Night of the Sober Drunks (Serissa)

[Sebz]

R'vor came to slowly. It wasn't normal for him, he was usually up at the slightest noise, and for him to be lethargic was unnatural. Not only that, but his head hurt. More than hurt, it was bloody painful. The last time he had felt like this was...

When you were hungover after the graduation feast? I remember that well, or more like I don't remember, Piwoth said, obviously just rousing as well if his tired tone was anything to judge by. R'vor tried to sit up, but all the blood rushed away from his head leaving him swaying. He grabbed onto something to balance steady himself. The blue rider shook his head, as if assuming that by doing that he would succesfully aliviate the haziness that was plauging him. Well shards. He had sworn that he would never touch anymore alchohal ever again, especially after his spectacular fall off a stool that had been caused by downing to many beers.

“What's the damage this time,” R'vor groaned, getting unsteadilly to his feet. Well this certainly wasn't his weyr. How had he ended up in the dining hall, and on the floor at that? If you don't remember, then obviously I don't. The feast is still a blur, the blue grumbled. R'vor grinned slightly, stretching. Passing out on the floor was did not do wonders for your back. “I remember a candidate,” R'vor said, rather surprised that he had remembered anything at all. Remember something else and I'll be impressed.

“Well let's see what else I can come up with,” R'vor said, his speech slurring slightly. It seemed that he was in that awkward stage inbetween wasted and hungover. Just dandy. R'vor tried to wrack his brains, but nothing else came to mind. Hrm. Maybe he had been more drunk than he thought. “Do you remember anything else,” the rider asked.

Piwoth paused slightly before answering. You were singing. Baddly. R'vor grinned rather foolishly. “I bet I was amazing. Your just jellous.” Of warbling like an idiot? Yes. Extremely jellous. My head hurts now because of you. Good going R'vor, I must remember to stave you off the booze. Oh thats right, you'll just ignore me, get drunk, and then I won't remember to stop you. “That makes no sense,” R'vor chuckled, rubbing his head. No shit shirlock. And who's fault is that? The rider smirked, Piwoth absolutly hated when he was muddled do to R'vor's love of the drink.

R'vor continued rubbing his head, now confused. Why was his hand sticky and wet? He looked at it and stared. Blood. He was bleeding from his head. Get yourself to the infirmiry, Piwoth said disgusted. When he sensed R'vor not moving, the blue tried again. R'VOR! R'vor's eyes widened in surprise, Piwoth rarely raised his voice. “What?” I said go to the infirmiry. “No you didn't.” R'vor, get your wherryass down to the infirmiry. I'ts almost sunrise, six thirty I think. Now go.

R'vor wandered towards the infirmiry, the last affects of the alchohal wearing off. He no longer stumbled. Instead, he felt like a runnerbeast had kicked him in the face, and he was bleeding. Fun times. When he reached the infirmiry, he plopped himself on the cot, and swung his long legs, letting his toes brush the floor. “Helloooooo I'm bleeding from the brain, and I think I'm dying. Is there anybody here?” he called in a good natured taunt. Idiot.

[Ruby]

Serissa stifled a yawn - she was used to the 6am shift by now, but she'd been up later than normal last night, drinking with Ba'sun. Eventually, some of the other Beta wingriders had joined them, and Serissa had taken her leave before the truly heavy drinking began. Or so she'd heard from Nysania, who had two or three of the riders stumble by for painkillers to stop their morning headaches before they went to bed. Serissa was expecting the rest of them later in her shift, especially since she'd be here all the way until two. Even the ones that slept the whole morning away would be in before she left.

So of course it was doses of painkillers and nausea suppressors she was measuring out, grinding the various leaves and berries needed into powders and such that could be dissolved in klah. Raebeli had been around here somewhere, and theoretically Ithanna was in as well, although Serissa hadn't seen her yet today. Girl had been scarce lately; Serissa hoped it was some man (or woman) in her life, and turned the other cheek. Without some sort of extreme emergency, she and Raebeli could certainly handle anything the Weyr threw at them. And if there was an emergency, they could always call Iwyrth.

Daniel was industriously pounding a dried berry on the table, attempting to powder it with just his paws instead of Serissa's mortar and pestle, which he certainly couldn't lift. His low, permanent growl of slight frustration masked whatever noise the visitor may have made coming in, so Serissa's head snapped up in surprise when R'vor called out. One side of her mouth pulled sideways, and the Bluerider rose, hips swaying gently as she headed for the open archway between the tiny 'office' she was in and the main infirmary. Tucking blonde curls behind her ear as she went, her eyebrows pulled together for a moment when she first spotted the patient. So familiar, and not just because he'd shown up with some of the other Beta wingriders last night.

