Playtime (Izzy!~)

[Cheshire]

Splish, Splash, Sploosh! She stomped around in the mud, her feet sinking into the soft earth dampened by the currently pouring down rain. Raizel didn't seem to mind. Her light purple hair stuck to her skin as did her clothes, soaked and dirty with mud. She hummed as she continued to bounce in the puddle, but then the young girl's attention span went to other things. Running further into the empty Park, she climbed up a ladder and slid down a slide. She giggled the whole time. She then climbed up the slide instead of climbing up the ladder. It proved to be an uneasy task due to the rain making it slick, but she did it by golly.

Raizel entertained herself for quite awhile, but after a bit she began to grow tired and decided to sit on a swing. Slowly swinging, she didn't want to go very high. She was scared to go high, what if she fell off? Of if lightning came down and struck her? Or if she hit a bird? Or what if the swing broke? What if someone came by her and she hit them without meaning to? There were so many impending dooms that it almost made her want to get off the swing this very second, but she was having fun swaying back and forth, so much that it made the timid girl relax, and realize as long as she stayed low to the ground that the chance of anything happening was reduced.

Peering over, something caught her eye. Oh, it was a cute bunny! Jumping off of the plastic swing, she calmly went over to it. It looked at her with terrified eyes. She gave it a sad look in return. Why wasn't it running away? The closer she looked, she notice the poor thing was in a trap, one with metal teeth. Oh no! Bending down, she touched the trap, and tried to pull it apart. She cut her finger instead of releasing the innocent bunny. Her eyes watered, for she wasn't strong enough to set it free, and only hurt herself in the process. A loud clap of thunder echoed through the dark sky, a dash of lightning following behind it. She sound made Raizel whimper and cover her ears, her adrenaline beginning to pump fast. Grabbing the bunny gently, she held it in her arms and ran underneath the platform of the playground.

[Izzy]

Ezekiel stood at the edge of the park.

He would come here, occasionally, to watch the children play, and remember more pleasant days, when he was young, and the world hadn't broken him yet.

The kids reminded him of his brother, who he watched die, but through the sorrow, he found a slight bit of joy watching the youths play on all of the strange constructions. It was an odd feeling, true, but it was one that made for a plethora of opportunities to reflect.

So here he was, standing in the rain, something that just made him sadder. Tien always used to cheer him up during the rainy months back home, but Ezekiel had failed him, he couldn't keep him safe, and so he was alone.

Syl sat on his shoulder, worry painted on her face. She didn't like seeing Ezekiel like this. It reminded her too much of how he acted while he was a slave. That's when she noticed Raizel and her interaction with the trapped rabbit. Hey, Zeke, look at that. I think that girl could use a little help, don't you?" she said, pointing in Raizel's direction.

Ezekiel saw the girl right as she was looking for cover from the thunder. As it was, he also noticed the rabbit, which appeared to be stuck in a trap of some sort. After much inner debate, he managed to convince himself to go help. Slowly, hesitantly, he made his way over to the platform. He didn't say a word, but he knelt until he could see the girl and the animal. He gave the the girl a curious look, as if asking why she was out in the middle of a rainstorm.

[Cheshire]

The bunny was bleeding, and it started to stain her clothing. This made Raizel upset. She didn't want the bunny to bleed. She couldn't help the bunny, just like she couldn't help her parents. This made tears fall down her cheeks as a voice in her head was screaming at her to stop crying and to just abandon the stupid bunny. She didn't want to. It was cute and didn't deserve to die. Not saying that things that weren't cute did to deserve to die, but still. She's eight what do you want from her? The bunny merely twitched its nose and jerked every now and again, but it was growing tired. Raizel knew that. So maybe she couldn't help the rabbit, but she could be there for it as it began to pass away at least..

Stroking its fur, she looked up as a shadow covered the little light she had from the dark clouds. A man stood before her, giving her a questioning look. Her eyes grew a bit wider, feeling even more terrified than before. Her mothers words rang in her head;

"Raizel, what do we do when a stranger approaches? That's right, we don't talk to strangers. Leave as soon as possible."

