Work Text:
Blood is always present in a surgeon’s job. Whether it's suturing various wounds of all shapes and sizes or applying pressure on a wound knowing it doesn’t matter. Then when all else fails grasping their hands. Hoping they stay.
Those that do always call her and the medical staff heroes.
She doesn’t feel like a hero. Patch them back up only to send them out to die again. Each burst of her arts to heal a devastating wound feels almost like she’s signing a death warrant. And those with oripathy. Prolonging their suffering and for what.
Kal’tsit desperately tries to scrub the streams of black and red blood in black and red water. She should’ve chosen a different river. Nothing is coming off. Whatever does just reattach itself back onto her arms, hands, or somewhere new. All she can do is continue scrubbing. Her skin feels raw and for brief intervals, she can see the bright red marks under the layers of bodily fluids. She doesn’t care she just needs them clean.
There is a gentle hand on her shoulder. Startled she looks up and sees those ruby red eyes again. The doctor gently kneels next to her grabbing her hands.
“Kal… Your hands are clean.”
Kal’tsit tilts her head confused. No. No, they weren’t. Kal’tsit turns back to her hands. They’re bright red and cracking. It is like an entire river system is mapped out onto her hands. Well. That explains the blood at least.
She moves to grab a towel until a new one is shoved into her hands.
“How long have you used that towel for?”
Uh.
She shrugs in response. The doctor’s sigh sounds heavy.
“Come here.” Kal’tsit could feel the doctor’s arts surging through her hands slowly, but surely knitting them back together. Yet, some remain. The doctor sadly chuckles.
“I’m sorry… My arts burnt out a while ago. This is all I can do for now.”
Kal’tsit mumbles her thanks in response. The doctor stands back up and begins to walk towards the camp. But Kal’tsit stays there. Her head hangs low.
“Kal’tsit.”
She can’t bring herself to lift her head up. So, the doctor lifts it up for her. Lost in those eyes once again, she tries to turn away. Yet the doctor’s hand holds her head firmly in place.
“Kal. May you take a walk with me?”
It’s strange to see a question come out of her mouth. She nods and brushes off the dirt. The doctor reaches for one of her hands and grasps it.
She leads them through the twisted burnt woods of Kazdel. It is eerily quiet. The only sound echoing throughout these ancient lands are their footsteps and breaths. Almost, like they are the only two people in the world.
The doctor finally stops and Kal’tsit bumps into her back.
“Kal. Close your eyes.”
She’s hesitant at first, but a small squeeze tells her all she needs to know. Kal’tsit lets out a breath and closes her eyes. A pair of hands grab her shoulders. They guide her through the dark world. A bump here, a bump there adjusting her trajectory. Then a stop.
“You can open them now.”
She does and she couldn’t stop the gasp that leaves her breathless.
It’s beautiful. A somber beauty. The landscape outstretched below her is dotted with craters and destroyed trees. Yet, beautifully contrasted with patches of green grass and flowers that grow from the devastation. Some trees standing defiantly against all those who dare. Snowy mountains in the distant that dot the horizon. And the sun.
A beautiful setting sun. It stretches and covers the landscape with a warmth that these lands gladly accept.
She feels something tugging her coat. Looking down the doctor smiles. Kal’tsit copies her and sits cross-legged, back straight.
The doctor chuckles.
“You can relax you know.”
Kal’tsit dumbly nods and sags a little.
They stay like that. Nothing disturbing the moment. A beautiful silence. Almost a commemoration for the fallen.
“Do you know why we do our jobs?”
She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.
“To save people.”
“No.”
Kal’tsit looks at the doctor confused.
The doctor doesn’t even glance at Kal’tsit.
“We aren’t here to save people. We’re here to do a job that just so happens to involve people. If you think you can save everyone. Or even someone. And you fail and keep failing. Even once. It’ll burn like no tomorrow.”
But the doctor offers Kal’tsit a somber smile.
“The only thing we can do is try our best.”
Kal’tsit’s gaze turns toward the blasted earth and the bright moon that bathes both in its soft glow.
“Medicine, therapy, surgeries. They offer people a different path. They aren’t salvation themselves… That’s what we do Kal’tsit. We offer people a chance to take a different path. They still have to take that path. We aren’t heroes.”
~
“Kal’tsit.”
