Wounded

Noah had Caste in his arms, running into the town of Nede. It was still morning, and he saw the eyes of the inhabitants turn to them. Noah didn't care. He didn't have time for this. Running through the town as fast as he possibly could, he realized that once in his life, he was trying to save someone. Having slaughtered so many and rescued so few, this was quite an event for him.

Alas, he reached the door of the doctor. Glancing down at Caste, Noah realized that his shirt too, was stained by a crimson hue. He didn't care. He kicked his heel at the door, not even minding that it was rather rude and impolite, "I need a doctor!" He knew then that he was in panic. He stopped for a moment, collecting himself. After his emotions were under better control, Noah called out in a softer voice, "Someone's wounded, doctor."

Caste finally opened her eyes, when they arrived at the door which Noah was impatiently kicking. When he stopped and asked in a calmer voice for a doctor, Caste laughed. "That's politer way of asking...." Caste said softly, her eyes flicking up to looking into his. She looked at the door, and stiffened. It hadn't hit her intil now. Doctor? Caste gave Noah a sickened look, and started to try to scramble out of his arms, momentarily igorning the protesting pain pulsing through her arm.

She heard the ruckus outside and closed the curtain around her present patient. After neither the doctor nor is his mother appeared, Karasu went and opened the door. She frowns slightly and steps back, pointing towards the table near the center of the room.

"There." She says simply and she moves nonchalantly to wash her hands. She didn't ask any questions, just simply prepared herself.

Noah stepped into the room, and carefully placed Caste on the table. He turned to eye the lady who opened the door for him. Her nonchalent attitude assisted in worsening his bad mood. He stepped aside and folded his arms across his chest, thus causing the blood on his shirt to press against his chest, not that he paid attention to such.

"She got pierced on the shoulder with a spear." His voice was rough, almost a monotone. Noah lacked skills in conversing with strangers, and the current circumstances made it all the more difficult for him. Sizing the lady up, a part of him wondered, why can't the doctor be a male? He detested most women with a passion. He had almost no doubts that this would end up the same.

Caste's eyes bluged, as they focused on the doctor. She cringed, and hide her face in the crook of Noah's arm. "Get me out of here!" She pleaded with him. When he laid her on the table, she quickly sat up and glanced around. Her wounded arm hung down at her side, but her other arm was cluthcing her knees to her chest. She looked at the door, juding the distance. If she could make it out before Noah caught it, maybe she could fight her way from being drug back inside. Her eyes brushed over his form beside her then, at the door, her mind calculating.

She was doing something as her back was to them and she took in a deep breath. It was strange she was in the profession she was in because she really despised people, especially noisy ones. She turns and walked towards the couple, her hand conveniently hiding something. She looked into the face of the boy and brought her hand up to table level. The girl was in perfect position with her leg drawn up as she was and as soon as she looked towards the door, Karasu stabbed her in the thigh with the needle, pressing the plunger down to empty the medicine into the muscle.

The needle would have dulled a bit once it went through the clothes and it would have been painful. It's fine, she would have only felt it a moment and it was nothing compared to the wound anyway. Karasu had compassion but it was given out in odd doses and there was none for this flighty girl at the moment. The girl would only have a moment's realization before she started going under and Karasu dropped the syringe, grasping the girl's wrist so she wouldn't fall off the table.

Her eyes never really left the arrogant one's and she spoke in a cold manner to him. "There is no need for you to stay but if you wish to do so, you will do it quietly and over there."

She points to a meager wooden chair next to a small shelf of books.

"If you cannot comply, you must remove yourself."

Noah had his hands behind his back, clenched tightly to contain himself. He will stay calm for now, or else the doctor might refuse to help Caste. Noah manuevered over to the area the bold woman pointed at, standing near the shelf of books, though not sitting down on the meager chair.

Noah was still fuming quietly to himself. Rarely had people ever stood up to him. It seemed as if this was happening more often. It could be that people are getting more intrepid, or that he was getting soft. Maybe Noah's getting too soft for his own liking. His jaw was tight, and he had his eyes on Caste. At least she wouldn't be able to make her escapade now.

Something else caught Noah's attention. There was a curtain. What did it conceal? Noah felt his fingers twitch randomly. How bizarre.

Caste yelped loudly as the needle gliding through her jeans, and pierced her skin. She began feeling a little light headed as the syringe was pulled back out. She was trying to move toward Noah now, away from this horrific woman. This torementor. She didn't hardly get to the edge of the table before her vision began to blur. She felt the doctor's hand, fingers curling around her wrist, and she felt like yelling, trashing, kicking, but it was no good.

