Lost Souls [Wicked Basket] [Archive]

[DragonSong]

"Serena," she told him absently, then added, "Sorry about this," and swiftly yanked the shirt the rest of the way off. She winced in sympathetic pain- though he hadn't been reacting to her ministrations she knew they must hurt- and tossed the bloody cloth over her shoulder.

Sorren and Jasmine caught it easily, almost like a dog with a stick, and she said, "Take that to the wash." They padded away to the back of the cottage.

Now that she could really look at her patient's wounds, her stomach turned. She held one hand over the rips in his torso and the other over his arm, murmuring a spell. The skin closed slightly at the edges, but she would need to stitch the rest. She began to thread her needle.

In an effort to distract Lukas from what she was about to do, she said, "I'm assuming demons did this, if you thought I was one."

[Wicked Basket]

Lukas grunted and cursed as his shirt was yanked off his arm. Now that hurt. Lukas took a deep breath as the surge of pain subsided and returned to the dull pain it had been before. Serena then recited a spell of some sort, but Lukas didn't feel much better. Was she not powerful enough?

Serena asked if the demons he had been talking about were the source of his injuries. He nodded in response.

"This is what just one of them can do," he told her. "Killing them is not as easy for me as it used to be."

[DragonSong]

She paused in swiping her fingers through a rather pungent poultice and looked at him. "Used to be?" she asked curiously, returning to her task. She dabbed the goop onto his skin, spreading it over the wounds as gently as it could. "I know it stings, but that's to kill infection," she told him, moving to dab some of it on his arm.

Now she just needed to stitch him up. She quirked an eyebrow. "You really should drink that now," she told him, nodding to the vial he still held and brandishing her needle. It would have been better if he'd drunk it earlier so it had time to take effect, but now would have to do.

[Wicked Basket]

"Yeah," he replied with a note of sadness. "Used to be."

The application of the poultice stung, but it was probably the least amount of pain he had experienced that day. She then recommended once more that he drink the oil causing him to sigh irritably.

"Fine," he said downing the oil.

Fortunately it was tasteless for the most. At least she would stop bothering him about it now.

[DragonSong]

"Atta boy," Serena said with a smile. She leaned over him and called, "Blaze?"

"Mrow?" The cat appeared, jumping up onto the bed next to Lukas and offering him a freshly washed rag, pawing at his uninjured shoulder to get his attention.

"You'l probably want to bite down on that," Serena explained, and without warning began sewing his skin back together. She found it was actually more beneficial for most patients if they didn't know when the pain was coming. She chanted under her breath as she worked, enchanting the thread to dissolve into his skin when its work was done, staving off infection, and hopefully encouraging the wounds to heal on their own.

[Wicked Basket]

Lukas looked at the rag. She wanted him to put a rag that had been touching a filthy cat in his mouth? Then the pain staryed. He took the rag and bit down on it like he had been told. He didn't want to damage his teeth by clenching his jaws together and he also wanted to muffle the lengthy string of profanities that wanted to escape his lips as he was sewn together like a torn blanket.

[DragonSong]

"Sorry, sorry," she muttered, working as quickly and gently as she could. She had his midsection stitched up fairly quickly, then moved to his arm. Subconsciously she smoothed his hair off his forehead, murmuring spells and random comforting phrases.

"There." She tied off the last stitch and sat back. "Done. Just stay still, I'll get you some water."

[Wicked Basket]

With the marathon of agony finally over, Lukas took the rag out of his mouth and sighed heavily. He was drenched in sweat from the ordeal and was glad that it was finally over.

[DragonSong]

Serena bustled away and returned with a carved wooden cup filled with water. "Here, drink," she said, perching on the edge of the bed and handing it to her patient.

Tilting her head curiously she asked, "So how'd you end up fighting demons in the Niahi Woods anyhow?"

[Wicked Basket]

Lukas grabbed the water and gulped it down instantly.

"We ran into each other walking through the forest," he told her handing the cup back to her. "Since it was a demon, I killed it."

[DragonSong]

Serena nodded. "Solid logic, I suppose," she murmured. Jasmine padded into the room and jumped into her mistress's lap, purring. She smiled and stroked the cat. "Well, you need at least a day of rest, and I'll need to check those stitches every few hours," she told Lukas, business-like.

Before she could say anything else though, there was a knock at the door. Sorren came tearing into the room, meowing, and her eyebrows shot up. "Already? He wasn't supposed to come until tomorrow," she said, rising with Jasmine cradled in her arms. To her patient she said, "Excuse me just a moment, I have a customer to take care of."

[Wicked Basket]

"It's not like I'm going anywhere," Lukas mumbled.

The nature of this other customer concerned him. Was it a demon that had followed him? Lukas took a deep breath. He to calm down and try to relax. He had lost a lot of blood. He would have to at least try to rest.

[DragonSong]

"Hello, Joshua," Serena said with a smile as she came into the main room, smiling at the young man who was standing awkwardly in her doorway. "I wasn't expecting you today."

"I know," he muttered, looking at his feet. "I just, um, was wondering...if you had the..."

"Of course." She walked briskly to one of the many shelves that lined the walls and retrieved a small bottle. "One sip at sundown for the next three days," she told him with another smile.

He gave her a grateful look and a murmured thanks, then scurried away. She sighed, returning to her bedroom. "How're you feeling?" she asked, letting Jasmine jump from her arms onto the bed, sniffing at Lukas's hand. "The poppy kicked in yet?"

[Wicked Basket]

"Either that or I'm too tired to feel pain anymore," he replied. "What are you doing out in the forest like this anyway?"

[DragonSong]

She shrugged. "Living. I sell charms and potions and the like to the villagers, sometimes I go into town to act as a healer or a midwife." She scratched Jasmine's chin as the cat nudged their patient's arm, purring softly. Of her three familiars, the gray she-cat had the best bedside manner.

[Wicked Basket]

"Why not just live in the town," Lukas asked waving away the bothersome cat.

That cat was being a bit to affectionate for his tastes.

[DragonSong]

Serena shrugged again, smiling a little as her miffed familiar jumped to the floor and sauntered off. "I do better on my own," she told him, reaching for a salve and smoothing it over his stitches. Hopefully that would numb the soreness somewhat. "People are ok buying from me, but I think they'd be a little uncomfortable with me as a neighbor."

[Wicked Basket]

Though Lukas wasn't sure why nobody would want to be around her, he decided not to pry. She didn't seem like a bad person or anything, but looks could be deceiving. For now he would just have to wait until he recovered until he could get moving again, though he didn't know where he would go. He never knew.

[DragonSong]

"I can give you something to help you sleep," Serena offered. "I'd get you food, but you probably shouldn't eat until morning at least." She should probably get him more water though.

Snapping her fingers, she beckoned Sorren to her and murmured, "Put the kettle on to boil, will you?" A good cup of tea never hurt anything.

[Wicked Basket]

Lukas raised an eyebrow.

"How is a cat going to boil water," he asked.