Logs:Healing Wounds
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| RL Date: 3 May, 2015 |
| Who: Nala, Tess |
| Involves: Fort Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Nala and Tess help to clear the hatching cavern of storm damage |
| Where: Hatching Sands, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 14, Month 9, Turn 37 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Hattie/Mentions |
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>---< Hatching Sands, Fort Weyr >--------------------------------------------< The pale, golden-hued sands occupy nearly the entirety of the Hatching Cavern, with the dam and sire traditionally claiming the north with their eggs scattered throughout. To the right are the Galleries, which stretch up nearly the entire length of the wall and provide the only visual break in what would otherwise be a monotonous tableau. Lighting comes from both the entrance and through glow baskets spaced throughout, ensuring that the place is well-lit at all times. The heat here is tolerable, but only barely, and heat mirages are relatively common. Turns of hatchings have resulted in the sands being littered with fragmentary bits of shells despite thorough cleanings, subtle bits of history being left behind. It's not everyday that weyrfolk are invited onto the hatching sands, though it may not be explicitly forbidden when there's no clutch warming on them. Today's invitation is by necessity. A crew of volunteers has been recruited to collect the debris that litters the wide swathe of sand that was exposed to the whims of storm. Though the cavern is largely untouched, there's sticks and leaves and junk a plenty brought in by driving rain and what wind could navigate in from the sky above. The crew largely consists of the yet-to-be clutch hopefuls, but there's a handful of others that must have had time or special inclination to volunteer themselves. One of these is Tess, her hair pulled back into a single braid to keep it well away from her face and not make the heat all the worse by being piled on her head. She's got a wheelbarrow and gloves, ever the practical helper, settled on the hot sands on the reinforced knees of her trousers to pick little bits here and there. Her motions have stilled though, staring quietly at some bit of debris that's shiny and not quite like the rest of storm-tossed flora and detritus. Several of the riders trapped away from their home for the duration of the storm have taken a day or so to get themselves and their dragons checked over, and to try and get some rest, but at least one of them has thrown herself straight back into whatever duties and chores are being offered the Weyr's population. Jynth has curled himself up in one corner of the Sands, the area around him already clear, and lies watching the proceedings with an odd intensity that focuses on the work being done and, more specifically, his rider. Nala's not really going anywhere fast, aches evident from the somewhat tentative way in which she moves, yet it's not stopping her from actually getting the job done, no reprieve granted whatever pain there might be. With an armful of small, jagged rocks, she moves for Tess' wheelbarrow, to tip them inside. "What do you have there?" she asks, pausing to straighten and arch back. "A piece of shell, I think," Tess doesn't sound certain when she says it, holding it up in the palm of her hand, out and away from herself like an offering. "Is it? I can't tell." She's never seen that sort of thing up close before, though. Blue eyes must take in the stretch, though given the healer's apparent focus on the task at hand that's not so unlike Nala's in its determination, it's likely she didn't realize that that blue was Jynth in particular and by extension that Nala was here on the sands. "Is your back alright?" she must ask because that's what healers do in times like these. The storm has no doubt encouraged a sense of permanently on-duty status even if the healers did have to start sleeping in shifts at some point as time wore on. Nala leans a little closer to get a better look at what Tess has found, and after a few moments of study, she supposes, "Maybe it was from one of the queens', with a shine like that," sounding none too certain herself. "Or an opportunistic firelizard hatched her babies on stolen Sands. Still... I'd guess gold something, of either sort." Her hands find her hips, thumbs sneaking in to apply pressure to points in her lower back, though she doesn't seem very actively concerned by any of it, the motion perhaps an unconscious one. "I'll live," she declares, matter of fact. The faintest hint of a pained grimace flashes across her features. "...Which is more than some have," the bluerider says more quietly. Tess's eyes follow the rider as she makes her assessment, nodding. "Pretty, at any rate." She looks at the bit and carefully take it between her fingers as if to see how pliant it is, endeavoring to not break it in the process. The experiment comes to an abrupt stop when Nala says her last. The healer's head tips down so her expression is hidden as she quietly says, "I know." It's a moment before she's clearing her throat and saying, "Strange to think how many eggs have left a mark on these Sands, how many dragons have contributed to the Sands through their shells. And also how many more will do so in time. Do you think Elaruth will host a good clutch, in spite of the storm stress during her gestation?" Perhaps she asks Nala because she's a rider and don't riders know these sorts of things? Momentarily, Nala lifts her chin and looks away at one of the far walls, though she quickly refocuses on Tess, watching, yet not staring at her. She doesn't press, but she doesn't look away either, and, belatedly realising some sort of error, she winces and murmurs a, "Sorry," that