Refusal to Back Down [Tags Meira]

[kysseh]

She was facing her nemesis and was defeating it. A laborious enterprise it was, and the struggle had been long and hard. Now, though, the end was in sight, and there was nothing standing between her and a victory...

Nothing, of course, but ten feet of stone floor and a table that was just slightly higher than she had anticipated.

"Ooof!" Savitri exhaled noisily, completely surprised by the fact that the box she carried was just a fingerwidth too low to slide easily onto the table like she had planned. The edge of the box had caught at the edge of the table and abruptly halted the goldrider's forward momentum, shoving the box back into her already-tender chest and briefly knocking the wind from her lungs. She staggered a bit and then recovered enough to heft the box of supplies properly onto the table, breathing a bit harder to pull some air back into her lungs. Apparently, the box had had its last laugh, and she glared rather half-heartedly down at the offensive object. Shame on it. If Savitri had taken a step back to think about it, she would have recognized that fate was punishing her for her stubborn refusal to work herself to the point of exhaustion. Her only thought for the moment, though, was relief that the stubbornly heavy box--filled with nothing fragile, thankfully--was safely in their makeshift infirmary.

Her child was not thankful for this fact, and judging by the constant fluttering going on, she doubted that would change any time soon. Of course, the fact that she was still a bit winded from the exertion of lugging the heavy box from her weyr over to their 'infirmary' was probably not helping matters. Hmph. It was not as if she could slow down. She still had patients to tend--never mind that it was the night shift's turn, seeing as it was long after dusk--and records to tend to. Still, sitting down for a moment or two seemed like the best course of action. It had been a long, long day, and her ankles, now that she had slowed down for a moment to recognize it, positively ached. She spared them the barest of glances and groaned softly at the recognition that they were a bit swollen. Oh, splendid. Perfect.

You could always sleep. Hepaticath helpfully suggested, and Savitri let out a quiet grumble as she took a seat in an abandoned chair and bent over just enough to rub one ankle. Shardit, but even bending over was becoming a chore. Were she not quite sure of the timing of conception, she would have sworn that delivery was slightly more imminent than she had assumed, but, no, she still had months to go. Pity. I'll sleep later... was her silent response to the sleepy queen. Not like I could rest well anyway. Indeed, not. 'Uncomfortable' was too polite a term to use for it. She sighed and gave her swollen ankles another glance. Shardit, but she was going to need to deal with those or nothing else was going to get done.

[Avu]

Meisk followed her the entire way to the temporary Infirmary. Not entirely surprising; the pale blue wher had been positively frantic once he’d figured out how agitated his last Chase had made Meira, and, without even waiting for Zesa’s scolding, had promptly promised never to Chase again. How long he would keep that promise, Meira didn’t know, but the prompt, contrite statement, followed by the blue licking her full on the face, apparently mollified Zesa – and Meisk’s puppy-dogging after her only pleased the firelizard still more. Good wherpet, he was…the queen twittered lightly under her breath as the wher stopped with a faint whine, refusing to get too close to the weyrledge that marked the entrance to the temporary Infirmary; his wings fluttered in slight agitation. There was almost constantly a dragon there, and if there wasn’t, you could bet one would be coming shortly, and the wher didn’t like dragons, he didn’t. He’d just…wait out here…the wher slipped away, so silently that Meira wouldn’t have heard him go had she not been looking right at him.

She almost called him back just to hug him – she didn’t blame Meisk, she really didn’t – but the sound of someone – well, it sounded like they had just been winded – emerging from the Infirmary snagged Meira’s attention, and, curiously and a bit warily, she skirted around the frame of the door, glancing around the Infirmary, gaze instinctively heading for the doorway that partitioned the cots of the remaining injured patients. From what little she could see, they looked okay, so…? It was Zesa who caught sight of Savitri first, the firelizard’s tail looping around Meira’s neck as the gold landed delicately on her shoulder. Eyes whirling rapidly as they focused on Savitri, the gold nudged Meira’s cheek, a quiet chirp directing her gaze to Savitri as she fluttered one wing in a very apparent show of agitation.

