Logs:Welcome Home?
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| RL Date: 3 June, 2011 |
| Who: Joktan, Madilla |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Madilla welcomes Joktan to the Weyr. |
| Where: High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 8, Month 12, Turn 25 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Delifa/Mentions |
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| When the dragon on courier duty swings down into the bowl on this miserable, sleety afternoon, there's someone waiting there already. Madilla's probably a familiar face - she was a recent visitor to the Hall, to assist with exams, and she's been posted to the weyr for eight turns, now - though not much of her is visible: she's bundled up against the cold, with little more than her nose visible. Still, she lifts a hand to wave, a gesture which probably encompasses dragon and rider, as well as their burden. Hunched down on dragonback, all the more hunchbacked thanks to a full pack and layers of clothing, Joktan straightens with some reluctance as the courier dragon lands. A rueful laugh accompanies his scarf-muffled declaration to the rider, "It's still colder than I remembered." A bow of his head, and then, "Thank you very much for bringing me." And on that, the apprentice clambers down from the dragon to sketch a faint, layers-encumbered bow to the other healer. "Journeyman Madilla. Joktan, reporting for duty." A downward tug of his scarf reveals a smile. The rider laughs, amused, and watches until his cargo is safely upon the ground before he and his blue take off again: more work to do, or perhaps a nice, dry weyr to seek out. "Hello, Joktan," says Madilla, warmly, pulling her own scarf away from her mouth in order to give the words a better chance of being heard. "Welcome-- home? Welcome, anyway. Come on: let's get out of this muck before it gets any worse. There's a nice warm fire burning in the complex." Joktan's gaze drifts briefly to the courier pair as they take off, but is quick to return to Madilla again. "Thank you. Welcome home works, I suppose. There have been a lot of changes while I was away, though." He nods easy agreement to the mention of the craft complex, all too willing to get out of the cold. Mind, he sneaks in an appraisal of the weyr bowl as he walks, head turning from side to side. "A fire sounds wonderful. I've heard lots of great things about the craft complex facilities." His next words hold an undercurrent of laughter. "Successfully tricked me into coming back, at least." The complex is a pretty impressive structure, even from a distance: the greenhouse visible at the top, the windows built into the wall, equipment sitting in the bowl outside. Madilla gives a little nod towards it as she leads the way, telling Joktan, "I'm sorry about what happened in order for us to get it," Meteors. Death. Convicts. Destruction. "But I'm glad we have it. The facilities are excellent. I think you'll like it here. I hope so, anyway." Joktan's expression grows grave. "Those were some difficult turns. Think the years ahead will be better?" It sounds like a largely rhetorical question, but even so, doubt creeps in, which he tries to shrug off. As Madilla nods toward the impressive building in the distance, he eagerly drinks up even this distant view. "I think I will. The greenhouse must be so useful. Especially in this weather." "Yes," says Madilla: of this, she is utterly sure. "Things have been quiet, of late. And I don't say that to encourage them to not get quiet, of course. But: better. I have high hopes that they will stay that way." Her feet crunch through old and rather unpleasant looking snow; she leads at a brisk pace, adding, as they approach the complex, "Oh, it is. It's so warm and comfortable. My favourite place, during the winter. Besides - I'm hold bred. I missed all the greenery, coming here. I enjoy getting to work in the soil." "I'd like that," says Joktan. If his tone is still guarded, at least it is guardedly hopeful now. As they go crunch-crunch-crunching along in the snow, he matches the brisk pace set by the older healer, though he stays a steady step or two behind her. "I hope to spend plenty of time there. I need to know my herbs better." A brief scrunch of his nose accompanies that admission, but the expression clears as he asks, "How do you maintain a warm environment there? And what plants are growing there now?" Madilla weaves her way through the outdoors equipment, most of it shuttered against the weather, and laughs. "With Delifa and I to work with, I promise, you'll get plenty of time in there - and plenty of work with your herbs." She glances back as she says that, amusement visible across the uncovered parts of her face. "There's a natural hotspring in the mountain; we've had it piped through. It works surprisingly well. As for plants... a bit of everything, I suppose. You'll have to have a look for yourself." She pulls open the door, beckoning Joktan to proceed her into the cavern. Joktan deadpans a, "Thrilled," before a quiet