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The Mind of a Child

TaLi63372

Adventurer
The child rested under the bed in her makeshift nest. She had a minor headache from the mental strain of the day.

Her adventure had started with her sitting in the tavern. She had sat where the one who never uncovered his head usually sat. She wasn't sitting there to cause a problem, she was doing it to figure something out. Every time she had seen him in the tavern, he had only sat in that particular spot. Even when everyone else was in a table together across the tavern, he didn't join them. She was pretty confident he was watching and listening to everything even though he sat far away. Occasionally, he would speak up and interject into a conversation. If he was watching everything, why do it there in particular. At first she expected he hadn't liked people near him. That hypothesis was challenged when others had shared his table. He hadn't moved away. So what was it about this particular spot that made him sit there day after day. She put herself in his shoes and sat in his spot. Perhaps in doing so she could figure out why he sat where he did.

The child wasn't an imbecile or simpleminded. She was actually very intelligent. She did however lack an enormous amount of real-life experiences as well as any standard education. She may not know how to spell 'dog' or even what one was, but she was excellent at recognizing patterns and in observing details. When something unexpected happened or something looked differently than before, it usually caught her attention. She lived by rules and expectations. She used these to predict behavior, outcomes and what she should and should not do. Inside her head, she was anxious most of the time in this new environment. Back in the first place, the rules were simple. Unknowns were few and far between. A predictable crude routine filled most of her days. This world was incredibly more complex and the rules not as obvious. Not knowing the rules and what she should and should not do made the child very uneasy. Also worrying was the possible ramifications of not getting a rule right or not doing what she should. She knew what happened at the First Place. The possibility that it might be worse here was not lost on the small girl.

(to be continued)
 
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TaLi63372

Adventurer
John, Piper and Bishop took the young girl to the Paladin's library. They met Avalynn who was working in the library. She was able to find several children's books like ABC's, Numbers for the girl to start with. While the girl sat in the chair looking at the books, they conversed with Avalynn.

An Introduction to numbers. The book went from zero to twenty and then up in a step of ten to thirty. Each page had the number and then the word spelled out alphabetically. Above that, each page had a group of objects equal to the number shown. The girl knew the numbers one and two verbally. Rotep had shown her those while teaching her to make muffins. She looked at the zero and then only a fleeting glance on the following one and two. She recognized the sounds of the number two when Rotep had told her, 'Two Eggs." She was used to hearing her alphanumeric id on her back so recognized the sound of 'two'. The number three gave her pause. It was also on her back. As also were six and seven. She understood the concept of counting. She even understood that the number wasn't associated by the graphic of items used to represent it. That part was thanks to Rotep's teaching as they had repeated the use of one for obviously different things like salt and honey. The fact that there were two sets of markings for each quantity was a bit unusual, but the girl would dwell on that part later.

She was managing until she got to the number ten. Her head tilted sharply at the numerical version '10'. The girl was puzzled, staring at it. Those marks already had meaning. They should means a single object and the absence of objects. She looked up at the cluster of birds above the '10'. That wasn't a single bird and that was definitely not the absences of birds. She flipped back to look at the pages for one and zero and compared. They looked like the same marks, but next to each other. Why would it be the same marks when it doesn't appear to even mean anything like the individual ones? Why not make a new mark to mean that amount?

She flipped back and forth between the pages as the adults noticing the girl's apparent confusion. They stepped in and attempted to figure out why she was having an issue. They tried comparing it to the number nine and then showing her ten. Bishop made images on the wall's surface to denote the numbers and objects representing their quantity. Avalynn tried using fingers to show the little girl, squatting at her eye level. Piper brought out bandages and showed counting via those. In the girl's mind, she could accept that another object added to the quantity of nine will make the quantity of ten. It wasn't the numerical aspect, it was the fact she was stuck on the idea that instead of ten, it was one-zero and neither made sense with the graphic above.

She chewed on her bottom lip at the internal dilemma. She stared at the page while her mind worked to figure it out. Piper showed her the number twenty and she gave another tilt of her head. Another pair of repeated symbols. She worried on her bottom lip as she stared at the page. She looked up to the images above the symbols. There were twenty cups drawn above it in two slightly apart in two groups of ten. She stared intently at that graphic, blinking a few times as possibly answers percolated in her brain. She flipped back to ten and looked at the group of birds. Then back to the twenty cups and then she looked at just one group and flipped back to compare to the ten. Same amount of items. The wheels followed this new clue and went back the twenty and looked at the second grouping of ten. Also the same amount of items as ten. One group of those amount and two groups of those amount. That is why they reused those marks. The groups were the quantity shown and it wasn't the individual items within them. She wasn't sure how the zero played into it yet, but she understood the use of the first number. She flipped back to twenty and then turned the page and there was the next group of ten. Thirty. She went to the front of the book turning from two to three to check the symbols. The pattern held.

She pulled out a pencil and paper quickly. She was eager to see if the pattern she saw was right. What was after that symbol again? She flipped back and turned from three to the number four. Going to the paper she drew a crude looking four and then a zero. She looked up at Piper immediately for validation. She nodded and the girl smiled. The girl looked at the ten bandages on the desk and picked them up and put them on top of the number forty. She then turned the page from four to five and copied the five with a zero. She was correct again. Piper took out paper and drew fifty items and wrote the number and pronounced name below it. Five groups of that many is a five and a zero. The adults talked among themselves as the girl pondered. She was pretty distracted with the puzzle in front of her and only turned around when the adults mentioned a word she knew.