For a moment, Meira simply blinked at Savitri. What – it wasn’t her shift – as far as she knew, Savitri had day shift, and the emergency – the desperate need for Healers – had been more or less countered by the influx thereof in the Relief Caravan. And the goldrider was…clearly…pregnant. By the look of her, bending over and rubbing her ankle, she wasn’t in the best condition anyway, though whether nor not that was pregnancy-related, Meira wasn’t quite sure. The wherhandler took an aimless step forward, mostly to make sure Savitri was aware of her approach, before she commented, almost uncertainly. “This…this isn’t your shift…” And then, gaze flickering towards the box on the table and then back to the goldrider again, “Shouldn’t you be resting?”

The firelizard on her shoulder echoed her opinion in a low trill, rapidly flickering an image to Hers. This was the one who’d Impressed her loud, loud greendaughter! Cringing mentally at the thought of said loud, loud green firelizard, Meira took another step forward to the edge of the table, and rested one hand lightly on top of the box. She wasn’t sure what was in it, and for all she knew, it could be something…private. What, exactly, was private that would be brought into an Infirmary, Meira didn’t know. But nonetheless, she glanced questioningly at the goldrider, adding softly, “Is this…for the Infirmary…?” Had Zesa moved at that instant, her words would have been inaudible, so quiet were they. As it was, the gold took to wing a second after, landing on the back of one of the chairs near the goldrider and glancing curiously at her.

[kysseh]

The blue wher-cousin approaches. Hepaticath suddenly informed Savitri, the gold dragon lifting her head just enough to peer through the darkness at the now-vanishing form of Meisk. While the queen was obviously of the opinion that dragons were clearly superior to whers, just as they were superior to firelizards and salamandyrs, she did not share some of her kind's disdain for the creatures. The creature was no longer visible to her, but she crooned in quiet greeting anyway. Hopefully, she had not been the reason for his flight, and he would hear her greeting and understand that she was being friendly. Hopefully. She was scarcely about to get up and go pursue him. She was far too comfortable, curled up as she was.

Hepaticath's warning allowed Savitri to not be startled by the wherhandler's approach. It was hardly as if she minded the company. Meira was a good healer and a stable, sensible sort of personality, and Savitri highly prized all of those qualities. Besides that, she doubted Meira would give her a prolonged and pointed lecture about the need for proper rest when gravid. She was avoiding Kalierre whenever she could... for just that reason. She didn't need lectures. She needed to be keeping busy, though no one could probably tell that based on the way she was sitting and rubbing sore, swollen ankles in an uncomfortable chair.

Of course, as soon as Meira spoke, Savitri had to laugh. It was not a derogatory laugh. Just a quiet one, filled with the goldrider's amusement at the beautiful coincidence. Hadn't she just been thinking that Meira wouldn't... and then she had to ask? It was too perfect. "Should be resting," the goldrider acknowledged quietly, a wry smile decorating her face. "Can't. Can't get comfortable, and there's just too much that I didn't get done earlier. I wanted to look over the patients again, but... many of them seem to be asleep already." Her nose wrinkled, and she shifted a bit on the chair, blowing out a long slow breath of frustration and exhaustion.

The sight of the quiet and polite gold firelizard brought a genuine smile to Savitri's face. She adored firelizards. Useful and good, unobtrusive firelizards, that was. Obnoxious creatures like her Ras were not quite in the 'adoration' column most of the time. Granted, she did like the little green, but that did not make Ras any less of a pain in her backside. Or head. Or neck. The haughty little green really did give her quite the headache at times. Meira's question distracted her from those thoughts, though, and the goldrider gave a brief nod in response, glancing at Zesa as the gold took a perch on a nearby chair. "Hello, Zesa." It seemed rude to not acknowledge the queen, after all.

