Introduction Private Here I Go Again

[Arthur Barrett]

Arthur moved at a determined -- but comparatively leisurely -- pace towards the infirmary. As he ducked under the bulkhead into his workspace, he marveled. For the first time, he was treating a casualty with a skilled assistant. There were no other beasts to triage or treat, no chaotic battle underway, no one to yell at. Things were going... ...well. Too well, perhaps. But Arthur wouldn't question the small mercies. He'd appreciate them while they lasted. Amnesty was handling the transport of the wounded mouse up on deck, which left him ample time to prepare.

Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast...

Once in the infirmary, he briskly shut the windows and hatches, and turned to open the vents to flood the infirmary with warm air. "A fine job as usual, Mr. Fairpaws..." remarked Arthur to himself, holding a paw to the vents. The towels and bandages were only an arm length away, and the marten quickly staged them before donning his apron.

His little workspace was taking shape quite nicely. All that was left was to fetch his tools from his chest. The marten stored all his surgical implements in a simple roll of pouches, and with a brisk flick, they rolled out perfectly along the cot. At a glance, every pouch was filled, and every instrument clean and ready.

And with that, he sat there, waiting.

GATES, but felt strange being so prepared! Normally everything was chaos, and... ...and things were going so smoothly. The marten wished there was someone else who could have... ...witnessed things, and perhaps appreciated them. But alas, he would have to enjoy the beautiful moment alone.

 

[Amnesty Greysoul]

"Come on now, onto the stretcher, nice and easy. Get those blankets wrapped around him, he's more than cold enough already. You two, once he's on we'll get him down to the infirmary. Just like that."

Amnesty's voice was even, steady, certain. More so than she felt inside, at any rate. Despite the extent of his wounds, the mouse was in surprisingly stable condition. Well. For the time being. She had seen too many beasts succumb to injuries she had hoped they had already overcome. The fact that he was even awake at all right now was... impressive. As they settled him into place, the fox did a cursory search for any kind of weaponry on his person, but found nothing but a small, innocuous bag that he kept clutched in his paw. Given the tattered state of his clothes, it seemed unlikely that there was much else hidden, though she would be somewhat more at ease when they had the chance to do a full search. She would be sure to mention it to Arthur.

Addressing their new arrival even as they lifted him up on the stretcher to start the short trip down to the infirmary, Amnesty did what she could to put the mouse at ease.

"You're safe here, friend. I'm Amnesty, and I'm a healer. What can we call you?"

 

[Amatis Moontail]

Dr Amatis Moontail stood on the deck of the ship. Since he stepped out of the door of his tennament that morning he had been lost, and his talk with the captain had done little to assist with that. After all, there weren't exactly many plants aboard a blooming boat.

He wished he had brought more books.

Dr Moontail jumped as his fantasising about his bookshelf was interrupted by the surgeon, briefly loosing balance before righting himself.

"Right... right."

His eyes followed the Foxkit as he ran passed, this time thankfully not careening into the wildcat. Had he missed something while in the captain's cabin? Someone was hurt?

His eyes landed on the Mouse.

Oh gates oh gates oh gates... Why was he being dragged into this?!? He was a doctor, yes, but not a medical doctor! Plants didn't tend to bleed, nor did insects! And fish were a different matter from beasts dying on the deck!

His legs suddenly felt weak and his mind began swimming in partial darkness.

*No, you were told to do something, so you need to do it. You will not be blacking out. Besides, if you do, you will probably end up sliding off the ship and into the drink...*

The thought of the ice-cold water sent a shiver down his spine as he crossed the deck with wobbly footing. He stood at the end of the stretcher with an even stronger scowl than his usual resting face already was, trying not to loose his breakfast sardine toast onto the mouse.

Memory exercises! That could help! Take his mind off of... Well, all this... Hopefully he would still notice when he was needed to lift the stretcher, even if his mind was elsewhere as he needed it to be...

