melodiesoflife | the evening shift.

Entry tags:

the evening shift.

Characters Yuna & OPEN
Where the Hospital in Aqures Ixen
When Post Magitek event.
Summary Yuna is working her first few shifts in the hospital -- taking care of the crystalized folks therein, as well as anyone that wanders in with injuries from a hard night's questing!
Warning Possible mention of injuries.

The halls were quiet for the start of her shift, and even quieter in some of the rooms. The crystal stasis epidemic was even more intimidating in person, and the recently arrived patients were, admittedly, Yuna's first experience seeing it up close. The victims truly seemed as though they were frozen in time, their perfect likeness ready to spring back to life -- if only they could escape their gem-encrusted prisons.

She frowned, feeling the forehead of a girl with pigtails, unable to sense any warmth from beyond the crystal's surface. With a sigh, she retracted her arm and shook her head, turning to leave the room and on to check on the next. Although she was grateful that there were no patients needing immediate care... she had to admit hearing another living breathing person would have been welcome.

When Momolumi burst through the door with an assortment of letters from Mognet, she smiled, greeting him with his pick of sweets that could be found on the central desk -- and settled in to read what news he had brought.

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Spencer perked up his tiny ears at the sound of another moogle from the doorway and with a bounce to his red pom-pom, he pushed the glasses up his nose a little and jumped into the air as well. He waved back at Momolumi in that friendly way that he greeted any other moogle. Yet hovering at Sephiroth's shoulder height the quieter mog only looked from Monolumi to Sephiroth as the other moogle went on.

Sephiroth had paused mid-wrap and step-turned in the direction of the newcomer as well. He'd lost the tension again and that irritated him but found it quite impossible to be angry as a result. He tightened his grip on the bandage and setting his jaw folded fingers down onto the bandage to hold it in place. He had been quite ready to calmly answer back at Momolumi, that he didn't need the help but thank you very much- but he was gone in the next moment. Leaving Sephiroth to look expectantly at his own moogle, but Spencer only shrugged.

It couldn't hurt so much, to let this Yuna at least help him wrap his sprained hand up, right? It was certainly awkward trying to do it himself and Spencer probably was too small to really have the firm grip needed. There would be someone coming now, regardless.

As the small brunette stepped into the room he drew his gaze from the crystal-body of Shelke to Yuna, almost frowning at the way that her voice trailed off. Indeed, despite the fact he was wearing a light grey t-shirt instead of how Yuna might have expected him to be dressed- Sephiroth was distinctive enough. Not that he knew Yuna at all, and as a result wasn't sure why she would trail off like that.

"Yuna. Right?"

Momolumi had said her name, after all.

Her eyes widened as she looked him over, turning a little too quickly and knocking her tray, but catching it just in time before it slid off the ledge. "Ah...! Yes!" Yuna tried to recover quickly, remembering that Cloud wasn't as she remembered, either. In fact, neither were any of the others...

Drawing in a breath to calm herself from the startle, she approached the man carefully. "Um. Is -- there anything I can help you with? Are you hurt?"

Sephiroth flinched towards the tray as well as it almost went sliding off the edge. If she hadn't caught it, he would have done but it turned out she had it well in hand. Probably for the best in hindsight as even the tension caused a fresh cramp to grow in his forearm. He managed to keep the closed hand around the half-wrapped bandage though as he stood back up straighter.

"It's nothing, really." He glanced to Spencer as if to warn the moogle not to butt in, he didn't though and landed close to where Shelke's crystal met the floor, turning his pale pink head upwards at the statue of a girl. With a light sigh, Sephiroth thought better of so abruptly dismissing the help and raised his half-wrapped left hand and arm up towards Yuna.

"It's a touch of a strain, I think." Though really Sephiroth hadn't much of a clue. He'd never gotten such problems from the over use of his sword, ever.

A strain? From what, mowing down warriors of Cosmos with his ungodly sword? No, that wasn't fair -- and Yuna knew it, as she stood assessing the situation, and biting down softly on her lower lip. "Let me see," she offered, palms extended as she stopped close to him, her heart starting to beat a little faster.

Perhaps this Sephiroth was really quite different -- it might even be in his true nature to be kind. What did she really know of him, anyway, aside from the times he'd tried to kill her friends... Their memories in the war were hard to be trusted -- he might have had no idea about any of that. And as a white mage... wasn't it her duty to heal indiscriminately anyway?

