Private Interlude by Lanternlight

[Amnesty Greysoul]

It was late in the evening when Amnesty found her way to the infirmary again after discharging the rest of her duties, and her body ached as she deposited her armful of various herbs, ingredients, and bottles beside the well-used mortar and pestle that already stood atop the table there. Less than a month aboard this grand vessel, and it was already plainly evident that her stores of her most commonly used tinctures, compresses, and remedies were not sufficient to the task of keeping a whole ship’s worth of crew in decently good health.

Not for the long term. They had done well enough for the short term, but every time another crewbeast had come in with a headache or queasiness or a bloodied limb in need of something to keep it from growing gangrenous, she had watched the stockpile she had once imagined to be more than big enough dwindle at an alarming rate. And that was setting aside all the supplies that Dr. Barrett himself kept properly stocked. Technically, hers were extra additions to the ship’s inventory.

At least she still had plenty of the raw leaves, roots, flowers, seeds and the like to renew her stores. Upon coming aboard she had imagined she was overpacked. How wrong she had been. Now it was simply a matter of finding the time to turn those raw ingredients into medicines that were ready to use when needed, which required a nigh impossible convergence of events: seas that were calm enough for her to work, a night free of crewbeasts attempting to accidentally maim themselves, and duties that finished early enough in the evening that she still had the energy to work when they were done.

The last was only mostly true, she supposed, but aching back and bleary eyes aside, her paws were adept enough to the task at hand. And so, by the warm light of a lantern with the steady thrum of the steam engine and the even rock of the waves, Amnesty got to work.

@Arthur Barrett

 

[Arthur Barrett]

The sea had long exhausted her rage, and for some time, The Golden Hide had sailed with considerable ease. Down in the belly of the ship, oaken beams cradled the infirmary with the thick scent of oak, tar, and vinegar. Warm steam rose from vents in the floor, with a small window cracked open to keep the infirmary from becoming a sauna. Above deck, the ship's bell rang out in three muted pairs, followed by a lone final toll. The last bell hung in the air with some anticipation -- only half an hour until relief would come from the next shift.

The flicker of another lantern joined Amnesty's. Quietly, Arthur slipped into the infirmary, his bare footpaws quiet among the gentle creak of timbers. Though Arthur was technically on call at all hours, his duties came with the luxury of being exempt from the watch system. He'd retired early after dinner that evening, though it seemed he hadn't yet slept. The marten looked to have just gotten out of his bunk. He wore a plain linnen shirt and a tidy pair of night breeches -- but he looked unusually unkempt in his sleep wear. His fur was disheveled, as one having trouble sleeping.

"Still up?" he rumbled with quiet affection, surveying the vixen's work. Crossing the room, he fetched a copper kettle from a hook, and filled it with fresh water, before setting it on the infirmary's stove. "Tea?" he asked kindly, setting out a cup and saucer for himself, and another for Amnesty. As the water boiled, the marten fetched a key from his pocket, and withdrew the bottle of laudanum from the medicine cabinet. He gave it a gentle swirl, before filling a dropper with the contents, and depositing the liquid into his teacup. The dropper returned a second time to the bottle, and then a third[1].

"I've an awful bout of melancholy..." he mused aloud. "Just can't get to sleep. I suppose the storm rattled my nerves more than I'd hoped!" he said rather matter-of-factly. "The brandy in this is really first rate, if you'd like a drop in your tea?"

1. Quite the dosage, even for a marten of his size. The potency between bottles of laudanum varied -- perhaps this was a weaker batch?