Dealing with Scars (Attn: Murdock, Kaia)

[Damien]

Danos al'Sheen

Danos entered his room in the Warder's Quarters, glad there was no roommate to see him grimace and make faces as he pulled his shirt off. The unarmed class of Dax Gaidin was quickly improving his physique, leaning the muscles and weight he had put on with a tradesmen lifestyle. Although working in the cooperage had been hard work, long hours of planning and shaping the wood had never demanded his body perform quite like this.

Pulling his shirt off, he was annoyed to see the grey fabric marked with spots of blood. He knew the scars on his shoulder must have split when he had been punching the practice dummy.

Awkwardly wrapping gauze around his shoulders to keep his new uniform clean, Danos knew from his village Wisdom's advice that leaving his skin broken and uncared for could result in infection. Slowly he dressed, glad that the shirt would cover most of the scar tissue he bore. Once ready, he walked the yards and asked for directions to the Infirmary, chuckling as the Novices stared at his shining black eye. Suppose most of Drin'far'jis end up with our names carved into benches at the Infirmary by the time we are done, thought Danos as he walked the paths that led to the infirmary.

As Danos arrived at the infirmary, he could see there were many people, all in various stages of tasks he had little knowledge of. So he found a spot that seemed to be out of the way for most, and calmly waited, eyes closed while he took the time to run through the days lessons and reflect.

[Chris]

Another day, another lot of clumsy trainees to Heal. Murdock wasn't nearly as strict as the Black Tower were when it came to dishing out Heals, believing that they would only suffer in the long run if their wounds weren't treated... but only up to a point. Some of these Warder wannabees needed a lesson in humility and to stop showing off. A few days carrying around a fractured wrist or a bit of a limp would calm them down some - as a man with a walking stick, he certainly knew how a bad leg could slow a man down.

But Murdock did as he was told, and the Yellows treated anyone and everyone who came through the doors. Murdock was simply glad to be allowed the opportunity to Heal without constant supervision, his skill apparently enough that he could be trusted for most general injuries. Of course he could he trusted, he was no teenage buffoon trying to show off, he was simply trying to learn enough to become an Asha'man and get out of the Grey Tower for good. The tall Dedicated spent his shift tending to those who needed it, not seeming to find a moment to sit down apart from when he was at someone's bedside. He preferred the sitting, or at least his leg did, but the rest of him was restless and needed to move, to be occupied in some task or other.

There was plenty to do today, and Murdock made himself useful by spotting the Warder trainee that had come in and made himself discrete by sitting a little out of the way. People didn't tend to make social visits here so the man made his way over to where this fellow sat, leaning on his stick and looking him over. Nothing immediately obvious, but also nothing a Delve couldn't tell him. "Light shine on you Drin'far'ji," he said formally, his voice soft amidst the bustle of the Infirmary behind him. "I am Dedicated Murdock. What seems to be the problem today?" he gestured behind him to one of the free beds, and there was also an office for if his injuries were something of a more... personal nature. Murdock had raised four daughters and cared little for the anatomy of those he treated, it was all in a day's work, but people could be ever so touchy about showing their chests or legs above the knee.

Of course one of this man's problems, if it could be called such, was a black eye. It was part of the regime really, but if this was all he was here for then Murdock couldn't promise not to shoo the lad out of the Infirmary with his walking stick. Even sitting, Murdock could tell this was a strapping young man and as a potential Warder, he needed to learn how to take more than a prod in the eye to resort to Healing at the Infirmary. The Dedicated would hear him out first though, and he even tried to put on a small, doctorly smile the Yellows told him he should attempt more often.

[Damien]

Danos

Danos was waiting patiently when a man in a black coat approached. He was still learning all of the ranks, but when the man introduced himself as Dedicated, Danos stood stiffly.

"Greetings Dedicated, I am Danos al'sheen, and I've come hoping I can get aid with an old wound," said Danos as he took one of the beds closest to him.

The infirmary was busy, and Danos knew there was little time between duties, so he wrestled with his shirt, pulling it over the gauze wrapped shoulder. He could feel fresh blood on the gauze, and so stripped the wrap off as well.

Trying to maintain his calm being undressed before a strange man, he supposed it was no different than a bath house. "I was burned a few weeks ago in a stable fire, fortunately an Aes Sedai was there to save me from the shock. Unfortunately she told me she was Green Ajah and her healing saved my life, but could not prevent the scarring," Danos stated as he turned to allow the Dedicated to see the mass of scar tissue and purple lines along his shoulder and side.

