STRESS ( i've had enough )

[romeo]

EVEN ROSES HAVE THEIR THORNS
EVERY EVENING NEEDS ITS DAWN

This had to stop. If life continued this way, it was going to kill him. And no matter the healer that he was, he wouldn't be able to save himself if that happened. When they trained you to be a healer, they always spoke of the accomplishment they'd feel at the end of each day, the pride in having saved lives and made peoples' lives better. What they didn't mention was the stress, the terrible pressure upon your shoulders and that little voice that poked and proded at your mind, asking whether you'd actually manage to save those people that depended on you and heartlessly beating upon you every time you failed to do so.

He'd told himself he'd get used to it. That was a joke. The senior healers were always warning them that no, they'd never get used to it. It was a part of the job, the ever-changing circumstances. Everyone at the hospital seemed to be bracing themselves for the inevitable rush of patients that would come - and had already started to come. The ones that had already been victims of the fighting between the three different factions. Mostly it was minor. But it wouldn't be long before things changed for the worse, and when that happened... everything would change.

Wearily, he washed his hands at a sink in a quiet wing of the hospital. It was a dark evening, and a cold one. It was as if the entire world was holding it's breath, waiting for the outpouring of hatred and violence that was going to come. Romeo wanted nothing to do with it. Not just because he was a healer, but because of how it was going to change everyones' lives, ruin them. Friendships would be torn apart, lovers turned to enemies... No one could force Romeo to pick a side, but he might have to, eventually, simply to stay alive, stay safe from the faction that wanted the end of muggleborns such as himself. No one was safe now, he knew. But that couldn't stop him from fearing for his own safety. Was it worth it, though? Was choosing a side for safety, a side that was committing as many atrocities as the next, better than potentially giving his life? It was something he'd have to think on.

Well, he'd have a while tonight. His shift had just ended, and as usual he'd been kicked out of his current ward by the Head Healer. Romeo was one who never wanted to leave at the end of the day, and so had to be removed somewhat forcibly. He understood that a tired healer was a dangerous healer, but he couldn't ignore his desire to help people. Sure, he'd been a proper healer for a few years now, but some habits never fully disappeared.

With a sigh, Romeo headed down the corridor towards the healers' lockers to put away his robes. Living where he did, there was no point in apparating home, which meant that wearing robes was a definite problem. He had to pass muggles to get home, so all his wizarding regalia disappeared at the end of every shift. Yet today he took his time, not wanting to rush out. He'd rather stop and talk to the other healers, the other patients, the other visitors than go home and sit on his own, contemplating things he'd rather not. He paused at a ward along the way to the lockers, wanting to look in on the patient before he left. Romeo swung open the door, glanced inside, and smiled at the occupant.

Tag: Open
Word Count: 615 without coding
Notes: A bit random, I suppose, but anyone's welcome, as a visitor, a patient, or the few other fellow healers.

[SELENE MIRELA LONGBOTTOM]

JUST AS RIVERS REACH THE SEA
in that moment, you reached for me,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Since the first day she had tread the highly polished floors of the wards of Saint Mungos Hospital, Selene had been hearing the niggling voice of others, constantly pointing out that maybe she wasn't cut out for a job like this. She had always been the squeamish one in the family, she had never liked the sight of blood, and when it came to even looking at the inside of an open wound she would practically turn as white as a sheet. When it came to the stubborn daughter of the Longbottoms, however, such little technicalities such as this wouldn't stop her chasing the dream job she had always envisioned herself occupying.

At first of course she hadn't enjoyed 99% of the job. She had hated listening to others whine at her about pains she couldn't locate, the frustration at problems that refused to be solved had left her awake at night, running lines and lines of medical and magical texts through her mind as she searched for the answer that was dancing just outside her ability to grasp. No matter what had sought to get the best of her, she had kept her eyes set on the accomplishments that would greet her at the end, her ears had never missed the stories relayed to her by those that had been in her profession most of their lives, and the prospect of saving others, reuniting families and generally doing something for the better was much more attractive to her than admitting defeat and allowing a little thing like squeamishness or a blocked brain to stop her. This very day she had been presented with a problem that had just not seemed logical, not that anything needed to obey such laws when magic was flying around their heads, even now she was stumped, and as the quiet click of her subdued heels sounded around the quiet hallway she was currently eating up beneath her, she found herself lost in her mind, puzzling over the symptoms that had developed in the small child without any visible reason.

