fifth investigation

[stagemanagers]

[Oh, what a night.
Why'd it take so long to see the light,
Seemed so wrong, but now it seems so right.
What a time, what a night.

What a night last night was! Dancing under the stars, romance, family...all the things a good school dance should stand for. Even with everyone being sick it could still, overall, be considered a hige success.

But on the subject of the sickness thats spread through the school...when people start to rouse from their dance-fuled exhaustion in the morning all the symptoms seem to be completely gone. Which should be good news but knowing what day it is.

Maybe you should leave your dorms and investigate.]

Comments

[comeandfindme]

[ ALRIGHT SO GUESS WHO HAS THE QUALIFICATIONS OF A MILITARY MEDIC—

Before everyone had even left, Peregrine already started undressing Maya, completely professional about all this. She's not going to lose another. She's not. She can't. She's not talking. Just working.

If she can get Maya's clothes off easily enough, she's going to immediately begin >b>disinfecting the wound, before trying to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. ]

[barberic]

[Benjamin was already up and dressing when Farrah opened the door and screamed. He nearly ran after her, but through the open door he heard

Maya?

Brave Maya! and just. Froze.

She looks so small, so fragile, lying there in the middle of the hall, the white sheet thrown to the side and her shirt opened.

She looks...

The fever is gone and with it all its visions, good and bad, but for a split second she's illuminated by firelight, instead of cold fluorescents. For a split second, the body on the floor isn't Maya, the hair spilling around her isn't silky black but matted blonde.

But then it is. And Benjamin feels the inky void closing in around him.

There's a Thud, as Benjamin falls, broken, to his knees, staring helplessly as Peregrine works to save Maya.]

No... No, God in Heaven, no...

[comeandfindme]

[ It's okay. She doesn't say that. Don't worry. She doesn't say that.

She doesn't say anything. Just works. ]

[barberic]

[At some point, it hits him. Peregrine isn't preparing a body, she's working to save her.]

She's still...

[His voice is weak. He can't stand, so he crawls closer on hands and knees, closer to the agonizing smell of blood, the smell he knows too well now - and Maya knew. She knew, and she believed in him anyway, and he wasn't there to protect her.

"You're safe. You're not alone." That was what she'd told him, over and over again.

His expression crumples as tears begin to spill down his face. Why couldn't it have been him, instead?]

What do you need? How can I help?

[sugarlumps]

Mmmmng, hey, what's all the noiAAAAAAAAAAAA-!

[oh hey LSP is awake]

[aren't you just so glad she's here]

[comeandfindme]

And I need quiet!!

[ sorry lsp ]

[sugarlumps]

AAAmmmmmf-

[Covering her mouth, on it.]

[comeandfindme]

She's alive. I might need more supplies— LSP, nurse's office. Get me more sutures, just in case.

[sugarlumps]

Sutures! Got it! Oh glob oh glob oh glob-

[The quietest, muffled hysterical screaming as she runs off towards the nurse's office for the second week in a row.]

[comeandfindme]

[ Working quickly, methodically, getting that beautiful prom dress cut away— ]

Get everything out of my backpack and lay it out for me. All medical supplies next to me, everything else to the side. I need quick and easy access.

[barberic]

[Benjamin snaps his eyes away from Maya and back to Peregrine, then scrambles to do as he's asked.

The things she'll obviously, or at least might logically need first go right next to her - gauze pads, antiseptic, sutures, scissors, medical tape, etc. He digs those out first, then focuses on laying everything else out, with things that are patently, obviously unhelpful to the current situation furthest away, and things that he's not sure what it is or what it's for going in the middle.

His hands are absolutely shaking, as he does, not allowing himself to look at Maya, lest he get distracted. His blood is rushing in his ears, he hears but doesn't register the Wizard's voice. Not yet. He didn't say Maya's name.]

[comeandfindme]

[ It's the announcement that slows her down. Three? Three of them? Peregrine's forgotten already to use the gloves she put in the first aid kit. For a moment, it seems like white noise might drown her—

But. Then, ever so calmly, she starts murmur-singing, almost distantly. ]

If you feel you've lost your stride,
Principles can be your guide.
Concentrate on what's inside,
Stay clear.

[ Use what Howl taught her. Don't just freeze. Keep going. Concentrate on the life she can save.

She holds out one hand, covered in Maya's blood. ]

More gauze.

[barberic]

[Her voice reaches out to him across the empty blackness that's closing in.

His hands steady, as he picks up the gauze and puts it in her hand, trying desperately not to focus on the blood, as a soft prayer takes shape on his lips.]

You can take,
You can give,
Let her be,
Let her live...

[comeandfindme]

[ That's right. That's just what she needs. Peregrine continues: ]

Loved ones may no longer stand.
Still you have to understand,
When it all gets out of hand,
Stay clear.

[ She's finding some interesting things about Maya's condition, so, pausing, she reaches out her hand again, before digging around inside her— ]

Gloves. Tweezers.

[tailor_made]

[Hester is right by her side, one hand stroking Maya's hair while the other lays over Peregrine's to help with the pressure.]

Should- I can get towels. Would towels help?

[comeandfindme]

Blankets.

[ So, uh. The announcement's gone off, that is. Severely fucking her up. Elle, Orpheus— Eurydice, she'd said she was like a sister—

But she swallows a deep breath of air. Press the pain. Make it numb. ]

Blankets are closer.

[tailor_made]

Blankets. Got it. [Hester hesitates before standing up, looking between Maya and Peregrine, before giving Peregrine's hand a small squeeze and springing to her feet to collect as many blankets as she can get.]

[stagemanagers]

[As stated before, Maya is still wearing her clothes from prom. It's a shame, but you can cut them away.

The wound is on her abdomen, just below her ribs. As you apply pressure, you can feel...there's something in there.]

[comeandfindme]

[ Inside— inside the wound?! What?!

Okay, two questions. First of all, what's the wound look like? Stab, slash, what?

And secondly:

What is inside it? ]

[stagemanagers]

[The wound is most defiantly a stab wound, but it's not very wide.

If Peregrine goes poking around in it what she'll pull out is the blood-covered tip of a sword.]

[comeandfindme]

[ hahahahahahahaha what the fuck

This gives her pause for a moment. She's going to poke around a little, but since she doesn't have gloves on— well, she's gonna grab those first and extract the tip with the tweezers in her first aid kit. ]

Maya, what the fuck...?

[ If there's nothing else in the wound, then...well, she's going to resume trying to stop the bleeding. Gauze is mostly what she's using.

...And like, she'll investigate that tip, if she has time, but she's a little busy, so. She's going to place it aside, for someone else to if they want. ]

[stagemanagers]

[Good thinking. The wound itself is pretty clean, mostly as in it's smooth stab. There's a lot of blood but it doesn't look like any organs were punctured but, depending on Peregrine's knowledge of internal anatomy, it came pretty dang close.]

[comeandfindme]

[ Her knowledge is...pretty good!! Peter Howland taught her quite a lot. That makes all of this even more...upsetting! But, very good to know she won't have to do anything more than a patch job.

It's not very wide, but...how big is it? Is she going to need to use the sutures to close this up? ]

[stagemanagers]

[It isn't huge! Looks like it was sort of a narrow blade.]

[comeandfindme]

[ Okay... Not wide, also not deep? Can she get the edges of it together with a little pressure? ]