Sivve // pre-search
"Ease up on my leg a bit, wouldya?" Sivve smiled sweetly up at her patient and pulled tighter. The injured racer swore loud and long enough to make a seacrafter blush, but Sivve only looked up innocently at him.

"I'm sorry hun, did I hurt you?" she asked, tone gentle even though her hands were firm as she wound the bandage the final way around.

The racer grimaced and shook his head. "Naw, just startled me, that's all. See, that leg's hurt pretty bad. How soon'll I be able to run on it again?"

Is running all they think about? Sivve wondered angrily. He really shouldn't run again. "Oh, a month or so if you treat your ankle right and don't do anything stupid."

"Now why would I do something stupid?" the racer asked with a grin. "You've put enough bandages on us runners to know we're smart people when it comes to keepin our equipment running."

Each one more stupid about it than the last, Sivve thought to herself. "Of course, I just have to warn you anyway," Sivve gave the banadage a final tug, smiling as the racer opened his mouth to say something but clamped it shut. "Some of the younger racer's'd try to run tommorow with an injury like yours."

The racer chuckled. "Awe, give the kids a break. I remember when I was young and stupid, I thought I could run like the wind with both legs broken. Tried it once or twice too."

I don't know about the young part, but the stupid part shouldn't take much remembering, Sivve almost said but checked herself. "And gave some poor healer a heart attack in doing it probably. Now go rest up and if I see you on the track before your month is up I will break both your ankles," Sivve threatened and handed the racer a pair of crutches. "Until then, use these."

The racer struggled to his feet and then hobbled out of the infirmary. Sivve sank down onto the cot, exhausted from the post-race treatments. All stupid injuries that could have been avoided if the racers would just take care of themselves. But then, she'd known what she was doing going into this and things weren't going to change.

"Sivve? You in there?" Sivve was too tired to manage more than a muttered "uh-huh". Sharp footsteps turned into the infirmary and Sivve opened her eyes to the face of Terre, the owner of a local stable that was known for its racing runners to Pern and its perpetually injured jockies to healers.

"Hello Terre, what can I do for you? Got someone who needs fixing up?" Sivve asked, getting to her feet, ashamed that such an important person had seen her looking so unprofessional.

"Course I do! That's why I'm here!" Terre boomed. "Y'know Sivve, you're the best healer in your area of medicine we've seen in a while. That's why I'm entrusting you with the care of the best jockey our stable's ever seen. As you know, Koran took a nasty fall last race and he's in pretty bad shape. I need him back in racing condition in time to ride Summer's Glory to victory."

"I'm honored to help you, Terre," Sivve replied, though inwardly she wished she could tell him no. She hated the famous runner jockies, they were the most unruly of any of the athletes she saw. "I don't think I got the details though. What exactly happened to him?"

"They didn't tell me either," Terre replied with an annoyed chuckle. "But I'm sure they healer's'll fill you in, seeing as you're one of them. Just make sure to do your best, I need him back in the saddle by the end of the month."

"If the injuries are severe, I can't promise he'll be back in the saddle so soon," Sivve cautioned. "Healing muscles is a lenghty and tedious process."

Terre frowned. "Well, I need him back in the saddle for that race, and he's going back, whether he's completely healed or not. You're supposed to be good and fast at what you do, just make sure he can straddle a runner."

"I'll do my best, sir," Sivve sighed finally. She had dealt with many stable owners like Terre, and there was no reasoning with them. They didn't care for the health of their jockies so long as they could ride that one last important race, after which they were often crippled for life. But there was no reasoning with them, as Sivve had learned, and she could only agree and hope she could work a small miracle.

"I'm sure you will," Terre replied with a grin. "Koran'll be here as soon as he's well enough to travel, so be ready for him. He can be a stubborn kid now and then, but I'm sure a pretty girl like you knows how to loosen up the worst of 'em." With a wink and a chuckle, Terre left the infirmary and Sivve sank back down onto a cot.

"Hard day?" Imsky, one of the apprentices, asked as she walked into the infirmary. "You look like you've been trampled by a herdbeast."

"Not too far from it," Sivve replied with a groan. "We're going to have a famous jockey by the name of Koran on our hands soon, Immy."

Imsky giggled. "He's supposed to be quite the charmer," she reminded Sivve. "Maybe he'll go for a girl who's a built in healer."

"Let's see how charming he is when I tell him to stay in bed and off runners for a while," Sivve sighed. "I hope you really love being a healer, because this is the kind of patient that can tempt a girl to quit."

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