"Some rarer herbs for the infirmary... and a good amount of linens and bandages. I'd taken a few things out of it to treat patients, but it's mostly full. And heavy. Don't try to pick it up," Savitri added to the wherhandler as almost an afterthought. Very heavy, it was. "I'll move it somewhere less in the way once I get the breath back into my lungs." Almost as an afterthought, Savitri's gaze slid toward the doorway that led into the hallway and into the direction of her own weyr. Hmm. Would Ka'rys be asleep now? Probably, and with his arm still healing... no, Savitri would not ask him to wake up for something as ridiculous as moving a box of infirmary supplies. She could handle it just fine. Besides, a shorter distance was nothing in comparison to the long haul from her weyr. Her child, perhaps just by coincidence, refuted that thought with a flutter of movement along her right side, and Savitri could not help but squirm. "I feel the need to warn you that pregnancy feels a lot odder than you'd think," the goldrider said dryly, perhaps in an attempt to put the wherhandler at ease. If Meira ever decided to reproduce, she needed to be warned of how odd it felt to feel something squirming and moving inside of you. And of how inconvenient swollen ankles were, Savitri noted in addition, glaring again at the body parts in question. Hated them, she did. "Anywhere for the box that'd be convenient for you?"

[Avu]

The wherhandler’s head tilted, clearly questioningly, at the goldrider, flicking down towards her ankles automatically, where she was rubbing. Clearly swollen, but apparently Healers were terrible hypocrites (see R’wign, Savitri, and admittedly herself, for examples). At least she was sitting down as opposed to…still lugging boxes around. One hand rose, pushing her hair out of her eyes and flicking it behind her shoulders. She’d have to put it up before she actually tried to do anything in the Infirmary, she noted vaguely, as Savitri’s acknowledgement drew an expression that was half-amusement and half-disapproval to her face. But…if she couldn’t get comfortable, then she probably couldn’t sleep anyway, but…lying around was still better than carrying around boxes. There were Healers that were on Night Shift that were not pregnant who could take care of that – she could, or Jermayan – but still. At the obvious frustration the goldrider was displaying, Meira had to grin, albeit rather reluctantly.

“I think you ought to be more worried if they weren’t asleep, considering the time,” she commented quietly, following Savitri’s glance towards Zesa. The goldrider’s nod, however, had her turning back to the box. She considered it briefly, sliding one hand under a corner to test its weight and then pulling her hand back out rapidly. Squishing her fingers was not high on her list of Things To Do, after all, and it was a heavy box. Very heavy, it was…she sighed slightly, glancing towards what little of the rows of cots that she could see. Not many people had entered the Infirmary of late; more had departed. Most people, since the attack, apparently, had a bit more common sense and didn’t fancy getting hurt every few days. Hmm. Smart of them. But nonetheless, it was nice to have the very-heavy box of things close to hand, and…she’d rather not go back into that storage closet if she could help it.

Zesa, meanwhile, trilled a polite greeting to Savitri, the gold firelizard flicking a lid over one eye and cocking her head to peer at Savitri interestedly. Was this how humans acted when they got eggheavy? Silly humans; didn’t they know that when one was eggheavy one should be pampered? Hers always made sure she felt comfortable, at any rate. The gold glanced up at Hers questioningly, her gaze flickering between Savitri and Meira, and then she hopped one chair closer, carefully curling her talons around the gleaming, polished wood until she was on the chair right next to Savitri, fluting in quiet curiosity. Eyes whirled rapidly, the gold settling neatly onto her hind legs and flaring out her wings for balance as she peeped softly. She wasn’t stupid; she didn’t try to touch Savitri’s stomach, but…she was still curious.

As the goldrider addressed her again, Meira turned her head to glance at Savitri again – mostly out of habit, since she didn’t strictly have to. Rarer herbs – hmm. Rarer herbs…? She couldn’t think of the names of properties of any herbs that might fall into the category of rare off the top of her head, but she nodded mutely, half-smiling at the goldrider’s added comment. Don’t pick it up, it was heavy? And yet she was carrying it around? Hmm. Experimentally wriggling her hand under the corner and levering it off the table a few inches, the wherhandler resisted the urge to grimace. Heavy, ugh. Anyway, Savitri did not need to be carrying that around. Meira would rather do it herself – or get Jermayan to, or E’rro. One of the others on Night Shift was perfectly capable of doing it. There were much less objectionable ways for a pregnant goldrider to be spending her time.

