Susan had taken the children down to the beach for a little while, though they were in the shade at the tree line rather than out in the bright sunshine. Helen was sound asleep despite Rickon's running about in circles and jabbering loudly, for which Susan was grateful. She did not know how someone nearly two could be so loud.
So loud, in fact, that Susan nearly did not notice the way that Shadow gave a soft bark, tail twitching, to announce that someone unfamiliar was approaching. The direwolf, expecting a litter of pups soon, was even more watchful than usual. Susan looked up to see a man a few yards away, moving as though he were either drunk or injured; he was still a little too far away for her to be sure.
Niko wasn't enamored of approaching a strange woman without anything to defend himself and as much as he'd like to trust that a woman with a dog and two small children was nothing resembling a threat, that which the eye could see could be misleading.
Still, he didn't have much of an option considering the blood loss he'd already sustained made him slightly light-headed and he stumbled toward her, trying his best to keep upright.
When he came closer, Susan could see that he was injured, not drunk, and badly, at that. She got to her feet, with Helen held carefully against her shoulder, and went to see if she could help him. "Not really, but we can improvise," she said. He had the look of someone who had lost a lot of blood, and while Susan had been here for years and thought she knew nearly everyone by sight if not by name, she had never seen him before. He must be a recent arrival.
Helen hadn't stirred from her sleep, and Rickon was still a yard or so away, 'building' a sandcastle under Shadow's protective eye. "Sit down," she said, nodding to the blanket she'd just been sitting on. "I'll try to patch you up enough to get you to the clinic; it's something of a walk." She didn't really have a first aid kit, although being the mother of two small children meant that she carried all sorts of useful things around in a bag whereever they went.
"I don't need a doctor," Niko said quietly, glancing down at the wound and pressing at the edges after he sat down. Large, but not overly deep; he and Cal had both been on the receiving end of worse.
"It's a long walk," Susan assured him, "and you've obviously lost a lot of blood. Be still." She carefully put Helen down on another blanket, whipped one-handed from the bag--with babies, you learnt to do nearly everything one-handed, or it didn't get done--and turned to the bag again. The first thing she found was a stack of clean, folded cloth diapers; she took two of those and pressed them lightly to his wound. Not pretty, but it should keep him from bleeding everywhere. "Hold that there for just a moment," she instructed, while rummaging about for something to serve to hold it in place.
By this time, Rickon had tired of his sandcastle and toddled over to see what all the fuss was about. He didn't like the sight of the blood and hovered a little behind Susan, wary.
Niko held the cloth there, admiring her relative calm about the situation. Of course, given she did have two small children, calm was likely the best way to tackle the inevitable crises of her life.
In just these few small glimpses, Niko could see that this woman was the type of mother you saw in all the movies with the type of children that could have been plastered on magazines.
"Your son, I suppose?" Niko said, nodding toward the small child who'd approached.
"Yes," Susan said. "These are my children, Rickon and Helen, and I'm Susan. We live not too far from here." There, she'd found something that might work, one of those lightweight cloths that always seemed to come in handy when you had small babies about, but it was too short, and she ripped it down the middle so she could tie the ends together and make it longer. "I don't think I've seen you about before," she commented. "I'm sure you're wondering how you got here?"
"Some," Niko admitted, then jerked his chin toward the wound on his chest. "This concerns me a good deal more than where I am, but I'm sure once it's wrapped I'll have more questions."
Susan nodded; it was a practical consideration, and she was nothing if not practical. "I think this ought to do it," she said, putting the bandage in place. It was the sort of thing they taught at school during the war, when the idea was that every teenage girl ought to have a little training in nursing, even though it was highly unlikely they would ever have need of it.
Rickon watched all this very solemnly, one chubby fist attaching itself to Susan's skirt, and the thumb of his other hand solidly in his mouth. "Has boo-boo," he declared, frowning. "Is ouchy?"
"Quite," Niko said, casting a glance down at the child before looking back at the mother. She was pale, fair enough that she should burn in this particular environment, but her hair was long and straight and dark the way Promise's had been when they'd first met. It made her striking, the contrast.
"I wouldn't recommend putting yourself in a situation that would net you a wound like this one."
Maybe the words were a little too large for a child of his age to comprehend, but Niko was used to that; sometimes even Cal's vocabulary was sorely lacking.
