i_speak_softly | Twenty-second Theory [Voice/Action]

Don?

You guys are back? What is it?

It's Raph. Please come - the first floor of C6. [Excuse his terseness; he'll explain later.]

What happened with Raph? [Don't worry, man. He's on the way.]

His wing, a Third Party member -- Isamu, it's really bad.

His wing? [Hurry hurry... he'll be at the door soon.] Is it still attached?

Barely. [He moves to the door and props it open, then circles back to the bedroom.] Isamu, I don't know what to do...

I've never seen anyone get their wings injured before... [He'd lost some feathers while he was going through withdrawal from the Magatsuhi, but he'd ached all over then, so what was a little more pain?

He reaches the apartment now, making his way cautiously inside.] Let me take a look at him. You should have taken him to the clinic.

[As Isamu comes into the bedroom, Don ~~gets out of his way~~ just keeps hovering.]

We only got back a few minutes ago. And - [Softly. Embarrassed.] I can't carry him.

[He bends down near the other turtle, checking his vital signs. His brows immediately knit with worry.] Jesus, Don. He's half dead!

[His attention is turned to the wing. Touching it is going to be extremely painful for Raph, but he has to hold the severed area together so he can attempt to knit it back in place.] Sorry about this man. [He moves it carefully, laying it on the flat of his palm so that very little actual gripping of it is required. With his other hand, he quickly begins building up the necessary magic.]

[Completely missing that Isamu is worried about the wrong thing.] I know that!

[He kneels at the foot of the bed and tries to calm himself. There's a healer here now, someone he can trust. It's going to be okay.]

Do what you have to do. He can't feel anything now anyway.

He's barely breathing. Did just the damage to his wing do this?

[Though he asks these questions, Isamu can't focus on much more beside the healing now. He weaves the energy into the wound as normal, meaning to 'sew' the damaged parts together, and begins frowning when it doesn't work as naturally for him now as it has been. Is he doing something wrong?]

What? [Don leans forward to feel Raph's pulse again. It's the same.] No, he's just in torpor... [Because everyone knows what that means.]

In what? ...Never mind.

...This isn't working like it should be. Do you know anything about how our wings work? Aside from "don't lose them?"

Hibernative statis...

No, I - [He stretches out his wings and moves them up and down in a motion that barely qualifies as flapping.] They don't work at all for us. The weight ratios, it's impossible... [Don't mind him; he spouts incomprehensible geekbabble when he's panicking.]

I mean when it comes to healing...

I should just call Naoki.

[Don falls silent. He should have studied. If they'd been at home, and one of them had suddenly grown wings, he would have studied. Luceti has made him too complacent.]

[He turns his journal to a fresh page, and pushes it across the floor.]

[Isamu gets a hold of Naoki (http://i-speak-softly.livejournal.com/7670.html?thread=934902#t934902) without any difficulty, almost as if he'd been waiting for the call, and after talking with him looks to Donatello with a frown.]

You get all that?

Yes. [He rubs Raph's ankle, distractedly, while looking at the bandaged wing.] Will it really grow back? We heal quickly, but - not like that...

I dunno, dude. He'd know better than me. [Hopefully not from first-hand experience, though...]

You can have him look at it when he gets here if you want.

[It's only after taking Naoki a little bit to grab as much medical supplies he needs (however much they might end up needing) from the clinic. He makes his way into C6 and toward the room.]

[Don turns, reaching reflexively for a bo staff that isn't there.

But it's only Naoki.

He kneels again, glancing from Isamu's friend to his prone brother, silently inviting him to give whatever help he can.]

Get over here, man. [Isamu motions to Naoki without looking away from Raph's injury.]

What do you think about this?

[Naoki makes his way over to Isamu, lowering into a crouch next to him, putting the supplies on the floor. He leans forward, yellow eyes narrowed and scanning.]

...It's been sliced off at the bone. It's already off--it's impossible for it to heal like this. [He glances over at Isamu.] If it's going to regrow, this should... [He stops. He doesn't want to say 'come off'.]

[Flatly. He already knows how that sentence is going to end.] Should what?

[Isamu groans.] I was so hoping you wouldn't say that.

Sorry... [Naoki shakes his head slightly, looking down.] But it should be removed.

[Deep breath, Don. You knew that was coming.] Okay. I - I'll do it.

You may want a tool - a blade of some sort. Might as well make the separation as clean as possible.

[For goodness sakes, Isamu, do you think he's going to tear it off with his bare hands?

He'll ignore that comment.]

