[ICQ] It's tough to be a medic in winter

It was one of those harsh times of the winter when the sun didn’t really rise above the horizon for more than a few hours a day and when everything was cold and dark. People of Roenden had gotten used to it after living their whole lives in there but some residents still didn’t like it at all. Even the south most city of Udreim was surrounded by darkness this time of the year.

  Parhelion didn’t really mind it. It wasn’t like she could do much about it without moving to another continent and like that was going to ever happen. She wasn’t that fond of snow and freezing temperatures because she had such short fur and even no mane or tail. But it wasn’t like this time of the year would continue on forever.

  And this time of the year was the time when medics were really busy tending to all kinds of colds and snivels. And right now it felt like whole Udreim had come down with a cold. Parhelion worked every day and patients still kept coming. At this rate she would have to take a day off. Or two. Or simply just leave the city with the excuse of going to tend to patients in the countryside or in the smaller villages. The thought was really, really tempting.

  When yet another patient left her dwelling and closed the door behind them Parhelion let out a heavy sigh. Maybe there would be a small respite after this since nobody had basked through the door for the whole ten seconds. The air in her apartment felt stuffy and it even smelled like sick people. She’d have to air it out later that day or she wouldn’t be able to sleep properly.

  The door creaked open, drawing Parhelion’s attention once again. She cursed in her mind – still no rest damn it! But when she noticed it was, in fact, Asfalos who put his head through the door most of her bad mood disappeared.

  “Oh. What brings you here, brother?” Parhelion asked and indicated that the male could come in. Then she noticed that Aloysius and Cirrhus were waiting just outside. None of them… looked quite themselves.

  “… Don’t tell me you all are sick too”, Parhelion sighed exasperatedly and closed her eyes.

  “Well… yes. I’m sorry”, Aloysius said as he and Cirrhus entered the apartment. The grape colored puller didn’t say anything – and Parhelion was sure it was because she didn’t want to sound sick and stuffy. It must have pained her to be away from guarding duty. Poor, poor sister.

  “Fine, come on in. I’ll heal you. One at a time please. Asfalos you go over there, Aloysius over there… Cirrhus you stay right there. And close the door.” Everyone did just as Parhelion commanded. They all knew that it was better to follow her orders to the letter and not risk her wrath. And when she was already slightly annoyed they didn’t want to risk anything going wrong with the healing. Parhelion let out a deep sigh and went to Asfalos first. He was lying on a mattress and his ears had turned back. He clearly looked tired and Parhelion felt slightly – but only slightly – sorry for her brother.

  “So, what have you got?”

  “My throat is killing me and I cannot breathe through my nose.”

  Well those were easy enough to fix since there was no fever battling against anything. Parhelion closed her eyes and leaned closer to her brother in order to focus solely on him. Everything seemed to blend away from her reality. All the noises from outside her house disappeared. The stuffy air in the apartment didn’t feel stuffy anymore. It didn’t feel anything when Parhelion concentrated. Magic flowed out from her and started healing the Asfalos’ throat and nose and possibly anything else there might be wrong. Asfalos started breathing more easily and the throat ache started subsiding. When Parhelion finally opened her eyes all the sickness was completely gone.

  “Thank you…” Asfalos said and Parhelion grinned widely – she knew how rare it was to get sincere thank you out of her brother. She moved to Aloysius who was waiting patiently. She could already see what was wrong with him – runny nose and some fever. Those would be easy to fix unless she lost all focus completely. She sat in front of her other brother and started concentrating again. This was a routine thing, at least of late, so healing Aloysius didn’t take that much time either. Soon enough he was taking a deep breath through his nose and let it out as a long, long sigh.

  “Thank you so much”, he said and bowed his head politely – he was always so formal. Maybe too formal since they were all siblings there.

  “You all owe me one for this”, Parhelion said as she moved to Cirrhus next. The grape roan puller tried her best to look formidable and tough but Parhelion could see fatigue in her sister’s eyes.

  “And you darling, what have you got?” Cirrhus remained silent and even averted her eyes under Parhelion’s stare.

  “Well?”
  “… Sore muscles and fever”, Cirrhus admitted finally. Parhelion’s smile grew wider as she sat down in front of the puller.

  “It wasn’t that hard to admit now wasn’t it? I’ll fix you real quick”, she said and went back to concentrating. Cirrhus closed her eyes as well and let the magic work its wonders on her. It felt funny, unfamiliar and foreign. But it made her feel better so she endured it. And when Parhelion opened her eyes again with a long sigh the puller felt completely healthy once again.

  “Now take things easy for a little while so it won’t come back”, Parhelion said and stretched her limbs with a loud yawn. She needed rest now after so many hours of constant working. If someone came to the door she would definitely not open it.

  “We’ll let you rest now”, Aloysius said as if reading Parhelion’s mind. The three siblings made their way out and closed the door swiftly and tightly behind them. A fresh breeze of wind entered the apartment before the door closed bringing the much needed change into the air.