She couldn't shake the tiredness over whelming her. She felt like she hadn't slept in a week. Her eyes quickly dashes across the room, over to Noah. Noah who had obdiently moved into one of the chairs, even though she could see he was wanting to fight it. To fight with the doctor, to put her in her place, but he'd moved without a single remark because of Caste.

Caste's eyelids grew heavy and slowly began to close. She slumped slightly, then fell down against the table. She was now out cold, her rapid paniced breathing now slow, her clenched muscles relaxed. Even her pale strained face, slowly regaing it's natural peaceful look.

Karasu paid no more heed to the boy, turning her back to him, and righted the girl on the table. She was very careful how she moved the girl's arm and finally laid it to rest as she began to cut off the girl's top. She could see the hole, the skin sliced open and falling in upon itself. She was somewhat comforted by the way it was oozing but she needed to be sure no arteries were severed. Once the blouse was cut free, she began to manipulate the arm to see if it any blood began to spurt out of the gaping hole. After a few moments, she was satisfied. After cleansing the wound thoroughly, she began to pull out her supplies for stitching.

When Caste's blouse was cut, Noah turned his head away. He had no interest in peeking. Noah glanced back a few times to make sure the doctor was working on Caste, then he crept silently towards the curtains. He had no idea why he was doing this. Normally he's not so nosy. Why now? His slender fingers twitched wildly, and he had no idea why. Noah reached out, shifting the curtains aside meticulously; he had his head turned to watch the woman's back. Yes, it was safe. Then Noah turned and glanced to what was hidden by the curtains earlier, and now revealed.

The sight before him almost made Noah step back from shock. The brown-haired woman lying there looked exactly like the one in his dreams. Except this one's so skinny, with greasy hair. But they're both so beautiful... Noah stared down at her, the color drained from his already slightly pale face. What explanation is there for this? For almost his whole life, he has dreamt of her. What does it mean when he sees the woman in his dreams, now? What was he to do?

Karasu worked silently, and began stitching closed the underlying muscle tissues, reconnecting anything that had been severed before closing the skin. Her work was meticulous and painstaking and the girl would actually have only the slightest of scars. Rolling her to her side, she did likewise work to the back as it was a through-and-through wound. Cleansing the outside of the wound with betadine, she places a dressing over the stitches and laid the girl down on the table on her back. She unbuttons the girl's jeans and tugs them down on one side, injecting a bolus of antibiotic into her hip. The whole of this took place just shy of 40 minutes.

Unbenowst to her, the young man was violating her other patient's privacy in a most grievous way and had she known, there would have been hell to pay. Her patience wasn't very long but there were somethings she had zero tolerance for and this was one of them. The woman known as Camile was very ill and ill in a very personal nature. Karasu didn't ask but perhaps the woman lost the baby as there was no mention of it and also, it was such an odd way in which the man who brought her in acted towards her. Shrouded in mystery as many things were, Karasu paid no mind as she wasn't an overly nosy person but today was turning out to be a curious day..very curious.

Noah barely noticed others' presence in the room by then. His thoughts were on the woman before him. She seemed incredibly ill. And for some unknown reason, Noah felt a sharp hurt at such a sight. Why? Noah reached down, and pressed his fingertips against the woman's wrist briefly, feeling the weak pulse. As soon as his flesh brushed against hers, he felt ... not so alone.

Today's definitely a strange day, indeed. Stepping back after a few minutes, he pulled the curtains back over the woman. Noah turned to glance towards the direction of Caste's, and stalked as quietly as he could towards the small bookshelf and pitiful chair. Sitting down, he tried to appear composed, though his mind was deeply bothered. It couldn't be helped. He couldn't shake himself free of the questioning thoughts in his head.

Noah's fingers of both hands thread together and rested on his knee; why is this woman here? And why did he meet her now of all times? Is this another of fate's twisted games? If it is indeed, for once, Noah felt fear strike him. He thought he had nothing more to lose, but he felt a great fear. Why was he scared? What was he scared of?

Karasu swathes the girl in bandages around her chest for modesty and also to keep the bandage over the wounds. It was an odd area and she had to fold the girl's arm in and rest it across her stomach before binding that down too. After finishing, she walked over towards a door, walking in front of the boy.

"Yo, Taru!" She exclaimed then called out a medicine's name. Presently, the young half breed appeared with a jar of white powder and handed it to Karasu. After a brief glance inside, she inquired as to what was behind the curtain. Karasu gave Taru a level stare meant to dissuade the girl's curiosity but she knew it was lost upon her.