The night around her was quiet, since the sun had set only hours before the patients had slipped into the only haven they had, the solitude of sleep and many would not return from such a safe slumber until the next morning, much to many of the night healers relief. Tonight she would be one of them, and although she was on a break at the moment, and eager to take advantage of a quiet corner with a cup of hot coffee to clear away the fog in her mind with the floating steam she had taken the route away from the hubbub of new patients that were constantly coming in a steady flood. Ahead of her spread four more hours of work, but until then, she could worry herself with quizzical maladies instead of how to stop bleeding men from dying. The Emergency room had always left her feeling quite faint, no matter how long she stayed in this job, the total dislike for the sight of the thick red liquid that oozed from every cut and slash would never leave her completely.

A door opened somewhere ahead of her, a quiet creak in the otherwise empty hospital, but she paid it little attention. There was always someone of other walking the halls of Saint Mungos at night. Outside the night was cool, and every window she passed echoed the moonlit sky that promised to greet her with its gentle touch if she were to venture further from the Hospital. The need however, was not upon her and as she drew even with the wards best coffee machine she gave a small smile and lifted her hand. Slotting the coin in, she listened to it jangle as it collided with the metal inside, making it's way into the belly of the creature that would be it's new home. Pushing a slender finger into a button marked de-caffe she waited for her order to be processed.

[romeo]

EVEN ROSES HAVE THEIR THORNS
EVERY EVENING NEEDS ITS DAWN

Things were going well. It was always always uplifting to find a patient that was recovering well from whatever it was that had happened. Considering how badly things had been going lately with a lot of patients, this one was particularly pleasing. She was currently asleep, peacefully, as she ought to be. Quietly, he backed out of the ward before the attending healer yelled at him for intruding upon his or her area. Just because he was a multi-ward didn't mean he had the right to go nosing in where he didn't belong, or so their arguments usually went.

Speaking of yelling healers, he really needed to escape the hospital before he got caught after his shift was over. First, the lockers, maybe a cup of tea and some chatting with the other healers, then home and some sleep. The first thing he'd learned as a healer was that he was never going to get enough sleep again. Ever. Therefore, it was always best to escape at the end of each shift, go home and crash in the hopes of actually being awake for his shift the next morning. Luckily he was the type that could function on little sleep, but it was still something that wore a person down. How he was going to do this for the rest of his life, he wasn't sure.

All of these little problems wouldn't stop him, though. Lack of sleep, lots of pressure, it would never be enough to stop him from helping people. It had been pure chance that he'd decided to go with a career that he both enjoyed immensly and had a gift for. Not all the healers enjoyed the job, nor did all of them have a gift for it. But usually they had one or the other, and that was all that mattered. Saving lives, improving lives, aiding lives... that was their goal, their mandate. Though he could barely believe it, some had already chosen to join certain sides in the brewing war. Some did it for safety, but the nagging question returned: was safety worth it?

Romeo shook his head, his slow pace having finally brought him to the back room that doubled as one of the healers' lounges. A witch was at the coffee machine, so Romeo decided to wait, if he did actually want coffee. He was more of a tea kind of guy, but today was a sort of coffee day. He'd have to get de-caf; he didn't want to stay up for hours once he made his way home. As he crossed the room, making his way towards the locker he had claimed as his own, he worked his lime green healers' robes off, glad to be out of them for the evening. Not that he wanted to leave, but he found that the robes often impeded his movements, particularly when doing delicate healings that required a full range of movement. Someday soon he'd have to suggest that there be an alternate uniform, one that wasn't quite so hampering to the healers.

Once at his locker, he opened it with a flick of his wand, and hung the robes inside, trading them for a smart jacket that he could wear to blend in with the rest of the muggles on his walk back home. He shrugged the jacket on, then closed his locker up again with his wand. Since he'd have no more use for it until the following morning - he still lived like a muggle, in case neighbours came to call - he stuffed the short wand into his pocket whilst digging around for a knut. If he didn't have one, he'd have to go home before he could have anything to drink. Assuming that the woman at the coffee machine would be finished by now, Romeo turned around, coin hidden in his hand, and returned in the direction he'd originally come.

