Making Acquaintances (Tess)

Guest

A new case of an exploding cauldron had been brought in to the ward, with a teenager being caught in the blast. It was not an uncommon occurrence -- after all, if you didn't teach children properly, they would never learn. However, of all of the incidents, this was among the worst in Adrian's mind. Burns, even in the Magical world, were difficult to heal fully at times, and until he'd had time to fully inspect the damage, it would be impossible to decide how this one was going to be classified.

Rubbing the anti-bacterial soap in to his hands, Adrián's eyes quickly scanned the area for a free doctor, nurse, healer, that could aid him. Noticing a younger witch, Adrián gave her a small wave, before motioning the room he was about to enter. "Would you mind lending me a hand?" He asked, though the man didn't wait for an answer before he slipped in to the room. If not that witch, then he was sure he could find another passing by in a few moments.

"Right, what do we have today then?" Adrián asked the male before him as he picked up the clipboard with information. Thankfully, the cauldron seemed to have missed the boy's face, but his shoulder and arm looked to have taken a beating. Keeping a neutral face, Adrián took out his wand and carefully removed the singed material from the wound before moving in for closer inspection.

"Mmm, as I expected. Second to third degree burns here. Which potion were you attempting?" Adrián asked the boy.

"Antidote of Common Poisons." The boy replied, grimacing slightly as he spoke.

"Ah, well, at least we know that the area won't grow infected." Adrián replied with a small smile. "We'll have you sorted in a few moments, don't you worry."

The Healer turned to see if his aid had come in behind him, and gave the witch a small smile. "Would you like to take the lead with this one?" Adrián offered, letting the witch have a go as he noticed her junior healer clothes, distinct in being of a different shade to his own. Whilst slightly unconventional, perhaps, Adrián was a firm believer in letting the newer members have a go, with guidance.

Guest

Tess was known to have bad mornings, but perhaps this one was the worst of all. It was common for her routine to switch depending on who she was mentoring under. Being one of the newest employees meant that she had yet to specialize, thus she went once a week in different areas to see where her true passion lied.

So far, she could list the places that she did bold want to be in. The spell damage room, while doable had the darkening wing of the permanent residents. The idea of dealing with psychological problems in patients was too hard to bear, even for someone like her. She didn't mind the potions and plant poisoning only because she knew her way around a cauldron and the level of damage was usually minimal. Bugs and diseases? Not terrible, but not exciting either. It was like flipping a coin most days. So far, her favorite was actually the neonatal ward. She actually found herself liking the idea of helping bring mew life into the world. Her lead was informed her that she had steady hands for surgery...that is if she wanted to continue.

Still, it was later in the day and she wanted a warm bubble bath and a good book. Smiling at the thought, she found herself realizing she was being called over by an actual Healer. She quickly walked over with a small bit of dread at the thought of staying longer than her allocated time. Still, saying no was not a possibility.

"Would you mind lending me a hand?" Was all he said before he entered the patient's room.

She began to meticulously wash her hands even though she knew she would be doing very little. At the moment, she mostly observed and did minor things a nurse could do. She shuffled awkwardly as the Healer read over the notes of the poor burn victim. Listening carefully she did wrinkles her nose at the mention of the potion, because while it was not hard, it did have a few tricks that could go wrong.

"Would you like to take the lead with this one?"

Well she wasn't expecting that. She blinked a few times and looked at him as if she had misheard, but from his expression it seemed to her like she hadn't. She nodded and slipped gloves on before leaning down to inspect the burn on the boy's skin.

"Based on the burn marks, and the blistering, I am inclined to believe that second degree burns are the most likely suspect rather than third. While it's too early to truly see if it went past the dermis, there is no charring, at least nothing too serious" her eyes roamed over the skin, seeing the tissue looking ghastly.

Turning over to the Healer she looked tentatively wondering if she had made a mistake. Still, she found herself asking in a softer voice than expected:
"Perhaps we can disinfect and mend over with sole aloe salve, to cool the area before we see if any tissue was seriously harmed?"

Guest

The expression Adrián was given upon offering the witch the lead on the case brought a small but reassuring smile to the Healer's lips, trying to show it was okay for her to take the lead if she wanted to. Or, if she wasn't confident enough to do such a thing, then the option was available to the witch to decline it. If you weren't given the chance to progress, and learn on the job, then you would never thrive in this industry, Adrián had found.

Moving aside for the witch as she moved in to action, Adrián stayed close enough to be able to keep an eye on the witch, but not so close that he would be intimidating or standing over her. This wasn't a serious incident, they didn't need to rush, and therefore pressure was not a necessity.

Listening to the junior Healer go through the differences of the second and third degree burn, Adrián nodded slightly as she deduced it was more likely to be a second degree than a third. "Well done." Adrián praised the witch -- though not in a condescending manner, just in a manner that showed she had gotten that much right, whilst also reassuring the boy that the other Healer was more than capable of this job.