I need - a scalpel. A bone saw. A cauterizer. And - [General anaesthetic? On the one hand, he doesn't want to run the risk that a Turtle can be roused from his torpor, but on the other hand, this is not a good time to be adding artificial depressants to Raph's system.] Restraints.

[Naoki's eyes switch to the medical supplies he brought with him. He drags the bag closer, pushes it toward Donatello. He hadn't even looked at half the things (wasn't sure what a few were) he'd grabbed, snatched anything that he thought could be useful.]

[He was just trying to look like he knew what he was doing. ;;

Instead, he'll step back and let Don do his thing.]

[Don sorts through the supplies, his mind already working ahead to see each step of the process.]

Naoki, go to the kitchen. Boil some water and find a clean pan.

Isamu, the closet of my workroom, there's some rope...

[Naoki nods wordlessly and moves off to the kitchen to do just that, digging through cupboards for a clean pan as he puts on water to boil.]

Closet of...? Sure. [The work room should be easy enough to locate, right? Whatever looks likes it's usually occupied by a tech wiz.

He returns shortly with the rope in question.] We should put some cloth between the ropes and his skin, right? To limit abrasions? Unless turtles skin is tough enough to do without it.

[Don doesn't answer that. He's knows you're trying to help, Isamu, but really. He's done this before.

He reaches under the bed for the folded-up blanket, and flips it open, spreading it over Raph's arms and shoulders, tucking the corners in around his hands. Then, drawing a dagger from his belt, he cuts yard-long sections off the rope. These he loops around the bedposts, gently securing his brother's wrists and elbows to the mattress.

Then similarly for Raph's legs, using Donatello's own summer-discarded blanket.

When he finishes that, he begins picking apart the bandages at the base of Raph's wing, to give himself access to the place he needs to cut.

Hopefully Naoki will be back soon with that hot water.]

[Naoki returns soon enough with the hot water, making his way over to Don with it. He glances over at Isamu, expression briefly flickering, a little uncertain, before he looks back forward.]

...Tell me if you need me to do anything else.

[Isamu gets the feeling that he isn't needed all that badly now that they've found out Raph can't be magically healed. He gets out of Donatello's way but stays close to the bedside just in case he needs to, well, hold anything.

He glances down at the still motionless turtle.] Sorry about this, Sensei.

[Yes, Isamu, he does need you to hold something. He stretches out Raph's wing as carefully as possible, pinching the upper edge lightly between his fingers.] Isamu, hold this. Just like this. Naoki, hold the pan underneath.

[As they move into position, Don reaches to plunge his instruments into the steaming water. The dagger he leaves there, to heat. The scalpel he withdraws after a moment, and poises it above the last shreds of tissue connecting Raph's wing to his body. A bone saw, it turns out, would have been superfluous.]

[Deep breath.]

[And cut.]

[Naoki moves the pan as instructed, his mouth flinching preemptively when Don moves the instruments into the hot water. His eyes dart to the side, unable to watch the process.]

[Something pulls at his subconscious from the silent depths of dark oceans, tugging him into something solid, growing sharper, hotter and colder at the same time. Breathless. A distant part of him recognizes it as pain, and he grapples for the darkness, blissful unfeeling abyss. Hold on. Don't let go.

He doesn't know how long he's been holding his breath, fighting with every inch of his being to hold onto the torpor. His lungs ache, his bones ache, his head aches from concentration.

Then the tug wrenches him away, tears him in half, his nerves on fire. Agony.

His eyelids fly open, unseeing, and he gasps for air with a scream, trying to pull into himself, only to be pulled from another direction. He balks against the ropes with another painful gasp of air, his suddenly racing pulse making the blood flow freely from the incision.]

[Isamu does as he's asked, holding the wing in place. He winces as Don prepares to do the cutting but is unable to get himself to look away.

It had to have been damn painful, given Raph's reaction. As the injured turtle struggles, he glances up at Don.] It's okay, dude. We gotcha. It's done now.

[The wing comes away in Isamu's hands, and Raph screams, arching against his bonds.

In one swift move, Don leans forward, spreading his hand on Raph's shell above his wingjoints, and resting all his weight on it. With his other hand, he reverses the scalpel and pushes it handle-first at Naoki.]

Naoki, the knife. Quickly.

[Naoki takes the scalpel from him and picks up the knife from the hot water all in one immediate movement, placing the handle of it into Don's hand immediately.]

[Don's fingers close on the knife. Another steadying breath, and he presses the flat of the red-hot blade to the bleeding wound.]

Three seconds, Raph. One - two - there.

[He pulls the knife from the seared flesh, and holds it out to Naoki. As soon as it's out of his hand, he'll sink to his knees, shaking and pressing his forehead to the blankets.]

