Late Night Piefest [Rawign]

[boober]

It was late; late enough that almost everyone in the Weyr had retired for the night. Late enough that the kitchen staff had been reduced to a mere two or three people to see to anyone who came in for a late night cup of klah or glass of wine, and to keep the stew pot full and simmering while starting preparations for the next day’s meals. And, of course, Cezine. It seemed that the young woman had trouble sleeping of late, and was it any surprise? She was definitely showing at this point, and anyone who’d had any experience would know exactly what was affecting her sleep. Instead of complain about it though, the green rider had left E’ri asleep in his furs—or would that be /their/ furs now?—and come down to the kitchen for something to occupy herself. She /was/ tired, make no mistake about that, but it seemed no matter how tired she was, she couldn’t make herself sleep. It was hard to find a comfortable position and on the rare occasions that she was successful, the babe apparently felt the need to practice acrobatics. Cezine wasn’t sure /what/ all went on in there; she just knew that all the rolling around, punching, and kicking just didn’t allow for sleep.

A small smile crossed her face as she pulled yet another bubbly pie from the oven. Not yet born and it seemed that the child already had an obstinate streak; would it persist throughout life or was it something that would disappear once the babe was born? Although, she imagined any child of hers would probably carry a stubborn streak for life. Setting down the pie she held, she fanned it absently a few times with the towel, looking at the five other cooled pies that she’d made previously. Clearly, she’d been up for some time. The towel was dropped rather unceremoniously on the table, a cooled but still warm pie picked up and taking the towel’s place in her hands. Turning, the green rider gave a tired smile to one of the drudges as she waddled out of the kitchen with the pasty. She’d decided that it had been a while since she’d made a pie for Rawign, and he always appreciated them.

As she made her way to the infirmary, a familiar weight shifted along her shoulders as Sky lifted his head, glowing eyes emerging from his bonded’s curls to look around in silence. Lately, the blue had been less dependent on Cezine, content to stay in the weyr with E’ri, the twins, and the rest of the flits. But on her late night forays, he usually accompanied the green rider. This was something for which she was quite grateful. She enjoyed her little blue’s company. Yawning, Sky fluted quietly before snuggling a bit tighter against his humanpet’s neck just as she entered the infirmary and peered in, her tired blue-gray eyes flicking in various directions.

“Rawign? Pie.”

[glamourie]

He was working late, which really was not unusual for Rawign. Selenitas had quite a few apprentices, and a handful of Journeymen, but unfortunately the infirmary seemed occupied primarily by Kalierre, Savitri, or himself. The dragonhealer and apprentice were both dragonriders, which meant that they needed to be awake during the daylight hours when the infirmary was most busy. That left Rawign on the night shift when things were at their slowest. It was the most practical decision and for the most part he didn't complain about it. Aside from chores (which he usually neglected to do if he could help it) and candidate lessons (that he tried to avoid attending), he didn't exactly have much of a social life. He had Marra and a few people he spoke to, but nothing that merited switching to an entirely diurnal schedule. The better part of late afternoon and into early evening, Rawign slept. Sometimes that could be irritating for a certain harper, but most of the time, they got along okay. After all, he came back in the morning to lavish unnatural amounts of attention on her, and spent the better part of the early day with her. Things worked out okay.

The problem with working nights was that the only things he had to deal with were either the wherhandlers (which was uncommon), people who were coming in due to stomach ailments, or restocking for the day shift. It was a good thing that he knew a lot about herbs, or he'd have been in quite a pickle. He felt as though he spent all of his time chopping and grinding plants to put into jars. Sometimes he even boiled numbweed -- willingly. That particular night was disgustingly slow, and Rawign had settled for cleaning off a trunk extensively. Then he'd plopped right in the floor and set various jars out in front of him. One of them contained red-veined stalks of redwort, another was filled with blossoms. The bowl was filled completely with a clear liquid, and Rawign was working on chopping the stalks, crushing them, and then putting them into the liquid to be boiled. Keeping them mashed properly was key. The flowers had to be crushed particularly well in order for them to be of any use, but the stalks were the most effective part of the plant. Crush crush crush. From the amount of smashed and mushed-up stalks floating in the alcohol filling the bowl, he'd been at it a while - and would be finished soon.

