Open Side Adventure Special Accommodations

[Corporal Sarra Piper]

Piper was a stubborn beast. It had always been both her blessing and her curse. Coming from a military family, an ethos of resilience and self-sufficiency had been drilled into her from an early age. What she could do for herself, she did; where she could get by without asking for help, she would.

This found her on the floor of the infirmary, straining up toward the desk on which the ground mealworm formula to feed the shrew pup was currently kept. She'd run into a problem; without use of her legs, she could push herself up with one arm, straining a paw over the edge of the desk to try to reach the bottle, but didn't have the reach to get it. She could hear the pup fussing in its cradle, small, squeaking mewls piercing the air as it cried for food. Piper gritted her teeth as she grabbed onto the edge of the desk instead of continuing to reach, then, holding on tight, shifted her grip from supporting herself on the floor to grabbing the desk's edge with her other paw as well. Arduously she pulled herself up, trying to get her torso above the edge of the desk where she could rest her stomach on its surface. This was far harder than it looked; while she'd passed all her basic military training and did regular exercises, pull-ups had always been her most hated exercise. She hadn't realized just how much she counted on her legs for support, nor how difficult it was to brace herself with them without feeling or movement in them.

At last she managed to grab the bottle of feed for the infant from the back of the desk, clutching it to her chest. This then left her with a new conundrum: how to get back down to the floor without risking either smashing the bottle, it rolling away, or injuring herself in the process. It was in this position that she was trapped when the door to the infirmary opened and she was caught most definitely defying doctor's orders to remain in bed.

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

Kaii walked into the infirmary for another checkup. Considering how his relationship with the ship's chirurgeon went, he wasn't too thrilled about it. While still at pain and bandaged, Kaii wasn't a wimp so he got to work sooner than most (in part thanks to the fact Barrett couldn't stand him anymore) under the promise that he would come for those checkups. And well, he gave his word, thus he would sooner die than not show up. So he came early for he had nothing better to do and wanted for it to be over quickly.

But instead he found one of the marines, a weasel, fighting fang and claw to get the bottle while using only her front paws for movement. It didn't take much for him to realise she was unable to use her legs. Nearby cries, coming from a shrew pup Kaii was told they took, further explained why she was doing so.

Politely closing the door he decided to ease their suffering, he stepped closed and gave her a nod. "Good day to you. Would you like some assistance? I can either bring you the pup or tae you to it, if you wish so of course." To spend his time easing someone's pain was a time spent well.

 

[Corporal Sarra Piper]

Piper winced in embarrassment as one of the foxes (was it Swifttail? She hadn't figured them all out yet) opened the door, catching her in the act. She at least didn't lose her grip and fall back to the floor, though she wasn't in a good position to stay here either. Her voice was a bit breathy and strained as she replied, her weight driving the edge of the desk up into her stomach. "If you can help me into that chair," she nodded to one in the corner, "and then bring me the pup, I can feed her." It would solve the immediate problem, but in a few hours the pup would need fed again, and she'd be right back in the same spot. If the pup's nappies needed changed, that would only make things more difficult. That required a flat surface and the use of both paws, something she couldn't afford when using them to support herself.

She looked to the fox with a small amount of gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you," she told him honestly. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name in all the chaos of that place." Urk was going to be that place to the crew for a while, she was sure.

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

"Naturally." Kaii said as he moved to help the weasel up first. "My name is Kaii Nashirou, Engineer's Mate." He added before realising he may struggle with lifting her. She was after all a marine, a lot of muscle meant a lot of weight and he was wounded. Thus after repositioning her into more comfortable position he went to grab a chair and brought it closer to the bed. Only then he heaved the weasel onto the chair.

"Huff... Sorry I cannot carry you. I am still quite wounded myself Miss... Ah pardon me. I also ought to ask your name." The marble fox stated as he now went to grab the pup, gently taking them from the cradle. While his movements were careful and deliberate, there wasn't much warmth in the way he had handled the pup.

Moments later, he put her into Piper's arms. "Here you go, albeit... as much as I do not doubt your willpower, I do believe you may need some better solution to this all." Kaii stated the obvious, looking at the scene in front of him with slightly frowned brow and wrinkled nose.

