Whitewash (Estonia)

Subject: Whitewash (Estonia) Wed Dec 29, 2010 11:42 pm

Tino had been informed earlier that week of another future patient. Heracles Karpusi's patient, an Estonian boy of seventeen years, would be transferred into his care in the adult ward when he came of age. Tino was assigned to, twice a week, change the patient's IV and do Heracles' job to better acquaint himself with the young man. In all honesty, the cheerful Finn was exhilarated and excited to have a patient from a country so close to his homeland. Even more, Estonia is closely linked with Finland both culturally and historically. Tino would be lying if he claimed not to be excited to meet this young man.

Tino found the room with no difficulty. The children's ward was far easier to navigate than the adult ward. Of course, Tino never got lost, but he'll admit to having to loop a hallway just one more time in order to find a certain room for the first time. The difference rested in the navigational tools. In the adult ward, there were little maps mounted on the walls. They were placed in almost strategically inconvenient spots and the print was absolutely tiny. They couldn't honestly expect anyone who didn't possess superhuman vision to be able to read those tiny letters and numbers. In the children's ward, however, there were large, colorful signs pointing down the hallways. You couldn't miss them, and they were very clear.

For example, Tino's soon-to-be-new patient was in room 34G. Tino rarely entered the children's ward, but just by glancing at those nifty signs, he could seamlessly weave his way into the hallways. He found the room in under five minutes. A record, he noted. He waved sweetly to a small child down the hall before knocking on the door and entering the room quietly. His new patient--Eduard--shouldn't be asleep, but if he was, Tino certainly wouldn't want to wake him. After laughter and smiling, rest was the best natural medicine to any sickness.

Subject: Re: Whitewash (Estonia) Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:21 am

Eduard could nearly find himself giving in to the lure of sleep.

Every time that he breathed out, the teen felt that his eyelids were getting closer to closing. The weight of the multiple blankets around his shoulders wasn't helping much, but he had to huddle into them or face certain hypothermia--in his mind, at least. Sitting indian-style in his bed, hunched over his laptop, his lithe fingers still trembled, exposed, with the cold as he typed away.

It was hard to believe that it was nearly January, especially since he could recall the sticky hot days of July as if they were yesterday. The memories of the warmer months made his fingers pause, hovering over the keys, his palms sweating and making the poorly healing cuts itch.

He was nearly about to pull the bandages away. It probably wasn't wise to try a small little exploratory measure to try and scratch them, but he was nearing the guts to risk it anyways. Pushing the laptop away from himself--the blue glow strained his eyes, he couldn't stop getting migraines--he was ready to close the lid when the knock came on the door.

Shutting it a bit harder than he intended, he felt like jumping. He was groggy and a skittish, the guilt on his mind of almost doing something he knew would have been bad weighing on his mind as he peered over toward the door.

"Ah.." He felt like getting out of bed and rushing to greet them, like smiling and shaking their hand, yet the Estonian was more compelled to just stay right where he was, drawing the blankets around himself. "You're..." Looking up and down the new visitor, even when he squinted he couldn't make out the name tag, and so Eduard just chanced a wry smile. Whoever the young man was, he was pale and yet somehow still seeming so bright.

"You're... not nurse Karpusi."

Subject: Re: Whitewash (Estonia) Thu Dec 30, 2010 5:51 pm

"No, I'm afraid I'm not Nurse Karpusi," the Finnish man chirped, taking the clipboard from its place on the wall and approaching the bed. "My name is Tino Vainamoinen. I'm going to be your new nurse when you come to the adult ward in a few months." He sat down in the chair beside Eduard's bed, his ever-present smile brightening further as he reached over to turn on the lamp on a dimmer setting. The room had been dark before, and he didn't want Eduard's eyes to be hurt. "I'm going to be here on Tuesdays and Fridays to get to know you better." He glanced at the computer and tilted his head, blinking curiously. He wondered briefly why it was shut so suddenly when he entered the room. "Is that for school, or do you like technology?"