She looked between her paper and Piper's. She put Piper's paper on top of her written fifty. She flipped past the five, six, seven, eight, nine. Each time she turned a page she would look at the objects Piper drew to represent fifty and mentally cross out one of the groups. At nine she had only one group left, so the page was turned as she mentally crossed it off. Her brow instantly furrowed. She was back to the number ten again. That number was what started the whole confusing ordeal. She had run out of numbers to represent objects as individuals and now was back to groups. What would come after the nine and zero together? She flipped back and forth between the nine page and the ten page, looking at the objects. The change was another object put with the ten page. So it should reason that if you had nine groups and put one more group with it... you'd have ten groups of that many.

The girl wasn't as confident with this answer. To an outsider, she was probably appearing to add the numbers and do fairly impressive math for someone just having opened their first book. In fact, although she got the rudimentary concept of addition and subtraction, she was following a pattern between the symbols and the amount of groups. The girl hesitantly wrote a one and a zero and then after a pause added another zero after it. She looked up at Piper, chewing on her nip with building anxiety. She got a nod and she visibly relaxed. All the adults praised her, each in the own way. She had made the correct prediction. At the first place when she got it right, nothing hurt her. If she did a really good job, sometimes they said 'good' and was given a 'sweet'. When she had given a wrong answer there, she had been reprimanded. Sometimes it was mild and sometimes very severely. The mixture of pain and praise coupled with food incentive had shown good results with subject TaLi63372.
 

TaLi63372

Adventurer
She didn't understand what the object Rotep gave her was supposed to do. Something about eating meat. She didn't like food made of people. If they told her to people she would whether she liked the taste or not.

She was tired, didn't feel well and was in a particularly sour mood. The fact she had been sleeping exceptionally poor as of late was not helping. Her lack of understanding at recent events and the structure of her world was driving her inner anxiety to new heights.

One of those who had told her to 'come' had been killed by John, Rotep, Faeryl and the others. 'They' were unhappy, but apparently not at her. At one of their own. The repeating display of violence between 'Them' had caused a rift in the girl's world. First, Paine's drawing of John hitting The Doctor. Then the brief violence with the woman who had been unmade. Then John causing pain to Faeryl. Now the attack on the strange woman. She hadn't even looked woman-like afterwards in their fury.

The whole notion was unsettling. The idea that there were different groups of 'Them' had been starting to form in the girl's mind. This was unsettling. Extremely. The First Place's Them and This Place's Them had different rules. If there were more 'Them' beyond that (and there appeared to be), they also may have different rules. The First Place's Them had all worn masks. She could find no shared physical characteristics between the suspected members of This Place’s Them. She remembered Faeryl trying to explain meaning of the word ‘friends’. Faeryl had pointed to herself, Aila and many of the other ones she knew the words to. When she had pointed to the waiter in an attempt to predict another ‘friend’ and Faeryl had told her it wasn’t correct. She had looked at them and couldn’t tell any physical characteristic that the ‘friends’ shared, that the waiter did not have. And yet, there had to be one she could not see.

The girl felt physically nauseated.

Why had they killed the One who taken her on the large water cart? What rule did that one break? Had he been from this group or yet another group?

The girl’s stomach churned and she squirmed uncomfortably. She was lying in a shirt and shorts on the bed and fiddling with the ear of her stuffed horse. The tubes had been bothering her as they constantly rubbed against clothing. Before This Place and the Other Place she had been without these coverings and the Doctor often used a bandage to cover them and hold the tubes in place. They hadn’t moved much as they did now.

She pulled back the neck of her shirt, and glaring at the crude subclavian central line. Rotep had broken the rings and nothing bad had happened to her. The Doctor had not come to put in new ones. What if she removed this? She looked at it, studying it as she considered the idea.

The base was sewn onto her skin to help keep it in place. She tried to remember what it looked like under the skin. It had been replaced many times during her short life and she had been awake for several of them… ever since they put the rings in her. The rings hurt far more than the pain of the procedures. Once the rings had been secured to the table in the room that was bright… she would hold obediently still. She still couldn’t remember what was under the skin. The pain and fear had mentally caused her to shut down and bury the details.

The line hadn’t been flushed in months now. Blood, both new and old, had continued to back up into the semi-clear tube. The black gummed stuff at the end was beginning to dry out. The connection where the line split looked strained. While the skin was still appeared to be tight against the tube with the help of the stitching, the whole thing was beginning to look unhealthy. The skin around the tube had blushed a deep pink and hot to the touch. It reminded her of the color of the faces when people spoke really loudly. The skin was angry.

She grimaced as she poked at the swollen, tender flesh. She didn’t want anyone else to touch it. They wouldn’t understand it hurt to touch. It was always under her clothing and They of This Place hadn’t said not to take it out. Only Them of the First Place and The Doctor had said not to. So she wasn’t breaking rules in This Place so should be safe from punishment.

Yes, she needed to take it out. What had the Doctor used ?

A weird cutting thing, like a tiny sword, but not like it. She could use one of the things that people ate with. The one that gave food might trade her for one.

Bandages. The robed people that smelled of metal had those. She could trade.

Hot Water. She could put water in something on the coals on the brazier.

Spare cloth. Needle. Thread. She could get those from the place that made the coverings. They regularly threw away small pieces of thread and cloth in the garbage and bent needles as well.

Should she put another in? She knew The Doctor had used it a lot, but none in This Place had. Could she even find another thing like it? She wasn’t sure if she could make one or even if she should. She definitely didn’t want to. For now, she should find the things to take it out. If she needed another one, it could be done later.

The girl had made a decision.
 
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TaLi63372

Adventurer
The child felt a little better after a couple decent nights of sleep. She managed to sleep more soundly by not curling up in a ball like she usually did. Instead, she still slept in the corner at the foot of the bed, but on her back with her stuffed horse at her side. Nothing pressed against the tubes or the tender skin that often woke her up. While it took her awhile to fall asleep in such an exposed manner, when sleep found her... it stuck like glue.

