Perfectly Sane (Kalierre)

[Rowana]

Go way! Shard looked a bit more like an insect than a salamandyr as she ran around the floor in panic. Shard not food! she wailed. A red blur dove for her, talons out stretched. T'ke lunged for the bird and managed to block his path. Akyo shrieked and slashed at his arm instead. He wanted that worm! It didn't belong here and he didn't know why they tolerated it.

"Shard it, Akyo!" T'ke clamped his hand over the new scratch. "How many times. Shard is NOT FOOD!" Not food! Shard agreed emphatically. She darted away and out the door. T'ke swore. It wasn't unusual for her to go out by herself, but she was clearly distressed and he wasn't going to have any peace in his mind until she calmed down. He glared at Akyo, who had flown to perch on a shelf. The darter glared back.

Maybe the red one would like to eat something else? Garaeth suggested mildly. "You try to convince him of that," T'ke snorted, throwing up his arms in disgust. "And some help you are!" He stormed out into the hall. "Where are you, Shard," he whispered. "I promise the mean darter won't eat you." Great now he was talking to himself. Yet Garaeth still insisted he was perfectly sane.

[Requiem]

Rub at eye. Hm. Odd hour to be heading back to the weyr to catch some sleep, especially with a weyrmate still in the infirmary, but she spent over twenty hours out of every twenty-four awake and bustling trying to take care of everything. The place was very much overwhelmed. Even with R'wign back and most of her healers in decent shape and a steadily growing staff...it consumed a ridiculous amount of her energy. So much that curling up with K'von couldn't even cure the feeling of drowning she was getting there lately. One good long sleep...away from all the headaches...and she should be good to start again.

Not food, greenie, Lust agreed, from atop Kalierre's cane, where he often perched nowadays when not riding in the dragonhealer's breastband. Who eat? LustKing won't let...KaliMine safe, yes. The invitation was clear enough, especially when he darted over her arm and down her leg to her shoe. Ever since K'lir had turned up in the infirmary and the Dael mother had died...Lust had begun to take more interest in his species outside of the infirmary. Perhaps sensing that a gaping hole was left in the wake of his mother and his first generation brother.

The woman cocked a brow at the salamandyr, not recognizing her, and executed a mental shrug. Lust was welcome to conduct 'court' if that was what he wanted to do; she wasn't about to let salamandyr affairs interfere with her sleep. Unfortunately, the bluerider emerging into the hall not long after didn't really fall under the 'salamandyr affairs' heading. T'ke. Pausing at her position a short distance further down the hall, she replied quietly, "Down this way, bluerider. You've started eating your mindmates now?" Though her voice was weary, there was a definite note of teasing behind the words to indicate she wasn't scolding him. Just being...her.

[Rowana]

Shard scampered around a corner and froze in mid step. It wasn't Kalierre that had stopped her. She was a female, and all females were familiar and understandable. It was Lust that had her staring like a cornered rabbit. She squeaked in embarrassed fear. Shard...Shard... she stammered. He was so big! What if he didn't like her? She shrank back, and bumped into T'ke's shoe. Immediately, she climbed up his leg and into his shirt. It was safe in here. Now Lust wouldn't stare at her. She knew she wasn't pretty.

"Hey!" T'ke started to reach for her, but stopped when he saw Kali. Great, now someone had seen him acting like an idiot. "No...um...I mean...maybe Akyo, if he counts," he stammered, not much better then Shard. "Not that I would!" he added hastily. He really wouldn't, no matter how tempting it was. Garaeth would never forgive him. "I'm sorry we bothered you," he babbled on. She looked tired and he knew the infirmary had to still be a mess right now. "Uh...how's your head?" Stupid question, he mentally kicked himself. Of course she must be fine if she was working.

