'uggh...what he said' {feline aftermath}

[Requiem]

A jar shattered loudly. Voices were raised, the bellowing of a young dragon adding to the mix. "...out! By the egg, if you touch me again, I'll let Jess eat you feet first, so you suffer through every second of it! How do you get off calling your-" He likely would have continued, too, for several more minutes, had a coughing fit not suddenly overtaken the brownweyrling. The man was hardly recognizable under all the bandages, propped up by pillows so that he could throw all earthenware that came into range better. His brown wasn't as keen on silencing. The bumbling apprentice had managed to reopen one of the scars on the man's chest as he was attempting to change the bandages of the uncooperative patient. Not...at all...the best move he could have made!

By the time Z'hin's coughing fit had ended, the neophyte had wisely disappeared. Although he'd only just become fully aware the day before, the brownweyrling's disgruntled disposition was spreading like wildfire throughout the infirmary. He was not happy. The man hated being manhandled, hated the smell of illness and the wounded all around, hated finding himself amongst these pretentious healers, hated the unending pain, and worst of all, hated the fact that he could not move from this bed or do much of anything for himself no matter how much he desired it.

His left arm, immobilized by the bandage binding it to his side, burned constantly. It would take extensive strengthening exercises to bring it back to a semblance of its formal usefulness once it healed enough to move at all. The scars on his chest hid damage to his internal organs - luckily none of them fatal, though obviously they were still delicate. His only stroke of luck, truly, was that those sharding felines had managed to avoid castrating him by the narrowest of margins. The healers insisted his leg would actually fare better than his arm, in that he would regain full strength and range of motion - in time. But all of this was pretty hard to take when Z'hin was going to be confined to this shard-blasted room for more than just a couple tendays.

Jessereth had fared better, and was actually quite pleased to find Z'hin back with him completely, even if the man's testiness was leaking into their relationship a bit. For the first time in a long while, he knew that His would be all right. He was quite happily roaring at the apprentice even now. The brown was already being put through therapy to help regain some of the muscle movement and strength he'd lost. His participation had been half-hearted at best to this point. Now, though, Jessereth was allowing these pathetic creatures to handle him. He wanted to be strong for His.

The two were quartered right across the wall from each other. They would have been in the same room, had there been enough space. Jessereth would accept no less than being the closest he possibly could to his bonded. Pacing stiffly about his temporary couch, the brown flared his wings, finally falling into silence. It was companionable, this quiet.

[glamourie]

Nothing like the sound of jars shattering to draw one's attention, especially when said sound came from where Rawign was heading. The dark-haired boy had been released from the Infirmary on promise that he come back twice a day for bandage changing, if only because the wound on his back would need checking regularly. He was still bandaged around his entire torso, the top of the bandages visible despite the loose shirt he wore, and he was obviously being careful with each motion to avoid pulling any of the injuries. His chest was healing well, but the swipe that went across his side and up his back was another story. He'd heal completely, though he'd definitely have scars to remember the entire incident by -- both on the outside as well as in. Over-all, though, Rawign looked much better, especially considering that he'd barely been able to acknowledge what was going on around him for a time. Compared to everyone else, his injuries were mere scratches. Some part of him still felt guilty for that.

Most of his guilt, though, took a back seat to amusement as an apprentice scurried past him. Quirking an eyebrow, Rawign slipped into the infirmary and toward where Z'hin's furs were before stopping just out of arm's length away. From the amount of yelling he'd heard, he was expecting to receive an earful. But nothing could have reassured him more, really. If he had enough energy to be throwing tantrums at the Healers, then Z'hin was well on the way to recovery. Ornery patients were the best ones - they were the ones who wanted to get better faster. Not that most of them realized how obvious that want was.

He even looked better, compared to how he'd been when they first arrived back. Rawign was worried that Z'hin would die, and the guilt he'd felt was nearly indescribable. He'd tried his best to hide it, but the honest truth was that he worried far more for the brownrider and his dragon than he did anyone else that was injured, including himself. Z'hin and Jessereth had helped him - and in doing so, whether they realized it or not, some part of Rawign would always see them as kin. Really the mindset was not that different from the felines they'd been tangled with, a sort of pride mentality. Jessereth and Z'hin were part of his 'pride' and though Rawign would never give voice to that feeling, any time he could help them in some way, he would. Paryal and her queen weren't privy to that special treatment, though. Of the people there, only Z'hin and his brown had managed to achieve that stance with him.

Rawign's firelizards settled on his form, with Beggar perching on one shoulder, Roxie on his head, and Li on the other. Li took express care to avoid tangling his claws in the bandages on his person's shoulder, going so far as to flute a greeting to Z'hin. The other two flitters were silent, with Roxie tangling herself in Rawign's hair, though it was tied back in a tight braid to be out of the way. Who had carried Z'hin back? Rawign still didn't know, not even as he relaxed his posture to address the brownrider casually. He was hauled back by Salira, Keliris and Kaliran's mother, though he was surprised to find as much out. (When he was discharged, the brothers attacked him with questions and Keliris actually tried to slug him, hissing that he was a wherrybrain and how dare he do something so ridiculous -- apparently, violence in worry was something more common than Rawign realized.)

"Why hello, Z'hin, I thought I heard your dulcet tones. I suppose you're responsible for the traumatized apprentice I encountered on my way in?" he inquired curiously, unable to keep a pleased lilt from his voice. He really was happy that Z'hin was recovering.

[Requiem]

Grumbling under his breath about incompetence and deadglows, Z'hin attempted to finish the job the apprentice had bungled, the blood seaping slowly. Apparently the one thing in the man's favor when he'd been so heavily wounded - aside from the fact that a covey of dragonriders had been on scene immediately - was that he never bled very long. Finally getting the linen in place, though imperfectly, he tied it off as best he could. Maybe Z'hin was just happy to have something, anything he could do on his own. Regardless of the reason, he had the end of the bandage firmly between his teeth as Rawign came in, the brownweyrling giving it a final tug, punctuated by a little self-satisfied sigh.