The room was nothing like the adult rooms. It was colorful; the walls were painted a pastel yellow. The cabinets were light blue, and the counters were a pale green. In the adult rooms, the walls were grey and everything else was white. There were cheerful stickers on the windows--smiley faces, hearts and "GET BETTER SOON!" logos. Tino loved this room. He wanted every single room in the hospital like this. It was perfect! Tino knew that if every room in the hospital were like the ones in the children's ward, patients would get better more quickly. Atmosphere has been proven to be a valid element in a patient's recovery.Unfortunately, Eduard did not seem to think so. The lights were all off in the room, and the blond Estonian was sitting with his legs crossed, several blankets over his shoulders.

Tino set the clipboard down on the table between the bed and the chair, leaning back. "I still have a while before I have to change your IV bag, so I'd love to just talk for a little bit!" He threaded his fingers into his hair again, feeling the soft strands fall onto his palm. He pinched a piece of the blond hair between his index finger and thumb, rolling it between the pads of his fingers. "I'll just tell you a bit about myself and you can tell me more or less, depending on what you're comfortable with. I don't want to make you feel weird about this." He smiled genially before crossing his legs, looking at the ceiling as he began to speak. "As you know, my name's Tino. I come from Finland, and I've lived in the United States for about a year now. I like to read, work, and I love animals." Tino let go of the piece of hair he'd been fiddling with, grinning over at Eduard.

Subject: Re: Whitewash (Estonia) Thu Dec 30, 2010 6:50 pm

Eduard almost remarked that he could clearly see that it was another person, but he bit back his remark. Vainamoinen? What a mouth full that was, inciting memories from school back in Estonia, the comparisons between Kalevipoeg and Kalevala. Even if his last name had him mistaken for being German a lot, he was glad at least that it wasn't Vanemuine.

"I'd give you my name, but I'm sure you already know it if you were assigned to me."

He was a bit surprised that the hospital cared as much to familiarize him with someone who would be looking over him, but the whole situation seemed a bit strange though. He felt sorry for the nurse, who would have to go through seeing him so much when there were other, more valuable things he could be doing. The teenager just hardly paid attention to the Finn's comment, looking down at his laptop while giving a small obligatory shrug. "I just... like technology."

The addition of light to the room made him blink, even if it wasn't much, wincing and turning his head away from the lamp was the only way he found to alleviate it. He placed his bandage-covered hand on his forehead, ever careful as he turned his head back to look at the nurse. Just.. to talk? This poor nurse, he couldn't have known what he got himself into. He didn't necessarily felt weird about it, just... distant. It would be better off not to express that, though.

"Tino from Finland..." He had guessed the origin already from the name, but it was almost relieving to hear that he actually came from Finland as well. Finnish Americans weren't entirely unheard of, but Eduard did feel he'd have a bit more in common with someone who had probably been to and loved the same Baltic Sea as he did. He sounded like he should be working in pediatrics though, not to mention his own younger looking appearance, and so Eduard really wondered why he didn't.

"Well, Tino from Finland. I'm from..." He paused. "Narva, but I've lived here... a bit longer than just a year. I don't work, but I like to read, and..." Figuring maybe he should say something else than just going over what Tino had, the Estonian looked back to the laptop, before a small grin spread on his lips.

"And I was just working on hacking into a Russian bank."

Moving his hand down from his forehead, he placed it on his own knee, carefully studying the Finn's expression.

"But one of the things I just told you was a lie."

If he was going to sit here and have to talk, he might as well make it interesting. At least it was getting his mind off of the weird temperatures...

Subject: Re: Whitewash (Estonia) Thu Dec 30, 2010 11:35 pm

Tino was almost taken aback at the way Eduard responded. Of course, he expected Eduard to figure out that his name was a previously gathered piece of information, but he didn't have to say something so... snippy. Nonetheless, Tino just nodded at Eduard and replied in his cheerful voice, "Yes, I do know your name. I just prefer when people tell me. It's more personal, don't you think?" He leaned forwards, giggling briefly. "I really value the relationship I have with my patients. I'm glad we have this time to learn more about each other. I'm sorry that you don't get to see Nurse Karpusi every day, though. I hope you'll forgive me for taking your time with him." He knew that, to teenagers who were sick and have a consistent nurse or doctor, change in that consistency was usually not welcome.

