Logs:Avoiding Issue(s)
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| RL Date: 13 April, 2013 |
| Who: Jinja, Madilla, Telavi, Treinan |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Telavi needs more tea. Madilla's Apprentices can't oblige, as much as they'd like to, but Madilla can. Within reason. |
| Where: Infirmary / Weyrhealer's Office, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 4, Month 7, Turn 31 (Interval 10) |
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| Weyrhealer's Office, High Reaches Weyr The Weyrhealer's Office has clearly been recently redecorated; much of the furniture looks quite new. The room has been set out into several different spaces: a desk, with a chair behind it and two set out in front, several bookcases, and then a little sitting area. The hangings on the wall, the rugs, and the fabrics used to cover the chairs all match: a color scheme of purples and reds that aim for warmth and comfort. A kettle hangs above the little hearth that provides warmth to the room, with a small shelf next to it where a collection of teas, as well as mugs and spoons, can be found. It'll be dinner time (for those who eat at 'normal' times, whatever that means) in an hour or two, which means the day is beginning to wear down for some-- but not in the Infirmary, not really. The two healers stationed out at the desk are Apprentices, and young ones at that, presently quizzing each other on body parts and, "Do you think someone would really die if you pulled out their eyeball? I mean, there's blind people, right?" "Idiot," scoffs the other, rolling her eyes, and staring, wistfully, towards the exit. "Someone would die if they pulled out my eyeball," Telavi contributes as she approaches them from the other entrance, but she's smiling, walking with a slight swing of her hips below the hem of her a-line, flutter-sleeved blouse. Her shorts are short too, her sandals bare flaps with many-petaled fabric flowers sewn to the thongs that secure them, nothing that will survive stepping in muck. Fortunately, there shouldn't be any of that in here, should there? She keeps walking, until she can lean on that desk, and for a moment that smile's pressed out of her lips and that much brighter in her eyes. "Which one of you can help me?" Both apprentices given simultaneous innocent looks, though the girl - taller, probably a turn or two older - lifts her hand and covers her mouth, and the giggle that follows. She's the one who thinks he's the idiot, but she's distracted from that, now, giving Telavi's sandals a particularly covetous glance. "It rather depends," says the boy, "what you need? I guess it isn't eyeball extraction," though he looks at her eyes, just in case, "But...? We're apprentices, so we may not be able to help much, either of us." The girl looks mutinous - quietly offended. Telavi gives the boy quite nearly the sweetest of smiles, and crosses her eyes at him. Once they're uncrossed, with evident regret, "Not tonight." The girl, now, she gets a commiserating glance, one that lingers for longer. "I'm sorry. It's rough when they say to wait, wait, wait," though her voice lifts slightly, not to assume. "It's a small thing, really, the healers back at Benden mixed me up this really awful drink that's supposed to keep people from getting pregnant, and I have so many fewer cramps with it, but I'm running out. They said it's really basic, could you just top me off...?" The boy blushes, in that way that young teen boys so often do when faced with pretty girls a few turns older than them. At least it gives his compatriot time to take control of the conversation again. "Right? But - you're one of the weyrlings, aren't you? So you'd know that, too. But you get to graduate sooner than we get to walk the tables." She's not bitter, but oh, so impatient. The boy finds his voice again, now: "We can't give you anything like that. Are you even allowed to--" Blush. Blush. "Maybe we should find Madilla." That's the natural course of things, blushing teenaged boys, and Tela certainly doesn't question it. "I am." A weyrling. Telavi sighs. Her sleeves flutter, even, just a little. "How much longer do you have left?" she asks the girl. To her, even though the boy asked the question, "It's just that if it runs out, and I stop, it'll take months for it to work properly again. To be able to..." Here she does glance at the boy, and she doesn't get explicit, she doesn't even swear, but her voice is full of teasing implication before her attention returns to the other apprentice. "Count on it." Madilla? Did someone say 'Madilla'? Telavi looks prettily confident that the other girl can handle it, all on her own. "Probably three turns," says the girl, wistfully. "And I've been studying since I was twelve. I bet we can help you. I know where they keep all that--" "Jinja." Her fellow apprentice gives her a warning look, and tries to straighten his stance and look tall (it would work better if he were actually tall). "You know we're not allowed. Let me go get Madilla." He gives both girls a warning look, and scuttles away. The girl - Jinja, presumably - gives a long-suffering sigh. "Now I'll catch it. I bet she gave out stuff when she was my age. Perfect Madilla." Telavi's smile is gradually brightening, an ever-so-slow glad sunrise as her confidence in the girl becomes warranted... until the boy ruins things. Boys. Jinja sighs, Tela sighs, and rolls her eyes for good measure. Stupid boys. "I won't tell, and he'd better not. Three turns seems like forever. Is she really that... 