"I've seen worse," Susan said, as Rickon shook his head. "Hopefully, he never will." There were things she hadn't been able to shield him from, such as his father's disappearance, but thankfully he had been exposed to nothing even remotely like the conflicts from either her worlds or Jon's.
She rummaged in the bag again, this time coming up with a bottle of water. "You look like you've lost a lot of blood," she said, offering him the bottle. "You should have something to drink before you try to go to the clinic. It's a long way and it's hot today." He'd still not told her his name, and she wondered if he was being secretive on purpose or it was just because he was injured and newly arrived.
"Thank you," he said quietly, tipping his head back to drink. He was lightheaded and felt clammy, the blood loss leaving him weaker than he'd have liked.
Susan nodded to the southeast. "There's a boardwalk a few minutes' walk that way," she said, "and if you stay on it for a few hours, it will take you to the compound. It's where you can find the clinic, the island police, that sort of thing." She paused, eyeing him carefully; she didn't really like the clammy look on his face, but he seemed the stubborn sort that wouldn't listen anyway.
"Generally, I like to learn the names of the people I bandage up before letting them wander off into the jungle," she said, leaning over to check that Helen was still sleeping soundly.
"I suppose my blood staining your hands is worthy of an introduction," Niko mused, pressing lightly at the edges of the wound to test and see just how much pain it'd cause. A lot, actually. Dumb idea.
"Niko," he managed through gritted teeth, trying not to let on just how painful that particular lapse in judgment had been. Maybe he needed more help than he originally thought.
Susan winced a little in sympathy. "Perhaps you shouldn't do that," she suggested. "I really think you ought to see a doctor. I don't mean to pry or be bossy, but it really does look quite bad."
"Bossy," said Rickon, in a singsong voice. "Bossy, bossy bossy bossy..."
"I'd really prefer not to see a doctor," Niko admitted, "If you can possibly help it. I have no way to pay and I would just rather stitch it up myself."
So loud, in fact, that Susan nearly did not notice the way that Shadow gave a soft bark, tail twitching, to announce that someone unfamiliar was approaching. The direwolf, expecting a litter of pups soon, was even more watchful than usual. Susan looked up to see a man a few yards away, moving as though he were either drunk or injured; he was still a little too far away for her to be sure.
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Still, he didn't have much of an option considering the blood loss he'd already sustained made him slightly light-headed and he stumbled toward her, trying his best to keep upright.
"First aid kit?"
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Helen hadn't stirred from her sleep, and Rickon was still a yard or so away, 'building' a sandcastle under Shadow's protective eye. "Sit down," she said, nodding to the blanket she'd just been sitting on. "I'll try to patch you up enough to get you to the clinic; it's something of a walk." She didn't really have a first aid kit, although being the mother of two small children meant that she carried all sorts of useful things around in a bag whereever they went.
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"If we can stop the bleeding, I can handle it."
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By this time, Rickon had tired of his sandcastle and toddled over to see what all the fuss was about. He didn't like the sight of the blood and hovered a little behind Susan, wary.
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In just these few small glimpses, Niko could see that this woman was the type of mother you saw in all the movies with the type of children that could have been plastered on magazines.
"Your son, I suppose?" Niko said, nodding toward the small child who'd approached.
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Rickon watched all this very solemnly, one chubby fist attaching itself to Susan's skirt, and the thumb of his other hand solidly in his mouth. "Has boo-boo," he declared, frowning. "Is ouchy?"
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"I wouldn't recommend putting yourself in a situation that would net you a wound like this one."
Maybe the words were a little too large for a child of his age to comprehend, but Niko was used to that; sometimes even Cal's vocabulary was sorely lacking.
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She rummaged in the bag again, this time coming up with a bottle of water. "You look like you've lost a lot of blood," she said, offering him the bottle. "You should have something to drink before you try to go to the clinic. It's a long way and it's hot today." He'd still not told her his name, and she wondered if he was being secretive on purpose or it was just because he was injured and newly arrived.
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"Civilization is in which direction, exactly?"
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"Generally, I like to learn the names of the people I bandage up before letting them wander off into the jungle," she said, leaning over to check that Helen was still sleeping soundly.
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"Niko," he managed through gritted teeth, trying not to let on just how painful that particular lapse in judgment had been. Maybe he needed more help than he originally thought.
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"Bossy," said Rickon, in a singsong voice. "Bossy, bossy bossy bossy..."
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