Just Yellow Things [Attn: Craig & Zarayne]

[Bella]

Isla was running late that morning. She had overslept, missed breakfast, and now was going to slide into this duty period by the skin of her teeth. It was a double blow too since working in the infirmary was her favorite chore in all of her schedule. So much so, it didn't even feel like a "chore" to her.

It was her calling. She was sure of it.

Biology, however, had gotten the better of her that morning.

She had barely slept the night before, her brain a perfect emotional tumult. The refreshing part was that it wasn't about her father or her childhood or her past. For a change of pace, it was about her present. It was about Beron. She didn't understand what had come over her, but he filled many a free space in her thoughts. Sadly, the point of trying to sleep was to free space, and...

Well. There it was. The fact that she hadn't seen or heard from him in some while, and had caught wind of some rumors about a "run in" with Ravak Gaidin, made her very worried and made her not sleep.

All but sliding to a stop in front of the infirmary door, she took a moment to catch her breath and smooth her Accepted dress over her stomach and hips before walking inside. Her blue eyes sought out the tall Aes Sedai she knew she would be working with that day, one she had met when they were each a rank younger.

Spotting the half-Aiel woman, Isla hurried over to her and did a curtsy once the other woman's eyes were on her. "Aes Sedai," she greeted, hating how breathless she still sounded. "I'm here for the day's rotation."

[Craig]

Zarayne Sedai

Zarayne tilted her head slightly at the out-of-breath Accepted, considering both her entrance and who she was. It would have been hypocritical for the Yellow to make a judgement over either. She often found herself running through the corridors of the Grey Tower, and it wasn't Zarayne who found Isla snooping when she shouldn't. So instead of making some generic Aes Sedai-y retort which never would have suited her, Zarayne simply smiled. "Hello, Isla."

Despite the colour of her dress and shawl, Zarayne was not a strong Healer, nor even an especially proficient one. She was definitely not Talented like most Yellows, but then she had no intention to be like most Yellows. Zarayne was comfortable in her uniqueness, although reality occasionally ran roughshod over those ideals. Despite her lack of skill in the area, Zarayne was still expected to spend time in the Infirmary. Fortunately she just needed to supervise, and wasn't expected to tend to the injured personally.

"I'm sure you know how this goes by now. We'll be seeing to some of the less urgent injuries today. I'm here to watch and supervise, to see how your Talent is progressing, and to answer any questions you may have." A rote day in the Infirmary all told, assuming neither writer had a burst of ingenuity forthcoming.

[Bella]

Isla nodded quickly, appreciative that the Aes Sedai had not commented on the breathlessness she had been unable to hide. She enjoyed her work here enough that she even looked forward to the regular day with its regular work, although she was completely unaware of the terrible burst of ingenuity that her writer had in store for her.

There wasn't much else to be said, so the pair just got to work.

The first patient of the day was an Aes Sedai of the Grey Ajah, though not on behalf of herself. Neraine Sedai had her infant with her, a little girl just over six months old whose normally pale skin was covered all around the mouth and nose with an angry looking red rash. The baby was rubbing at it, not crying but looking distinctly unhappy.

"Oh, dear," Isla said with sympathy before remembering herself and giving the Aes Sedai a curtsy. "Aes Sedai," she said. "With your permission, I would like to Delve your daughter?"

"Please do," Neraine said after a quick glance to make sure a fully Raised Yellow was observing.

Isla wasn't offended, and she embraced Saidar. She formed the fine mesh of Spirit that had by now become second nature, laying it over the little girl. After a few moments, she gave a little nod to herself and smiled politely at the mother. "It's simply a skin condition, and goes no further into the child. It is comparable to dry skin, just much more dramatic.

"It does not require Healing, as it will do Rosa no harm aside from a little irritation. We have a salve, however, that will help ease that. If you will excuse me a moment?"

