Tis But A Scratch

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander wouldn't consider himself clumsy or overly reckless. He knew how to handle himself in a fight but no matter how careful one was you were bound to get hurt eventually. If he hadn't felt the sticky warm blood seeping into his tunic and sliding down his skin the redhead honestly might not even have realized he was hurt. Adrenaline was a hell of a drug.

Normally he'd just slap some bandages over it and call it a day but it seemed that the gash was bad enough to worry Harver who took the younger soldier to the infirmary himself. Just to make sure Zander actually went. Mostly he was worried about the blood on his clothes. Pearce would faint if he saw that. Looks like he was going home with less clothing than he left with. That idea made him chuckle to himself.

That is until his eyes landed on a blonde woman he wasn't familiar with. Zander prided himself on being on a first name basis with all the nurses but this one was new. She looked oddly familiar as well but he was absolutely certain he'd never seen her before. "Afternoon, miss. I've got a bit of a scratch." He said with a charming crooked smile as he motioned to the blood soaked shirt over his bare chest.

Primrose Cadigan

[Primrose Cadigan]

Was certainly a busy afternoon, and Prim wondered what was being taught that day because of the number of soldiers that kept coming through. She was handing off a suture kit to another nurse, while she picked up a few bloodied clothes to wash. She was putting them in a wash bucket when her attention was brought to someone that had walked in.

She turned to see the redhead and her eyes went wide at seeing his "mere scratch." Her blues eyes furrowed in concern, before looked up at him. Well, he wasn't passed out and bleeding on the floor, and he seemed to have walked there by himself, so maybe it really wasn't that bad? Still the only way to tell was to be to look at it. 

She returned his crooked smile with one of her own. "It appears you do, but you've come to the right place." She said, motioning for him to go to one of the open beds. "What are they teaching today? You're like the fourth one in today with "scratches." She did air quotes as she smiled at him and retrieved a basin of water as she walked over to the bed and set it on the small table next to it. "Do you need help removing that tunic, or do you need help?" She asked him gently giving him a small smile. If he needed assistance she'd help by either lifting it over his head or grabbing a pair of scissors. She'd apologize if she had to cut up the tunic, but promised she'd replace it. 

[Zander Brogthamon]

"Dodging blades when you no longer have one." It was a lesson they had started learning months ago but then they'd used the wooden practice blades. These on the other hand were real and Zander had been paired up with another soldier who was as quick on his feet as the redhead was. It certainly provided a good challenge but now he'd get to hush Pearce from worrying over him all night.

When she stated he'd come to the right place Zander felt it safer to not mention he'd been forced there as hostage. There was a particular head nurse that got very upset with him and some of the other soldiers for being stubborn. When asked if he needed help removing his tunic he was about to object and say he could do it himself. Until the voice of that particular head nurse barked in, cutting him off. "Brogthamon, you let'er help you outta that top or I'll 'ave your head!" The soldier put up his hands in defense with a laugh that quickly made him hiss in pain.

"No worries about replacing it. My partner wouldn't appreciate me bringing that home either way." Now that his adrenaline was slowly wearing off the wound was starting to become a more prominent feeling. He felt lightheaded but grinned his way through the feeling. Maybe talking would get his mind off of it.

"Are you new? You look like someone I know but I'm sure I haven't met you before. I never forget a pretty face."

[Primrose Cadigan]

Prim listened as the solider told her what they were doing today, and she paused and gave him a well placed "mother" look. "They're using real blades for this?" She asked. You would think they'd use practice ones made of wood for this sort of thing...She'd best prepare for more then, this wasn't going to end well... But she'd worry about that later. She needed to see how bad his "scratch" was. 

She smiled as she heard the Head Nurses voice. Ah yes, always glad to have back up, but Prim would have gotten it off him eventually with the other nurse stepping in. She was a patient one, but three children did that to you. She managed to get the tunic off his head head and then frowned at his decline of replacing the tunic. "I'm not sending you home in the middle of winter without a replacement shirt." She told him firmly. Placing one hand on her hip. "You'll be right back in that bed in a week if I do, and I won't have that on my conscience. Now why don't you lay down on your back for me and let me look at this easier?" She told him. Her tone was firm but gentle. Prim had learned quick that you had to have a backbone when dealing with soldiers and no was not answer she'd take. 

She'd wait until he laid back on the bed, and she got a clean cloth and dampened it to wipe away some of the blood. She smiled to herself then as he asked his question and her blue eyes flickered up to his face. "I'm part time. I've actually been here for a few years." She informed him. So he was going to be the flirty type huh? Well, it wouldn't be the first time. When she had the skin around his wound cleaned up, she tsked and found some disinfectant. "This is going to hurt," She warned before poured some of it onto the wound before quickly pressing down on it with a clean cloth. "I have a sister, though I doubt you'd meet her around here." She said with an amused smile. In fact this would probably be the last place you'd find her. Her brother too. "Maybe you know my brother, though he wouldn't be here either. He's a bit Squeamish with blood." She said. Her eyes glanced up to his face while she retrieved a suture kit from the side table. "What's your name Soldier?" She asked. 

