Recognizable and Unrecognizable Son (Semper)

[Prince Inigo]

Dantis Falkier + Zentaal Falkier + Hidgero Falkier

In comparison to the rainy District 13 days past, District 9 was vibrant of green, brown, and spots of other beautiful color. Some a time splashes of crimson streaked the moist grass, leftover unwanted carcasses left to the flies, but that was nature. Bushes were stripped of their clothes as animals tore them off and chewed on the succulent fabric. Said bushes would softly scream and rustle in movement.

Boots crunched the wet green, sweat streaking the older face. Hidgero panted heavily, strength waning in the arms. The last break was an hour or so ago out of a total of few. A fragile broken leg needed tending immediately. The older man struggled to get to the tall fence; the border was never electrocuted.

Weak laughter escaped his thin lips. Looking at the fence, he laughed harder. The boy with him being held Princess-style was testing his energy. "Now how to get ya over this, eh, Devroux?" Nervous chuckle.

----------------

"You know that ever since you came here, Zentaal, I've been coming out to the forest more often? Isn't that terrible? Going against the Capitol..." A voice sweet and kind rustled from the forest interior and was approaching the District border.

No reply.

"Why, if Mother found out, she would kick us both out!"

"Don't be a pansy and tell the hag." The mean voice emerged from the forest first. Red eyes glowered as black strands of hair caressed a handsome face. In anger, he shoved them away.

------------

Hidgero, only a few meters from the tall man, almost caved-in. His eyes mixed of anger and fear, but he fought hard by gulping. He knew the young man would take note of Devroux and his presence eventually.

[semper]

Devroux Southern-Hymn Creighton

It had been one hell of a trip. After we had began traveling, I started drifting in and out of consciousness, which probably wasn't a good thing. But it had hurt way too bad.... maybe that had been my body's way of telling me that my injuries were, indeed, serious.

Heh. I figured as much.

I felt really bad for Hidgero having to carry me the whole way to wherever he was taking me -- but there was honestly nothing I could do to help. I couldn't walk, couldn't stay awake, and I just couldn't move in general. But not only that, but Hidgero was helping an Avox. I've heard the stories about people helping Avoxes in the past, and I really didn't want that to happen to my only friend; the only one who was there to help me.

When I heard Hidgero's voice, it sounded too distant and almost inaudible. What had he said? I wasn't quite sure, but I could at least detect the despair in his voice. Was something else wrong? I could only hope that weren't true, but as I lay semi-conscious in his arms, anything could've gone wrong.

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[Prince Inigo]

Red orbs slithered to the presence of the older man, glaring. They shot to the boy who seemed drained of energy and deprived of sleep, only making Hidgero readjust his hold on Devroux. The young man folded his arms, observant as a snake.

A younger boy was spat out by the forest, fixing his brown hair of leaves. Looking at the taller one first, he asked, "Zentaal, what is it?" He turned to Hidgero and a half-conscious Devroux, raising brows and frowning. "Good afternoon. Um... Is something the matter, Sir? Something with the person you have there?"

Hidgero had to mentally shake himself from the daze and the gushing emotion in his heart. "Uh, yeah. Kid's got a broken leg, and we're both beat. I can't get him over the fence."

The brown-headed boy smiled gently. "I can take him to my mother. She does a little bit of medicine work and knows the District doctor well." He turned to the scowling one. "Do you mind helping me here?"
Scowl. "You want to do it, you do it." He started to climb the fence, with agility.

The shorter boy only sighed. He walked over to a dazing Hidgero, still cheery. "I've lifted a heavy boar before, Sir, so I think I should be fine carrying him; just the footing and climb can be tricky."

With tenderness, the brown-haired boy replicated the same carrying position the green-eyed man had until getting to the fence. Brown orbs expressed apologies to Devroux. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to hold you one-armed. I hope you trust me on this."

The boy shifted the Avox as so and prepared to climb to District ground, seeing the black-haired young man already over and still cross. A sigh emitted, the young boy started the ordeal as Hidgero, with less energy, climbed up with the two.

[semper]

There were voices..... two, to be exact, that I didn't recognize. Then again, I hardly recognized any voices because no one -- other than Hidgero, of course -- ever really had the courage to trust an Avox, so I never became close to anyone enough to recognize their voice. I certainly didn't trust the two foreign voices, but soon I vaguely felt myself being moved.


"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to hold you one-armed. I hope you trust me on this."

