Xanadu Weyr - Infirmary
The infirmary here is intended for human care. It is spotless and smells of disinfectant, cots are lined up against one wall, a curtain can be pulled to give some privacy to the occupants of the cots if they so desire. A cabinet stands off against another wall, instruments and medications stored against when they will be needed. A couple of curtained off beds are used for examinations of patients and the treatment of minor injuries which won't require long term care. A desk with chair is just off of the doorway for the healer to sit and catch up on record keeping after a long days work.
The infirmary has a few occupants today, a couple of weyrbrats with tummy aches, and an old aunty that comes in regularly to be checked over, she knows she just has to have something. The Weyrhealer is busy tending to his charges while the apprentice sits stationed at the front table. Kera has her manual opened in front of her and occassionally scribbles in her notebook.
Despite the studies that he's continued in the healing craft, M'kal has had little time to visit the infirmary like he did before Xeosoth was born. Today though Xeosoth has insisted to go sit on the Star stone. Why? Who knows but the blue launched up there nearly a candle mark ago and is quite content to stay there. So this leave M'kal with unexpected time on his hands so he finds himself wandering into the infirmary. Spying an unfamiliar face he plops down in the seat across from Kera. "Hey there." he greets.
Derca reclines on her cot. "Oh, dear." She shifts, sitting up a little to try to peer around a curtain and peer at one of those weyrbrats, then slowly leans herself back onto one elbow. "Oh dear me." She shakes her head slowly, her blue eyes going to seek out the Weyrhealer. Now where is he? Her vision's not what it once was, you know.
Kera reads from her manual and continues to write out the occasional note. Looking up, she seems confused for a moment that someone else is taking the Weyrhealer's seat. "Um, hello there.." Her eyes drift over the young man briefly before she continues. "Um.. Weyrling..?" Another glance is given checking to see if he's injured in some way. Another round of 'Oh Dear mes' has the apprentice pausing and flipping to a page in the back of her notebook and making a tiny little mark and muttering under her breath " …thirteen…" before dropping the pages back down. Peering back up to Weyrling as the Weyrhealer's voice can be heard from behind one of the curtain's. "I'll be right with you." And a weak flemmy cough can be heard from one of he weyrbrats he's currently tending to.
"Mikal…er, M'kal." he grins sheepishly. "I am a weyrling though apprentice as well." he gestures about him. A passing journeyman ( who's stood three times and never Impressed) snorts and rolls his eyes. M'kal simply ignores him though. "I was hoping to run into J'myn but I guess he's not in here, eh? He Impressed Blue also." he adds after a moment in explanation. The auntie gets his attention briefly as he calls over to her, dead on the heels of the Weyrhealer. "I'm sure someone will be right with you Derca. How's the back feeling? Any better?" evidently he remembers her from previous visits. Back to Kera he peers. "You new here? Don't remember seeing you around before? But then I guess I've been pretty busy the last turn or so."
"Oh, do hurry," Derca says querulously back through the curtain, and raises a blue-veined hand to pat absently at her cheek and test for suspicious bumps before blinking over at M'kal. "Oh, Mikey. You'll tell him to hurry, won't you? My back, well, it's doing poorly. I really do think there's something the matter with it. It's bumpy, you know." Another pat of her cheek. "My friend, now she had this terrible lump on her face. Really awful…" She frowns back over at the curtain. Some people need medical attention here!
Kera looks between the curtain the aunty is behind and M'kal in front of her as the weyrling greets the 'ailing' aunty. At the symptoms the ole women voices, Kera lowers her head, glad the curtain hides the little amused shake the apprentice's head does. Peering to M'kal, she nods "Yes, I'm recently posted from the Hall. Apprentice Kera. Nice to meet you." From behind one of the curtains… "Here's a bucket if you need t…" Whatever was gonna come next is drowned out by one of the weyrbrats being very sick in the booth next to ole aunty Derca.
M'kal wrinkles his nose at the sounds of the youth getting very ill. "Guess supper didn't agree with him." he mutters. Raising his voice so that it carries easier to the Auntie. "I told him to hurry though I'm afraid the patient he is with sounds quite ill." lowering his voice to normal speaking volume he comments to Kera. "I remember when Derca came in insisting her arm was simply going to 'fall off' it was in so much pain. Turns out she had a splinter in her arm that she didn't know about. Had been there at least 4 days!" leaning back in his seat he nods. "Well met to you Apprentice Kera. How're you liking Xanadu so far?"
Derca shakes her head at the sound of retching. "Oh, dear. Too many sweets, I suppose. It's a shame, you know." Kids these days. Not like when she was young. "Well, you're a nice boy, Mikey. You'll make some girl very happy someday." And then she pats her way down over her arm. It's not lumpy, is it? Because there's this spot that's turned sort of brown, you see, and she never was the sort to freckle…
Kera cringes at the thought of having a splinter for that long, though nods at the question. "It's been real nice, very friendly. Expecially to apprentices wandering around lost." She gives a little chuckle that she turns into a little cough, not wanting Derca to think Kera is finding her ailments amusing. Lowering her voice so it doesn't travel very far she whispers "I didn't see any lumps or spots when I helped her to the cot."
M'kal doesn't work too hard to keep his voice low. After all the aunties hearing? Not so well. "Oh she comes in at least once a month..usually more actually." his brow furrows in thought. "There might be some lumps. She /is/ old." it's hard to tell if he's serious or not though the deep green eyes of his twinkle in amusement. "Well it's good to meet you. If you need any help just come seek me out at the barracks. Or the caverns at mealtimes."