The next evening, John retrieved her and led her into Trinsic at a full run. Her chest ached as her lungs filled with air and aggravated the inflamed skin, but she followed obediently as best she could. She was breathing heavily by the time they got to the tavern. She joined John, Faeryl, Sergio and Bishop at the table. John didn't stay long and something about his mannerisms seemed off. He was always curt, but more so tonight as if he had other things on his mind. If he was like The Doctor then he was a very busy God.

The girl stayed and antics sprang into life as they often do around children. Bishop gave her a stuffed dragon. It would keep the stuffed horse Sergio gave her company. There was a talking chicken, a drake that bonked its head on the low ceiling, an itchy dog and a wayward kirin. Faeryl asked the girl to bring out the book she had given her the other evening and they worked on adding new words and drawings to the book. Pretty soon, the child began prompting to learn words.

She went to the box near Slade and pulled out a set of silverware. She climbed back up next to Faeryl. She held the fork up for Faeryl to see. Faeryl named it, wrote it down in the book along with a drawing. The girl then stuck the fork in her sleeve pockets. She repeated it with spoon and knife. She pointed to a few things inside the tavern and then she led the way outside. Lamp post, grass and bridge followed suit. Then the girl dug around in the rubbish outside the tailor's shop. She pulled out a handful of scrap cloth and thread as well as an old bent needle and a pair of rusty scissors. Faeryl gave her the names and wrote them down in her book. Then the girl spotted a mushroom and hopped over to it. Mushroom was added. The girl went to the healers and pointed to more things. Then she picked up a pile of discarded bandages on the floor. She then fished in her satchel for a suitable trade. Beeswax, rusty iron key, gear, sextant parts, oil flask. Each attempt to trade her treasures was met with a shake of the head. Faeryl offered the healer some coins for the bandages. To be fair, the child gave Faeryl several treasures for the yellow flat rocks she used.

Then the girl remembered she hadn't traded for the silverware. She couldn't simply take something from one of Them without permission. So she ran back to the tavern and tried to trade with Slade. He didn't want her treasures either. She finally offered up one of her beloved muffins and Slade accepted it. The girl was surprised and gave him another one and a third one. One muffin for each piece of silverware. The girl had discovered currency. She had a commodity that the people wanted and were willing to trade for. She ran all over the tavern, handing out muffins. She ran outside and gave them to the farmer and the weaponsmith. Everyone took them with thanks except Dee the Bard. She apparently hated muffins.

The girl led Faeryl 'home' to Piper's home. Faeryl opened her arms and the girl answered by putting herself in them. As Faeryl squeezed the girl tightly, the loving gesture pressed the infected skin near the tubes. The girl make an abrupt sound of pain. Faeryl pulled back and looked alarmed. She questioned if she had hurt the girl and the girl smiled and shook her head. In her mind, the tubes are what hurt her and it wasn't Faeryl's fault because she didn't know. With a bit of a worried expression, Faeryl bid the girl goodbye.

The guard let the girl inside. She quickly went to her room and checked all the treasures she had gotten this evening. She had found all the items she had been after as well as a fork and spoon. She carefully put away the new items. She was exhausted after all the running around. She grabbed her horse and dragon and went to the foot of the bed. She laid on her back and looked up at the ceiling and waited for sleep to find her.
 

TaLi63372

Adventurer
As far as children go, this child was an excellent houseguest. Aside from her persistent nightmares, she rarely made any sounds. She didn’t argue or refuse to do anything she was told to do. She kept mostly to herself in her room. When she did wander, she rarely touched anything and she never took anything. She never demanded entertainment or sweets. She didn’t make messes and despite having access to pens, pencils and paints, the child never vandalized anything other than her own books and paper. Had any adult asked for anything she did have, even those items she prized, she would give it up most likely with a mutter of protest. Ownership is generally on the same level as having rights and the child didn’t self-acknowledge either.

For the last couple of days, the child had spent much of her time in the small library above her room. She had systematically begun to look through each book. She was looking for any images that her mind might equate to the human body or to the world of medicine. Page by page. Hour by hour. She carefully replaced each book back in its spot on the bookshelves before moving onto the next. She had hoped she would find a book telling her what to do. Pictures of something like what she had that had made her skin so angry.

Her search proved fruitless.

She was getting tired more easily. She was eating and drinking well, although her diet weighed heavily on baked goods and water. She took lots of micro naps throughout the day. She, even sometimes would fall asleep in the library, curled in a nook between one of the bookcases and a corner. Despite feeling rather lethargic at times, she remained good-natured and kept a smile on her face. She lived to get the ‘well done’ or the ‘good girl’ from any of Them. She smiled to placate others out of habit and from the release of pent-up anxiety. With praise that smile often reached her eyes.

Now the child sat upon the floor of her room, looking through her treasures. Without a book to guide her, she was relying only on her predictions of what might be needed. She remembered many objects on the trays from her own time in the bright room. Many had no names and many she never had seen outside that room, even with her recent adventures. She had found what she could.

She had plenty of cloth. She knew there would be blood, but how much she was unsure. She had some concern that she would start and be unable to finish it because the pain might shut her down. She remained hopeful as her memories of the insertions seemed far worse than her memory of the removals. She would rather try than be taken back to The Doctor to have it done. She had an old dented frying pan to put on the coals to heat water. She had a bent needle and thread. She had managed to straighten the needle slightly, but its center still had a ripple in it. She had the bandages from the robed ones. She had managed to get the rusted scissors to move again using a depleted oil flask. The knife wasn’t as sharp as the cutting instrument The Doctor had used, but it should work. The objects weren’t the most sanitary nor in the best repair, but they would have to do the job. She looked at all the items together in one bag along with her stuffed animals. She just needed to roll the rug out of the way or cover it. The rug was like floor clothes and she didn’t want to get it dirty.

She pulled out the front of her shirt and looked at the inflamed, angry skin. She’d feel better when it was out.