"Does... it hurt when you bend it at all? How are you finding the range of motion?"

How about from mowing down all the Mechs that they battled in the Magitek facility, not to mention the monster hunting Sephiroth does on the side for the gils to keep both himself and Yuffie fed? Perhaps that would be fairer. After all, this Sephiroth knows nothing of the war that Yuna comes from even if he does still wield said ungodly sword.

Sephiroth paused while looking over Yuna's offering-gesture but eventually complied. He extended the half-wrapped up left hand towards her and bit some on the inside of his bottom lip as he forced the fingers to open. He had only been holding the wrap closed for a short while but already it took a great deal of effort to open them. He flicked one of the bangs back out of his eyes some and looked over the hand as if he might be able to tell what was wrong with it just by looking- damn that uncomfortable throbbing right across his palm though! Right where the handle to his sword usually sat.

"It's uncomfortable just to rest it like that." He wouldn't admit that it did hurt a lot more than all that, after all. Even as they watched, the fingers seemed to want to curl back up on their own. "Motion is difficult and I keep losing grip-"

He wasn't going to mention the sharp pain that ran the outside of his forearm as well, but he figured Yuna would likely find that out shortly - he wasn't stopping her from touching, at all.

As he lifted the hand in question, she reached forward to unwrap the bandage that he had attempted to re-fasten, getting a better look at the injury site as he calmly explained. He might have been vague on the details of his pain level, but the hesitation with which he attempted to move it betrayed him slightly.

Gently, and with one last cautious glance up towards the man, she palpated along the bones in his hand, feeling for any trace of crepitus, and studying his face as she moved along. "It... looks as though it might be a rather bad sprain," Yuna frowned, completing her assessment, then releasing him from her grip. "White magic won't be much more help at this point, since the injury is mostly healed anyway..." she turned on her heel, walking over to one of the cupboards in the room and retrieving a tension bandage, stepping carefully back towards the general.

"There isn't much more to do than rest it, I'm afraid," she explained, with a bit of a sympathetic smile. "This wrap might be a little more useful, it's a little more flexible, I think," she paused, approaching him again with the bandage in hand, "Ah, may I?"

The offending hand wasn't bruised at all and the strong bones beneath his flesh weren't out of place or grating together as it might have been if he had broken something. The tendons and meat of his hand seemed in places to be a little warm, but no surprises since he'd been trying to wrap his own hand for a while already, and spongy also.

Unbeknownst to Yuna, Sephiroth bit down a little firmer on his lip when she pressed against the middle area to his palm, the accompanied shot of sharp pain up the back of his forearm was aggravating but he did manage for the most part to prevent it from reaching too far into his expression. He kept eyes firmly on his hand and where she was gently applying pressure and only looked up to her face once the diagnosis was complete.

"Thank you." He had figured that out mostly on his own, after all, but was grateful for the look-over - she wasn't obligated to check at all, and it was polite to say such.

As she turned to retrieve a different type of bandage, Spencer took the thicker wrap he had been using away to be disposed of in the hygiene bin. Sephiroth hmm'd lightly before nodding to Yuna as she came back towards him, steeling himself for the fact that the tension bandage would be automatically tighter around his hand than the other had been.

"Go right ahead."

Although the bandage she chose would be a little more snug, it was also form fitting -- and flexible. The tightness would help with some of the remainder of the swelling, and as she wrapped it carefully around his injury, by the time she was done -- she stepped back, studying it. "Does -- that feel all right? It should be a little more support for... handling a weapon... for example," the words just sort of fell out along the way as she spoke, causing her to clear her throat quietly afterwards.

"Otherwise... I would recommend a few small exercises to help get it working again, nothing too rigourous at first, of course. Ah... and ice, of course."

Once the bandage was in place Sephiroth first tested the motion available in his fingertips, flexing them the limited amount that he could comfortably manage. The snugness of the different type of bandage felt restrictive at first but as he flexed them more the shot of pain traveled significantly less up the back of his forearm. It might be inconvenient for a while but surely the fact that it was less painful was a fair trade. But did that make him weak? Sephiroth tried not to frown in Yuna's face over it even if it did bother him a great deal.

"It feels very-" Tight. Like it was adding a weight to his hand. How it would be hard to grip a handle with- "-tight. But like you said-"

He did frown just a little at the way she cleared her throat; wondering if she meant something more to that. Listening to her advice still, intently. He pursed his lips together just slightly, already visualizing the type of small exercises she was suggesting. He understood well enough, that he had to now preserve his range of motion rather than pushing past the crippling pain while the muscles in his hand and arm argued against him. Not dissimilar to how he might pull a muscle while training, the difference being such things had only lasted for a few hours before.

