Hospital Rounds [Job/Bianca Lenti]

Spoiler:

Bianca Lenti rose bright and early, unbeknownst to the troubles that she would find today at work. There was no way of knowing if the hospital would be busy or not, aside from casualties wrought from war and the sickness of winter. Occasionally days were easy, with few patients bearing minor afflictions, but sometimes things would be hectic and staff would be stretched too thin. As the young healer roamed the corridors, she wondered which sort of day it would be.


”U-uwaaa! No, no, no!” The cry of a frightened child would sound from one of the examination rooms, drawing the life mage to the open door way. A young girl sat on the examining table, weeping and holding what appeared to be an injured arm close to her chest. Her body was turned away from the middle aged healer defensively, and the girl’s mother appeared to be fretting as well. A slight frown crossed Bianca’s features. Both the injured girl and the mother seemed frantic, and this would not do. The blonde woman put on a gentle smile while stepping into the room, the other healer taking note of her entrance and beckoning her closer.


”Bianca, dear, do you think you could try and calm her down enough for me to set the bones?” Despite it being morning, the healing man already sounded exhausted. Nodding wordlessly, Bianca straightens and approaches the girl slowly, the same gentle smile on her face and her eyes twinkling. The girl sniffled and held her arm closer to her chest, watching the young woman carefully as she moves in closer.


”Child, how are you feeling?” Bianca inquired softly, bending her knees so that she would be level with the girl as she sat on the examining table. ”M-my arm hurts…” The girl whimpered, still keeping her defensive posture up. ”Oh my, I’m sorry to hear that, young one. I’m Bianca. Will you tell me your name?” She noted how the girl’s posture began to slacken slightly, and she hoped that distracting her long enough would work to give the other healer an opening.


”I’m M-maria…” The girl sniffled. ”Doctors are scary…” She gave a sideways glance to the male life mage before turning her eyes back to Bianca. ”Ahh, I understand, Maria. Doctors can look scary. But did you know…” She points to the other magician, waiting for Maria to follow the gesture with her eyes before continuing. ”…that man is afraid of bugs? Yesterday, he found a fly in his soup and screamed like a baby. The whole hospital heard it!” Bianca mentally sighs in relief when Maria’s eyes crinkle at the corners and the girl begins to giggle at the thought of a grown man screaming like a child before turning back towards Bianca. ”I’m not afraid of bugs, you know.” She asserts with more confidence in her voice than was heard several minutes ago.


”You’re not? Well, I suppose you could teach him a thing or two! Why don’t you tell me about your favorite kind of bug?” Bianca’s eyes slide to the side, noting that the other healer had a sheepish look on his face. She gives him a hinting look before turning back to distract the child. As Maria tells Bianca of her favorite kinds of bugs, the older healer was able to gently work her arm from her chest and treat her fracture while she was mildly distracted by Bianca’s inquiring mind. ”…and I wanted to find the bird’s nest, and that’s how I fell out of the tree and broke my arm.” The girl concludes just as the working healer pulls away from her. A grin stretched across Bianca’s face, genuinely enjoying hearing the girl’s tale of how she had discovered a nest of newly hatched baby birds and decided to bring them some worms to eat while their mother was away hunting.


”My, what a kind girl you are! How does your arm feel now, Maria?” The little girl gives her a confused look before cautiously moving her arm. Her face lights up upon being able to move it freely without pain, and she looks from Bianca to the healing man. ”Thanks, mister! If you ever need someone to defend you from bugs, I can help!”


[Hospital Rounds I: 500+/500]

After helping calm Maria, Bianca headed to her supervisor to get her assignment for the afternoon. Despite being a life magician, she was still a trainee and had to learn tasks that did not require magic. Being able to heal wounds and illnesses was only one part of being a healer, as she had been taught. A successful healer knew how to listen to her patients and be kind, soothing and patient in her work. Still, the young healer couldn’t help but deflate slightly when she learned that she’d have to spend the afternoon tending to old man Dom. Dominic was a terminally ill elderly man who had been at the hospital for nearly a year and was well known for yelling at and berating the healers who were assigned to care for him. As such, he had earned quite the reputation around the hospital, and the newer healers were often assigned to take care of him. Whether this was due to the more experienced healers not wanting to deal with him or using the grumpy old man as a “training exercise” for the new recruits, Bianca did not know. Regardless, she was not looking forward to dealing with his mean words and hoped that the old man just slept his way through her shift.


Making her way to the geriatric unit and entering Dom’s room, Bianca took care to wear a friendly smile. Upon seeing that the old man was awake, Bianca softly called out to him. ”Good morning, Dominic! How are you fee—“ ”Get me something to eat! I’ve been hungry for hours! Is this what your hospital does to old men like me? Starve them until they waste away and die? Well I’m not far from it, girl!”