Tag: Selene
Word Count: 666 without coding
Notes: Nadda

[SELENE MIRELA LONGBOTTOM]

JUST AS RIVERS REACH THE SEA
in that moment, you reached for me,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The mundane workings of the machine hummed and whirred before her, processing her order efficiently and concentrating on it's only mission in life, to create a desired drink for it's customer. Selene waited patiently before it, resisting the urge to convey her need for rush by tapping her feet rhythmically on the shining floor beneath her, she knew more than anyone else how annoying such mundane actions as that could be and if there was anything she was, it was painfully considerate. Whenever there was someone in the room she made sure she didn't become a bother, it made life easier and to think of the times she had sat there trying to do her work while some other sat chewing loudly, tapping their fingers or humming, it was just infuriating. With a small smile she heard the machine grind to a halt and her cup was deposited before her, filled to the brim with a steamy dark liquid that's delicious aroma was already drifted forward to assault her nostrils.

Picking it up between her fingers she felt the warmth spread into her hand, immediately perking her up without the aid of any caffeine. Turning she sheltered it slightly, keeping her mind fixed on the small cup and her determination not to spill it all down herself and scald her bare skin with the steaming liquid evident. What she hadn't counted on however was outside sabotage and as she began walking the looming figure of the man she had spotted earlier suddenly filled her vision. Startled for a moment, her mouth formed a small oh and she exhaled in shock, gripping the plastic tighter as the cup swayed dangerously in her grasp. Oh, I'm sorry she managed, suddenly slightly embarrassed by her occupied thoughts about something so mundane as her coffee. I didn't see you luckily Selene was past the glowing blushes of childhood that were triggered the moment she felt slight shame and she managed to fix a slightly apologetic smile onto her lips. It had been a near miss but she had managed to avert disaster, despite it all being her fault anyway.

Now that she looked she recognised the man before her, the contrast between him in his garish lime green robes and his normal clothes had thrown her off for a moment. Facing the other healer, she nodded towards his muggle style attire. Shift just finished I take it? the enquiring tone was light so as not to be rude and the smile on her face bright. Selene had always hated the clothes that her job required her to wear, they just weren't her colour, not that she suspected they were anyones, and she spent as much time as she could out of them. With her break underway she had shed the robes which she had loosely draped over her arms, usually open at the front, immediately, in favor of her pencil skirt and blouse that she had worn underneath. Hoping he didn't think the small talk was completely unnecessary she brought her beige cup to her lips, blowing slightly on the dark liquid that swam precariously inside, seeking to chase some of the scalding temperature away so she could take a sip. It wasn't completely lady like she supposed, but if you spent your entire life worrying about such things you wouldn't really have much time to have fun.

[romeo]

EVEN ROSES HAVE THEIR THORNS
EVERY EVENING NEEDS ITS DAWN

The young woman by the coffee machine, having received her order, moved to away, nearly bumping into an oncoming Romeo. An apology rose quickly from her lips, bringing about an even larger smile on his part. It was highly entertaining to note how healers - possibly the most observant and skilled witches and wizards he knew when on-duty - seemed to turn to clumsy inattentiveness the instant they no longer had to work. Romeo himself had been known for being quite the klutz as a child, but he'd grown out of it, as most people did. "It's quite alright," he assured her, "no harm done." It was a miracle that her coffee had not managed to escape its plasic container, though he still found the general inattentiveness of the healers rather amusing.

The small man glanced up at the woman, noting that while she was possibly shorter than him under normal circumstances, her heeled shoes propelled her to a much greater height than his own. It was an unfortunate side-effect to being a shorter male; he had no easy way to make himself taller, while his sisters - and every other woman in the world - simply wore many-inched heels. At least his curly hair added the effect of height, even when there was little. Really, he oughtn't complain; there were so many he knew shorter than even him, though it was still a bother to have to look up at others.

