Post by Blitzfrieg on Feb 21, 2018 5:02:02 GMT -5
Zerabra Zeera certainly stood out amongst her peers. In that small clinic in the Spice merchants bazaar of the Waq Waq oasis, a seven foot tall Zebra woman was far from the norm for any of the humans present. However she ignored the stares both fearful and curious so as to better do her work. Her skills as a doctor made it easy to fill in for such small clinics like this, which were commonly overworked and understaffed. The last few days had been relatively easy, her time being spent most often treating heat exhaustion and consulting for wealthy merchants looking to avoid the absurd costs of the larger....more prominent hospitals. Zeera was addressing just such a client at the moment. She was dressed down, wearing a pair of loose, comfortable shorts that revealed much of her long, striped legs. A simple, white sleeveless blouse was all she wore on top, save for the long white doctors coat which marked her for her profession.
”No Mister Kernwist. You most certainly do not have a parasite, a cyst, or any disease at all for that matter.” Zeera had to suppress the urge to sigh or chuckle. Working the rounds at a clinic could be both entertaining and exasperating at the same time. She crossed her leg and adjusted her reading glasses, setting down a clipboard while leveling her gaze on the dumpy man sitting across from her. It was obvious her....appearance was distracting to the human. Which on its own wasn’t surprising. She was a Mink. And Minks weren’t particularily common outside the New World.
“But what about the headaches and my heartburn!?” Zeera had seen it before. The man was looking for something to be wrong. “The doctor up town said I needed more tests....he said....” Zeera held up a furred hand to stop Kernwist before he got to carried away. The man was an alcoholic and a binge eater in the realm of hedonism.....and while she could not fault him for those vices without at least some measure of hypocrisy, she at least counter balanced her own lust for life with a passion for taking care of her body. All things in moderation as she had learned in life, and all things balanced by sacrifice.
”With all due respect to the doctor uptown....he is wrong. Mister Kernwist you don’t need any tests, you don’t need any expensive treatments. What you need....” Zeera leaned forward. “....is to cut back on the salty and greasy foods. You have headaches because you don’t hydrate enough between drinking. Your heartburn is a product of having an overly....” Zeera was interrupted by a shout from outside, and what sounded suspiciously like an gunshot. That in itself wasn’t completely out of the norm. Therefore she refocused on the stammering Kernwist....who was determined to convince her that he indeed had some illness. But Zeera overpowered his babbling. “....acidic diet Mister Kernwist. And the reason why your neighbor can get away with it is a combination of genetics and regular exercise. You unfortunately have a disadvantage in the former, and make no efforts in the latter.” Zeera placed a hand on his knee. “What I can do for you on both cases.....” Another gunshot sounded, this one closer, drawing the Mink’s attention. “....is advise you on corrective action and promise that what you will save a lot of money and time by eating a salad every once in a while instead of binging on shark-fin soup every night....” Another gunshot, followed by screams. “I’m sorry Mister Kernwist I need...”
”DOCTOR! WE NEED A DOCTOR!” Zeera’s mane shook as she stood up, shivering from the desperation in that scream. The door to the little clinic in which she was filling in burst open, a pair of people, including one young marine filled the entryway as they dragged in a body bleeding quite badly. Zeera buttoned her coat and rolled up her sleeves, moving towards the trio.
“What happened?” Zeera approached, shooing away the Marine as she scooped up the body with ease, her strength carrying the older woman like a doll. The young, blue haired soldier barely acknowledged ZeeZee, her appearance, or anything at all. Those crystal blue eyes never left the old woman.
”Shrapnel! She was....she....right next to me...a c..c..cannon....” The Marine, a female, young, barely twenty even stammered out a response. One look told Zeera that the girl was in shock. Zeera set the older woman down on a hospital bed and snapped her fingers at the nurses. She then turned to the Marine, cupped the girls face in her hands.
