"Um….right. Okay." Shiv darted off, just as Rezzi halted in a cluster of young oaks on the camp clearing's border.
"Now," he said quietly, glancing around once more, "my brother's home is up the hill a bit. We'll have to take the long way around, since I don't want anybody to see us and figure out how to find him. If this gets back to the chief, he could kick me and my brother out of the tribe, or worse. He already said months ago that my brother was too weak to help the tribe, and that's when I moved him out here to keep him safe." He glanced at Tanrial worriedly. "You didn't mention this to anybody but me'n Shiv, right?"
"'Course not," Tanrial placed a hand over her heart, "I sweat it, never said a word to anyone else," She smiled slightly, moving her hand to pat Rezzi on the arm, "Come on, let's go see your brother."
Rezzi nodded seriously and led them deeper into the trees, going a short ways uphill before reaching a dense thicket of bushes. Going around to the side, he pushed away a branch to reveal a tunnel going into the center of the thicket. "He's in there. Go easy, he's not used to visitors."
Tanrial gave him an odd look when she noticed the tunnel but she nodded, "Will do." She ducked down, heading into the tunnel and squinting her eyes so she could see.
The inside of the tunnel was dark and shady, leading forward several feet until it widened out into a smallish cave of branches and leaves. Inside the cave was a mess of blankets clothes, eating utensils, and random belongings. Nestled in the corner was a young man who carried a striking resemblance to Rezzi, but seemed much thinner and weaker than his brother. When Tanrial entered the thicket he stirred drowsily, then realized that his visitor was someone he didn't know and jerked upright, whipping a long knife out from under his pillow. "Who are you?" he rasped, his voice thin and hoarse.
(When apparently there's a fire close to your area…)
Tanrial held her hands out in front of her, crouching down to the ground to look less threatening, "I'm Tanrial, the new medic. I'm friends with your brother, too."
(Oh that's not good…hope everyone where you are stays safe!)
The sick young man shifted his gaze from Tanrial to Rezzi, who'd just made it through the tunnel as well. "Rez? This is the medic?"
"Yeah," Rezzi replied, brushing leaves out of his hair. When speaking to his brother, his voice was much softer and friendlier than it was around anyone else in camp. "Sorry I couldn't give you more warning. But she'd trustworthy, and nobody knows she's here except for Shiv." He glanced at Tanrial. "Tanrial, this is my brother Rione. Ri, this is Tanrial."
Rione gave Tanrial a nod, shakily sinking back to the ground as if his strength was failing. "Hi. Sorry I threatened you with a knife just now."
(We're all good now! I mean, the state is still burning but most of the fires are out)
Tanrial smiled slightly, nodding once, "All good, I probably would have done the same. No hard feelings," She sighed, moving slightly closer to Rione, "Right, remind me again what the problem is? Just from looking at you I can tell you don't have much strength, no offense but you look half dead."
(ah, that's a relief! ^^)
"I might be," Rione replied dryly, ignoring Rezzi's don't say that look. "Not sure exactly what this sickness is, but a few years ago I started noticing that my chest really hurt if I was on my feet for too long. I also couldn't breathe very well sometimes. I got a bad cough and felt dizzy all the time, so I had to stop helping with hunting and raids. When Rezzi first brought me here, laying down was the only way to relieve the pain. But these days, my chest hurts no matter what….even when I'm asleep."
"He doesn't eat very well either," Rezzi added worriedly. "And his joints can get really swollen and puffy when he does eat. I don't know what it all means."
Tanrial furrowed her brows, scratching at her chin, "Well, the food could be just an allergic reaction to the food being ingested. May I?" She gestured for him to hold out his arm so she could look at it closer, "Have you ever had any other chest injuries? Like broken ribs or internal bleeding? Anything that could lead to infection to cause your ongoing chest pain?"
Rione considered the question silently as she examined his shaky, bloated wrist. "I had a fever once, after I got cut by something. I think it was just a thorn or sharp stick, but it was right over my heart. Now that you mention it, this other bad stuff didn't start until after that." He paused, glancing at Rezzi, then sighed. "I think the chances of me getting sick were already higher, though. Our dad, he died with chest pain and trouble breathing exactly like this. Maybe this is something I was just….born with."
