[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/250324/b71cf5ab5cebec9b4e857200f7c42a8b.png[/img]

[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/250324/dc185f5e06aa08f3af9fbb79b4040da5.png[/img]

[color=EBA536][b]Location:[/b][/color] [color=E579FF]Top deck[/color]
[color=E579FF][b]Race:[/b][/color] [color=EBA536]Dark Elf[/color] & [color=E579FF]Human[/color]
[color=E579FF][b]Class:[/b][/color] [color=EBA536]Artificer[/color] & [color=E579FF]Rogue[/color]
[color=EBA536][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] [@Tae] Meiyu; [@Helo] Ezekiel
[color=EBA536][b]Equipment:[/b][/color]
[hider]
[color=EBA536][b]Scratch[/b][/color]
Medical bag
Tinkerer's kit
Arcane spindlelock (shortened) musket
Spindlelock pistols x2
Hand axes x2
[color=E579FF][b]Val[/b][/color]
First-aid bag
Tinkerer's kit
Spindlelock pistols x2
Steel daggers x2[/hider][color=E579FF][b]Attire:[/b][/color]
[hider]
[color=EBA536][b]Scratch[/b][/color]
Dark brown, knee-length coat
Black waistbelt
Grey button-up shirt
Dark brown trousers
Heavy leather boots
[color=E579FF][b]Val[/b][/color]
Off-white shirt
Red ribbon tied around left arm
Brown hooded coat
Brown trousers
Leather boots
Goggles on her head[/hider][color=EBA536][b]Gold:[/b][/color] 40
[color=E579FF][b]Injuries:[/b][/color]
[hider]
[color=EBA536][b]Scratch[/b][/color]
NA
[color=E579FF][b]Val[/b][/color]
NA[/hider]
[/center]

[color=EBA536]“I appreciate the honesty, but you can save your breath, lady.”[/color] Scaerthrynne didn’t even look at the woman as he spoke. Far too busy was he with digging item after item out of his medical bag, squinting at scrawled labels tied to vials and scribbled numbers on rolls of bandages and small, battered boxes. Those which he didn’t need, he unceremoniously returned to the bag. That which he thought might be useful, he laid out in a neat row on the floor. And that which could be discarded – dressings stained to be used, vials too dirty to be safe, dates too old to be good – he heaped into a pile by his side.

He picked up a bottle of colourless liquid by its neck. ‘Slaked ether’, the label read. Several sheets of cloth covered its mouth, secured tightly by multiple loops of twine. [color=EBA536]“[i]Why[/i] you broke the boy’s arm isn’t any of my concern, only that you did.”[/color] He continued to address the woman, and continued to not look at her. Instead, he held the bottle up to the light and gave its contents a few swirls. It remained clear. Then, he tossed it to Vallena. [color=EBA536]“Use this, Val,”[/color] he said. [color=EBA536]“It’s stronger than our usual vaporized azote. Wet a rag with three drops of that stuff and press it over the boy’s nose and mouth.”[/color]

Vallena caught the bottle, but only just. Scaerthrynne finally looked at the woman, his expression empty of any outrage, or even annoyance. If anything, he appeared pleased. [color=EBA536]“Knowing you did what you did proves me right, and tells me that the only thing wrong with the boy is a broken arm. Knowing why, however, does nothing for me. It’s not exactly useful information for my sort of work.”[/color] 

[color=E579FF]“Scratch?”[/color] Vallena called to him. He immediately turned to her. [color=E579FF]“Did we…Did we ever test this stuff?”[/color]

Scaerthrynne shrugged, but waved his hand dismissively anyway. [color=EBA536]“It’ll be fine. Either it’ll knock the boy out or it won’t, in which case you can use vaporised azote.”[/color] Vallena didn’t look convinced. Her face scrunched up in both uncertainty and concern. She looked at the bottle, then at him. Scaerthrynne let out a sigh, then shook his head. [color=EBA536]“Alright, it’s not entirely untested. I tried it on myself the other day. Gave me a good night’s sleep and I woke up alive the next day. Is that proof enough for you that the boy will be fine?”[/color]

Vallena’s eyes widened. [color=E579FF]“You did [i]what?[/i]”[/color] She exclaimed, her voice crackling slightly. Scaerthrynne wasn’t perturbed in the least. 

