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Lo'ak woke up with fuzzy eyesight. This wasn’t the first time, however. Ever since they moved to the Metkayina clan, he'd often woken up with sand in his eyes. But this was a different type of fuzz, it was a pain-filled fuzz… of which he roughly became acquaintances with very quickly.
He guessed that he'd only just woken up, judging by the very groggy sensation he was experiencing. Lo'ak slowly sat up on his elbows, meeting a little resistance, but not much. He slowly took in his surroundings. Lots of black and grey grainy stuff, perhaps a beach? He craned his ears to listen. A few dozen animals loitered nearby, waiting to eat his body. Lo'ak tried to stand up but found a white-hot burst of pain rushing through his body. Looking down at his leg, he saw a very odd angle that his knee was bent.
Well, that’d explain the pain. He thought. Putting his survival cap on, he began to think. He'd need to splint his leg if he had any hope of getting back home. Lo'ak looked around and saw a small pile of thin sticks nearby. He crawled forward on his elbows and grabbed a few. He needed to reset the break and stabilise it as soon as possible. He knew it would hurt like fuck, but it needed sorting otherwise he'd be facing lifelong issues... and that simply wasn't an option.
String, string… I need string… Looking around once more, no string was found. But he could just use his armband, right? No, the band wasn’t flexible enough to hold together a splint. It was just a piece of leather that had yet to be broken in. It’d only cause further damage… but it was the best option. Discarded and broken vines would just snap the second he applied any pressure to them. He reached around and unclipped the band from his bicep.
Lo'ak took a deep breath and began to reset the break. He had no idea how to fix a break, the breaks he'd sustained back home were all clean breaks and didn’t need anything other than a splint for a few weeks... of which Neteyam or Kiri would usually help with.
This was different.
Lo'ak bit back a scream as the knee clicked into place. White hot pain rushed up his leg and into his head. He felt tears brew in his eyes but blinked them away. He picked up the sticks and placed them on either side of his leg, then tied them together with the leather band.
~
Lo'ak had no idea where he'd gone to in search of medical attention. All he knew was that it wasn’t a place he was familiar with, it was an unknown area he landed on. He thinks they were caught in a storm, but he's not sure. The concussion and pain from his knee were making it hard to string coherent thoughts together. What he does know, is that he's alone. The other guy, he thinks there was another guy, didn't respond to his shouts and calls. If Lo'ak was alive enough to be sad, he would be. Except he was more concerned with keeping himself awake at the minute. Passing out mid-walk on unknown territory would not be good.
Lo'ak heard a few twigs snapping just in front. It sounded like a heavy person, or lots of light people… if that made any sense? His eyesight began to blur, and that was the only warning he received before his body gave into the pain and he passed out.
~
Tsireya rushed into the healing ship where a dream walker resided. Apparently, he was a good friend of Norm, whom Tsireya trusted with her life. “What’s wrong with him?” She asked worriedly. His skin was flushed pale with pink cheeks, pointing to exhaustion and infection. The healer wrote a few things down and faced the worried mate and mother-to-be. “From what I can see, he's got a grade three concussion and will need to be observed at all times for the next seventy-two hours, he's completely obliterated his kneecap and cracked a few of his ribs. My guess is he crashed somewhere or got caught in a current of some kind. I’m impressed he's lasted this long, to be honest, Tsahik,” Tsireya glowered at the healer. “And why is that?” The healer just tutted softly. He held up a scan of a male na'vi. “This is a normal na'vi body, of about nineteen to twenty years of age, from what I can guess. This green here is good. Everything is clear.”
“This helps why?” Tsireya asked. She didn’t have time to look at pictures... she had to know Lo'ak would be okay... that she wouldn't have to raise their two kids alone. The healer pulled a scan from behind with roughly circled areas dotted about the page. “This is his. The orange areas are marked for mild concern and the red is a major concern.” Tsireya could see his head was highlighted red but his ribs and leg were circled orange. “Those blue circles? Major infection.” The healer finalised. “And what can be done to help him?” She asked, slightly kinder than before. “Not much. He did an excellent job at resetting the knee. That just needs time to heal. His head, so long as he's ok for the next three days, should be ok as well. I’ve reset his ribs and wrapped them up tightly. To prevent irritation, I'd bathe them every four hours for the first week, then every six for the next week. Bring him back after that, and I'll check the progress. Otherwise, bathe and rewrap as soon as he wakes up, and just before he goes to sleep until they're completely healed. Use this paste to keep the skin moisturised as well,"
The healer took his leave after finishing up the notes and handing Tsireya a list of ingredients needed to make it, and how to make it. Once she was happy they were completely alone, Tsireya stroked his hair as he lay sleeping. “I wish you’d be more careful,” She whispered to his form.