“Listen lad, yer going to have to hold still or else it’s going to hurt even more!” He screamed at the child who would not stop moving around as Kieran was attempting to sew up a small wound he’d gotten on his forehead. A fall on the ground or something of the nature. The mother of the boy sat outside the med tent flirting with another carnie and couldn’t be bothered to try and calm her erratic son down.
Beth had only been helping for a few months now but he’d realized her expertise was a huge advantage to have. Unlike Henry, Beth had more of an understanding of what she was doing. He turned to her with a look of panic, hoping she could read his face. It said Help me calm this child down.
With four younger siblings, Beth had tended to her fair share of injuries. So while she wasn’t trained in medicine of any sort, she had a fairly good understanding of first aid. It also helped that she was a fast and attentive learner.
She winced when Kieran yelled at the child. Oh that wasn’t going to help calm the boy down at all and he knew it if the look her gave her was any indication. She gave him a sympathetic smile before turning her attention to patient. “Hey,” she greeted gently, taking a few steps toward the boy and crouching down so she was on his level. “Your name is Eddie, right?”
The kid paused his fidgeting, giving her a confused look. “Yeah,” he sniffled, roughly wiping his runny nose with his hand.
Beth smiled. “That is a great name. I’d love to have a name like that.”
Eddie let out a snort laugh. “You can’t have that. That’s a boy name,” he declared.
“You think so?” She questioned as if unbelieving.
“Yeah! You’re a girl so you need a girl name!”
“You mean like Beth? Because I’m Beth.” She attended her hand out in greeting, allowing the boy to put his snotty hand into her hers. “Is that a good name?”
“Yeah!” He nodded his head then immediately let out a cry of pain. “Owow!” Tears welled up in his eyes. His free hand went to rub at the wound Kieran was stitching up but was stopped mid journey by Beth’s other hand. “It hurts!” He exclaimed, closing his eyes and looking very near to start squirming again.
She squeezed his hands gently, comfortingly. “I know. It must hurt a lot. But we’ll make it better. Then you can go see all the fun things. What are you super excited to see? I love the ferris wheel. It’s so big and takes you high up. You can see everything!”
Kieran watched Beth as she took the boys attention from what he was doing and offered a small smile at that. Diligently he began to stitch up the wound, careful to be concise so that it would cause the boy less pain. He watched as the hand came up but was immediately blocked by Beth. She was good with children, that much was evident and he was happy that she was here to help him in this stressful situation. “Okay lad, ye just got to hold still for one more minute.” This time his voice was low and calm, taking into consideration the look Beth had just given him.
Going through one last time he began to stitch the end of it so that it would remain sealed and cut the string, tossing the needle into a pan for cleaning after they were through. He turned to wash his hands in the basin before grabbing a small rag to clean the blood off of the wound. “There’s a good lad then.” He said finally, taking a small lollipop from his pocket to hand to the boy.
The boy smiled and laughed, taking the lollipop from Kieran and running off to his mom who was still paying him no mind. He smiled down at Beth and shook his head. “Thought I was good at that. Turns out ye got me beat.” He said to her with a chuckle.
Beth dipped her head with a sheepish smile. “I’m not that good,” she replied modestly, stepping over to the wash basin to clean her hands. “I was just lucky with this one. They aren’t always easily distracted with conversation. One of my little brother’s friends was a right terror when he wasn’t hurt. When he was? I’d pray for strength to keep me from just knockin’ the boy right out he thrashed so much.” She chuckled at the memory.
Hands cleaned, Beth shook away the excess water from her fingers before grabbing a nearby rag. “Will you be going back to the ride?” She asked curiously. “Or will you be here for a while longer?”
Looking back toward the direction of the Eli Kieran let out a long sigh. “Suppose I could spare a few minutes before I go back.” And really it was what he wanted. Kieran always wanted to be where he was meant, healing people but Zion had other things that needed to be tended to so he offered wherever he could, even when it meant getting assigned to the Ferris wheel.
“Where did ye learn to patch people up?” He asked her, making his way over to the kettle to make himself some tea. He’d make some extra if Beth wanted some, always the generous one. It occurred to him how little he knew about the people working with him in the med tent so he made a conscious effort to try and find out what their backgrounds were.
Beth flashed him a sympathetic smile. If that long sigh was any indicator, he didn't seem particularly thrilled about going back to work to his other job. She often wondered why he took on the task of operating the ride during the day instead of staying at the med tent but she never felt comfortable enough to ask.
Her eyebrows rose slightly. “Me? Oh, well... my mother, mostly.” She took a seat toward one of the corners of the small tent, allowing her to see both Kieran and the going-ons outside. “She wasn't a doctor or anything of the sort but she was a mother of five rambunctious children so knowing basic aid was a bit of a necessity.”
He nodded to her as he listened to her talk about her mother. “Smart woman.” Most mothers couldn’t juggle all of that, especially with five children, but it obviously helped shape her daughter. He wished he remembered his own mother, who she was, how she shaped him. All he remembered was war, endless war and this was how he learned medicine.
“I’d be happy to teach ye more, if that’s something that peaks yer interest.” He offered, kneeling down below one of cots he pulled out a book. Standing he dusted it off and handed it to her. “A bit of light reading for ye.” A smile would indicate it was a jest.