At the nod from Neraine and then Zarayne, Isla hurried to the sidetable where the poultices, tinctures, salves, and remedies were kept. She selected the jar she needed, and scooped some of the white cream into a smaller container that she brought to the mother and child. She showed it to her attending Yellow, who nodded again, and then gave the small jar to Neraine Sedai.

"Rub a little of this twice a day into the affected skin and it will ease her discomfort. It should also help speed the natural healing process," she explained.

Neraine Sedai took the jar and thanked Isla, then departed. And it was on to the next...
* * * A pair of Drin who had managed to injure each other during training reminded Isla of just what she was working so hard to not think about, and that was Beron. It was a little harder to set him aside in her thoughts so she could focus, but she managed, only because she put the care of those in front of her first and foremost, ahead of herself.

One was Healed for a fracture to a bone in their wrist, while the other was Healed for a bruise that would have overtaken the entire left side of his body without it.

A treatment for a headache was followed by Healing after a Soldier ate a piece of fruit he'd left in his room for too long, which was followed by Isla's rather blunt question about 'didn't the green fuzzy stuff give you an idea that it wasn't good?' and was further followed by his blushing embarrassment and vow to never eat again.

Isla thought that unlikely, but didn't say so.

After that, it was time to sit down for her own midday meal, which would be taken in the infirmary between patients. She would be here for another hour until she had to leave for a class, although she would have gladly have skipped the class to stay here. Naturally, she did not say as much to anyone, but she thought it really loudly.

Her sandwich was consumed with a side of obsessive thoughts until she was able to get back to work.

It was her next patient, however, that drove all of those thoughts from her mind. It almost drove everything from her mind, including her sanity...
* * * There was a young man sitting on the bed, looking quite worse for wear. If she had to guess his age, she would have said maybe seventeen? Not much older than she'd been when she came here, she reflected for a brief, idle moment. He had one arm holding his side in a visible clue that his ribs were hurt. There was dried blood on his face, a black eye, and bruises on every part of visible skin.

Add to that, his clothes were dirty, bloody, and ripped. This boy had obviously been through a lot, and recently--although not this day. He was not of the Tower, she determined, but had come here or been brought here.

"My name is Accepted Isla," she greeted him politely, feeling Zarayne behind her. "I'm here to treat your injuries." She knew she could identify a great many of them just from seeing them, but she had to imagine there were many internal as well. "Do I have you permission to Delve you?"

"T'what?" he asked, his words a mumble around what seemed to be a missing tooth. At least he was conscious, and apparently coherent.

"Delve," she explained. "It is where I use the One Power to see what your injuries are, inside and out."

He winced slightly when she said "One Power," but she didn't ask. He nodded once, slightly. "Pret'sure I got plen'y inside."

Isla couldn't help but agree.

Embracing Saidar once again, she created the weave and let it flow over him, from head to foot. It took no small amount of effort on her part to keep from wincing at the extent of his pain. Aside from all she could see, he did have two broken ribs. They were positioned, along with an outer bruise, in a way she recognized.

Someone had kicked him.

There were hairline fractures in his wrists, bruised and raw skin.

Someone had tied him up, or shackled him.

Fist-sized bruises on various parts of his body.

At least she saw no internal bleeding or punctured organs. Thank the Light for that small mercy.

"You need Healing," she said, her voice a little hoarse. "Your injuries are extensive and will take a very long time to heal on their own, even with other types of treatment. Do I have your permission to Heal?"

Another single nod. "Whitecloaks ain't kind."

That brought her up short, and every drop of her blood turned to ice. A shiver raced down her spine and for a long moment, she couldn't move.

"Accepted?" she heard the Aes Sedai behind her.

"Yes," she said, breathless again. Images of fists flying into her face, boots into her body, shackles on her wrists... The way her blood felt so hot when it ran down her skin... She pushed them all away and formed the Healing weave that she had learned as a Novice and continued to perfect the more she trained.

Her hands were shaking as she used the weave and Healed him.