"I had a tincture from my Wisdom that helped prevent the splitting skin, but I am out now. I also hope the Healers of the Tower can perhaps grant me more flexibility with this shoulder. I've been able to complete my classes, but I know it will slow me down versus true masters," said Danos simply. The cool air of the infirmary felt good on his skin, and he was hopeful for treatment.

[Chris]

Murdock followed the trainee over to the bed he chose to sit on, finding a stool and perching down next to him on it. He was too tall to be leaning over all bloody day and his leg appreciated the rest, so he leaned his stick next to the wall and set about finding some water and a cloth as Danos removed his shirt and explained his situation. Murdock politely took the shirt and gauze, setting the former to one side and the latter in a nearby bin.

"I'm going to Delve you now. This will feel a little strange but it's simply a way for me to examine the body and identify the things you're telling me." Murdock went to seize Saidin, though there was a pause as he realised he couldn't even sense the source - ah yes, he wasn't thinking about Giselle now. As soon as he thought of the dead woman, Saidin was there for the taking and he snagged at it in order to give the trainee a thorough Delve. A black eye (obviously), some typical bruising one might expect from being a trainee Warder, and a painful looking set of scars. Open wounds, but the scars themselves were set in their ways.

"How long have you been at the Grey Tower, Danos?" he asked as he took a look at the shoulder. He leaned over and examined the scarred skin with gentle fingers, "I don't know what you might know of Healing already, but if an Aes Sedai has already fiddled around with the Power then it's unlikely I can do much. I can stop the bleeding and give your shoulder some attention. There's exercises I can give you to improve mobility in the shoulder, and then I can probably do something to lessen the scarring, but that will take time and I doubt it will ever go away." Murdock was a good Healer as far as trainees went but he was quite sure a Yellow would say the same. "First I'm going to clean the shoulder, see where you're bleeding from."

He took the water and the cloth, taking great care with the bleeding as he wiped the man down. These injuries were not the simple sort that would go away any time soon and it could well be that they would split open again in the future. If there was some way to injure the scars, make them think they need Healing with the Power again, that could work... the man mused as he worked, dark eyes focussed on the task at hand. But one didn't tend to injure someone in order to make them better, so he kept that thought to himself.

When the injury was clean, he asked, "permission to Heal? I'll stop the bleeding and do what I can for the scarring, as well as that black eye of yours."

[Damien]

Danos

Danos shivered as he felt the One Power wash over him, but other than goosebumps on his flesh it wasn't an unpleasant experience. As Murdock did his work, he could feel the man's hands deftly handling the cloth and cleaning the blood.

Taking a breath as some of his bruises protested to the pressure, Danos answered Murdock's questions, "I've only been at the Tower for a month or so now. The training is progressing, and even with my Drin'far'ji training my flexibility has improved. I know from Marzell Sedai, the woman who healed me that you cannot heal a wound twice. So I came here more for help with infection as the skin breaks, and hoped maybe there were other methods than the Power," Danos paused as he considered his words, "I just believed that the Grey Tower would have far more knowledge on such things than my village Wisdom had. So I am here Dedicated Murdock."

[Chris]

Murdock couldn’t help the brief tut that escaped his lips. “You’ve been here a month and only now have you come to see the Yellows?” he asked, but it wasn’t really his place to judge and as far as messed up people went, this lad was pretty low on the list. He wasn’t imagining his dead wife wherever he went, Danos had that going for him. The Dedicated was all done with the cleaning, it didn’t take all that long for his practiced hands to clean the area up. “Course, there’s plenty of things a Drin’far’ji can do to make himself useful here. They do have classes on herbs and the like.” Not that Murdock knew much about them, he didn’t care for what plants you shoved down your throat to stop a swelling in three days, when someone could simply use Saidin.

“The Yellows here will know more than your Wisdom. There’ll be some poultice or other that can help you but that’s really not my area of expertise.” The man was honest, “I know the people who are though. Let’s get you Healed up and see what else we can do, hrmmm?”

