[Imperial Eagle] Settling In (open to crew)

[Roderich Edelstein]

Roderich stood up from the crouch he felt he had been holding for ages, wiping sweat from his brow with a shirtsleeve. Finally everything was away. He had been quite surprised as to the state of the infirmary, given his initial impressions of the captain. Eccentric though he seemed to be, he definitely did not skimp when it came to the important things.

There was room enough for three beds, and several hammocks which could also be put up if the emergency warranted it. There was a small room, more of a closet really, with a berth for him, a water basin, and a small steamer trunk. This connected with the main infirmary proper so he never needed to be more than three steps away from his patients. It even connected to the outside corridor if disease made it necessary to close off his sleeping quarters with the infirmary proper.

And everything was metal! Stainless steel cabinets, instruments, the treatment table that folded down from the wall - gone were his worries of poorly maintained wood-and-iron structures on some ships that would be impossible to disinfect. The entire place was gleaming. Of course, that could have been the scrubbing he had given it upon arrival to remove the layer of dust coating everything - the crew seemed to have subsisted on the "drink shots of whiskey until it feels better" technique and he had found most of the instruments short of the thermometers and suture kit still in their original packaging.

Of course, the piano had been difficult to wedge in, but it was against the far wall past the beds, under the porthole. He chose not to remember their faces when he explained what was in that particular crate. It was a miracle to Roderich how it had fit in that door - although it was only an upright - musical quality needed to be sacrificed for (relative) portability. Satisfied his work was done, the new doctor of the Imperial Eagle sat down to play.

[Deutschland]

It would be an understatement to say that Ludwig was relieved to have a real doctor on the ship. He wished that Roderich had been on the Imperial Eagle when he first met Lily. Those injuries took a long time to heal. Lily did a great job of emergency care, but it still took a few weeks of bed rest (for his back) and horrible first aid done by himself (for his head injury) until he could go back to work normally. He still had a scar where his head injury was, but he could cover that up with his hair brushed properly.

Carrying a box of extra medical supplies that he had kept in his room in case of an emergency, he made his way towards the infirmary. He had a feeling that Roderich was still cleaning up, because well. This crew hadn't really used the infirmary much. It sounded ridiculous, and it probably was, but they never had an actual doctor on the ship before, and thus the room remained unused. He was usually too busy to clean it himself. Although, getting that damn piano in there was a pain, and it was almost asking too much. But, Ludwig agreed in the end. It would be nice to have some form of classical entertainment on the ship, and Ludwig missed the sound of a piano.

Stopping at the door and opening it, he casually said "Hey Doctor. I found these extra supplies in my room. Where would you like me to put the-" Ludwig stopped at mid-sentence when he saw the room. It was...well. Completely clean. "Woah, you finished already? Great job."

[Roderich Edelstein]

The ship's new doctor was busy playing until he heard Ludwig speak from the infirmary door. He carefully pulled the cover down over the keys, and then turned to face the first mate.

"Ah, extra supplies?"

He crossed the room to pluck the box from Ludwig's arms, and set it on the counter to begin going through the contents and putting them in drawers in an organized fashion. He found a needle crusted with blood. Stopping in his work he reached for the wet cloth he had been using and started to wipe it down.

"Oh, its no trouble. During residency we spend as much time scrubbing as we do treating patients. They call it hazing, though I suppose learning to be efficient has its uses when one has an infirmary to maintain."

He placed the needle in with the others. "I suppose it should be a relief to see the room so little-used. You're quite fortunate. Many people in your...occupation often have poor luck with injuries."

[Deutschland]

Ludwig chuckled. "That is for sure...I ran into trouble a while before we met you...and lets just say I'm glad we have a real doctor now."

Although on the surface Ludwig seemed pleasant, and truthfully he was, but deep down, to the point where he barely realized it, he felt annoyance. Although Roderich hadn't said a word about Ludwig's cleaning habits, he still felt a familiar arrogance and irritating superiority over the fact that he had cleaned the infirmary so quickly. He frowned at this. Roderich didn't do anything wrong, nor did he actually make fun of Ludwig, so he didn't deserve to be the object of annoyance. But something, like an old memory of some sort, told him that this was all too familiar.

But that had to be impossible.

He grinned at the piano. "You were playing Mozart right? Heh. It's been a long time since I heard anything like that. You play it well."

