Seeking assistance. on Hospital Wing

Alicia Bauer

January 19, 2013 11:30 AM

Seeking assistance. by Alicia Bauer

Alicia hated medical facilities.

It was nothing to do with what was in them, or at least the parts which were likely to interact with her. Medical personnel bothered her no more than the prairie elves did, since they, like elves, were just there to perform a service and then disappear from her life until they were needed again in a way which was very convenient for everyone involved, and though medical procedures were hardly something she just jumped up and down for joy to have, they were necessary sometimes and she didn't fuss when she required them. She didn't even know what it was about the building these usually innocuous things occurred in, really; the only thing she could think of was that the first time she'd ever entered a hospital after being born had been when her Gramma Claire had been dying, but since, between her mother's family being estranged in general and Gramma Claire having spent nearly twenty years in a cult before that more specifically, she had never seen the woman before that, she had no idea why that should have made much of an impression on her. Whatever the case was, though, it was something that sometimes caused her a bit of a problem, since she got a little uncomfortable even in independent Healers' offices and felt anxious just at the thought of landing in an actual hospital or emergency ward. She had avoided the hospital wing to the maximum extent possible in her first three years at Sonora, and when she'd had to come in for a dose of Pepperup Potion last year, she had tried to get out the door again before the smoke even started pouring out of her ears. Not much in the medic's domain, as long as she was walking and could hold something in her dominant hand, was usually intriguing enough to make her want to go in to see it.

Usually. Almost every rule had its exceptions. Sometimes, Alicia wondered if there were even people who didn't breathe or something, just to make the rule about exceptions to the rule an absolute rule and therefore a paradox. She tried to amuse herself by trying to think her way out of that one as, extremely reluctantly, she opened the door and walked into the school's medical center.

“Hello?” she called.

She was by no means the roughest sight ever to walk into the room – she looked much better, for instance, than many Quidditch players did at the end of their games, and probably better than some of the cold patients who would be presenting themselves in droves in a month or two – but she was walking a little stiffly as she advanced past the door, favoring her right leg and rubbing the wrist of the arm on the same side. The day before had been a very, very long one for her.

It had all, she thought, seemed so simple when she had come up with the idea. There was nothing she could do about being separated from her friends in the challenges, but there was something she could do to both increase their individual chances of pulling a team to victory and make it more likely that they wouldn't start to think of their group as no longer made up of friends because of the competition, and that was training. She would, she had decided mutinously, get everyone she cared about together soon, and then again between the challenges, and they would work on getting as prepared as they could for anything they could think of together until the circumstances forced them to briefly work against each other, at least in theory.

Parts of it had remained simple even after she came up with the idea. Coming up with lists of useful spells to memorize and work with had been a snap, since she'd already had plenty of those around to draw from, and the other mental aspects of the challenges had only taken a while in the library. They could work on word games and riddles, puzzles, and paper mazes all to give themselves a general boost in thought, navigate a real maze in teams in the Gardens, work on building skills in the art room, and of course review academic material together, since they needed to do that regularly anyway. Physical skills, though, were where things had started to get complicated, and why she was in the hospital wing right now, with curfew barely over. Everyone, she knew, had to be at least able to hang onto a broom at need because of flying lessons, but beyond that, she had realized she had no idea what everyone else could do, or even for sure what she could do for sure, so she'd headed down to the sports room herself to test that out before she told anyone else about her scheme.

She was, she had determined, still a strong swimmer, could still hang onto the broom if necessary and could probably improve if she could find a time when she could be relatively sure of being uninterrupted to practice, and still had most of the gymnastics skills she'd learned at home before Sonora. The obstacle course had been new, but kind of fun. She could also, by her own estimation, run fast when she convinced herself she had to get away from something, and she was working on improving her climbing on the rock wall. Unfortunately, though, her more complicated gymnastics maneuvers had suffered from lack of upkeep, since she usually just went through basics to keep herself in shape, which was why her wrist hurt, and while she could maybe run, she was completely useless once she stopped, since her legs started trying to give out and her lungs seemed to think she was ordering them to collapse on themselves and it took her far too long to get her breath back. Add in it being the most strenuous workout she'd had in a very long time once everything was rolled together, and today, she was aching from head to toe.

Obviously, she was going to have to work out a few small problems before she could convince her friends it was a good idea for them to beat themselves up like this, too. She had lost her grip on the rock wall three times, one time swinging back into it in the harness, bruising her face and skinning one hand a little, though she had been able to take care of that last night in her dorm room. One of the few pieces of advice she was willing to take from her biological father was that it was always a good idea to have a basic first-aid kit around.