“I’m always willing to learn more,” she replied with interest. Beth liked to be helpful and becoming more well-versed in medicine seemed like a good way to do it. She glanced down at the book’s cover, reading over the text before thumbing through a few pages. There was a lot of text and a few illustrations, visuals to help understand and perform medical tasks.
She chuckled. “Oh yes, light reading, indeed.” Closing the book, she gave him a smile. “Thank you. I’ll try not to keep it long though even light reading like this can take a few days,” she joked.
“Unacceptable, I expect this back in my hands fully read by tomorrow.” He teased, a smile and a chuckle indicated that he didn’t really mean it. Beth was a good worker and he expected that he’d get that book back in no time. Kieran walked over to the kettle and prepared it by pouring water inside of it. “Can I get ye some tea?” He inquired.
He enjoyed having tea with people, it gave him a chance to get to know them better and he knew that it was more important to know the people who worked under him.
“I’ll see what I can manage,” she answered with a chuckle of her own. The chances of Beth getting through the book by tomorrow or even the next couple of days were slim but she’d do her best to finish it in a timely manner.
Beth gave a nod when he offered tea. “That would be great, thank you.” Truth be told, Beth was more of a coffee drinker - it was what she was raised on - but she didn’t mind the occasional tea. Especially when someone was kind enough to offer. “How has your day been?” She asked, deciding perhaps it would be good to make small talk while she still had the chance to speak with someone. It could be lonely when working in the med tent. “The carnival seems busy today.”
He took the tea leaves from a jar on a shelf and grabbed a spoon to have prepared for when the kettle started to boil. He turned around to regard her, so as not to be rude. “Suppose so. To tell ye the truth, it’s hard to remember what each day is like. It all seems to blend together after a bit, ye know?” For Kieran, it had been a long time and a long while more still. Every day he thought about what it might be like to grow old here. He’d seen it with Jack and some of the others who’d been with them a long time but he’d never get to experience it himself.
But Beth didn’t want to hear about that and Kieran wasn’t keen on recounting the tale anyhow. “How about ye? How are ye fairing here?” He knew she’d been here for a bit but she was still much newer than a lot of the people there. It wasn’t uncommon to take a while to settle in to a place like this.
“Yeah, I understand.” Beth nodded in agreement. It could be difficult to keep track of the days when everything was so routine. When people came to the carnival it was a unique and fun-filled experience that made the day memorable but when you worked for it? It was just another day of crowds and wonder.
“I’m doing well,” she answered. “I haven’t had many visitors today - which is good, granted - but it does make for a long day. The book will help me pass the time.” Though that wasn’t exactly what he was asking about, was it? He meant ‘here’ as in the whole carnival. “If you mean here,” she motioned toward the exit of the tent. “I suppose it’s about the same. I’m doing well.” More or less. She couldn’t complain at least.
He smiled at her, she was being brave he could tell. So many things about this place was frightening, especially around so many performers and nomads. “Good. Ye know if ye ever need anything, just come round and I’ll help ye. I know this place can be a bit much, but everyone here is good and willing to help.” Everyone except the Reverend who Kieran did his best to steer clear of. Sure the lad had good sermons but something wholly evil sat beneath his exterior and Kieran could feel it.
As the kettle came to a boil Kieran removed it from the hearth and began to pour the water over the loose tea into two mugs. He picked up a mug and set it on a table next to Beth so that she could pick it up without burning herself. Suppose it didn’t matter much since he could heal her but he rather wanted not to cause the injury. “Careful now, it’s hot.” He said, bringing his own mug to his face to blow off the steam coming from it.
Beth smiled. “I know. Thank you.” She appreciated Kieran’s willingness to help her adapt to her new surroundings. As he said, the place could be a bit much with its mages and shifters and vampires, especially for a person that not even a year ago believed it all to be just myths and legends. The first few months with the carnival had been a mess of fear and confusion as she tried to come to terms with everything. Kieran helped ease that worry for which she was eternally grateful.
She nodded, acknowledging his warning as she leaned forward to grab the mug. She brought it to her lips, blowing along the surface of the tea before taking a testing sip. The tip of her tongue stung; it needed to sit for a while longer before she attempted another. “I really appreciate it, all your help these past few months,” she added.
Sipping gingerly on his tea he shrugged his shoulders at her. Kieran was an angel and while he wasn’t a guardian or a warrior he couldn’t turn a blind eye to anyone he was near. It was an impulse that he had no control over. “Beauty lives within kindness.” He replied, the words of Shakespeare filling his head. He often went to the great playwright for his words of wisdom. He looked back out at the grounds and sighed. A large gulp from his mug and the drink was finished.
“Should probably get back to Eli, let us know if ye need any more help.” He offered her a smile, bright as ever before running off again to get back to his work.
“Of course,” she replied, giving him a little wave as he exited the tent. Beth got up from the chair and tidied up the place a bit before returning to the table to take a sip of her tea. She looked down at the medical book that rested on the table. “Guess it’s as good a time as any to start you,” she murmured as she grabbed the book and took it and the tea back to her chair to settle in for a bit a reading.