BOARISH EXCITEMENT

Subject: BOARISH EXCITEMENT Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:59 pm

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[size=21]Each day, Aisling would make the rounds through the tower, going by to visit each patient and to visit with each staff member to make sure they had all they needed. Her availability was as much as she could allow and still take care of the business at hand with the healers and the tower. Reacquainting herself with every detail of not only the tower but with the castle life as well.

As the light of day chased the last shadows of the night away, she would open her eyes.

Well rested, she would get up and wash and get ready for her day. Anna would greet her as Ash took her breakfast and discuss the issues for the day. The lingering aroma of fresh cut flowers lightly permeated the halls and main area of the tower as she began her rounds. She had barely started when a young staffer and a child approached her.

Aisling could see that the child was frightened by the wide eyes and dirty cheeks stained with tear drops as they ran down the face. The staffer would nod then began speaking very quickly. “Lady Healer, this child has come to get help for his mother. They were gathering berries in the west border of the Meldrum Forest when they were attacked by a large boar. He says his mother is hurt badly.” Aisling was already walking quickly as the staffer spoke, child in tow. The child ran to keep up with Aisling. “She’s mangled badly m’lady. And so much blood.” Aisling began to fire off questions to the child as they reached her healer’s bag and began to check it to make sure she had the supplies she needed, her thoughts flying through her head, quickly coming up with a list of possible items that would be needed. “Be it just ye and yer ma or others too? Is there someone still with her?” She was now at the cabinet that housed several bottles of all shapes and sizes. Ash would move a couple aside until she found what she wanted. “No, it was only the two of us.”

“This is important lad, tell me briefly what ‘appened.” She had stopped what she was doing, squatted down to be at his level and was now looking him in the face. The sudden attention directed to him would make him tear up once more but he tried to pull himself together to give her the answers she needed. “We were looking for the wild berries and we heard a growl. My Ma told me to quickly scurry up a tree and so I did. Then she started up the tree as well, but when I reached for her hand to help her, she cried out with pain and fell back down. I could see this wild boar, biting at her and butting her as she rolled into a ball. I started yelling very loudly and began throwing twigs and sticks but it just kept biting her. Then a huge flock of birds flew from the branches above. The boar suddenly stopped biting her and ran away. I climbed down and there was so much blood. My ma told me to get help at the castle so I ran here.” Aisling stood back up.

“Ye were brave to do so. Ye did well lad and we will see to your mother.” They were now on the run again, as Ash barked orders to a young lad to get two horses prepared, no saddles. No time. The porter answered her then ran out to carry out the order. Anna had come to Aisling, having heard the commotion and Aisling quickly explained to her where she was going. Then taking an acolyte and the young boy, she would follow his instructions as they raced from the castle to the forest’s edge.

Not 100 feet into the forest, they came upon his mother. She had tried to prop herself up on a tree and was holding her lower abdomen. Blood was everywhere. Aisling quickly dismounted with the boy and went to the woman’s side. As she knelt down, the woman lost consciousness and her hand fell away from the worst of the wounds. Blood still pumping out with the rhythm of her heart beat. From the ground around her, Ash could tell the woman was in danger of losing her life from the blood loss. But once the hand fell away, she could also see small intestines as they oozed from the large gapping wound in her belly.

Quickly she began giving instruction to the acolyte. “What be yer name lass?” The girl was immediately beside her. “Theresa M’Lady” “Well Theresa, I need to stop this bleeding. Could you pull the items I need to pack this wound. Do ye kin ‘ow tae dae that?” The girl quickly nodded to her. “The supplies be in m’bag there.” She pointed to the bag on the ground beside her. Ash was quickly looking the woman over, noting that her heartbeat was weak and getting weaker by the beat. Her breathing was shallow and rapid. Her eyes fluttered in minute movements as she lay unconscious. Ailsing new the bleeding from the abdomen was bad, as it seemed the tusks of the old boar had sunk deeply into her, and rearranged a few things, but the blood loss was much heavier than tht of a single wound. Then examing her closer, she discovered that the woman had been bitten on the inside of her thigh and it had severed a main artery. This caused her to furrow her brows. The woman was close to death and there was little Aisling could do with traditional methods to save her, especially in the forest without all available sources. It was a quick decision for Ash.

She stood up and told the Acolyte and the boy to move away from her and the boys mother. Theresa struggled with the bag but did as the lady said, taking the boy by the hand to pull him with her. Ash’s body began to heat up and she pulled her sleeves up, exposing the full arm length tattoo of the phoenix that was normally hidden by long sleeves. As she stood over the woman, her head held back, an aura of orange, red and yellow fire began to encircle her body and then encircled the woman’s body as well. To those watching, it would appear that Ash had caught afire. She looked back to the lad and nodded in assurance that all was well then spoke to Theresa in a voice that resonated with a crackling as heard only from a burning fire. “Take the horses and get the boy to the tower as quickly as ye can. I will bring the woman wit’ me.” Theresa stared at her for several seconds in wonder and fear but she heard Aisling’s words. The mere sight of the Healer before her caused her alarm and she was frozen in place.