Except that a distraction came in the form of the infirmary entrance, a familiar voice calling his name. Rawign blinked and put the knife down, just in time to hear the word pie. Delighted, he lept to his feet and half-glided away from his project (though, as soon as he stepped away, his little blue firelizard Stumpy flew over to make like a guard-flitter and keep others away from it). The smell of redwort and slight red stains on his skin left no doubt to what he'd been working on, but he did not stop to clean his hands as he bounced (or rather, half-bounced; it was more like a mingling of skipping and walking really) over to Cezine. She'd said the magical word and there was no escaping the Healer now!

"My love! My favorite! Ruler of my heart! I've missed you!" he declared, with no small amount of musical lilt to his voice. A casual viewer might think that he meant Cezine, but those assumptions were quickly banished as his eyes lingered not on her, but on the dish in her hand. "Are you mixed berry flavor, redfruit or blueberry? What delight is this that you bring me today?" As an after thought (or what appeared to be one; he'd never completely forgotten the greenrider was there despite his act), Rawign added slyly, "Oh, hi Cezine."

[boober]

She took in the jars and bowls and herbs that the healer was working on, and contemplated taking the pie away for later; he seemed busy, after all, and she didn’t want to distract him from him duties. But the thought had just barely formed in the green rider’s mind by the time Rawign hopped up and all but bounded over to her in obvious excitement. Cezine couldn’t help but smile at the sight, a grown man (or nearly so anyway) all but skipping with delight over such a trivial thing as a bubbly pie. Her smile widened until quiet laughter bubbled up her throat; at least she wasn’t too tired to laugh at the other’s antics. She held the pie out slightly to him, her smile chasing away the weariness from her face, if only for a moment.

“I know your favorite is the mixed berry, so that’s what I brought you.” She’d made two of each mentioned flavor; two mixed, two blue, and two red. It seemed fair. Perhaps if she still couldn’t sleep after this, she would make some citrus pies. It had been a while since she’d taken it upon herself to try making one. Cezine had just recently begun making bubbly pies again, one of the things that had gone on the back burner once she entered weyrlinghood and had lessons and chores as well as caring for Brennath and then the twins to contend with. Not that she minded; she liked to be busy. But once she’d graduated and now that Brennath was grown and less dependent on her, Cezine had less to occupy her. Wing drills were a bust. Oh, she still went of course, but now she couldn’t even fly when there weren’t jumps between. It was the one thing that put a shadow over her pregnancy. She was missing out. She knew she was missing out; Ka’rys had made certain she was aware of that. It made her nervous, but she pushed it away. She could think of a solution to that problem during the sevendays of healing after the babe was born.

The green rider flinched slightly, slight enough that it would normally go unnoticed. She sighed and rested one hand on her round and protruding middle. Little bugger was flailing those little fists of his around again, it felt like. Well, she’d gotten used to it, more or less, over the months. The first time she’d felt the babe kick had been exciting, and It still intrigued her… when she wasn’t exhausted. Putting it from her mind, she offered Rawign another smile. “There are five more in the kitchens; I made two redfruit, two mixed, and two blueberry.” She gave him at look at this. “No, they aren’t /all/ for you.” Unable to resist, Cezine giggled. No, she hadn’t made them all specifically for Rawign, but… “You know where to find them now; you should be good on pies for tomorrow at least.” If the boy ate six pies in 24 hours, she wasn’t sure what she’d do with him. Anyone else, she’d have said it would make them sick as a canine, but she just wasn’t sure about Rawign. What she was sure about was the fact that she didn’t want to find out.

“Should I leave this here for you? It seems like you’re… occupied.” Her gaze flicked to the bottles and bowls he had set out; she certainly didn’t want to keep him from his work!

[glamourie]

"Mixed berry!" Rawign exclaimed, no small amount of delight on his face as he took the pie from her hands. Despite his exuberance, however, the healer in no way snatched it; in fact, one might even go so far as to say he was being considerate -- a casual viewer who knew nothing about Rawign would probably think he was offering to hold it for her, the way that he handled the pie. The consideration was less to for Cezine's benefit and more for the sake of piiiieeee. If he wasn't careful he might do something hideous like drop it and then his life would be over. He took the pie over to one of the tables at the side of the room and gingerly set it down, making sure that his hands did not in any way touch the delicious concoction. Yum yum. And she'd made more? Oh, if he hadn't known any better, Rawign would have been convinced that Cezine was trying to get into his pants. (Ironically, if not for the fact that he was seeing Marra, it also would have worked most effectively -- pie was one of the few things that managed to instantly make him happy no matter how foul of a mood he was in and the people who made the pies were regarded with at least a slight kindness, regardless.)

