Frigid Mornings [Job/Juliana]

Job Information:

Her breath was barely visible in the chilly morning atmosphere of Rose Garden. Although it was such a lovely place, with sunny and sweat-inducing weather during the summertime, mornings always remained crisp and cold, like autumn days. Juliana resisted the instinct to quiver in her boots as the faint breeze drew across her cheeks, sharp and almost painful. Raising up her hood to slip over her braid-twisted locks, the girl shielded herself from the biting cuts of the zephyr and hoped that it would die down by the time she left the clinic. With each step, it seemed as though ice was slicing into her muscles and ligaments through her thin, papery skin. Wincing at the keenly painful sensations running through her appendages and torso, Julia struggled to continue. As always, Lissy cheered her on from the back of her mind, her overly loud calls distracting the girl from the shivers which threatened to wrack her body. This illness was such a stupid thing, especially in a time such as early to mid-summer, where the temperature was definitely not anything to be quaking about.

She stepped into the clinic with a sigh of exhaustion, choking out her name to a smartly dressed man, who was holding a clipboard and appeared to be managing the day’s affairs concerning the blood drive. He gestured for her to go ahead, and the girl trotted gratefully down the hallway, her body warming as it began to feel the effects of a building’s heating system and insulation. Allowing her hood to fall, as the stranger had called out as she was walking away that such was required in order to enter any patients’ rooms, Julia selected a door at random and peeked inside. There were thankfully glass windows cut into the doors of each ward, probably to allow orderlies to do daily work such as blood drawings and temperature measurements with the greatest efficiency possible. Leaning against the door with all her might, it suddenly swung open, causing the mage to trip and fall practically straight on her nose. Inside was a small group of patients on individual beds, a couple sitting up and reading while most of them slept. Julia stepped forwards, making her way slowly over to a bed in which a formerly reading donator was struggling to rise to his feet.

“Jeez... humans try too hard. Why can’t they just live more casually?” Lissy complained as the girl watched the elderly man with a slightly derisive tone. Gently, in a chiding tone, Julia replied that he wanted to probably not require the help of others. Many people rejected the idea of allies, which was a foolish mistake. She hurried over to the bed and helped him to rise and stand steadily on his feet, giving him a cheerful smile after hearing the reluctant but muttered, “Thank you, miss.” The rest of the day proceeded in a similar fashion for the most part, as Julia switched a countless number of times from room to room in order to assist as many people as possible. In a separate chamber were several children as well, who wanted to put on a puppet show; this, the mage also did her best to participate in, brightening their days. Once it was time to leave, she did so with a far lighter spirit than she had arrived with. And just like her formerly grumpy mood had disappeared, the chilly breeze and clouded sky had disappeared, replaced with the shining sun and a comforting warmth in the atmosphere.