 

TaLi63372

Adventurer
The child rolled the expensive looking rug out of the way. She then laid out a large square of cloth on the wood floor. She carefully put all the tools she thought she'd need upon it, double checking them against the list in her head. Once she began, she wouldn't be able to leave to get something she'd forgotten. Her face was flushed with fever and her stomach somersaulted with a mixture of anxiety, hunger and sickness. She hadn't eaten yet that day. In the bright room at the First Place, the pain had often made her vomit unpredictably and she wanted to avoid as much contents as possible. She accounted for each tool as she mentally ran through what she would do step by step if all went according to her plans. She put the old frying pan on the brazier of coals and poured water from a pitcher into it. She placed the empty pitcher next to her on the floor.

The child examined the skin surrounding the tubes carefully. The skin around the tubing had turned a dark red and had begun to break down. Swelling under the skin was beginning to strain the stitches that helped secure the tubes in place. Those tiny holes in her skin had become minuscule slits that from which oozed a bloodied-yellow discharge. The girl brought the horse over and sat it down next to her. She would bite down on it to muffle cries so she didn't bring attention to what she was doing. The water in the pain had begun to steam so she pulled the pan off using a wad of cloth to avoid touching the hot iron. She sat it carefully next to the brazier.

She took a deep breath and did one last look over everything. She just wanted to make the pain go away. She knew the tubes were making her sick. She remembered what happened to her when she got really sick at the First Place. She didn't want that to happen to her here. She wanted to stay and not go into a hole with the others. She didn't want them to throw her away so she had to fix this before they found out.
 

TaLi63372

Adventurer
The girl carefully pulled her shirt over her head. She picked up the horse to put it in her mouth and quickly realized it would block her view. She chose instead to wad up a handful of white bandages and bite down on those instead. She hoped it would muffle the noise enough that no one home would hear it.

She carefully used the scissors to cut the first stitch holding the tubes in place. She was already sweating from the anxiety. Her stomach churned as the stitch popped as she snipped through it. Blood-tainted Pus flowed through the opening and coaxed the bile up in her throat. She quickly put down the scissors and grabbed one of the clean cloths, soaked it in the hot water and wrung it out over the pan. She used it to wipe up the waterfall of infection that trickled in a stream down her skin. The pain almost immediately lessened with the release of pressure. She folded and rotated the damp cloth to expose a clean surface. She gently pressed with the flat of her fingers on the inflamed skin coaxing more of the noxious liquid to flow and mopping it up. The whole area was very tender and even with only gentle pressure it still brought tears to fall down her cheeks. As she milked the wound of infection, her stomach protested. Several times she felt the burn of the bile as it threatened to heave her stomach inside out, but she somehow managed to swallow it down.

The skin was still angry, but no longer rounded and swollen. She reached up and wiped her cheeks on her forearm. She was tempted to stop at that point. The pain had lessened again with the release of that bloodied discharge. Perhaps that would be all she needed to do and the tubes would now get better again. She decided to cut the last stitch on that side to ensure the opening was big enough for the gross sludge to escape. After a final wipe, she put the red-yellow contaminated cloth down next to the bed. She grabbed a clean dry cloth and put it over the still oozing hole and held it in place by securely wrapping bandages around her chest. She winced as she put each layer tightly on to make sure the tubes and cloth moved as little as possible. She then tied the end of the bandage to one of the layers. It would do the job for right now.

She removed the wad of bandages from her mouth and put them down on the floor. She'd use them again for that purpose. She took a drink for the nearly empty pitcher to quench her thirst and put her shirt back on carefully. Grabbing the stuffed horse and climbed up on her bed, leaving all her tools out for the night. She would finish the job tomorrow when she wasn't so tired. She shivered as she laid belly up in the corner like a dead fish. Not the most comfortable and secure position, but she fell almost immediately asleep as her tiny body worked on continuing to purge the infection.
 

TaLi63372

Adventurer
The child didn’t remove the tubes the next day as she had planned. She slept most of the day, outside of journeying out to get food and water from the kitchen. She didn’t bother cleaning up the nasty cloth or her tools. Due to her quiet, independent and generally problem-free nature, she was primarily left to her own devices. Luckily for her only rarely did people enter the room. She changed her dressing twice during that day, wiped her skin with a damp cloth and wrapped herself again. She was still leaking bloody yellow fluid from the hole, although not as heavy as when it first flowed.

After another night of awkward sleep, she woke late in the morning. She waited in the house until evening when most would be gone into town. She waited until the house was quiet before she ventured out of her room. The house seemed empty, aside from the guard near the entrance. She hoped she was correct in case she failed to keep quiet. She listened for several minutes on the first floor and the second floor for the tell-tale creak of floorboards. She heard nothing. She went into the garden to make sure none were outside and was promptly greeted with the Avalynn’s friendly face. The girl was surprised at having run into librarian in the home’s courtyard. Her plans to remove the tubes were put on hold as Avalynn held out her hand. The girl put her warm hand in hers obediently and off to the tavern the pair went.

This night went started like so many of her recent others. There was food, books and learning. Avalynn showed her how to make big teeth with her fingers. She even managed to get a pseudo-laugh out of the child. Stevie came in boisterous as usual, along with John, Bishop. She had two ferrets with her and picked up one and handed it to the girl along with a small packet of raw bits of fish. She pointed at it and said, “Mister Sprinkles.” She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with this new creature. Stevie’s ferret followed her around and that seemed to be what it was meant to do. Stevie was very fond of it and petted it a lot. Ferrets were for petting and feeding nasty smelling things to. Mister Sprinkles chittered a bit in protest as she put him down, but she gave him some of the nasty smelling fish to him and he quieted down to eat it.