@Elliot Berkshaw @FinnianBrightfur

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn had cheered up substantially, what with work to do. Though he had been assigned a new role as Aide de Camp, he didn't suppose Gyles had relieved him of his infirmary duties. In fact, he couldn't even imagine that possibility!

Finn helped Amnesty load the mouse onto the stretcher -- capable little thing he was! "'ello there!" he called out cheerfully, peering upside down over the mouse. "You alright? You look awful!" he blurted out.

But suddenly, he imagined how Mr. Barrett would have reacted, and flinched instinctively. "...awfully wet!" he said, trying to salvage the awkward greeting. Sheepishly, he glanced to Amnesty to see if she'd caught the faux pas... Oh dear.

Gripping the stretcher, he looked around at the small party of beasts, and wagged his tail excitedly. Dr. Moontail came by to assist, and Finn waited patiently for everyone to take their places.

"Alright mates... On three! One... Two..."

Finn hoped Alwyn was watching...

 

[Alwyn Ryalor]

Alwyn was indeed watching, as he carefully made his way inside the infirmary, staying close by the door and observing for the most part. He did not know much about the field of medicine other than how to apply bandages and tourniquets, and if need be make some basic poultices and cures from common locally available plants to stabilize a patient as he had recently gone through a survival tactics course in preparation for joining the Hide, but what he could do was assist any of the far more skilled beasts in getting anything that they may require that was not in the room, and, if need be, shove any unwanted intruders out of the room.

If push came to shove I could maybe buy the mouse a bit of time to see a proper medic, and certainly carry him to one, but with these injuries...I hope this Barrett who I’ve heard so much from Finnian about lives up to his legend. Maybe I could learn at least a little something here as well.

@FinnianBrightfur @Amatis Moontail @Amnesty Greysoul @Elliot Berkshaw

 

[Elliot Berkshaw]

Everything had honestly been a blur since the large ship had shown up.

Elliot had been lifted up into the air from the rowboat, in some sort of harness thing, and had ended up on a stretcher once he was on the ship.

Now he was being taken to some infirmary.

At some point, he had gone from sitting on the cot thing to laying down, whether that had been of his own movement or someone else, he didn’t know.

Elliot had closed his eyes, but opened them to take stock of who was carrying him.

A small fox, probably a younger one by their voice and structure and… a wild cat with somewhat fancy clothing (compared to him) and glasses.

Elliot eyed the wildcat for a bit longer than necessary, his eyes slightly wide and his body - what was left of it - notedly tense.

This was not Zephyr. This was someone else - who didn’t look too happy to be carrying him around - if he didn’t know any better, he’d say this other Wildcat was a sort of researcher, based on what they wore.

Somebeast had asked for his name. He didn’t feel like talking to them just yet. They could wait a bit longer… at least until he was situated.

For now, he could rest. The mouse’s body went limp on the stretcher and he closed his eyes again.

He could rest now, because he was “…. Safe.”

After a harrowing few days, he was finally, finally safe, and his life was now in the hands/paws of hopefully gentle beasts…

 

[Amnesty Greysoul]

Amnesty stiffened. She had seen too many beasts relax like that just to die moments later, as if their bodies were too weak to remember how to hold onto the tiny thread of vitality. And she wasn't going to let the mouse do the same without a fight.

"No, no sleeping yet, friend. Open up those eyes."

Her paws moved quickly, tapping the side of the stranger's face with a firm, gentle insistence. The beasts preparing to move the stretcher were all in place-- perhaps grudgingly, in the case of Dr Moontail... 'gates... that beast has never lifted something like this before, has he? Young Finny is doing well, though isn't he? Too late to change positions now.

"Dr Moontail, keep your grip, lift with your legs, call out if you're about to drop him. Alright, double-time it, there we go."

And so chaos descended on the infirmary. Amnesty made eye contact with Arthur as they came inside, barking out her cursory report above the madness and the hubbub.

"Patient is a young mouse, missing his left arm and likely a great deal of blood from various severe wounds. I also suspect exposure injuries. He's going in and out of consciousness at the moment, but had the strength to sit up in the boat when Kinza got to him. What do you need, Doctor?"