[Requiem]

Little stammer-green think Lust eat her, the bronze commented to His in amusment, threading his tail through her bootlaces and watching Shard disappear up the other's pants. Silly green sister. Pants weren't as good as shirts, and human females were best for nice cushy rides inside clothing. If she liked to be out of sight, she should have picked a female. Oh well. Not all salamandyrs could be as brilliant as he. The unfortunate reality that Lust was king, yes. He must guide his less fortunate subjects in making smart decisions. Oh the weight of responsibi- Kalierre broke out laughing. "Okay, that's way overboard there, tune it down, oh mighty king," she stated, possibly confusing T'ke. Though she didn't bother to explain.

T'ke's garbled explanation caused her to laugh again, suddenly grateful for this disruption; she hadn't laughed all day. A brow rose at him, and she shook her head while getting herself back under control. "Quite fine, thanks for asking. I'm told my behavior is at it's normal level of insane instead of hyper insane," she added dryly. Apparently she'd been a bit unstable for the first week or so after suffering her concussion. Now there was only the small scar above her eyebrow to show for it. "You're no bother. I'd worry about your sanity, though, if you would try to eat your salamandyr. That's very self-destructive," she teased lightly. Leaning a bit on her cane, she eased her weight off her hip. Kalierre easily could have continued on to her weyr from here, but T'ke had somehow become someone she actually cared to know about...during the course of Fort's attack. Possibly because he had so much trouble stomaching everything but still tried his best to help. (And yes, she'd heard that he was the first to her side after the kick. It was puzzling to her, but that probably weighed in to how she regarded him.)

"Akyo sounds like a pest. You may want to consider passing him on to someone else if he stresses Shard too much," she added seriously. "That's bad for her health."

[Rowana]

T'ke blinked as Kalierre started laughing. Well, she was amused, that was good right? He didn't think he'd done anything that funny, but then it was possible. He was clumsy and he had been babbling. He squirmed, both from nerves and because Shard was crawling up his skin so she could hide at the nap of his neck. She was hoping Lust had forgotten her, then maybe he wouldn't think about how ugly and shy she was. "That's good...I think," T'ke managed to get out. Well, insanity didn't sound good, but she had said she was doing better.

He made a face and poked at Shard. "Yeah, I'm not that unstable," he admitted dryly. "She's not so bad most of the time." As long as Akyo wasn't around at least. He was getting used to her nerves about boys and he could understand that. It was the blinding fear that was hard to handle. "I've tried sending Akyo away, but he just keeps coming back." He sighed deeply. Part of him wished some random feline would just eat him and have done with it, but he didn't really mean that. Not most of the time anyway. It was only when he went after Shard that it was so bad. He just couldn't seem to teach him not to attack her. "Hmmm," he mused. "Maybe I could put a bell on him or something." It worked with felines, why not darters?

[Requiem]

The dragonhealer found T'ke to be as aggravatingly tall as R'wign and K'von...always seemed to be looking up, she was. Listening, she shook her head after a moment, offering up an amused - and decidedly wry - grin to answer his. "Sounds like a problem without a solution; I doubt a bell is going to stop him from terrifying your green." Little creatures didn't tend to handle perpetual stress any better than their larger counterparts. A thought occured to her then, one he might not like very much but, on the other hand, it had the potential of actually fixing at least some of his problems. "Have you considered clipping his wings? It's a simple matter, and it doesn't hurt him...it'll just keep him landbound." Kalierre shrugged. A simple suggestion.

Not acknowledging the small bronze body that decided to dive down into her breastband at about that moment, curling up against her companionably, Kalierre jerked her head back in the direction she'd come. "Ever consider helping us out? Might help you beat that squeamishness you seem to have, if nothing else. Though I'm grateful that it wasn't so bad that you couldn't help me," she added, the closest Kalierre was likely to come to a direct 'thank you.'