[Zander Brogthamon]

"Well, we used the practice ones months ago when we first started learning." He stated in defense. Injuries were inevitable. The sooner people learned that the faster they tended to learn how to avoid them. The way she spoke to him, like a mother scolding a misbehaving child, was endearing. It made him snicker quietly to himself. Though the idea of getting sick wasn't very fun and he was sure Pearce wouldn't be very happy about it either.

As she told him to lay back Zander took a deep breath to steady himself before slowly lying back. It still felt odd. Not that it was unusual for him to come to the infirmary but he still never liked doing it. Not when he could be running drills or training. Though he supposed he was a bit too dizzy at the moment to be doing much of anything. The wound wasn't very deep. He'd managed to jump back before the blade had done any serious damage. Still, he always bled more than other soldiers, like his blood was thinner. Nine times out of ten his wounds looked worse than they really were. "A few years? I moved here with my sister a couple of years ago as well." As he spoke he blinked away some fuzzy images as his eyes attempted to unfocus on the world around him.

As she disinfected the wound the redhead hissed sharply through clenched teeth and balled his hands into fists hard at his side but otherwise didn't move. As high as his pain tolerance was stinging pain was always them most uncomfortable. Once the stinging subsided enough Zander smiled again and relaxed his hands. "What's your brothers name?" He asked curiously.

"I'm Zander. Zander Brogthamon."

[Primrose Cadigan]

Prims blue eyes flickered up to the soldiers, face. She winced as she heard him hissing. "Sorry about this." She told him. She had to get it clean however to fend off infection. She wiped the rest of the disinfectant away, before patting the wound dry. He'd certainly been lucky, and by the looks of things it had mostly just been a bleeder. 

She took the needle and thread in one hand an applied a numbing like ointment around the gash. One it was dry she began her stitches. "Pearce." She said with a fond smile as she thought about her quiet, and timid big brother. He was very sweet despite the stresses their parents had put on him growing up. Prim and their other sister didn't nearly have as much pressure as Pearce did, being the eldest male. Despite it all, he'd grown into a rather generous and caring individual. She was lucky to still have him.  She didn't give away his last name. Not many here new Prim was noblewoman. Not expecting her to do something so below her station, but she found enjoyment in the work.

She glanced up at the soldier now that she had his name. The smile was a still on her face. "Nice to meet you Zander, I'm Prim." She introduced herself before she went back to her stitches. Making sure they were nice and even and held. She didn't want to leave him with too bad of a scar if she could help it. "Have you been a soldier since coming here Zander, or only for a few years?" She asked. Making simple small talk. 

[Zander Brogthamon]

Zander could feel the tug of the needle and thread going through his skin but nothing made him tense as much as the all too familiar name. Had he been drinking anything he might have choked. "Pearce? I'm rather close with a man named Pearce." that was a terrible understatement but he wasn't about to come out for Pearce to his own sister. That was his job. Though he shared her sentiment. Of being so happy to have him in his life, even if he wouldn't currently say it out loud.

Her question made him smile a bit. Most of the nurses hadn't been even a little curious about how long he'd been a soldier. "I moved here with my sister about two years ago and joined the military...I want to say six months after that." Just a few months shy of his eighteenth birthday. Though her question sparked some curiosity in him.

"What made a pretty lady like you decide to patch up a bunch of rowdy bastards?" He winced every so often at the feeling of the needle pricking and tugging at his skin. It wasn't that it hurt but he wasn't a fan of the feeling.

[Primrose Cadigan]

“Oh?” Prim asked, a bit surprised and curious that he also knew a Pearce. She wondered suddenly if it was her brother, as he was the only Pearce she at least knew. How common was the name Pearce?

Aralore was the island of misfits, Prim liked to think. They’d only been re-established for about five years as the kingdom rebuilt. There were always people coming to the island for a chance at a new start. Something the Queen hoped to give her people, and something Prim thought she was succeeding excellently at.

Prim laughed then at his question. She gave a small shake of her head as her blue eyes flickered over to his face, as a fond smile settled on her face. “My family’s always been in Aralore,” She started to explain. “And so when it was devastated in the war, and we were forced to move, everyone tried to do their part. Even the nobles you know,” That smile she had turned more fond as she watched herself work. “I wanted to help in anyway I could. I was decent with an embroidery needle, and I found myself wanting to be the most helpful where it was needed, so I found myself apprenticed as a nursing assistant.” She explained. “My brother was supportive, but there were some family members that clearly weren’t thrilled,” She looked over at him and leaned in slightly as she whispered in a conspiratory tone. “Clearly there efforts failed.” She grinned before she continued with the needle.

“Found myself helping in the infirmary, helping when I can. I met my husband here you know.” She said before her smile turned a bit more sad. “I couldn’t help with the latest war, but I volunteer when I can.” Implying she wasn’t there full time. Prim wasn’t a fully trained nurse like some of the others, though she was a quick learner. She did the basics well enough, and even with the basics it made a difference. “I’m usually here a few hours a week when I can escape the children.” She grinned.

And just like that, as she came to the end of her tale, she’d finished his stitched. Quickly tying off the end of the thread, she cut the ends and then placed the needle aside. “Alright then, you’re all sewn up! Try to keep the stitches dry for about three days alright? Come back in, in ten and we’ll see how you’re healing and then remove them for you.” She explained to him.