Bianca’s words were haulted by the cross old man and a look of shock set on her face. ”Y…yes, of course. I will be back shortly.” She spoke softly and backed away quickly, taken aback by the old man snapping at her so suddenly. Maybe he’s just having a bad day…he is sick after all, perhaps he is in pain… She makes haste to the canteen, returning shortly with a meal for the old man. ”I apologize for the delay, Dominic. Here, I’ve brought you some lunch.” Bianca puts on her sweet demeanor once more as she sets up the bed tray for old man Dom. She keeps her eyes focused on her task, feeling Dom’s glare burn through her skull as she leans over the bed.


”There! Please enjoy your meal. Is there anything else I can help you with? Any pain you might be having?” Dom grumbles in response, scrutinizing the food on his tray as he picked up a spoon with his shaking hand and dipped it into his soup. Bianca watched from behind him, hoping that he’d say that the food was fine and wave her off. Unfortunately, it would not be so. Dropping his spoon into the bowl of soup, old man Dom turned his head to glare at the young woman. ”This soup is awful! My wife, had she been around, could make something far better from dirt. And it’s cold, too! Get me something else.” Bianca visibly sighed before forcing a cheery smile onto her face. ”My apologies, Dominic. I will ask for the cooks to prepare something more…palatable.”


[Hospital Rounds II: 558/1000]

Sighing with frustration as she made her way back towards old man Dom’s room, Bianca wondered how she’d get through the day. She’d dealt with difficult patients before, but frightened children were far easier for her to pacify than grumpy old men. What’s the matter with him…I’m only trying to help! And I’m being nice! He’s just a bitter old man, just keep smiling and get through your shift… Bianca attempted to coach herself before entering the dreaded old man’s room once more.



”I’m back, and I’ve—“ What Bianca saw when she walked into the old man’s room surprised her. Instead of the scowl she had expected, old man Dom’s face was soft as he stared at a piece of paper in his hand. A moment passed before he knew she was there, and just like that the gentleness was gone from his face and replaced with a half-hearted sneer directed towards the healer as he placed the paper down onto the bed. ”It’s about time, girl! What you’ve brought had better taste better than that pig shit you brought me before.” Bianca’s hands gripped the tray as she struggled to maintain a clam exterior, forcing a smile onto her face before exhaling heavily.



”I hope it will be to your liking. I’ll just set this up and leave you to enjoy…” Bianca’s polite words are strained as she leans over to set up the meal tray before noticing the discarded piece of paper at the man’s side. It was a drawing of a middle aged woman, her features smooth and graceful with timeless beauty. Dominic notices her pause and gives a heavy sigh. ”My wife, Anita. She died five years ago. I miss her every day…” Old man Dom had a far off look in his eyes as he spoke, remembering the beauty of his late wife. He wavered between his memories and snapping at the young healer who had unknowingly intruded on his reminiscing. ”Oh…she’s beautiful…” Bianca peered closer to the drawing, afraid to get too close and invade his personal space more than she already had. She had the sudden realization that she can’t recall Dominic getting a single visitor since his admission to the hospital and concluded that he probably didn’t have any family left. The thought saddened her when she realized that he was just a lonely old man who missed his wife.



”Aye, she was an amazing woman…made the best food in all of Remano. Nothing can compare…” He looks sadly down at the new bowl of soup present in front of him before reaching for his spoon. ”Oh…” is all Bianca can say, afraid that she would say something wrong. She stands in her spot nervously, unsure of what to do next other than watch old man Dom eat and wait for him to complain at her about the food. When the spoon reaches the old man’s mouth, he sighs before removing it and dipping it back into the soup. Bianca remains silent, stunned that he didn’t have anything to say. Against her better judgment, she asks. ”How is the soup, Dominic?”



”It’s fine. I…I’m sorry for the way I snapped at you earlier. I’m just a bitter old man with no one left.” A surprised look crosses Bianca’s face and her breath hitches in her throat. She didn’t expect him to say that or sound so…dejected. ”What was your name again, miss?”



”Ah, Bianca. And I’m glad that your find this soup better.” Dominic waves his hand. ”The other soup was fine.” Bianca gives a small “oh”, lapsing into silence as Dominic eats slowly. As he finishes, he clears his throat and speaks once more. ”Now that I’ve eaten, I’d like to rest. If you would come back later, I’d like to tell you stories of Anita. I’d like to keep her memory alive when I’m gone.” For the first time since meeting Dominic, a genuine smile sets on Bianca’s face. ”I’d love to hear about her. I’ll leave you be, now.” Straightening up, she nods before pulling the curtains of his room closed to snuff out any stray light before departing.