The voice sounded much closer than I wished it to be. It could everything I could muster up to emit a very low, almost inaudible, unearthly growl to show the unknown person that I certainly didn't trust them right now. The pain coming from my side and leg caused me to detest the stranger even more as I was hauled to who knew where; however, as I continued to drift in and out of consciousness, it numbed down the pain.

I just really hoped Hidgero trusted the stranger.

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[Prince Inigo]

The brown-eyed lad only smiled with knit brows as he climbed. "I'm very sorry. If only my brother helped me, this could be better performed. You don't have to trust me; I just hope to get you medical attention." The boy slowed down as he and his passenger neared the top. Carefully, he twisted himself around so as not to strike the injured leg often. With success, the younger brother began down, salty water stroking his cheeks. "Haha, this is rather hard, mind you. I'm glad you're sleepy enough not to see me right now. I don't like sweating like this."

Hidgero had made the trip over to District ground much easier than the boy but still with drained strength. Upon making it back to land, he almost toppled over, chuckling, trembling. "This ain't easy stuff."

The red-eyed one scowled and looked over behind him. "Hurry up." Fingers tapped against an arm, impatiently.

Brown eyes grew a bit frantic but tried to stay calm. He had just made contact to the earth with Devroux. "It is very hard to carry a person while climbing, I will not lie. Let us take off with haste." Devroux was carried Princess-style again, for comfort.

"Gladly."

The three (with Devroux) rushed to the destination, acting like any person would. Though people looked at them with pressed lips, the males sprinted fast as a blur.

Getting to a house, they slowed and caught their breath. The younger one opened on the door. "Mother, we are in need of your assistance! We have ourselves a boy in dire medical attention with a leg. We believe it to be broken."

A lady in the kitchen coated with wrinkles in the face walked over after stripping gloves off her hands. Taking only a few steps, she stopped after seeing Hidgero's face. Pause, then glare. "Hm... Wonder why you're back." She turned to the brown-haired boy, smiling. "Please bring him to the table. I'll inspect while Scowlface over there gets the doctor." The boy did as so then returned to the lot, frowning.

"Do it yourself, old hag. I want no part in this." The black-haired brother sat at the couch, folding his arms still.

"Useless brat. After I take him in." Her eyes shot to Hidgero. "You, get the doctor."

"Like I can, you old coot. You know my circumstances..." The older man sighed.

"Humph. Is everyone so useless around here? Fine, I'll do it after looking." With a pout, she left to see Devroux. Eyes stern and analytic, the 'old hag' made many noises to herself, gently stroking the injured leg.

The boy looked at Hidgero. "You know my mother, Sir?..." His eyes had peered at the older man for a while, confused, then widened. "You are...?"

Hidgero shrugged, smirking and chuckling. "Guess 10 years does funky things to your head, eh, Da?"

[semper]

I wasn't quite sure how I was moving, but all I knew was that it made my side and leg hurt worse. At times I would grind my teeth as I grew conscious, but then I would fall back limp as I faded from reality. I could still hear those unknown voices as we traveled to who knew where, and I felt terribly vulnerable. I had absolutely no idea what was wrong with my leg, aside from the fact it was broken -- or so we thought. For all I knew, my femur was probably sticking out of my skin. Or, because they were carrying me by the underside of my knees, maybe it was just pulling the bone even more apart. The thought made me cringe, though I didn't know if I physically moved or if I thought I did. But one thing's for sure: the thought of my bone being pulled apart was disturbing.

Next thing I know, I'm being set on a flat surface. It felt good to be able to stay still and not being carried, but I was still unaware of my surroundings. Then there was another foreign voice; however, it was female this time. Odd. I began to think of all the possible places I could've been taken to, and some of them didn't sound to appealing. Therefore, I had to place my whole trust in Hidgero -- or whoever was in charge of me -- that I wasn't where I thought I might've been --

I let out a sharp, sudden yelp, wincing as I felt something against my hurt leg. I wanted to quick get away from whatever was touching me, but I found that as soon as I moved, the wound on my side screamed in protest, causing my entire body to become rigid and tense.

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[Prince Inigo]

The old hag only blew out air. "Will you settle down before I really touch a bad spot?" She tried to be tender in tone and touch. "Judging from your inability to move, you might have fractured femur, or thighbone as it is commonly called. I can tell just by your screaming and yelping that it's extremely painful." Sigh. "Look, I don't want to get the doctor. I only want him just to look over my progress, anyways. You're not even supposed to be in here." The lady stared. "I've never seen your face before. I can tell you came from the outside."