Hrorek's head peeked out from just beneath the furs that covered a small portion of his bonded's abdomen and his entire lower body, almost as if making sure these intruders were okay to come near. He'd been coiled on Z'hin's stomach almost constantly since the day before. Apparently satisfied, the little blue's head disappeared once again, the firelizard shifting beneath the furs to a more comfortable position.

Eyeing Rawign's colorful guard detail, Z'hin wrinkled his nose, glad to see that the healer/candidate seemed to be doing all right. He'd been pretty bloody last the brownweyrling saw him. The deadglows here hadn't bothered to bring him up to date on those he'd fought the felines with. In fact...they hadn't done much of anything aside from aggravate him. Though, to be fair, he hadn't given anyone much of a chance to strike up a conversation. Not that he was in the mood to be fairminded.

Everyone seemed so happy today. Shardit. The world was happy just to spite him! Though Rawign was a welcome enough sight to the brownweyrling that he refrained from winging objects at the candidate's head. How generous he was being today. "You're walking around, free as a bird, and only decided to come visit now?" the man responded grumpily, though most would realize he was actually pleased to see Rawign. "I don't know who clears these children to work in the infirmary, but whoever it is needs their head examined. The deadglow couldn't change a bandage without reopening one of the slashes." Z'hin rubbed his chest ruefully, then offered a rather ironic half-grin to the candidate.

Jessereth stirred across the wall. Is it the one with all the firelizards? the young dragon questioned. His mind-voice seemed eager. The brown - having carried the boy into the feline fight - was a little more favorably disposed toward Rawign than most of the people who'd come into contact with His. Yes. He decided to show his face.

[glamourie]

Rawign bit the insides of his cheeks to avoid laughing at Z'hin. Apparently, he was recovering very well. Well enough to be vehement, at least. Rawign shook his head slowly, then replied with a light lilt to his voice that made it clear just how amused he truly was, "You expected me to come with you throwing things? It seems to me the amount of projectiles has lessened today. Safety first." The truth was, he'd only found out Z'hin was awake mere moments before he dropped everything he was doing to go visit the brownrider, but he did not see the virtue in saying as much. As for the apprentices, well, "Speaking from experience, apprentices do not have much experience with patients who wiggle like a tunnelsnake on a hot rock. That's what it means to be an apprentice - you learn as you go. You're probably the most ... animated patient most of them have ever had to deal with. They're fine for people who don't try to traumatize them. Do you want help?" Want, not need. He did not want to imply that Z'hin couldn't handle bandaging himself on his own. While Rawign was sure he could do so better given his training, he could tell just from Z'hin's demeanor that he'd probably appreciate not being reminded of that fact -- if he wanted help, he'd say yes. Otherwise, Rawign would leave it alone. He wasn't Z'hin's healer. Thank Faranth for small favours.

Part of him wanted to ask how Z'hin was feeling, but he strongly suspected the question would not be appreciated. Frankly, if anyone but Marra had asked him, he would have replied icily as well. Most people were smart enough not to inquire how he was feeling, though, if only because Rawign was prone to giving looks bordering on murderous for the question. It was none of their business whether or not he was still in pain; he was alive, that was good enough. Z'hin, who was hurt the worst, seemed to be doing much better, too. He really didn't care about the rest, though he did wonder how the brown dragon was doing.

"How is Jessereth?" He did not voice that he'd been worried for both of them; he was trying to behave as diplomatically as possible so as to avoid having something lobbed at his head. Moving too quickly might pull open the wound on his side... again. Actually, that was the primary reason that Rawign was taking it easy - if he pulled open the wound again he'd be shunted back into the infirmary and then he'd have to deal with people hovering. Sort of like he was doing to Z'hin. To remedy that fact, he retrieved one of the chairs and took a seat next to the cot, which resulted in his firelizard fair being disturbed. Roxie scolded softly before moving to one of the tables nearby, and Beggar glided over to sit on Z'hin's ankles. Only Li remained in place, his tail possessively curled around Rawign's neck, as if he was afraid of his pet escaping him. Surely an unfounded fear - Rawign couldn't escape his flitters even if he wanted to.

He really did hope Jessereth was okay, though from the sounds of things, he probably was. Jess and Z'hin had - unknowingly - changed Rawign's stance on dragons. For the longest time, he'd blamed them as much as their riders for the wars in the north. They were just as devastatingly destructive, and that made both riders and dragons monsters. Rawign wasn't afraid of dragonriders, though he'd always held an aloof distance with them out of self-interest. But Jessereth and Z'hin... were nothing like the riders in the north. For others they had endangered themselves, caused themselves great injury, and neither rider nor beast gained anything from it; they had done so despite that. It was not as though Z'hin and Jessereth would be regarded as glorified heroes for helping protect him, Paryal or the queen dragon. At best, there would simply be gratitude between the group. Yet they'd helped and they didn't have to. That... changed things. And the fact that both of them were willing to go to such lengths, no matter how foolish, to protect one another... Rawign wouldn't admit it, but he was impressed. Impressed enough that he wanted to stand for the Hatching for the first time since he came to Selenitas. He still didn't expect to Impress, but for the first time, he actually wanted to try. It was almost funny how that worked.

[Requiem]

Z'hin snorted at Rawign, tempted to throw the nearest available object just to spite him. Nevertheless, he wasn't one to do things without a good reason, especially when it tended to make him hurt all over - more than he already did. Why he considered clocking incompetent apprentices a good reason was anyone's guess. Though the man was typically practical, he wasn't truly acting all that normal at the moment, and his reasons had always tended to be a bit - odd.