No, it was something in the way his back curved, his stance more than anything. She doubted she would have noticed anything if she hadn't seen his back first. The feeling of deja vu only got stronger when she noticed he was kicking his feet like a little boy. Fort? No, he was the right age to have impressed with her, and she wouldn't have forgotten him if that was the case. Earlier, maybe. She'd have to think about it. "Your brain looks fine to me," she said, sweeping around in front of him with the same sort of good nature in her voice that he had. "Which is to say, if I can't see it it's doing fine. Your scalp not so much, however," she added after a quick visual scan, perching on the cot next to him so she had a better view. A gentle prod to the skin around the gash to check the firmness - hopefully it wasn't infected yet - and Serissa sniffed, scenting something fermented about him. "Had fun last night?"

[Sebz]

R'vor grinned as the blond healer walked in, and he turned to face her. Glancing at her shoulder knots, he cocked his head slightly. Bluerider, and pretty at that. “That's good to know,” he quipped back as she climbed on the cot next to him. “I- Ow,” he complained as her practiced fingers explored the wound. He wrinkled his nose, a habit R'vor had when he found something unpleasent.

“I wouldn't say fun,” R'vor muttered, relaxing his face as the prodding ceased. “I was just checking the wares, you know, someone has to make sure from time to time that they're not poisoned,” he said seriously, though he winked at her immediately after. “I usually don't drink so much,” he promised, manipulating the truth as he saw fit. It was true, the bluerider didn't drink enough and often enough to be eterenally wasted, but he did like to down a few drinks now and then.

He glanced at the healer next to him, trying his best to focus. He would swear that he had seen her last night, or at least someone who looked a lot like her leaving the kitchens before his... misadventure. But he had never caught her name. R'vor was quite sure that if they had met when he was sober, he would have immediately sought out information about her, such as name, age, number of sexual partners...

Their was a nagging feeling R'vor had that they had met before, but if not at the weyr, then where? Her face wasn't completely familiar, but her eyes were. He tried to remember, but his headache was distracting so he quickly ceased his efforts. He would figure it out eventually he supposed. Turning completely to face the healer, he gave his best worried face and asked, “I'm going to live then Doc?”

He really had no intention of keeping up that facade, so quickly his freckly face broke out into a grimance as his left arm reached behind his neck to give it a good rub, yet another one of his habits. “I am sorry to call on your services this early, if I hadn't been such a lazy kid I'm sure I at least could have learned enough to nurse my own hangover,” R'vor said, realizing once again that he really shouldn't have been such a trouble child at the Healer Hall. Ah well, he had searched and impressed Piwoth, so no regrets.

[Ruby]

"Mm," Serissa said, sticking to the generally affirmative noise while she checked over his head, looking for any other damage. She'd always been rather serious about healing, and didn't like to be distracted lest she miss something important. Beyond some bruising and the obvious gash, though, R'vor's head looked normal. Sitting back on the cot and tucking one leg under her, Serissa reached for a bowl of redwort and another of numbweed. Using the moment it took to bathe her hands in the red anti-septic solution, she cocked her head at R'vor, considering what he'd said. "It is extremely important. Of course, if they were poisoned, it looks like you'll never know..." she teased, shaking her hands dry.

Picking up a clean towel, she dipped it in a bowl of water that joined the redwort and numbweed on the bedside table. Leaning forward to dab dried blood off the gash, she went on, "You'll live indeed. And if I hadn't had to come in so early this morning, I would have been right there with you. I'm the last person that will lecture you about the perils of alcohol, excepting perhaps Kalierre." Sticking a hand down in front of him for him to shake, she said, "Serissa the Bottomless, you might have heard of me. Piden and I started the drinking contest after Millieth's last hatching." Seeing the look on his face, she added, "Weren't there? Pity. It was a good time."

By now, the wound was clean, so Serissa switched to a swab and redwort, disinfecting. She chattered on on autopilot, systematically cleaning the gash. "Oh, don't be. Generally it's so boring in here in the mornings, Handlers are asleep and everyone else in their right mind is too, it's nice to see a... friendly face." Friendly was stressed in the sort of way that said she meant something quite a bit beyond friendly, and she leaned in just enough to stress her point. Serissa: never a dull moment.