It ought to have been ever so simple, the Healing. Murdock had Healed worse, and he was pretty sure that this was one of those instances where he could sort out the man’s injuries, pass him off onto a Yellow and be on his merry way. The Dedicated hadn’t experienced any real issues with his Healing since his time as a Soldier, trying to Heal the birds he had broken the wings of. Harming to Heal, came the thought as Murdock met Giselle’s eyes. Giselle’s disapproving eyes. She must have known what would happen before Murdock did.

It was like Healing, but at the same time it wasn’t. The threads Murdock weaved together would in the correct combination, be useful for Healing a bruise or other injury, but these were not intended to Heal as the man had initially thought. Just as his Healing skill came naturally to him, it seemed all it took was the correct circumstances, the correct body, and he could make real the daydreams he had sometimes carried with him like lead weights, heaviest when he was trying to Heal the birds. Healing them so hard that they died... it was like harming them. It was Rending, making worse what was supposed to get better. Murdock’s weave of Fire and Earth and Spirit laced into the wounds, but none of them improved. The bruises never faded, and the bleeding didn’t stop. Where the injury was supposed to abate and knit over as if it had never been, instead it only grew worse. The scars around the man’s shoulder were delightfully susceptible- wait delightfully? That’s not delightful, so easy to rip the already ruined flesh instead of knitting it back together.

Murdock jolted upright and out of his channelling reverie when he saw the bleeding from the broken skin had begun with a vengeance, and none of the injuries he had intended on Healing had actually Healed. That was me! he realised, mouth open momentarily as he looked at the Warder trainee. He ought to have been shocked, or at least looked alarmed, but Murdock was thoroughly stoic as he heaved himself to his feet and hailed down the nearest Yellow he could see. “We have a problem here.” Murdock was the problem.

He couldn’t wait to try it again.

OOC: Do let me know if anything needs changing. I'll keep the exact amount of damage taken to your discretion.

[Damien]

Danos

Danos wasn't surprised when the Dedicated tasked him for taking too long to come to the Infirmary. He had been feeling stronger despite the bruising and soreness, although he was interested at the mention of herbs and duties.
"I will speak with my Master of Training about that, anything to keep from being a burden on the Yellows. And I would appreciate any recommendations you could make," said Danos as he again felt the One Power soak into him.

At first Danos was expecting the wash of cold and then hunger, but this was different somehow. First was the heat, he could feel the bruises in his shoulder and arm heating, and his torso broke out into a sweat. As the heat intensified, Danos gritted his teeth, determined to ride out what he thought must be a new technique.

Then whatever the Dedicated was doing hit his scars, and Danos could not stop the grunt of pain as the skin felt as if lanced by claws. The heat intensified, and Danos swore he could smell blood.

"Murdock Dedicated, I do not believe that this is working. Dedicated? Murdock?"
said Danos as he quietly called out to the man. Unbeknownst to Danos, Murdock continued to work, lost in his own world until finally the sensation of heat stopped, and Danos could feel his pounding heart settling.

Panting, Danos sat weakly as he heard Murdock Dedicated stand and call for a Yellow Sister.

[Jenn]

Kaia

It was not unusual for the petite Domani to linger in the Infirmary even though it was... suggested that with her newfound position as Keeper of the Chronicles, such responsibility did not allow for such flexible use of her time. Kaia could not stop the annoyance that surged up along with amusement. From separate places across the Tower, two answering touches brushed against her mind, one in a far more intimate fashion than the other, and she smiled a little.

Flawless emerald eyes glanced over to her left, surreptitiously studying the tall thin Dedicated that was fussing over a boy wearing the grey uniform of a Drin. She briefly took in the split bloody scars, shaking her head imperceptibly. Another bloody flaming idiot. The sight brought to memory another set, on another giant boy, raised skin split and bleeding in much the same way. At least the Drin was seeking help for his injuries. And, unlike this boy, the channeling giant had destroyed part of the Weaponry Hall.

Full lips thinned and the Aes Sedai returned her focus to the task at hand. She held no particular fondness for the Infirmary. In all actuality, she hated it. But the raven-haired beauty returned week after week. Some small part of her felt... beholden to Lyesia, even though the plump Yellow had never made any mention of such. Kaia supposed she was trying to ease the burden of that, in whatever way she could. The reactions she garnered from the patients she tended to also entertained her to no end. There were still very few Red Ajah members; it helped that she and Jaryd dressed the part while within the Tower proper. If she was not recognized on sight, the impression she left ensured that she would be remembered.

