I dream to heal your wounds.... [Row]

[Lotty]

But I bleed myself.


Raebeli was determined to make this work out.

She forced a smile as she stood for the brief lonely moment in the main hall - balancing a plate of food and cup of juice - waiting for the opportunity to present itself. Surely there would be a place for her: the newly assigned Journeywoman who knew not a soul in this place outside of the infirmary and even there she was failing with names. She knew the shift vaguely, sometimes still stuttering as she put together identities, but was still a bit clueless as to the identities of the day shift healers. So of course she wasn't exactly going to have a dining buddy now was she?

You'd think she would have learned to make friends. You would think she would practice what she preached and take the world by storm and be the most popular girl in the weyr by now. Apparently it wasn't as easy as it sounds.

Nonetheless she would smile, she had to, it was her greatest saving grace, and frowns never bought anything but trouble. She took a few timid steps forward, picking out a spot at an sparsely populated table and proceeded to stare at her food. It wasn't normal to eat this early....it wasn't normal for her to be wanting breakfast...it wasn't normal for her to be in a giant tree house either, but these were just changes she was going to have to get used to. Slowly. Selenitas was everything one would expect of a foreign land, and taking it all in was simply tiring. Though, admittedly, switching to night time shifts in the infirmary could account for most of his sleepiness.

She had only been here for a few days she reminded herself as she picked at some bread, and she had a feeling that it would all be better soon.

[Rowana]

T'ke looked up from his food to see a girl had joined his table He frowned. People didn't generally sit so far from the main conversations, unless they were shy or just generally unlikable like he was. Well, maybe not entirely unlikable. Saeo like him, after all, and Ke'rin too, so he couldn't be all bad. C'ryl at least tolerated him. Still, his list of friends was small, especially given how long he had been here. Garaeth was still the only one he ever spoke with for any length of time.

Talk to her! Garaeth suggested brightly. Since when do you spy on me? T'ke returned, half annoyed, but mostly amused. Much as he was loathe to admit, the blue was growing on him. Since you started being sad that you had no friends. T'ke winced. Ouch, that was harsh coming from your own dragon. Go on! Nothing bad will happen! He rolled his eyes. Says the dragon who said hatchings were safe and flights were fun. Alright, alright. If it means you'll stop pestering me.

T'ke shifted a couple seats over so that he was next to the girl, though not close enough to be intimidating. As if it were possible for him to intimidate anyone. "Um..hi," he began, feeling rather inept at the whole speaking thing. "So, are you knew here? I don't think I've seen you around."

[Lotty]

Being lost in her thoughts, she neglected to realize anybody had shifted over towards her. She missed squealing of chairs and the creaking of wood associated with the minor musical chairs that was occurring to her side, she missed that normal sense that somebody had neared, and she didn't even pick up a shadow in her peripherals. Raebeli was too used to being safe, she hadn't learned to be afraid and on pins and needles. If T'ke had been an enemy rider she would have been dead already. Luckily for her sake he was of the friendly sort and merely introduced himself. The girl was more than delighted to see him. After the initial shock.

It was the voice that alerted her, she responded with a sudden flinch and a bit of a blush, it was unbecoming to be caught off guard. She put a hand to her chest, as if it would calm her jumping heart, and slowly withdrew as her surprise was replaced with a smile, "Oh hello," there were nervous giggles bubbling and the back of her head while she graciously answered his question. So he noticed! It was reassuring to her that she stuck out, she wasn't just a face in the crowd, there were people nice enough to help her assimilate into Weyr life, "I'm Raebeli and I am very new um...." this is the part where a name usually would go, "I came from the healer hall up north a few days ago." She turned her whole body to the....blue rider? She couldn't tell exactly, she was horrible with knots,

"What's your name?" How silly did that sound? She chastised herself for sounding like such a little girl, "I mean. I'm so sorry. I've never been to a Weyr before or at least lived at one," giggling she added, "I've never ate my dinners in a tree house either, I'm having a bit of culture shock to be honest!"

[Rowana]

T'ke tried to calm his nerves as the girl, Raebeli, spoke. Was it just him, or did she talk a lot? It is just you, Garaeth rumbled in amusement. I like her. You like everyone, T'ke pointed out. He turned his focus back to Raebeli. That was a pretty name. Then he realize she had asked for his and stuttered slightly to get it out.