Her laugh was mixed with a cackle. "Don't worry, dearie. I won't handle you badly, since I'm a lower doctor and all." The lady went to check her cabinets. Many bottles and flasks shined with the striking new light. Labels of various colors and text of many sizes were plastered on the vials. "I give you two options depending on the severity. First choice is traction with some surgery. Second choice, depending on severity, is plating or internal fixation. Do you know any of those terms, boy?"

---------------------

The brown-haired boy gripped the chair nearby, looking down. "Da...? I remember my father calling me that sometimes." He glanced at Hidgero. "You're my father? You're... Hidgero?"

The black-haired young man had his arms folded and was relaxing in the chair, but his attention turned to the older man.

Chuckle. "What'da slow? Can't see the resemblance?" Hidgero patted the boy's head, even rustling the hair. "You always were like that, Da. Such a slowpoke."

The person named 'Da' backed himself away after moments, flushing. "You left Mother and me to fend for ourselves. I'm not mad or upset with you; however, is there no way for you two to get together again? I missed you, Father. It was rather hard to sustain her and me and even him at times. I would wish for us... to be a whole family." Brown orbs shifted to the person on the couch, who only scowled.

Hidgero shrugged. "Don't think I can, Da... Dantis. Your mom is bats*** crazy; I got tired of it, see. Haven't ya seen her cackle and spout out crazy things? I have; I can't take that anymore. The older man turned to the red-eyed fellow. "Who are you anyways, Mr. Scowl-A-Lot?"

The young man only glared and kept silent.

"Jeez. Don't mean to pick a fight with ya. Just wantin' to know you is all."

Dantis answered, "He is my brother, Father." He almost stopped talking at the sight of blue eyes on him, wide. "Well, not like she already bore a child before you! His name is Zentaal. Mother and I adopted him into our family, Hidgero, and we have been taking care of him and his well-being ever since."

Hidgero huffed out a chuckle, walked over to Zentaal, and stretched out a hand. "Put it there, Zentaal. Nice to know you."

Zentaal only kept his posture and stance, now lowering his eyes into a deathly gaze.

"Man, you're one tough kid!"

[semper]

"Will you settle down before I really touch a bad spot?"

My whole leg felt like a bad spot.

"Judging from your inability to move, you might have fractured femur, or thighbone as it is commonly called. I can tell just by your screaming and yelping that it's extremely painful."

Yes. It's very painful.

"Look, I don't want to get the doctor. I only want him just to look over my progress, anyways. You're not even supposed to be in here. I've never seen your face before. I can tell you came from the outside."

You're not even supposed to be in here. I couldn't tell you how many times I've heard that. Avoxes weren't allowed anywhere, other than in the grave, pretty much. I had been able to live fairly well in the forest, which had become my new home. No one's there to tell me that I'm not supposed to be there, and I liked that. But of course, the only downfall to being in the forest is that if you get hurt, like I did, you're pretty much screwed.

I managed to open my eyes, blinking a few times to clear my vision. I was startled to see where I was, and since I was clueless, I felt horribly vulnerable. It was then that I saw the woman, unsure what to think as searched through the cabinets, asking me something.

"I give you two options depending on the severity. First choice is traction with some surgery. Second choice, depending on severity, is plating or internal fixation. Do you know any of those terms, boy?"

What the hell was she talking about? Plating? Traction? Internal fixation? I'm an Avox from the woods -- I don't know anything high tech, or surgical. I only knew some medicinal herbs, that that was it. She was confusing me.

I shook my head somewhat, signaling to her that I'd never heard of those terms. I tried relaxing my tensed body, but it didn't work. I gave a low, guttural growl as I ground my teeth, trying to get rid of some pain.

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[Prince Inigo]

"Eh. Let me go check on the boy. See if your mother didn't kill him, Da." Hidgero left Zentaal to his scowling self, leaving for the woman and Devroux.
Dantis followed his father to the table, brows knit and fingers interlaced.

The two went through the room, the woman still searching through bottles and flasks, brushing some out of her sight with forcefulness.

"How's he doing?" Hidgero looked at Devroux with a serious face.

"Thighbone fracture, I'm guessing. It looks like it could have internal damage. I'm suggesting to the boy traction and the other practical methods like internal fixation and plating, but he's not answering except growling at me."

The older man shook his head. "Lady, do you think he wants to answer if he's in pain? I don't even know if he knows those terms." He motioned to Dantis. "Hey, Da, why don't you explain to him what those terms mean in case he doesn't. I'll help your old mother."

"Who's old? You're older than me."

