A young Havenworlder was in the infirmary having their wing carefully bandaged, the bone broken. Fortunately, they'd been strong enough to not go into shock from the injury. What had happened? They had decided to try some of the self-defense moves they'd seen humans do in a movie and ended up having a bad fall. The parents had been in the process of signing them up for beginner lessons and now would have to wait until they healed. -- Anon Guest
The good news was that Phex was strong enough to survive the shock of a broken bone. He was still nominally conscious as the attending Mediks held his wing in place as the printer set a cast around it[1]. The negligibly good news was that they had some fantastic painkillers on hand.
"It's leaving whiskers... c'n I pet it?"
"Best to leave it alone, dear," said Medik Bolyss. "We need to stay still, remember?" Oh. Right. This was the Very Still Game. Breathing and blinking were allowed but every other movement meant that someone could miss out on a lollipop. Good thing talking was allowed too or they'd both be out.
"Have we learned something?" said Pripa.
Um. Phex tried to think as he watched the machine crawl its bright pink snail trails around his wing. "Don' run an' play without p'mish'n?"
"Close," allowed Secpa. "How about... wait until the instructors tell you how to do things before you rush ahead?"
"Tha'ss good too," said Phex. "That's a good less'n."
Medik Bolyss chuckled. "I also think a good one is, movies are made by professionals and not little kids. You shouldn't be doing the things you see in movies without training."
"Ohyeah I learned that one," chirped Phex. "I fell down real bad and - CRACK! Now I gotta wait until I'm healed."
"Points for enthusiasm," allowed Secpa. "No points for being silly, though."
Medik Bolyss let go of Phex's wing, still holding Phex at the shoulder.
"Haha you lose," cheered Phex. "I win the lollipop!"
"You do," said Medik Bolyss. "The printer's finished, and you should have that wing in a sling for two weeks. Then we check up on you again. The pain medication will wear off in an hour or two. Plenty of time to get him home. That's when you give him these." A bottle of pills. They'd been printed too[2]. "Two immediately after meals, let him sleep as much as he wants, and check for a fever during the first night."
Pripa rolled hir eyes. "And we thought we were done with chick-watching on shifts."
[1] Plaster is and has been passé for centuries. Lightweight casts of printed plastic webbing are sufficient to brace bones whilst they heal and, more to the point, are waterproof.
[2] Given the wide array of species, allergies, sensitivities and so on, it's more efficient to make the medicine as it is needed.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Natalyka]
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