There was a man she hadn’t seen before watching her intently. She looked back at him, looked to the sword on his waist and back at his face. She didn’t know him, but he seemed to know her. No one else seemed concerned so after chewing her lip briefly, she relaxed. He gave her a bright gold piece of paper. It didn’t look like the gold foil origami paper the blue lady had given her. It had writing on it. She saw the numbers ‘1,000,000’. She looked at the number a bit puzzled. She didn’t know what the ‘ , ‘ meant. He said a lot of words she didn’t recognize like orphan, mute, check and bank. She looked over at some of the adults as they talked animatedly among themselves about some topic. Stevie, John and the new man were discussing something important because their voices, especially Stevie’s, carried more ups and downs of inflection. She knew that more variance in the emphasis of the words, generally the more excited, upset or emotional a person was. An’ while Stevie talked that way normally, it was even more so now. The girl simply waited.

She was getting more tired as the night worn on and feeling more poorly. Her chest and shoulder hurt and she shifted in her position a lot, both sitting and standing, in an effort to try and relieve herself of the discomfort. She had a low-grade fever. She tried her best to hide how she felt, but as the night wore on even the smiles of placation became strained. She was lost in thought when she heard a command of ‘Child, come’ and she rose to her feet almost automatically. It was the new man telling her what to do. It didn’t matter which of Them it was, she’d do what she was told. They stopped by John and after some words were exchanged and he came along. They walked towards the city’s gate. The sick child was tired and struggled to keep up with their large, brisk steps. She did shorts bursts of speed to try and stick as close as possible. At one point, the man slowed down and the girl could walk normal much to the relief of her weary legs. They arrived at the bank and went inside where the man tried to explain how to deposit the check. She didn’t know what a check was and stared at him blankly. He looked concerned at her expression. Eventually a word came up, she recognized and it kick started the lesson. She came to understand that the man called a banker gave the flat yellow rocks people exchanged goods for. She now had her own flat rocks. She hadn’t traded for them and she would find something she could give the man later in trade.

John led her back towards the tavern. She scuffled quickly after him with the long strides of his platemail legs. They took a detour at the last minute into a place where the robed ones were. She already suspected they were doctor-like with the blood she had seen. Up until now, she hadn’t been sick. Now she was and John was leading her straight to them. Did he know about the sickness the tubes had caused? She had pauses momentarily as her brain began to panic before continuing inside. Were they were going to put the rings back on her? Was she going to go to the big hole with the others? Was Paine there? She hadn’t seen him in some time and he had been sick. Training took a firm hold and despite her fear, she went inside after John.
 

TaLi63372

Adventurer
When she went inside, she saw a familiar face in the bed. Faeryl. She looked at the healers a moment and then John as if expectation of something else. Nothing happened and she looked at Faeryl closer. She frowned at the blue-black splotches all over the skin not covered by clothing. She looked over at John and then back to Faeryl. Faeryl struggled to sit up in the bed as a flush of pain marred her delicate elven features. The child pointed to the bruises and then to John with a tilt of her head. She had seen John punish Faeryl before so it had been a natural association. Both of them disputed this theory and then Faeryl asked for one of those arm hold things, a hug. She went obediently to her and wrapped arms up around her neck. She winced slightly as she lifted her right arm up and the tubes, stuck to the cloth a bit with the dried pus and blood. She quickly smiled to placate Faeryl’s look.

They were joined by Rotep and Stevie. Mister Sprinkles was still there, he had followed her all the way to the bank and back. He was chattering and was arching his back and hopping at her feet. The girl picked up the ferret and put it on Faeryl’s bed, the movement of that right arm causing a minor flinch in her expression. Stevie was talking about the cats and petting her own wiener cat. John’s mood was unreadable in his full plate, even his eyes were hard to see. The child moved off a bit to the side so she could watch as many as she could, especially the healers. John abruptly told Rotep to make sure the child got home safe and left.

Faeryl coaxed the child back over mentioning ‘words’ and the girl pulled out the large book Faeryl had given her. She handed it to her and then stood still for a moment. She looked over at Rotep, he was watching her closely. She tried to sit down casually on the bed next to Faeryl’s. She was exhausted. She didn’t feel good, but she couldn’t show it. She especially couldn’t show it –here-. She knew Rotep’s eyes were on her and it made her uneasy. Did he know she was sick? She changed her position many times as conversation continued among the adults. She was chronically uncomfortably and so legs went down and up as she moved around. Rotep simply studied her periodically with a slight frown.

After a while and some more conversation, Stevie headed home. This left the child with Faeryl and Rotep who were now looking straight at her. She chewed on her lip and watched both of them, squirming under their concerned looks. She didn’t like this at all. Her stomach turned slightly as her anxiety flared up. She wanted to go back to Piper’s. She didn’t want to be near the healers and she didn’t want to be in trouble.

The gentle interrogation began. Rotep and Faeryl questioned her, taking turns. Their faces both look worried as they talked at her. She tried at first to simply smile in reply and it didn’t seem to work. She attempted to point out the pillow as she didn’t think its name was in the word book. It wasn’t any good; they had homed in on the signs that something was wrong and had latched on. She heard lots of words she knew like pain and hurt, but the filler words were confusing her. She knew she didn’t want them to find out so simply tried to wait out their questioning for a bit. So far, everything sounded like a discussion. No one was telling her do something. Until they did, it would be a crude and frustrating negotiation.

They wanted to see under her shirt. She didn’t want them to see it. They’d know she was sick. Reluctantly, the girl tried to get them to agree not to touch in exchange for her showing the place where the tubes were. The girl pulled the shirt collar over to expose the stained cloth and bandages. In their defense, they didn’t touch her or the cloth, but it became obvious quickly that girl’s night was not going to be spent back at Piper’s. She got the impression they wanted her to stay here. She tried to sign to them and pointed to herself and the doors. She was tired, hurting and wanted to go ‘home’. That is what Piper had called it.