"A tunnelsnake," he repeated, dark eyes flashing. He wasn't a difficult patient. If they could just get in here and do their jobs, they wouldn't have to worry about suffering a concussion from airborne projectiles. Or so he told himself. Z'hin was not going to admit that he rather enjoyed making the healers almost as miserable as he was himself, or that he gained sadistic pleasure from torturing them in general. His mother had died because the healers didn't find the holdless important enough to take care of, and some bitter part of him could only think that, were he not Impressed to Jessereth, he would have been left to die in that clearing. No, Z'hin had absolutely no respect for healers. Luckily, though, he was unlikely to hold a general dislike against his feelings for an individual.

He waved aside Rawign's offer. "Oh, I'm sure one of the journeymen will force another of the little nuisances back in here eventually." A feral grin transmuted his features. "I promise I won't devour him." Though Z'hin played it off lightheartedly enough, the truth of the matter was... well, he didn't want Rawign to see. He doubted the candidate knew much in the way of details regarding his injuries and, from past experience, he was aware that knowing was a very different thing than suspecting. If he felt guilty to see the younger man bandaged up in here, it was likely that his friend - how could they not be friends after what they'd been through? - might feel the same way. Z'hin wouldn't wish that on him. These injuries were the result of his decision, and his alone.

Jessereth let out something like a bark when he heard his name. The brownweyrling smiled. "Not too bad, actually. Apparently, dragons tend to take blows from felines better than us humans. Go figure." His nose wrinkled at that. "In all seriousness, though, he managed to protect his more vulnerable spots well enough. Jess will be back to his former strength before they let me get out of these furs." A touch of ruefulness had entered back into his voice. He hated being cooped up, absolutely hated it. Not a day passed when he spent most of his time outside, wandering through the jungles around the weyr or swimming against the current. No one took being confined to their back well, and Z'hin would take it worse than most.

Hrorek's head had popped up again, as Roxie settled on his human's ankles. He gave her a little pointed glare. This creature was His. Why was she lying on him like that? But the small blue made no sound - hadn't even so much as crooned since his hatching. She'd better leave. He wasn't sharing.

"Hey, you," Z'hin murmured, with a laugh that ended in a coughing spell and an ironic grin tugging at his lips. Shards, how he hated this. He stroked Hrorek's head lightly, the blue craning his neck to get closer to the man's finger. "Be nice. She's all right down there." His gaze flicked up to Rawign. "You look a lot better than last I saw of you," Z'hin commented with a grin. "Though just as thin as ever. Do you ever eat? Seriously. They bring me enough for a runnerbeast and expect me to finish it all, the loons. Mind helping a man out?"

Not keen on receiving another scolding, he pushed the bland bit of nothingness toward Rawign, arching his brows in what he hoped was an enticing manner. Less goop for him to have to try to force down. He could scare most of the apprentices off, but the journeymen were another story, and they all seemed to think he needed to eat endless mounds of this stuff.

[glamourie]

"A tunnelsnake," Rawign echoed softly, a smile on his face. "Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle." Rawign slowly shook his head and then laughed. Really, Z'hin wasn't being all that much worse than most patients. In his experience, there were only a few types. The first was the kind that protested everything - like Z'hin - and they were the ones who really did want to get better, to recover. Then there were the ones who whined about everything constantly and made things into a far bigger deal than they truly were. Obviously, those were among the most annoying patients. Then there was the obedient group, or the ones who pretended to be listening outwardly - they often proved to be the more mature patients, or the ones who didn't have the energy to fight. Last but not least were the apathetic, easily the worst simply because they refused to say where it hurt, or how bad their problems were. They were Rawign's least favourite. He'd take flying projectiles over that any day.

He decided not to point out to Z'hin that one of the journeymen was technically sitting in the chair next to him and could pop such an order if he wanted to. Typically, he didn't like bossing around the apprentices, though. He was a new journeyman himself, and he knew what it was like to learn. As he learned from experience, he tried to set the same example for the apprentices, and trying to tell them what to do when he was hurt would hurt make them more inclined to point out that he was hurt and then he'd inherit nagging apprentices following him around. Healers were, in his experience, among the most vindictive craftsmen when it came to things like that.

A distinctly draconic noise actually made Rawign half jump before he turned in the direction of the wall that separated where the dragons and humans were. His eyebrows reached his hairline. His reaction was more from surprise than actual fear, though. Rawign cocked his head to the side just slightly and smiled, then turned his attention back completely to Z'hin. "I'm glad to hear that. He sounds well. That was him, right?" He wasn't very good at identifying dragon sounds from one another, since he hadn't ever bothered to try before. He was tempted to point out that the fact that Z'hin would recover at all was a miracle, but it was like beating a dead runner; he was sure that Z'hin knew that already and was tired of hearing it anymore. "Is there anything I can do to help you? Since you're stuck here, and I can actually move around, I wouldn't mind. It's the least I can do..."

Rawign simply neglected to mention that his own movements were limited at best, simply because of where his injuries were. Of the group, he'd made out the best. He knew that and some part of him felt horrible for it, as though it was his fault everyone else was hurt. Some part of him wished he'd been completely mangled and the injuries the others sustained were more superficial. He'd never say as much aloud, though. It would sound ungrateful for the lengths that Z'hin and Jessereth went to in order to keep him from getting too mauled. He was detached enough to recognize that it wasn't his fault, what happened, and that he'd posed another chew toy for the felines to detract some of their attention, but that didn't take away the irrational feeling of guilt. He was doing his best to not let it bother him too much.

The Healer raised both his eyebrows at Z'hin, then glanced around. He had water, so Rawign did not offer to retrieve any. He did reach over to scoop Roxie up, earning a light bite on the hand as the little green gave Hrorek a look very close to accusing. She settled in her humanthing's arms, growling to herself before finally curling up. Give her five minutes and she'd forget she was ever agitated, silly thing.

