Distracted By Iris

Terrano stepped back then crossed the room to where Sirus waited. He turned back to see Iris right her stool and fold the garment she's been working on. He followed Sirus from the room and down the long halls. Sirus pulled the hood of his cloak up as he neared the outer doors. Terrano did the same and was grateful. The shadow created by his hood gave his eyes time to adjust to the afternoon light. He followed Sirus, wondering why he walked away from Triage instead of into it. They walked over to the stone benches and sat. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.

"What about Iris draws your eye, Terrano?" Sirus asked gently.

Terrano rested his arms on his legs and locked his fingers together. "She's… young. Knowledgeable. Mysterious."

"Mysterious?"

"She can move around without making a sound. Across the room one moment then standing beside you the next."

Sirus nodded. "What else?"

"I don't understand how she can be helpful, almost warm, one moment then cold and distant the next."

"Helpful and warm when it comes to work. Cold and distant when it borders on anything personal."

Terrano thought about the few conversations he'd had with Iris. What Sirus said was true.

"For what purpose do you seek to know Iris, Terrano?" Sirus asked.

"I want to know what got her started in healing. What experiences she's had that allow her to… hear the patient's needs."

"Why else?"

"What do you mean, why else?" Terrano asked, sitting up.

"You look at her differently. So, why else are you seeking to know Iris?"

"I… find her attractive."

"Yes, that is a problem."

"Why? Is she married?"

"Not that I'm aware of. But Iris is not here to seek a relationship. She's already—quite forcefully—rejected several others."

"If you are trying to discourage me from trying, it's not working."

"Discourage you, no. Just giving you the facts, Terrano."

He watched as one of the healers crossed the bowl to where the grass was longest. They sat and nearly disappeared from view. "…Do you think she'll ever open up, Sirus?"

"I do not know."

Terrano nodded. "Anything else we're doing today?"

"Not unless more people arrive."

"There has to be something that always needs doing."

"Then check with the kitchen. They may appreciate having another set of hands. I'll come for you if any others arrive."

He nodded. "Where are we starting tomorrow?"

"Intensive Wing after breakfast."

"Alright."

Terrano remained where he was while Sirus made his way back to the bowl floor. He looked back to the grass where he knew Iris to be sitting. But the dent she had made in the grass was no longer there. He scanned the hill and the bowl for any sign of her cloak or black hair. Terrano could find neither. Shaking his head, Terrano made his way to the kitchen to give whatever help he could. Give him something else to focus on. Hopefully help him be able to focus on his training and not the young, black haired, beauty that utterly confused him.

Terrano did not sleep well. His dreams about Iris felt too real. Real enough that he hoped she wasn't working in the Intensive Wing this morning. He needed to focus on what he was learning, not fantasize about what he would like to do with her were she to open up. He made his way to the dining hall. He helped in the kitchen some before they shooed him away to eat. Sirus joined him after he'd taken a few bites.

"Did the work help last night?" Sirus asked.

"Not really," he replied. "I kept having to recount the inventory because my mind refused to stay focused."

He nodded.

When they arrived, Sirus led them to the far corner where Jess was working. The two men nodded to each other before Jess left.

"How do you know who to replace?" Terrano asked.

Sirus pointed to the entryway. "There is a list of shifts as you walk in. The name above yours is the healer you are here to relieve."

Terrano walked back to the entryway. He saw the page and that Jess' name was indeed above Sirus'. "How did I miss that?"

"You were too focused on how to get here to notice."

He nodded. "Guess I need to start paying better attention."

"That comes with time."

Then Sirus set him to work. To work that felt, and came much, easier after doing this in Triage. When he finished with one person, Sirus took him to another. He started to explain a variation of the Guided Imagery when Iris came into the wing. She set her hand on the back of another female before taking over. He could not pull his eyes away from her. There were darkening circles under her eyes. Had she not slept well last night? Her head came up as Sirus cleared his throat. He smiled at her. She did not return the smile, but turned back to her work.

Sirus cleared his throat again. "Terrano," he said firmly. "Are you even hearing a word I am saying?"

Terrano turned back to him. "Sorry. I did not."

He sighed. "Do we need to trade someone places in Triage? Or can you ignore Iris long enough to continue?"

"I should be fine to continue."

"Alright."

