Yet Another Day in the Infirmary
Characters: Amethyst, Forlen, Roslyn, Snotnose/Flicktail
Location: Redwall
Infirmary
Amethyst has been puttering the around the infirmary and is presently unfolding clean blankets to make up the most recently emptied beds. Most of the occupied bed seem to be full of beasts that are either dosing or at least keeping quiet. The ratwife is sure that will change before long and is actually enjoying the laps of silence her charges have allowed her.
Forlen lays in his bed, a young hare sitting nearby him, asleep in a chair. The weasel looks to the rat and starts clapping his paws, not saying anything, trying to get her attention. On the other side of his bed is a wheelchair.
Amethyst had finished tucking in the blanket around the cot nearest her and was halfway through adding a second one when the weasel starting clapping. "I'll be over there in a just a minute," she calls over to him, "Think you can wait that long?" What kind of response she expects from a beast that can't talk is unknown but she does seem to expect one of some kind.
Forlen picks up a board next to him, and a piece of chalkstone, writing on it, 'YES', holding it up so that the rat can see it. Then he rests back on his pillow, closing his eyes, looking as if in pain..
Amethyst shakes her head upon hearing the taps and scrapes of chalk against slate. He's must 'belong' to one of the other healers. If he were one of the beasts she's worked with more he'd know by now that she can't read. "I'll try an hurry. You probably want in your chair. Better than being stuck in a bed. I might need help lifting you if that's what you want."
Forlen's eyes open frowning somewhat as the healer makes the assumption - an assumption - that he wants his chair. The weasel starts to make his own assumptions, leaning up again then makes a whimpering noise, indicating he's in pain, trying to make a face like he's in pain, and just incase she CAN read he writes 'PAIN' on his board and holds it up. The young hare sitting next to him doesn't wake up at all of this, but continues to lightly snore.
Amethyst sighs slightly annoyed by his lack of patence as she hurries to finish making the bed. The only way this could be worse is if the weasel were deaf as well as mute she thinks. The bed is made if a bit half hazardly and the clean bedding has been abandoned. Amy strides over Forlen's bedside to try to find out what he wants. "I'm here now. I don't know how you tell the other healers things but writing wont work with me." The rat's head is tilted as if she were looking down at him but her filmed over eyes just stare at him dumbly. "I can't read what you write so you'll have to tell me what you need some other way," she explains.
Forlen frowns a bit at the rat, noticing somewhat that she doesn't look directly at him. The weasel winces in pain as he reaches over, lightly patting the shoulder of the young sleeping hare. The hare mmmfs a little as she blinks her eyes open, noticing both Amethyst and Forlen, and rubs one eye with a paw as she looks at the board. Then to Amethyst and says, "Forlen's his name ma'am, he's a weasel who can’t talk or walk. Saying he's in pain."
"Well I can't read or see. He can hear though. Is it yer legs?" she asks first the new voice she assumes was the snoring beast and then switches to asking Forlen as the Redwall healers wont like it if she upsets their patients too much.
The hare nods slowly even though Amethyst can't see it. "Both of his knees were shattered in an attack, a hare destroyed them with a warhammer." She leans forward and gently places her paw on Forlen's, who looks to her, smiling weakly before looking back to Amethyst. "I've never heard him talk, and he says he can't. But he can see though."
Amethyst had heard the weasel couldn't walk but not all the details as to why but with all the things that had happened around the Abbey it wasn't too hard to guess. "That explains a few things. Are yer legs botherin' ya?" she asks as she can't help unless she knows what's giving him pain.
Forlen looks to the hare and nods, and the hare looks to Amethyst. "Yes ma'am," she says, then adds, "I'm Roslyn by the way, I'm a hare and I'm..... she smiles weakly and pats his paw. "I'm looking out for him. Forlen's his name, and he's just recently not been able to walk. Healers have already told him he can't walk anymore, so I'm looking out for him."
Amethyst is quiet for a moment or two then nods. "Well not everything's fixable," is all she says before starting to lightly poke and prods the weasel's legs to pinpoint the source of his pain.
Forlen squeals in pain as soon as he's poked, squeals more when she gets closer to his kneecaps. Roslyn in the meantime frowns, but doesn't move, letting Amethyst work. "It's his knees ma'am," she says. "That's where he hurts."