"Go back up front" Karasu stood the spot until she was sure Taru was gone. The girl was too nosy for her own good and she didn't trust her as far as she could throw her. Once satisfied, she turns and places the bottle of powder on the small shelf next to the boy.

"You will give her a dram every day, three times a day. Do you understand?" She watched him, waiting for him to say something.

^Watching from the town's lone inn the robed one watched all the commotion of the day. His eyes laying rest on two figures from a prior meeting. Those close by heard a light laugh from the hooded figure. His eyes gazed as they entered the doctor's office and leaned back keeping his gaze steadied as he looked on from the lone window. Seeming to come to a decision he stood up slowly and began moving toward the door. Walking into the light he pulled his hood even lower and took his time walkin got the doctor's office. Looking around and not seeing the others from the group he slipped his hands within the folds of his robes and walked to the doctor's door and pulled it open slowly and entered observing everything within view^

Karasu seethed but only at herself at not bolting the door. She had thought everyone knew how to knock but her brighter assumptions of people usually failed her miserably. Walking away from the boy after relaying to him the need for the medicine, she pulled a curtain near the door that blocked his view of Caste. Turning to face him, she took a deep breath and spoke to him.

"Are you here to see the doctor? Are you injured or ill in any way?"

She waited none to patiently for his answer and didn't really try to hide it much. The way he dressed was slightly disconcerting to her, however, as it was a rather nice day outside ... or had been when she walked along the river. Things were fairly black and white to Karasu concerning people, they were only three things as far as she was concerned. Ill/injured, dead, or gone from her. This was all that concerned her and she wished to know which category he would fall into within the next five minutes.

*His eyes finish looking the room over and they lighted on the female that approached him. His mouth and nose covered by a black material but his gray piercing eyes looked deep into hers and within his eyes they seemed to laugh at her^ "Im not ill."^His voice light almost smoothly carried^"I was checking on some aquaintances. Of course if for a reason I am not wanted here I can leave? Or perhaps I should wait if its not to much of a bother?" ^His eyes never leaving hers but remained as lit with mirth^

"Actually, it is a bit of a bother, I don't wish patient's to have visitors when they are in there more acute stages. If you are with the girl who was stabbed, I am sure she will be her normal peachy keen self in a few days with a nice little scar to proclaim too loudly about in years to come. If you like, why don't you go over by the boy and attend to him if he is a friend of yours."

With that being said, she turned and walked around the curtain to do the last bit of attending to Caste. She had heard stirrings and needed to be near the girl until she became fully awake. If she feel off the table in a fit of dizziness, then she would most likely rip her wound open and adding a crack on her head. All this would just add up to more work for Karasu and she wasn't having any of that.

^Laughing loudly now his eyes watching her back turn to him as she leaves^ "Ill leave a message then dear lady. Feel free to let one known as Caste to meet me when she is well at the local inn. I shall wait till she arrives. Her friend is likewise invited. As for your kindness I do hope another day we shall meet. Mayhap a lovely night time for a drink? I have always admired those whom do their job with such intensity. It makes for good company?" ^Laughing again he turned and left out the door with no more words^

As the man laughed loudly she hesitated a moment, one single fingertip touching her temple as if that would make the sound go away. His only saving grace was that both of her patients were unconscious and wouldn't be disturbed by it. Did she look like a messenger girl?

She walked over and grabbed an encapsulated smelling salt and cracked it between her fingers a bit to vigorously causing the liquid to course down her fingers as she mutters to herself "A drink indeed!" Laying a hand rather smackingly on Caste's forehead, she shoved the smelling salts under the girl's nose as she fumed.

Caste was slowly regaining conciousness. Even though she was not fully awake, she could still process a few thoughts. Right now, she wondered if she was on some table being disected. Ofcourse she was! She had been captured by the doctor, and Noah had left her to die. She flexed the fingers of her uninjured arm, relieved to see that hadn't cut it off, yet.

Caste jerked awake, as a terribly putrid smell filled her nostrils. She sat up her head jerking around, her eyes taking in everything. Her arm wasn't hurting as bad now, but it bust with pain everytime she tried to move. She wouldn't say here though, not with this woman, this horrible woman. Her eyes flahsed to the woman's face, and she started shrinking back.

How could Noah leave her alone to die, torn apart limb by limb, by this awful woman. Caste's eyes finally found Noah still there, over by the chairs. She relaxed, and stopped moving away from the woman which made her arm hurt alot less. She sat there very still, the moment Noah should leave her though, she would be gone and the doctor wouldn't be able to stop her.

