The Clinic (Open)

Emiline sighed in great satisfaction as she put the finishing touches on the little room. This project had been the brain child of herself and a few of the other nurses. That term, she thought, seemed to be going out of style in their new world, but in her mind she still thought of her fellow medical care givers as Krankenschwestern. It had taken a while to get approved, and even longer to find and set up a tiny closet of a room in the personal hambersas the basis of operation. She could hardly imagine even a single person using this tiny corner room as a set of personal quarters but it was perfect for their needs, quite as if it had been designed with them in mind. There was just room enough for her little desk and a comfortable leaning chair for the patients. Shelves lined all corners of the room and on top of the highest one behind her desk, Schatzi (her little blue firelizard) slumbered peacefully in a nest she had stuck up there for his use. It only took one nurse to staff the little room, and so between herself and the three others assigned to the experimental project, they were able to make it a 24 hour operation.

She busied herself, dusting the new shelves where there rested glass bottles full of swabs, gauze, medicines, salves, antiseptics, plasters... everything that could possibly be needed for the little bumps, scrapes and bruises that required some tending, but not the attention of an actual doctor. It would be their job to tend to these sorts of very minor wounds or colds when possible, always referring the patients on to one of the large structure's actual doctors should the injury or sickness be something that required a higher level of care. She hung the caduceus on the door and gave the patient's chair one more swipe with a clean cloth. It was time for her very first shift in this new location- she was open for business!

Harriett didn't think she needed the clinic, she could take care of the burn herself. She'd treated many of the same before on others. Trinket on the other hand thought she needed to go see a professional and she was too bossy for Harriett to not listen to. "Okay, Trinket. I'm going." She said as the little green pulled on her clothes to drag her to the new clinic.

She got to the door and knocked first before entering. "Hello? I need a little bit of assistance." She said, softly in her usual melancholy voice. Trinket was still chirping like a mother hen at her, but she wasn't tugging on her anymore thankfully.

Emiline stood briskly when she heard the knock, smoothing down the front of her medical uniform as she smiled at the patient who came in her door. This was her first patient treated alone without a doctor in a 10 meter radius, but she was determined not to show it as she put on her most professional face and body language.

"Hallo," she said crisply, taking a moment to organize her thoughts so that her English grammar would not suffer as it sometimes did when she was nervous. "Please, haff a seat on the stool, in such a way dat your injured side faces the small table here." She pushed the wheeled treatment table closer to the stool and lowered it to where she estimated it would be at chest level with Harriet when she sat down. "I am Medic Emiline Fäber, but please to be calling me Emi, ok?" She smiled, sat down on the other side of the narrow table, and grabbed a clipboard. "May I haff your name please, and vhat iz the nature of your injury?"

Harriett was already regretting listening to her firelizard and coming here. She hated talking to people, especially people she didn't knew. Her parents were the only ones she had full length conversations with and most of the time that was strenuous. Trinket gave her a quick nip on the ear to let her no in no uncertain terms that she was not leaving. Not until she got her hand looked at.

Breathing a deep sigh, Harriett did as told and sat down with her injured hand to the side of the table. "The name's Harriett Beckner. I just burned my hand a little. It's really not that bad, but Trinket wouldn't let me just let it go." She answered her.

Emiline glanced at the offending hand and arched an eyebrow while at the same time fumbling behind her for a bottle of tablets. "I see. Haff you allergies to any medications? I t'ink it is a good thing you came, Harriett, because I t'ink you haff a second degree burn. Is not so bad you have to go to the Doctor, but it is better to haff antibiotics for dis."

Emi could be a personable woman, but her first concern was pain management. Even minor burns can be quite painful, and it was only goin to get worse with her handling it. She spilled out two of the pills and poured a small glass of water from a pitcher on her desk. "I would like you to take these, please if you haff no allergies to Nsaids. You may not haff pain very much yet, but it will help very much when I dress the burn. Und also..." she poured the remaining water into a shallow, sterile bowl. "It vill help, I t'ink. You can baff your hand here while I make ze bandage. Ok?"

Harriett did a double take on her hand when Emi told her it was a second degree burn. She didn't think it was that bad, but now that she looked at it again she could tell it was a bit worse than what she thought at first. "Hm. No, I don't have allergies." She answered a bit distractedly.

She took the two pills that were offered to her and downed them. The whole time Trinket was watching the medic closely, making sure that she was doing the right thing and taking care of her Harriett. Once in awhile she would chirp as if in agreement with the woman. Harry gladly placed her hand in the bowl of water. The cold hurt, but it felt good at the same time. Then she simply waited for the bandages to be put on.

Emi repressed a grin at Trinket, glad that her own blue flit was playing along by remaining asleep on his shelf perch. He was well trained for his age, but he could be a busy body, and she wasn't sure she could perform as well with two observers- even if they were both flits.

Once she had gathered the necessary items for a dressing, Emi gently lifted Harriet's hand out of the water and started padding the unhurt skin around the burn dry with a clean towel. She tried to introduce conversation as she prepared to go on to the more painful parts of the bandaging process. "Do you haff family hier?" she asked as she popped the cap on the antibiotic ointment that she would use to pad and protect the skin from the bandage. "Mine do not stay hier, but mein Mama came last week. I t'ink she was overwhelmed by dis place."

Trinket made sure to stay on Harry's shoulder so she wouldn't get in the way of the healer. She knew the lady was helping her owner and she wouldn't do anything to get in the way of that. She did chirp on occasion though as if to instruct on something.

As soon as Emiline mentioned family Harriett just about curled up on herself. Family was the one thing she absolutely hated talking about since hers was so rudely taken from her. She felt herself get a bit hot and chilled and her face turned pale. "My parents live here, in the Caldera." She quickly answered and then didn't want to say anymore.