Kera nods agreeably. "You're right, there could be, but in this case, it looks like it's only a little swollen cause she keeps jabbing at it over and over to point it out." That's all said lowly of coarse. Trying to ignore the weyrbrat's noises, Kera glances down to her manual, eyes focusing on some point a moment before darting back to the young man across from her.
Like this one, right here. It's a lump. Okay, it might just be a mosquito bite, but that doesn't stop Derca from poking at it and giving it suspicious looks. It's red. And she's not a healer, but it certainly looks inflamed to her. Poke. Poke. Poke.
M'kal can catch glimpses of Derca poking at the suspicious, possibly inflamed red bump. On the arm. He covers an amused expression before sparing glance to see if the Weyrhealer is going over any time soon. He ignores any sounds of…sickness quite well. "She'll be fine I'm sure." he looks down to the manual. "Oh, I'm sorry!" he says quickly. "I'm not interrupting your studies am I?"
Kera shakes her head quickly with a cheery smile. "Oh not at all. I'm just studying and reviewing between my duties. Currently I'm to inform the Weyrhealer if any new patients arrive and see the are made comfortable." Canting her head slightly, "Did you need to see the Healer? You don't seem to be injured but.." Derca's ramblings are overheard, causing Kera to peer that way briefly.
It's very suspicious, this lump. Derca looks up at the curtain as it rustles, but sadly, that's not the healer coming to help her. It's like he thinks he has more important things to do. Possibly related to the noises of sickness. Well. She shifts and settles back onto the cot. Her bones may not creak audibly, but the cot does, what with how slow she moves and how she presses into it. She waits for a moment in between retchings, and… she moans, experimentally.
M'kal shakes his head. "Me? Oh no. Just killing some time really is all that I am doing. Xeosoth is up at the Star stones. I'm waiting for him to finish…um..well doing whatever he's doing. Watching over the weyr perhaps?" he shrugs. The moan from the direction of the auntie draws his gaze that way. "Journeyman?" he calls to the healer on duty, assuming it's a journeyman. "You've another patient." he says helpfully.
"Yes Apprentice, I know I have patients to see. As you've no doubt been told already in your studies, injuries must be prioritized." More retching can be heard as the Weyrhealer most likely thought he was talking to his newly posted apprentice. Said apprentice gives her attention to M'kal again, grinning at his reasoning. "So your dragon like to just sit and watch?" After a moment she drops her pencil to the notepad. "And that would seem to give you time to fill. Afterall, you're not going anywhere til he feels like it, right?" Derca's little moan is heard and Kera's hand reaches to her notepad, absentmindly flipping to the last page.
A not very patient patient. Derca nods approvingly as she hears M'kal inform the senior healer of her need to be seen, then frowns as she hears that response. Well! She crosses her arms in front of her, and tries another moan… though she pauses halfway though when one of those weyrbrats starts retching loudly enough that it's not like he could hear her anyhow. Once the quiet resumes… so does her moan. No use wasting the effort when nobody will hear it. She has to save her strength!
M'kal frowns a touch at the reply then simply stifles a reply to the journeymen. Instead he casts a 'I tried' look towards Derca. "Well I could just walk back to the barracks." he grins towards the other apprentice. "Still though I can wait for him." the next moan draws his gaze over once more.
When whatever Kera wasn't waiting for doesn't happen, she let's the notebook pages fall back into place. She gives M'kal and understanding nod for his efforts an donce more tries not to react to the horrible sounds from the sick kid. After a moment she frowns just a little "Poor little guy, can't possibly have anything anything left on his stomach to bring up." Considering M'kals words, she ends up nodding. "Well as long as the weather is nice, then I suppose a little walking hurts neither of you then." That offered with a little smile.
Derca's expression softens as she notices M'kal. Yes, little Mikey's a good boy. He did try. She glances back to the curtain and gives it - or the healer behind it - a glare. Hmph! But then she shifts again and leans back on the cot, letting out a long sigh as she looks down over herself. These old, old bones. "Oh, dearie me."
M'kal is trying not to hear the noises of one loosing his lunch. Nope! Lalalala. "I prefer it whn the weather is nice actually. Can't stand the cold." ask anyone. "Maybe I should walk Derca back to her room for now. She can come back later." he raises his voice as he stands and starts over to where Derca is. "Derca? Can I walk you back to your room?" he asks politely.
Kera looks towards Derca's voice and reaches for her pencil while once more flipping to the back of her notebook and mutters. "…fourteen…" softly before dropping the pages again. Rising when M'kal, the apprentice gives an agreeable nod "That might be best. Afterall, she wouldn't want to take the chance of catching whatever has upset his tummy." Nodding once more she as she offers assistance to help Derca to her feet.
When there's nobody more important around? Derca's considering another moan, but then M'kal interrupts. She frowns, casting another glance at the healer behind the curtain - still not seeing her, she could be dying over here and he hasn't even taken a look! - and then slowly sits up again, putting her legs over the edge one by one. "Well, I suppose, Mikey." She reaches out her hands for support - not that she didn't walk here just fine on her own - and gives a moan as she rises. "I'm just so weak lately." Her grip seems perfectly firm as she hauls herself up with M'kal and Kera's assistance. "It's terrible, really. And I've had this cough…" Her lungs sound fine. "I'll try back after dinner. If I even have any appetite…" She'll probably eat like a horse, but for now, she lets herself be guided away.