A Fleet of Usqueans

Ella was tired.

    As the medic aboard her ship, she had been needed constantly. Wounds from the sailors, sickness from the passengers, and with little life out in this grey, misty seas to pull from, it meant that Ella pulled from the heart of herself and it made the once-elegant elven woman now look more than a little weary. Still, she was fierce-hearted and as stubborn and strong as an ox, and she kept not only the health up of those she could, but their morale as well.

    Land will be soon, she would say, comforting those who were pale and dismal as they rocked on too-salty waters. A few could not make the journey, and try as Ella might, she could not keep them, and their souls slipped into the mists. But most, Ella worked hard to keep functioning, and when the sailors yelled out that land could be seen, she was more than ready for the taste of relief that flooded her mouth.

    The rains were welcome, and she drank with her head back the way so many others did -- but only for a moment. As the ships pulled up, she vaulted over the edge and landed with a splash of her boots in the water, her skirts dragging in the tides that rolled in as she helped set out the planks that would help the Usquaeans out onto the beach. Being on dry land reinvigorated her as she breathed deep of the verdant green foliage all around her and felt how an untouched, untamed, wild nature slipped into her blood.

    Others focused on organizing the camp, but Ellanariel immedaitely turned and began to organize the sickly and downtrodden to make their way up the beach and out of the waves, toward the treeline, where her busy hands were quickly to anchor a tarp among the trunks and direct those wanting help to set out whatever bowls they could to catch as much fresh water as possible. 

    She could see Nasphie giving orders and taking things in hand, and simply trusted that the woman knew what she was doing. Ella's lilac gaze was on her patients as she threw open a chest plopped in the sand to see what remained of her stores of medicines in the hot tropical rain.

Ae'sath never liked the ocean, having two broken ribs weren't pleasant either. He spent the time on the water by taking charge of the ship he was in, He didn't talked much but when he did most tended to listen and when land appeared he made sure the ones in better condition were rowing along with him.

Once on land he carried the old and unable out of ships, carried have things and made sure that everyone who needed care would be brought to a medic of one of the ships, he never said anything about the pain he felt to her, "Thank you" was the only thing he said after bringing some folk who needed help.

Once everyone was taking care of, after everything was unloaded, after all the work that he could possibly had done to help the people around him he strayed from them for a second, he needed to rest a little and didn't want to bother anyone so he found a suitable place nearby and sat down, pulling his shirt up to give a proper look at the left side of his torso, it was swollen and blue but he figured he would survive, breathing would bother him for while, he didn't plan on staying there for long, there were probably more ways he could help.

"Let me help you," the grey-eyed man said to Ellanariel as she quickly unwound a collection of bandages with swift, methodical movements.

"Fine," the healer said with her usual briskness, tossing her head in an unconscious effort to get a stray, damp lock of blonde from her face. "Make sure all the wounded come up here and out of the rain. It's warm now, but everyone will be cold once it ends."

Ellanariel left Onalaxy's side after that, hiking her medicine bag over her shoulder as she approached a couple sat upon a fallen log. She didn't have time to notice charm, or good looks, or stolen glanced; she was needed, and her mind was hyper-focused on simply doing her tasks and getting everyone through this first initial stop. The elegant blonde didn't know where they were or how long they'd be there, but those could be questions for later, after she made sure she'd seen to all her patients -- for which there were many.

A broken arm was stinted, and a growing rash was slathered with the last of a poultice, covered in leaves, and secured with cloth. The look in the fellow's eyes has gone yellow, however, so she had a feeling the rash had already gotten deeper into his body.

The wail of a babe had her lifting onto her feet when she saw that Nasphie had approached, and Ella's lavender gaze sharpened on the redhead's face. Her words of a stray had Ella looking in Ae'sath's direction as well, and a gentle frown touched the elven woman's pretty mouth.

"Be careful," Ella spoke in Usque, looking into her satchel for another roll of cloth and pressing it into Nasphie's hand. "I don't trust him." And yet, the elf was still offering something to help with his wounds.

Nasphie drifted away, and Ella moved back to the main spot where her things had been dumped and moved off the ship. Onalaxy was nearby again, so she called to him with a wave of her hand.

"We need fire," Ellanariel said, rain dripping down her lovely face as she looked at him directly, no nonsense in her expression. "The wood from the jungle will be soaked through, but if we break down some of the pallets and the crates from the ships, they shouldn't be so wet that they won't catch. This rain won't be a comfort for much longer, and those who are already ill will become sicker, and those not sick will become so."

While he wasn't really in the habit of taking too many good looks at people, he did occasionally glance over to the busy woman, more to make sure she was doing alright. The poor woman looked exhausted, but she did bring up the solid idea to break down some of their crates. So that is what he had help with from two of the sounder souls around. It took them no time at all to break them open and start distributing oil cloth about for tents to be put up to provide a dry place to sleep and change out of wet things. They were working against a heavy rain. The trees provided some shelter but not enough. Tarps were also pulled out and set up quickly for folks to take refuge under.

Once the firewood was all broken up, they worked quickly to dig a hole in the ground that would serve as a fire pit. They did something that would possibly help, digging and packing earth a specific way so as to set a fire under strips of earth, four in all so there was plenty of warmth to be had and they could get as many coals as possible for heating water up.

At some point, the fires blazed and snapped and crackled from the moisture. There was no celebrating, they were all overtired, undernourished, and soaked to the bone. But now there were places they could dry off and warm up by the fire. He would then move to distribute blankets about personally, ones that were made of fur and ones that were made of cloth. Either way, everyone that needed one got one.

This process took a while but he did what needed to be done, there was too much to do.

She didn't show that she was grateful for the help as the grey-eyed man worked to make the fires and set up the tents and tarps in the forest with the others, but she was. Ellanariel was deeply grateful that there was finally some place for her to usher the sick and the young to, some place where they could finally get warm... And so could she.

    There was a moment among the quiet conversation and soft groaning and coughing among the trees where Ellanariel felt the threat of exhaustion shimmy up her legs, and she had to stop -- had to lower herself onto a log and take a moment because otherwise, she was sure her knees would have given out otherwise.

    A part of her mind wondered about the fresh water being gathered, about the fires and the smoke and if they were properly ventilated, worried about what manner of beast might be attracted to the light. But another part of her mind was just. plain. tired. And didn't want to do anything anymore except sleep, and maybe, eat.

    But there were so many mouths to feed already, and a moving figure at the corner of her eyesight had her turning her head to see Nasphie prompting the stranger into their rag-tag camp and felt annoyance for another mouth to feed when Usqueans already needed so much.


     She kept her opinion to herself (for now, she'd likely track down Nasphie later to discuss) and once more, the blonde woman made to stand -- for there were many chores that needed tending, even in the rain -- but with a sharp gasp she realized that her knees truly did intend to buckle, and she truly was about to fall.

The man who helped the most did not bother her much, he only stopped every now and then to press something needed into her hands. But then he watched her for a moment and saw she was not well either. With a scowl, he finished his current task and then moved over to where she was. Firstly, he said, "You know, you aren't doing any good for yourself, let alone anyone else, if you do not sit and eat." It was not a request. Some gruel was pressed into her hands, bland and gross looking, but food. He would take over whatever she was doing if necessary.

He sat next to her then to see to it that she ate. She would be able to see him watching in concern, his eyes soft with it. He was not trying to do anything but help, that much was clear.