[There's really nothing he can say, so Isamu just rubs the top of Raph's shell while keeping his eyes on the other two. Comforting words were never his forte.]

[When it's over, Raph lays there, listless and panting, the world nothing but white. Cold, even though he's soaked in sweat, shivering, jaw set like a wire trap until he tastes blood in his mouth.

He presses his eyes closed again, choking out a groan.]

[Naoki goes about dropping the knife into the pan before carrying it out to the kitchen quietly. In which he stares down at it hard for a moment before he returns. He brushes past Isamu, pausing to rest a hand on the rope, voice low.]

Is it fine to get rid of these now?

[It's barely a whisper.] Please.

[Isamu just holds the detached wing awkwardly. Should he toss it out? Would Raph want to maybe... keep it or something?

Not sure what to do next, he settles for setting it down on a nearby rag before helping Naoki with the ropes.]

[Naoki glances over at him briefly with a tiny nod as he goes about removing the ropes, setting them aside after he does.]

[Without looking up, Don reaches out to grab Isamu's arm.] Wrap the end. Put it in the icebox.

Right. [He knew that. Quickly locating some bandages, Isamu wraps the bloodied end carefully and looks for the aforementioned icebox.

Once that's taken care of, he returns to the bedside to see if Naoki still needs any help.]

[Naoki's finished putting all the rope aside for now, is now studying where Raph was restrained to assure there aren't any marks left. He blinks as Isamu comes over, nods down at the places where the ropes were.] Have a look, too?

[Have a look at what? Isamu is blanking out a little, but he does as asked. Thankfully, the blankets had done their job of keeping much chafing from occurring with the ropes.]

Think he's okay. As far as his limbs go, anyway.

[Raph blinks the water from his eyes, still not quite clearing his vision. When Isamu's shadow comes across his field of view, he recognizes that voice. His smile quickly turns into a wince, voice thin and shaking from the tremors taking over his body.]

W're you doin'...m-mama's boy?

[...Even now, Raph? ;;

Isamu moves immediately to lay a hand on the turtle's shell again, expression surprisingly stern.] Nothing, man. Now keep still. Take some slow, deep breaths.

[Of course!

Raph closes his eyes again, curling into himself a little. He knows the meditation techniques. Back at home they never had the luxury of painkillers stronger than tylenol donated by generous friends, and all four of them have suffered through broken bones this way.

But this isn't just a broken bone, it's a broken part of his entire being, like your soul's been ripped in two. It makes every inch of him throb with agony, tearing his mind from any form of concentration.

Shell, he wishes Splinter was here to help him. The thought brings on the threat of tears, but he won't open his eyes again.]

[Don reaches forward, his fingers searching across the blankets. When he finds Raph's elbow, he pulls it back, so he can hold his brother's hand. Steady pressure.]

[Focus, Raph. Everything will be okay.]

[Naoki stands quietly, unsure what he can offer or do besides rest a hand on Raph's shell wordlessly.]

You're a piece of work. Both of you.

[Not the time, Isamu. Meditating through pain is hard, and your snide remarks aren't helping. He'll raise his head just long enough to give you a glare that clearly says shut up.]

Why would you need his help?

[Oh, hi Winry. Don't you know Don still isn't showing his face in ~~public~~ front of you?]

[Maybe it's okay if he only talks to you about someone else.]

Raphael got hurt in the battle.

[That's totally a sufficient explanation, right?]

How badly?

[A pause. How to quantify an injury like this?]

I had to give him morphine.

What? What happened?!

[The answer is pretty gruesome, but this is the girl who makes replacement limbs for amputees. She can handle it.]

His wing is ninety percent severed.

Just the one?

[Exhaustion and anxiety make him misinterpret your tone.]

I think one is enough.

If it's just one he has a better chance at survival. Is it just the one?

Yes, it's just one! [A better chance at survival, Winry? BRB, moving up to Level 2 Freakout.]

Well excuse me, Donatello, for wanting to know how close one of my friends is to death!

I don't know! We've never - we've never gotten dismembered before!

Donatello, he'll survive. If he can get to the clinic, he'll live. I... I don't want to get in the way, so I don't think I'll be coming this time. Good luck.

I can't move him. That's why I called Isamu. [And here comes the healer now.] I have to go.

The hell? Weren't you guys in battle??? Or did they let you take the journals?

We just got back. [He sounds exhausted.]

Early or was the fight that quick?

Felt long enough to me...

Err... Sorry Don. Didn't mean it like that.

Damn I wish I knew more about healing.

Naoki... I need to ask you something, man.

What is it?