Raizel scurried out from underneath the platform on the opposite end of the man, and she dashed down the sidewalk, the rabbit still in her arms. Then it dawned on her- the man could help her with the trap, and then she could leave. Slowing down to a stop, she turned around. Hesitantly walking back over to him, she held up the bunny for him to see, and in hopes that he would get the hint and release the foot of the bunny.

[Izzy]

"Look at all that help I gave her, Syl. It sure seems like she needed it." Ezekiel said dryly to his companion as he watched the girl scurry away. He didn't really blame the youth for fleeing, he doubted that his scarred face was much to look at, but the least she could have done was leave the animal in nee-

Oh wait, it would seem that she was doing just that.

As the girl approached again, Ezekiel was quiet. He didn't say a word as he took the rabbit from her, and placed it on the most level ground he could find. Then, with nimble fingers, he worked the trap open, but kept a hold on the animal.

After the leg was free, he started to work on the leg. Luckily the trap hadn't done too much damage, and the bunny would be able to keep the limb. "Girl, do you have any antiseptic? We need to chase away rotspren, and, unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any plants to harvest medical supplies in your strange land." he explained, working on cleaning the wound with rain water, which was hard, considering the thrashing of the animal, trying to get free.

[Cheshire]

He took the rabbit from her, and she was glad he understood what she wanted. It made her smile, and she watched him as he undid the trap. This was good! She took the trap, examining it, turning it within her hands. It was cold and smooth to the touch, the blood on the spikes beginning to drip off of it, cleaned by the rain. What would she do with this, she wondered? If she just left it here, another animal would get hurt by it, and it would be all her fault. Could she just throw it away? Would that work? Would it be that simple? Maybe she should bury it instead. For some reason that made more sense to her, but still felt like it would be a bad idea. What if an animal sniffed out the scent and got hurt? Maybe she would just leave it to the older gentleman...

Raizel curiously watched him as he worked on the rabbit's foot, wondering what he could possibly be doing. Was he helping or making it worse? Could the bunny still hop? Was it going to be okay? Questions flowed through her mind, but was then interrupted when he spoke to her. He was saying things she, just didn't understand. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion with a tilt of her head. Antiseptic? Rotspren..? antiseptic sounded vaguely familiar, she believed it was something her mother used to talk about when Raizel stepped on something or cut herself on a thorn. She thought a bit more, and then jogged off.

She went through the relatively deserted town of Jump City, looking in through the windows for anything that might look like what he was asking for. She looked at the buildings, reading the titles as she went along. She could go to a doctor, but would they help a bunny? What about an animal doctor? Where would she find them though? She knew how to read, but not very well. Though one sign did catch her eye. Pharmacy. She remembered that one, it sounded like Farm-I-See, and she liked farms. They had lots of animals there.

Walking onto the black mat, the doors automatically opened for her. This startled her for a moment, but then she went inside. The light was bright and it stung her eyes. It was warm and dry too. People looked at her, but she really didn't care. She journeyed through the sore as quickly as her little legs would carry her, ignoring the manager asking where her parents were and if she needed assistance. She stopped, and turned to them. They could help her after all..

"Antiseptic!" She parroted. The adults looked at each other, and asked her why she needed antiseptic. She huffed. "Antiseptic!!!" She repeated more urgently. They sighed and figured they would get no answer out of her. They handed her a box, and asked for their money. Instead she grabbed some candy along with the medical material and bolted out of the door. The alarm rang loudly, and the adults chased after her, yelling at her to return the items. She took a sharp turn into the woods by the perimeter of the park, and managed to lose them there. Panting, she returned to the man and placed all of her items on the ground. Grabbing a candy bar, she opened it and took a bite as she waited for him to do what he needed to.

[Izzy]

"And she's off again. She doesn't say much, does she Syl?"

"Neither do you, Zeke." Syl responded, looking down at the wounded animal. "Is it going to be okay?"

"If that girl gets back soon with something for me to clean this wound with, there should be no worries. If not...well, it would be wiser to amputate the leg than to let this animal die from infection." Ezekiel answered. As he talked, he applied a tourniquet on the upper leg of the rabbit, despite the struggling of the animal. He wouldn't have this one dying from blood loss.