*Elrith entered the hospital room a nurse trying to tell him to leave hr alone, he pushed the doctor out of the way, his arms still had there armor on, his eys had dimmed to the point where you could look into them, but they where still the purest white, like two small stars in his head.*

"caste..."

*He said, as he drew out Jak's sword. he looked at her, his face sloid.*

"I did what i had to, but he will be back, and you will see him again..."

*He then sat of her hospital bead and looked her in the eyes, hugging her*

The girl jerked so violently that Karasu grabbed her by the back of the neck until she sat reasonably still. Wanting to be rid of her as much as the girl wanted to be gone, she made it quick what she had to say.

"The boy has your medicine, he knows how to give it. I will tell you nonetheless. Take a dram 3 times a day. Perhaps it would be easier to down in some warm tea, so I have heard. You need to take this medicine for any infection you might get. All of the medicine needs to be taken. You will need to come back to see the doctor, when he is in, in about a week. His name is Osaku. Come in sooner if you have fever."

Karasu started to wipe her hands clean of the smelling salts with a pristine cloth she pulled from her apron before adding in testily.

"And another thing. Some man came by to see you and invited you to the inn. He didn't leave a name so it is hell's guess who he is. Good luck with that."

Just as the words fell out of her mouth she was pushed out of the way by some raving lunatic. What the hell was this place turning into. Hardly a single person she had come across today had any propriety whatsoever. While this man went on babbling about something she didn't care about and taking the wounded girl in his arms, she turned and walked calmly over to a small bank of drawers. After removing something, she walks back to the man and stabs him in the neck with the needle. The medicine went directly into his carotid and knocked him out instantly.

"Take him out when you leave. I will not tolerate this behavior."

Caste was shocked to see Elrith bursting throught he door, pushing everyone aside. She smiled for a brief moment, til he hugged her, in which she yelped and moved back from him. "Elrith! You squished my arm!" She whined, and loked down at the bloody bandage. As if he hadn't caused her enough physical pain just now, he held up Jak's sword. Caste shook her head, and buried her head between her knees. He couldn't be gone!


Caste was still curled up like this when the woman told her she would have to return to see the doctor. Even though this thought scared her, she couldn't help but look up and throw the woman a puzzled glance. "The doctor? I thought you were the doctor." Caste said softly, her voice shaking slightly. Her other words confused Caste as well. What man had come in to check on her? She was certain it wasn't Soerd, and Elrith and Noah were right there. She glanced at Elrith or well he was there, intil the woman had stabbed him just like she'd stabbed Caste.

Caste eyes swept down her body, she was trembling still. "So you didn't cut any limbs off?" She asked the woman, in a slightly mumble. This woman was cold, curt, and cut-throat. What wasn't there to be afraid? She wouldn't be surprised if the woman stabbed her with a needle again, just out of annoyance.

Karasu rested her hands on the table and closed her eyes, collecting herself. When her eyes opened, they were much more calm. Her hand went into a pocket and she pulled out a small vial. This time, when Karasu's hand went to the back of the girl's neck, it was in a much more gentle manner. She lifted the opened vial and moved it towards the girl's lips.

"Open your mouth and let me put a little bit of this under your tongue. I will need to check your wounds again, that fresh blood is concerning me. This will not knock you out and while I work, I will repeat everything to you."

As she waits for the girl to comply, there is more patience evident in her features. She knew the girl would be unwilling at first but giving that she wasn't acting so hysterical as when she arrived, Karasu felt the girl would be reasonable. Reluctant, the girl took the medicine, but soon a feeling would spread through her body that could only be akin to sinking down into a thick bath of warm syrup.

"Who is that man who barged in here? He is not harmed by the way, he will only sleep for a few hours. Perhaps it will do him good eh?" And with that, Karasu did something she rarely does. She almost smiled.

Caste's frightened eyes gazed up into the woman's, then she turned her head away. What if the woman was wanting to put her to sleep again? Caste slowly turned her head back toward the woman, her eyes studying the woman's face. "I'll do it if you'll tell me your name." Caste said in barely whisper.

That sounded like a good enough deal to her. She wondered if the woman would agree though. Caste's eyes stayed locked on the woman's, her breath quickly speading up. Her heart was racing now, she felt like it would burst right out of her chest at any minute. She couldn't help it, she was terrfied of doctors. "He's my brother by the way." Caste explained nodding toward the man passed out on the floor. Then very slowly she opened her mouth so the doctor could put the medicine under her tongue.