He glanced at the bandages on Eduard's hand and asked quietly, "Do you want me to change those now or later?" Looking at the bandages dampened his spirits ever so slightly. Seeing a patient was one thing; being reminded that they had been admitted to Axis Memorial Hospital was another. He knew that Eduard had hemophilia. Tino couldn't imagine how hard living with an illness like that must be. Having to be careful at all times in order to avoid the smallest of lacerations must be terribly nerve-wracking. And the possibility of death from a mere papercut... Eduard was more courageous than Tino believed he ever could be. The Finn immediately felt a rush of admiration, straightening his back in the presence of this brave young man.

The words were encouraging--Eduard seemed to be eager enough to communicate. Tino had been nodding wordlessly, perfectly content to hear the heavily accented voice of the almost-adult, when suddenly, a piece of information came to him like a pipe bomb--not exactly expected. Eduard had just told him that, before Tino had entered the room, he was attempting to "hack into a Russian bank." That was interesting, but what about--wait.

He was hacking into a bank?

A Russian bank?

He was hacking into a bank.

That was not normal. Not a normal pastime. Teenagers were supposed to play video games, hang out with each other, play sports... well, Eduard couldn't exactly play many sports, but he wasn't supposed to hack into banks. That was bad. It was wrong. Tino would even go out on a limb and take a shot at the possibility that hacking into banks was illegal in the United States and Russia.

Tino didn't know he had stopped smiling until he had to shut his dropped jaw. He bit his lip, scratching the back of his head nervously. So, one of the items was a lie? That wasn't comforting at all, because Tino had seen the little smirk on Eduard's face and he could tell that the Estonian was not lying. He frowned, thinking, and murmured, "You weren't born in Narva... though I wish I could confidently guess at the last thing." He sighed, smiling. "Why would you try to hack into a bank?"

Subject: Re: Whitewash (Estonia) Fri Dec 31, 2010 7:26 am

"In that case, then it's Eduard. Von Bock if you want to be more formal, but..." He stared at the other as he leaned a bit closer, hesitating at the girlish-sounding giggle to say anything else. Tino valued the relationship he had with patients? It sounded like the other usually worked with people that, in that case, had a tendency to stick around in the hospital for a while. Eduard didn't even mind that he didn't have to see the Grecian every day, most of the time that he did see him, the Estonian was too out of his mind to really pay attention.

He wasn't even usually this awake or intuitive these days.

Looking at the bandages as well, he shook his head. The pressure to scratch it was coming back, but he just curled his fingers into his palms. Possibly the worst thing about bandages on his hands was the fact they liked to slip and move around, still needing to be mobile, still having to put up with the abuse of his constant and fast typing that they never lasted too long. "Later would be okay. You didn't even bring bandages, did you?"

The teen went back to looking at Tino. After the Finn digested what he said, Eduard was using it as a way to test the other man's cognitive skills. Somehow, despite the trembling his muscles seemed to be doing now--especially along his spine, he hated that the most, it made his neck tense and shudder--he managed a confident look in his eyes as he stared at the nurse.

"No, no. I was born in Tallinn. I said that I was from Narva, though. You're not always from the city you were born."

To prove his point, he didn't even hesitate before going fully into Russian.

"Ya govoryu chistyeĭshem russkom yazye. Ya vozmozhno, zhil v Narve. Pochemu vy ne dumaete?"

The language itself felt like slime on his tongue every time he spoke it. Forcing to wrap his tongue around those syllables felt like a cough that he just couldn't get rid of, and now even, he realized, his lips felt frozen. Hoping that he had at least enunciated himself to the point where even if Tino didn't know Russian, it still sounded like a question was being asked, he tilted his head to bury the lower half of his face against the blankets.

"I suppose... if one was to do what you're assuming I did... Maybe they would do it out of nothing better to do..."