And speaking of pregnant – “I – sorry?” Meira was aware she was flushing at the statement, and the wherhandler dropped her gaze to the box, addressing it instead of Savitri. “I’m not planning on getting pregnant anytime soon, but…thanks for the…warning?” Odder was not necessarily a bad thing. If she’d said more painful…maybe. But her voice still rose at the end in question, and Meira wrinkled her nose slightly, glancing at Zesa again, grateful for the change of subject. Back to the box. Yes. “You probably shouldn’t be carrying this,” she commented softly, squirming internally. “I mean…I can. I can’t make you go to sleep, but at least don’t kill yourself trying to lug this around?” It still came out as a question – more of a plea than a command.

[kysseh]

Oh, but they'd turn Meira into a good, fussy old healer yet. Savitri had to offer a somewhat self-deprecating smile at the look that Meira gave her. Yes, yes, she was well aware of the fact that her ankles were swollen and in need of elevation and rest. Yes, she knew that Meira knew that she knew, and no, she did not care. Savitri had never been particularly good at following her own advice. Whether that was from Turns of mothering everyone but herself or just a general lack of parenting given to her growing up... well, that was debatable. All that Savitri knew was that 'pregnant' was not synonymous with 'helpless,' and playing helpless did not sit well with her. Meira's grin elicited a wry smile and a groan from Savi. Yes, she knew she was a poor patient, and she could scarcely blame the girl for being amused.

Meira had a point that the patients should all be asleep. Savitri was sure one or more of them was still awake, a fact she would have commented on were Meira not distracted by the box of supplies. Savitri herself was also distracted by Zesa, smiling at the gold flitter's approach. She always wondered what was going through the minds of the creatures when they gave her those curious kind of looks. This flitter was a polite one, though, a fact which Savitri appreciated to no small degree. That was probably also why she relaxed in her chair and carefully extended one hand, palm upward, toward the shining creature. "Sorry I don't know what you're asking, but you're welcome to come closer." She trusted the flitter to not tromp all over her midsection, and even if the flitter decided to get aggressive, she doubted much damage to be done. Her baby was very well padded in its current home, thank you very much.

Her gaze flicked back to Meira again, and the goldrider chuckled, idly draping her the arm not extended toward Zesa across her abdomen. There was one notable good point to being pregnant: a built-in armrest, even though her abdomen was nowhere close to the size it would be in a few months. Still... Savi liked her new little mini-rest. It worked. "Told you it was heavy. I'll get it. Just... feels kind of nice to sit, even if this chair is really hard," she admitted, tilting her head to one side as the wherhandler flushed. The corners of her mouth turned downward in a frown of confusion, pale eyes narrowing as she considered. Did something about pregnancy bother Meira? Embarrass her? Perhaps she would have to be more careful with her statements, then, if it made the wherhandler uncomfortable. The poor teenager was probably nervous enough about sleeping with strange men (and women!) during Runlust if her wher Chased. Perhaps she was nervous about the thought of being with child?

Savitri decided that that was the reason, and a good reason, it was. Meira was too young to need a child, even if she was scarcely a handful of Turns Savi's junior. Details. "We'll call it advice instead of a warning. I wasn't planning on it either, but... well, it happens." Yes, it happened. 'It,' in this case, was some fool bronzerider deciding to roll around in the furs with her all day. She sincerely hoped the poor man didn't faint at the delivery, for she intended to have Ka'rys at her side and spoiling her through the whole process. If Kalerary's mother had trained him well, then that was certainly a plus. Speaking of Kalerary... oh, but she wanted to sit down and talk with Ka'rys about that. She hoped the girl would not be too distraught at the idea of a half-sibling.

At Meira's plea, another frustrated groan escaped. "I'm scarcely close to full-term. I can handle some work, so long as I'm not breaking my back," she grumbled, though she chose to not argue with the statement about carrying the heavy box. Now that she had been sitting down for a few breaths, she really didn't want to get back up and carry it. Perhaps they could find a big sturdy candidate to shove it off onto? Yes, she liked that idea very much, she did. "Don't you try to carry it either, though. It's sharding heavy, and I'm sure you missed me knocking myself in the chest with it-" Her breasts, already swollen and tender from her pregnancy, were still smarting over that. "-but it's not a great way to start the evening."