Folding his arms behind his back, he leaned over to sniff the air. It carried the delicious sweet-and-spicy smell that a well-baked pie always had, and he bounced in excitement. Mixed berry was his favorite, though blueberry was a very close second. And she'd even remembered to hold the creaaaam! Wait - had she said.. five... more? Bounce, bounce! Oh, bother, not all for him. That much was obvious and he'd surely have made himself sick. Still - "A group affair!" he proclaimed with no small amount of playfulness. "Mixed berry, blueberry, redfruit. I like a little variety in my love life." The slight purr that his voice took on signified Rawign at his most mischievous. "The only way to complete this would be a large glass of milk and an unending amount of time. Oh, but my sweets - you've arrived when I'm on duty. And..." He cast a glance at Cezine again (She looked like death, what had she been doing to herself? -- Clearly the woman needed the laughs and the healer in Rawign wanted to shake her rapidly for daring to let herself get to such a state. Black bags under eyes. Bah. What was going on with the insomniacs?) before offering a stage whisper to the pie, "We have an audience. Later, darling, later."

Rawign slipped away from the table, over to one of the wash bowls and cleaned his hands extensively. They would get messy again soon enough when he went back to work, but ... there was pie. No way he wanted redwort in that. Talk about ruining a great pie. After drying his hands with a towel, the healer wandered back over to Cezine and promptly wound his arms around her waist before leaning over to plant a big, ostentatious smooch right on her lips. He had no shame and did not even bother trying to hide it... when Marra wasn't there to emasculate him for it, anyway. It wasn't like there was anything more than teasing in that kiss. He was happy with Marra -- which he was sure some people would claim was an oxymoron, but that was okay, Rawign fully confessed to nursing an inner masochistic streak and Marra wasn't quite as easily made angry around him. Past the anger, she was very fun to be around. She just didn't show that to others.

"Thanks!" he said as he released her and took a half-step back, just in case she decided to slug him. Who knew with pregnant women, they were unpredictable and flat-out scary half the time. "I'd begun to go into withdrawal. I thought you forgot about me - and no, I don't just mean with pies." He was teasing again, though there was a note of truth in those words. Cezine hadn't spoken to him in a long time. He recognized she was busy but that didn't exactly make him feel better, considering the things keeping her busy were things he didn't have. Some part of him did envy her Brennath. The boulder-sized belly, though, he most definitely did not. He had no intentions of having children any time soon. Other people could do that. He rather liked his happy, uncomplicated life.

Motioning for Cezine to take a seat on one of the cots (she shouldn't have been on her feet that much!), Rawign indicated his project. "I need to finish smashing up the redwort for decoction, but if you've time, you're certainly a welcome distraction, and I've got so many teas that treat insomnia." One hand lifted to indicate her eyes. "You look dreadful, Cezine. Did it ever even occur to you to come to one of us and ask for treatment?" Uh-oh. Healer lecture. Chipper or not, Rawign did have something of a severe streak when it came to other people's health. And his own, most of the time. "Sit, sit - I'm not letting you leave here until you look a mite better. How long has it been since you slept?"



[ I don't own him. I just don't. >< ]

[boober]

Cezine let the healer take the pie from her hands, her gaze following him as he carried it almost reverently toward a table. A small smile graced her lips, one that widened into a tired grin at the young man’s antics. She couldn’t help but laugh a few more times at his monologue to the pie. How silly! But laughing felt good; it seemed like all she’d done lately was work and worry, and now she was being reminded there was more to life than work. Yes, it was nice to take a load off for a little while and just… laugh. Crying could be a relief too, but she’d much rather laugh. It was in that moment that she realized how much she’d missed seeing Rawign. She made a mental note to hunt him down (or trap him with pie) more often. Even knowing how much the boy loved his pies, some of the things he said resulted in surprised laughter from the green rider. He was being silly, but that was all right; at least she knew that he appreciated her work.

