Storm

Stunned and anxious, Riley let Roland guide Peach, and the cart, into the shelter of the trees. Two of the trees were just far enough apart to allow the cart inside their circle.

Finn had pulled herself back up onto the bench, and Mayra had helped her maneuver backward over it to recline in the back of the cart. It was so dark from the thunderclouds that she had to light a candle to try and assess Finn's condition.

As Riley got Peach tied off next to the other horse (a short way from the wagon in case they spooked and bucked in the storm), the downpour began. Despite the shelter of the trees, it was still a significant, drenching force. Riley scrambled up into the back of the cart.

He turned back. "Well?" he said to the stranger, offering his hand. Roland took it and was hauled up into the shelter the oilcloth-covered cart provided. He had with him the saddlebags from his horse. Mayra pulled the cart's oiled cover closed at the front and Riley did the same at the rear to keep out the wind and the torrent.

"Thank you for the assistance, and for sharing your tree-shelter." Riley spoke first. "I'm Riley, that's Finn, and this is my sister Mayra." Riley purposefully left off a descriptor for Finn. 'Neighbor' and 'friend' both felt inadequate to offer the stranger. Better to leave it unspoken.

"Finn?" The strangers eyebrows rose as he turned to look at her.

"Serafina." She provided, coloring slightly under his gaze. He smiled at her as she continued. "These are my neighbors--you remember Mayra?"

Riley frowned.

"Yes of course, Serafina. Lovely to see you again, Mayra." Roland nodded his head to the younger girl, who looked pleased at the way Roland had said Finn's full name.

"... Somebody want to fill me in here?" Riley's tone was measured. Not quite angry, but no longer friendly like before.

Mayra broke in, "I'll tell you everything, but first we should let Roland check Finn's wounds."

"What? Why... WHAT?" Riley sputtered, confused and irate, and Finn blushed crimson.

"He's a doctor," explained Mayra, "At least, a doctor in training."

"And just how much training has 'Roland' had? Why is he more qualified than you? Mother's taught us quite a bit." Riley resisted the idea that Roland should be looking at, let alone touching, any part of Finn's body.

The rain pounded on the cart's cover, accentuating the growing ire in Riley's voice.

"Your kind mother does indeed seem very skilled," Roland said soothingly, putting the familial pieces together. "I have been an apprentice to the immanent Dr. Sherman of Klain since I was a boy of eight." Roland was often responsible for calming the agitated loved ones of ill patients while the doctor prepared to treat them; he used the same tone now. "And of course you may remain present during any treatment, so long as the patient wishes."

He intentionally avoided using Finn's name again. It seemed to upset Riley.

"No! I mean, well, I can't very well send you outside into the storm, Riley. But you have to turn away. Maybe in the far corner." Finn's complexion had darkened into nearly the shade of a tomato as she refused eye contact with the person to whom she was speaking.

She resigned herself to the fact that the most qualified person to help her was Roland, but she was still deeply embarrassed about it. Riley grumbled but moved to the corner as directed. Mayra wedged herself between him and the other two people, determined not to let him peek.

"Since you don't seem to be in immediate danger of anything too terribly serious," Roland had mentally noted that the blood spot had stopped spreading on Finn's skirt, "Let's start with something easy. May I look at your head?" When a patient was as skittish as she seemed, it was best to start slowly if possible.

Finn nodded, though the motion made her slightly dizzy. Roland moved closer to her side and first looked into her eyes. Clinically, he took mental note of pupil size and responsiveness as Mayra moved the candle closer. Then he gently probed her skull with his fingertips. His fingers moved through her hair in such a relaxing way that Finn closed her eyes, until he touched the bump forming at her hairline.

"Ouch!" She said involuntarily as her eyes flew open.

"What did he do??" Riley demanded, only barely keeping from turning around.

"It's fine, I just have a bump on my head." Finn assured.

"I'm not too worried about it," said Roland. "It'll hurt for a few days, but you're alert and responsive. Mayra, if you could wet a cloth with some rainwater, please, the cold might help keep the swelling down."

Though Roland had never held the authority to direct or command someone in the course of his medical experience, he found it came rather naturally to him to have a nurse assistant. Mayra shortly handed him the requested damp cloth.

"Please hold this to your head."

Finn reached out with her left hand to hold it, which seemed awkward since the bump was on the right side of her forehead.

Roland narrowed his eyes. "Something's wrong with your other hand?"