”Girl. Breathe. No. Don’t say anything. Just breathe.” The Marine’s eyes were badly dilated, and she was gasping for air. Zeera’s fingers moved to brace her jaw, her index finger on each side massaging the youths temples. “That’s right. Breathe. In and out. In and out.” In a few moments, the Marine’s breathing leveled out. She was still shaking, but that would last a while. “Now....what happened?”
”A cannonball. No idea...where it came from. I was standing right next to her. She...she took shrapnel from the explosion...” The Marine looked at the old woman being prepped by the Nurses. “I....she shielded me from it....I should...” Zeera sighed and let the girl go.
“No. You couldn’t have done anything. But you did do the right thing getting her here.” ZeeZee slipped on gloves and approached her patient. “Alright. Nurse? What do we have?” The woman was a mess. And her assistant barely started talking when the door burst open again, another person staggering in clutching his bloody arm, calling for help. Her second nurse rushed to his aid, but Zeera had to focus on the patient in front of her....though it was impossible to ignore the increasing noise outside. “Patient. Mid fifties....five lacerations starting from the lower left side to the upper collarbone.” Zeera began methodically addressing the wounds. She started with the side that was bleeding the worst, removing a large piece of jagged iron before sealing the wound and sewing it shut. Fortunately there was no internal bleeding. Bit by bit she moved upwards, removing fragments and sealing wounds, working her way up to the collarbone....which was the trickiest part. “Nurse. I’m going to need your hands.” The last fragment was embedded in the woman’s collarbone, but a piece was jutting up against and inside her jugular. The angle of the penetration was keeping the artery from bleeding, but the moment that piece of shrapnel was removed.....the patient would have less than a minute to live. “Right here. I need to put pressure on this wound, and cauterize it as soon as I can seal the laceration but I’m going to need you to remove the main fragment.” She guided the Nurse as best as she could. “On the count of three....two....one....” The nurse worked quite well, removing the fragment as smoothly as a trained surgeon before working to seal the wound as Zeera did her own business. The Mink’s hands moved quickly, pinching closed the artery while she used a Lunar Caustic to seal the cut. The few seconds felt like minutes. But she and the nurse resolved it nonetheless.
”Well done nurse. Excellent work.” Zeera held a finger to the patient’s throat. The pulse was weak, but stable. “She is going to make it...hear that kid? You did...” As Zeera turned around to look at the Marine she found the girl was gone....but during her operation the clinic had nearly filled. Every bed was occupied with injured civilians and Marine’s alike. “Ok....enough congratulations....we have work to do.”
”No Mister Kernwist. You most certainly do not have a parasite, a cyst, or any disease at all for that matter.” Zeera had to suppress the urge to sigh or chuckle. Working the rounds at a clinic could be both entertaining and exasperating at the same time. She crossed her leg and adjusted her reading glasses, setting down a clipboard while leveling her gaze on the dumpy man sitting across from her. It was obvious her....appearance was distracting to the human. Which on its own wasn’t surprising. She was a Mink. And Minks weren’t particularily common outside the New World.
“But what about the headaches and my heartburn!?” Zeera had seen it before. The man was looking for something to be wrong. “The doctor up town said I needed more tests....he said....” Zeera held up a furred hand to stop Kernwist before he got to carried away. The man was an alcoholic and a binge eater in the realm of hedonism.....and while she could not fault him for those vices without at least some measure of hypocrisy, she at least counter balanced her own lust for life with a passion for taking care of her body. All things in moderation as she had learned in life, and all things balanced by sacrifice.
”With all due respect to the doctor uptown....he is wrong. Mister Kernwist you don’t need any tests, you don’t need any expensive treatments. What you need....” Zeera leaned forward. “....is to cut back on the salty and greasy foods. You have headaches because you don’t hydrate enough between drinking. Your heartburn is a product of having an overly....” Zeera was interrupted by a shout from outside, and what sounded suspiciously like an gunshot. That in itself wasn’t completely out of the norm. Therefore she refocused on the stammering Kernwist....who was determined to convince her that he indeed had some illness. But Zeera overpowered his babbling. “....acidic diet Mister Kernwist. And the reason why your neighbor can get away with it is a combination of genetics and regular exercise. You unfortunately have a disadvantage in the former, and make no efforts in the latter.” Zeera placed a hand on his knee. “What I can do for you on both cases.....” Another gunshot sounded, this one closer, drawing the Mink’s attention. “....is advise you on corrective action and promise that what you will save a lot of money and time by eating a salad every once in a while instead of binging on shark-fin soup every night....” Another gunshot, followed by screams. “I’m sorry Mister Kernwist I need...”
