Day 161 - Something's nasty...something's foul...

[followsthevoice]

Who: Raile and whoever wants to stumble over this sick kid.
When: Day 161
Where: The Monument, and perhaps other places in the Bastion.
What: Raile is really, really sick and needs help badly.
Format: Any you can think of is fine with me.
Warnings: Body squickiness, sickness, serious discussions most likely.

[There was something incredibly off, Raile could tell the minute he opened his eyes that things weren't normal about him; the right side of his face felt like it was being crushed and stabbed at the same time...like someone had covered a hammer head in zulwood oil. As well, his entire body was hot to the point where he was sweating profusely and that same crushing feeling extended down to his chest, making his breathing nothing short of a labored chore; everything part of him ached and his insides felt like they were on fire. Simply keeping his eyes open hurt and caused his world to spin right along with his stomach. Against his better judgement, Raile stood up from his bed roll--only to fall flat on his face without any help from the Skyway; it took him a few tries, but he eventually got to his carbine which he used as a crutch as he began to walk towards the center of the Bastion.

If anything, his mind was so wracked with pain and the urge to be sick that he could hardly have come up with any solid plan on where he was going; but his body sure as heck knew where it needed to go...at best, he was heading in the general direction of Zulf's tent, not that his body would be able to carry him that far. Every step his took made his world spin harder and sent an ache that pierced right through his bones; Raile was a tough kid, but even the strongest man alive had his limits...he only got as far as the monument before he collapsed once again, his rifle clattering off to the side. He could no longer keep his eyes open out of the pain the light of the sun sent through his head, so he shut his eyes and used the last of his strength to prop his back against the metal construct that rested in the center of the Bastion.

It's hum was somewhat comforting, but it did little to ease his pain as he sat against it and did his best just to breath deep, ragged breaths. He'd never felt like this in his life...and if someone didn't find him here soon, this might very well be the last time he felt like this...or felt anything at all.]

Comments

[gianthobo]

Don't try to talk. You need to save your strength.

[AZ held Raile a little more tightly to his chest, trying to give the boy some kind of comfort. He didn't know him well, and he didn't really have any way to fix this, but he had to try to comfort him, try to offer advice.]

... I'm probably going to have to slow down when we get in there, just so you know.

[Being tall could be a really literal pain in the neck sometimes.]

[fuckthemancers]

I thought we fixed that...

[Quiet and hurt and full of self blame.]

[Quickly, he shakes his head.]

I'll carry him if I have to. Ryu, can you get Colin or Polka? Duke? Please.

[dragonform]

[A sound plan, Zulf. Just one little hitch with it.]

I don't know who they are. I only arrived yesterday, but I know plenty of healing magic. It might be able to help him until we can reach one of your friends.

[followsthevoice]

[Yeah...Raile's just going to listen to AZ and be quiet here; talking hurt more than he cared to admit, heck, even breathing hurt more than he cared to admit. He was just going to have to trust that he was in good hands from here; something he absolutely hated. It hurt him more to know that he was so useless in this situation that he was having to be carried anywhere. Maybe it was his pride, but he felt like he was right back to where he'd been when his mother died...absolutely powerless--and that positively killed him on the inside.]

[gianthobo]

[... Must be a new person. Fine.]

Zulf, you'll have to go get them. I promise I won't let anything happen to him. He can heal Raile until they get here. We can't stop to bicker about this.

[No offense Zulf.]

Now get going.

[It's not said harshly, but it is a bit of a command, his back straightening up a little. It may have been a long time ago, but he still remembers how to give orders.]

[fuckthemancers]

[It's a good command! Very authoritative. The only problem is that Zulf is having a slight break, and it takes him a moment- although an important one- to get himself to move. There's a clear struggle in his eyes. He doesn't want to leave Raile alone but he also wants to get as far away from this situation as possible.]

[His body finally gives a jerk and he takes a step back. There's no words, just him rushing off to find anyone who he even faintly remembers as having some skill in healing.]