Finn squirmed. She really did not prefer to have this much focused attention on herself. "Some splinters from the bench, nothing important. Just stings a little."

Roland dug in his bag for a metal implement resembling a short, sharp knife. He held out his hand, palm up, as an invitation to let him treat her.

"What are you doing to do with that?" Finn asked nervously, eyeing the blade. She didn't want to be cut open.

"If you can trust me, you'll find out." Roland smiled reassuringly. It wouldn't have hurt him a bit to explain the process of removing the splinters, and maybe he should have done exactly that, but something in him was compelling him to find out whether the young woman before him could place any faith in him.

Slowly, Finn extended her injured hand to lay it, palm up, in Roland's. He tried not to react as his heart leapt a little bit. He took a deep, steadying breath and laid the edge of the blade along her skin, dragging it slowly along each finger from palm to tip. The touch was not much more than that of a feather, and never broke the skin, but the blade inexorably coaxed each splinter from its lodging and out into the air. Roland's hands remained steady even through the lightning and thunder around them.

Task completed and splinters gathered into a cloth, Roland set the knife aside and laid his other hand over Finn's. She had shut her eyes tightly against the sight of a sharp blade on her skin, but now they popped wide open and looked into Roland's. He smiled warmly, glad that he had lived up to her trust in him. At least, for the moment.

"Now," He said, "Let's move on to what I suspect may be the most serious injury."

Riley shifted in the corner. This was the part which he most wanted to avoid. Cutting her eyes over to Riley, Mayra inserted herself back into the medical conversation.

"It is serious. In fact, it's why we're on the road at all." Mayra's statement drew Roland's attention as Finn pulled the hem of her skirt further down to cover even her shoes. Which was silly, given that the apprentice-doctor would be looking at her leg very shortly.

"Tell me the nature of the problem, and why your knowledgeable mother was unable to treat it." Roland's request drew Finn's attention as well, since Amelia's explanation to her on the topic had felt abbreviated.

"Well," began Mayra, eyeing Finn's reaction to what she was about to say, "Finn's a giant hero. She saved the village children from a pack of wolves hunting them in broad daylight. She even kicked one! But that's not the important part. What's important is that she got bitten, and Mama's medicinal herb supply is all but gone. She gave us the last of it to bring on this journey. If the wound gets infected, or worse, the wolves were diseased--"

Mayra's voice rose to a higher pitch and almost broke. Amelia had been gravely concerned about this, since wolves attacking humans was rare enough, but in a group in broad daylight? Unheard of for a healthy wolf population.

"Yes, I understand the concern." Roland mused darkly.

"Well, then, you see that we couldn't delay and had to bring her quickly to the city. The doctors, Mama says they have medicines for all kinds of things. They can make her better."

"I hope that's still true," Roland said. "As you may remember, my entire journey was to gather herbs to replenish my master's supply. Although he keeps much in stock normally, it has been dwindling as less and less comes into the city. I have almost nothing to show for my months of work. I pray he still has what he needs left."

Riley had turned to listen to Roland's story, but quickly faced the corner again when Finn caught his gaze. He grumbled something to himself before speaking louder.

"Why don't you have anything?" Riley asked, "Couldn't you find it?" His question was awkwardly loud and came across as very rude. It was hard to regulate one's volume when you not only faced away from the addressee, but also tried to be heard over the storm outside.

"It was as if every likely place to look had already been harvested. Nothing grew where it should, and some places had holes in the ground as if the plants had been dug up by the roots and carried off, but no village I went to nor person I encountered could explain it." Roland would have found it a fascinating mystery, except that it had not even been the biggest mystery he'd discovered in the wilds.

His face changed as he remembered his experiences of the past several days. His heart ached deeply and his pulse raced as images shuffled through his mind of all he'd seen. Much of it was an unprocessed jumble he still needed to sort out, but the recent memories were the most difficult for him to reflect on. His very first patient all on his own, and it had to end in lonely, broken tragedy.

He shook the thought loose and concentrated on his current patient instead of his past one.

Dr. Sherman told him more times than he could count that 'distraction was the greatest enemy of the practice of medicine.' Mrs. Sherman had often teased that one day she would embroider that on a wall handing as a gift, except that it might be a distraction.

"Enough stalling. Mayra, may I have what your mother provided for Serafina's care? I will need to examine the wound." Riley and Finn tensed almost in unison, for the exact same reason, but with entirely different emotions.