Forlen whimpers but he looks to the hare and knows, writing something on his chalk board. The hare reads it, then says gently, "Forlen says he knows he won't be able to walk again, he's accepted it. Right now, he's just in pain and that's all he cares about."
Snotnose, the black fox enters, but with him is a young Hare leveret, when the girl see's the weasel she Giggles and runs to him her arms up to be picked up
Amethyst would use her staff to block the little hare but she doesn't have a staff anymore. Her tail will have to work as a subsitute in the meantime. "Hold it there you little scamp. I'm working here. Thought dibbuns weren't allowed in ere?"
The Dibbun sticks her chin out her ears rasing "that my DA! you have ta let me go" she puts her small hands onher hips as Snotnose descreetly offers a staff back to Ame.
Amethyst blinks is that the same hare as before? This is going to be a long day.
Forlen smiles a bit at the small hare and very gently picks her up, once more nuzzling her and letting her sit in the bed. Then he looks to Snotnose, smiling to him.
A longer day. "Just sit back down and stop running all over th place then," she says to the hare half wishing she didn't have to reliy on her to translate the weasel's moans and groans.
Snotnose scowls but pats Ame, his walk being that of Flicktail the Champion.
Amethyst pats the hare's head and ears a bit, "That's better. If you're going to help you can't go running around all over." She may have to wheel the weasel to another room so the little hare can play a while later. "There are lots of things I can do. First I'm going to mix up something for him to ease th pain."
Forlen smiles at what he hears and writes something quick on his chalkboard. 'THAT'S WHAT THE OTHERS DID THANK YOU'. Then shows it to Snotnose and Roslyn both, hoping one will read to Amethyst what he just wrote.
Roslyn says "OH *I* Kin do it!" reading her "fathers' sign for them.
"You can do what?" Amy asks the hare not so sure she wants her so near the ointment ingredients. The staff the fox had given her leans against wall beside Forlen's bed as the rat doesn't need it at the moment. "Do you need somethin' fox?" she asks, "Besides a bath?"
Roslyn blinks "course I kin, he's my Da" she reaches up again to Forlen to be picked up "DA...”
Snotnose frowns at Amethyst "yea I need some snuggle time wi you" he says in a fake accent.
Forlen chuckles at the hare dibbun as he once more picks her up and snuggles her in his arms, lightly ruffling her headfur with his nose, smirking at Snotnose as he pats the chalkboard, nodding to Roslyn to read what he wrote.
the Hare reads out loud what is written.
Amethyst reaches up open a cabinet and starts pulling out various things. "Have you been trained as a healer?" she asks the hare. "I don't think so. And even if you have I will be easier if I do this myself. Yer job is t tell me what yer 'father' needs when he writes things."
The Leveret says "Oi Wuve im...that will heal im...." speaking like the fox should know this.
Forlen smiles once more to the dibbun in his arms, gently hugging the hare he's grown so close to and kisses her head lightly. Then he pats her shoulder, nodding his head to Amethyst, and sticks out his tongue. The weasel almost writes 'Meany' but he thinks better of it!
Roslyn Chuckles.
Snotnose lifts a warm Raspberry pie to Ame, gently guiding her paw to it and waving the arm pastery under her nose.
Roslyn smiles petting Da's chest fur.
"I'm sure you do but somethings need medicine too," the rat says smiling unaware of her patients antics til the younger one laughs. The fox is being ignored for the moment, as she's busy. Well she /was/ busy til that fox started acting up again. When the rat tries to pull her paw away from wherever he's guiding it to she ends up putting her paw through the pie. "Ugh, I'm trying to work here, fox! And unless you are injured you have little reason to be in here!"
Snotnose is a bit faster on the paw then that, guiding the pie away from a quick paw....."Oi Amethyst..it be me Flicktail oi brought ya some food" he says quietly.
Forlen smiles and hugs the small hare again, smiling to the fox and rat. Then he quickly writes something on the board, showing it to Roslyn. It says, 'NOT HURTING TELL THEM TO RELAX PAIN'S GONE'.
Roslyn says "Da says his...P..in is gone....." she smiles "See I am Da's Voice isn't that right Da?" taking out a paper and showing the Weasel, she has drawn a picture of him in his chair with her kissing him.