@Arthur Barrett @FinnianBrightfur @Amatis Moontail @Alwyn Ryalor @Elliot Berkshaw

 

[Amatis Moontail]

Amatis lifted the stretcher and was staggering forward under the weight of it when he jumped slightly as he heard his name. He turned his ears towards this new speaker, but kept his focus on carrying and not being sick or fainting.

Oh Gates, was he that bad at this that someone would not only notice but point it out?! He did really have no idea what he was doing, to be honest. These other beasts had the air of knowing their way around stuff and here he was not carrying a stretcher properly and barely being able to walk straight. They were expecting him to be useful, but he was just getting in the way and would just make it all worse before the end of this. They would all end up on the floor, or in the drink, or this mouse would die because they didn't get there in time or...

He felt sick.

Well, more sick.

The world was spinning and darkening, sound was fuzzy, and his stomach churned.

Medical emergencies, rocking boats, and the knowledge that he was doing perceptively badly did not mix well with Dr Amatis Moontail, and they all seemed to be ganging up on him together. Also, had he had anything to drink today? Now he thought about it, he thought the answer was likely no. Well, it seemed yet another factor joining in on ganging up on the Wildcat.

Finally they made their way into what he assumed to be the infirmary and they put the stretcher down. Wobbly on his feetpaws but not wanting to bother anyone else or break some rule by sitting down, he moved to the corner and leaned, trying to look casual while looking away. In actual fact he was stiff and looked even more furious than his usual grumpy demeanor. His thousand yard stare had quickly become a two-thousand yard stare.

Even if he could walk further than a few steps, he had no idea if they wanted him to stay or go. Better wait for confirmation. But would that just make him look stupid?

He pulled a random book from his bag and started to read as the darkness slowly receded until it was only partly there. It was just a field guide he had read a million times, but it felt comfortable in his handpaws.

@FinnianBrightfur @Alwyn Ryalor @Elliot Berkshaw @Arthur Barrett @Amnesty Greysoul

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn didn't like the tone in Amnesty's voice. It wasn't motherly, per se. It was gentle and reassuring... and underpinned with a frightning urgency. But at the same time, it sounded as if she were just nudging a friend who'd dozed off at the opera. Finn studied her carefully as they fumbled their way down towards the lower decks, carefully and laboriously transporting the wounded mouse down the ladders. But as if lost in a daydream, the foxkit suddenly realized he had a job to do, and a patient to attend to. He looked down at the mouse, eyebrows pinching at the missing arm. Gates... 's not gonna die is he? Finn swallowed nervously, and strained to help put the mouse on the table.

Arthur immediately began work with Amnesty -- leaving no room for the little kit to get in. Finn tried to edge his way in to help, but Arthur shooed him away. "Mr. Brightfur, some warm blankets, if you please!" he called out briskly. With an eager hop, the young foxkit raced over to the side of the room, and excused himself politely as he bustled past Dr. Moontail. As he lifted a small hatch, a warm puff of steam rose out, adding to the pleasantly warm atmosphere. Reaching into the enclosure, Finn returned with several warm blankets to cover the mouse as they removed his soaked clothing.

"I'll get a tourniquet for his arm!" he called out, turning to a cabinet. Before he could leave, however, Arthur raised a paw. "Staged them already Finn, thank you!"

"O-Oh! I could get you bandages!" he tried again, tail flagging with excitement. "Do you want help wi--"

"Ms. Greysoul will handle the bandaging, Mr. Brightfur. Please, fill this wash basin..."

The foxkit hopped forwards without delay to fetch the wash basin, but couldn't help watching jealously over his shoulder as Amnesty took his coveted spot next to Mr. Barrett.

Am I... being... replaced? <8C!?!?

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue hurried his wau down to the infirmary, stepping in once there was enough room. "Mr. Barrett, I know you're busy, but please keep me updated on the status of the patient whenever you're able to. The Captain would like to know the full extent of the situation here."

