She was crying. Noah was silent, obviously shocked and unsure of what to say. All his sharp, rude remarks were gone. It was as if the barrier he created for himself from others was stripped away, leaving him bare, and fragile. Noah hurt, for her.

He was watching her intently, noticing the movement of her lips. His words must be getting through! He should continue.

"You're the first I truly felt safe around. Don't leave... I have to know." He too, needed answers. Squeezing her hand, Noah reached out with his other hand; digits stretching out, he tucked a strand of her greasy brown hair behind her ear. His index finger rested there, tracing along the delicate shape of the woman's ear.

"Don't leave."

For a moment, Camile is back there again. It is dark there. The flame of the candle stands still in the air. But she was not alone. Her baby was there, still inside her, still moving. She couldn't stop crying for some reason. Laws were broken and perhaps she wasn't meant to live. Perhaps it was a sin she was brought back. And now there is nothing here save this one body, and it is strange to see only two legs stretched on the ground, and on the wall before me, just the shadow of our one head.

"I feel you here with me."

Her breath softly stirs the flame of the candle and her eyes become dim. Her pale arm stretches out on the table as her weary head rests against. Her own ear can hear the weak brachial pulse in her inner arm. Tears slowly cease and the darkness takes her once again.

Noah frowned. Maybe he should come back another time. Perhaps by then, there would be more of a reaction. And how long has he been here anyways? What if that mean lady comes back? Or what if Caste gets in trouble? He glanced around. Stupid doctor. Why didn't they build a window in here? Noah would much rather leap out a window and break his leg or something, than to face that brutal woman again. The thought of her almost made him twitch.

Noah stood and picked up the chair, putting it back near the book-shelf. At least he's neat. Leaping towards the door, he reached out to grasp the handle. With a relieved sigh,he tugged, and the door swung open for him.

Karasu was pulled forward by the force in which the boy snatched the door open. Her face registered shock when she saw him and she stuttered,

"What the-- How did you ...Why are you here? Is the doctor back? Is that girl back?"

She tried to peer over his shoulder to see for herself if anyone was there. Moving to the side to slip past him, she leaves the door wide open. The only thing she noticed amiss was a slight disarray of the curtain that hung around the woman. She was frozen for a moment then turned on her heel, yelling,

"Why are you here?"

...Noah bolted. Yes, he leapt out the door, and jerked it closed behind him. The force of which he pulled it caused the door knob to be jerked out of the space it was fitted in. Hopefully, Karasu trying to open the door would cause her to pause some. Noah didn't look back, and just kept running. Running and running, for his life...

Maybe he should find Caste and get the others to go before that crazy lady found them. If she did ... Noah shuddered inwardly. Fortunately, he escaped her.

It was finally quiet. It was finally time. Camile had been moved to one of the tables for her surgery. Karasu takes and exhales a slow breath after flipping on the water. While waiting for the water to get warm, she pushes her sleeves back and ties them with ribbons. After making sure that her ribbon edges were all tucked in, she poured a very pungent, dark liquid over her hands and scrubbed them vigorously. Obtaining a small brush from a shelf, she scrubs under her fingernails. She was satisfied she was scrubbed and polished, she grabbed a small, clean towel from a rack and dried her hands. The room they were in was snug, if not exactly cramped. Two narrow tables took up most of the room with just enough walking distance between them for someone to work.

One table held Camile, the other had bowl the color of silver but were covered with pristine white cloths. She begins to pull these away one by one, piling them at the corner of the table. One could see various instruments in some of the trays, sharp objects, odd looking objects. Her instruments, most hand picked by her while overseas, float in a cauldron of boiling water slung over a small fire. It wasn’t long before a strong smell of burning cloves emanated the room. The matron of the house had returned and insisted on smoking the small room, holding fast to superstition that the aroma will ward off evil spirits who could steal a sleeping man’s soul. It didn’t help either that the woman though Karasu to be a witch. She had learned though, through a recent thesis sent to her, that disease may carry in the invisible ether that fills the air. Because of this hypothesis, she tolerated the bunches of smoldering herbs that make the air nearly unbreatheable.

She comes and lays one hand gently on Camile's shoulder while the other reaches for a small crystal bottle containing an elixir of pure alcohol mixed with thorn apple and tinctured with laburnum, a concoction she invented with the help of an old sage. She pours a few drops onto a clean, sterile cloth and places it over the woman’s nose and mouth. Even though Camile was basically unconscious, she could feel a tension that kept her body slightly taut. After a few moments, she feels the woman’s shoulder relax under her touch, her jaw going slack.

A true, rare smile then graced her lips once his entire body became lax. An incantation flowed from her lips and immediately her true nature became apparent. The echo of her words began to fly dizzily around the small, cramped room like a cloud of swarming butterflies, filling the room like a hailstorm of fluttering jewels to settle upon her trembling lips and the eyelids of the unconscious man. It was magic rooted in the ethics of living, something base and natural but gravely misunderstood, not only did she savor this link to that which was ancient but also one to her mother and a family she never knew; something that couldn’t be hinted at in her dark, almond-shaped eyes.

She then starts the meticulous task of repairing Camile. She took great pains to make sure every minute nerve fiber and muscle were reapproximated perfectly. She never saw the baby and had no idea to the size but knowing Camile's condition, it didn't have to be overly large. The baby had taken all that it needed and left not much for the woman. Placing a clean speculum, and drawing the vulva open, she pauses an takes a moment, saying a few words of protection, then takes a hand full of gauze, sticking it inside her vagina. After a few moments, she removes it and is pleased to see that the lochia was diminished and the majority of bleeding had been from the tear and not from her womb.

After she had cleaned up the mess she had made and thrown all the lap towels into the proper recepticle, she cleaned her hands she whispered "Perhaps this woman can be saved." She made arrangements for the woman to be moved to a room upstairs. She wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. Then, Karasu left out the door and made her way down the street. She was hungry again and wanted some red bean ice cream.