'perfect'?" Jinja glowers after her departing colleague, then turns back to Telavi, just in time to sigh again. "She... kind of is. I mean, not perfect, but she's so nice and kind and everyone respects her, and she's a great mentor, but it's just-- sometimes you just want to scream, you know? Fuck, make a mistake, do something wrong, just to prove that you're normal like the rest of us. It's hard to live up to, that's all. I'm sure I could do a Journeyman's work, now, but because I'm not twenty... it's unfair." Telavi's nodding, nodding, she understands and it's all too genuine. "I know people like that," she agrees. "Just not many of them," Thankfully, right? says her smile. She's resting her hands on the counter, now, smoothing the wood slowly with one palm. Softer, "How old are you, Jinja? Imagine, twenty before you can do anything... I have to say, I thought I was chafing, but it must be so much worse for you." "Seventeen," says Jinja, with a low whooosh of breath, an exhale that is rather more like a sigh. "Well. Nearly." Nearly. It's nearly the same thing, right? "Madilla, she got promoted at nineteen, but I think you have to be exceptional, for that, you know? At least Weyrlinghood is shorter." She'd probably say more, but Treinan is on his way back, and tall (but-not-as-tall-as-Jinja), motherly Madilla is trailing after him. "Seventeen?" 'Nearly'? Who cares? "Well, we're really close then," Tela says with a smile that makes her dimples show up. "In fact," but then the other two register, and she straightens with a regretful glance at Jinja, and maybe only the girl can tell that the smile they get isn't quite as glad. "Weyrhealer," she says with respect, and a little dip of her chin. Jinja can totally tell, and her grin... conspiratorial, and giving the definite suggestion that, if caught alone, she could be a terribly helpful ally, now that Tela's got her onside. More professional, however, is the glance she aims at Madilla as the Weyrhealer approaches. "Weyrling," says the Journeyman, drawing up alongside the apprentice. "Do you want to come into my office? We'll talk." No answering looks from Telavi, not with Madilla right there and let's not forget that little narc too, but her smile tugs briefly brighter and it's not just at the weyrhealer's greeting. "Of course, ma'am." She follows the older woman discreetly, her hands behind her back... though her fingers do wiggle in leavetaking, just a little. As Weyrhealer and Weyrling venture off, Jinja can be heard, having just nudged the other Apprentice, "Don't be such a spoil-sport, you ass. Grow up! Grow a pair." None of which shifts Madilla's expression, even a little, though she can't have missed it. Perhaps she's simply used to the byplay of that particular pair. "Now," she says, as she issues Telavi into the office. "What was it you needed? I'm Madilla - High Reaches' Weyrhealer." "Thank you for seeing me, Weyrhealer," and Telavi's even now all about the respect. She doesn't sit down of her own accord, but rather waits until the other woman directs her, if she directs her. "I don't know if your apprentice said? but I'm just looking to get some more of the tea I'd gotten from the Benden weyrhealer, supposedly it's quite a basic mixture, but it's wonderful for cramps even if it is awful-tasting." Madilla takes a seat behind the desk, motioning Telavi to sit opposite only once she's done so. "He mentioned," she confirms, giving Telavi a smile. "Do you get terrible cramps-- I'm sorry, I don't know that I caught your name? It's good to have, for my records. You're right, of course: it is a basic mixture, if it's the one I'm thinking of. I just like to know." "Telavi," the girl complies, with a smile that's sweet like the one the apprentices had gotten outside, only far less knowing, far less teasing. "One of the weyrlings? From Benden, I was Searched just before the hatching." Her quick glance suggests that someone could be listening, but she dares to say it even so, and look, there's a blush. "It's also good so I won't catch a child, too, though of course that won't be an issue," Telavi barely, barely holds off on underlining the pun, "until later." 'Issue'. Madilla's mouth twitches, just once, but mostly she's watching the weyrling with a look that is just this side of appraising. "No," she agrees. "Of course not. I imagine it is a little while yet before you're cleared for such things. Telavi. You've taken this tea for some time, have you? And, of course, my counterpart at Benden explained all of the... impacts of it." "Yes, ma'am. I hope so, ma'am." Tela looks down at her hands, and then her eyes lift to Madilla's face even when her head does not. "He, or rather his aide, said it would be easier on my body to keep taking it regularly than to stop and then start again, even if it weren't for its helping the cramps. I wanted to see you before I was completely out," because, see, she's a weyrling who thinks ahead, very judicious and responsible and trustworthy too, yes. There's a nod, from the healer, but it's not a 'yes, of course you're correct, let me go and fetch some of this wonderful tea for you' nod; not yet, anyway. "You must have had an awfully large supply with you, when you come," she remarks, scribbling down some notes on the blank file in front of her. "To have managed this long. Is there anything I should know about your medical history?" Telavi doesn't bristle, doesn't sit up, doesn't tense. She merely says, half-apologetically even, "They were kind enough to provide for me. And, of course, it's only one day in seven." Visibly she thinks about what she could or should report, her head tilted, her hands folded in contemplation until finally she adds, "Not that I'm aware of, ma'am." "And you... commenced taking this tea because of problems with cramps?" Madilla turns her pen within her fingers, twisting it this way and