"No, they're not," she whispered to him. His eyes were curious, maybe even suspicious, as they looked at her. "You have come here to train as a channeler?" she formed it as a question, though it was as much a statement.

"Yes," he said, his speaking a little clearer now that the pain was relieved. "After I got away from them."

"You'll be safe here," she said solemnly. She turned to Zarayne, still ashen in color. "M-may I step out to arrange for some food for him?" she asked, trying to hide her stammer.

[Craig]

Zarayne

The Yellow nodded in acquiescence, her eyes following Isla for a moment as the Accepted departed. After all, Zarayne was neither blind nor deaf. She'd seen the change in Isla, both in her approach and mood.

Jade-green eyes moved over to the man. Zarayne could observe a number of reasons to judge the man, although most of those reasons were prejudiced. If it was for his appearance, then Isla had to learn the meaning of the words Aes Sedai. The same was true if it was due to that fact that he wasn't from the Tower. Maybe it was something considering his injuries? He was hale and hearty now, if famished thanks to the Healing.

Shaking her head a trifle, Zarayne decided to have a word with Isla once they were alone. She wouldn't have a conversation with the man present, and she wouldn't belittle Isla by asking someone outside of the Tower to weigh in on Isla's approach.

[Bella]

It took no small amount of self-control to convince herself to go back to the infirmary once her task was completed. She knew that this feeling wouldn't last, but in that moment, she felt very shaken by the presence of the man; or more to the point, by what his presence represented to her.

Still, she would not shame her training. She got the food and brought it back to the infirmary, bringing it straight to the newly-Healed young man. "Eat well, but slowly, and recover your strength," she said simply.

Isla then turned to see that Zarayne Sedai had been awaiting her return, given that she was in charge of watching over the Accepted while she worked in the infirmary. Although Aes Sedai were nearly always inscrutable, the younger of the two could venture a guess that the elder had questions.

[Craig]

Zarayne

Questions indeed. Zarayne wordlessly directed Isla to the side, outside of anyone else's earshot.

"You seem... disturbed. It isn't uncommon for men to get into scraps, even as bad as that. And there are few places as peaceable as Hama Valon. You will seldom find the world meeting your expectations."

Was that too harsh or too critical? If Isla was one of her patients, she would have gently coaxed out the explanation from her, but Zarayne hadn't the time for subtlety. She was happy to step on prejudice when she noticed it, and being Aiel made her notice it far too often. It didn't affect her on a personal level any more, but that didn't mean she was willing to tolerate it.

Zarayne tilted her head slightly. "Tell me what it is that bothers you. His injuries? His appearance? Something else?"

[Bella]

You will seldom find the world meeting your expectations.

Isla's temper--very rarely seen these days--flared up within her, but she gritted her back teeth and stamped it down. She used it to burn away her emotional reaction to the man, her face settling to an icy mask as she straightened her back. She had shed the blood and still wore the scars of the moments when the world hadn't met her expectations.

"It was his history, Aes Sedai," she said flatly. "It had personal significance that caught my off guard. It won't happen again."

[Craig]

Zarayne

Zarayne's eyebrows rose slightly. She was an observer of human behaviour, so Isla's change in stance and tone was unmistakable. The Accepted was squaring up for a fight, although the terse apology that crossed her lips showed she thought better than to start one.

Clearly, there was something to be explored here, although now wasn't the ideal time. They both had patients to attend to before Zarayne could focus on helping Isla.

The Yellow dipped her head slightly. "I misunderstood the situation. My apologies." She paused for a moment. "If there is something relevant to his physical or mental care that I should be aware of, I would appreciate it if you could tell me. I'm here to listen if anyone has issues they wish to discuss."

[Bella]

"Of course, Aes Sedai," Isla said. Her voice and demeanor were still taut but respectful as she bowed with a slight curtsy. Although she was admittedly surprised that an Aes Sedai would offer any apologies to her, just an Accepted. "I will be sure to let you know if anything arises, ma'am."

With that, the two of them got back to work.