[Rowana]

T'ke sighed. He'd hoped the bell would work. Anything to keep Shard from being terrified to death. He mused over Kalierre's suggested for a moment. Clipping Akyo's wings would keep him from going after salamandyrs, but it would also keep him in his weyr. Akyo usually went out to forage most of the day and only came back to roost or beg for treats. If he was stuck inside, he would probably get cranky very fast. "I'll think about it," he said finally. "Thanks." It would probably be worth a cranky darter if Shard was safe. Much as he hated to admit it, her connection to him made her a bigger priority.

He blinked at the change of subject. "Me?" he blurted out incredulously. Help in the infirmary? He started to wonder if Kali was as sane as she claimed. He'd been forced to help there after the siege, but he always figured someone had rigged that to annoy him. No one had ever suggested he should try it for real. "You're welcome, but..." If anything he always remembered his manners. it was true he had managed not to faint that time and when helping move the injured rider. Maybe he was getting better, or maybe it was just heat of the moment that had kept him going.

"I don't know," he went on finally. He looked at his feet embarrassed. "I'd probably just get in everyone's way." This was true. He knew he was clumsy and tended to trip at the worst of times. Shard snuggled deeper into his neck, but she was calming down thankfully. Lust didn't seem interested in her and she was relaxing with his gaze elsewhere. Though that didn't help T'ke if he was nervous on his own.

[Requiem]

"If you decide to go through with it, just bring him in and I'll take care of it really quick. Wingtips grow back, so it isn't permanent; if it doesn't work out for you, just don't get it redone when he can fly again." Which was all she intended to say about the subject. (It was unlikely that T'ke could hurt the darter by attempting to clip the wings himself, but just in case it would probably be better if she did it herself. You never knew, after all.)

The greenrider smiled - was that a kind smile? - at the bluerider. "You're young yet, T'ke. Most men grow out of the...awkward...stages in a few turns. Believe me, we have plenty enough people walking around the infirmary with two left feet; you'd fit right in." Nevermind people hobbling around, or bouncing around on chairs they'd stolen from every room in the place while singing alphabet songs for seven turn olds.

Shrugging, the dragonhealer added, "It's entirely up to you, of course, but we'd be glad to have you. And it would be much easier for you to apprentice if you were already working there...we never mind the extra hands or a new face seeking to learn." Then she wrinkled her nose. "Of course, you've probably heard already that I'm not easy on any of the staff. Rather important business we conduct, and forgetting or fumbling things can have dire consequences, depending on what it is. You stick through it, though, I'm sure you'd be better for it. Not to be weird or anything, but you seem the personality type to take to that sort of work."

Soft, is what she actually meant, but they needed some soft hearts to take an interest in the sick and injured. Everything had its advantages.

[Rowana]

T'ke nodded gratefully. He would much rather have Kalierre or someone else clip the darter's wings. Akyo was sure to be angry and he doubted he could manage by himself. Shard snuggled deeper into his neck, but she was calming down at least. That helped T'ke's nerves a little, but not completely. Especially given the topic of conversation. He'd never really considered himself healer material under any circumstances. Fainting at too much blood didn't usually bode well in that department. Still, no one had ever honestly asked him either. It had always been "go here" or "do this" before.

He did want to be helpful, he just wasn't sure how capable he was. Maybe if he did grow out of the clumsy stage, which seemed to be taking forever, he might manage. "Um...well," he mumbled. It did sound like it would be interesting. He didn't mind that it might be hard. If he could get over fainting too much, that was. You should do it! Garaeth, what have I told you about eavesdropping? Your mind has no eaves, the dragon joked. Besides, I think it would be good for you. Well, if Garaeth was for it, then what did he have to lose? "Maybe I'll give it a try," he said hesitantly.

[Requiem]

"Excellent," Kalierre agreed abruptly, adjusting her cane for proper movement before she set off at a swift hobble. As she passed him, she added, "Your first shift is dawn shift bright and early tomorrow morning. I'll rap on the door to collect you - we're on the same wing so there will be no scheduling conflicts." And, just like that, the dragonhealer's mission complete, she left T'ke to process what he'd just agreed to and disappeared down the hall to get some much-needed rest.