sixthiterationlogs | heigh ho, heigh ho, why is three miles so far and why do my legs hurt

Entry tags:

heigh ho, heigh ho, why is three miles so far and why do my legs hurt

WHO: Ravi Chakrabarti
WHERE: Hospital
WHEN: July 22
OPEN TO: OTA
WARNINGS: n/a

In the rush of discovering a whole other land, Ravi's excitement may have gotten the better of him. He'd taken all of his scientific equipment and hiked his way over, going as far as the water's edge before he started to take as many samples as he could, still focusing on the water (mainly because he's curious if this water, ocean or cove or bay, has the same healing properties as the fountain or the spring). What he doesn't take into account is how far it is to get all the way out there.

By the time he gets back, the sun is starting to set, but he's sweating and he's fairly sure that he's managed to give himself an impressive neck burn from the way that the sun is reflecting off of his skin all day. Huffing and puffing, he thinks that someone should have put up signs along the way to warn him just how far that trek is.

Collapsing inside the hospital, he slams his kit on the table and collapses in a slump in front of it, groaning for water like he's a zombie. No, bad thought, that's not what he needs to think about, it just makes him miss Liv and home. He drags one of the chairs over so that he can sink into it, stripping off his scrubs shirt until he's just in a sweaty t-shirt (not hot enough that he dares go shirtless, he's not an animal).

Staring at the vials of water, he knows that he should start running tests before time or strange village magic can change anything, but he's just so tired and hot. "I hate walking," he complains aloud, already knowing that his calves are going to ache like mad tomorrow. "This science had better give me something," he continues to gripe as he forces himself to get up and start fetching the rats for their daily bout of tests.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"It's not like the rats are very easy to be subdued and I don't want to drug them for fear of tainting the results. Maybe you can press down on the cages a little," he suggests, gesturing to the wire. "I think that might do the trick in case they start wriggling about." He works towards subject B, his little Beta, and opens it in order to slide his fingers in with the scalpel.

Before he does, though, he leans back to make a note in his book about the type and length of the wound he's making. "It's not as if the mass of water will help," he admits. "It's a bit too far to really do that, but still, it's good to know this sort of thing."

Sansa barely refrains from wrinkling her nose when he tells her to touch the cage but she shifts closer to do as he asks, pressing her hands gently atop the cage he is at. Turning her head, she looks over her shoulder and away from what he is doing when he starts making the wounds.

"So if you find that it works and how well it does, are you going to try finding a way to store some?" She asks curiously, wetting her lips.

"Store it, yes. Synthesize it would be better, but I am lacking a ridiculous amount of equipment to do that," Ravi says as he squints and starts to make a little two inch wide mark, using a small nearby piece of equipment to do the measurements for him. "Could you imagine, though?" he asks, settling back and staring into the middle distance with a sigh.

"If I could somehow replicate this, I could turn it into a treatment that accelerates the healing. One shot and you might be able to heal in minutes, compared to multiple trips to the spring." It's a long shot, as it stands, so Ravi can only focus on the task at hand, moving over to subject Charlie.

"You do mean make more of it somehow, right?" Sansa asks curiously, finding the whole thing somewhat fascinating even though it is a little bit beyond her scope of understanding. Mostly because she has never really had to learn about such things before.

"That would definitely be useful." She agrees with a nod, moving with him so she can continue her job as he needs her to. "And I'm sure everyone would appreciate it. Especially if anyone is hurt bad enough that they can't move on their own at first."

"I do," Ravi agrees, making a careful incision and trying not to feel like a cruel mad scientist when the rat lets out a tiny, affronted squeak. He moves on to the next cage as he thinks about what he would need in order to even begin to think about doing that, but unless their unseen observers see fit to drop a medical supplies store on them, he's definitely not going to be managing that.

"We've had enough serious injuries that it would be helpful, but I'd also take the lab just so I could synthesize proper pain meds," he says gravely. "Leaves and tree bark don't cut it, not when you compare them to morphine."

Sansa's eyes flicker briefly to the rat when she hears the little squeak and she can't help but feel bad for the creature but she merely looks away again instead of interfering. She trusts Ravi to know what he is doing and that it will lead to something important in the end. Plus, she tells herself that it isn't like he is killing the creatures.

"I'm sure you will figure it out, Ravi." She tells him with confidence, nodding her head.

"I will, but I really don't want to have to listen to the screams of someone who I can't give any painkillers to, mostly because I don't even have them," he says, but also knows that he's including himself in that estimation. Whatever had happened with the chocolate had been awful, but he can't count on a magic cure every time.

If he can, he's got other complaints. He keeps moving over to the next rats, gesturing to the water. "If you're not against it, you can help to start measuring the water in little drops. I've got a dropper over there in a kit somewhere, one of the first aid kits, I think."