[Hospital Rounds II: 1000+/1000]

As evening set in, Bianca was called to the emergency area as there were too many patients for the staff there to handle. A young aide approached the blonde healer and ushered her to one of the examining rooms, briefing her on the patient. He was a local carpenter who had slipped fallen from a roof while at work. Luckily the roof was rather low and the man landed in a decent enough position to avoid serious injury, but still required treatment. As they made it to the examination room where the carpenter was, Bianca was greeted with the sight of a middle aged woman who looked Bianca up and down before exclaiming.

”A healer! Finally! My poor husband has been in pain for too long, he needs to be healed at once!” Bianca opened her mouth to speak, but before Bianca could say anything, the wife grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her over to a tired looking man on the examining table. ”Dear, it’s really not that bad…I told you, all I need is several day’s rest and I should be—“ ”Nonsense, the healer is here! She’ll have you fixed up in no time and you can be back at work tomorrow!” The woman declared her thoughts rather loudly while the man gave a defeated sigh.

”Um…” Bianca started, hesitant in the face of the man’s overbearing wife. She looks around the room absently, her eyes falling on two small girls that were clinging to their mother’s skirt. ”Miss healer! Is daddy going to be okay? Is…is he going to DIE?!” One of the girls began to whimper as the other took off towards her father and began climbing onto the exam table.

”He had best be okay! He needs to go to work tomorrow!” The wife insisted as Bianca looked from the woman to the child trying to climb up the exam table. Not wanting to have to heal a second person, Bianca gently pries the girl from her adventure and hands her back to her mother. ”W-WWWAAAAAAA! I WANNA SIT WITH DADDY!” A startled look comes over the young healer’s face as the girl begins to wail, her sister joining in with a cry of her own as the mother tries to get them to hush while the father just stares down at his feet. He had not wanted to come to the hospital initially, having been through much worse and knowing that his body will heal on its own with time and rest. But his wife had forced him to go seek treatment, insisting that she and their two daughters come along as well. He had initially resisted, but he could not say no to his wife, leaving them in their current situation.

Bianca takes in a breath, hoping that the man’s injuries were not too bad and that she’d be able to do this quickly. ”Please tell me where your injuries are.” She turns to the man. ”On my back and side, mostly.” He responds. Nodding, Bianca moves both hands onto her staff absently. ”Please remove your shirt, then.”


[Hospital Rounds III: 517/1000]

”WHAT?!” The wife interrupts suddenly, her face red while juggling one crying child in her arms and another at her skirt. ”You want to see MY HUSBAND with his SHIRT OFF?! Why can you not heal him through his clothing?”

”Erm…well, I need to be able to see what I’m healing—“ Bianca starts, unsure of what to do in the face of an angry wife. While she had absolutely no intention of ogling her husband, she felt as if this job would go a lot smoother with the wife and children out of the room. Still, she was too nervous to suggest it, not wanting to anger the woman more than she already had.

”Leave the girl alone, Vita. She’s doing her job.” The carpenter interjected and sighed, clearly wanting to get this over with as much as Bianca. As he reached to remove his shirt, Bianca averted her gaze out of politeness. One of the crying girls saw the bruises on her father’s back as he turned and began wailing once more. ”DADDY! Daddy’s really hurt! And he’s going to dieeeeee and we’ll be all alone without him!” Bianca paused, unsure of what to say at this. The man was clearly in passable shape, and though the bruises lining his back were ugly, they were nothing she couldn’t handle.

Clearing her throat, Bianca addressed the crying girl’s concerns the best she could. ”Now, don’t your worry. Your father is going to be just fine, but I need you two to be as quiet as you can for me while I heal him. It won’t take long, but in order to heal him the best I can, I need it to be as quiet as possible. O-okay?” Bianca’s voice squeaked at the end of her request, her nervousness showing through a bit. She bit her lip at this, worried that the carpenter or his wife would catch the uneasy tinge to her voice. She didn’t want to worry either of them, and did her best to not seem as frazzled as she really was. To her relief, the crying died down to sniffling and Bianca sighed, returning to her patient.

Raising the ball of her staff to the largest of the bruises, Bianca commanded the rukh to gather and heal the man’s flesh. She continued like this for several minutes, moving her staff over the area to be healed as she carefully mended the damage that had been done. As she finished, she asked the man how he felt. Twisting his body, the carpenter smiled as he realized that the aching bones and flesh that plagued him were no longer a bother. ”I feel perfectly fine miss, thank you. No pain at all.” As the man reaches for his shirt, Bianca smiles and the wife lets out a sigh. ”See girls? Daddy is going to be okay. The nice healer helped him like I said she would.”

The carpenter removes himself from the examining table, walking over to his worried daughters and embracing them. He and his wife thanked Bianca before taking their leave. Bianca smiled and waved at them until they were out of sight before collapsing into a nearby chair. ”That was certainly one of my…busier days.”


[Hospital Rounds III: 1000+/1000]