A Nasty Thorn Makes a Mess

Writers: Ames, Chelle
Date Posted: 14th March 2011

Characters: E'rae, Roldar
Description: The bluerider hurts himself and Roldar helps put him back together.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 1, day 5 of Turn 6

He wasn't used to having such a quiet infirmary. Normally, the place was hustling and bustling with people seeking some form of advice or care. Threadfall was still a few days away, so instead of using this quiet time for naught, Roldar was moving around trying to prepare the room for the slew of injuries he knew would come with the next Fall.

E'rae waltzed in. The bluerider had been out hunting and had accidentally cut himself on a thorn from one of
the yellowfruit trees. Cursing under his breath, he thought it best to have a healer clean it out, get the thorn out, and bandage it up. He couldn't reach the thing anyway.

Roldar glanced up at the sound of footsteps. "E'rae, how are you today? What can I do for you today?"

"Well, I think it'll be obvious..." He pulled off his tunic and the red mark on his left shoulder was easily visible. There was a noticeable dark brown thorn coming out of it too.

Roldar stood up and moved over to get a closer look at the wound. "Have a seat over there," he said, pointing to one of the infirmary cots. "I need to get a better look at that before I do anything." He walked over to the exam area and began pulling different tools out and laying them on top of the small counter that was sitting beside the cot.

The dragonrider had been through worse and it showed on his back. The scars were long healed, but the danger
of how he'd gotten them would be clear to the healer. He watched Roldar, wondering how bad this would be.

"Now then," Roldar turned to E'rae. "How did you manage this one E'rae?" he asked as he dipped his fingers into
redwort and applied it to the area before he began to gently examine the wound for anything that might not be visible at first sight. The area around the thorn was already red and Roldar imagined there was some mild pain. "Are you in much pain?"

"I was huntin' and a yellowfruit tree got me." He bit his lower lip, not wanting to show anything as the healer probed the area with his fingers. "No, it's fine. I just want it out."

Roldar moved over to a little basin and rinsed his hands in it. Then he moved back to E'rae. "I'm going to clean the wound first, then I'll be able to apply some numbweed and hopefully the thorn will just pop on out for us." With freshwater, he lightly cleansed the area before picking up a jar of numbweed and applying a small dose to the outside of the skin. He'd clean the cut as soon as the thorn was out and then apply more numbweed to ease any pain the rider was feeling.

Submitting himself to the healer's ministrations, E'rae tried not to think about it. "Do what you have to."

Roldar gently moved his fingers over the thorn. Pushing slightly at the cut around it, he tried to pinch and squeeze the thorn out. He knew it was never a pain free experience, but he hoped the thorn would come out. Instead he found himself with a finger-full of the man's blood. Moving off, he quickly rinsed his hands and applied more redwort to disinfect. "The little bugger is stuck in there nice and good," he muttered as he picked up the pincer tool he'd set aside. It would give him a better grip. He grabbed hold of the top of the thorn and gave it a pull.

"Next time I'm wearing thick hide." E'rae gritted his teeth, though the numbweed helped.

"Oh dear," Roldar mumbled as half of the thorn broke off, leaving the rest wedged into the wound. Sitting the pinchers down on the small table, he looked at E'rae. "I'm going to have to cut it out, I'm afraid, else it could wind up infected. Even still, we'll have to watch for infection since I'm going to have to open the wound up a bit more." He moved quickly, cleansing and numbing the area more, even though he knew it wouldn't take all the pain away.

Using a clean needle and a pair of cutting tools, Roldar got to work. He cut around the thorn, removing more skin and opening the wound deeper in order to reach the remainder of the thorn. He had to stop periodically to cleanse the area as blood seeped out. It was _not_ the most pleasant of ways to remove a thorn, but it was definitely better than leaving the piece inside which could lead to a terrible infection if untreated.

"Got it!" Roldar finally declared, removing the tiny piece of thorn. He held it up for E'rae to see. "Tis amazing how such a small thing can cause such a mess," he said, shaking his head in thought. "Now we've got to clean you up and bandage that wound to keep away any chance of infection."

"Thank Faranth for that." His face might have had a tinge of gray to it. E'rae was glad it was almost over. "So I'll live eh?"

"Aye, that you will," Roldar replied, moving around as he cleansed the wound, applied a fresh dose of numbweed to it and then wrapped it in a bandage. "Now, you'll need to give that shoulder a bit of a rest to let the wound heal, at least a day or so. So no heavy lifting or excessive training." He paused, scribbling something on a scrap of hide. "Here, this will let your wingleader know. You just need to take it easy so the wound doesn't tear open or become infected. If _anything_ changes or you feel ill in any way, come straight back here."

The bluerider frowned, taking that in. "I understand. Can I maybe have some extra numbweed to use if it starts to bother?"

"Of course," Roldar moved off to the side for a few moments, preparing a small pot with numbweed. Turning back, he handed it to E'rae. "That should do if the wound bothers you. Slather a good portion over it then wrap it back up to keep it clean. Any questions?"

"Not really. Thanks a lot." E'rae turned to look at the mess he had made then grinned before leaving.

Last updated on the March 20th 2011

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A Nasty Thorn Makes a Mess