He was impressed, though, with the way that Z'hin seemed to so smoothly try to pawn off his food. Anyone else might have actually believed it, too, so seamless was the transition, but Rawign wasn't anyone else, and he couldn't suppress a smirk. "And the fact that you haven't eaten it has nothing to do with the fact that most of the food served in the infirmary tastes something akin to licking a rock, is that it?" he inquired, then shook his head. "You couldn't feed that to me if you tried. I had to stuff that stuff down when I was confined in here. I know what it tastes like." Clucking his tongue, Rawign took the tray anyway and examined it, before an idea struck him. "But I might be persuaded to smuggle you something decent in here on a more regular basis... if you promise to stop throwing things at all the apprentices so often. They mean well, even if they're bumbling. We all start out apprentices, and they're honestly trying to help."

[paryal]

It had been a full sevenday since the gold Weyrling had stirred, opened her eyes to see the felines descending down on her. She had been 'awake' a few times over that time period, but she could recall nothing. A burning fever had taken over her body, a fever that had just faded a day or two ago. Apparently it was due to the wounds, or so the Healers had tried to explain to Aezanth, who was extremely reluctant to let anyone near her rider. She had barely eaten the first few days, and had not taken well to the bandages that were over her golden hide. Only hunger brought her to eat now, though her color was slowly returning. The Healers seemed to have taken that as a positive sign. Perhaps Paryal would wake soon, wake without being crazed by fever.

On top of the figure under the furs were two fire lizards, one brown and one green. So worried for Paryal was Fairamay that she allowed the little brown male to sit next to her, although that was still a reluctant motion for her. Still, she could not begrudge this funny brown creature to sit next to the bonded they both shared.

A loud groan was the first sign of conciousness that Paryal showed, followed by her eyes slowly opening. Paryal mine! You are awake now? You are awake? You are better? Speaking like a newly hatched dragon, Aezanth loomed over her rider, crooning deeply in her throat. Much to the gold dragon's surprise and delight, she was rewarded with a weak smile by her rider. "I'm awake..." Not wanting to concentrate on mind speaking, Paryal spoke out loud, though that was an effort too. Her throat was so dry, and there was no Healer visible. With effort, she lifted her body to see a jug of cold water optimistically placed on a small table next to the bed. Not even bothering to pour it, Paryal drank straight from it until her thirst seemed quenched.

Now that her base needs had been cared for, Paryal was alert enough to try and move out of this bed. Her body was sour, but the pain didn't actually seem too bad. Perhaps it was because her bandages felt fresh, with a soothing coat of numbweed. Belatedly, she recalled Z'hin and Rawign, creating a fresh stab of guilt throughout her entire body. This was all her fault... If they were dead, it would all be her fault. They are alive. Do not worry. Should you be out of bed? Snorting at Aezanth's concern but sending a stream of love none the less, Paryal rose slowly, wrapping the furs about her body. Her entire torso was bandaged up to her armpits, likely to account for the deep scratches across her back. It was difficult to walk, and she soon found the reason why. One entire leg was bandaged to just past the knee. Well, she had to find out how the others were doing.

Hearing voices vaguely, Paryal hobbled with her furs wrapped around her body, dragging her one leg rather than using it properly, until she found where the noise had come from. She was a right mess- hair greasy, skin more pale than usual, whole body more skinny than it usually was, creating a rather hollow look. Z'hin! You are okay!" She didn't know the name of the Candidate, though she gave a grateful look. She was more concerned for Z'hin, but that did not mean she didn't value the contribution the Candidate had made any less. "And you too, though I don't know your name." She would have offered a hand to shake, if both hands were not currently occupied in holding up the furs. "Can you move Z'hin? How are you feeling?"

[Requiem]

Anything he could do? Z'hin's gaze turned critical for the first time, taking careful stock of his friend, before he shook his head, a mild smile touching his lips. "Nope. Jess could use someone to talk to face-to-face, but other than that, I can't think of anything." Not exactly true. He'd been wondering if maybe Rawign could help him get out to Jessereth himself. That would have likely been somewhat difficult, though, under normal circumstances. Now? Z'hin didn't have the heart to ask anything like that of the young man. Rawign might well attempt to help him even though he shouldn't.

Thinking of Rawign in terms of his injuries brought the other member of their trio to mind, Z'hin firmly pushing thoughts of Paryal aside. He'd seen her injuries. She should have been well enough to be up and around by now, and yet he hadn't seen her. The brownweyrling didn't want to admit it, but that hurt just a bit. Was she angry at him for some reason? No, he wouldn't think of that. Rawign was here, and he was rather fun. Z'hin was surprised he hadn't had more contact with him before the attack.

The man smiled at his friend's expression. "Oh yes. That's Jessereth. Loud and obnoxious as ever." Loud and obnoxious? You're one to talk, ranting at the top of your voice and throwing things every which way. Well, they deserved it. Who's they? Everyone who bothers me. Self-righteous much? One day everyone will learn that I'm always right and they're always wrong, and the world will be a much better place. Hopefully I'll have died of old age by that time. Fat chance. You're probably right, Jessereth concluded mournfully. See? It begins! The draconic snort could be heard from those inside.

Z'hin blinked as Rawign saw through his ploy, a sheepish grin overtaking his features. He ran his fingers through his hair and chuckled mildly. "Well, you can't blame me for trying, can you?" His eyes visibly lit up at the mention of bringing better food, though he frowned soon after, the expression more for show than anything else. "Manipulative healer," he growled, playfully. Then, after what appeared to be a moment's thought, he added, "As long as I can still chew them out whenever I please...I suppose it's a fair trade."