Amethyst's paw still bruised the crust and she now has raspberry goo on her claws. "I know who you are but that still doesn't give you permission to clown around in here! A beast could get /poisoned/ by yer doin' /that/ you /blasted fox/." A half hearted "Good for him," is directed at the hare.
Flicktail says, "Sorry Ame' he says his ears down a bit."
"Yer as bad as any of th little ones. There's a reason they aren't allowed t play in ere ya know. There's a time an place for bein' silly but this is not it," Amy continues. "Entertaining the patents is not th same as pestering a healer," she adds when the hare repeats Forlen's latest message.
Roslyn looks up and says "Da, kin I be a we-zel when I am bigger?”
Forlen chuckles and shakes his head, writing on his board, 'You'll grow up to be a hare. But that doesn't mean I don't love you any less!' Then he kisses her head once more.
“But I wanna be a WE-zel.”
Forlen smiles as he thinks about that for a moment. Then he writes, 'You make a better hare'. Then nods as he pats his board before hugging her gently, closing his eyes as he does so, then adds in his writing, 'I think so Roslyn!'
I wuv you da....." she snuggles up under yer chin "i'm gonnamake ya well...and we will be happy.
Forlen smiles as he rests his chin between her ears and nods, writing, 'You already made me well'.
“I did?” she says excited.
Forlen smiles down at her, nodding, and writes. 'Just because can't walk doesn't mean not well', the weasel writes before nodding.
“But maybe I kin help ya ta walk TOO...”
Forlen thinks about what to write in response to that. 'Even if you don't you still make me well' he writes quickly, lightly ruffling her headfur. Then he taps the chalkboard and adds, 'Better than before when I walked'.
She gets a plate of food to bring to feed her Da.
Amethyst starts to put things back in the cabinet as they aren't needed right now.
Roslyn asks Ame "kin I help with anything?”
"Well if yer paws are clean you could finish making up the empty beds for me," the rat suggests. Sure the beds may have to be redone again but it will give the little hare something to do. "And you," Amy asks now talking to the fox, "Can bring that pie back over here now. Unless it's been eaten already." With hares around food is never safe.
Flicktail Brings the pie over still warm "Thanks Ame.”
"Welcome. Jus remember this is th infirm not th dibbun's dorm," Amy says a little more kindly. "Now I don't think I can eat this pie all by meself. Might need to cut it into a few pieces. Might even have a few crust left for a certain little miss if she does a good job. What do you like Flick?"
Flicktail says, "Oi like you Ame...."
Forlen blinks, looking up from his almost asleep position to the rat and fox in curiosity.
Flicktail looks back curiously
Amethyst smirks, "Yes I noticed. You should be careful. Some might take that the wrong way."
Flicktail says, "Father Abbot said when e vermin be gone, Maybe Forlen kin be a Novice Brother."
Forlen blinks again, then leans up when he hears his name, novice, and brother in the same sentence. The weasel quickly composes himself from the excitement and nods. Then writes on his board 'WHAT GRANPA WOULD WANT' and pats it, showing it to Flicktail.
Flicktail says, "well we can't disappoint Granpa kin we...."
Forlen smiles gently to Flicktail, nodding slowly.
"That so? I was considering staying a while myself." Amy says, "I suspect I look as good in green as anything else. I'm not decided yet. They don't have dibbun keeper around here do they or is that one of your jobs?"
Flicktail says, "Well.... we needs like, a badger mum...Oi love e dibbuns but me Champion duties takes me aways often."
Amethyst asks, "Does the beast have t be a badger? Don't see many of them around these days."
Flicktail says, "well if we use some lamp black.. We kin put some stripes on ye....that shoudl be close enough."
"Fun. Does it /have/ to be lamp black?" she asks. The dye she used to use for her hair turned fur black but that stuff was /expensive/. Of course if used in such small amounts it would last a very long time. "I suppose I'd midget banger. .... I wouldn't have t cut my tail off for th job would I?" she asks still playing along with the joke.
Flicktail chuckles "oi be sure ye will do fine Miss Ame......and oi'd not cut such a loverly tail.....”
Amethyst ponders the idea a bit more, "Should talk to th Abbot about it. Don't know where th warlord shuffled him off to exactly."
Flicktail says, "E be fine trust me."
Amethyst waves a little as the fox leaves. "Be careful out there," she calls after him before turning back to the weasel and hare.
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