It was at about that point when the girl came back, carrying what looked like a box, but it wasn't quite wood, it was a material he had seen around this city, but hadn't gotten a chance to look at close up. He opened the box, and there his antiseptic was. "Thank you. When were done here, can you tell me where you found this? I need to build up my medical stockpile again. Oh, and this is for your troubles." he said, taking a glass sphere from his pocket and handing it to her.

The sphere had a small cut diamond in the center, which glowed a vibrant white. To him, this was currency, and a fairly small piece of currency, at that, but he figured that a young girl probably wouldn't have all that much to buy.

With that, he began work on the animal. He applied the antiseptic carefully, and then he ripped off a piece of his shirt to use as a bandage, which he paired with more antiseptic as he applied the cloth expertly to the rabbit's wound. With that, he let the rabbit limp off. Hopefully it would recover well. Time would tell.

[Cheshire]

The man thanked her. She was happy he still had the rabbit. Part of her was scared he would have let it go.

"Geez, you're such a wimp. Who cares about a little rabbit? It's just going to get eaten and be in more pain. Wouldn't it have been kinder just to let it die right now?"

A voice similar to her own spoke to her within her mind. She frowned at listening to it. It had a point, the rabbit she knew was likely to be eaten by something bigger, or maybe just get caught in another trap. The thought of the poor bunny having to go through all this pain and terror again made her stomach churn painfully, and even made her put down the candy she had been chewing. She looked down at the furry creature. Why was the world so cruel? Why did things have to die?

"So those that are stronger can thrive, duh. Prime example is when your parents died."

Hearing that made her flinch, and head lower, her hair covering her eyes.

"Hush.. I do not wish to speak with you.." She spoke softly under her breath. Her attention was then taken to something else. It was a shiny round object the man was holding out to her. Raizel's eyes widened at looking upon the material. It was so pretty, it made her excited! She looked up at him, and then back down to the orb as her tiny little hands took it from him. She rotated it within the palm of her hands, looking over it, every single little spot was closely examined by Raizel, and she looked at the diamond in the center closely. That's what she really liked about the whole thing.

"This is, for me?" She asked him, looking at him. She knew better than to take things before she asked if they were hers. She learned that the hard way. Some things handed to others were just to admire and look at, but not to keep. Then the rabbit left, and she watched it go. Once again her eyes returned to the man.

"It'll be okay, won't it?"

[Izzy]

Ezekiel wisely chose to ignore the youth's first comment. He could fix bodies, but minds were beyond him. Better he just pretend she hadn't said anything and move on. "of course it's for you. No need to be so shocked, it is just a clear chip, after all. It should be enough for some more sweets, though." he said, trying his best to seem friendly to the girl. He might not be able to deal with her mental issues, but that didn't mean he was just going to abandon her just yet.

"The rabbit...should be fine. It is much easier to treat human patients, though. Now only is their anatomy easier to work on, but they tend to do as you say after treatment. The animal will be fine, but it would get better nearly as quick as a person with the same wound who has stayed in bed." he explained, looking off to where the rabbit ran off.

[Cheshire]

Raizel looked up at him. How could he give away something so pretty so easily? He clearly wasn't aware of what it truly was worth, and if that was so she would feel bad taking it. she out it down and shook her head. "Uh-uh. Daddy told me if these are real they are worth lots and lots! You keep it mister." She said and smiled. Maybe mommy was wrong about strangers being bad, after all he had been nice to her and helped the rabbit.

Speaking of which, he proceeded to explain the rabbit would be okay, but would be better if it rested. This made her laugh. "DOn't be silly, rabbits don't have beds!" She snickered a bit more, then looked at the crystal ball ass something else he said surfaced her mind. She frowned. "..I don't like humans.. They're mean.."

(OOC: So sorry for making it short! D:)

[Izzy]

"Worth a lot, huh? You people are a strange lot. How poor must you be if a clear chip is worth a lot?" Ezekiel mused. He had gotten a similar reaction almost every time he tried to pay for services in this strange land. How could it be that a slave back home still makes more than a free man here? Well, that was something to think about some other time.

"That is true, little one. They don't have beds. That's why I could wish all I want that they rest until they get better, but know that they won't. Perhaps you should buy them some cots." he said, half smirking. It wasn't that he thought his joke was funny-- in fact, in terms of wit, he was afraid he might be losing his edge--it was just that he felt that he should seem more jovial around this kid.