It was then that he was greeted by a sight he hadn't expected to see, his comment arresting in his throat and soon forgotten. Paryal. If anything, she looked worse than he did, though she was moving around fairly well...or at least better than he could. A stab of guilt shot through him. How could he have been thinking such thoughts about her when she must have been fighting for her life no further than a few hundred yards distant? She had a fever from the scratches, Jessereth stated matter-of-factly. Why didn't you tell me? You didn't ask. Didn't you think I'd want to know?! Perhaps... Jess's tone betrayed his amusement. When I can walk again... You'll what? Glare me to death?

Nodding at her exclamation, though his initial reaction was being overcome by joy now, Z'hin smiled. "This is Rawign." His nose wrinkled. "He's one of those pesky healers." Reaching for her with his good arm, the brownweyrling pulled her closer, responding as he did so, "Well, the felines turned my arm to mush, managed to cripple my leg for a month or two at least, and apparently rearranged my insides, but," he smiled, his tone surprisingly cheerful, "aside from that I'm just dandy." He was just happy to see Paryal, and to know she was all right.

"Looks like you shouldn't be on that leg, either." He'd noticed her limp, even if he couldn't see the bandage, and remembered she'd been clawed in the calf. Z'hin's arm tightened around Paryal, drawing her down onto the cot to get her off her feet. "Once I get over being so happy to see you -" his expression turned wry "- we're going to be having words about that ridiculous stunt you pulled." His arm never having left the girl's waist, he beamed at his two friends. "We got lucky, kids."

[glamourie]

Rawign clucked his tongue and turned over the idea of going to see the brown in his head. Would that be improper? Well, maybe he could drop by and just let him know official progress on Z'hin's injuries, after he throttled it out of one of the apprentices? (Rawign had every intention of finding an apprentice he knew he could scare just with rank -- maybe it wasn't the most fair way to treat someone, but he wouldn't do anything other than agitate them, and in the end, he thought the ends justified the means.) That way he wasn't being improper and at the same time, gave Jessereth someone other than the official Healers to look at. Hmm. He'd have to toy with the idea a little, if only because he didn't want to insult Z'hin by accident. He was sure Jessereth already knew about his rider's injuries to their fullest extent, but... well, Rawign was making up excuses to go and see how the brown was doing himself. He liked Jessereth.

"I don't think he's loud or obnoxious," the Healer replied with an amused smile. "Beggar's far worse. Tiny as he is, you'd think he'd be quiet but no, he makes the most ear-piercing shrieks when he doesn't get his way. Deafening really..."

His words trailed off, if only because had he continued, he likely would have spurred the attention of said loud-and-obnoxious firelizard, thus disturbing everyone in the infirmary. Much as he loved Beggar (and he did love all of his firelizards; they were his best friends, after all), he recognized that the little blue did not comprehend the fine art of subtlety or sarcasm. Roxie probably understood. Sarcasm and teasing seemed to be the green's typical behavior, though biting wasn't unusual for her either. His hands still hurt! Naughty flit.

The smile on his face only widened as he tsked, quietly. 'Manipulative Healer', was he? Wasn't that a given? He'd yet to meet a Healer who couldn't wrangle people into doing what they wanted in some manner of fashion, although he thought his reasonings quite fair. Z'hin had, after all, picked up that he could still verbally abuse any of the Healers he wanted to. He hadn't even asked him not to throw anything else - just to do it less often. The only reason he'd asked for that at all was because some of the Healers, the new apprentices in particular, hadn't developed harder enough outer skin to realize that the brownrider was not being difficult just to hurt their feelings, and that he was more reacting to being upset at his confinement than anything they truly did.

Any commentary he might have had, though, was silenced as the goldrider from the river arrived. Rawign tilted his head and looked up at her, though he dare not speak. Wound in the furs as she was, it was hard to notice any of her injuries, but just how pale and out of it she looked was enough to make it clear she'd been having a rough time. Another surge of guilt washed through him and he once again found himself wishing he'd been hurt worse. Of the three, it seemed as though his injuries were the most superficial, likely as a result of having been helped so much by the brownrider, but... Rawign moved to wrap his arms around his stomach, slowly. Roxie moved to settle on his other shoulder, opposite Li. Both of the firelizards eyed Paryal, though neither made a sound. The black-haired boy nodded and smiled, though he didn't speak immediately. The truth was that he was too uncomfortable to say much. He felt like, somehow, it was his fault that she and Z'hin were hurt worse. And he didn't like that.

Fortunately, he was saved from having to introduce himself by Z'hin doing so, and he nodded slowly, as if to agree with the 'pesky healers' assessment. He didn't bother to explain his own injuries, if only because just hearing Z'hin talk of his made his stomach tighten up hideously. Never in his life did he imagine he'd have wished he was hurt badly, for any reason.

"Lucky is a bit of an understatement," Rawign replied quietly, then turned to Paryal. "It's nice to meet you. You look much better than when I last saw you, too. I hope Aezanth is well?" She actually didn't look all that much better, but Rawign wasn't going to tell any girl that she looked dreadful. In his experience, that usually earned a slap, harsh words and an attitude worthy of hiding from. She was up and moving around, so that must have meant she wasn't on death's wings anymore, and he was content enough with that fact for his reasoning. "But Z'hin is right, you need to take it easier on that leg. And he needs to stop throwing things at apprentices." He paused, then quirked an eyebrow. "You're not throwing things at them too, are you? I don't know that I have anything to blackmail you with..."

[paryal]

Aezanth... How long have I been asleep? Speaking with her mind was getting slowly easier, although much of what she said came across to Aezanth as 'Aezanth... how long... asleep?' It would take some days for Paryal to recover that much, but Aezanth seemed understand enough. I'm not sure. Many days. More than three. Dragons didn't have much of a grasp of numbers, and Aezanth was no exception. Three was about as high of a number as she could count to, and anything beyond three days was a foggy mist to her. Oh, she knew vaguely what had happened, but she was constantly living in the present. How she acquired her wounds was swiftly fading into the fog of the past. Lucky dragon.