She was still laughing when Rawign seemed to finish his pie monologue and went to wash his hands, still chuckling even as the healer approached her once again. It was when he wrapped his arms around her that all laughter ceased and she tilted her head slightly. Sky, startled, flew away from her shoulder and found another perch, chirping quietly in question. A vaguely curious expression came over her face right before Rawign kissed her. Although surprised, it was more an amused surprise than anything. Even if she hadn’t been at all amused, her reaction time was so slow from her lack of sleep that he was stepping back by the time she raised her hands to his arms to help keep her balance. Instead of trying to slug him though, she simply smiled, her expression somewhat questioning. “All this for pie?” Cezine’s tone was somewhat teasing, but it and her expression slipped a bit and she looked down as guilt overwhelmed her at Rawign’s next words. “I’m sorry Rawign. I’ll try to come see you more often.” Lifting her head again, she offered him another smile. “I’ve missed you.” She offered him no excuses, nor did she try and cover for herself. She just felt that he deserved better than that, but she meant what she said about coming to see him more often; she would do more than just try.

But when Rawign asked her to sit, it seemed as if all the exhaustion suddenly came crashing back. All she could do was nod and sink down onto the nearest cot, her eyes falling closed, if only momentarily. The urge to sleep swept over her, but she knew the second she reclined, it would be impossible to sleep. So she didn’t try, tempting though it was. She pried her eyes open as he began to speak, nodding as he indicated the project he had going on the floor. The green rider had the grace to look somewhat sheepish as the healer motioned at her eyes. For the first time, she became truly aware of how she must look to others. Her appearance wasn’t usually something she put too much thought into. But there was a place that even she drew the line, and she’d crossed it. Shells. Cezine just shook her head. “I didn’t even think of it.” Here, she paused. How long without sleep? “Um… I had a nap earlier. Or… maybe that was yesterday.” She blinked blearily at him; this did not bode well.

Even just sitting on the cot, Cezine was uncomfortable. Her back hurt, aching steadily as it had been doing for several days. Small pains came and went, but she thought very little of it; she figured it all to be normal for late pregnancy. There was little to do but suck it up, right? Although, she considered asking Rawign about it; maybe there was something she could take. At the moment, though, just getting some real sleep sounded positively marvelous. Lifting one hand and placing it on the mound of belly that was her midsection, the green rider shifted heavily, trying to find a more comfortable position. She guessed there were only so many ways that one could sit, especially when heavily pregnant, but the urge to move was too strong to ignore. Perhaps it was the tightening of the muscles in her back. Whatever it was, she shifted her weight slightly, only to stop when she felt something tickle against her skin. Startled, she stood up, somewhat abruptly and had to reach out and brace herself against the cot to keep from stumbling… both as a result of poor balance, and of the sudden pain that made her gasp, more from surprise than anything else.

The tickle became a rush of warm fluid washing down her legs to pool on the floor at her feet, and Cezine froze for a moment, her mind blank as she stared at Rawign. When words finally came to her, she could only think of one thing to say. “Somehow… I don’t think I just peed myself.” Her voice was quiet, her tone calm, a very deceptive thing indeed as fear started to niggle at the edges of her mind. It was too early… she wasn’t due yet. She paled, her skin becoming a startling white that made her normally faint freckles stand out in harsh contrast. “It’s not time…” It was all she had time to utter to Rawign before she was seized in the grip of a strong contraction that forced the rest of her breath out of her body in a rush as the green rider slowly sank down to sit back on the cot.

[glamourie]

There was really very little Rawign wouldn't do for pie, and Cezine ought to have known that about him. He graced her with a playful smile and nodded slightly, but her apology wiped the smile off of his face very efficiently. What was left was a pensive expression, as though lost in thought; did she really think he was that upset? A little, yes, but not enough to be angry or merit apologies. If Rawign was upset enough to expect her to tell him how sorry she was, he would have hunted her down and yelled at her. He wasn't exactly bashful when it came to expressing his annoyances most of the time. He did not give voice to that thought, though, instead motioning distractedly as though to brush the apology and topic aside. Weren't they past all of that uncomfortable talk? He shook his head and gestured again to the cot. No apologies. No explanation. He really didn't want to talk about things that could potentially upset them both. Cezine was his friend and there was no use dwelling on something that so blatantly made her uncomfortable; it also made him feel bad. Best to leave the past where it was, let it die, and move on.