Carefully sidestepping the woman and her delicate balance of the steaming liquid, Romeo stared at the many options on the machine that had deposited such a seductive scent into the normally stale air of the lounge. For a moment, he debated asking her what she had chosen, then decided not to. He knew perfectly well what he wanted, and asking would not change his choice in the least. The coin in his hand was slotted into the machine and he pressed the button for a cup of black de-caf. Nothing fancy for him, just the absolute basics.

As it whirred through whatever process it had to in order to deposit the drink, Romeo settled in to wait, scanning the room for anything of interest. Fortunately, the young woman with the coffee offered enough of a distraction. Even the ever-patient Romeo didn't like being bored by a wait. His smile returned as he answered. "Yeah, I'm done for the day." Polite as ever, he returned the question. "You?" While chitchat wasn't exactly his favourite pass time, he much preferred it to returning home alone to his dilemmas. Anyways, it was always interesting to learn about a colleague. He'd thought that he'd at least known all the healers by sight, but this was someone he didn't know yet. Perhaps she was new, or tended to work shifts opposite to his. Either that, or he just plain hadn't run across her in - what was it? - six years, now.

Goodness. He'd been at the hospital for six years. A few of those had been spent in training, but still... six years. That length would - hopefully - continue to grow, eventually be his entire life. Not all that worked there planned to stay there for any length of time - the Welcome Witch changed week to week - but Romeo was considered to be a determined idealist. Vaguely, he wondered what the coffee-woman, as he'd come to think of her, thought of working there, whether she was going to stay there long-term. But those were questions for later, if he ever got to know her.

Tag: Selene/open
Word Count: 604 without coding
Notes: Nadda

[SELENE MIRELA LONGBOTTOM]

JUST AS RIVERS REACH THE SEA
in that moment, you reached for me,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Since she had been little Selene had had a slight probably with her clumsiness, her mother often remarked that she had inherited it from her Father, something that had, at the time made her feel slightly better about it, after all, she couldn't help who her parents were and she certainly couldn't help what was written in her DNA, could she? But at moments like this, now she was an adult, the comfort of knowing that she couldn't help her annoying tendency to almost spill things over every surface around her, had little effect. Glad at least that she didn't have to worry about her blushing she kept the apologetic tinge to her features as she tightened her grip on the plastic cup in her hand, keeping half of her attention on the drink and half on the man before her.

Now that she looked his face became much more familiar to her, there were over a hundred employees in this very hospital, but it was doubtful that you spent your days here without running into at least one, unfortunately for this man it had almost been in the literal sense. Watching him smile she relaxed slightly and matched it with one of her own, this one much warmer and more confident than her slightly worried one had proven to be. Giving a small tinkling laugh she accepted his words, hoping they were the truth I guess I should have listened a little more closely when my Mum told me to watch where I was going, with a small grin she met his eyes, trying to place his face to a name.

Moving aside smoothly, highly contrasting her movements of only moments before, she gave him a wide berth to the machine behind her before raising her cup to her lips and blowing across the surface lightly again, knowing that if she were just to pull her wand from her pocket she could cool the coffee instantly. Sometimes however, it was just easier to do things the muggle way, and using your wand every too seconds was awfully lazy. Testing the temperature tentatively she took a tiny mouthful of the steaming, life giving product, eyes swiveling to fix on the young man that was now waiting just as she had been. Trying not to grimace too much as the surface of her sensitive lip reacted badly to the heat she lowered her cup again, deciding there was no hurry. As he spoke she listened closely, processing her own answer as the question was fired at her. Unfortunately not though her face gave him a tired smile, inside she had no problem with having to stay for a few more hours, she did love her job after all and the feeling of making a difference was unbeatable. I'm just on my break, I have three more hours ahead of me yet not a particularly long time, but it would keep her busy for this evening.

Though her words had encouraged the idle chit chat, short and sweet without any information, she felt slightly uncomfortable with it as a whole, she had always loved to talk, whether it be about something she loved or simply gossip, chit chat had always seemed so stunted to her, something that stopped her from really expressing herself and getting to know another, but Selene knew only too well how those you did not know could react badly to a quirky little habit as not being able to shut up, not that many saw it as quirky.