"Pesky Healer? He doesn't look pesky. I'm sure if it wasn't for him I would be feeling much worse. Well, his ilk anyhow." There was still a slightly unfocused look on Paryal's face, accompanied with a silly grin, though she spoke rationally enough. But she spoke slowly, taking frequent pauses to gather her breath. "I'm sorry... I don't know how long I've been not here. I'm hungry." Randomly added on, the last statement spoke to the fact that Paryal wasn't all the way herself yet.

Still, she was alert enough to understand that Z'hin was largely okay, at least enough to be awake and alert and not in immediate danger. But he had been hurt so much more than she had, only adding to Paryal's guilt. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault... You were hurt so badly. I don't even know what's happened to me, but I don't think it's half as bad as the injuries you got." Paryal's back and legs throbbed every now and then, but there was no way for her to judge the full extent of the injuries, nor did she really want to know all the way. She was content to just know she was injured, but not seriously. It had been the fever that gave the most danger, and that had finally broken and passed.

"And now you sound like Aezanth. I feel as if I have two mothers." Though Paryal was complaining about the fact Z'hin wanted her to sit down, she was secretely glad that she had people who would express concern for her. And you like him. Aezanth gave the equiavalant of a mental snort. Not in the mood for her teasing, Paryal simply ignored the gold's comment. That wasn't necessary right now, and that wasn't what Paryal was thinking of at all.

But, of course, fate had other eyes for Paryal. One arm was gently snaked around her waist, pulling her down to sit on the bed. She had no protests. Her leg was growing increasingly sore, and it was nice to feel the human warmth of another body. Her pasty cheeks turned ever so slightly darker, though the blush was barely noticable. Now was not the time for that! Paryal's mind rebelled, though other parts of her body seemed to be recovering faster than others.

"Which stunt was that? The daring to sun myself by the river or the apparently attracting felines?" A wry grin accompanied Paryal's words, even though it was not a laughing matter. Still, what had she done to make this her fault at all? Probably a great many things. The whole incident was a haze. Shards. She had run, and that had probably set off a majority of the felines. This was all her fault... But she was too tired to feel full guilt, at least for the moment. "Oh, aye. We're lucky. You kept your arm, and Rawign doesn't look too terrible. Better than I'm sure I do, at any rate." Now that she knew the Candidate's name, Paryal could be grateful towards him, smiling as she stayed next to Z'hin.

And Rawign was so kind too! "Aezanth is fine. I can't see her scratches under the bandages, but she's in no pain that I'm aware of. And she's awake enough to nag me." A loud snort could be heard all the way into this room. Well, Aezanth did seem to have keen hearing. "And now you're nagging too. I suppose I have to stay down. Majority rules." It would be too hard to get up again anyway.

"And no, I haven't thrown anything. All I've done is drink water straight from the jug. My mother would consider that a crime, but I doubt anyone else will." Hopefully. There had been no one else in the room, had there been? Even the recent past was fuzzing away in Paryal's mind. "I'm not nearly as bad as this lump here." Shoving Z'hin gently, Paryal felt her body relax more in the company of the two young men. They were fun to be around, even if they were all weak and recovering slowly. "I'm too tired to throw things, even if I wanted to." Curling up slowly against Z'hin's body (for she was unable to escape the arm around her), Paryal yawned to demonstrate just how tired she truly was.

[Requiem]

Loopy. Was he like that when he first woke up? Z'hin wasn't sure, though he was fairly certain he'd actually managed to escape a fever, unbelievable as that was. Fevers were very dangerous. He could never remember any of the males in his family ever getting sick, or developing fevers, though, and figured it had something to do with that.

Z'hin decided not to go on his rant about healers, given the present company. Rawign was a healer, and Paryal was too out of it to likely appreciate such a thing. Besides, he wasn't in the mood. That took negative energy. Right now, he didn't have much of that, and it was something of a wasteful effort to convert positive energy into negative. There was no arguing that healers had saved the lives of everyone in this room. Even the brownweyrling had to admit that much. He still was thoroughly convinced that their main purpose was to bring him as much misery as possible...

He blinked at her comment on his injuries. Then, dismissively, Z'hin replied, "Don't worry about it, Paryal. It was my choice to begin with. Now Rawign...I dragged him into it. And I'm pretty sure most of my injuries happened when I went after Jess?" In all truthfulness, he couldn't quite remember much of the feline attack, aside from the fact that it had happened so fast, and he'd been scared witless nearly the entire time. Jessereth had been his strength.

"I'm not your mother?" he replied, with a little laugh. It was rather facetious to compare him to anyone...motherly. Z'hin nodded vigorously as Rawign backed him up about Paryal's leg, but then he shot the healer a hurt look. What had he done to warrant that betrayal? "You weren't supposed to tell her that." He attempted to whine, but it didn't come off just right, instead just sounding like he was - chanting in a singsong voice. Eh. He never could pull off whiny.

Paryal snuggling into him was rather welcome. It made him feel somewhat useful instead of like a - lump of lard. Little twit. Calling him that. Z'hin bit his lip at her nudge. It hadn't been hard, but he hadn't been joking about his insides being rearranged...just a little bit of pressure tended to remind him forcefully that he wasn't up to doing much of anything. As soon as he'd gotten his nerve endings back under control, Z'hin grinned ruefully. "I'm not all that bad. Most of the time." She was hungry, was she?

Silently, though he shot a sly grin Rawign's direction, he loosened his grip on Paryal just long enough to present her with the bowl of gruel he'd been trying to pawn off on the candidate moments ago. If she was hungry enough, she probably wouldn't even notice how terrible it was. Then he wouldn't have to eat the sludge for another few hours! Everyone benefitted. Right?

He'd definitely find a way to avoid eating this stuff. Most likely, by the end of his time here, he'd become an expert at it, Z'hin thought cheerfully. He really was such a different person now that his friends were here. The weyrling always brightened up around people he liked.