 

[Corporal Sarra Piper]

Piper gently cradled the infant, holding her in one arm before picking up the bottle of formula and shaking it vigorously. With one paw she opened it, then took off the cap and dipped her claw in the mixture, then raised it to the infant's mouth. Immediately the infant latched on, suckling on the claw to get as much of the formula as possible. Piper sighed, a deep weariness in her voice. "I know," she admitted. "None of this is ideal. Even this feeding method; back in Bully Harbor I'd have a feeding cap to put on the bottle. It's how we fed my daughter when I was on deployment. As for getting around, well," she shrugged, "you saw how hard it was even without an infant in my arms. I don't know how I'd manage if I needed to get her back in her crib."

She glanced up to Kaii, remembering his first question. "Piper," she answered his question. "Corporal Sarra Piper, Her Grace's Royal Marines. At least, I was. Somehow I doubt I'll be allowed to serve now." There was a note of mourning in her voice at that. It was clear that her service meant a lot to her identity.

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

Kaii spent a moment observing the feeding procedure. Mostly to remember it should he ever be in need of using it himself. That didn't mean he wasn't listening. And while he missed on the saddened voice of the weasel, he did not miss a single word. "At least not without prosthetics. Though to replace both legs? That would be very expensive feat of engineering and one that still would be limiting."

He took a seat on the bed near her, observing now the chair she was sitting at. "Granted your experience is still invaluable. Knowledge is of great value, I am sure you can still serve by teaching the future Marines. With what we went through, I am of opinion that's for the best. We do not want this one to be repeated ever again." He stated in his flat tone, though his mind was now coming back to what she said before. "As for your manoeuvrability, you need a wheelchair I am afraid. I can use little spare time I have to dismantle a pulley or two and give this chair wheels, that should help you at least until we get to the harbour where you could get the real thing." Kaii offered, himself being apprehensive about taking more work, but after saving Morgan, knowing that such things were greatly appreciated not just by the beneficiaries, but also by his friends.

 

[Corporal Sarra Piper]

Piper winced at the pronouncement. A wheelchair. She'd always considered herself a progressive beast, a supporter of injured veterans, one who believed the stigma around disabilities needed to be addressed and cultural discomfort with their injuries ended... But that wasn't when it was me. She knew that, if she hadn't gotten her feeling back yet in her legs, she probably never would. This was simply the final knell for her ever walking again.

She sighed, pulling her claw from the pup's mouth, quickly dipping it again and returning it to the pup's mouth as the infant squeaked in indignant hunger. "I know," she admitted morosely. "I just... I never wanted to be confined like this. I know how beasts look at veterans like me - with pity, like we're broken. I hate that. I got enough of that after... After my daughter." It nearly broke her again to speak of Emilie. That wound was always too fresh, no matter how much time passed.

She looked to Kaii, a thought arising in her mind. "If I wanted to still serve on the ship," she asked slowly, "how hard would it be for me to move around? If it's workable, if I can actually move myself about, then maybe they'll be more inclined to keep me."

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

Kaii put up his paw to his chin, considering the question at paw. It wasn't impossible. Nothing was. But Kaii knew that major rebuilds were rather not something the Navy would pay for just to accommodate few injured but willing veterans. He was ready to say that it isn't likely but... the mention of a daughter and pain it was said with? That affected Kaii. He knew himself how much pain came from something bad happening to your family member.

"I cannot promise you a miracle. Even the best solution comes with serious effort you would have to put in. I can offer you a way to stand on your legs, moving them as I've said would be far too difficult and expensive to make." Kaii stated as he had one idea that could work well. "To move around with those? I have an idea too, just tell me if you are ready for it."

 

[Corporal Sarra Piper]

Piper's breath caught. She was used to hard work; it hadn't been a cakewalk to become a marine, after all. "Please," she begged him. "Even if it's a long shot, I'll take it."

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

Kaii took a breath and then spoke of his idea. It was good to inform first what he had in mind. „So, I do believe that me and Swifttail, my fellow engineer, could make a rack for you to put your legs in. The idea is that it would support your body while standing. It would take some getting used to, but ultimately if you don’t feel your legs, it shouldn’t be unpleasant. However, to move with them, I can either offer giving you two levers that you could use with your paws to move them around, or just give you a crutch. Those are only things within reason I am afraid I can do for now.”