Faeryl and Rotep didn’t understand the tubes. None of them did, including the robed ones. The tubes were making her sick. In her naïve mind, if she got rid of them it would stop. They had never had tubes. They had never had rings. They didn’t know how she felt and they would make her hurt more than she already did. The idea of feeling pain out of her control brought back memories of the First Place.

None of them had ordered anything of her yet, at least not in a way the girl training would take as a command. They were attempting to talk her into the idea of letting the healers help her. They were trying to get her to choose to stay willingly. She kept looking at the door. She wanted to leave, but she knew she wouldn’t be allowed to now. She knew what happened to ones who got sick and didn’t get better. What if these people put the rings back in? What if the told The Doctor where she was? The girl glared at them and the healers as a bit of spirited resistance flexed its tiny muscle.
 
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TaLi63372

Adventurer
She was angry at herself more than anyone else. She shouldn’t have waited a day to do it. Rotep told her to come and they went to Piper’s home. She was relieved for a moment as she thought perhaps they had changed their mind. Rotep’s face when he entered her room was strewn with unhappy expressions. He stepped over her tools and the wads of stained cloth. The girl frowned at his obvious disapproval. She didn’t like disapproval, it stung more than pain. Extreme fear was the only thing that could grapple with approval and disapproval for the lead of motivators in the girl’s life.

During their stop in her room, she strongly considered grabbing the cloth on her chest and ripping the tube out in one pull. She weighed the possibilities of what would happen. She’d no longer be sick with them gone. It would be done and there would be no need for her to stay with the robed ones. She could sleep in the room where her blue robe was. They’d no longer be making upset faces at her and she wouldn’t have to be sent away.

A healer probably would have had a heart attack to see the lack of sanitation and expertise. The girl simply wasn’t aware of the life-threatening danger of the situation she was in. She knew the pus was equal to sickness and that it wasn’t good. She had no idea that she could come down with fatal sepsis if the infection leached at all into her bloodstream. The smart move would have been to treat the infection and then remove the tubes. However, although the girl was intelligent she lacked experience and the trained healing skill that would have provided her with that knowledge. In her eyes, the tubes were causing the pain and the sickness and so removing them as quickly as possible was the logical move.

Rotep showed her instruments of his own like pristine, sterile bandages and a sharp, clean blade. She was hopeful for a brief moment that she would be allowed to do remove the tubes herself. Given the choice between the healers and Rotep, she may have allowed him to do it. Rotep mentioned doctors a lot which she didn’t like and used the word ‘good healers’. It was becoming very obvious that there was no distinction between the two words. They were two different words with the same meaning. It became apparent to her quickly that she would not be staying and she would not be allowed to remove the tubes herself. He told her to grab her stuffed horse and come with him through another gate. She followed as tears welled up in her eyes. Neither the tiny girl nor the blue mage liked to see the other unhappy with them.

Back at the healer’s the girl was getting more tired. The emotion and anxiety was taking its toll on her compromised immune system. Perseverance was quieting the fight in her for the moment. She kept looking at the door and wondering what would happen if she went for it, but that was nipped as the word ‘stay’ was used. She glared at Rotep and watched the healers like a hawk as if daring them to approach her.

Faeryl tried patiently to explain the difference between a healer and a doctor with pen and paper. Her tone was gentle and loving despite her own physical discomfort and exhaustion. The girl pulled out her sketchbook and pointed to her partially covered tubes and then the drawing of the mass grave with the Others. The healers would put her there if they couldn’t fix the sick. Sometimes The Doctor didn’t try to fix the Others, why would healers be different. That is where Others went when they couldn’t be fixed.

Rotep and Faeryl both tried to reason with her and reassure her. The girl stubbornly refused to accept their reality as he own. They weren’t like her. How would they know what happened to ones like her when they got sick? Rotep frowned and genuinely looked upset at the fact they seemed unable to make progress in getting the girl to accept the much needed treatment. He barked a bit of words at Faeryl as if giving her a command. She heard familiar words ‘pain’, ‘gold’, ‘hurt’ and ‘good’, but couldn’t grasp the context of his intended use. He also mentioned the word drugs which she hadn’t heard before. The girl sat at the end of Faeryl’s bed between her legs and waited. Rotep left soon after, leaving poor injured Faeryl in charge of the upset child.

Faeryl tried a few more times as the child stared at the healers. The closer they came, the more anxiety and fear the girl felt. Her tiny muscles twitched as if held in tension as if the slightest prompt would cause the girl to flee. Her tiny heart raced as she tried to keep her brown eyes on them, particular Alex. Faeryl watched the girl’s face and studied her trembling body. She muttered quietly under her breath, “Forgive me for this...” She raised her voice, looking at the girl, “Little one… you will let the healers remove the tubes. Is that understood?” The child sat up sharply and looked straight at Faeryl. Faeryl repeated her question with a look of patience “Is that understood?” The child tilted her head sharply as if listening, the tone had sounded like an order. Faeryl tried again. She pointed at the healers, “They... will remove the tubes. Is that understood?”

The girl watched the gesture and frowned. It no longer was sounding like a negotiation. The girl pointed at Alex’s hands and then to her tubes and shook her head ‘no’. Perhaps the child was mistaken and she still was being given a choice.

Faeryl’s tone was strong and firm, but had an underlying maternal quality to it, “No.” The girl frowned at that sharp word. Faeryl spoke again with emphasis, “They –will- remove them. Do I make myself clear?”

The child didn’t like this at all. She frowned with a crease of her brow. Her training held. She didn’t answer Faeryl, but laid back down between Faeryl’s calves and watched Alex. She didn’t argue with her again, but glared quietly at Alex who wasn’t used to such intense visual persecution. Faeryl simply said, “Good girl.”
 