Startled Kal’tsit looks around wondering who is calling her. Her eyes finally find those same ruby ones. Luculia is nervously rubbing the back of her neck. Kal’tsit’s eyes narrow.
“Yes, doctor.”
Luculia mumbles something nervously causing Kal’tsit’s eyes to narrow even more.
“What?”
“Your uh. Your hands. Do you want me to take a look at them?”
Kal’tsit examines her hands. Oh. They’re red and cracking again.
“No. I’ll deal with them myself.”
Luculia nods and shifts her stance.
“Oh. Uh HR wanted me to ask you to help with the recent recruit.”
Recent recruit. What. The last time she did an interview HR told her, respectfully, to never come again.
“Who?”
Luculia points to the back.
“I think his name is Aak or something? At least that’s what Waai Fu and Hung told me.”
Kal’tsit sighs.
“Tell HR I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”
Luculia gives her a thumbs up before running off to see HR. And probably snag a couple of cup ramens if the rumors are true.
Kal’tsit shakes her head and feels her arts surge through her entire body slowly knitting the skin on her hands. She wants coffee.
As she heads toward HR, Daniel hands her a manilla folder. He tells her to look it over as they prepare the room. Kal’tsit thumbs through the countless files.
From Li’s Detective Agency, they’ll have to look into this organization, born into Lungmen’s underground. Father was. Hmmm. Interesting. Framed for malpractice, became a feared doctor. Ah. She’s seen and read about his work before. Incredibly talented.
Seems like this Aak inherited his father’s skill. Probably even surpasses it. She takes another sip of coffee. There we go. He hates doctors. In fact, it looks like he hates medical staff in general. Apparently, he has been giving the interviewers a really hard time.
“Doctor Kal’tsit. The room is ready.”
Tossing the coffee cup in the trash, she heads into the room.
It is a simple design. Nothing too fancy, just a couple of metal chairs and a table with some harsh lighting bouncing off the walls. Not the most inviting place. In fact, most of the newly recruited ones joke that it’s an interrogation chamber in disguise. But it isn’t the job of the room to invite people. It’s the interviewer’s job.
And she isn’t the best at this job. She grabs a chair and pulls it out before scooting herself back in. They make this terrible screeching noise, but when she looks at Aak she knows it won’t bother him.
Seated, Kal’tsit begins to examine the person in front.
Laid-back, kind of like one of those Columbian hippies. Wild eyes, unkempt hair, and tail. Definitely a free spirit type.
“What do you want?”
Straight-forward too.
“Aak correct.”
“Yeah. You?”
“Doctor Kal’tsit.”
He snorts a little.
“Proud of that title huh.”
“It is my title.”
He rolls his eyes. Doesn’t hold back his contempt, does he?
“What do you want from me?”
“I heard you wanted to join Rhode Island.”
“Hung and Waai Fu wanted me to join Rhode Island. I don’t like it when people twist my words ya know.”
“Yet, you still sent in the form.”
Aak rubs the back of his neck for a bit.
“I mean. What are they gonna do? Just leave me? Old man Li also told me to do it too. So, like. I had to. Y’know?”
“So. Why do you want to join Rhode Island?”
Might as well see his answer.
“I don’t.”
Oh. Now she could see where the interviewers struggled.
“Why not?”
“Just a bunch of doctors here. Doing nothing, but believing they’re saving lives. Combat people just here to keep ‘em safe that’s all. Hung’s a glorified bodyguard to you guys.”
Ah.
“And like you believe all you guys are gonna do is help people by making medicine and shit like that.”
Aak barks out a laugh.
“Hate to break it to ya. Doctors aren’t heroes.”
“You’re right. They’re not.”
“An’ now you’r- Wait… wait what?”
He is definitely confused. Kal’tsit isn’t.
“You’re right. We aren’t heroes. We are just people with a job. A job that just so happens to involve people. We do what we need to do. Whether we want to or not.”
Kal’tsit silently takes a deep breath.
“Medicine, therapy, surgeries. They offer people a different path. They aren’t salvation themselves.”
Aak’s eyes widen.
“And that is what we do here Aak. Rhode Island doesn’t save people.”
The glow of the moon was bright.
“Rhode Island offers them a different path.
But her soft smile was brighter.
“It’s up to them to take it.”