Her gaze turned somewhat calculating, fixating on the box. "Perhaps... perhaps we can empty everything out of it and put it away? We'll have to do that anyway..." It would also be less heavy then, and she could nudge Meira into letting her haul it the rest of the way. As if she would push that off onto the poor girl.

[Avu]

Well, as long as Savitri knew she was setting a decidedly poor example for the fussier patients…Meira’s smile was as wry as the goldrider’s – more of a half-smile than an actual grin of triumph. She was very much aware that Savitri was above her both in Turns and in rank – as far as Healing and Weyr went – but she was much more comfortable in the Infirmary than anywhere else, even if this wasn’t the Infirmary she’d become familiar with. She could understand wanting to stay past her shift, but…still. Even if Savitri was determined to work…lugging heavy boxes? Really? While she was pregnant, Savitri was as good as a patient, and had Meira been any other Healer, the wherhandler was aware she probably would have received a much longer lecture than the comments that Meira had offered. Somehow, she doubted Savitri would listen to a lecture anyway.

Zesa was silent as the gold teetered slightly on the chair, her tail wrapping around the armrest to anchor herself more firmly to the wooden frame. Her neck extended curiously towards Savitri; she didn’t think of the goldrider as such, but rather as her greendaughter’s Bonded, and Zesa was generally sweet to those who had Impressed her offspring. As the goldrider extended her hand to the firelizard, Zesa lowered her head to nuzzle Savitri’s palm lightly, her tongue, dry and light, flickering over the woman’s hand as her nostrils flared slightly. Just because firelizards’ sense of smell was not exceptionally good didn’t mean that the gold wouldn’t use it, after all. The permission was gravely considered for a minute, and then, glancing towards Hers for permission, Zesa made the slight hop to the armrest on Savitri’s chair, tail wrapping loosely around the wooden frame again as she leaned forward and – very, very gently – laid her head on Savitri’s stomach, eyes whirling curiously. Could you…feel eggs…?

Meira’s gaze was focused on Zesa for a moment, the wherhandler’s expression clearly amused by the firelizard’s antics. Was pregnancy that much different for humans and firelizards, save for the fact that nothing would be squirming in firelizards…? Nevertheless, biased though the was, Meira thought it was rather cute, the gold’s interest. Her gaze rose to Savitri’s face as the goldrider spoke, and she couldn’t help the slight, almost embarrassed chuckle. Of course she’d had to test the weight, didn’t she? It could possibly be taken as an insult, but she had wanted to know how heavy it was. Answer? Very. But it was…obvious that Savitri had noticed the flush, and Meira dropped her gaze again, uncertainly. She wasn’t very good at hiding it. It was just…too soon, since Meisk had last Chased. Far too soon. And…now that Savitri mentioned it, she hadn’t even considered that she might be. The first time, she hadn’t – and then the second time, she’d been taken between – but…but this time?

Deciding it was probably best to focus on what Savitri was saying regarding pregnancy, just in case – she’d see if Meisk would mind flicking between later with her, if she remembered – and resisting the urge to touch her own abdomen out of instinct, the wherhandler shrugged one shoulder slightly, a slight smile touching her lips again. “It’s…different if you want to keep the baby, isn’t it?” she asked quietly, nodding at Savitri’s stomach absently. “I mean – you could’ve gone between…” Couldn’t she have? She had Hepaticath, and since Hepaticath wasn’t eggheavy, the gold could go between. And anyway, even if Hepaticath couldn’t for whatever reason, there were always the other dragonriders. At least one of them would be okay with it, right?

Oh, grumbling. Crinkling her nose slightly at Savitri, the motion slightly reproving, Meira couldn’t repress the wince of sympathy. Ouch…no wonder she’d sat down. She wouldn’t have expected Savitri to rest otherwise, judging by her protesting the work being taken away from her. The suggestion, however, had merit. It’d take more trips back and forth, but that would be okay – after all, bandages and a stack of herbs didn’t weigh as much as that box did, and she wanted to have something to do, too. “Do you want to unload it? Once you’re ready?” she suggested, almost not daring to hope that the goldrider would be okay with that. “I can put everything away if you do…and Zesa can help me, too.” Assuming the materials weren’t too heavy, anyway.