”DOCTOR! WE NEED A DOCTOR!” Zeera’s mane shook as she stood up, shivering from the desperation in that scream. The door to the little clinic in which she was filling in burst open, a pair of people, including one young marine filled the entryway as they dragged in a body bleeding quite badly. Zeera buttoned her coat and rolled up her sleeves, moving towards the trio.
“What happened?” Zeera approached, shooing away the Marine as she scooped up the body with ease, her strength carrying the older woman like a doll. The young, blue haired soldier barely acknowledged ZeeZee, her appearance, or anything at all. Those crystal blue eyes never left the old woman.
”Shrapnel! She was....she....right next to me...a c..c..cannon....” The Marine, a female, young, barely twenty even stammered out a response. One look told Zeera that the girl was in shock. Zeera set the older woman down on a hospital bed and snapped her fingers at the nurses. She then turned to the Marine, cupped the girls face in her hands.
”Girl. Breathe. No. Don’t say anything. Just breathe.” The Marine’s eyes were badly dilated, and she was gasping for air. Zeera’s fingers moved to brace her jaw, her index finger on each side massaging the youths temples. “That’s right. Breathe. In and out. In and out.” In a few moments, the Marine’s breathing leveled out. She was still shaking, but that would last a while. “Now....what happened?”
”A cannonball. No idea...where it came from. I was standing right next to her. She...she took shrapnel from the explosion...” The Marine looked at the old woman being prepped by the Nurses. “I....she shielded me from it....I should...” Zeera sighed and let the girl go.
“No. You couldn’t have done anything. But you did do the right thing getting her here.” ZeeZee slipped on gloves and approached her patient. “Alright. Nurse? What do we have?” The woman was a mess. And her assistant barely started talking when the door burst open again, another person staggering in clutching his bloody arm, calling for help. Her second nurse rushed to his aid, but Zeera had to focus on the patient in front of her....though it was impossible to ignore the increasing noise outside. “Patient. Mid fifties....five lacerations starting from the lower left side to the upper collarbone.” Zeera began methodically addressing the wounds. She started with the side that was bleeding the worst, removing a large piece of jagged iron before sealing the wound and sewing it shut. Fortunately there was no internal bleeding. Bit by bit she moved upwards, removing fragments and sealing wounds, working her way up to the collarbone....which was the trickiest part. “Nurse. I’m going to need your hands.” The last fragment was embedded in the woman’s collarbone, but a piece was jutting up against and inside her jugular. The angle of the penetration was keeping the artery from bleeding, but the moment that piece of shrapnel was removed.....the patient would have less than a minute to live. “Right here. I need to put pressure on this wound, and cauterize it as soon as I can seal the laceration but I’m going to need you to remove the main fragment.” She guided the Nurse as best as she could. “On the count of three....two....one....” The nurse worked quite well, removing the fragment as smoothly as a trained surgeon before working to seal the wound as Zeera did her own business. The Mink’s hands moved quickly, pinching closed the artery while she used a Lunar Caustic to seal the cut. The few seconds felt like minutes. But she and the nurse resolved it nonetheless.
”Well done nurse. Excellent work.” Zeera held a finger to the patient’s throat. The pulse was weak, but stable. “She is going to make it...hear that kid? You did...” As Zeera turned around to look at the Marine she found the girl was gone....but during her operation the clinic had nearly filled. Every bed was occupied with injured civilians and Marine’s alike. “Ok....enough congratulations....we have work to do.”