Being a Doctor is Hard

[colonial]

Characters: America, open
Setting: infirmary
Format: action
Summary: America fails at bandages.
Warnings: shouldn't be anything particularly bad

[America hadn't gotten out of the monster attacks completely unscathed--following England when he insisted on running off to the higher, more dangerous levels had been difficult, and while a lot of the things he could throw or punch, he hadn't gotten off quite scot-free, as the claw marks on his chest showed.

Not that he'd showed them to anyone; England would be mad and make that sad face and anyway he was fine! America just had to sneak down to bandage them now and then, that's all. Not that he was particularly good at bandaging himself up. Unsure of when enough was enough and how to cut them off, it's not long before he's rolling around on the floor, his chest and legs and left arm encased in enough bandages to make him look like a mummy.

He squirms in an ineffectual circle hopelessly.]

Comments

[keepscalm]

[England had some of his own wounds to dress, though they were looking a lot better after some time being cared for (and having the body of a nation helped too). He hasn't been able to keep as much of a hawk's eye on America as he'd like, but the boy is too curious and the Tower too large to always know his whereabouts.

England finds him today, though!

He just stands a few feet away for a while, watching America's plight with silent fondness and no small amount of amusement. With how covered America is, England can't see that America is actually injured under all that.]

You look like one of Egypt's mummiess, lad.

[colonial]

England!

[England should know that particular tone. It's the "you've caught me sneaking dessert before supper" tone, the "I've gotten into your expensive tea" tone, the "I'm guilty of something but I don't want you to know I am" tone. Of course, England might just mistake that for America's reaction to catching him wrapped up like this.]

Only a little bit of a mummy.

[keepscalm]

[He catches the tone and raises an eyebrow, but nothing really seems amiss for him to comment on, aside from America being silly. England approaches and kneels to offer his assistance.]

Come now, let's get you out of this mess.

[colonial]

[If England unwraps him, he realizes, England will see the marks. So he tries to get away, but only ends up bumping into England's leg.]

I want to be like this!

[keepscalm]

--oi, careful there. [He reaches a hand out and puts it atop America's head to steady him.] If you want to play, you shouldn't be alone.

[He seems to buy America's goofiness. He just sounds worried about America being alone and immobile in Tower Wonderfuck.]

[wrigurun]

[Normally Wriggle can just brush off the cuts and bruises that she got falling out of trees but as she was gradually climbing them higher and higher they were starting to become a little harder to ignore. She really needed to stay off the floors where she couldn't fly.

After much getting distracted and getting lost she stumbled into the infirmary, a hand firmly pressed against the side of her forehead. Before she can even think to look for bandages she sees a pile of them writhing around on the ground in front of her. She should probably go and help him but she stands there staring, too absorbed in trying to remember where she's seen that small cowlick before]

Do I know you?

[She briefly considers making it her standard greeting]

[colonial]

[America wriggles a bit to get a better look at the girl--who he definitely remembers because the number of bug girls in the Tower was incredibly small.]

You were in the meadow after the weird game! [He squirms into something of a sitting position.] I'm Americaaa--whoa! [And then falls over again.]

[wrigurun]

[The games were hard to forget, the meadow not so much. She spent so much time up there it was hard to remember any specific meetings. So she stands there, looking a little dumbfounded before something obviously clicks in her head]

Oh! You're that kid!

[She crouches down, hand still pressed to her temple]

My name's Wriggle. Can you give me some bandages?

[colonial]

[America rolls onto his back so he can see Wriggle again.]

Yeah, I don't need all these. You just hav'to find the end!

[wrigurun]

Uh... O-okay.

[She seems a little hesitant at first before diving right in. As Wriggle moves her hand from her forehead to try and untangle the bandages she reveals the rather large gash on her temple. The blood is slightly smudged on her head and on her hand but it doesn't seem like it's causing her too much pain]

[savedbyasong]

Shion entered the infirmary limping a little. His ankle was still painful since the attack but he was certain it wasn't broken. He was a little shocked it was the most serious injury he had gotten from being in the middle of the fighting but he knew he had his friends to thank for that.

But he knew others hadn't gotten off so easily so he had been coming to the infirmary to try and help anyone who needed it. He saw the little boy swathed in bandages and smiled. "I everything alright there?"

[colonial]

America inchwormed his way over to the nearest solid piece of furniture in an attempt to right himself enough to sit up or ideally stand. Attempting to face the other boy made things more difficult, but America was sure it was possible.