The voice of the Dedicated was soft, low and rich, breaking into her concentration. Kaia paused for a moment as the sound rolled over her. He was asking for a Yellow. Why? She turned to regard the Drin and the problem immediately became obvious. There was blood everywhere, the scars seeping crimson. It had not been that bad originally... she could have sworn the damage was only to one shoulder. Without pausing, she approached the Dedicated and touched his elbow, a sidelong look stopping the approaching Aes Sedai in her tracks. The woman bobbed a quick curtsey in acknowledgment and Kaia felt the corners of her lips curve up.

“Dedicated, what's the problem?” The perfect velvet of her voice was level as Kaia turned to face the Drin, immediately embracing saidar and Delving the boy.

Her brows lifted at what she found. “Be still, child. This might feel odd.” She drew together all five Powers and reached out to touch the side of his temple. The Power flowed through him and when everything was as it should be again, she fixed her gaze upon the black-coated individual, the Source singing in her grasp. “What happened? The Drin was not like this when he entered.”

[Damien]

Danos

Danos knew something was wrong as he felt the blood seeping down his back, his hands crimson when he touched the skin of his shoulders.

Danos was attempting to stand, when a beautiful Aes Sedai commanded him to sit. Normally he would have balked at such a command, however the Aes Sedai's voice brooked no argument.

"Sit stil Child," she commanded and as Danos felt her touch his temple, he felt the familIar sensation of cool Healing wash over his body. The power seemed to linger in his shoulders and scars, and soon enough she removed her hands.

"Thank you Aes Sedai," said Danos as he slumped down, his body weak and hungry from the healing, and the damage before.

[Chris]

Murdock was expecting someone, anyone to come and tend to the Drin, but admittedly he hadn’t been quite prepared for the Keeper of the Chronicles herself. Fortunately for the normally stoic Dedicated, she was not a woman he recognised on sight, and there was too much that was beautiful in this one to hold any appeal for him. His dark eyes washed over her short, well put together form with the warmth of a fish, but when he spoke his tone was respectful, and the salute he made was appropriate. Regardless of whether she was a Novice or the Amyrlin herself, Murdock knew better than to go against the vows he made to his wife... and not only because the Aes Sedai here would box his ears, either.

The answer to what the problem was, was not quite as straightforward as Murdock would have liked, but rather than point that out he kept his response concise. “I went to Heal his injuries, and my weaves did not have the intended effect.” A dull sense of bewildered puzzlement threatened to enter his tone but it was hidden behind the reserve he normally held around women, especially Aes Sedai.

The Dedicated looked on as the Aes Sedai embraced Saidar (the tingling along his arms informed him of this) and set about Healing the damage Murdock had caused. He had nothing to say as he saw the wounds close, and the bleeding stop.

Some people liked to bake. Others like to paint, or garden, or sew. Murdock’s mother liked to watch his father whittling wood for his next piece of furniture, and he had always appreciated why. There was the sense that you had created something tangible that would not exist without your input. Had you not taken up the canvas, or learned how to make a cake, then the picture or the pudding may well have never existed. You grew to love the things you made, because without you they would have never been. This is how Murdock felt looking at the injuries, his injuries, fade away from existence.

But it was done, and as the woman lifted her green eyes to look up at him, Murdock was sufficiently distracted from this morbid reverie. So close, he had to crane his neck, and he winced a little as he took up his walking stick. “I’ve Healed plenty of injuries before, but this... didn’t happen. It was Healing, but then suddenly it wasn’t.” It was a natural way of weaving, that much Murdock knew, but that was how Healing had come to him in the first place. Much different to illusions or making rocks explode or setting things on fire, he was rather unimpressive at almost anything else. But Healing? He had that one down. And whatever he had done to Danos, that had come to him with the same ease.

“I am very sorry, I had no intention of hurting you further,” Murdock told the Warder trainee sincerely. “Let me clean you up and find something to eat. Healing can take it out of you, as you may well remember.” Though he had the feeling he wasn’t out of this Aes Sedai’s sights just yet after what he had done. Ah well, he wasn’t trying to deny that there had been an accident, and he would roll with whatever elaborate punishment she chose to give out because it was the easiest thing to do. The sooner Murdock was done here the sooner he could examine his weaves and see how he caused the damage he did.