that. "You know, of course, that it's not one hundred percent protection against pregnancy, and that it can be very hard on the body... you know that there is no fool-proof way to avoid pregnancy before it begins." She tilts her head up, and waits, eyes on Telavi. "It's been a few turns now, ma'am, I'm... nineteen," Telavi explains, and as she watches the weyrhealer play with the pen, a green firelizard appears above her head, trills, and then after a sharp look from Tela promptly disappears again. "I'm sorry for the interruption, she's been behaving since we got here... Where were we? Oh, it helped with both, that's why, they said, I was to use this mix instead of a different one, but really they were awful before and now... a little less awful." She wrinkles her nose before offering the weyrhealer a small smile. "Yes, ma'am. Do you think there ever will be, someday?" Madilla might have something to say-- or perhaps blush-- about that first remark, if it weren't for the interruption of the firelizard; her gaze lifts, watching first the green and then the empty space where the green was for several seconds. Finally, she turns green-eyed gaze back upon the weyrling, lips parting. "Perhaps," she says. "It would be nice if there were, wouldn't it? No unwanted children. I know I'd like that. But it's difficult to make herbs do what they don't naturally do-- so. Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" Telavi's, "Exactly, ma'am," is a quiet murmur. What else, what else. She squishes up her lips, moving them from one side to the other in a habitual sort of way before her expression clears and, suddenly, she smiles. "What my uncle always said to say, ma'am. 'Please?'" It may not be - in fact, it certainly isn't - exactly what Madilla might have been looking for, if she had something in mind, but it makes her smile, anyway. "Now you sound like my son," she says, abruptly sounding fond. "I'd like you to make an appointment to come back for a proper physical; it doesn't look as though you've had one, yet?" Her brows raise, a question there that she doesn't ask outright. "But you can have your tea. Just-- don't let me hear about you breaking weyrling rules, mm?" Her son. Tela's paused a moment, but the fondness... she smiles. "Not here, ma'am," she says, still protective of those Benden crafters but not arguing. "Thank you, ma'am," and there's visible, tangible relief. "I'll try not to," and there's her wide, warm smile. "Especially not anything that could get me with child, I know that wouldn't be fair... though I will be glad when weyrlinghood is done." "I should send for your old records," muses Madilla. Though, "Not that that will prevent me from doing another physical. It's the kind of thing that ought to be done regularly, of course." She gives Telavi a nod, and, yes, the corners of her mouth are twitching into a genuine smile. "I don't imagine there are many weyrlings who don't look forward to weyrlinghood being over. Let me fetch you a supply-- I prefer not to give out large amounts at once, of course." That prospect doesn't seem to bother Telavi in the least, though when Madilla clarifies, she makes her smile into something much more mournful, complete to a single tremble of her lower lip. Just to remind Madilla of her children some more, after all. Then, "If you insist, ma'am. I suppose that means you'd like me to come back and visit?" She glances about as though seeing the hangings for the first time, as though this could be some sort of social call. "Regular visits... otherwise, I end up getting bored," says Madilla, rising out of her chair. She's teasing, especially when she adds, "And you don't want to meet a bored healer. We have too much out our disposal." It's the work for minutes to fetch a wrapped-up package for Telavi, and to hand it over with the admonishment of, "Remember your dosage. It's not dangerous, of course, but... it's better for your body if you're careful. But you'd know that." Telavi has her hands to her mouth as though in shock, shock, as the weyrhealer leaves, though by the time she's back Tela's standing. She gladly accepts the package with a murmur of thanks, and seeks to meet Madilla's gaze afterward, too. With unusual seriousness, "It's worked for me, I've never needed anything else. I hope not to either. Someday... someday I could see children, maybe? But just now there's so much to do, it feels like you understand, ma'am." And that they're lucky to have the choice. Madilla's fingers linger upon the package a little longer than they need to, but as Telavi speaks, she inhales, lengthily. There's a nod, just a faint one. "It's better this way," she says, quietly. "Better to avoid the issue, than to have to... deal with it, later." She doesn't say it, not out-loud, but it's obvious that that would upset her more. Does upset her more, regardless of everything. "I try to. Look after yourself, Telavi, please? And if you need... anything at all." Madilla? She's here. Tela presses the weyrhealer's hands with one of hers, just for a moment, before completely taking the medicine into her custody. "I will. Thank you again." She touches that hand to her forehead, the salute she's not supposed to give crafters. Then she goes. |
Comments
Comments on "Logs:Avoiding Issue(s)"Azaylia (Dragonshy (talk)) left a comment on Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:17:22 GMT.
*eyes* ...There's no real reason to suspect Telavi, and yet. ...Hm. Still, I thought the apprentice complaining about how perfect Madilla is was just too funny. She must seem that way to young folk, right? x3 I hope those two Apprentices make another appearance, I enjoyed them.
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