Something he'd said, though, caught the part of her brain that wasn't devoted to useless flirting. "Wait," she said, sitting back and dropping the swab to her lap. "Healer Hall? You weren't at Southern a good 16 turns ago or something, were you?"

[Sebz]

R'vor still wasn't quite in his right mind, so it took him abnormally long to catch onto the healer's joke, but catch he did- R'vor gave a pleased chuckle, albiet a few seconds to late. So she was one for jokes, she just kept getting better and better didn't she. “I would never know my arse,” he grinned. “I'm sure Piwoth would inform what a wherrybrain I was for accidently killing myself, even as I passed into the void. And what a pretty name,” he added, fogetting to offer his own name in return. What pretty name. He was sure he had heard it before, but perhaps not. He wasn't really sure what he knew at the moment, he would think on it once his head stopped throbbing.

A jokester and indulged in the drink? This alone had R'vor quite smitten, though it was probably the combination of alchohal and hangover that was talking. If he was sober all it would have taken was for the healer to rare her pretty face and R'vor would have... what was the term? He forrowed his brow. Why were all his thoughts escaping him? He would have... what? tapped that, banged her, done her... any of those work for you? Piwoth interjected, not at all amused. Well actually I was thinking, at least I think I was thinking, befriend her.Liar. You would go anything that walked upright and had a pair. A pair of eaither type for that matter. Me? Never.

Yes she was funny. Yes she was attractive. Didn't mean Piwoth was right.

R'vor was out of it, but he wasn't that out of it. Friendly? He could be friendly. How about sexy? Yes, R'vor did sexy quite well. He was actually quite the romantic, but when he was addled, that as thrown right out the window. He opened his mouth to say one of his brilliant half formed lines that usually eaither got him laid or wine poured down his head, but stopped when she posed her question.

“I was indeed, I was apprenticed there for about two years” he frowned, pausing. Why was she asking? R'vor gave her a long look, trying to make sense of the question. He didn't remember much about the hall, and there weren't many people worth remembering. He had had few friends, only two infact. There was that red head boy who was a year his junior, and that girl who had had a thing for for quite a time, until they became friends. Wait.

“Serissa?” R'vor said, furitivly, memories coming back. They sure looked the same, but he doubted she was the same girl from the hall, but there was a possibility. The name was familiar. “It's R'vor! Reavor,” he offered tentivly, cracking a small grin, and rubbing the back of his neck, nervously. Well wasn't this something.

[Ruby]

"Serissa, yes," she parroted, but made the teasing light by pairing it with a brilliant flash of teeth... until he went on. "Reavor?!" she exclaimed, blinking momentarily at him before she saw it. Her question had been more curiosity - oh hey, we were at the hall at the same time, I bet we took some of the same classes! - than anything, but now that he said his name, it was obvious. It was Reavor, freckly-faced little Reavor, who had always hung around her and red-headed Shyen, and who had had such a crush on her that even 11-year-old Serissa noticed. She hadn't been as... confident, back then, so she'd pretended he was one of her girl friends and blushed whenever her other friends mentioned him. Nothing had ever come of it before she was shipped off to Fort, but he was definitely one of those childhood friends you always remember, even if you haven't seen them in a decade and a half.

Totally forgetting about the redwort next to her on the cot (and the fact that poor, hungover R'vor probably had a crushing headache), Serissa swung her legs up so she was kneeling on the cot, squealing and throwing her arms around the other Bluerider. Her momentum likely toppled him sideways on to the pillow, and she kept squeezing him for a moment, giggling. "Reavor! er, R'vor," she corrected, as she shook her head and finally sat up, tossing her hair back behind her shoulders. "I can't believe it's you. How on Pern did you end up here?"

Before he could answer, though, Serissa untucked her knees, going back to your basic sitting position, only to feel something wet seep through her pants. Leaping up, she glanced back at the bed, moaning, "Oh, no, the redwort!" And indeed, there was a spreading red stain, seeping out from the bowl she'd overturned in her excitement. Turning sideways so she could crane her head over her shoulder, she sighed. "All over my pants, too. I blame you," she added with a sort of mock-pout, leaning down to retrieve the half-empty bowl, dipping her fingers back in to the bit that remained. She'd intended to just sanitize her hands again, but the reunion with R'vor had her in especially high spirits for the moment, so instead she flicked a fine spray of the red stuff at the Rider's chest with a wicked grin. Something, indeed.