"I'm T'ke, one of the weyrlings," he started. Do not forget me! "My dragon is blue. Garaeth." Why couldn't he speak properly? And Akyo! Akyo doesn't count. T'ke said firmly. He sometimes wished he had never found that pesky darter. "And, uh," he went on. "You'll get used to it. It's not so bad." Was he being rude? Maybe he should offer to help or something. "If you have any questions..." he left it hanging, though he almost hoped she didn't. He still wasn't good at this whole meeting people business.

[Lotty]

Garaeth was a bit wrong...Raebeli did tend to talk a lot, especially when she was given an open forum to do so. In giving counsel to others she had learned to reign in her tongue a bit more and listen to problems rather than immediately opening her mouth to solve them, but this was different, this was normal conversation. Wasn't she supposed to carry on and on? Wouldn't it be so much worse to reply with shrugs and awkward silence? She thought she was doing rather well pausing and giving the weyrling a chance to jump in. Politeness is something that was bred into her after all, it would do no good for a harper's daughter to be a bad conversationalist, so as he introduced himself to go by the name of T'ke of blue Garaeth, she cocked her head in genuine interest, "Very nice to meet you Weyrling T'ke.....and Garaeth too."

As was in her nature, she couldn't help but begin to pick the boy apart. Not cruelly. No, not in the least. It was a gentle assessment, a quick scan from her royal blue eyes told her what she needed to know...she was just trying to pick up on body language, little voice cues. That slight stutter; it must have meant the words were hard to find, or that maybe he was nervous. Oh to think, a rider nervous about talking to her. She considered the possibility before setting it aside. He was offering to answer her questions. Oh! Well he would be in store for a long, long chat if it wasn't for an encroaching shift at the infirmary (don't remind her that she was stuck in the night shit, it was too much of a bummer to think about).

"Questions? Oh, well I have so many, I think it would hardly be fair to burden you with all of them," by now her food was going completely ignored, T'ke was a much more important matter, "I saw some people earlier today. They had strange little creatures with frills," and now she held her hands out next to her face to demonstrate, "what are those? I have never seen them at Fort." While some might care that they were sounding naive, this hardly phased the girl. She wanted to know, so what better course of action then to ask?

"You don't look like a weyrling you know, are you about to graduate?" She tacked that bit on the end, almost seeming out of place with such random topic jumping, but it's ok, she could get away with it. Her smile was much too endearing.

[Rowana]

Great, T'ke thought moodily. She did talk a lot. Just his luck really. Still, at least she was being nice so far. Most people tried to leave by now, once they found out what kind of person he was. He sometimes wondered how Ke'rin and Saeo put up with him all this time. Raebeli sure had a lot of questions, but they weren't as stupid as she seemed to think they were. "Oh, uh, those are salamandyrs." T'ke refrained from adding his own opinion of the pests, one of the rare things he and Akyo shared. "They're like little fire lizards. Only they don't fly. And they talk. A lot."

He blinked at her next question. "Really?" He almost blushed. He had never thought he was started to look older. It didn't seem that long ago he had impressed, even if it had been over a year ago. "I do graduate in a couple weeks," he admitted. Was it really that close. He felt another nervous twinge. Being a full rider meant he would have more dangers to face than ever. Was he really ready for that?

[Lotty]

"Salamandyrs huh?" How peculiar. They definitely were never seen or heard of up North, but if they were so verbal it was a wonder that the creatures weren't popular enough to become a Selenitas export. Of course T'ke failed to mention that they spoke in broken sentences and shared the same sort of mental bonds as a dragon. They quickly would become very unpopular at Fort after the first time one of them decided to run. It would be a disaster. So little did Raebeli know how much of a blessing it was that she hadn't encountered one before. But being ignorant to the finer details...knowing not what a handful they were, she imagined acquiring one and some day being stationed again somewhere new and being the only one with such an exotic creature. Quite the imagination this one had.

The healer absently flicked a bit of hair back, she had neglected to do much more with it then set a couple of pins in it, and though it was short and manageable enough she usually had a habit of making things more difficult than it needed to be. She would pull back what hair she could into ties or a simple comb. Headbands made for favored accessories too, but today it was for the most part unbound; wavy mahogany strands angling around her face at her chin and her bangs ever kept short and out of the way of her eyes. This was important, not hiding her face that is, because she certainly said just as much with her expressions as she did with her words. And right now everything about her smile was thankful for T'ke's company, "A couple weeks? How exciting is that?" Well exciting might not be the right word. Most of the riders Raebeli had ever met were injured...not just from wars but from thread. Scarred up and hurt - the woman saw the very unattractive side of dragonriding, and she wouldn't fault anyone for being afraid. She wouldn't scare him though, not on purpose, he surely knew the risks at this point, "I'm sure it's very nerve wracking, but I'm sure you'll be a stunning rider."