TaLi63372

Adventurer
The girl lay on her side in between the elf’s bruised lower legs and watched the healers. She was curled up like a dog that was guarding its underside protectively. The stuffed horse was entwined in her arms as if another layer of protection for the traumatized girl. The healers held their distance and Faeryl studied the girl. It had become obvious that whatever the girl had considered the healers before had changed into another definition. While she appeared angry, it was fear-induced. It was obvious that while the girl had stopped arguing with her, her dislike of the situation was almost palatable. As trained as the girl appeared to be, the idea that she might disobey in this instance could be a possibility. A violent action might cause the child further injury or worse.

Faeryl spoke to Alex. Her tone was gentle and relaxed as she could make it so as to not alert or worry the girl. The girl’s eyes only flickered in Faeryl’s direction briefly as she spoke and Alex answered. The girl continued staring down the healer as if daring him to come closer. There was an underlying possibility in those traumatized brown eyes of physical violence and Alex preferred to treat victims than become one. They conversed for a while in length, but nothing triggered any reason for the girl to pay attention and so she tuned them out. Words like ‘drugs’, ‘weight’, ‘side effects’, ‘danger’, ‘slow’ and ‘fast’ were spoken. She was more concerned with both healers’ distance to her than words. Alex looked at the girl and she could see he was obviously studying her. What was he trying to figure out? She had no idea, but he looked away and rummaged around in a satchel. He pulled on a pair of gloves and removed two vials and a scale from his bag. She watched his movements carefully as he opened the vials and carefully tapped out powder on the scale from both vials. He looked back at the girl carefully and tapped out some more, speaking again to Faeryl. He slid the measured powder into a piece of paper folding it into a makeshift envelope.

Alex started to walk towards them and the child tensed visibly. Ripples in her muscles twitched as if she were ready to flee or fight as he came closer. He went down the far aisle of the bed next to Faeryl’s and went to the head of it. The child watched him intently, only looking away to keep an eye on Clark as well. Alex handed Faeryl the envelope of powder and retreated back to the far end of the room. The girl looked at the envelope and then to Faeryl. Now that the envelope was in Faeryl’s hands, it became less suspicious ad threatening. The girl shifted a bit as if uncomfortable and went back to keeping her eyes on the two nervous healers. Faeryl looked uncomfortable as she as silently as possible removed a muffin from the bag Rotep had given her before he left. She made a dozen slits in the top with a fingernail and sprinkled the powder in them, trying to avoid a concentrated amount of the foreign substance. The holes didn’t have to be deep as it didn’t take much to drug such a small person. She pinched the top of the slits to disguise them. The girl was completely unaware and entirely focused on the healers. She put everything away and said “Little one…” The girl looked at her as she held out one of Rotep’s muffins to her. The girl reached out and took it without hesitation. She quietly began eating the muffin while watching the healers. A few times she looked at the muffin a bit oddly, but then Alex or Clark would move and take her attention again much to Faeryl’s relief. With the muffin eaten, they waited for the slow-acting drugs to start working on the anxious child.

Time passed for the adults as they watched the girl anxiously and waited for the drugs to kick in. The girl shivered off and on as a low-grade fever came and went. The child’s attention stayed focus on the healers. Despite obviously hurting and not feeling good, the girl managed to keep her vigil. As the hour mark approached, the first signs began to trickle through the girl’s exterior. She started to blink more often as tense muscles began to visibly relax. Occasionally the child would raise her head and shake it briefly as if trying to clear her head or was having trouble seeing. After five minutes had passed, the girl seemed to realize something was amiss. Faeryl started humming as if to soothe the alarmed child. The girl rose to her hands and knees and looked over at Faeryl at the sound of the gentle humming. The child’s brown eyes were unfocused as her body swayed back and forth, trembling. She had a look of confusion more than anything on her face. Her head swung heavily as she looked back to where the healers had been standing. She let out a quiet grunt of protest as her arms buckled and dropped her harshly onto her side. She lay there for a moment, blinking with a look of confusion. She grunts again, her arms and legs shaking with effort as she tries to get back up. The child rocked to the side as she struggled valiantly to bring herself onto her hands and knees. An occasional arm or leg twitched as if she were trying to use them, but lacked any actual coordination. Her muscles began to relax as she stared straight ahead, obviously unseeing. Gradually the child’s blinks grew longer until the eyes finally stayed closed. Her tiny chest rose and fell with deep, steady breaths as the drugs pushed her into unconsciousness.

The healers approached the bed cautiously. Alex took his thumb and lifted one of the eyelids and then dropped it again. He nodded to Faeryl who breathed a sigh of relief. They suggested moving the child to the bed next to her, but she protested. She moved to make more room for them to work and told them to do whatever they needed to do there. She wanted the child kept close to her at all times where she could see her. The healers nodded and gently rolled the unconscious child onto her back, still nestled between Faeryl’s lower legs. The child appeared almost lifeless as her arms flopped limply and her head rolled with mouth slightly agape. She was completely sedated and unaware as both healers began to remove her shirt and Faeryl watched over her protectively.
 

TaLi63372

Adventurer
The healers carefully removed the child’s purple shirt. This was their first really good look at the amateur bandaging. The girl had used scraps of differently colored cotton cloth from the tailoring shop to cover the tubes and the infected skin. The healers cut the remaining bandages holding the squares in place and carefully pulled the cloth up from the child’s upper right chest. The soiled fabric was stuck to the wound due to the dried pus and blood acting as an adhesive. To avoid aggravating the infected wound, the healers wet the cloth dressing slightly.

The skin around the tubes had begun to ulcerate. The skin boasted a bright red flush to its surface and was obviously infected. At the base of the tube where it entered the girl’s skin was a very thin strip of leather that was glued to it. There was stitching from the leather into the girls skin as if to hold it in place. There was a black tar-like substance on the ends of the tubes and blood, both old and new could be seen in the moderately transparent tubes. Half of the stitching at the base was cut and allowed for a raw-looking hole to form next to the tube. This hole appeared to be the primary source of the pus and blood that soaked the cloth. Alex suspected the infection had been there at least a week judging by the deterioration of the child’s skin and the low-grade fever. The whole things smelled like death.