"-Yes. I think a few days out would be in order. To rest it." Sephiroth certainly didn't sound very impressed with that prospect.

Yuna nodded, trying her best to keep her memories in check, needing to remind herself to relax. This Sephiroth meant her no harm -- it was evident in their interactions, and even the way that he spoke to her. Clasping her hands loosely in front of her she looked over her work once more as he seemed to be testing it -- and willed a smile onto her lips.

"If... there's anything else I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask. Or come back, but... hopefully it doesn't come to that again, right?" she forced a chuckle from the base of her throat.

On the couple of occasions that Sephiroth flicked his gaze back to Yuna's face while he was feeling out the tension in the bandage he wasn't sure what he saw there, but the smile she eventually willed there bugged at his natural suspicions. Added more weight to how he wasn't entirely sure if there were something he might be missing.

"Hopefully not." He conceded, carefully.

As if needing the distraction Sephiroth turned his head back towards Shelke's crystal in the meantime and allowed it to steal what toxic thoughts were so keen to form within his mind.

"Do you -this might sound odd- get very many visitors?"

"Every so often... " maybe she was she started, a frown crossing her lips as she turned her mis-matched gaze towards the victims in the room, "people do come to visit. I imagine they're friends and family alike..." her voice trailed off as she couldn't help but feel for them when they arrived.

"Do -- " before she could stop herself, she was already asking. Yuna voiced the question carefully, not wanting to pry, but all the same feeling compelled to find out -- "you know someone here?"

During those moments Sephiroth didn't dare to look over at Yuna again, instead peering as if he might shatter the crystal locked in his gaze. So many unanswered questions. Especially from the Hero that this particular crystal used to be (still was?).

"Hm." He answered yet couldn't quite keep the noise at a neutral tone. For the most part though it was hard to tell what he did feel about Shelke. What should he feel about a girl whom he'd only met once? Though considering what he had learned with regards to a possible 'condition' of hers it was one of the things that weighed heavily on his mind still. Could it have led to her stasis? Would his own weakening lead the same way? Impossible to tell at this point.

"Not really." He answered finally, honestly and accompanied with a light shrug which wasn't half as dismissive as he had intended. "I knew of this one, Shelke. But we only crossed paths the once."

She nodded, clasping her hands in front of her and studying the crystal that he referred to. Yuna was also lucky enough not to really know anyone here personally, though with how much she was seeing them these days her heart progressively went out to them. "Ah -- " her thoughts were interrupted by Momolumi, who pulled at the base of her white robes.

"I found another one, too!" he announced, proud of himself and lifting up anther tension bandage.

Smiling down at him gently, she bent to retrieve it with a "Thank you, Momolumi," and extended it out towards Sephiroth. "Here you are, an extra if you need it. I'm sure that... most people wouldn't want to make another trip here unless they had to, anyway," she half-joked.

The unmistakable exclamation from a moogle captured Sephiroth's attention from the crystal and he watched Monolumi hand Yuna over another bandage. Bless mooglekind, really, for going looking even though Yuna had already dealt with the issue that ailed him. Just helpful little creatures they were, really.

"Thank you Yuna." He took the second bandage gratefully, turning and giving it to Spencer for safekeeping. Spencer nodded before vanishing it into the ether where all moogles kept things, offering a small grin at Monolumi for going to such lengths.

"That's true enough. But it is good to know that you are here. Not doubting the proficiency of the natives, but it is a comfort to me at least." He ended with a more certain nod and turned then towards the doorway.

"I should get back, there are probably things to be done a home by now."

A comfort... for some reason that made her smile, just a little, but it was genuine. "Of course," with a slight bow of her head she acknowledged him once more and gathered the tray of things she had originally brought in, her hands much steadier this time. "Take care, Sephiroth," forgetting that he hadn't used his own name.

As she walked swiftly out of the room to get back to her rounds, Yuna couldn't help but think that somehow this had been a fateful encounter. Perhaps... the world of Crystallis could be something of a new beginning, even for those that you hadn't expected.

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the evening shift.

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ooc: and a little retcon as people aren't in beds when they are crystals- sorry!

no problem at all! o7 also please forgive my wrong journal faux pas... lol

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just a bit of a wrap up comment /o/