Broken (M - V)

[Mobius]

It had been so long since he'd been called by his real name that Dago had completely adjusted to the new name. "Dago" had gone into the recesses of the gladiator's mind, like a display in a boarded up museum. However, Theo had awakened that long since buried memory, giving him a taste of the past he didn't realize he ached for. He'd missed his old name, no matter how hard he tried to not admit it.

Poppy milk. What an unpleasant tasting thing. "I won't doubt a word you say," he replied quietly, truthfully. The man responsible for giving him a chance at healing was owed that kind of trust. Not that it required any kind of trust to not doubt that he'd be needing some kind of pain reliever. He wasn't looking forward to when the effects dulled and he was left to face the full pain. The dulled pain was bad enough! His brows did furrow at the mention of being taken to his bed by the man. How was that going to work? He could barely move. However, he gave the man a nod. He had to have a plan. Sighing, he had something in mind that he really needed, but knew he couldn't have. "A way to go back in time would be nice," he muttered before adding seriously,"You've done more than I could have hoped... thank you. It's not enough for what you've done for me, but thank you."

@Chevi

[Chevi]

The next few weeks were hard on the injured gladiator. Having two injuries on two opposite sides of his body, he had to spend the first several days practically motionless. Theo did his level best to make him comfortable, visiting him multiple times a day and instructing the slaves on how to care for him. When the shoulder wound began healing, and the bones were strong enough to handle some pressure, Theo personally started working on helping Dago move again. First, just by moving his limbs as he lay or sat in bed; and then slowly, by helping him get up and make a few steps. The slaves could help him do the same when needed, but Theo still visited daily.

Today, it was evening when he stopped by, after taking care of some minor injuries from the games earlier in the day. He walked into the room with a friendly smile, as usual.

"Good evening, Dago. Sorry I couldn't stop by earlier. How are you feeling?"

@Mobius

[Mobius]

Unfortunately for the gladiator, Theodorus was correct in his prediction— things got worse before they would even think of getting better. The pain was horrible when the injury took place, but there was something decidedly horrible about the pain that accompanied the healing process. It was a constant aching throb that made him want to overdose on poppy milk. If only Theo or the slaves tending to him would have let him... Things were a smidge less horrible once he wasn't stuck in virtually the same position twenty-four hours a day, but he was reminded of just how horrible things were once it was time for him to start moving the problem areas again. It was far from a pleasure trip, but he tried to remind himself that no matter how painful or difficult it was to make progress, it would be worth it. If there was any consolation for the struggle, the first step he was able to take was exhilarating. It gave him the hope and determination he needed to keep on going.

Though it usually meant putting up with the strain of the necessary therapeutic endeavors, Amatus looked forward to when the medicus would poke his head into the room. Why? Not because he was a friendly guy and he was responsible for the fact that the gladiator was healing (though those were certainly bonuses), but because whenever Theo came around the gladiator wasn't Amatus... he was Dago. "Good evening. Crazy night at the fights?" Shifting in bed, he slowly and carefully sat up. It was a relief to even be able to move like that. "Sore... somebody needs to tell those slaves that nobody is going to crucify them if they cut me a bit of slack," he answered with a chuckle, though he did follow it up with a sigh.

@Chevi

[Chevi]

"Good evening. Crazy night at the fights?"

"Always" Theo smiled, walking into the room as Dago carefully sat up in bed. It was an improvement, that he could sit up himself, even if he was only using his left arm and right leg. It had been a long journey. "Nothing too serious, though." The major injuries belonged in the major games, after all.

"Sore... somebody needs to tell those slaves that nobody is going to crucify them if they cut me a bit of slack,"

"They know. I told them not to" Theo chuckled, sitting down next to Dago. "If they cut you slack, you'd heal that much slower, you know that. May I?" Theo pointed at Dago's shoulder; it was still bandaged, with his tunica only fastened on the other shoulder. Theo checked the wound daily, before helping him move the arm.

@Mobius

[Mobius]

In the early days of the recovery process, Dago had wondered if he would ever be able to sit up on his own again, yet there he was doing exactly that. Granted, he was doing it slowly, but slow and steady was better than nothing. He knew better than to push himself. Why would he want to? Everything hurt when he pushed himself. Heck, everything hurt when he was doing the bare minimum. "I set a pretty high standard, huh?" he joked, relieved to hear that nobody had been seriously hurt. He wouldn't wish what he was going through on anybody, but he'd begun to realize that being alive was better than being slaughtered in a fight. Even if it meant recovering enough to the point that he had to fight again... he tried not to think about that.