"Of course you miss me," he replied dryly as his eyes followed the greenrider to the cot. "Everyone misses me. What's not to miss? I'm amazing, I'm gorgeous, I'm hilarious, and I'm talented. I'm also amazingly self-assured." Rawign hid a smirk, but truthfully he was touched; it made him feel better to know that he did still have some friends. Of late he felt as though he only really spoke to Kalierre, Marra, K'lir and Ka'rys; not exactly the most diverse group, especially considering that Ka'rys only spoke to him when he wanted/needed something. Cezine was missed. A lot of people were, but Rawign was too proud to hunt most of them down and say it. Cezine found him on her own, hadn't she? So his little plan (which wasn't a plan at all) was working in the end. All was going according to his not-so-master-plan!

Privately amused, Rawign moved to the trunk he spread the redwort stalks over and nudged it with his feet in the direction of Cezine's cot, so that he would be able to talk to her as he worked. He stopped before it was at the end, and turned it, so that when he sat next to it, he'd be able to look up at her. Rawign generally preferred to look at people when he spoke to them, as evidenced by the quick glances in Cezine's direction as she was speaking, despite his movements. Once he settled himself, he moved back to the end of her cot and put one hand at the foot of it before scoffing at her. The fact that she had completely forgotten how long it was when she last slept was clear proof that she was not taking good care of herself. What was she thinking? He let his gaze flick over her body, then back to her face pointedly; there was nothing but silent scolding visible in his expression, either. No silent compliments or approval. Disapproval, though, was blatant. It wasn't just her she was affecting by not seeking proper medical treatment, or did she somehow manage to forget that fact? The healer in him was close to launching into a tirade, and he offered her a stern look that was likely more efficient than any words would have been.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, though, Cezine stood up and he rolled his eyes, his mouth opening for the inevitable complaint when -

...

....

Rawign blinked, twice, and dropped his eyes to the floor at Cezine's feet before raising his gaze to meet hers. Her words reached him distantly and he stood, motionless, for at least a minute as his brain registered what had just happened. However, he did not offer her a verbal response, instead stepping right up to her, the healer side of him completely taking over the shocked-and-appalled nineteen-turn-old. One hand moved to rest on her shoulder opposite him, offering her his own to lean against. Right.

"As much as I'd love to say this is meant in a lewd manner, it isn't. But Cezine, I'm going to need you to take your clothes off - do you need help?" They had to have some kind of long shirt or gown or something. He was sure he had a shirt she could destroy. But the leggings had to go, and so did the boots and everything else. Over his shoulder, he called to one of the healers on duty, "One of you get some damp rags and something like a shirt for Cezine to wear, preferably long." Without waiting for a response, he turned back to the greenrider and asked quietly, "How far are you?" He didn't know when she'd conceived and he wasn't keeping track of her schedule, to be honest. If she was early, it was entirely dependent on how much so; he'd dealt with premature deliveries before though. Most of him was tempted to call one of the midwives, but judging from how pale Cezine had turned, that would not be the wisest idea, and anyway they weren't needed... It wasn't like he had anything better to be doing. Looking up again, he added, "And someone finish preparing the redwort for decoction, I'm a bit busy now!" The apprentices that were on duty scrambled to accommodate him and he glanced weakly back at Cezine before grinning, "Well, at least now they can't say they are bored...?"

[boober]

It only took about three seconds for Sky to abandon his perch and come fluttering over to dart around Rawign and Cezine anxiously, his eyes whirling rapidly as he tried to get close to his bonded. She didn’t seem to notice him, or perhaps she was too busy clutching Rawign’s shoulder waiting for the pain to pass. Something was wrong, the blue knew immediately just because he had never felt his bonded this way before. She /hurt/ and she was afraid and it rattled the little blue considerably. She was always so calm and self-assured. It didn’t help that he couldn’t /see/ what was hurting her. Maybe if he could see it, he could make it stop? But no, there was nothing hurting her on the outside; Sky was smart enough to know that the healer was trying to help. That’s what healers did, right? He didn’t understand, and that added to his fretfulness. Finally settling on the edge of the cot, Sky flipped his wings and creeled, his eyes still whirling anxious colors as he watched. What was going on? The nervous flitter paced, bobbing first one way and then the other before whisking his tail to the side and watching as Cezine’s grip on the healer relaxed slowly. The hurt was easing, yet the fear was still there, and it was reflected in the blue’s gaze, white flecks whirling around the edges of his eyes.