“I'm sorry to come in so early, but I could really use something for being stiff and sore, if there is something like that,” she elaborated on her call for attention. “And for one of my wrists to be looked at….” She knew it wasn't even sprained, but it did hurt, and that was not a good sign. It was better safe than sorry with that, especially since she was planning to work more on just those skills later this afternoon. She had to improve in absolutely everything very fast, after all, plus presenting that problem gave her the perfect opportunity to suck up to the medic while asking questions about his craft.

16 Alicia Bauer Seeking assistance. 210 Alicia Bauer 1 5

Medic Bailey

January 20, 2013 5:08 PM

Providing assistance by Medic Bailey

The hospital wing was silent, and Dylan had to admit that he sort of missed Autumn's daily visits. He had gotten used to having, at least, one student visiting him. The medic had started the year with a rather lonely room to fill his days. In his opinion, it was better to be busy than actually wander down memory lane. Dylan missed Cassie a lot, and he had reread the letter on his hand more than he could count. This relationship thing was definitely complicated, but he liked this complicated. However, the butterflies he felt every time he saw her owl was downright embarrassing. The medic highly anticipated the arrival of the daily correspondence with a big, silly grin on his face that lighted him up. Dylan was in love, and he wasn't afraid to shout it to the world. Okay, maybe a little, but he would do it if the need arose.

Dylan was finishing rereading the letter for the umpteenth time when he heard a hello coming from the hospital wing. Excellent. He was needed. Though he was surprised someone had sought him out so early, but no matter. He had been awake for a couple of hours now and ready to start the day. The last bite of his breakfast was left unattended on his desk as he left the confines of his office to see who needed his assistance.

“Good morning,” he greeted the girl with a friendly smile on his face. He was about to ask to what he owed the early visit, but the girl told him almost right away. Dylan nodded and thought about what he could give her to ease her soreness.

“Let me give you a mild potion for the soreness and then I will look at your wrist,” he informed her while rummaging through his potions to find the one he was looking for. While he was doing it, he made a mental note to rearrange his cabinets in a more orderly fashion after his little patient left. They were a mess and thankfully he didn't have to endure inspections.

“aha!” he humbled to himself as he grabbed the small purple potion vial and served the allotted amount in a plastic cup. He also made a mental note to order more of it.

“Here,” he carefully passed the cup to her. “It will help with the soreness and stiffness, though I would recommend to not overexerting your body. If you are working out start small and once you build up a little you can do more.”

The medic waited for her to drink the potion to ask to see her wrist. Once she had done that, Dylan extended his hand, “Now your wrist.” Once it was placed he looked at it carefully. It didn't look swollen which was excellent news. “It doesn't look swollen, but I will check it anyways to be 100% sure nothing is wrong.” The medic pointed his wand at it and muttered the spell. The white that emanated from it confirmed what he had thought, her wrist was okay.

“It looks like it is fine, if it hurts just let it rest for one or two days. If it continues to hurt after that come back and I'll take a deeper look at it,” he advised the girl with a smile.

“Anything else I can do for you, Miss?” he asked realizing he didn't know her name, and he needed to write down what he had given her in her life.

0 Medic Bailey Providing assistance 0 Medic Bailey 0 5

Alicia Bauer

January 21, 2013 10:03 AM

Receiving assistance. by Alicia Bauer

Alicia mirrored the medic's friendly smile and salutation before saying why she was here, despite wanting to back away from one of the beds slowly. There was another one right across from it, anyway, so she would just run into that one if she did give into her discomfort, and just because the medic was the head of Teppenpaw didn't mean he lacked a brain or basic observational skills. Looking uneasy in his home would win her no points with this staff member, and the only reason she was really here was to hopefully win a point or two on top of not having to spend her whole day in discomfort.

“Thank you,” she said when the medic said he could grant her request, offering him a grateful smile. She had deliberately worn the same blue outfit she had had on the morning she had called a team meeting – the modestly-cut dress and matching shoes with a headband holding back her dark hair – and used a bare minimum of make-up, just enough to highlight her better features and soften some of her worse ones, so she could pull off sweet and girlish in front of the adult. That act was getting harder and harder to keep using as she got older, since she was no longer as small compared to others her own age as she had once been and she had both a usually intent gaze and an unfortunately strong-boned face, but she thought she could manage for another year when she had to. After that…well, she'd come up with something.

For now, as she watched him go through what looked like disgracefully poorly organized cabinets, though, she would use it, because sweetness and girlishness were not traits people expected to see in either competitors or potential troublemakers.

He handed her a purple potion, which Alicia drank down quickly and without complaint, though she did briefly work her lips over her teeth afterward, hoping it wasn't staining them too badly. She had to change clothes before her classes anyway, since she couldn't wear this dress to them so soon after the last time she'd had it on, so she could brush her teeth again then, too, she guessed. She would have time, since she tried to leave herself extra time to do everything when she planned schedules and it was too early in the day right now to have deviated from her plans.