[It's immediate and unsurprised--maybe it's because he was listening to that little call for Isamu already.]

What do you know about our wings? How they work and how they can be healed and whatnot?

I know a bit... If it can be healed depends on how bad it is.

...This thing's almost completely severed.

...you can't heal something like that. [...] If it's only the one...he's not gonna die. But it'll need to grow back.

[A quiet breath.] Even if the most they can do is keep him outta pain, he should go to the clinic.

I think Don's got him doped up on something. He can't carry him either, and frankly I don't want to jostle that wing around any more than I have to.

Guess someone could run down to the clinic for supplies if the best we can do is wrap it up...

[...] I'll run down for 'em.

I wasn't asking you to do that, you dork.

Y'don't have to. I'm gonna do it anyway.

Hn... Of course you are.

I don't know much about actual first aid. Guess we'll need some antiseptic and bandages.

Or... whatever, really.

Alright. [He'll just be...grabbing a lot of stuff, because he doesn't really know, either.] Where'm I bringing it?

First floor of C6. We'll leave the door open.

[I'll just be - assuming they met since they've been fighting on the same team. >>]

Donatello? What happened?

[Okie doke!]

Raphael. A wing injury. Did the rest of the team get back safely?

[A wing injury...]

As far as I know... Chopper's a little beat up, but he'll be all right.

...do you want me to come by and take a look at him? I have healing abilities.

Thanks, Katara, but someone is already here.

[A little later:] I wouldn't mind some company, though.

Is everything all right?

It - could be worse. [He isn't dead.]

What happened?

He - Raph lost a wing.

I see...

It should grow back completely in about a week, but he'll need to be kept abed until then.

Believe me, he's not going anywhere.

All right. Has he had any other injuries? It sounds like you've already called someone.

Nothing major. Isamu was able to heal them.

Good. I'm glad that was taken care of. What about yourself?

I'm okay. I stayed out of most of the fighting.

Just make sure you don't wear yourself out completely, looking after your brother this week. Even though you weren't directly involved in the fighting, it can't have been easy in your area.

Don't worry about me, Miss Sage. I'm used to this kind of thing.

I don't doubt it. But it doesn't mean you have to be, when there are those around you willing to help.

I know. It's a concept I'm still getting used to.

It can be a very difficult concept to accept.

((follows this thread (http://tanukipoint.livejournal.com/3774.html?thread=267198#t267198)))

[Knock knock. Someone order drugs?]

((And for the sanity of the muns I'll assume that this happens a bit later and Isamu and Naoki have left.))

[Okay, Don. Raph is fine. You can leave him for thirty seconds to answer the door.]

[Still, he walks quickly.]

Come in.

[In they go then. Tall skeleton must duck to get through the door.] Hopefully you won't mind, but I came along as well.

[He kind of noticed.] Raph is in the bedroom.

[Chopper lets Brook cart him over to Raph, then tugs lightly on the skeleton's afro to be let down. The smell of sickness is already thick in the room. He wastes no time in taking the bag off his back and opening it, sorting through its contents. A syringe and several bottles of penicillin are laid out on the bed.] Donatello, can you help me? I've never encountered your species before, so I'm not familiar with your anatomy.

[Don tenses momentarily, the result of too many encounters with people who had ulterior motives for wanting to learn their anatomy. Then he remembers he's talking to a reindeer.]

[He kneels down, to examine his brother from Chopper's perspective.]

Figure the dosage for a hundred-and-seventy pound human. And - I'll do the injection. [There's another unspoken invitation here: What else do you want to know?]

[Yeah, maybe they can swap tragic backstories sometime.]

[Chopper wipes down the syringe and measures the medicine, then passes it off to Donatello. No arguments there; Don seems adept at medicine, and would probably know the best injection site on a turtle anyway. Then he's checking Raph's other life signs.]

What are your species' average vital readings? He doesn't seem to be in torpor - you said blood loss was minimized and the wound cauterized, right? Is your species cold- or warm-blooded? [Trust me, he's not short on questions.]

[It's a date.]

[Don takes the syringe, checks the dosage, taps out the bubbles. In case Raph is awake:] Antibiotics, Raph. Just a pinch... [And then the needle slides into his shoulder, the same place the other one went.]

[He gives the dirty back to Chopper.] Variable. He was in torpor but the amputation shocked him out of it. Yes to questions two and three, and for number four, we're quasi-poikilothermic. We regulate, but not very efficiently.

[Raph cracks his eyes open at the pinch, but they're bloodshot and dull, blinking lazily in Chopper's general direction. The lights are on, but nobody's home.]