Sky was a small, soothing presence nearby, one that Cezine was glad for as the contraction eased. Part of her felt almost guilty that he was catching her pain and her anxiety, but at the same time his reaction told her that he was worried, and it somehow made her feel better to have someone worry about her. If Rawign was worried, he was doing an excellent job of hiding it behind professionalism, because Cezine couldn’t tell by looking at his face. All of these things darted through her mind at a phenomenal rate and it wasn’t until several minutes later that she realized Rawign had been speaking to her. What had he been saying? Without even noticing, the green rider leaned against him, though it was more for comfort than out of necessity. “About eight months… a little less.” Her voice was low and weak somehow; as much as she might have tried, she just couldn’t laugh at Rawign, even though he was clearly making an attempt to get her to do so. A first time birth was nerve-wracking enough, but when the babe came early… it was just that much worse. She didn’t know what the possible complications could be. Surely they wouldn’t be that bad, would they? Closing her eyes, Cezine resisted the urge to burst into tears, and it was a losing battle. Her eyes burned and filled the second that she opened them.

She shook her head at his question; no, she didn’t need help getting undressed. She figured if she could dress herself without help then she could undress herself without help as well. But even as she started to kick off her shoes, the first tear fell, leaving a warm salty trail down her face. This was her fault, wasn’t it? If she had just taken better care of herself, come to see the healers more, this wouldn’t be happening! No amount of soothing or worried noises from Sky could stop the flood of tears and before long there were small sobs jerking from her throat. Something bad had happened to her babe and it was her fault, she just knew it. Normally Cezine despised falling apart in front of anyone else, but now she didn’t even seem to notice anyone else in the room. She was tired, no, exhausted, and now she had hours of labor to look forward to. And what would be the end result? A sudden, sharp pain on her arm made her flinch and look down. Topaz squawked and flapped his wings, eyes whirling in distress. This wasn’t like his humanpet, so the brown’s reaction was to bite her! Maybe she would realize then how foolish she was being and stop it! It had been nothing more than a little nip, but it was enough to take Cezine’s mind away from her depressing thoughts and her guilt, if only for a moment. How wrapped up she must have been to not even notice Topaz popping in and landing on the cot. Sky, for one, was glad to see his brown counterpart, for all that the other flit chose to ignore the blue a good deal of the time. Cezine was glad to see him too, and glad that he had the presence of mind to drag her out of the emotional mire she’d sunken herself into. She couldn’t let her thoughts wander down that path again. Sniffling quietly, the green rider quickly swiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m fine. I’m just tired” was mumbled toward Rawign; she knew he’d question her.

Unfortunately the damage was done; Cezine’s moment of despair and pain had woken her green, whose eyes were whirling with her rider’s distress. Even as she began to remove her clothes, Cezine’s mind was flooded with anxious questions. Mine? Where are you? Who hurts you?! In the weyr, the green raised her head, eyes rolling like an alarmed runner. Her rider tried to soothe Brennath as she pulled off her shirt and untied the strings of her pants. Cezine had been successful in convincing her dragon that nothing was wrong, everything was just fine… until another contraction came, rippling visibly across her belly as the muscles clamped down forcefully. Her grip on Rawign renewed itself, knuckles white as she closed her eyes against the pain. How many hours of this would she have to endure? The question formed in the back of her mind, someplace beyond the pain. And all that work convincing Brennath that nothing was wrong had been for nothing, as the green whined in the darkness of the weyr without regard for anyone else who might have been present. Bazeth, the human hatchlings, none of them mattered to the green at this moment. All that mattered was the fact that Cezine was in pain and the poor dragon could do nothing to help. Her rider was in the infirmary, and no matter how close Brennath could get, it would not be close enough. Removing herself from the couch she shared with Bazeth, the green paced to the weyrledge and peered off, her eyes whirling and her tail lashing; it was very clear that she was upset. But what to do?

[glamourie]

A little under eight months. He'd have liked a sevenday answer better, but that would do; a little under a month early wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Plenty of babies were born that early and survived and flourished. True, most of them were not from people he liked (!) but it wasn't unheard of - especially not to a healer. His nerves were slightly stilled, though only on the surface. He was getting considerably better about shunting his emotions to the back when he was nervous. He had a great deal of practice in that, especially of late. Feelings later, business now. He wound one arm around Cezine's back, to brace her so that she could help get her clothing off, his mind racing. She'd have to get changed into something more suitable, into a cot, laying down - rags, rags, rags. Sometimes the night shift sucked. Especially when he was one of the few healers who was actually around. Drudges could only do so much, although with a birth there was a lot less to worry about under normal circumstances. Complications flashed through his mind and he tuned that side out; no need to expect the worst. Things would be fine. He'd will them to be fine.