Having no true desire to let Paryal go - her body warmth was reassuring, as he he'd been more worried about her than he would have liked to admit - Z'hin glanced toward the doorway as one of those annoying brats passed. The boy looked as if he had considered entering before Z'hin's glare froze him in place. He quickly backpedaled, disappearing from sight.

[glamourie]

Oh, she gave him far too much credit. To be honest, Rawign was fairly sure that Paryal and Z'hin were tended to by healers much superior to him. He was a journeyman, true enough, but a brand new one, and in comparison to some of the Healers at Selenitas, he still had a lot to learn. He was not too proud to admit that (to himself), if only because the acknowledgment meant that he'd have more of a chance to learn. People could say what they wanted about him, but Rawign really did care a lot about learning. He became a Healer because he wanted to make a difference, and letting his pride (no matter how arrogant he had a tendency of being) get in the way of that was utterly foolish.

Rawign raised an eyebrow at Z'hin before snorting. "Oh, wasn't I? She probably heard you, you know," he pointed out, simply because he'd heard Z'hin's tantrum when he was in the hallway. Very hard to miss, that. Even if Paryal hadn't heard him, though, she was likely to pick up on it the next time he threw such a fit, and no doubt there would be a next time. Z'hin was far too badly hurt to get out of the infirmary any time soon, no matter how much Rawign would have liked to believe otherwise, and while he was sure that his friend would try to decrease how often he threw things, Rawign secretly suspected he'd continue to do so, if for no better reason than to scare the apprentices half to death. It really was fun to see them scurrying about, although Rawign would have denied it were anyone to suggest he thought as much.

Drawing silent, the Healer glanced between Z'hin and Paryal, though he did not interrupt their exchange. He was well-aware that the two were clearly associated with each other, he'd even noticed them near each other at the firelizard hatching, but he honestly wasn't sure how far it stretched and didn't want to know. To him, trying to speak would have been rude, so he stayed silent. His hand strayed up to the firelizards settled on his shoulders, rubbing their hides gently with the pads of his fingers. Only when Paryal addressed him again did Rawign move to speak, turning to her with a slight inclination of his head to the left. Head tilting was always a sign of curiosity from the Healer. Always. "I thought we deduced that I'm a Healer, and you know that all Healers nag. I am glad to hear that she is okay," he replied softly. It was true, he really was glad that the young queen hadn't gotten hurt very badly. She was as much one of them as Paryal, Jessereth and Z'hin was, even if the seventeen-turn-old had no desire to go anywhere near the queen ever again. Nothing personal, but his mind was only beginning to wrap around the idea of dragons not being monsters.

He trailed off into thought as his eyes dropped down to his hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Z'hin offer her the gruel and he brought one hand up to his face, faking a yawn, to hide the silent laughter. Nothing to see there, nothing interesting. Z'hin really was determined to peddle that stuff off on someone, wasn't he? Well, at least it was someone who was actually hungry. Rawign wasn't. Food didn't appeal to him very much in the infirmary, and he blamed that completely on the proximity of numbweed. That stuff could make anyone ill.

"If you'd like, I can go and get you both something to eat from the kitchens. I'll have to sneak it back in but I suspect I'm capable of that, if you promise not to tell your respective Healers what I've done. I don't want to be nagged." He snorted, then shook his head. He understood the reason for the infirmary food, but that didn't mean he couldn't sympathize. Shards, it was awful. Like eating parchment, really. Without any kind of seasonings, which was the main problem to begin with. Food needed seasoning to be good... and seasonings were bad for someone.. which... was why it wasn't served in the infirmary.

[paryal]

Doubtfully, Paryal examined the gruel. She was hungry, that was true enough. Very, very hungry. But that hungry? Starvation seemed preferable over whatever lay in the bottom of that bowl, but she took it anyhow, bringing a small spoonful of the stuff to her mouth.

They said you couldn't judge a book by its cover, but sometimes you could. In the case of this gruel, it was every bit as horrible as the appearance had promised. Even the smallest taste set Paryal to gagging as she set the bowl aside on the floor, wrinkling her face in distaste as she did so. If Z'hin thought he could pawn off his meal that easily, he was sorely mistaken; however, Paryal was willing to spare him eating the horrid stuff. "That was awful! But I'm afraid I've ruined it for you Z'hin. You shouldn't eat it now. I don't want you catching whatever fever I had." Shooting a glare at Rawign, just daring him to contradict that statement, Paryal turned her head to wink ever so slightly at the brown Weyrling.

"Your offer of getting food sounds very, very good right now Rawign. Just don't get in trouble." It was obvious that Paryal needed food. A week of not eating had made her lose weight, and she didn't exactly want that to happen. The first place weight seemed to drop from was her 'curves', leaving her looking almost emaciated. Paryal had her body, and she didn't want to loose that. Z'hin needed food as well. He was looking skinnier than Paryal would have liked, though she didn't mention it to him. It would probably incite some rebellion in the Weyrling that she didn't want to deal with at that moment. She was too tired to argue about anything right now, and she was enjoying this closeness with Z'hin far too much. If Rawign left for a few minutes... What then? There wasn't much either of them could do, but Paryal was concerned for Z'hin, moreso than she thought possible. He had taken the risk upon himself and his dragon to save her, and that was incredibly humbling. She didn't deserve that. Not in the least. And what had Z'hin been rewarded with? Serious injuries, worse than her own.