Dago looked shocked for several moments before his expression turned into a rather grumpy one. Oh, he knew that he'd heal much slower if the slaves cut him the slack that he wanted, but that didn't make it any better. Huffing, he nodded to give Theo permission to check the wound on his shoulder. Achy bastard, it was. "I know that, but it doesn't make me any less tired," he grumbled, turning his head to try to see the wound for himself without actually moving his shoulder or arm. The less movement he made, the less pain he had. Sighing, he then looked to Theo, keeping quiet for a moment or two before muttering,"I probably would have given up if it wasn't for you..."

@Chevi

[Chevi]

"I know that, but it doesn't make me any less tired," 

"I know" Theo took off the bandages and examined the shoulder wound. It was mostly healed now, on the outside anyway; but as far as movement, Dago was still having problems. Theo put one hand under his forearm and the other over the shoulder, and helped him move the arm carefully. Even a movement like that was work when someone was healing. He only helped enough so Dago could follow through with the movement.

"I probably would have given up if it wasn't for you..."

Theo smiled softly. "I'm doing my job right, then." He was glad the young gladiator was not dead. He might not even fully heal, but he was a good man, and deserved to live. He helped Dag lift his arm a little higher. "Can you hold it here?"

@Mobius

[Mobius]

Dago sighed softly. A little break here and there wouldn't set him back that far, would it? According to Theo, it would... and he knew that it was wise to listen to the medicus. He clearly knew what he was doing. If the man didn't, Dago wouldn't be healing like he was. Hell, he might not even be alive. Somehow he would find the energy within to power through it, even if he felt like there just wasn't much energy left. It felt good to have the bandages off for a little while, but the movement Theo helped him through didn't feel so good. In fact, it had him wincing as the all too familiar sensation of a stabbing pain returned.

Determined to get through it, Dago simply gritted his teeth with a bit of a hiss. Unfortunately for him (or perhaps fortunately in the long run), Theo requested more of him. "I'll try." It was the best he could do, right? "That damned stabbing sensation still hits me when I move it certain ways," he informed, looking at his arm as he tried to hold it up. It wasn't too long before it started to get shaky. Not too badly, but enough to notice. The weakness he experienced in it wasn't painful, but it was definitely a pain in a figurative sense. It really limited him at times.

@Chevi

[Chevi]

Theo pulled his hands back, letting Dago hold his arm on his own as long as he could. It still hurt, he said, and it started shaking after a few moments. Weakness was to be expected with injuries like this, as was pain.

"You are doing well."

It would take time, but hopefully he would get a bit more strength, and range of motion back. Theo reached for Dago's hand. "How is your grip? Can you hold on to things?"

@Mobius

[Mobius]

It didn't take long for the shaking to increase, causing Dago to sigh. He really couldn't handle longer than that without getting weak? He wanted others to cut him some slack and yet he wouldn't on himself. Go figure. No matter how the gladiator seen it, Theo pointed out that he was doing well. Raising a brow, he clearly sounded doubtful as he responded,"I am?" He wanted to believe the medicus, but he had a hard time doing so. Considering a few weeks ago he was laid up in better, completely unable to move without intense pain, Theo was certainly right... it was just easy for his viewpoint to be clouded by his many frustrations at the situation.

Unfortunately, the answer to Theo's next question wasn't good for Dago's self-esteem. Sighing again, he shook his head. "Not really... it's uncomfortable and I wind up dropping whatever it is within seconds..." Though he probably didn't need to clarify, after furrowing his brows he did just that,"Unintentionally." Of course he had to injury his dominant arm. It couldn't have been his left, right? No, of course it couldn't. That would have been too easy.

@Chevi

[Chevi]

"It might not seem like it, but you are improving" Theo nodded. A little bit, probably not enough for him to see through the struggle. But compared to where he was when he had come in with the injury, he was not doing bad.

He still couldn't hold things in his grip, though. And the right was his dominant hand, which just added more struggle to the healing process. "And how are you doing with your left hand?" Theo ventured, holding both hands of Dago at the same time. They had done this exercise before: he would have to squeeze Theo's hands, so the medicus could feel the difference. Since he'd started improving, Dago had had to start using is left hand for things, which often made things awkward.

He spent some more time moving his arm and massaging the shoulder, before he turned his attention to Dago's leg.

@Mobius

[Mobius]

"I usually try to take your word for it, but you're right... it doesn't seem like it," Dago admitted in something of a mutter. All of the little improvements he apparently was making would eventually add up into something more noticeable, but it was difficult to see it that way now. He'd gone from a capable fighter to a man who could barely hold his arm up and could only take a few steps. It was a tough fall from grace, even if he never did enjoy being a gladiator. What man who had even an ounce of pride wouldn't struggle with such a loss to their mobility?