laugh escapes him. "I knew this wasn't going to be a posting to laze around for when I accepted. Are you a fan of hands-on training like her?" He casts a curious look at Madilla, then nods his thanks before entering the complex. And what a sight greets him there. He has just enough presence of mind to move further in to the room so that he doesn't obstruct the door; then he lets himself stare, head turning occasionally this way and that to consider something from a different angle. As he absorbs the details, his grin grows. Madilla matches Joktan's laugh with one of her own, and her smile is broad, though she holds her answer as she follows Joktan into the hallway. She looks-- pleased, definitely, with his reaction. "It's something, isn't it? All this, in a /weyr/. And you haven't even seen our facilities, yet." She closes the door behind them, leading the way through towards the lounge area, where, as promised, there's a merry fire burning. "To answer your question: I am, yes. It's how I learned. Though you'll spend plenty of time with your books, too, I promise." "In a /weyr/," Joktan repeats back, grin wide as he wheels around to face Madilla. "My expectations don't even come close. I might just fall over when we get to the actual facilities." Trailing along to the lounge area, he breathes a sigh of satisfaction at the sight of the cheerful fire. "A balance of theory and practice, then. Looking forward to it." He really does look it, too. "Will there be frequent exams? Lots of infirmary work?" A merry laugh follows those first words, as Madilla strips off her scarf, hat, gloves, and coat, bundling them together in a tidy fashion, no doubt to be put away properly later. "The sign of a true healer," she tells Joktan, amusement wreathing her tone. "You'll head back to the Hall for exams twice a turn - the same ones you've always taken, really, though we might spring the occasional test on you in between. You'll have set infirmary shifts, though some of that time will be spent on the admissions desk, which will give you some time to study, too. And time in the workroom and greenhouse too, of course. We'll keep you plenty busy, I promise. But..." She pauses, giving the apprentice a thoughtful glance. "You'll find things a little more relaxed here, than at the Hall. Fewer apprentices, after all. More room to take responsibility, but also, to mingle with non-healers. Non-Apprentices." Joktan tugs off his gloves first and tucks them away in his knapsack. The unwound scarf and shrugged off jacket get draped neatly over an arm. A grin answers those first words, and then it's right back into question mode. "I like busy." Pause. "Though I hope for the weyr's sake that our infirmary doesn't get too busy. Is the admissions desk here less busy than Healer Hall's?" He glances at Madilla again, checking. "What sort of cases do you -- healers here -- usually take in?" Another pause comes as he meets that thoughtful gaze. "That's a good thing, right? By 'more room to take responsibility,' do you mean healerly," the shift of his eyes betrays doubt that it's an actual word, "healer responsibilities or...?" Fill in the blank here. Madilla holds her hands out in front of the fire, turning them over at intervals as she warms them up on both sides. The barrage of questions causes a twitch of amusement in her expression, though it otherwise remains as warm and friendly as it has been. "More healer responsibilities, yes. Or - whatever that phrase ought to be." She, apparently, isn't any more sure. "We're less busy than the Hall, but, of course, there are fewer of us. It can vary pretty wildly: some days are hectic, others less so. Night shifts are a good time to get study in. There's lots of variety in cases - and because there are fewer of us, we tend to specialise less. Illness, accident, pregnancy; all the usual kinds of things. This time of turn, we patch up a lot of minor injuries. Ice can be quite treacherous." Joktan edges closer to the fire; his expression, none too tense before, eases yet further in the warmth. "Ice can be, yeah. But variety is great. More practice doing different things." Here, consideration finally catches up with healer enthusiasm, and he gives a faint cough, his head ducking down sheepishly. "Not so good for the patients, of course. I've been told I need to work on my bedside manner." But soon another question comes to mind, and he asks, "Do we also make rounds in the outlying areas, or do the Hold's healers attend to that?" "You'll have plenty of time to work on that, here," says Madilla, her tone suggesting that's taking mental notes and will make absolutely sure of it. Softer, and more comforting is her admission, "I don't know if you remember me, when I first arrived here. I was-- too shy and unsure to make decisions, I suppose? One learns." She's earnest, with that last; it's evidently intended to be encouraging. "The Hold's healers generally tend to that, but there are exceptions. If the Dragonriders discover things that need tending to, while on Sweeps, we may get sent out. We're