Noting the boy's look of confusion with the medical term for skin, Adrián added. "Skin, dermis means skin." The man told him, and the boy smiled in thanks. He'd make a note, for the debrief, to let the witch know that whilst talking to him she would more than likely use the medical terms, in front of patients -- children especially -- it was much easier to use every day terms, as it made them worry less.

The idea of the witch's on the treatment was one that Adrián nodded his consent.

"Healer..." Adrián came up short, realising he didn't know the name of the witch he was speaking to as he addressed the boy. "Will clean your wound, Scott. You may feel a little discomfort, but if you can try to sit as still as possible, we'll get through the work much quicker. Once we're cleaned you up, we'll be able to apply a salve that will cool the skin, and relieve the itchiness of the area." Adrián explained for his fellow Healer, writing down what course of action they were about to undertake on the boy's notes.

Guest

It was a bit embarrassing to admit, but she had very little interaction with humans that were awake. Tess wasn't very good with people, Rhian would often frown at her and say "Bit not good" and shake her head. It was awkwardly embarrassing how her hands shook at the thought of having to actually work on an awake, sane person who seemed to stare at her with an intense curiosity. She knew that if she ignored any thought of him being a person and instead a dummy she would do fine. She had to be.

As she began to explain the situation, she never even thought about explaining the situation to the boy but just what her mind was rambling on. She was naive that way, but she knew from the moment that the Healer corrected her diagnosis in laymen's terms she had made a mistake. It shook her a bit and she took her hands back unsure of what to do. The boy looked at her nervously and she herself looked back at him with an unsure expression.

Still, as the Healer gave her directions to continue with her diagnosis, she took a deep breath before moving towards the salves, potions and disinfectants. Moving towards the necessary items, she first slipped on the gloves to make sure everything was clean then she began to disinfect the burns with the salve. She knew the cooling would help and she did hope that it was not as dire of a burn as it looked. She wet the wrap with a base liquid to heal the burning before wrapping it around the arm and other injured areas. When she lifted her gaze she saw the boy staring at her intently and she smiled unsure of the expression that he was doing.

"Healer.." her mind worked on the people of this floor until she could place the name. "Garcia, would you like for me to do anything else?"
she asked curiously.

Guest

Adrián left the witch to her work as she applied the salves and potions necessary to treat the burns. They would need to leave Scott for a short while for the salve to take it's toll, then they could assess once more what they had previously diagnosed before completing the boy's treatment.

One thing Adrián had noticed, though, was how the witch had reacted to his correction -- aimed at the boy, and not her -- she'd faltered. In this scenario, it had not mattered. It wasn't life or death, but he noted to speak to her about it when they were out of earshot from the patient. After all, he'd not been criticising her, just aiding the patient.

When the Healer was finished, Adrián gave her a reassuring smile. "No, I think that will be it for now. We'll leave you to get some rest, Scott. The salve should soothe the skin, but if you get very uncomfortable, just call for us and we'll come back and make it easier for you to deal with." Adrián told the boy, putting the clipboard back on the end of the bed with the notes signed off.

Slipping from the room, Adrián waited for the younger Healer, closing the door behind her and lowering his voice for a moment. "Might I speak with you in the break room?" Adrián asked, but moved off in that direction without another word. Adrián moved in to the break room and set the kettle on. He took a few moments to make a couple of cups of tea before turning back to the younger witch.

"I'm really sorry, I don't know you're name. It's terrible of me. Rude, actually, please forgive me." Adrián insisted, hoping that she would be able to forgive him before he continued. "I'm Adrián, by the way. You don't need to call me Healer García.

"Anyway, I asked you down here because... I noticed you hesitated. I'm not telling you off, before you panic. I'm just curious as to why. You were doing great..." Adrián explained, his features creased with mild curiosity as he waited for his answer.

Guest

As she walked behind the more senior staff she felt a bit of a twisting feeling in her stomach as she followed him out. Had she missed something obvious? She had gone over all the possible solutions in her head before uttering the one she settled on. Rhian constantly told her she overthought of everything before taking action, but maybe this time it ended up hurting her reputation.

When they reached the break room she took a deep breath. She was strong in many aspects of her life, but taking criticism in her work...well she was working on it. Perfection was everything to her and making mistakes was unacceptable. She refused to look upset and instead straight straight at the wall.

"I'm really sorry, I don't know you're name. It's terrible of me. Rude, actually, please forgive me."

"My name is Tess Holmes sir. " she whispered softly composing herself.

"Anyway, I asked you down here because... I noticed you hesitated. I'm not telling you off, before you panic. I'm just curious as to why. You were doing great..."

Great? She turned to look at him confused over all of this. How could she be doing fine? There was hesitation in her mind, there was nervousness in her tone and she forgot to talk about the person she was working on and instead got too deep into her head. She wrung her hands nervously and shrugged unsure what to really say.