Even if his right never properly healed, Dago still had his left. It was perfectly functional, but having to adjust to using it to do things he would typically do with his right was a strange and tricky process. "I can use it just fine, but it's... strange." Yes, strange was the proper word for it. The particular exercise Theo now had him do wasn't one of his favorites... not that he liked any of them. Taking in a breath, he squeezed with his left first before doing his best to squeeze with his right, making himself wince with the very brief attempt.

When the attention was shifted to his leg, Dago's brows furrowed in thought. "It's a good thing those slaves are strong... I still feel like I'm going to fall whenever I try to put weight on it," he explained, running his good hand through his hair. If they weren't capable of supporting his weight, he surely would have gone tumbling to the ground multiple times— an experience he definitely didn't want to live through.

@Chevi

[Chevi]

Dago's left might have been his off hand, but at the moment it was definitely the stronger one. If his shoulder did not heal completely, he might be stuck using his left for the foreseeable future. He would learn, but it would be awkward for a long time before he got used to it. The leg... that was another matter entirely.

 "It's a good thing those slaves are strong... I still feel like I'm going to fall whenever I try to put weight on it,"

Theo examined the leg too. The wound here was also healed, and the bones back together, but movement was going to be slow to improve, and strength to return. He helped Dago bend his leg gently, as far as he could go. "You will need crutches to start balancing on your own. Strength returns the more you put weight on it."

@Mobius

[Mobius]

Though he was already tired of it, the road to recovery was shaping up to be a very long one for Dago. Not only did he have the injured limbs to strengthen and, gods willing, get back to normal, he had to adjust to things like using his left hand like he would have his right. It was odd to say the least, and in a way it made him feel almost... childish. He was relearning things that he learned as a young child and, in a way, he was struggling more now than he did back then. It was borderline humiliating, but he tried to suppress those feelings as much as he could, which did prove to be a difficult task sometimes.

It was something of a miracle that the bones had gone back together at all. Dago tried to remind himself of that whenever he became frustrated by the difficulties he had with walking and moving it. Sighing, he wasn't surprised that the way to strengthen the leg was by putting weight on it. In other words, by putting himself through more pain. "Why am I not surprised," he huffed,"Why can't any part of this process be easy? I think I've gone through enough pain for awhile... I could use something easy for a change..."

@Chevi

[Chevi]

"I know." Theo admitted, continuing with the exercise, helping Dago move his leg. He was still in a lot of pain, and a long way from walking on his own. He would have deserved something easier, for sure. "I know it's probably not a comfort right now... but I doubt they will make you fight again."

Theo knew that Dago was not keen on fighting in the arena; and after the experience he'd had when he got injured, it was probably going to be a relief on the long run that he didn't have to do it again. What he would do, if he couldn't fight, was another question, however.

@Mobius

[Mobius]

Life had rarely ever been easy for Amatus. Even before his father sold him off, he'd had troubles to deal with. It wasn't a pleasurable experience living in a household with a drunkard who had difficulties successfully existing in a functioning society. Why he expected life to suddenly give him a break and even go a little bit easy on him now of all times, well, it didn't make any sense. Maybe he still wasn't thinking completely straight, the pain was getting to his head, something like that. As Theo continued to help him move his leg, he winced. It had been a particularly tough day when it came to getting his minimal steps in and he was still feeling the effort.

If there was any consolation to the whole ordeal it was that, at least to Theo, it seemed doubtful that Amatus would have to fight again. It would be a guaranteed death sentence if he had to. "That's one good thing," he said through a sigh,"though what use is there for a limping slave with the dexterity of a toddler?" He usually wasn't so pessimistic, but how could he not be pessimistic in a situation such as this? Though he genuinely did feel relief over the thought of never fighting again, and at least he wouldn't be of any use to the mines so he likely wouldn't end up there. There were some positives... not many, but some.

@Chevi

[Chevi]

Theo sighed. He had no good answer to that. Slaves that were disabled sometimes found a new use for their skills, but sometimes, they were deemed useless. A gladiator who could't fight, was pretty much useless to a ludus. "We'll think about that when we get to it, hm? Maybe they will put you to work training the others. All that takes is yelling really loudly, from what I can tell." he said finally, shifting to help Dago stand up. "Come on, let's see you stand."

@Mobius

[Mobius]

It was... chilling to Amatus' very blood to think about what might become of him should he be deemed useless. The state of mind, not to mention state of body, he was in for the time being made it difficult to think of any kind of job he could be useful for should he not fully recover. If he couldn't be put to some kind of use... he didn't even want to think about that. He couldn't think about that or he might just lose the will to fight altogether. If he was working for nothing, why work at all? Nope, no, he couldn't think like that. He couldn't think about a hypothetical future that might not come to pass. He'd already improved, not greatly but somewhat, so who was to say he would end up being good for nothing? Theodorus' observation of what it took to train a gladiator brought an amused chuckle from Dago. "You're not all that wrong," he admitted. Oh, he'd needed a laugh.