"Don't worry," he said, ignoring the answer to his unasked question. It was a lie and he wasn't a fool, no matter what some people may have been led to believe. He rarely asked obvious questions in a state of emergency or durress. All it did was waste everyone's time. That had earned him the reputation of being cold with some people but he preferred the term practical. Only what was necessary. The fact that Cezine was his friend, however, earned her more comfort than technical explanations. She knew him well enough that hopefully she recognized what he was trying to do. Comfort wasn't one of his strong points. "Cezine, it's going to be all right. Okay? It's going to be all right. But I need you to finish getting undressed and then get into this cot, so we can get you cleaned up. Try to stay calm, all right? -- Eight months, I'm guessing that's what, how many sevendays?"

Maybe if he kept her distracted answering questions, she would be able to keep her mind off of the fear. It was understandable in some respects. Certainly nothing he could blame her for. To his knowledge, Cezine had no children and had never been with child before. It was doubtlessly frightening to her. While women had been doing it for all known history, that probably did not take away the anxiety that came with a first time pregnancy. Premature delivery was not that uncommon, but trying to explain that to a hysterical mother-to-be was probably not likely to go over well. He had the unfortunate knowledge of how E'ri's former weyrmate was lost, too. How she'd managed to pass after Kalierre had left was beyond him, and probably a result of incompetence on the part of those taking care of her in the senior healer's absence... but Rawign wasn't incompetent, and surprisingly enough, he did have some experience. More than most would have credited a nineteen-year-old male with, at any rate. Cezine wasn't the first woman to go into labor and have him deliver for and while it would have made sense to call a midwife, since it was premature, and Cezine was obviously upset, he resigned to handling it himself. It wasn't like he had anything more important to be doing.

As her hand tightened on his arm, he threw all caution to the wind and moved his free hand down to push her leggings down her hips. Once they were down to the middle of her thigh, he gently maneuvered her into a sitting position on the cot before glancing at her firelizards. Some healers might have chased them away. Rawign once had five. He knew how invaluable they could be in times of stress. As it was, his own firelizards Stumpy and Roxie flew carefully over to the cot and dropped a damp, warm rag on top of Cezine's lap.

"Let me get these pants off. If it's possible, could you get Sky and Topaz to perch somewhere not on you?" He recognized their stress, surely enough, but he didn't fancy the idea of being bitten because of their confusion. He wasn't hurting their mistress but it was unlikely either firelizard would understand that. His gaze flicked to the rag and then up to Roxie and Stumpy, who fluttered over to land on the end of the cot, both silent. For once. Usually, Roxie had an opinion on everything. How silent the two firelizards were was a clear indication of how stressed their rider was. Rawign was unhappy; it was clear from the fact that he was not showing any emotion but professionalism. Roxie was silent as the grave but her eyes had gone pure white, and Stumpy was fluttering his wings anxiously. Neither of them understood what was wrong, but they also did not panic; Theirs was okay, he was not panicking, so why should they?

He did not comment on her tears, nor the obvious fear in her voice. He was intelligent enough to know better than to comment on tears that the one shedding them was obviously trying to hide. Cezine didn't want it acknowledged how upset she was, and Rawign would indulge her so long as it did not become to the detriment of her own health. It made him nervous to see her crumbling, though. She was frightened, and it frightened him. He did his best not to let it show and thanked Faranth that he was better at hiding his emotions under stress than most people were. Instead of commenting on that, he knelt down and pushed her pants off, as Roxie chirruped a command to Sky and Topaz with the same level of force that any gold could offer. They were to follow and help her. Then she took to wing, and Stumpy followed, with the blue and green pair flying over to one of the gowns on the other side of the infirmary. It was too heavy for Roxie and Stumpy to manage on their own, but with Sky and Topaz they could probably carry it - probably. It would be better than the shirt. Rawign did not look at them but the green's command did not go unnoticed. He didn't have to say anything to her for her to pick up on what he wanted. Sometimes, he was convinced that firelizard understood him better than any human ever could.