“Go now!” Aisling bellowed. Theresa gained control and nodded and put the boy on one of the horses and she went upon the other. The boy was not happy at leaving his mother once more but no words of argument were made as he stared at the woman with the fire aura surrounding her and his mother.

As they began to ride away, Aisling’s clothes burned away to reveal her body in flames that changed shapes into a firebird. Standing over the woman, who was still engulfed in the protective fiery aura, she would blink her eyes, releasing tears onto the wound on the woman’s thigh and again to the wound at her belly. Immediate contact of her tears to the woman’s injuries would began smoking and searing the woman’s wounds, the blood slowing in its flow out of her body and then stopping. The injury was still open but the artery and blood vessels had closed up and allowed the blood to circulate through her body once more instead of spilling out onto the ground. The woman's organs would find their proper places and ease back into place.

Now in full firebird form, she would throw back her head and let out a loud screech before carefully placing her bird feet on the woman’s shoulders and taking to the air. Her direction was towards the castle as she carried the still unconscious woman to the tower, passing over Theresa and the child as they rode wildly to the tower. The boy was pointing up to her as his eyes and ears caught sight and sound of the Phoenix.

Once at the tower, Aisling would lay the woman easy onto a knoll of grass as she willed her body to transform back to her own. The fire aura continued to clothe her as she picked the girl up in her arms and carried her with ease and quick step into the tower and to a triage room. As she laid the woman upon the bed, the fire aura would begin to fade. In those few seconds though, the room heated up 10 degrees. She heard the footsteps coming down the hall at a fast pace and would grab an extra sheet from the table in the room and wrap her own naked body in, as her clothes had burned up in the transformation. Then she was at the woman’s side. With the bleeding stopped, she would begin cleaning the wounds so she could see the damage still left behind. Sutures were going to be needed as well as clean rags and various herbs and oils.

As Anna appeared in the door, Ash would immediately send her for assistance from whoever was available at the moment. Ash kept monitoring the woman’s breathing and heartbeat. She checked for any broken bones and found none. That was simply an act of the heavens for she had known wild boars to simply bite through ankle, leg, arm and hand bones. She noted that the heartbeat had grown stronger but still not out of danger. As her assistant came in, she began to give her instruction. Hot, clean water, bandages, sutures, balsam ointment, and fresh drinking water was called for without much thought at all. While awaiting the items, she noted the strong features of the woman's face and wondered what her background was.

Once the items she needed arrived, she began to clean the wounds and then one by one, she would suture them closed. Applying a poultice of balsam, arnica and candela to help the swelling to stay at a minimum and to help in the healing process. The arnica would also help with the painful recovery of the wounds from the inside. Echnecea was dried and crushed into a powder and mixed with fresh water for her to drink when she became conscious once more. It would assist in her own body’s ability to heal. Once the wounds were clean and dressed and she made sure there was no more bleeding, she would exhale deeply then go to greet the boy who now had made it back with Theresa. She told him his mother was sleeping but that she was in much better shape now and it was her belief that his mother would recover from her ordeal. Theresa asked if she could sit with the woman and the boy until the woman awoke and Aisling told her that was an excellent idea.

Aisling would then go to her room, wash up and redress. Once dressed, she would request something to eat to help replenish her energy that was exerted with the transformation. She could feel the exhaustion set into her body once the adrenaline stopped flowing through her veins. The transformation left her quite weak and rest would be required but first she had to be sure the woman was indeed going to recover without complication. Once food was taken, she checked in once more on the lass and her son.

The woman had come to consciousness but had been given something to make her sleep once more to avoid the pain involved in her body. The boy had started to tell his mother about the fiery bird that saved her life but in a state of half-consciousness, he wasn’t sure she actually understood what he said. His mother simply smiled at him, touched his cheek and closed her eyes to sleep.

Needless to say, when Ash returned, the boy had questions as did Theresa. Theresa, however, allowed the boy to ask the questions because she wasn’t sure how appropriate it would be for her to question the Lady Healer, though a child could be overlooked if etiquette was broken. Ash answered the questions as best she could; watching both of their eyes as she spoke, checking on the mother’s general health every so often, as they talked.

Once she had satisfied his questions, she could not help but smile at him as he looked to her in awe. His eyes said he was indeed glad to have seen something that none of his friends or relatives had ever seen. A story that would be told many times older by him. His worry lines on his face began to ease as Ash assured him his mother would be fine once more and then bade them both farewell.

She would have to rest now or passout. The Phoenix would return her energy and stamina while she slept so she found her bed and with a slight smile upon her face, fell asleep.

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