She was holding back from getting too clinical. From saying something very cliche like, now tell me how you feel about that? The girl wanted a friend right now, and not a patient.

[Rowana]

T'ke rubbed the back of his neck and looked down a bit. "I'm not that good," he mumbled. It was rather embarrassing getting so much attention, when he wasn't a very good rider at all. He had fainted in his first real battle for Faranth's sake! It was a miracle he was even still alive. His shoulder still ached occasionally from the stab wound. Stop it T'ke-mine, Garaeth chided. She is right. If you would not make a good rider, I would not have chosen you. Well, that was certainly true. At least he hoped so. Life without his excessively cheerful dragon was hard to imagine now.

T'ke decided it would be best to change the subject. Gathering his courage again, he looked back at Raebeli. "So, you're a healer? A journeymen?" She had to be at least, if she had already left Healer's Hall. "Do you think you'll be a Master someday?" T'ke didn't know what it took to be a master, but it couldn't be easy. Otherwise there would be more of them around.

[Lotty]

Raebeli swatted away T'ke's self doubt with one little flick of the wrist; a simple little gesture that plainly said that she thought he was full of nonsense. Such a bad attitude she thought...to live with such doubt as that. Of course she wouldn't be as forward as to tell him how dangerous it was to go into battle or threadfall or even everyday life with such a pessimistic view of your self worth, but she couldn't just let him go free, Raebeli could help boost his ego a little bit. It might be a temporary fix, but it would due for now, "No need to be so modest. Besides I'm sure that nobody expects a new rider to be great right from the start..."

Now as for his questions she almost got stuck in a predicament, she was able to answer the first two easily enough, "Oh yes..." and she was proud of that, though she was going to keep her specialty out of this, it tended to ruin conversations, "I don't know if I'll ever be Master..." she admitted this not, leaving in the possibility that she could. This way she couldn't be branded a complete hypocrite, "at least not until I'm old and wrinkly," she scrunched her nose at the thought, "But I'm just as happy with my rank as it is. I get to be posted all over the place. I'm starting to think maybe I lucked out when getting sent here," when really they sent her here to keep her out of the way.

[Rowana]

T'ke blinked at Raebeli for a minute. She was starting to remind him of Garaeth, always thinking so positive. Well, maybe she was right. It was true that they wouldn't expect him to be great right away. Maybe that was his problem. Maybe he expected so much of himself. He shrugged dismissively. He could worry about that later he supposed. One good thing about graduating, though, no more chores. He couldn't say he wouldn't be glad never to have those again.

At least the subject was moving away from him. He couldn't imagine the lovely lady in front of him ever being old and wrinkly. Of course, he couldn't imagine himself as a rider either. "Sounds fun," he answered slowly. "Getting to travel, I mean." He paused a moment, trying to comprehend what she was thinking. "Lucked out?"

[Lotty]

"Oh sure, sure it is fun to travel...." she said this reluctantly, it was fun to see new things on the journey but the destination wasn't always the best, and even then there were circumstances that could make the dragon ride, or ship voyage, or runnerback trip less than enjoyable. Dragonrides were the best possible option of the above, but they were so so rare. Raebeli herself had a long trip by sea that she had to take to get to the weyr, and if she had a weak stomach she would have surely been sick. Storms threw the ship around quite a bit. Surely a trip between - something she had never gotten to experience herself - wasn't nearly as bad as that?

"But I'm sure it's nothing compared to being able to fly, and to go between to where-ever? I must say that there is a certain mystique about the whole thing that is missing from being a regular ol' journeyman," but T'ke seemed so reluctant to talk about himself and so she tried to keep the whole conversation very general and easy going. Surely a few kind words about his home wouldn't be a bad thing to touch on? "Yeah, I lucked out. Not everyone gets sent to a Weyr. How boring would it be to get assigned to some little tiny hold?" Not to mention there would be half as much for her to do. Warring Weyrs made for lots of mending to do, and Raebeli didn't figure a mindhealer could do much good sewing farmers up after unfortunate plowing incidents, "Besides its warm here, and very peaceful compared to things in the north. Though, I understand there has been some...troubles...here as of late."