[Roderich Edelstein]

Roderich smiled. "Well, I'm glad you've been lucky. At the very least," he gestured at the small drawer of needles, "It seems like you're proficient at suturing. It's a good skill to have. And I'll sleep easy to know I can count on you if something happens to me. It's a bit hard to stitch up oneself I imagine."

Something in the back of his mind told him he could trust Ludwig with such things. While he might be silly, wasteful, messy, brash, hard-headed, unrefined... wait, where did that come from? He'd been nothing but polite so far! Well of course he was German, but that wasn't exactly a crime, now was it?

Turning away for a moment to clear his thoughts, he then faced the first mate again and nodded. "You're familiar with Mozart? I'm pleased you like it. I was somewhat worried that people would think a louder sound would be more suited to a ship. However brilliant Beethoven's Ninth may be it has always been a bit too much for me."

He colored at the compliment. "I could be better, I think, if I practiced more."

[Deutschland]

"Eh. It was very hard tending to my injuries by myself. One of the reasons why I'm glad you're here." This brought back very painful memories. His head injury was the least tedious of that experience. It was his horribly bruised back that was what made him cringe.

His back made it nearly impossible to get around, he had to opt grabbing anything that he could and pulling himself around. His crew tried to help him, they really did, but the man weighed more than most of the crew. Also, once when Gilbert tried to help him, he accidentally dropped him.

Never had there been such a loud and...uncensored string of German curses come from the blond.

He chuckled at Roderich. "Well, let's hope that you don't get too busy in here."

[Roderich Edelstein]

"It's my hope that I am not kept too busy as well. I understand piloting a ship can be risky business - heavy equipment everywhere, disease spreads like wildfire - but it is my hope at least that the Captain keeps the risk of injury from operations proper to a minimum.

Roderich turned a sidelong glance at Ludwig as he sorted through the objects in the box. Every moment it seemed different. He'd been unsure about the captain, only to find the ship remarkably well maintained and modern. To be honest it had been on faith of Ludwig's character that he had joined the ship. The captain seemed like an entertaining fellow to work with, but it was important to know someone could hold it together in times of crisis. Ludwig seemed to have it together.

"Herr Beilschmidt," he began slowly, "I suppose there is no easy way of asking this. In your professional opinion, based on the work that this crew is doing, would I be advised to brush up on my work with bullet and large knife wounds?"

[Deutschland]

His casual half-grin faded at what Roderich had asked, not exactly wanting to confront the possibility of a serious injury such as those. Not for himself, he had to be prepared for that when he decided he wanted to be a police officer, but there were many important people to him on this ship and the possibility that any of them could receive a bullet wound was....terrifying. But he didn't need the doctor to know that.

"Doctor...we are pirates. We are foolish and brash, and we go into places any sane man would never venture through because that's what the captain wants. Worst of all, we are damn proud that we do. I think you should brush up on every possibility. Because there is no telling what we'll get up to."

Months ago, Ludwig would have never dreamed saying something like that. He was by no means an idiot, but being here taught him how to be one, it would seem. Ironically enough...for the first time in his life...this was worth being an idiot for. This life. Though he would never admit this to Gilbert, he'd never let him live it down.

Funny how a few months can change a man.

[Roderich Edelstein]

Roderich nodded, smiling. He thought as much. What was it saying about him that the crew's passion and dedication spoke to him more than the utter foolishness of their work? There would have been a time when the idea of casting his lot in with pirates would have been laughable. But that was a long time ago, buried in memories of old friends and his parents and the simpler time when he thought all he would do in life would be play the piano and be happy. Now all of a sudden staying with this crew and looking after them seemed the most important thing in the world.

"Not so foolish, I think," he replied, smiling slyly. "You had the common sense to bring an outrageously skilled doctor aboard your ship. And I'm sure you will follow other precautions as well to keep yourselves safe. I might suggest wearing layers. Obviously one can't walk around in chainmail but a a nice leather under-vest or something similar might make the millimeters' difference that these things sometimes rely upon."

The doctor turned fully to the first mate, all business now. "I believe in this crew and what they are doing. But there needs to be an understanding between us. I am a doctor, not some bogeyman with thread and needles. Someone is sick, they come to me. I don't care if it is something that disagrees with them from dinner, a sniffle like Gilbert has caught, or all out plague. Just because this infirmary is equipped to deal with an epidemic does not mean I wish to encourage one due to nonaction. And if someone is hurt, papercut or bullet hole, I want to see. I don't care if they did something stupid to get it. They can be yelled at after I'm sure they're fine. There's too much distrust of doctors in the world already and with what we're doing, I need the crew to know that it is my job to fix them no matter what happens. I am hoping you can help with this," Roderich trailed off, unsure how to finish. "You have a presence that the crew trusts, I think. I would appreciate you strongarming your brother at least. The ladies hopefully have enough sense to trust to their own health."