Dantis ignored the little spat and, after grabbing a nearby chair, sat next to Devroux, his eyes glittering with concern. Trying to smile, he said, "I'm sure you'll be fine with my mother. She's good at handling this sort of stuff." He brushed away strands of brown hair. "Traction, if I remember correctly, is when they place your leg in a cast and prop it into a recovery machine with weights and strings so that you can't move it and it can slowly heal. It takes a long time; it might be several weeks for you to get a good leg. The doctor here would need to give us a X-ray machine so we can monitor your leg and adjust if needed... if we even have a X-ray machine in this District.
"Plating is when they put a metal plate over the break. We screw it in and can allow it to recover. I would not suggest it, though. I hear that it can cause another bone break in the future because it prevents some stress, which is needed for leg recoveries. I wouldn't go with this one."
Dantis erected his drooping posture, with the forced smile. "Internal intermedullary fixation, or internal fixation as Mother called it, is when they place a rod in the bone across the fraction. It will allow early movement and good stability. Once your leg heals, we remove the rod."

The boy was frowning now. "Either of those procedures, however, will mean you can't move around for a while; at least, not a lot. It might be you can't visit the forest for a while." He tried smiling again. "But we'll try to make sure you're not noticed by any authorities. We've kind of done this before."

[semper]

Even though I couldn't verbally express myself, I was thankful for Hidgero sticking up for me about not answering. It was true, too: I was in too much pain that I still wouldn't have answered her even if I could speak.

I turned my head so that I was looking at Hidgero and the lady upside down, but then as the boy came over I shifted my attention over to him as he began explaining things. I wasn't really sure which sounded the best, but I figured that the one where my leg was suspended would cause me almost complete immobility, and I didn't particularly like that. However, the rod idea didn't sound too bad..... but I just didn't know how to communicate to the boy that I liked the rod idea best. I shifted slightly, wincing. I doubted I could write to the boy, not even with my own blood since the wound was covered and I wasn't supposed to move the leaf. Although, as I glanced down at my side, I spotted some blood still on my skin beside the leaf. I used my finger to swipe up some crimson quickly, wincing because it was close to the wound itself, and then wrote on the table in front of the boy:

Rod.

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[Prince Inigo]

Dantis read the word then smiled gently. "Okay, I'll tell Mother that." He directed eye contact to the lady and Hidgero. "Mother, Father, he wants the internal fixation."

The lady nodded while looking at more liquids and tablets. "Hm... Dantis, please fetch the rods. He wouldn't know where they are now."

The boy motioned agreeableness and walked off to a door across the room, a smile of nervous lacing on. Lights automatically filled the room he was entering. The door shut behind, closing off white from spilling into their area.

"He's sure grown."
"No thanks to you."
Chuckle. "Heh. You taught him to be a soft one, and I told him to toughen up. You didn't know squat about hunting."
Only a grunt was returned.
"Ah, found some anesthetic. This general anesthetic?"

The lady's brown orbs turned to the bottle Hidgero was holding between the thumb and fingers. Grunt. "Yeah, that's general. I think it's potent enough for him." Her eyes slithered to Devroux. "Just to be careful: how much does he weigh?"

Shrug. "He wasn't too bad. Hm... Nearing 200? Because of his height?"
"Close enough. I think we can use it all. There's not much left."

Dantis came out with a rod, and the lady nodded. "Okay. I think that's long enough. Thank you, Son."

Hidgero handed the bottle to the woman, who had immediately grabbed a syringe after commenting the rod. Dantis gave her the rod, which she tested if still stable and ready for insertion. She got around doing her prepping duties before performing a surgical procedure.

The older man sat near Devroux, grinning. "I'll make sure she won't kill ya. Got any questions or anything before getting shot up? You'll be knocked out for a couple or so hours."

[semper]

I gave a swift nod of thanks to the boy as he left to tell the lady, so I just laid my head back against the table, closing my eyes. I tried to find another way to forget the pain that was like an inferno on my side and leg, so I listened to the conversations going on around me.


"He's sure grown."
"No thanks to you."
"Heh. You taught him to be a soft one, and I told him to toughen up. You didn't know squat about hunting."
"Ah, found some anesthetic. This general anesthetic?"
"Yeah, that's general. I think it's potent enough for him. Just to be careful: how much does he weigh?"
"He wasn't too bad. Hm... Nearing 200? Because of his height?"
"Close enough. I think we can use it all. There's not much left."
"Okay. I think that's long enough. Thank you, Son."

Ah, so Hidgero had a son? That was certainly interesting. However, I just couldn't figure out why he was out in the woods when his son was here in District 9. I wasn't going to question Hidgero about it, though. I felt that it wasn't my place to do so.

"I'll make sure she won't kill ya. Got any questions or anything before getting shot up? You'll be knocked out for a couple or so hours."

I opened my eyes and looked over at Hidgero, shaking my head 'no'. I just wanted to be put to sleep and out of my misery; and in all honesty, I don't think the anesthesia could've come any slower. All I wanted was to escape reality and become numb to the world for those few hours I'd be under.

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[Prince Inigo]

The mother drew the suitable amount of general anesthetic slowly, the black plunger of the syringe pressing the sleeping liquid to come out from pressure, slithering up the walls of the plastic. After all the liquid was transferred to the needle, a gloved finger tapped against the needle and the eyes were trained on the liquid, looking to see for air bubbles. Smirking, she got out a container of clear solution, spilled some onto a ball of cotton, and rubbed against the spot ready for injection.

"I hope you're paying me," she said to Hidgero.
After muttering a demeaning, playful comment to a fleeing Dantis, the older man replied, "Like I would. I was depending on the - little - goodness of your heart."

Fingers tapped against the spot, searching. After getting the one wanted, the needle pierced through the skin wall and went straight to the intended vein with accuracy. She laughed while doing so. "I hate free labor. I know what you could do to repay me: watch over the operation. I will need a helper."
Sigh. "Fine. Whatever. If that'll get the job done faster."

Blue eyes turned to Devroux, smiling. "Sweet dreams, kiddo."

[semper]

I watched the lady as the readied the syringe, which kind of spooked me, to be honest. I wasn't used to needles, but hell, the pain in my side and leg would surely overpower that measly needle. I watched her as she used the cotton on my arm and soon put the needle in, pushing the liquid so that it entered my veins.

"Sweet dreams, kiddo."

I turned to look back at Hidgero, offering a small smile of sincere gratitude. I was finally going to be able to escape the agony for at least a few hours. At this moment in time, nothing could've made me happier. You bet I was going to have sweet dreams. I glanced down at the lady, but as I was turning to look back at Hidgero, I felt my eyelids suddenly get unnaturally heavy and my eyes rolled back an--......

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[Prince Inigo]

(I'm gonna wing the procedure. @_@ *has been researching about this*)

The two adults watched as Devroux turned his glances to them, the final look at Hidgero before falling away to a land of hallucinations. Hidgero patted his head. "All ready to start?"

"Yes, indeed." The lady grabbed hold of a razor and gently shaved leg hair. "Not a good talker, is he? The boy?"
"Not as much of a talker as your adopted kid there."
"Hm. You got me there."

The woman wiped away shaved hair follicles, then she started to stencil the future cut with a long-bladed scalpel. She asked Hidgero to wash off the razor while she was cutting to the bone with a motherly touch mixed with surgical precision. The older man did so, agreeing to any command given to him.

A plethora of long cuts, each going deeper a few centimeters, the two finally reached the white structure, red flesh healthy of blood. The clock read this process took them forty-five minutes, just out of carefulness.

The lady touched the spot, sweat starting to stream down her face, after going over the stress wrinkles. Next she demanded the rod and screws, and again he complied to her orders. With gloves on, Hidgero held open the rip - not forcefully but enough to keep it so for the lady to do her surgical procedures. An old drill punctured a hole on the thighbone near the hip just enough to not hit the soft material inside. The lady slipped the metal rod inside with slowness.

Clock was now at one hour and thirty minutes.

"This is what I hate about being a lower doctor: you're more careful than the regular one."
"As long as it fixes the kid without killing him, don't think he minds."

The woman twisted the nails through the rod and bone, locking them in place. Another ten minutes to their time. "I think we're just about done. Let's close this up."

Hidgero pressed the cut close for the lady to start stitching. Each crossing was tiny and intricate, precise in measurement. This procedure took about twenty minutes, as the woman did everything carefully.

A total of a little over two hours.

"I believe the boy should wake up around now." The woman removed her gloves. "He's not much of a talker, is he? Dantis had to say what he wanted for his procedure."
Hidgero shrugged. "Yeah, not much of a talker. After all, with you people surroundin' him, you think he wants to talk?"

Dantis poked his head through the archway, brows furrowed up and frowning. "Is the surgery done?"
"Yes, Dantis, we're just cleaning up." The mother patted the leg with a soaked towel, mopping up the blood, as Hidgero cleaned up the tools and area.
"I'll help as well." The brown-haired boy immediately grabbed a wet towel and rubbed the tables of germs.
Chuckle. "Still such a flowery boy."