[color=EBA536]“The path of progress is paved with sacrifices, or something like that.”[/color] He nodded to the boy. [color=EBA536]“But for now, you should worry less about me and more about him. The shock of breaking his arm might be keeping the bulk of the pain from his mind, but I don’t imagine it’s going to last much longer.”[/color] He clicked his tongue and started to pack his things away. [color=EBA536]“And that’ll be when the real screaming starts, and then [i]I’ll[/i] want to put him to sleep with everything we’ve got.”[/color]

The boy looked at him with nervous eyes, his lips trembling. [color=EBA536]“Relax,”[/color] Scaerthrynne said. [color=EBA536]“She’ll knock you out long before that happens.”[/color] He cast a questioning glance at Vallena. [color=EBA536]“Isn’t that right, Val?”[/color]

A moment’s hesitation, then the girl nodded. She pulled out a rag from her own bag before unwrapping the bottle with the sort of care one might use with prodding a dragon. Despite the lack of colour, a sweet scent wafted from the bottle’s contents. [color=EBA536]“Don’t breathe in too deeply,”[/color] Scaerthrynne warned. Vallena didn’t reply, her brows knitted in concentration as she gingerly dabbed the rag against the bottle’s mouth. Once, twice, and immediately after the third time, tied the cloth sheets back over the bottle. 

[color=EBA536]“Good,”[/color] Scaerthrynne said, nodding his head. [color=EBA536]“Remember, nose and mouth.”[/color]

Vallena nodded. [color=E579FF]“Got it, Scratch.”[/color] She moved, kneeling by the boy’s head with both legs folded under her, before gently lifting it and letting it rest on her lap. Nervous eyes looked up at her. She smiled back. [color=E579FF]“Don’t worry,”[/color] she said softly, gently pressing the rag over his face. [color=E579FF]“Deep breaths now, okay? Everything’s going to be fine when you wake up.”[/color]

The boy nodded. His shoulders heaved as he drew in his first breath. Within three breaths, his eyes began to flutter shut. Another four, and his body went limp. Vallena removed the rag, chucked it aside, and looked at Scaerthrynne. He moved over to her and felt for the boy’s pulse on his neck. Then, he did the same with his wrist. [color=EBA536]“Heartbeat’s steady,”[/color] he said, nodding to Vallena. [color=EBA536]“He’ll be out for a few hours, I think. Well done, Val. Proceed with setting his arm.”[/color]

[color=E579FF]“Okay, Scratch.”[/color] Vallena took a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow before going to the boy’s arm. She set the splint – a brass tube taken from the engineering stores – beside the broken limb. Then came the bandages, which she set next to the pipe. She took another moment to collect herself before carefully manipulating the limb, getting the bones into the right position.

While the girl went about her work, Scaerthrynne caught the tail end of white-clad man’s words. He spoke sense – Scaerthrynne agreed that the boy didn’t deserve to have his arm broken, or to be given a sudden trip to the ground from altitude, as the woman had suggested as an alternative. Children were meant to be stupid, and should be expected to do stupid things. And of course, they should be made to win prizes that were just as stupid as a result of their actions, but surely they could be shown some mercy. Scaerthrynne certainly did, with regards to Vallena, as much as she would disagree. 

He wiped his hands on his trousers and stood up. There wasn’t any need for him to share his thoughts; he had already spent more time than he would have liked here. [color=EBA536]“My office is in the engine room,”[/color] he replied to the man. [color=EBA536]“Not the best place for an injured child. I’ll have some members of the crew move him to the sick bay one deck below. If you’d prefer, you can do it yourself. I’m not stopping you, but I’ve got other duties to attend to, so I’m not helping either.”[/color] He rummaged in his bag, pulled out a box of pills, and handed it to the man. [color=EBA536]“Willow bark extract. Helps with pain. The boy should sleep through the worst of it with how much slaked ether we've given him, but this should help with the aches when he wakes up. If you bring him down, give it to the orderlies. They're adequate enough to know what to do. If not, hand it to whatever crew members you get to bring him down."[/color]

Then, he turned to the woman. She seemed remarkably at ease for someone who had just broken a boy’s arm, but Scaerthrynne supposed that none of this was anything new to her. Judging by what she had said, this was probably the norm for her, if anything. [color=EBA536]“Try not to do this again, if you don’t mind,”[/color] he said, sounding almost bored. [color=EBA536]“These injuries aren’t the most interesting to treat, and I’ve better things to do with my time. Next time someone picks your pocket, tell a crew member. The Captain doesn’t allow us to have fun anymore, so we’re not going to throw anyone overboard.”[/color]

[color=E579FF]“All done!”[/color] Vallena’s announcement snatched Scaerthrynne’s attention from everything else. He went back to her, standing over the boy with arms crossed as he examined the dressing with keen eyes. The dressing was a simple one – little more than a brass tube strapped to the arm with bandages – but it would do until someone, probably Scaerthrynne, could make a proper cast. The girl looked up at him expectantly. [color=E579FF]"How did I do, Scratch? I remembered all the steps you told me before."[/color]

[color=EBA536]"I'd hope so,"[/color] Scaerthrynne said drily. [color=EBA536]"There's only five of them, at most."[/color] Vallena blushed and chuckled nervously. He smiled at her, an upwards twitch of the corners of his lips, and extended a hand to help her up. [color=EBA536]"Good girl. You're doing well."[/color]