Rezzi looked distressed. "You don't know that, Ri. You're a lot younger than Dad was–this might just be a coincidence."
Rione shrugged a bit. "Either way, that's all I know. What do you think, Tanrial?"
Tanrial lightly pressed around his wrist, slowly moving up his arm to his elbow, "If your dad had some sort of heart condition, it's possible the chest pains are coming from that. The rest of it, the swollen joints, lack of appetite, dizziness and so on are probably because of the fever you had. Most likely it caused infection and it just never went away. Lack of proper medical attention caused all the symptoms to get worse."
Rione nodded, taking a slow, labored breath. "…Anything you can do for me?"
She shrugged, moving to look at his knee joint for a moment before sitting back, 'If the heart condition is genetic, there isn't much I can do for that. if I try and heal it there's a high chance it'll come back again. What I can do is try and get rid of the infection and give you some medicine to make sure it stays away, and another to help with your chest pain."
Rione and Rezzi shared a look. "I'll be grateful for anything you can do to help, at this point," Rione said eventually. "I figured, if I got this from my dad, then there wasn't much chance I could get rid of it." He paused, then added. "If it's possible, could you please see if Rezzi might get this sickness too someday? Or if his kids might get it, if he has kids?"
She nodded, offering a small smile, "Of course, I'll see what I can do," She looked to Rezzi, "Can you see where Shiv is? The quicker I start making the medicine the better."
Rezzi nodded and hastily left the thicket, not saying a word. Rione watched him go with a bittersweet smile. "From the way he talked about you, before we met, I guess he was hoping you could make me as good as new again," he remarked quietly. "I figured he was being a little too optimistic about that. You maybe a magic-user, but you're not a miracle-worker." He shifted to get more comfortable, sighing. "I really appreciate what you can do, though. If I can get away from this pain, I might be able to make a little more of my life, you know? And if Rezzi's free from this condition, I can finally rest easy."
Tanrial sighed, rubbing her hands together as a soft, golden glow starts to form from her hands, "Magic might be able to do a lot of things, but it has it's limits," She reached out for his arm, starting at the wrist to relieve the swelling there, "Healing isn't my main… ability, so to speak, maybe someone more versed in healing would be able to heal it completely but I'm not sure."
Rione nodded, watching her work on his arm with an expression of repressed amazement. "We're lucky to have found anyone with talent at all, I think. The chief probably knows it, and he'll make sure to treat you well. He has a lot of respect for people with valuable abilities."
(I'm off to bed, seeya tomorrow ^^)
(night, seeya soon)
"Maybe," She mumbled, keeping her gaze on the wrist, "But I've got things to do, people to see. I'd stay if I could, I guess but currently, I can't. As much as staying here to help you all would be rewarding," She moved onto his elbow, "I've got too many important things to do."
Rione's expression became troubled, and he opened his mouth to object, but just then there was a rustle and Rezzi returned, this time with Shiv in tow. "Sorry I took so long," she panted. "Muddybones kept followin' me around and trying t' figure out where I was goin'." She set Tanrial's bag down and crouched nearby, giving Rione a little wave. "Can I help you with anything, Tanrial?"
(If I don’t see you tomorrow or Boxing Day, Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it lol) and I’ll see you soon :)) )
“All good,” Tanrial mumbled, moving to start on Rione’s other arm, “Can you pull out an empty bottle and… the little bit of green and yellow liquids that are in there, please?” She asked Shiv. She knew soon enough she’d have to make more of the potions, helping Rione would probably use up a lot of her recourses.
(Merry Christmas! Yeah, I'm pretty busy with the holidays over here too ^^;)
Shiv quickly collected the requested items and placed them where Tanrial could reach. Rione watched with a little smile. "So you enjoy this whole medical deal, Shiv?" he asked her. "Haven't seen you this upbeat in quite a while."
Shiv blinked in surprise and looked away gruffly. "Yeah, I like it," she mumbled. "Can I get you anything else, Tanrial?"
Tanrial looked over to Shiv then at the bag, biting her lip, "Can you run and get me a… jug… or a bowl, please, with some clean-ish water? Please?" She looked back to the arm she was working on.
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