Sirus started through his explanation again. Terrano almost lost his focus when Iris moved out of sight. He was still curious to know how she worked. And how she could work with such proficiency. But he knew he needed to get this down, or he would never be able to work on his own. He turned back to Sirus as he started to demonstrate the technique. Once he was finished, Sirus had Terrano try to see how well he had paid attention. The individual they worked with put Iris back in his line of sight. She was sitting next to a woman and holding her hand. Her expression serious.

He turned to the person in front of him. She was sucking in her breath through her teeth, despite analgesic herbs having been recently applied to her wounds. Terrano held her hand as Iris held the other woman's and worked through the steps that Sirus had taught him. He fumbled a couple times, but managed to get through everything without any correction from Sirus. The woman's breathing deepened. She was finally starting to relax when the panicked shrieking of a young boy came down the hall.

Several patients jerked and groaned at the sound. Iris and a few others healers calmed the patients they were working on, before stepping to assist others. Terrano shook himself to help as the boy's shrieks increased in volume. It was almost deafening by the time they brought the boy into the intensive wing. Sirus and another woman stepped up to try and help calm the boy who was struggling in the arms of his father.

"Don't touch me!" the young boy screamed at them. "Let me go. Get away from me!"

"Gunshot wound to the shoulder," the father said over his screaming son. "I think the bullet is still inside his shoulder."

"Plantain," Terrano said and hurried over to the cupboards.

Now if the father could just hold the boy still long enough for him to apply it. As hard as he fought, Terrano did see that the young boy refused to move his left shoulder. Sirus tried to get the boy to calm down, as did another healer. But each time they laid hands on him, he twisted and jerked. He nearly bit Sirus at one point. Nothing was working to calm this kid down. Would Terrano be able to get the boy to take a Valerian extract? He set the plantain ointment down, but had to catch the container when the boy kicked it away.

He kept it with him as he turned to find a Valerian extract. He was still searching when the boy stopped shrieking. He turned. Iris stepped around the boy's father to where he stood. Her expression was tight. She opened the cupboard for some alcohol and bandaging. Terrano noticed that she didn't use her left arm to try and reach for anything.

"Are you alright, Iris?" Terrano asked.

"Fine, Terrano," she replied, her voice nearly as tight as her expression. "The boy will need this."

She handed him a Witch Hazel and Mullein extract. Then she took the alcohol and bandages to a far corner. He watched her, wondering what she needed them for since she wasn't near any specific patient. But she motioned for him to get back to the boy before she unscrewed the cap on the alcohol bottle. The boy had calmed and now lay still on the bed his father had been trying to get him to lay on. Bruises were already beginning to show on the boys arms and legs where his father had to hold him so firmly. Terrano applied the extract to the boy's bruises.

Sirus cut away the sleeve to expose the boy's left shoulder. There was light bruising on the shoulder, but no gunshot wound. For a long moment Sirus stared at the shoulder. Terrano could see his eyes shifting from the blood soaked sleeve to the faint bruise on his shoulder. He lifted a smashed bullet off the bed. It's caliber large enough that there was no way it didn't go in. Sirus looked at the bullet then turned his head to where Iris sat. He stepped toward Iris, leaving Terrano to finish treating the boy's bruises.

Terrano finished treating the bruises then put all of the extracts back in the cupboard. He could hear Sirus and Iris speaking softly, but their words were too soft to make out. He looked over all the patients in the wing and none of them seemed to need any immediate attention. Sirus was helping Iris tie her left arm to her waist when he approached.

"Thank you, Sirus," Iris said.

"You are welcome, Iris. Is there anything else you need?"

"No. It's time to check on patients again."

"They are doing fine, Iris," Terrano said. "It's okay to take care of yourself."

She met his eyes. "I have taken care of myself. And now it is time to get back to work."

"Did you…?"

"And for your information, Terrano, a panoramic glance is not checking on patients," she interrupted. "Excuse me."

Terrano almost stopped her, but the shaking of Sirus' head told him to leave her alone. It did not stop him from watching her put the alcohol away and rinse the cloths she had used to get the blood out. Once the blood was out, she dropped the cloths in a basket that would be taken to the laundry room soon. Iris opened the cupboards again and pulled out a single tincture. She returned to the woman she had been helping when the boy was brought in. Sirus set a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Terrano turned to him.

"We should see if the boy's father needs anything," he said quietly.

Terrano nodded then followed Sirus to where the father sat.