"I'm okay! I was using bandages!" America's voice is enthusiastic, but his handiwork left something to be desired, certainly.

[savedbyasong]

Shion laughed and smiled at the small boy, so tiny to be in a place like this. Shion wondered how he had managed over the last few days, he must have had friends to help him. "So I can see. I think you used a few too many though, shall I help you?"

[colonial]

"Only a little too many!" America squirms enough to sit up at least, trying to work his hands free. "I lost track of the end of it. You can help me find it if you want..."

His tone is a childish one that says of course he doesn't really need the help. Even if he can hardly move.

[savedbyasong]

Shion smiled recognising the tone. Still he reached out to try and find the end. "I'm Shion, what's your name?"

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi really doesn't want to be around people in his current state. His illness has been acting up recently, he supposes because of the stress of the earlier attack on the tower. Normally, he'd be content to wait it out in his dorm room, or in some uninhabited corner of the place. Much to his displeasure, those sorts of areas have been hard to find lately. His lungs are burning and the taste of the blood he'd been coughing up earlier is still thick on his tongue, and he's hoping to find some painkillers at least.

What he finds instead is a little wriggling ball of bandages on the floor of the infirmary.

A child? He's seen some fairly young people in the tower, but never anyone as small as this boy. He crouches down beside him, a neutral expression on his face.]

Do you need some help?

[colonial]

[America regards the man with a certain amount of wariness, as he does any stranger he comes across. Still, the people here have seemed fairly nice so far.]

I was putting bandages on. [He explains this as if he still thinks he's doing a reasonable job of it.]

[silentsacrifice]

I see.

[Though his expression doesn't change, there's a softness in Itachi's eyes. He holds a hand out, equally cautious - this doesn't seem like a trick or a trap, but the tower's got him on-guard even more than usual, which is saying something.

He takes part of the bandage between two of his fingers.]

You've done a good job so far, but perhaps we should wrap them just a bit tighter? It'll keep you from getting infected.

[colonial]

[America inches forward to touch the man's hand--ready to withdraw it if he has to, but curious as most children are.]

I only needed a little bit but then the end ran away and I had to catch it.

[silentsacrifice]

[Itachi lets the child touch him, ready to strike out if he has to. But the tiny hand doesn't turn into some clawed monstrosity, and he relaxes a bit more.]

It's all right. Medical equipment can be tricky to handle.

[He inwardly berates himself for acting the way he is, but he can't stop himself. When he looks at the child - wide-eyed and tentative, trying so hard to take care of himself - all he can think of is Sasuke when he was that age. And the thought of his little brother being trapped in such an awful place makes his blood boil, so he can't in all good consciousness let this child be without giving him some help.

It's a small favor, but it might make up for some of the bad things he's done in his life.]

Here. Let's find the end of it.

[He casts his eyes downward, looking for the end of the bandage so that he can get the kid wrapped up properly. The sooner he does that, he tells himself, the sooner he can walk away, good deed done, and stop fussing over him.]

[moontothetide]

[Tara tries to keep a little in the way of medicinal equipment on hand herself, which occasionally means a trip down to the infirmary to grab a role of bandages or a bottle of painkillers and trekking back up to her room.

...her room is still an absolute mess, and probably not safe to even be in, but as far as Tara's concerned that's all the more reason to keep some first aid on hand.

She's completely distracted from her plan, however, by the sight of America. At first, she doesn't realize that most of the bandages are unnescesary, and so his condition looks pretty bad.]

O-Oh my god! [She rushes in to both try to help untangle the little guy and maybe get a better look at his injuries.] W-What happened to you?

[colonial]

[America squirms, which is as close as he can get to an alarmed little jump in his current mummified state. With the logic of a child, he assumes she's about to get angry at him for wasting bandages.]

I was just putting them on!

[moontothetide]

Y-You should have gotten help. [And, with the logic of a stand-in mother, she has to make sure he's okay before she gets angry with him for anything. Tara sets about trying to unbandage his arm from his leg.] I-I mean, this many bandages, I can't believe you're even moving at all.

W-Where are you hurt?

[colonial]

J-just my tummy... [America is less panicked in his retort now that it seems like he isn't in trouble yet.] The end ran away and I was looking for it!

[America's arm and leg, luckily, are both completely fine beneath their tangle of bandages.]

[moontothetide]

[So it seems. Phew! Therefore, Tara is actually going to try and help him hunt up the end of the bandage, if only so she can go to work doing a proper job patching him up.]

W-What happened to your tummy? Did you get attacked?