He stood respectfully to the side. "If I can be of any help, let me know. Or just tell me to get out of the way."

 

[Elliot Berkshaw]

Elliot had only closed his eyes for a few moments, but was reprimanded anyway.

He fought off annoyance as he was carried from the open deck into a closed off room, then set down on a table.

The wildcat had slunk off out of view, and probably for good reason, as they hadn’t looked too well.

The young fox Elliot liked immediately - eager to help and -

His attention was dragged to the ruined clothes being practically tore from his body. It happened so fast he couldn’t even protest or be shocked about it.

Now there were large, fluffy, warm blankets wrapped around his furred body, and there were many voices calling for ‘bandages’, or other things.

Elliot self consciously snuggled deeper into the warm blankets as he made eye contact with… what was the young fox’s name? Finn? “….Hello.”

His voice was quiet, soft, yet strong despite his condition.

When the clothing had been removed, they would have found something else other than the coin pouch - a sharp metal dagger in a black leather sheath.

 

[Arthur Barrett]

"Hello there..." Arthur said genially, looking down at the poor battered mouse in his infirmary. "You're in rough shape now, aren't ya?" he asked. Though the mouse seemed to be addressing Finnian, there were other more pertinent matters at hand. Lifting the mouse's head gently in his paws, the marten peeled his lip back to look at his gums.

"He looks parched. Gums are pale, dry -- lost a lot of blood..." he remarked to Amnesty. "That stump looks like a clean cut... how long d'ya reckon he's been at sea? Can't be more than three days, especially in this weather. Amnesty, I'm tasking you on his arm. Get a tourniquet on it, and let me know if you're able to staunch the bleeding. Flush any debris out, and bind it tightly. We'll need to give it a trim, but I won't risk it just yet... we'll need to stabilize him first." As for Mr. Songfox and Dr. Moontail, Arthur was too occupied with the task at hand. A glance and a nod would have to suffice.

"Do you have a name?" he asked, gently feeling over the mouse's skull and neck for injuries. "What's your name, mouse? You're in good paws, stay with us now..."

"Mr. Brightfur, some broth, if you please! Mix some cool water in with it -- lukewarm to us will be quite hot for our patient!" he called, before resting the mouse's head down again. Drawing the blankets back, Arthur exposed his torso, noting the various lacerations. They would need stitching, but they weren't bleeding at least. Perhaps it was due to the cold, perhaps to blood loss -- or perhaps they wounds were merely superficial. But at any rate, they weren't a priority.

Arthur worked slowly down the mouse's torso, feeling his ribs and checking his pelvis for factures, before covering his torso again in the warm blanket. From there, he continued on down the mouse's legs. "Are you in any pain?" The laudinum bottle was within reach... but was a double edged sword. Arthur noted his depressed breathing, and was leery of giving him anything that might slow it further.

 

[Amnesty Greysoul]

"Treating his arm," Amnesty confirmed, and her paws already moved with steady speed. Tourniquet, bandages, careful examination. And-- 'gates! How had she missed that dagger earlier? She slipped one paw in to close on the weapon and draw it away, and the small pouch he was still gripping while she was at it. "You'll get these back, friend. Let us keep them safe for you." Alongside Arthur's careful questions it must have been an overwhelming to the wounded mouse, but she wasn't about to appropriate the last things he had to his name without warning.

A glance over her shoulder allowed her to make momentary eye contact with Silvertongue. "Lieutentant, I have his effects."

Then, back to work. If the poor beast wasn't in excruciating pain right at that moment, that was bound to change just as soon as she disturbed the wound. It certainly would as soon as she applied the tourniquet. At least the bleeding wasn't horrific. It must have been, earlier, and the words of her old teacher came back to mind. All bleeding stops. The question is if it does so before or after the heartbeat.