Already, curiously, she had turned to the box, sliding her fingers into the crack and tugging it open, pressing the flaps down firmly on either side to make them stay down. The herbs were, as expected, on top; dried, generally green stalks and leaves tied into bundles. “I…guess we should organize them by…property?”

[kysseh]

One of these days, Savitri needed to teach Meira how to be more intimidating in the face of stubborn patients. At least the wherhandler wasn’t simply waving her hands in the air and making nonsensical babbling at the goldrider at Savitri’s stubborn refusal to ‘rest.’ In fact, the girl seemed to be taking it well enough in stride, though they really did need to work on her being more forceful. Or… perhaps not forceful? Assertive. Savitri liked that idea very much.

The gentle nuzzling and lick against the lightly calloused skin of her palm was so polite that Savitri had to wonder how such a lovely creature had sired the obnoxious green that took great delight in terrorizing the weyr. Her head inclined toward the firelizard, the corners of her lips turning upward in the faintest hint of a smile as Zesa hopped onto the armrest, established her balance, and then laid her gold head on Savitri’s stomach. Curious, was she? “Doubt you can feel him move, though you’re welcome to try,” Savitri whispered softly to the flitter, smiling as she felt the fluttering inside that heralded yet more movement. Active was her child, though whether or not the little queen could feel the baby moving was beyond Savitri’s knowledge. It was just flutters for now, but… well, perhaps firelizards were more sensitive to those things. Ras certainly wasn’t. The green seemed almost offended by the attention that Savitri’s stomach took away from her own radiant green beauty, in fact.

Meira’s quiet, seemingly rhetorical question was surprising enough that Savitri diverted her attention from Zesa to focus on the wherhandler. The topic was a sensitive one, though why that was was confusing to Savitri. Was Meira holdbred? She was northernbred, at least, and perhaps that was the reason for her discomfiture with the whole concept of pregnancy. The north had a very, very different view of the role of women in relation to sex and childbearing. She wondered if that was what made the wherhandler edgy, and a shrug and quiet nod was Savitri’s only response for the moment. Meira seemed to appreciate the change in topic. They would come back to the sensitive issue… later.

Putting the younger healer at ease and not-dislodging the little queen took precedence over Savitri’s urge to go back to work. She tipped her chin up to get a better view toward the box, pursing her lips in thought. “Mmm... should be a few jars of feverfew leaves. Echinacea, adonis… some serpentwood roots.” Her eyes narrowed in a squint of concentration, her free hand coming up to rub her temple. A headache was forming just to the right of her right eye, and it was starting to spike through her head, ever so slowly. It had crept up on her, shardit. “We can probably just… empty it. I’ll get up to help you. Don’t want to move her, though,” Savitri added quickly, not wanting Meira to have to do all the work for her. “What else is there in the box? I can’t… remember what I put in there.”

[Avu]

Zesa flicked her gaze up towards Savitri as she spoke, the gold clearly testing the woman’s words for any hint of reproof. Yes, she had been given verbal permission to come closer, but that didn’t necessarily mean touching the eggheavy woman was allowed. But the slight curve that hinted at, but did not quite give way to, a smile, along with Savitri’s words, made the queen flick her wings softly, crooning softly, eyes sparkling and whirling in shades that represented both curiosity and affection. Eggheavy was eggheavy, be it human or firelizard or dragon – but humans were not born in eggs. They were born squirmy and wailing, weren’t they? The gold’s tail tightened, reassuring herself of her balance, before she nuzzled Savitri’s stomach lightly, and then crooned again musically, focusing intently on the goldrider’s considerable abdomen. Could the babies hear her? Another croon, and then a curious peep towards Savitri again.

Meira was only semi-relieved that Savitri chose not to pursue pregnancy. It was decidedly awkward, so soon after she’d jumped someone – she felt Meisk’s pulse of fervent apology at the mere thought – but she hadn’t considered it before, either. A warning it was. At this point, Meira was sure she could probably ask Meisk to do absolutely anything and the blue would do it without a second thought. Nodding as Savitri spoke, Meira nudged around the contents of the box, taking out each object after Savitri named it and placing them neatly onto the table even as she mentally flicked over the properties of each. Feverfew, obviously to reduce fever; Echinacea to boost the immune system; adonis for painkiller…what did serpentwood root do? She’d ask, as soon as Savitri finished her…instructions.