"But I'm sure there are things that we have that can help a little bit, yes?" Sansa asks, knowing that there are some plants that can help and other ways to deal with pain if it became an issue. She trusts that he and the others who know about medicine can do something.

Glancing towards the water, she nods. "I can do that. How much water do you need?"

"Nothing like morphine," is what Ravi says, because if they do manage to find a plant that has those abilities, he will absolutely step back and admit that he'd been wrong, but it hasn't exactly happened yet. "If you can see the little markings, we'll start with ten milliliters per rat," he says, wanting to make sure they don't go too quickly, lest he miss a necessary stepping stone in the findings.

"Honestly, just hope you're not seriously injured," is what he says. "That's the best way about it."

"What is morphine?" Sansa can figure out that it is some kind of pain killer but she hasn't heard of it before either. Turning her attention back to the dropper that she has, she nods when she finds the little markings and specifically the one that she wants.

"After being struck by one of those lightning balls, I can honestly say I would like to avoid being injured in any way for a very long time." The cut that she had gotten on her head during the earthquake still seems mild in comparison to the lightning event. She almost shudders as she brings forth that memory but she is quick to push it away again as turns to offer him the dropper that she has filled with water. "Here you are."

"The most blissful drug in the world when you need pain management," Ravi tells her, glad that he's always been on the dispensing end and never the needing end, having been able to tolerate milder drugs for the problem he runs into, thankfully. His joking fades away when she talks about the lightning, a concerned look on his face.

"Have you been feeling any lingering effects?" he asks, because while Ravi is always happy to tease and joke, his doctor's oath always comes first and right now, he's got an answer he needs to get. He thanks her with a nod for the water, but keeps staring expectantly at her, waiting for the answer.

"Not as much as I used to." Sansa answers honestly, keeping her gaze focused on the rats while he continues to work after she passes the water over. Then she realizes that he is watching her still, expecting more of an answer than what she gave him and so she continues on because she trusts him.

"I still have the scarring on my hip and leg." She clears her throat gently. "I get numbness down the same leg sometimes, along with odd little twitches when I'm tired or worried about something. Also, I get a few headaches still but they're mostly manageable."

"That's to be expected after a lightning strike without proper surgical equipment," Ravi says, his voice sympathetic and filled with an apology that's mostly for nothing, because it's not like he'd been the one to cause any of that distress. Sadly, he's not developed any ability to control the weather just yet, no matter how much he might try.

"The headaches, we could probably use herbs to treat," he says, latching onto the one part where he might actually end up being useful. "It wouldn't strip it all away, but it would make it manageable."

Sansa could hear the apology in his voice and smiled softly while shaking her head without words. She hoped that he wouldn't feel too bad about the lingering effects because he had nothing to do with them nor could he have controlled what happened. It was something that she would simply have to deal with.

"I don't want to take anything that we might need for someone else." Then she paused for a moment before deciding to soothe his worry. "But if I ever get one that is so bad I can't handle it, I will come find you. I promise."

"Maybe by that time, we'll have managed to grow something a little more effective." He could also dig out his rather helpful little personal store of pain-relief, but he'd been holding onto those on the off chance that they might be required for emergencies. Sadly, here, headache was no longer the sort of emergency that it was needed for, not when lightning strikes and animal attacks were the norm.

"Just don't let it linger," he advises, "even if we're short on supplies, it's better for us to struggle to find something instead of you trying to be stoic and developing worse issues."

"I hope so, if only for the people who need it." She would offer to help him grow whatever he needed even though she had no experience with really growing things. She knew and understood the practice but hadn't ever actually done it with her own two hands.

"I promise, I won't." She murmurs gently, hoping that he will feel reassured by her vow. Then she nods towards the rats. "Do you need more water now?"

Ravi nods and extends a hand out to his new assistant, feeling rather official now that he's actually working with someone instead of just talking to himself (which happens quite a lot, as he's found he grumbles often as he works, his complaints simply reaching the air with ease). "Few more droplets, please, as close as you can get it to the same level as before."

"One day I'm going to find a link to something," he vows, not sure if he's saying it because he needs the encouragement. "I will, just watch me."

Sansa gives a little nod of her head as she turns around to do as he asks. Given her talent at sewing and creating articles of clothing with intricately stitched details, she succeeds rather easily at getting him pretty much the same level as before in the dropper. Holding it carefully so it doesn't squirt or drip, she turns back to hand it over with a small smile.

"I believe you will." She says, seeming to sense that he needs the encouragement and the absolute faith in his ability. "I really do, Ravi."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

heigh ho, heigh ho, why is three miles so far and why do my legs hurt

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject