Rick laughed heartily at Bartelby as he sat down. As the cool light of the lamps came on, he sighted with relief. It's one thing to operate on a man. It's another thing entirely to operate on a man in near darkness.
"Thank you. Now I can begin" He said as Arlonious brought the water. He took out a small pill, and dropped it in the bowl. The room soon filled with the distinct scent of antiseptic fluid. He took a pen, drew some markings across Riareous's stumic area, and slowly began to work, cutting the skin, and deftly applying tourniquet's as needed, spilling an surprisingly little amount of blood.
As he moved along, Rick felt himself enter a sort of medical trance, forgetting his surroundings, himself, the others. It was just his patient, himself, and the steady blur of his hands and his tools, cutting, stopping, sewing, almost seeming to have a life of their own. 'This would be alot easier with a couple of nurses' he thought for himself, sweating from the extertion. 'But then again, I'm lucky to have light and clean tools'.
Sewing up the final internal wound, he made great care as he began to extract his various tools. 'This really is my element' he mused, unsure if he spoke aloud or just thought.
After what seemed like an eternity, and at the same time a flash of light, Rick applied a greenish salve at the outer stiches, softly massaged the liquid in, and backed away a few steps. "It's done. I've done all that I can. He should be alright, with a bit of rest" He said, sighting heavily, washing his hands in the bloodied, cooling water.
As he felt himself retreat from the trance, he examined his work. Although he had been very fast, alot of blood had been spilled overall. The man would be weak for a while, a day at least, depending on his physique. Rick's shirt had been bloodied, and there was a quiet amount of the red liquid splashed about the general area. 'Sloppy, Rick. Sloppy.' The though for himself and grinned, as he cleaned up his tools with care, and returned them to his backpack. Atleas the man would survive.
He turned to Arlonious, wiping his hands on a towel. "He should be waking up soon. I would not be surprised if he had suffered from nightmares, this particular sedative tends to have, well, odd sideeffects. But then again, it is the fastest of my sedatives, and the most powerfull, and I felt that the situation called for drastic actions"