She presented her wrist when it was asked for and listened closely when he performed a spell on it, trying to memorize the incantation and wand movement even as they were used on her, just to know a new spell. The white effect emanating from her wrist after he was done was interesting to look at even if she didn't know what it meant until he told her, and she was still turning it as he advised her, once again, to take it easy for a day or so.

“I know,” she said, glancing down and then rapidly up again with a self-deprecating smile. “I should have known better than to take it so far yesterday in the first place, I just got a letter from home and it reminded me of how much I liked my gymnastics lessons when I was little, so I went to the sports room to try a few moves….” She spread her hands, indicating he knew how it had gone from there. “I guess I was a little rustier than I thought.”

Because she absolutely had not been trying to get ready for anything they might throw at her during the challenges, so she could, if she chose to do so, beat it to a pulp. No way. No siree. A nice girl like her would never think to do a thing like that….

“I think that's about all for now,” she said brightly when he asked if there was anything else he could do for her. “Unless I could somehow convince you to give me a few lessons on extra healing spells and potions, that is. I think this – “ she waved around at her disliked surroundings – “is all really, really fascinating. How you can just put things back together the way they should be.”

16 Alicia Bauer Receiving assistance. 210 Alicia Bauer 0 5

Medic Bailey

January 24, 2013 3:34 PM

Glad I could be of service by Medic Bailey

Dylan was pleased that his patient realized her mistake because she would start taking it easy from now on. The medic was sure this little episode wouldn't repeat itself in the near future, “I am glad to know you realize you can't make your body do more than it's capable at the moment. Once you gain strength you can start asking more of it,” he finished his little lecture with a smile. It felt awesome to be able to help people with their ailments, which was the main reason he had pursued healing. There was not a better feeling in the world than it, well maybe love, but that was another thing entirely.

The smile hadn't left his face throughout the whole interview and it just widen when the girl so humbly – and accurately – said nice things about his chosen profession. It was extremely nice to feel people – namely students -- cared for the service he provided for them. Dylan was excited about the prospect of teaching her some things. He really was. It wasn't every day that a student showed any interest in what he did and that was surely going to help with the boredom that had sent it after some of his patients graduated.

“I'll be glad to,” he responded in a proud tone. “Not right now, though. I am sure you have classes, but I can make up a schedule and meet with you once a week.” The medic was already thinking about the basic spells he could teach her and how to. He had never taught and it seemed like a very interesting experience. At least it was going to look great in his curriculum if he ever decided to seek another job – very, VERY unlikely. “Though I think I need a name to be able to contact you,” he commented at the end. Dylan didn't read minds and if he didn't know her name then nothing would come out of it.

0 Medic Bailey Glad I could be of service 0 Medic Bailey 0 5

Alicia

January 25, 2013 2:43 PM

That's a trait I like to see in people. by Alicia

“Yes, sir,” Alicia said sweetly, turning her mouth upward into a smile that mirrored Medic Bailey's, despite irritation with both the way adults talked in general – a problem she had with virtually every adult she had to interact with at some point; they seemed to think she required points to be stressed – and with the implication she was weak. The fact that she had been trying to convey that impression didn't matter, because getting her way and being happy about it weren't always the same thing.

Any ill-will she had toward the man, though, vanished when, to her surprise, he actually agreed to teach her what she wanted to know. Alicia was sure she even looked surprised for a minute, because she hadn't expected it at all. She had hoped, of course, that he would agree to her request so she could learn something useful, which might come in handy in the challenges to come and the preparation for them and then in life beyond that, while getting closer to a staff member at the same time, but had expected to just walk away with the consolation prize of seeming eager and enthusiastic enough and having laid the flattery on thick enough with a staff member to gain a hair more edge in the prefect selection process. Instead, though, she was walking away with the trophy. A time-consuming trophy when she already expected to spend this year tap-dancing on a spinning wheel, but still.

“Thank you so much!” Alicia said enthusiastically, beaming. The team splitting thing meant this year couldn't be perfect, but it might still have its fair share of compensations.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” Alicia said when he asked what her name was. “I completely forgot to tell you that, didn't I? I'm Alicia Bauer, Aladren.” She accompanied this introduction with a small curtsy and another bright, genuinely pleased smile. "I can have my existing schedule written up and sent to you by lunch," she offered. "There's plenty of wriggle room there - " actually a lie, but she was the party who was going to have to compromise if compromise was necessary here - "so whatever works for you should be fine. Thank you so much!"

16 Alicia That's a trait I like to see in people. 210 Alicia 0 5