Wraithvine and friends are asked to help teach apprentice healers who are going to be assigned to local orphanages to help care for the kids and keep them healthy. Some of the children come up to them with torn, or otherwise damaged, stuffies and ask the healers to please treat their "friends". -- Anon Guest
In any large enough city, it's no accident that Healer's schools are in close proximity to the orphanages or poorhouses. They are, after all, the places that need the most help, and more likely to take anything they can get.
Some are luckier than others, and have special guests who can accelerate the student Healer's progress.
Wraithvine took some time on a chair in a corner as hir class went through their patience. All of them practicing, When in doubt, clean and examine, as they went. Washing hands between patients was becoming a habit. Excellent. Ze'd just about worn hir tongue out in telling them. Bibrid was nervously teaching his methods to those who could use the relevant magics.
Given his past traumas, it was completely understandable that Bibrid was stressing the importance of using temporal healing as lightly as possible.
Wraithvine leaned back, closing hir eyes and letting bustle happen around hir. Feeling the soles of hir feet rebelling against supporting hir weight for some significant time. Just as ze was considering slipping into a meditative state, ze felt a light tapping on hir knee.
One of the foundlings was poking hir. They had a poppet under one arm and a fearful expression on their face.
"Please? Can you heal Daddle?"
"Let's see if I can," managed Wraithvine, hoarse from all hir repeated lessons. Ze gestured for permission to hold the waif's poppet, and took every care with handling it. Some fabric was growing thin, and many seams had popped. "I see. I think we need to operate." Wraithvine brought out some scraps ze kept for hir hat, and let the kid pick the patches they needed.
The child stayed still and nearly breathless as Wraithvine repaired seams, applied patches, and refreshed some of the stuffing.
Because of who ze was, Wraithvine added a few protection charms into some of hir stitching. All to keep the bearer of the doll safe from overt harm.
"There," Wraithvine sighed. "One patient back to full health. I trust you'll look after Daddle as best you can."
"Uhuh. Lots'a bed rest," announced the kid. "An' cuddles and kisses better."
There were three other nervous children with soft toys, queued up behind hir first client.
Well. Ze did need to sit for longer than usual.
[Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash]
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