He finished putting away the equipment and methodically began breaking down the box, spinning it over and over in his hands idly. "Has their been word of what grand adventure our captain has in mind next?" he inquired, trying to turn the conversation back to a lighter note.

[Deutschland]

Ludwig chuckled at what Roderich had said. An outrageously skilled doctor, eh? Now that is the Austria I know. He blinked. Er, I mean the Roderich I know. Which is to say, I hardly know him anyway, so how can I say-

Oh, he's still talking. Better ignore those...strange thoughts.

His eyes widened slightly at his speech. He actually felt quite moved by it; he never realized how much Roderich cared about the crew, even though he had not been with the Imperial Eagle long at all. Heh. We really lucked out, didn't we?

"I'll do my best, doc." He folded him arms across his chest. "Though I suspect my brother will be your most troublesome patient...regardless, I'll drag him in here by the nose." It was hard to tell if he was being literal or not.

He put his fist on his mouth, thinking about what Roderich asked. "No, none. It's worrying, because I know the longer we idle the more anxious he gets to move on." And an anxious Gilbert makes for an irritable and even crazier German.

[Roderich Edelstein]

Roderich sensed he was making the other uncomfortable.

"Please excuse my...outburst. I've had too many patients who have not appreciated my work, and now that I am in a place where I am able to do good, I would like to make sure that I am able to do so. I imagine I may have been a bit passionate."

He smiled at Ludwig's comment. "I imagine the captain is one who would have you believe that he has never needed a doctor a single day of his life. And would so swear even in the process of breaking his own leg." Looking to confirm his suspicions, the doctor unlocked one of the higher cabinets and removed a notebook. It was clearly meant to be a records book, and while someone had taken the time to fill in the names of the crew on their respective pages, the entire book was blank.

"Well, I suppose if we're at a loss of what to do that gives me more time to get the records in order...I'll want to ask everyone if there are allergies or old injuries which may cause problems. I do hope we get underway soon. I'm rather tired of London's climate," he smiled wryly to himself.

As he flipped to Ludwig's page, ready to take whatever might pass as the blond's medical history, a note affixed to the page caught his eye.

Head wound, injured back

"Hm, so there is some record-keeping," he murmured to himself. "Was this recent? Are you still having problems? Back injuries are difficult to mend, particularly for those who engage in manual labor."

[Deutschland]

He waved a dismissive hand. "No need to apologize doctor. In fact, I'm glad you care that much." Ludwig always appreciated someone who took their work as seriously as he did.

He nodded at Roderich. "I believe Katya has a list of allergies that she keeps. It would be a catastrophe if she of all people didn't know what allergies people may have..." He shuddered at the thought. "Injuries would be harder to find out though...we didn't exactly ask for a medical history when recruiting."

He blinked when Roderich flipped to his file. He was one of very few that actually had something in their file, and he hoped he wouldn't ask any awkward questions. Thinking about those injuries wasn't very fun.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, it wasn't that recent...but it wasn't a long time ago either...but I'm fine now. I haven't felt any pain in my back for a while." Thanks to Lily. "I was lucky to have someone help me during that time. A young girl I met named Lily." He smiled fondly. "Damn good nurse. Unfortunately, she is a pirate for another ship..."

[Roderich Edelstein]

"That is good. I will have to speak with Katya and make a copy of that list. Perhaps old injuries can be uncovered if and when I see crew for other matters."

He hummed a rather complicated tune to himself as he recopied the hastily-scrawled memo into Ludwig's file proper in his own handwriting.

"It sounds as though you were lucky. It is quite difficult to treat a head wound by oneself," Roderich's sharp eyes glanced along Ludwig's head. Obviously the scar was covered, but if the hair was growing sufficiently well that it could be hidden, the cut was likely tended to correctly. "It's a pity she works for another ship. A nurse could prove invaluable were we to run into some real trouble - or if something were to incapacitate me, for that matter. But I suppose I can rely on you to be my nursemaid, hm?" he gently teased the first mate, chuckling.

"At any rate if you have any more back problems please let me know and I'll see what I can do."