Her gaze flickered towards the goldrider, almost apologetically, at Zesa. “I…sorry. She’s not usually so curious,” the wherhandler offered, half-smiling slightly. “She won’t mind if you move her, she really won’t – I could always call her away, if you want…?” Zesa would listen to her; she always had. She’d even stopped hissing at Showoff when asked to – while her clutch was Hatching. But if Savitri wanted an excuse to sit a few extra minutes, Meira was only too happy to let her. She really shouldn’t be up – just because Meira didn’t fret out loud didn’t mean she didn’t, because she did worry – but she wasn’t going to flail and shriek, either. She’d much rather see if she could…make Savitri want to rest. Making a goldrider sulk was probably not a good idea. “What’s serpentwood root do, by the way…?” She really should know this…“I thought it was for…tunnelsnake bites and…something else?” Some mental illness, wasn’t it…?

As she went through the box, she took out the ones she recognized, nudging aside those she didn’t. “Dragon’s tongue” – for burns, she added to herself silently – “spiceroot” – general tonic, wasn’t it? – “coriander” – anxiety and insomnia– “and isn’t this woodruff?” Woodruff for sedative, she thought silently, holding up the leaf for Savitri’s inspection. “There…are a few I don’t recognize,” she added, glancing over the box’s contents. She probably would know what they did once she heard the name, but the plants themselves…“And the bandages, too, like you said…” Gently pulling a roll of sand bandages out from underneath a few herbs, Meira set it down on the table and tested the weight of the box again. Still heavy, though not…unbearably so; the bandages were most of the weight…

[kysseh]

It was too bad Ras had not inherited her mother’s sweetness or affectionate ways, Savitri noted with some reluctance, offering the gold firelizard on her armrest a genuine, if somewhat tired, smile. Zesa seemed so curious about Savitri’s distended abdomen, and Savitri cautiously lifted a hand to stroke the gold’s back. Some firelizards were finicky about not being touched by people that were not-Theirs, but she had a feeling Zesa would politely inform her if such was not welcome. The affection the little gold offered just could not go unwelcomed, though, which was probably why Savitri was breaking her no-touching-pets rule to stroke the little creature.

As if in response to the outside noise and touch, she felt another fluttering, squirming sensation, which made her chuckle softly and close her eyes for a moment. It was Ka’rys’s child, obviously… protesting attention. Hmph. “I think he heard you,” she softly informed the firelizard queen. There was no hint of reproach in her tone, only amusement. Meira’s question made Savitri smile at the wherhandler again, exhaling slowly to relax a bit in her chair. Uncomfortable chair, but her ankles were happy. Or… happier. Rare was it these days that her ankles were fully content with anything. “No, no, she’s fine. I wish Ras was more like her. It’d make my life less stressful,” the young woman replied with uncensored honesty. “I envy you.” She did not envy Meira for having a queen firelizard, oh no, but she did envy the younger healer for having a sweet firelizard. Ras was a terror, Shadow was a highly intelligent (and manipulative) spy… and her two felines were never-ending beggars. Not a sweetheart in the bunch, excepting perhaps Hepaticath, who was hardly of a size to snuggle like Zesa was.

“Serpentwood root is for treating some mental illnesses… and high blood pressure. It’s not addictive, and it’s got very few side effects. Hard to find, though. It only grows in tropical areas,” Savitri added quickly at Meira’s question. “I’m sure it has some other uses, but that’s all I remember for the moment.” Her smile turned wry, and she gave a helpless shrug with one shoulder. There was not much she could do about her preoccupied mind. She swore that pregnancy was eating holes in her brain and filling in the gaps with a growing need to eat. Half her thoughts were preoccupied with food nowadays, and she had to restrain herself to keep from stuffing her face every candlemark or so. Food, food, glorious food. Now she was hungry again, shardit. Cravings. She wanted meatrolls.