[Or Colin. Colin would do in a pinch.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin is very easy to find, if Zulf can't think of anyone else. He's in his workshop, parked on his back underneath the ship they brought back, cataloging the damage and doing all sorts of prep work. He's not going to really get to work without Nathan and AZ, but he can at least make notes.]

[dragonform]

[That's Ryu pushing the door open and holding it for AZ. There'll probably be some explaining to do to Zulf whenever he returns as to what sort of funny business is going on between himself and the other Ryu, but right now there's the matter of Raile to attend to.]

Set him down wherever you think is best, and I'll get to work.

[In truth, he hasn't tried casting any spells or transforming yet. He doesn't have any reason to suspect that something about his abilities might have changed since arriving to the Bastion.]

[gianthobo]

[AZ ducks to make it through the door, cradling Raile, and heads to the emergency room. He gently sets the boy down on an exam table and takes a step back.]

[dragonform]

[At this point, casting any healing magic has become like breathing to Ryu. Once AZ is out of the way, Ryu's entire focus is on Raile. There's a strange, pulsing energy that wills itself to life between his hands. The energy in his hands swirls and mixes in color until it turns a bright shade of green. He raises his hands over Raile's still form and wills the energy from his hands and into Raile's body. If he were anywhere near coherent, it would likely feel like a warm sort of tingle spreading all over his body.]

We'll just have to hope this will work until your friend can get some help.

[His gaze doesn't shift from Raile while he continues to channel the spell.]

[followsthevoice]

[Indeed, it was a better feeling than what he'd been experiencing; but in the end all it was accomplishing was holding the pain where it was...healing magic was a wondrous thing to be sure, but it could only do so much. If Raile had the mind to, he would have thanked Ryu...but to be fair his mind had all but gone from him; in fact it seemed his breath had gone from him as well. Was...that a blue twinge to his skin? Someone might want to take a serious look at the small child quickly, because if nothing else could be seen immediately...he definitely wasn't moving anymore.]

[gianthobo]

[AZ's eyes widen, and Floette flies off of his hat, hovering nearby. He bends over Raile, tilting his head back, pinching his nose, and opening his mouth slightly. AZ wipes his face - he can worry about possible minor respiratory infections later. He covers the kid's mouth with his, breathing out a few strong breaths. He then lets go of his nose and presses his hand against the center of the other's chest, pushing it down and up with his other hand.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Did someone call for a technologically superior elf? Well, there's one here now.]

What's going on, what's...

[He spies AZ performing CPR on Raile, and he frowns.]

Got it. Scanning now. Can anyone tell me what he came in with?

[fuckthemancers]

Head.

[Wow that sure is explanatory. But you'll have to forgive Zulf as he comes in, nearly dragging Rosethorn along with him. He's paler than normal and has yet to stop trembling. In fact, he seems to get worse when he sees Raile's condition. He tries to swallow, but his throat feels dry as desert sand.]

Injury, it's infected.

[earthandpine]

Yanna help us. [She murmurs a prayer while she crosses the room. Zulf isn't the only one pale, and Rosethorn's breath hitched when she saw how bad things already are.]

If anyone has hands or time to spare, get water boiling now! [It'll serve the dual purpose of giving her something free of bacteria to use if needed on the wound and providing calming tea for Zulf.]

I can probably take care of the infection, but I don't know about the complications. [She already has a couple of medicines for the infection out, triage obviously putting her attention on Raile rather than getting Zulf calmed down.]

I might need a knife sterilized too.

[dragonform]

[Now that the hopefully trained doctors are here, Ryu dismisses his magic and steps out of the way of the new arrivals, though he's quick to follow their instructions. Some of the hospital's setup isn't quite what he's used to, but he produces a pot of boiling water after a few minutes.]

What else do you need?