also trying to do more outreach, to places that don't often see healers, but that's more... occasional." Joktan registers Madilla's tone with a faint grin, though the grin fades into a thoughtful line as he nods. "I remember. One learns, indeed." The words are a little wistful, but his nod is resolute. "I mean to learn, while I'm here." His gaze grows distant with speculation as he considers her answers. "What sort of places? How do the people there respond to--" Beat. He flashes a grin. "Does it bother you, all these questions? You weren't exactly posted here to be interrogated, really, especially by an apprentice." The quick bob of Madilla's head seems to be a measure of approval, though she says nothing to respond to Joktan until he's finished speaking. "Not at all," she promises, in a low, but warm voice. "A question is better out than in. Generally, the people respond well. A lot of them don't see a lot of outsiders, so they can be... reserved. They can be from all over, really. High up in the mountains, or in the plains; anywhere in the coverage area." Her hands, now warmed, get tucked behind her back, fingers tangling together. A delighted smile answers Madilla's assurance, and the expression lingers even as Joktan moves on. "I'd like to look at any records of those outreach efforts, later on," he decides right here and now. If Madilla had been too shy and unsure, he is perhaps too much the opposite. One hand rubs at the side of his jaw. "I wonder if they use any herbs or techniques that are different from ours. Something to look into in the future, perhaps." Something about that response obviously pleases Madilla, her mouth shifting in a distinctly contented kind of way. "I do believe you're going to do well here," she tells him, then, brightly cheerful. "That could be an interesting project to work on; it's not one I've thought much about, I admit. Collating all those things." It has her looking thoughtful for a moment, though she shakes it away to glance towards the passage again. "Would you like me to show you the dorms, now? Or the workroom and greenhouse? If you're warm enough to move on." Joktan gives a quiet chuckle. "I hope so. Better for the journeymen stuck with having me underfoot." He lapses into a contemplative silence, perhaps pondering the task of collating everything, but he too shakes it off in favor of an eager nod. His answer is all too predictable by this point: "The workroom and the greenhouse, please." Preparing to move again, he shifts the drape of coat and scarf over his arm. This answer, too, pleases Madilla, who scoops up her own abandoned outerwear and indicates the doorway with her head. "At least you know the Infirmary already: that's one less thing we need to cover. And the rest of the caverns. It can be a pretty unpleasant slog, getting to and from here in the middle of winter, across the bowl, but there's always a cot over in the infirmary if you really need it." She leads the way, despite her indication: out of the lounge, into the corridor, and then into the next corridor, which is, as she explains, "All the workrooms, through here." "Much too well," Joktan agrees on the topic of the weyr infirmary. As for the unpleasant slog, "Maybe we can convince a miner to tunnel across someday." It is said airily enough to be entirely a joke. Meanwhile, his eyes mark the various corridors and track their progress. When the workrooms come into view, his eyes are conducting a cursory count even as he wonders aloud, "Is there one for every craft?" He takes a stab at answering his own question, adding, "Well, maybe not the Beastcraft so much. They need space." "Wouldn't /that/ be nice," agrees Madilla, with a dreamy kind of a sigh. "If only. Oh - there's one for every craft that can use one, yes. A lot of people work out in the lounge, where we were before, and of course, there's the equipment outside. They actually talked with all of us, or at least, all the crafts, before things were built, to work out what was needed." Which seems to make Madilla terribly happy. Pacing ahead, she opens one of the doors and beckons Joktan through. "And this one is ours. Not as big as a lot of them, but then... we have the infirmary /and/ the greenhouse, too." "I'll keep an eye out for obliging miners," Joktan volunteers without missing a beat, and a dreamy smile of his own surfaces. "So they had a chance to work out the, mmm, flow of the room's dimensions. To suit all the different crafts. Wonderful." He hardly waits for the beckons before striding into the room. It is as fast a pace as he can manage without bursting into an outright jog or run. Madilla laughs, again, and tells Joktan, "You do that. And when you've convinced them, tell me /how/; I could use that kind of power of persuasion." Nodding enthusiastically, she adds, "They did a really good job. It's all-- well. You'll see." At which point they're entering the workroom, which is, as promised, really quite impressive. Though nothing on the greenhouse, which follows. |
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