Ohhh, but she so needed to focus. Groaning quietly in frustration with her own mind, Savitri pressed a hand over her eyes, peeking out only at Meira’s question as to the identity of one of the herbs. Her eyes narrowed, squinted, head inclining to one side as an overworked brain trundled its way slowly to an answer. “… yes, it is woodruff. Box is still heavy, isn’t it?” She wrinkled her nose slightly. Shardit. What else had been stuffed in there?

She felt the top of her shirt move and glance down to find a little sleepy-eyed white head peering out of her shirt. Shadow was awake… and staring intently at Meira with all of his half-conscious awareness. She could feel the little creature’s mind working, and suddenly, the ‘mandyr emerged fully and perched on Savitri’s shirt, directly atop one of her breasts. He knew that healer-girl from somewhere, a fact which made Savitri sigh. “Good evening, Shadow. Don’t you dare embarrass Meira.” It was a pre-emptive strike against the nosy salamandyr, who merely displayed at Savitri in protest. But embarrassing people was fun!

((Fail, sorry. x.x))

[Avu]

Zesa’s head rose slightly – the slightest fraction of an inch – so that she could look at Meira, recognizing the mention of her when she heard it. Her eyes whirled curiously, but she made no move nor a sound. If Hers called her off, or if the goldrider asked her to leave, she would; Zesa didn’t like to be a nuisance in the least – but she didn’t necessarily want to go, and the gold didn’t – she just didn’t whine about it. She’d follow other people’s decisions, yes she would. But as Savitri lifted her hand to pet her, Zesa’s head came up entirely, the gold nuzzling Savitri’s hand for a moment before she dropped her head back to the goldrider’s stomach, drooping her wings to allow Savitri better access to stroking her back without the risk of snaring the delicate wing membrane; she crooned quietly, glancing up at Savitri encouragingly. She liked being petted, she did…

Squirm. Zesa barely felt it – but she reacted to it nonetheless with another light nuzzle, eyes whirling rapidly – curiously, and rather delightedly. Funny, were humans; firelizard eggs didn’t squirm in the mother’s stomach, and it was interesting to feel it – as if she was squirming, only…not? The queen peeped quietly up at Savitri at the goldrider’s comment, and then crooned audibly again, pressing the side of her neck and head against the woman’s distended stomach. Could she hear the baby…? Meira was amused despite herself by the queen’s clear interest in pregnancy; it was…it was cute, she had to admit, and her gaze flickered up to Savitri’s face as the goldrider assured her that Zesa was perfectly fine. To be honest, she would have been a bit affronted if the gold wasn’t, but as it was…she smiled slightly, and then wrinkled her nose at the mention of Ras. She remembered that green, she did. “And…ah, how is Ras…?”

The wherhandler nodded as Savitri explained the properties of the root, turning it over absentmindedly as she considered it. Mental illnesses, high blood pressure – and tropical areas. Good. Since only the roots were in the box, she assumed that the leaves – flowers – or bark had no medicinal properties, but she still asked, just to be sure. “The roots are the only part that are…medicinal, then…?” The thick root was turned over one more time in her palm, and then set down next to the box again as Meira glanced back inside of it before she flickered an apologetic smile at Savitri again. “It’s okay if you don’t want to...rant off all the uses and names and all of that,” she added, “I can look it up later if it’s trouble…” The…groaning was not exactly cheerful, after all, and Meira had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from anxiously asking if Savitri was going to be all right – because doubtless it would sound like fretting (because it would be fretting) and she doubted that would be taken particularly well, somehow.

Her nose wrinkled slightly at the answer and the question, and she nodded slightly, sliding a hand under the box again to make sure and wriggling her fingers, creating a staccato beat against the bottom of the box for a moment before she freed her hand again. “Very,” she agreed, smiling wryly as she went back to unloading the box. Another stack of bandages, the omnipresent jars of numbweed salve, and the box was much lighter. Meira flicked through the remaining contents with one hand, the other resting lightly on the tabletop, and pulled out another few herbs. “Should we unpack the whole thing…? I think I could probably carry it now…or soon, at least…oh.” She blinked, catching sight of Shadow a heartbeat before Savitri addressed him, head tilting curiously at the white Salamandyr – what would he do to embarrass her, exactly…? Probably better not to ask. She nodded politely at Shadow, the question in her voice for Savitri: “Nice to meet you, Shadow…I think?”