[There's urgency in his voice, but Ryu is able to maintain a cool head. He's confident they can pull Raile back.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Completely unlike his normal behavior, Colin's face seems to be set in stone, his right eye flickering as he studies Raile's face]

AZ, keep that up. Rosethorn, with me, we need to scrub. He's got a horrible infection, his heart rate is erratic, and he isn't breathing. AZ will keep him alive.

I'm going to need towels, a compress, suction if we have it, bandages, and a... No, we don't have laser scalpels here. I'll improvise there.

What genius stitched up that wound without making sure it was clean?

Also, everyone who isn't seeing to Raile, get out now.

hey colin, hey rosethorn

[fuckthemancers]

[Colin is very easy to find, and that ease is what has Zulf heading straight for the man's workshop. He's already yelling before he's anywhere close to making it inside- something that might be rather noticeable for any plant mages nearby.]

COLIN!

[There's no polite knock this time, or 'good morning'. Zulf just makes a beeline for the engineer, reaching to grab his arm with trembling hands to try and tug him out. He's not in the particular state for explanations, Colin, sorry.]

hey zulf calm down

[earthandpine]

[Rosethorn is nearby, and that shout sounded awfully frantic. She has the forethought to grab her kit in case of emergencies, and she sets off in the direction it came from. It's fairly obvious what direction that is, given that the shout was someone's name.

She rounds the corner through the doorway of Colin's workshop.]

Zulf. What happened? [It's no use asking whether everything's alright, because it clearly isn't. Rosethorn's immediate reaction is that Zulf needs a big mug of calming tea. Urgency is fine, but that sounded more like panic.]

Re: hey zulf calm down

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin lifts his head and slides out from under the ship with Zulf's pulling him]

Okay, something's wrong, where do you need me?

[He gets straight to the point, here... he also gives Rosethorn a worried look.]

but no

[fuckthemancers]

Hospital.

[It's a good thing that's the only word said, because it trips out of Zulf's mouth instead of his usual clear and careful pronunciation. Anything else he could get out would no doubt just become a garbled mess.]

[So he focuses on just pulling Colin, already jittery and jumpy after Rosethorn seemed to suddenly appear. Still, he tries to make a grab for her as well- he remembers that she can heal too, through all his panic.]

[earthandpine]

Who and what?

[It's fine if Zulf can't answer the question, because Rosethorn is already moving. She'll head straight for the hospital. A few of her medicines are already there, and most of the staples that aren't are in the kit she's holding. Zulf may manage to grab her solely by virtue of the fact that they're moving in the same direction, but Rosethorn won't deliberately allow it. His first attempt misses. If he's too far gone to realize her destination, the second try is more likely to work.

Hopefully she can do something for whatever the problem is. Rosethorn knows she's not a healer. She has medicines for a lot of things, but no power to push healing into a person if those don't work.]

[freedom_engineer]

Three seconds.

[Colin slips his hand out of Zulf's grip, and he jogs across the workshop to grab his medkit.]

See you there! Rose, try to get out of him what's wrong!

[He breaks into a sprint towards the hospital then, showing just why so many 1g societies find the benefit in high gravity training. He's far faster than he looks capable of.]

[fuckthemancers]

[The second try will land, Zulf holding on tight to her and hurrying as much as he can. Sorry, Rosethorn- he needs someone to hold onto right now. Considering how much he's shaking, maybe it's for the best.]

Raile. His- h- [The words just refuse to come out, tripping and tangling in his mouth before he can get them out. It's clearly frustrating him and he finally spits it out as they reach the hospital.] Head!

[earthandpine]

[Rosethorn, not in nearly as good shape as Colin, didn't think she could move much faster. That last word, though? That gets an extra burst of speed out of her. She's seen head wounds that kill someone hours before their body finally follows. A lot of those can be treated early on, however hopeless they are later.

She'll be breathing heavily by the time they get to the hospital at this rate, naturally more prone to shortness of breath since her own brain damage.]

We'll get to the hospital, and I'll do whatever I can for him.