logs | —i play the heroine, i play to their sympathies.

Not at all, come in!

（ she's just finishing up with a neat row of surgical stitches on a boy who cut his arm on jagged metal diving for pearls in the bay. tetanus is a worry here, so she'd done the best she could to pull toxins out of his system with chakra — but it had exhausted her, and left her faced with treating the actual physical wound the old fashioned way. she ties off the last stitch with a complicated knot, cuts it, and she gives the boy a smile as she picks up a dressing and bandage to wrap the wound. ）

See? All done! Now, remember — please keep it dry, and come back to see me in about a week, all right? I'll know whether or not they can come out then.

（ very sternly — ）

I mean it! No swimming! Trust me, I'll know. Now — my friend here is going to watch as I wrap your arm, okay?

（ she gestures rudbeckia forwards, and then proceeds to place the dressing with its absorbent side down, wrapping the bandage — always starting furthest away from the heart and working towards the heart &mdas; to cover it entirely. the issue, she explains as she works, is that if you leave any of the dressing peeking out, it can act as a wick for any blood. ）

[ after the unexpected reaction she'd had when she was witness to Freya's gruesome poisoning, Ruby had been vaguely concerned that she might go through the same thing again, upon seeing the wounded here—but watching Sakura work, there's nothing. no reminders of the past or nightmarish visions; she doesn't even feel nausea. the boy is only injured, not dead, and it makes all the difference to see him sitting there upright.

she observes over Sakura's shoulder and tries to recall the mandatory first aid lessons she sat through in high school to no avail. if she'd known she would ever be in a situation like this, maybe she would have paid more attention. ]

I understand. [ kind of. well, the important thing is just to remember the way she's told to do it. ] It must be hard... Where I was from, injuries could be healed with holy magic. So I never saw anything like this.

（ once she's finished with the bandage, she gently tucks the wrap in on itself, affixing it in place with a safety pin, and then she shoos the boy out the door with a final round of instructions. it's only then that she gives the girl a sidelong glance — ）

'Holy magic'?

（ it translates strangely to her, something like divine healing, and she's curious just what that entails. ）

Mm, it's the power of God channelled through the faithful. Priests and paladins train to use it for healing and destroying monsters.

[ she tries to say it casually, the way someone from a modern era might explain the basic idea of electricity; something fundamental to life that you don't actually need to understand in any detail if you're not someone who specialises in it. the truth is that she has no fucking clue how any of the abilities in Sodom and the Holy Grail worked because it never explained anything, and she could hardly ask as Rudbeckia.

thank god her character is an idiot. ]

I don't really know too much about it? [ she twirls a lock of hair around her finger: the indifferent air of someone who grew up with the privilege to ignore her surroundings. ] My oldest brother can use it, but I'm not—ah, I wasn't... part of the clergy, so I never took an interest.

I see.

（ the concept of god: singular is a bit strange to her. the little gods found in everything — spirits, and souls, and all the rest. natural phenomena — those are different, to be respected and revered. but capital-G god makes her think of kaguya, and it isn't a happy association. ）

What sort of monsters were they dealing with, generally?

（ because she knows the way that word is weaponized in her world, and how deeply it cuts. ）

Umm... Stuff kind of similar to here, actually? Mostly large beasts.

[ it would be much easier if she could summarise it as "generic fantasy monsters" or "medieval folklore" since the author of the novel wasn't exactly the most original. but to someone who's supposed to be from that place, a question like that probably feels similar to being asked what kinds of animals exist in the world, so maybe she doesn't have to get too detailed. ]

Sorry, there are a lot, so I'm trying to think of a good example! For instance... I've seen a gargoyle before, so I was surprised to hear that they're in the Netherworld too.

I see. There's nothing I've recognized yet, but that doesn't mean much.

（ the scholarly, analytical side of her does want to know just for knowledge's sake. maybe if there's one commonality, there's more to be had. like zagreus with his experience with the underworld...

sakura takes a seat in a nearby chair, and holds out both a bandage and dressing to the girl with a nod of encouragement. ）

You saw how I dressed that wound. Think you can duplicate it on me?

（ she doesn't have many patients right now who'd be a good candidate for training, so she'll play patient. ）

[ We're already moving on to the practical?! ]

I can try...

[ it isn't the first time she's ever had to bandage something, accustomed to taking care of her own scrapes, bruises, and worse; it might be the first time she's ever put any attention towards doing it properly, to a higher standard than "serviceable."

her hands are clumsier than Sakura's, fumbling to keep the dressing in place while she wraps the bandage, but the intent to follow the instruction she was given is undoubtedly there. ]

Is this too tight?

（ we should be glad that any manner of shinobi medical training comes with a practice round instead of a practical application tbqh... #childsoldiers. ）

No — it's good, see?

（ she hooks her fingers beneath the bandage, demonstrating the amount of give it has. ）

Depending on the material, you may need to adjust for tightness' sake.

Ah, did I do it correctly, then? Thank goodness!

[ her joy is effusive, even for such a small accomplishment. (she did have at least that much faith in herself, but god, it would have been a disaster if she couldn't do that much right.) she begins undoing the bandage, so that Sakura doesn't have to do it herself one-handed. ]

I suppose proper bandaging is one of the most important skills to start with... Are there any others that are broadly applicable, Dottoressa?

[ Please make me into someone who is just a little bit useful...! ]

More important than anything else is how you talk to your patients.

（ she says that after a brief cause, as she takes the bandage with a nod and begins rolling it back up. she can re-use it after a round of disinfectant. ）

Whether a patient has a splinter or a broken bone, they're coming to see you because they trust you to help them. Making them feel foolish or small doesn't help anyone. Take them seriously, do your best... if your bandages are a little crooked, they won't care. People remember how you made them feel.

（ it does help to be good at the actual hard skills as much as the soft, but learning how to bandage, or splint, or stitch... those things are so much easier than being calm when a patient is holding their intestines in their hands. ）

[ it's a thoughtful answer that might have warmed anyone else's heart—but Ruby's is cold in the way of a rock that has never seen the sun. so she just has to act, the same as always? that isn't difficult at all. even before she was Rudbeckia, controlling how others perceived her was part of her everyday survival. a soft voice, a kind manner, the air of someone gentle and trustworthy: she's played that character plenty of times already.

she can do it now, too. ]

I see... [ Ruby's smile softens and she looks around the makeshift clinic as though she's taking it all in. ] Your patients must feel very well cared for. It's apparent in the way you speak how passionate you are about your work.

[ this girl will undoubtedly become someone trusted and respected among the Restless, whether her reputation spreads to all of Stygia or only circulates through their band of recent arrivals. that's why Ruby needs to get in on the ground floor. she doesn't want any of the spotlight she's certain will fall on Sakura; what she wants is to feel assured that Sakura would vouch for her, if something were to happen. she's the kind of person whose words will carry a lot of weight in the future. ]

Knowing that we have you here to keep us healthy and well is very reassuring, signora.

—i play the heroine, i play to their sympathies.

cw: injury/wound care

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can't believe you didn't tell me about the mdash typo smh ISA

yeah i did it deliberately just to humiliate you

i believe it, and i hope you know the next time we're playing games i am going to leave you to die

wow good luck getting heals then

i'll main soldier and heal my OWN dang self

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cw: disembowelment mention

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