She poured clean water over the stump, removing as much dirt and such as she could without dislodging the scabs that had already started forming. Enough that she trusted it wouldn't instantly turn gangrenous. Even that was enough to start a trickle of blood that the mouse couldn't afford to lose. She cursed under her breath. Should have done the tourniquet first. An easy enough fix. Bandages next, and she was gratified to see that the white cloths only slowly turned pink and red, and that the next layer remained snowy white.

"Tourniquet in place and bandages tight. I think he's stopped bleeding."

@Amatis Moontail @Silvertongue Songfox

 

[Amatis Moontail]

Dr Moontail felt useless. He hated feeling useless, but he had nowhere to go and nothing to do. He wasn't even sure if he should leave the room in case they needed him or expected something of him, or something like that.

But at the same time he didn't want to interrupt all of... this... whatever was going on.

But as he stood there, fog-brained, reading his book, the weight of the scenario kept gnawing at him. Finally he decided that he would simply turn around, ask the Marten who seemed to be in charge here if he were needed, and if not he would walk out of this room confident that he could find some dark spot to squeeze into to regain his composure. Three little words wouldn't be nearly as just standing here in uncertainty for however long this took.

He stowed his book back in his bag, took a deep breath, and turned around, stepping towards whatever this medical scene was.

"Am..."

Before Amatis could say more or even process what was happening, the darkness swallowed him. His legs went limp as he keeled over snout-first onto the floor with an almighty thud that resonated around the room, his bag simultaneously slipping from his paw and falling open on the floor, spilling scalpels, paper, and other instruments of his study. A trickle of blood started to run from his nose as he lay unconscious, eyes open but rolled back in his head.

@FinnianBrightfur

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn's eyes locked with Elliot's, and the foxkit quickly drew near to the mouse. For the moment, he forgot all the pains of being bumped from his position. Patient morale was his specialty, and even Arthur wouldn't begrudge the kit this duty. "Hey~!" he said cheerfully, kneeling down to the mouse's level. "You're on the Golden Hide, and we're gonna take care of you, ok?" he said comfortingly.

As Arthur tilted the mouse's head away to continue his assessment, Finn rushed over to fetch a basin of warm water for the pine marten. Moments later, he was tasked off with fetching the broth -- but just as he was about to dash out of the room on his mission, Dr. Amatis fainted right in front of him. Finn would have tried to catch him, but his reaction time was just a hair too slow. Arthur lifted his head from Elliot, and looked to Finn -- and without a word, Finn knew he'd been delegated a patient.

"Hey, Dr. Amethyst, are you ok?" he asked, butchering the poor doctor's name. (But in his defense, he'd only heard it once!) Finn knelt down next to the wildcat, and gently rolled the good doctor over on his side to help him rest more comfortably. Finn touched his neck briefly to check his pulse, and then held the back of his wrist in front of the feline's nose. "He's breathing!" he reported dutifully. "And... uh... I think he just fainted, Mr. Barrett..."

"Smelling salts in the cabinet, Finn..."

The foxkit left the doctor's side, and trotted over to the cabinet, where he carefully perused the various bottles until he found the right one. Lifting it to his nose, he sniffed -- and flinched away at the acrid smell. Even capped, it was powerful. Without delay, he trotted back over, popped the cork, and wafted the bottle under Dr. Amatis' nose.

 

[Alwyn Ryalor]

Alwyn, knowing that he would simply interfere, continued to stand guard at the door, making observations as he did so. First, and it was perhaps not the fault of any of the beasts here, it was becoming quite clear to him that the “doctor” wildcat was not, in fact, a typical medical doctor as any normal beast might naturally assume. Most, if not all, of the them would never have been to the University of Length or its branch campus, or if they did, would not have interacted with those studying for, or graduating with, such an advanced and specialized degree. Indeed, even he himself in Amarone rarely did, except for when he was forced to stand guard and listen to the lectures that they gave to the nobility partly because of their enthusiasm for their field of study-and partly because their funding and the only reason they were not quite literally starving to death because of the lack of easily transferable skills was because of the funding of a patron or the Ministry of Innovation. It was not that he was anti-intellectual, but one could only listen to so many hours of why this particular species of blue crab was different from another species of blue crab before he debated whether or not the prison sentence for punching the beast giving the lecture was worth it or not.