[Rowana]

"Trouble..." T'ke's face fell at the memories and he touched his shoulder reflexively. "I guess you could call it that." He didn't think it would be so bad to get assigned to a tiny hold. At least it would be peaceful. Far away from the war and the killing. The thought of it made him shudder. He had lost wingmates that day, and Ke'rin had almost died. And Saeo...shards she had killed to protect him. He should never have put her in a possition where she had to do that. He had been so useless.

T'ke shook his head to clear it. None of this had anything to do with Raebeli. She was just trying to be nice. And as much as the memories bothered him, he had to admit he did like talking with her. If only for a little while. Maybe it was the loneliness finally getting to him. "Well, I hope you have a good time here," he offered. "How long are you staying?"

[Lotty]

"Oh."

She felt sort of guilty for even bringing the subject up, but it wasn't like she wasn't affected either, she had seen too much of the fall out of war. Granted she didn't have the wounds herself. Granted she should be a little more careful with what she talked about. She tilted her head, watching the soon to be rider's movements. He grabbed his shoulder and the mindhealer took note, filing the motion away for a later day. She desperately wanted to ask why, she wanted to confirm that it was a phantom pain, but what kind of can of worms would she open with that. This was neither the time nor place....but if she could get him cornered into the infirmary someday, well then she'd have her first real client. If she was more forward she would be dragging him there already.

"I don't know. Until they call me back. But I have a feeling that I can do a lot of good here, I have already begun observingthe...erm dragonless here...I'm sure they will be fascinated in Fort," oops. Did she give away too much? Did she manage to yabber the fact that she was a mindhealer, a practicer of a specialty thought to be reserved for the charlatans and weak links at the healer hall? It was an unfair assumption she thought...she learned how to do stitches and wrap up broken bones too. She was proficient, otherwise she would have never walked the tables. Not only did she worry that she said too much about herself, but she was tip-toeing that line again...she shouldn't have brought that kind of stuff up! "But really I just hope they don't call me back too soon! I really enjoy it here, it's very beautiful...and your wooden buildings are so quaint. Faranth I hope I am not talking your ear off. Tell me if I am being a bother!"

[Rowana]

"Mmm." If T'ke was interested in Raebeli's topic of dragonless or Fort, he didn't show it. He didn't know any dragonless personally and he found he had enough problems of his own without worrying about other people as well. If that made him seem cold and distant, people were just going to have to live with that. "I heard some people lost dragons in the attack," he mention, mostly to make conversation. "It would be nice if they're were a way to help them. As far as he know, most dragonless either died shortly after, or lived on even more depressed than he usually was. And that wasn't a fate he would wish on his worst enemies.

"It's alright," he mumbled. Alright, so maybe she was talking a lot, but it wasn't so bad. At least she wasn't pestering him with personal questions. He liked keeping private, even if Garaeth thought he should talk more. "It is pretty," he agreed. He almost said he hoped she wouldn't leave too, but he stopped himself. Why would he care? They had only just met. He did hope to see her again sometime though. She wasn't bad, for a girl. An idea occurred to him. "Would you like to meet Garaeth sometime?" he asked tentatively. "The Weyr is really nice to see from the air."

[Lotty]

And Raebeli's face lit up like no other. Meeting his dragon was enough to spark her interest, and lets face it, she smiled all the time anyway, but the suggestion that she could go for a dragonride was enough to make her absolutely giddy. She bobbed in her seat and giggled with delight, hiding her childish behavior with a hand in front of her mouth - which also served its purpose to stifle her little snorts. If she wasn't such a little thing this habit of hers would get her the label of a porcine, but luckily she was saved from such teasing. The sad part was that she was supposed to be twenty turns old, but as soon as a meeting with dragons was mentioned she reverted right back to her younger years. If she was analyzing herself she would say that it had something to do with childhood memories and some other mumbo jumbo.

Luckily she was just happy to think about seeing the weyr from the sky. She had never been on a dragonride...well not one that counted. She was much too young back then, and it was a strictly a business affair, she didn't stay on much longer than it took to go between. Of course, it wasn't just dragons that had such an allure. T'ke had been such pleasant dinner company, and she wouldn't turn down his invitation, "Of course I would love to meet Garaeth!" She clasped her hands together, before narrowing her sights and playfully accusing the bluerider, "And are you suggesting a little trip a-dragonback T'ke? Because that sounds lovely if I do say so myself." How silly would she feel if she misinterpreted his words, she would seem so forward, and hardly in a good way.