“We don’t know how deep the infection is without opening the wound up more, “ Alex said as he looked at Faeryl.

Faeryl looked at the child and said, “Do what you must. I want her healthy. “

Alex nodded and both healers went about gathering needed supplies while the child slept. A bulls-eye lantern was brought over as well as hot water, clean cotton cloth, scissors, and a medical knife. “Are you sure you want to keep her here instead of moving her to a bed of her own?”

“Yes, “ she said firmly.

Clark lit the lantern and held it aloft to give Alex plenty of light. Alex grimaced as he cut the remaining stitches and unsealed the other side of the wound. Blood-stained pus seeped from underneath as the skin separated from the leather with each cut stitch. Alex frowned and wiped the leaking fluid with a damp cloth before he discarded the soiled cloth in a nearby pail. The whole unfamiliar scenario was very troubling to the skilled healer. He picked up his sharp knife, he made an incision on opposite ends of the raw hole. The incisions were a couple inches long and brought forth fresh crimson blood as tiny blood vessels were cut. Clark handed some clean cloth to Alex who pressed it carefully into the hole. The cloth soaked up the blood that was pooling inside the now gaping wound. More cloth was used and discarded into the pail until the blood clotted and slowed. With the help of the water and more absorbent cloth, Alex carefully cleaned out the remaining pus and blood that could be seen.

Clark held the lantern closer and used its cover to point the light into the hole. There were two good sized veins that came from the direction of the girl’s armpit. Those two joined together to form a large impressive vein that eventually disappeared under the girl’s clavicle. Alex had studied human anatomy enough to realize that large vein joined further down with the vessels from the neck to enter the heart. The tube was inserted into the large vein just before it disappeared under the bone. The way the tube was angled, the healer suspected the remainder was going in the direction of the girl’s heart. “Whether or not it actually goes long enough to reach it… I can’t say, “Alex told Faeryl. She nodded as he continued, “The infection appears to be primarily near the surface. Only a minor amount of tissue under the skin is involved. If we packed ointment soaked gauze inside and partially closed it the infection should clear up. We’d probably have to pack it again…”

Faeryl frowned, “"How long are you thinking until the infection clears? And what was the purpose of those tubes anyway?" “

“If the medicine works… and I don’t see why it wouldn’t… we should see it improve in forty-eight hours or so. If she improves, it’ll need to be repacked and we can probably seal it up fully in a week. As to the tubes, I’ve never seen anything like it before. If I were to guess? They used it as a long term way to put something into the girl’s blood or take something out. “ Alex said.

Faeryl nodded. "It will be hard to convince her to let you repack it, or seal it fully. But would it be too hard on her to sedate her again?"

Alex looked down at the unconscious girl, “So far her breathing and heart rate seems fine. She actually seems remarkably tolerant. As long as we don’t run into any issues with her coming to, I don’t see why we can’t sedate her again if needed. I think the difficult part may be trying to get her to take the drugs again. “ He frowned slightly, “What do you want to do about the tube?”

Faeryl looked at the child briefly, “"She seems to want it removed. Is that possible?"

“"We can try. I don't know where it ends; it may cause major damage or worse. I'll do the best I can if that's what you want... but I need consent.” Alex said solemnly.

With a nod, Faeryl responded, "You have my consent. Just take it slow to minimize the risk."

Alex nodded and the healers got to work. Alex gently pulled on the tube. At first there seemed to be some resistance as if there was a seal around there the tube went into the large vein. Alex pulled a bit stronger and the seal finally gives way. The blood leaked from the vein and slowly pooled. Clark carefully soaked it up with a clean bit of cloth. They look over at Faeryl and she nodded for them to keep going. Inch by inch, Alex pulled the tube out slowly. Towards the end, he met resistance again as if the tube got wider and no longer was able to be pulled out. He cursed under his breath and looked at Faeryl.

“It needs to come out, “Faeryl said.

“We can try to force it, but I don’t know how large the block is on the other side. I can attempt to nick the opening enough to get whatever is causing the problem through or we can leave the tube as is.”

"Whatever it takes to get it out." Faeryl said.

Alex made the choice. He asked Faeryl to hold the light source so they could both use their hands. Faeryl held the light steady so they could see. Clark took control of the tube in one hand and soaked up blood as it pooled with his other hand and a new cloth. Clark put a very gentle and steady pressure on the tube. Alex took a deep breath and carefully used his sharp knife to carefully cut the edge of the vein’s opening bit by bit until the tube finally came loose. Soon as the tube slipped free, blood flowed very quickly out of the opening. Clark tossed down the tube on the floor without a second thought. Alex dropped the knife and folded one of the clothes and stuffed it in the hole. He leaned on the pile of cloth, holding pressure against the large bleeding vein. The blood soaked through the first cloth fairly quickly. Alex lifted his hands for a moment while Clark added another cloth on top of the first. Then Alex applied weight again. He kept this up for the next ten to fifteen minutes as if to make sure the blood had clotted.

Alex cautiously and carefully lifted the cloth and they inspected the wound as Faeryl watched. Alex nodded to Faeryl and everyone relaxed again. The cavity was carefully packed with a very long bandage that had been soaked in some ointment. The stitched the wound mostly closed except for a small opening to remove the thin gauze and allow the wound to drain if needed. It would also be helpful if she started to bleed again as they’d be able to detect it quickly.

All three of them looked down at the sleeping girl and breathed a sigh of relief.


[[A huge thank you to the player of Faeryl who not only helped rp out everything, especially with the npcs, but who was a huge pile of patience with helping me edit it. ]]
 
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