Logs:Yearning
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| RL Date: 10 June, 2011 |
| Who: Devaki |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Vignette |
| What: Devaki falls ill, and dreams. |
| Where: High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 27, Month 12, Turn 25 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Evali/Mentions |
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| He lay there, wheezing. Each breath was a painful knife in his lungs. He wondered whether this was how Kiami had felt. He wondered whether she'd even been aware he had been by her side. He knew he wasn't... all there. His thoughts were scattered. He was enough of a mindhealer to recognize it, but it didn't mean he could do anything about it. Healer, heal thyself. What did that mean, anyway? If you cut yourself on the leg you could bandage yourself up without a problem. And it's not like you wouldn't notice the blood gushing, right? Redwort. That smell brought him back, made him realize he was drifting. It was so difficult to concentrate. But the smell twitched his nose, sent him to halfway between sneeze and cough, though either was unwelcome, bringing painful reactions in his lungs. His chest hurt from all the coughing. It felt like someone'd laid a rock on top of him. Is this what it felt like to be crushed to death? He remembered, then, in the Turns they'd spent in the caves on the island during the erratic Theadfall, one of the other boys his age had died, crushed in a cave in. What was his name? It was strange that he couldn't remember the name. They'd been quite close, almost as close as he and Xoami were now. Where was Xoami? It must've been near dawn and he'd have to get up soon, head out for fishing. Normally Xoami woke him, but he was alone. Just the sound of his breathing. That was important somehow, but he wasn't sure why. He drifted. Fell asleep, again. Maybe Xoami had gone without him. He was interested in that younger girl, he'd hoped to marry her. Devaki hadn't the heart to tell his friend that he couldn't. They were second cousins, and such a pairing couldn't be allowed, for the sake of their children, and their children's children. It was his responsibility to do all he could to preserve their bloodlines. Who knows how many more decades they could be on this island? He wanted his children, and his children's children to grow up well. But who could he marry? No one. No one of the Blood. He felt the weight of that. He'd promised his father he would take the responsibility seriously, and he had. Even though it had cost him friendships, at times. Could he do that to Xoami? Yes, he reflected. He had to. For the good of the island. It must've been summer, because he could tell he had a fine sheen of sweat on his brow. Why hadn't Xoami woken him up yet? And why couldn't remember the boy's name? Much later, when he woke, they told him his grandfather was there, in the infirmary. While Viremi hadn't yet recovered, he'd made it through the worst of the sickness. Whether he'd survive -- or how long, was anyone's guess. Viremi was, Devaki knew, a survivor. And Devaki needed him, to be well, to tell him things he needed to know. He had no word of his only remaining sister, Evali, and wouldn't, until they released him. The weight of their prison grew heavier by day. It made him yearn for the freedom of their island. |
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