[Sebz]

R'vor found himself being thrown sideways in an excited hug from the healer, proving him right, so he eagerlly returned the hug. It was Serissa, how could he ever have questioned it? She looked just like she had all those years ago. Of course she was more mature, more womanly now, not the R'vor minded at all, but she was still the young girl whom he had enjoyed the company of when he was a boy. Actually, he more the enjoyed her company if he was being honest.

Ahh, headache and quick motions did not go well together. R'vor closed his eyes as a sharp pain in the back of his head throbbed, so he allowed himself to lay on the pillow for a moment longer when Serissa pulled away. Fuck alchohal. But Serissa's giggling was so infections, so R'vor quickly forgot about the pain. Acutually, whatever she had been doing seemed to be working quite well, his head was feeling numb so perhaps that was a good sign.

He oppened his mouth to answer the question but he lost his trail of thought as she lept off, the cot. Ahh, there was the problem. The redwort had spilled and was seeping quickly. Well that would just not do. Frowning, R'vor grabbed the pillow and placed it on top of the spill. "Me?" R'vor grinned devilishly, wrinkling his nose in amusement. "I do believe I was the victum to yourtackle" R'vor wagged his finger at her accusingly, eyes bright with amusement. He laughed as she sprayed him with the redwort, playfully trying to dodge it and failing.

"Forget about the redwort, come sit! I haven't seen you in ages!" the bluerider said, patting the pillow next to him that was soaking up the redwort. It would make for a comfotable seat, but hey, but if she would rather not sit there, his lap was always an option. Idiot.

The joy of the reunion had R'vor babbling uncontrolably, in an attempt to catch Serissa up with his life as much as possible. "Where you there when the dragon's came on search my, first year," he asked tallying up the years quickly in his mind. "I was eleven and a half but well, you know how much the masters disliked me," the blue rider said, giving the healer his half grin. It was no secret that the teachers at the healer hall had absolutly no idea what to do with the lazy, presumptious boy that he had been. "Well, they conviniently forgot to tell the search riders I was to young to be searched, so I was taken to the weyr, and impressed my Piwoth and have been here ever since. Now, what about you? I never would have thought I'd meet up with you here, and you ride a blue to boot!"

[Ruby]

Serissa wrinkled her nose at R'vor (and the acrid smell of the Redwort), but took the seat he offered, perching on the pillow and hooking her legs over one of his knees to keep herself steady (and because she had been, and would always be, a kind of touchy-feely person). With the extra loft under her, she was near as tall as he was, which made it quite a bit easier to apply numbweed to his wound while he talked. Stitches were a maybe, but she'd let some numbweed sit on the cut for a while, then wash it off and see where they were at.

While she was busy with the numbweed, though, she caught herself up on R'vor's life. "I was there, but we weren't old enough," she said, poking gently at his shoulder. "And anyway, there wasn't a queen egg, they weren't looking for girls. That's what the Searchrider said, at least." His admission that the master's didn't like him got a little affirmative nod from Serissa - it hadn't exactly been a secret, after all. She'd liked him because he was fun and funny, not because he was a good student. She'd been alright, but nothing special; the two were mutually excluded from the smart kids' circles.

Once he was done, she glanced briefly up at the ceiling, as if to ask for divine inspiration. "Shards, it was so long ago. I stayed at Southern for another turn or so, then they made me a Senior Apprentice and sent me off to Fort Hall. Spent about four turns there - I was working with Masters on surgical procedures towards the end, very cutting edge stuff, har har - then I... got searched, and Impressed Ildyth, and ended up here. Transferred." Yes, totally didn't appear in the night, just after the Fort attack. No, wasn't a Fort rider, with all the stigma that came attached to that. Just a rider, a Selenitas rider, a legitimate transfer.

Time to redirect the conversation. "Piwoth's a blue too?" she asked when he was done, glancing down to see if he was wearing knots. Not that you could really trust knots, in Serissa's experience, but hers were usually right. "What's he like? Ildyth's a brainless fluffball, but I love him of course."

[Sebz]

R'vor laughed quietly as he patted the leg that was laid across his own softly, a force of habit. The bluerider felt the need to touch to show affection, be it to a friend or lover (though R'vor had yet to squire the later) so it was only natural that he would take to stroking her leg lightly, albite a bit awkwardly. "You should have been a horrible student like myself, and then we would have gone to the weyr together!" A pang of loneliness stuck the bluerider. Though he didn't like to admit it, it had been difficult to leave the hall and all his friends behind, and he been quite the loner until he had impressed Piwoth.