"I...I...I was too formal. I didn't work as quickly as I'd like and I forgot who I was speaking too. Healer Hamblin has told me multiple times that I am not doing well and I-I'm sorry" she trailed off feeling awkward in her own body.

Guest

"No need to call me sir, Adrián is fine." The man told her as she gave him a title he wasn't really suited for. It was probably something to do with respect, or something similar, the English were funny that way. Placing the tea down before her, Adrián motioned for her to drink. "It's good to meet you, Tess." He added, a small smile playing on his lips in that moment.

The confusion at his words denoted the obvious to Adrián. There was a lack of confidence in the witch before him, though he wasn't particularly sure why. Yes, being in med school and then in the real thing was nerve wracking, but Tess had proved she knew her stuff with the way she handled the situation...

"Healer Hamblin is wrong." Adrián told the witch firmly, setting himself down on one of the stools at the table. "You know your stuff. You applied your knowledge. You gave the right method to deal with your diagnosis. Your knowledge is not lacking, so please don't think that way." Adrián insisted, his tone genuine because he could see she was not at all comfortable.

"The only thing you didn't do right was your bed manner." He told her with a small smile, making it clear he wasn't coming down hard on her, but trying to help. "You don't like children?" Adrián asked, not accusing her of anything, but instead trying to find what the cause of the problem Tess had experienced might be.

Guest

'Well...this is uncomfortable.'

Tess looked at her hands and avoided directly staring at her current supervisor at the moment. This was not how she expected her day to go when she got into work. She had expected it to be an unexciting normal day, where she went home at a moderately reasonable hour and cuddle with Rhian's cat that she refused to call her own. Instead, she got stuck in an awkward somewhat emotion filled conversation where her insecurities began to bubble up. She knew somewhere, a few layers in were her issues from her father.

'No, too deep, don't go there' She shook her head and managed to look up at him.

"The only thing you didn't do right was your bed manner." He told her with a small smile and she flushed at the awkwardness of it all. Rhian had told her she had jagged edges sometimes without meaning to. And it was clear she needed to warm up a bit.

"You don't like children?"

That surprised her. This was probably the first smile that appeared on her face at the mention of children. She had very little knowledge about normal interaction with children since...well she was a child herself. She loved children in theory; animals and children were probably something that she thought were pure and unharmed by the horrors of society.

"I don't dislike them" she covered her mouth to hide her smile. "I-I haven't had too much exposure to them. I'm the youngest" she looked down. "I don't mean to waste your time here, all I can do is promise to be better."

Guest

Tess' reaction to him telling her that she didn't have the right bed manner was kinda cute. The flush that touched her cheeks denoted that she was embarrassed, and for a moment, Adrián looked away from the younger witch to allow her a moment to collect herself. After all, it wasn't nice for him to put her in a position that made her feel embarrassed.

The explanation on the children front made a lot of sense to Adrián, he'd always spent time with his younger sister, knew how to deal with children, so he had a definite advantage that Tess hadn't been lucky enough to be exposed to. But, what was more concerning for Adrián was how she thought she was wasting his time.

Tentatively, Adrián reached out to place his hand lightly on top of hers. "You know that, as a supervisor, it is my job to aid you, you're not wasting my time at all." He told her, before moving his hand away. It was simply an action to try and show that he was sincere about the words he'd spoken, and Adrián hoped that she could see that.

"You don't need to promise me anything, either. You're doing this for you. If you'd like to get better, then I can help you." Adrián offered with a small smile. "But, first, you need to relax. We're not here to criticise everything. We're here to help."

Guest

When Tess had finally admitted her weakness with children she was admittedly embarrassed. In her family, there were very few instances where she was allowed to really be a child. From an early age she was told not to be ignorant or waste time. 'Time is money Tess Marie, and if you can't make money, then at least make your time productive.' So she did. She didn't think she remembered the last time that she really felt like a child. Not since her mother died probably. The amount of times she felt like a nuisance? Well that she was still working on.

But when he began to speak, she soaked in his commentary like a sponge.

You know that, as a supervisor, it is my job to aid you, you're not wasting my time at all."

She took comfort in his words and the sincerity in his tone. It was nice to be told she was doing okay. Maybe it wasn't what she necessarily asked for constantly, but at the moment it was nice to hear. She looked up to him and smiled shyly unsure what to really say, but she did admire his kindness. When she felt his hand on her shoulder, she forced herself not to flinch. She wasn't used to being touched, especially not in a comforting manner. Instead
she took in his words and smiled even brighter.

"I appreciate the insight and I'll be better next time, I promise"

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» Tess Marie Holmes
» The Sound of Silence (Tess)
» Making New Friends (Toryn & Oliver)
» Wicked Temptation [Tess]