If there was anything worse than the arm exercises, it was attempting to stand and walk. Sighing as Theo moved on to exactly that, Dago ran his good hand through his hair, reluctantly beginning the process of rising to his unstable feet. "You know, I thought it would have been years and years before I needed help moving around... hell, I figured I wouldn't even reach that point in my life..." he muttered, wincing as he put a bit too much weight on his bad leg,"Yet look at me now..." Most elderly people were more mobile than him. Such a great thought for his self-esteem.

@Chevi

[Chevi]

Theo supported Dago, putting his shoulder under the man's healthy arm. He was wobbly on his feet, and there was a long way to go between standing and walking, but at least he balanced enough to be upright. After weeks of lying down, that was important too.

"Slowly. Just a step or two" he said, allowing Dago to lean on him. "I have seen people come back from bad injuries. You might not un around anytime soon like a kid, but walking on your own... is not out of the question yet." he said, patting the man on the back.

@Mobius

[Mobius]

Moving about, even if it was just to stand upright, wasn't an enjoyable experience. It caused aches and pains to flair up. However, after spending weeks of just laying around, it was nice to shift into other positions. Not that Dago would admit that to the physician. Walking, on the other hand, wasn't nice at all. It took too much out of him, but he knew that he had to at least try to take a step or two whenever he was up on his feet. If he wanted to be able to walk unassisted and relatively without pain in the future he needed to put forth the effort now. No matter how taxing it was.

Dago wouldn't have been able to rush his attempt at taking steps even if he wanted to. Slowly was the only option he had. Well, slowly and wobbly, but those options were usually a package deal. As Theo spoke, he managed to take one wobble of a step, albeit while leaning fairly heavily on him and not without wincing as he put weight down on the foot. He looked to the man, feeling an odd sort of encouragement at his words and the pat given to his back. "I really hope you're right," he said through a sigh, pausing for a moment before admitting a realization,"You haven't been wrong so far. Maybe you will be right this time, too..." He could only hope. He didn't need to be able to run again, though he obviously hoped he'd get full mobility back. All he wanted was to be able to walk around on his own. Anything else would be a bonus at that point.

@Chevi

[Chevi]

"Trying every day, just a little, is half the battle." Theo noted as they paused. "More than half, actually. I have seen people give up before, and at that point, neither medics nor the gods can do anything to help." Waiting for a miracle didn't usually work, not in his experience. Not anywhere near a battlefield. He had also known people with severe injuries that sought death... his oath had always kept him from aiding them in that. But Dago did not seem like he was ready to give up yet.

"You are doing great." he said encouragingly, walking a few more steps before they turned back to the bed. "I'll visit again soon. Is there anything I can bring you?"

@Mobius

[Mobius]

Trying every day, even just a little, was half the battle. Dago believed it. The amount of times that he felt like he didn't have the strength or energy to offer up even the slightest bit off effort were higher than he would like to admit, and if Theo or the grunts tending to him didn't make him he likely wouldn't have tried on those days. The more days he slacked, the less likely he would be to do anything other than slacking. In a situation like his, it was far too easy to lose the will to fight. He knew he would of if not for the efforts of the man who had given him the fighting chance to begin with. "Yes, because the gods were such a great help to me at the start," he muttered, though despite there being some kind of truth to the sarcasm it was truly meant in jest.

The wounded gladiator could only manage a handful of steps with a great amount of assistance, but compared to being laid up on the medic's table completely unable to move he'd come a long way. Reaching the bed, he sighed heavily as he sat back down, feeling a weakness in his body that he didn't want to acknowledge. It might have been a great improvement from where he'd been, but being so drained by just a handful of steps wasn't exactly a boost for his self-esteem or self-confidence. "A new body and a pretty girl would be nice," he joked as he carefully lay back down. Then, in all seriousness, he added,"Something sweet to munch on if you can?" To look at him, one wouldn't think that he had a sweet tooth, but, well, he did.

@Chevi

[Chevi]

"Something sweet, I can definitely do" Theo nodded a he helped Dago lay back down. "I'd advise against pretty girls for the moment because of the... physical strain." he added with a smirk. He packed up his things, it was time to move on to his other patients. But he always felt guilty, for leaving the young man alone with his pain and his dark thoughts. "I'll visit again soon, Dago. Take care."

Hopefully, he'd be alright till then.

@Mobius