Dear Kitsune…

Still, it seemed that Finnian and the new vixen were more than making up for this misunderstanding as far as he could tell, and his interest was peaked in the latter-in more ways than one. She clearly had some sort of experience in this area, and was managing it with a cool and calm composure-something that he had always found attractive. Granted, he found many things about most vixens attractive, but competency was pretty high up on the list, and he had to fight to keep his tail from wagging a little. There were not exactly a lot of vixens aboard the ship to make the journey interesting who were -not- blood relatives of his...

Down boy, let her work...and then maybe find out some more about her before you do anything. You do not want to find out that she is somehow related to you...again.

It took quite a bit of effort to maintain his composure, but he did and then began to observe the other doctor, a grizzled older pine marten, who -actually- seemed to be a medical one from the way he seemed completely unfazed by what was occurring and relaxed a little. He was already taking a liking to him, too, because he had that firm yet kind demeanor that the best kinds of healers had, and, of course, because he had looked out for, mentored, and was still training Finnian.

Who is doing so well, he truly is a gift to the world. Smarter than his father, too.

He actually smiled a little at that thought, before more chaos was unleashed as Silvertongue entered and the wildcat collapsed, almost at the same time. Luckily, the real doctor took it in stride, assigning Finnian to handle him, but he decided now might be a good time to rescue the poor academic from his misfortune as well-and give the mouse a fighting chance for survival by doing so, but first, he needed permission.

“Lieutenant Silvertongue, Sir,” he intoned respectfully, saluting him as he considered the other todd to rank above himself at least while they were on the Hide, “permission to assist Midshipper Brightfur in resuscitating Doctor Ah-Mah-Tis?”

@Amnesty Greysoul @FinnianBrightfur @Silvertongue Songfox @Elliot Berkshaw

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue was startled by the sight of Dr. Moontail collapsing. "Yes, please. Get him up and out of here. Our main concern should be the mouse here." He turned to the patient in question. "You're right about the cut, Dr. Barrett. It definitely wasn't an accident, somebeast did this to him."

 

[Elliot Berkshaw]

Everything happened quickly, one event after the other. First, the marten named Arthur looked Elliot over, moving his head around and examining his body. Arthur also asked for his name, while Amnesty had taken his coin pouch and dagger and… done something with them.

Then there was something about broth. Anything to eat or drink sounded pretty good.

Then Amnesty began to tend to what was left of his left arm. Elliot tried to remain silent and still, yet his right paw’s claws dug into the side of the table he was lying on and his body was stiff.

Then the young fox popped up beside Elliot and spoke to him a bit. The Wildcat fainted and hurt himself upon landing on the floor, and two more creatures rushed in to carry the cat away.

“…” It was all a lot to take in.

His name, he could give that, and what had happened to him.

The young mouse moved his gaze from his bandaged stump over to the marten. “Thank you for helping me.” His throat was horse, weak, quiet. “My name is Elliot Berkshaw; my age is twenty one. I was attacked… some time ago, I have no knowledge of how many days have passed since then… by a wildcat named Zephyr Aterash. He left me for dead somewhere in the wilderness near the coastal village of Crimson Shores. I awoke on a ship with crimson sails - I heard its crew call it the Bloodwake - and the healer there kept me alive. I spoke to some beast named Ashfoot… at some point I decided to escape from the ship. I stole a dagger off a fancy looking desk, then used a rowboat when no one was looking… and here I am. …In the coin pouch is a Ministry token.”

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue had been standing over the patient, and the world seemed to slow to a crawl as he heard him speak: The Bloodwake. His head pounded, and for a moment, he felt that he, too, would faint. He stepped past Dr. Barrett, and he rushed over to a nearby bucket- bracing himself. Was he going to be sick? No, no, he needed to compose himself. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the multitude of gathered beasts. "If what he says is true, then what we are dealing with here... are pirates."