[A 'hmm', and then silence. Chopper inspects the cauterized tissue carefully; it's dead, which means that healing magic would have no effect on it at all. They'll just have to hope that wings really do grow back in Luceti.]

[He reaches for the topical antibiotics just as Raphael wakes up, and halts immediately.] Raphael? Can you hear me?

[Raph does hear a voice rising over the white and static that's engulfed his mind, but it takes too much energy to make sense of it. All he does is blink slowly and shiver. It's so cold here, with all this snow.]

[Don leans over and pushes Raph's mask up, placing a warm hand on his shoulder.] Raph? How are you doing?

[He moans in response to Don's touch. It's warm, but at the same time it hurts. Every inch of him hums with pain that pulses from the missing wing, gnawing at his bones.]

Donatello, check his vitals. [Who knows if a decent reading can even be made from them right now, but Chopper is already reaching in his bag and pulling out a bottle filled with capsules.] I'm going to have to administer an analgesic manually, so hold him down for me.

[Don slides his hand up to find Raph's pulse at the base of his neck.] Pulse is steady. [The hand curves up the back of Raph's head, to rest on his scalp.] Temperature is a little low. [A little pressure, to hold Raph's head safely against the pillow, and with his other hand he gently gathers up his brother's wrists.]

[But he raises a brow at that bottle of capsules.] Where are those going?

[Chopper pulls a surgical glove onto one arm and twists the bottle open.] He might be going into shock from the pain. If he isn't capable of swallowing, we'll have to push it down his throat.

[Hopefully that answers that question, because seconds later Chopper is posed near Raph's head.] Raphael, if you can understand me, I'm going to give you a painkiller now. It's going to be uncomfortable, but I promise it'll help with the pain.

Edited 2010-08-10 00:17 (UTC)

[Raph's eyes open again when he feels himself being lifted. His head swims, and he still can't will his vision clear. But he knows someone is touching him, and it's not his brother.

Though the minute he goes to protest, his jaw's wrenched open and he's choking on something being forced down his throat. Once it leaves, his stomach clenches and he hunches forward, dry heaving.

The motion only intensifies the pain to more excruciating levels, and if he was aware that's Don's hand he's gripping like a vice, he'd apologize for any resulting broken bones.]

[Don... kind of can't believe Chopper just did that. He's never done that. How suicidal do you have to be, to voluntarily stuff your hand down Raphael's throat?]

[Raph's death grip immobilizes him, so he can't even lean his brother over the edge of the bed.] It's okay, Raph. Breathe.

[And to Chopper:] Never do that again.

It's better than going into shock. [Chopper's voice is hard as he yanks the glove off of his arm. You're overprotective; he gets that. It doesn't get things done.] His gag reflex is still active - that's good. That reaction meant his body is still responding to things as it should be.

[He reaches into his bag and lays out several packs of antibiotic ointment and bandages next to the pill and penicillin bottles.] Dress his wing with new bandages every few hours. Until he can swallow on his own again, you'll have to either use these pills like I did or find an opiate. There's nothing else I can do for you. [He can sense those boundaries that he's been pressing since day one. And he'll respect them - but he hopes that Don's possessiveness and sensitivity won't get in the way of his doing what needs to be done.] Any questions?

[When Raph's done gagging, he'll collapse against whatever surface is behind him, be it Don or the bed. At this point, he just doesn't fucking care. He's exhausted and hurting and just wants everybody to leave him the hell alone.]

[That thing Raph just collapsed on? Don's arm. His weight drags Don down, pinning him and forcing him to hunch over. It isn't the most authoritative position from which to respond to Chopper.]

He was fine.

[And he's not overprotective, he just has Rules. Rules that include no forced drugs, unless it's really a matter of life or death.]

No. I'll take it from here.

[No, he wasn't. But there's no point in arguing with Don at this point, and Chopper's tired. He slings the bag over his shoulder and looks up over at Brook.] I'm done. Let's go back home.

[Yeah, Brook's just been sitting over here ~~because LJ notifs FAILED ME I'M SORRY~~, keeping out of the way for now. He didn't need to understand the medical jargon to know that Chopper did everything he did because it was necessary.

Hopefully Raph will be feeling better soon because of it. Brook might come back around when he does, but for now it's time to go. He nods to Chopper, then smoothly reaches an arm down to scoop the little reindeer back up to his shoulder.

A small tip of the hat to the turtles, even if only one is conscious enough to see it.] Good day to you, gentlemen. As best as you can have, at least.

[Don twists around to face his guests. He could lift Raph if he had to, but not in any particularly gentle way, and manhandling him is probably not a good idea right now.]

Thanks, Brook. I'd see you out, but I really can't get away just now.

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