He listened with interest as she told him about her life after they were separated, and couldn't help but be a bit impressed by what she had accomplished over the years. However, the blue rider noticed Serissa's unwillingness to discuss her life after impressing her blue dragon and the abruptness of the change in topics. Something was a bit off there, and perhaps he would have commented on it, but the thought was pushed out of his head as more red wort was applied. “Be careful with that,” he complained playfully, wincing away from the stuff and wrinkling his nose in distaste. The stuff really did reak.

Ahh Piwoth. R'vor frowned slightly at the thought of his dragon. He loved Piwoth, it was impossible not to love somebody you shared a mind with every hour of the day and night. But recently he and Piwoth had began arguing over morals, morals in which they did not share. The bloodlusting side of the blue which had recently appeared disgusted R'vor, who hated fighting, but the blue refused to reform his views on killing and death.

“Piwoth is my loveable bleen, blue green,” R'vor clarified, “Though he thinks he is a bronze. Unfortunately he has all the ego to go with his claim. I dunno... I love him to death but...” R'vor trailed off uncertainly, looking away. “Ildyth sounds wonderful, I would love to meet him sometime,” R'vor added after an awkward pause. If Serissa wasn't careful, she might end up playing psychiatrist for the disgruntled R'vor.

[Ruby]

"Bleen?" Serissa asked, then laughed when R'vor explained. "So is he one of the mutated ones, then, like Chakraith or Craviaruth? No, I guess he'd be too old for that, no? Just an odd one, then. Every clutch has 'em." Something R'vor had said caught her attention, though, and desperate to keep the conversation away from her origins, she seized on it. "But...?"

The Bluerider's head was cleaned and numbweeded, but Serissa wasn't quite ready to give up her cuddly, comfy position here with R'vor, especially since no one else was here right now. It got lonely in the Infirmary in the early morning hours. So the Bluerider laid a folded piece of gauze on the gash, then looked up at R'vor questioningly for a minute. Decisions decisions... kind of. Honestly, Serissa had made up her mind long before she came up with any reason she should NOT snuggle in with R'vor.

So she held up a finger, instructed him to "Hang on," and retrieved one of the doses of headache medication and a skin of wine from the closet where Kalierre kept her stash. "I know of two ways to cure a hangover: nasty powders, or more booze. I'll, ah, leave the choice up to you." Setting the powder on the sidetable, she took a sip of the wine herself, considered it for a second, then looked down at R'vor. Yep, totally time to cuddle.

Dropping on to his lap, she slid an arm around his waist, fitting in just about right under his arm. Of course, her pants were still damp with redwort, but somehow she didn't think he'd care. Tucking her hair behind her ear again, she leaned up to peck him on the cheek, then tried asking again. "But what? I've heard nothing you say before 'but' counts. C'mon, you can tell me - we're all alone, and I've been taking mindhealer classes from Raebeli." Not true, but she had at least heard the mindhealers talking to her patients on occasion? "I hear my methods are somewhat different from hers, though," she added, with a dry look at R'vor that made it clear Rae wasn't necessarily in the habit of being quite so, erm, close to her charges.

[Sebz]

R'vor cocked his head as he was offered his choices for a cure. Booze sounded quite fine, and he was about to tell Serissa when she all but plopped down on his lap. R'vor froze in surprise, not moving a muscle. Somehow this didn't seem like healer patient etiquette. The kiss to the cheek followed. Nope, definitely not healer patient etiquette. Not that R'vor was complaining.

He awkwardly gave her a squeeze, completely unaware of what the appropriate response should be. He was not good around women, he tended to freeze up. Inexperience was a defining characteristic of the bluerider, and it was all to obvious as he mechanically patted Serissa's shoulder, unable to relax with her so close. He reached for the wine that she had offered him before and took a sip to cool his nerves.

The question Serissa posed made him even more uncomfortable, if that was even possible. "Oh you have?" he asked in surprise as she told him of her expiertise, stalling for time. Should he tell her? True, they had been friends as children, but it seemed a bit extreme to spill his secrets to a woman he hadn't talked to in turns.

What the heck, he decided, she obviously decided they were still close, close enough to turn him into a chair, not that R'vor minded in the slightest, she could be trusted. "It's just that Piwoth seems prone to... killing." R'vor said eventually, turning his head away from Serissa so she wouldn't be able to see his expression. R'vor was unsettled by his dragon's nature, and had been for a long time. He couldn't help but thing that Piwoth's thirst for blood reflected on his own nature. "He get's consumed by a bloodlust when he gets agitated, and I can't control it." Yes, Piwoth had done terrible things while in a rage, and in turn, so had R'vor. It disgusted him.