Ebb and Flow [D1, LE, River Quarter]

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

"A healer?" She perks up a little, back straightening, eyes lighting. "Most interesting, are you one of the magic healers I have met? Those who can close wounds with just words?"
She gestures to her own satchel. "I am a surgeon." As if Faruq wouldn't understand the term. "Someone who heals with natural medicine and if necessary, sometimes opening the body. Your words are good ones I think. We don't heal to fix-" She gestures at the dark city around them "-all of this, but to heal people. A boy who walks again because of you is a victory, yes? That is a difference."

A wan smile, his eyes apparently distant for a moment. "Oh... magic healers you say? And you've met some?" He lowers his voice. "Might want to not be too vocal about that, Sayyeda. Unless... you work with the Dahabi, then?"

He looks around for a moment, then calms down again. "No... just a 'normal' healer. Learned a few things from my umma when I was a kid, salves, ointments, simple stitching, that sort of thing. That all before..." He falls silent and looks back, to where one of the many parts of the Residential Quarters would be - not that Claudia would probably know that. "Well, a long time ago. Then when I had to carve a life for myself alone, I found that was one way I could do something. Always something new to learn, of course."

He looks at her curiously, then. "But... opening the body, you say? I've heard... some things about that, I think. Needs... a fair bit of learning, laa? I... tried to learn some of that, but it takes time, and books are not always easy to come by. So you actually studied the medical arts in an university, then?"

[Claudia Gabinus]

Snip

Claudia blinks. "The merchants? No, I have not worked much with them. They seemed more interesting in their earnings than any real learning."
Lowering her own voice. "Are they...bad? The one I met, she seemed a good woman. She came from far to the east, a strange country where they drink a lot of tea but have little knowledge of medicine."

As they walk she probes Faruq a little.
"I learnt from my tutor, my family was able to pay for an education for me. It sounds like you learnt by doing? It is impressive, many kill more than they save like that."
Nodding she reaches into her bag and extracts an extremely sharp looking knife with a thin blade.
"One can use a tool like this to open, but it is not done easily. The risk of infection is high if you do not prepare and a less learned healer might kill their patient by removing the wrong..." She frowns slightly, not sure of the word in this language "organ."

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

Claudia blinks. "The merchants? No, I have not worked much with them. They seemed more interesting in their earnings than any real learning."
Lowering her own voice. "Are they...bad? The one I met, she seemed a good woman. She came from far to the east, a strange country where they drink a lot of tea but have little knowledge of medicine."

As they walk she probes Faruq a little.
"I learnt from my tutor, my family was able to pay for an education for me. It sounds like you learnt by doing? It is impressive, many kill more than they save like that."
Nodding she reaches into her bag and extracts an extremely sharp looking knife with a thin blade.
"One can use a tool like this to open, but it is not done easily. The risk of infection is high if you do not prepare and a less learned healer might kill their patient by removing the wrong..." She frowns slightly, not sure of the word in this language "organ."

His voice is still low and he keeps closer to her when discussing the Dahabi. "Not necessary bad... although I suppose 'more interested in their earnings' is a good description. But..." He shakes his head slightly, thoughtful. How much or the city did the outsider understand? "From what you said... you don't have magic healers where you come from? You do understand such mystical ways are... restricted here, laa, Sayyeda?"

Seeing her pull out the sharp knife, he raises his brow a bit again. His mouth opens, then closes again, as if the knife and her words take his attention away from whatever he wanted to say. "I... Ah... I haven't really just learned by doing. As I said, my umma was a healer herself, and I watched and helped often. Although there was a lot I had to learn on my own later."

Another somewhat wary look at the knife and a slightly troubled smile.

"I do open up wounds for cleaning when it needs done. I understand some of the dangers of badly cleaned instruments. But... I don't think I'd trust myself to... "

Another look at the knife.

"How ... how deep do you have to cut, then? To reach this... organus you say?", he asks using the same word she used - which most likely meant he didn't get its meaning exactly

[Claudia Gabinus]

Snip

"My people have no magic, so we have learnt other ways to do things with our own two hands." She glances over with raised eyebrows as the two follow a small path looping up from the river.
"Restricted? I know they asked me if I could do magic when I entered, are some types banned?" She supposed that made sense with the restriction on weapons.

Gesturing with the knife as she answers.
"It depends on the organ. Some are very dangerous to reach, the risk of infection is so high or the loss of blood so great. You know the appendix, yes?"
She gestures to where it would be on her body.
"That is a simple one if you know what you are doing, it is not deep. But if someone, ah, the words...if a lung is hurt." She mimes breathing. "Then it is very difficult to go in there."

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

"My people have no magic, so we have learnt other ways to do things with our own two hands." She glances over with raised eyebrows as the two follow a small path looping up from the river.
"Restricted? I know they asked me if I could do magic when I entered, are some types banned?" She supposed that made sense with the restriction on weapons.

Gesturing with the knife as she answers.
"It depends on the organ. Some are very dangerous to reach, the risk of infection is so high or the loss of blood so great. You know the appendix, yes?"
She gestures to where it would be on her body.
"That is a simple one if you know what you are doing, it is not deep. But if someone, ah, the words...if a lung is hurt." She mimes breathing. "Then it is very difficult to go in there."

He hears her explanation on the organa she mentioned with great interest. Even though he dealt with some of the same things, it all sounded new and foreign. Learned medicine was something else, indeed...

"Ab-ben-dih? I'm... not sure I know what that is, Sayyeda. But the lungs?", he says, pointing to his chest. "Oh... if they get punctured there's often little I can do, sadly. You did learn how to deal with that other than patching the person up? I've heard placing a tube correctly can help, but that's not easy to do... thankfully not a situation I have to deal with often."

Her comments on magic, though... he lowers his voice again and walks closer to her.

"Some types, you say? Sayyeda, all types of magic are strictly controlled in the city. You... do know some things about how the city is run, laa? Keep all threat under control however small, you know how it goes, mish heek?..."