Paryal didn't want to leave Z'hin for the rest of the day, or the rest of the week, but she knew she would have to eventually. For now though... She brushed a strand of hair out of Z'hin's eyes with a clear affection, before bending forward to whisper in his ear, "If you ever do something like that again, I'll kill you myself. I'm not worth that. Don't be such a wherry." Well, that was almost her catchprhase by now, at least when it came to Z'hin. But in reality, Paryal did not want him to come to her rescue again any time soon. From now on she would be more cautious, and unless the situation was dire, she would handle things by herself. There had to have been some way she could have escaped the felines without the help of others. It was her fault he had gotten injured. And she had risked the life of a Candidate as well, someone who would bond to a dragon one day and help protect Pern and Selenitas. It was difficult for Paryal to include Rawign in her little world at that moment, not when she wanted it to just be her and one other person.

Hunching down further in her furs, the young woman blinked owlishly at all those in the room, waiting to see if they were indeed about to get fed something that wasn't just gruel at the bottom of a bowl.

[Requiem]

The brownweyrling caught Rawign's stifled laugh, glaring pointedly at the journeyman. If the healer tipped Paryal off, he would be displeased. Maybe even displeased enough to make sure the candidate was wearing the gruel. He might just consider doing that anyway, given Rawign's earlier comment. Not that he really minded being teased. Nor was it likely that Paryal had heard. The journeyman may not know her very well, but Z'hin was at least familiar enough with the goldweyrling to know she would have mentioned it if she had heard his raving, doubtless chiding him about it in that quirky half-teasing tone of hers. In fact, in a tone not unlike the one Rawign had used.

He certainly could pick his friends, couldn't he?

I could always tell them that you'd like them to leave you alone, Jessereth put in innocently. I may not be able to walk, but I'm certain I could get to you eventually. How? Crawling with one arm? You'd be so tired by the time you got here, Mine, that you'd have forgotten why you came. As he could think of no response to that, Z'hin left off of the silent argument and returned his attention to the two teenagers.

Rawign's suggestion caused Z'hin to brighten up, and Paryal didn't seem too adverse to the idea, either. He laughed at the healer's cautionary add-on. "Honestly, do you think we'd say anything that might get you in trouble when you're bringing us food?" He affected an innocent look, trying out his - rather paltry - acting skills. "It just appeared out of thin air. I swear." He paused, as if listening to a retort. "No. Why would I question it? It's edible!" Z'hin flashed a grin at Rawign, wagging his eyebrows as if to say, 'See? I've got your back. That was perfectly believable.'

His jest was interrupted by a hand at his forehead, Z'hin blinking at Paryal. He hadn't forgotten her, really, but he hadn't expected her to be this close, and it surprised him into immobility for a few moments. Flushing slightly at her words - though it might have had more to do with her warm breath on his ear - the brownweyrling shook his head mutely. For once, he had no response, or at least, he couldn't verbalize it. But Aezanth had reached out to Jessereth specifically. What did Paryal expect, that he and Jess would ignore their distress or, still more unlikely, that they would come to the scene and then do nothing as the cats tore the goldpair apart? Regardless of her feelings, given the same situation - they would do the same thing.

The man had been drawn out of his amusement irrevocably, his eyes darkening with the memory of his fear, the stark fear he'd felt the moment he saw what situation Paryal and Aezanth were in. It was hard to see her as pale and thin as she was now, as tired. But this was far preferable to ever finding himself a witness to death chasing close on her heels. Though he was unaware of it, his arm had tightened protectively around her in the thrall of that memory.

[glamourie]

Rawign just smiled at Paryal, though he didn't respond to her comment of having ruined the food; he wouldn't have asked Z'hin to eat it even if she hadn't. Notice he'd conveniently avoided doing so? Rawign knew what that stuff tasted like and really, he'd just as soon have starved. But what could he bring them? His mind worked out the particulars even as he lifted one hand to the back of the chair and pulled himself, weakly, to his feet. Standing was a chore for Rawign, if only because of the muscles it pulled on, though the fact that he managed to rise without falling flat on his face was reassuring. His firelizards turned to look at him, Li nudging his chin while Roxie gave a quiet chitter of reassurance, as if encouraging him. Theirs was doing so well! But he hurt. Rawign smiled to both firelizards, as if to reassure them that he was all right, and then he moved around to stand behind the back of the chair.

"You just remember that," he said firmly to Z'hin before nodding to both of them. However, it seemed they were content enough without him, and he felt like an outsider... not unusual when he was around people other than Marra, actually. There was a reason Rawign tended to only interact with others on a one-on-one basis. Anything else and his tendency to keep his opinion to himself just made him fade into the background. He was half-tempted to point out to the two curled up in the furs that neither of them were well enough to be doing that, but... it wasn't his place. They were Weyrlings, first, which meant that ranked him, and second, they probably already knew that cuddling up together wasn't the best of ideas when Paryal was coming off being ill. If they wanted to do it anyway, who was he to stop them?

Not to mention he wasn't exactly qualified to pass judgment, considering that Rawign spent his first day in the infirmary actually cuddled up to Marra. Granted, he didn't have a fever and neither did she, and they'd been careful to avoid pulling any injuries, but Z'hin and Paryal were only physically close.. they weren't off... kissing... He needed to worry a lot less. They weren't his patients. Not his job to worry, and besides, he fully intended to violate the Healer-ordained diet for them anyway, so who was he to comment on... anything? (Actually, he was more agitated than worried; truthfully, Rawign thought it rather inconsiderate for Paryal to stumble over, interrupt a conversation and thoroughly make him feel unwelcome, but he wasn't going to say anything since it wasn't his place, and she and Z'hin obviously were good friends... maybe more. He'd probably have done the same thing if it was Marra. Not that he'd admit it.)

Without any word of goodbye or explanation, Rawign turned and slipped out of the infirmary. His movements were soundless, despite the fact that he actually moved far slower than normal, carefully practiced so as to avoid hurting himself. As long as he didn't bend or anything he was fine. However, he did have a very colourful group following him as he disappeared around the corner in the directions of the kitchens, as all three of his firelizards took to flying behind him, save for Li. Li never left Rawign's neck, if he could help it.

Just what would he bring them to eat, though...?