sounds more mannered than true, even if it might only be owing to the way in which she speaks. "...I don't know," she admits, glancing over at Jynth, whose attention presently rests with them. "...I know carrying a child in times of high stress is perhaps one of the least fun things ever. With multiple births and the stress of hundreds of minds depending on her for guidance or restraint..." Hopeful, she does not sound. "Perhaps it will depend on how well the Weyrwoman has looked after her." Tess's head shakes slowly, "No, it's not-- you don't need to apologize. It's just been hard, seeing it happen." The healer considers the Sands a moment. "I suppose we're all just getting soft, without Thread, without seeing it more often. Or maybe it's the kind of thing that never gets easier." The young woman looks up to Nala, thoughtful. She most likely would like to ask about the nature of that 'knowing,' but for the moment she remains silent. "Perhaps. I think the dragonhealers had been vigilant before the storm, but with so many needing their attention... I can't say if they had enough time to see to them properly." She places the shard down on the sands again, carefully. "I'm not certain that it would be made obvious - or let to be - if she were in distress at this point. I don't believe that it would do... morale... any good." Nala gestures with her right hand towards Jynth, who seems calm enough, his eyes nothing but a shade of blue almost the same as his hide. "He is telling her every so often about what we are doing here, and he has not shared with me any signs that she is upset." Perhaps it's meant to be reassuring; perhaps it's the only reassurance she can offer. "...I would... be concerned about a person who was immune to death," she quietly admits. "It would suggest that something of them is missing, I think." The bluerider's words provoke a sigh from the healer. "No, of course, you're right." Still, something about that doesn't seem to sit wholly well with Tess. Her expression is briefly troubled as she gazes at the sands for a moment before looking up and over to Jynth, offering the blue a small smile. "Well, that's something," even if it may not be a particularly reassuring something. Tess can rally, and does. "Jynth was not injured, I trust? In the storm?" Nala doesn't seem so sure that she's right about anything, but she accepts that with a faintly wry twist of her lips. Inhaling deeply, she starts to shake her head, confessing, "A little scuffed and bruised, but nothing that will not absent itself in a short space of time," as she exhales. "It was... difficult, to get out of its path when it swept up, but there was no chance of making it back either, even Between. The only way to go was out and away entirely." She twitches one shoulder. "As discomforting as it may have been, it sounds like being here might have been worse in many respects." It's half a question, her dark gaze seeking out Tess'. Tess looks surprised, but likely because: "Oh, I guess I hadn't had time to think about those caught outside." The healer blinks a few times and then lets a forearm rub across her brow to clear it of the sweat beading there before pressing up from the hot sands. "Forgive me, it's been... we barely slept, really. The healers. Too much to do. Even scrapes and cuts can turn nasty if they're not treated. I'm not sure I've ever been so busy in my life," which may not be an exaggeration. "Where did you go?" She asks, but with a sense of wondering curiosity, not a driven need to know. "If it would be more beneficial for you to go and get some sleep..." Nala suggests, glancing about at the others pawing through the Sands and galleries. "I can suggest that it would be selfish for you not to rest, if you like, and say that your colleagues will need you to be as refreshed as possible in the coming days. Not that that is my primary concern, but I can repeat it if it would assist in your getting rest." Slowly, she shifts her weight, thumbs pressing in at either side of her spine once more. "Here and there," the bluerider provides of their whereabouts. "We did not stay in any one place for too long. It was... not easy to settle anywhere." Tess gives Nala a rueful sort of smile. "'Healer, heal thine self,'" she intones an oft repeated phrase with dry humor before beginning to peel off her gloves. "You're right, I'm sure," comes with a reluctant sigh. "I just felt I should do something beyond what I do anyway. To be a part of this... healing, if that's what it is. A repair to the wounds of the Weyr." She shakes her head slightly. "I should go, and sleep, if I can. I'd like to hear more though, if you're willing to tell me, about being on the outside." Of course she does; Tess wants to know everything. "I know," Nala murmurs, though it's a little unclear which element of Tess' response that she understands or can identify with, for she doesn't elaborate any more than giving that acknowledgement. "I'll... I can try," she agrees, the dip of her chin a passable nod, "though they might not be fascinating tales." Still, whatever the case, she moves forward a half-step as if to guard or claim ownership of the wheelbarrow in the healer's absence. "I'll tell you if we find anything weird here as well. Maybe some lost documentation from some far-flung Hold..." Fanciful now, she gives a wry smile. "Go heal yourself." "You might underestimate my ability to become fascinated," Tess' voice carries humor, but hollowly. It's probably true, but it's hard to have one's heart in it in the wake of storm and tragedy. She sets the gloves on the edge of the wheelbarrow, for Nala or whomever else might get use of them. "Thank you, Nala," is solid in delivery. The healer turns without more than a nod to Jynth in farewell and retreats toward the bowl. |
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