(ooc: Russian: 'I speak perfect Russian. I could be from Narva. Why don't you think so?' not that it's too important xD)

Subject: Re: Whitewash (Estonia) Sat Jan 01, 2011 5:28 pm

Tino smiled softly, glad that Eduard had decided to introduce himself despite the lack of necessity to do so. He chirped happily, "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Eduard." So far, he had gotten a good impression of the teenager. He was polite--a bit reserved, but that was good for a boy his age--and he seemed to be amused, if not the smallest bit glad, for Tino's presence. Of course, Tino's eyes often only see the positives in a situation, so for all he knew, Eduard could want him dead, but that was a possibility that Tino refused to entertain. Negative thoughts bring negative incidents.

Tino raised an eyebrow at the question. "The bandages are kept in the cabinets over the sink," he explained. "We're not supposed to carry standard supplies with us unless they're medicated." Did Heracles bring special bandages for Eduard? Tino suddenly bit his lip and asked, "Are your bandages medicated? I wasn't told if they are; I'm so sorry! I should have asked Nurse Karpusi..." He fidgeted, blushing embarrassedly. He'd made a complete fool of himself. There was no excuse for not knowing to bring specialty bandages or not.

He frowned, tilting his head to the side. So that meant he may have been from Narva. He hadn't thought of that. Such a small detail could change the whole idea of the statement. This teenager was very clever. Did he think less of Tino for not catching on? The Finn hoped not--he didn't want to appear unintelligent in front of his future patient.

If he was from Narva, then there's a possibility that he hadn't been trying to hack into a bank. During the relieved spinning of Tino's mind, his frantic brushing away of the idea that Eduard would hack into a bank, he heard more words from the Estonian. Russian words.

Eduard spoke Russian?

Tino knew enough Russian to survive in Russia--he'd studied it during high school--but was in no way prepared for the mastery of the language displayed by the teenager. Tino bit his lip, raising his eyebrows. "Forgive me, but I haven't spoken or heard Russian in so long..." He laughed softly, playing with his hair again. "So, I'm guessing you're from Narva, then? Which would probably mean that you weren't attempting to hack into a bank just now?" He let his hand fall from where it was buried in his soft blond locks, glancing over at the Estonian sweetly. "As exciting as it sounds, I hope you do know that hacking into banks isn't a good thing to do."

Subject: Re: Whitewash (Estonia) Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:22 am

"Right... Nice to meet you too, I suppose."

He wasn't sure really if that was the case yet. If anything, it was good just to have someone around for his own amusement. The website hadn't really done much of anything for him; he already knew what he was capable of. It just didn't make sense to have all of his computer skills go to waste while he was hospitalized, though. Eduard could handle people in small doses at least.

When Tino explained about the bandages, it made sense to him. He didn't mean to make the other man seem upset though, and for that, he did genuinely feel a little bad. "No... No, I don't think that he brought any special bandages. It's okay, nurse Vainamoinen, really. I'm sure the ones from the cabinet are the right ones." In reality, he had no clue, but he didn't want the other to seem bothered by it still. There was no reason for him to apologize or.. to blush.

He watched for the way the other man's expression changed when he heard the Russian, a vague grin on his lips. He placed his hands on his lap, looking away from Tino. Starting to pick at the bandages of one hand he started to undo them, shuddering as the skin was exposed to air. There were still thick pads of gauze underneath, and a few stitches here and there, and he tried to be as careful as possible as the white bandages started to fall to the bed.

"So you don't know what I said, then?"

That figured.

"It's odd though.. Why don't you think anything else I said could have been the lie? Maybe the lie was that I told a lie." He glanced back up at his laptop, his hand cringing and wrist tensing as his fingers brushed against a small black stitch.

"But I think that hacking is an entirely harmless thing to do... As long as you're not doing it to steal money or something. Consider it a security check." Lifting the hand that wasn't half-unwrapped already up, he nudged his glasses up on his face a bit. "What's bad about that? Doesn't everyone like security?"

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