She was definitely more competent. Where were the sharding apprentices?!

[boober]

Taking a deep breath, Cezine gave a short, tense nod to Rawign before opening her eyes. She didn’t believe that everything was all right, not really, but she knew the words for what they were: comfort. Needless to say, she was grateful to him for the effort, but it didn’t really do a whole lot. Still, she forced the fear and panic deeper, further away from the surface. It was still visible, but not nearly so close to overwhelming her. Her flitters were a great help but she saw the wisdom in Rawign’s request. Before she could actually summon the concentration to send them away, though, Roxie clearly issued a command to them. Sky, ever obedient, obeyed immediately, following the other pair across the room. Topaz hesitated only briefly, his eyes still whirling anxiously before he gave a distressed chirp and followed the other three. Once he saw what was needed, he gladly pitched in and helped to carry the garment back to his bonded. By the time they returned, she had been divested completely of her clothes thanks to Rawign. Even if Cezine had been of a mind to protest (which she wasn’t; she was busy worrying about other things at the moment), the current contraction was keeping her busy.

Once the pain had passed, however, she had the presence of mind to take the gown with a murmured ‘thank you’ to the flitters. It wasn’t anything too difficult to slip it over her head and pull it down over her body. Sky edged closer, his eyes whirling his distress. He wanted to be closer, but she was keeping him back. Flipping his wings anxiously, the little blue paced to the end of the cot and crooned. It was all Cezine could do not to reach out and cuddle her firelizards, both for their comfort and for hers. But she was distracted by Rawign’s questions, her gaze flicking up at him tiredly. “Um… I’m not sure.” It was the best reply that she could give him at the moment. Normally it wouldn’t have taken her long at all to give him an answer, but the worry coupled with exhaustion and the concentration it was taking to keep all of her creatures at least semi-calm was taking its toll on her brainpower. The good thing about being focused on keeping Brennath calm and the firelizards back was that this also provided a welcome distraction, both from the worry and the pain. She no longer looked to be on the verge of hysterics, though she still looked as if she could use a few days of sleep….


By the time the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon at dawn, it was all over. The labor had proceeded surprisingly quickly, especially for a first birth. While many women would take this as a blessing, Cezine had been convinced it was just further evidence of some horrible complication. But there was irrefutable proof to the contrary resting on the young green rider’s chest. Small and decidedly cranky at being abruptly shoved into the bright, loud, and cold outside world—but otherwise perfect—the babe had been a source of silent fascination for his mother from the moment he’d been handed off to her. After being bathed and snugly swaddled, little Calerin had been returned to his mother and hadn’t left her since. Cezine was fighting a losing battle with the waves of exhaustion that rolled over her. Even an easy birth took a toll, especially after several days of sleep deprivation. But despite all of that, she was undeniably relieved… and happy. Ten fingers and toes (and yes, she had counted!), eyes, ears, and nose all in their proper places. He even had a head full of dark, downy hair! No bald babies here. Nope.

Sky was curled up against his bonded’s shoulder, eyes whirling as he looked over the babe as well. The blue had earned a reputation for his fondness of infants and small children, and this was no exception. He understood now that this was his bonded’s hatchling, and he couldn’t be more proud. Topaz chose to keep his distance, but he was still close enough for comfort… whether his own or Cezine’s was uncertain, but there he was all the same. Brennath, after demanding that Hers bring the hatchling out and show her (after getting some much needed rest of course) had simply curled back up on her couch and gone back to sleep. Practical as ever, the green recognized that there was nothing to be done now, so why waste time staying up and wondering? Her rest had been disrupted.

Although it seemed that she had eyes only for her newborn son, a few moments later Cezine reached out and took Rawign’s hand in her own to give a light squeeze. Her half-lidded gaze met his and she offered a tired smile. “Thank you.” It was only in the last few minutes that it had occurred to her that most healers would have called a midwife to deal with her. Rawign could have easily handed her off to someone else, avoiding the stress she knew she’d caused him. He’d chosen to stay with her instead, something she was genuinely grateful for. Having a stranger with her the whole time was not the most appealing of thoughts, hence the gratitude toward him. Before he could actually say anything back to her though, the green rider’s grip on his hand loosened as her eyes slowly fell closed. It was just too much effort to keep them open any longer. Finally exhaustion won out and Cezine fell immediately into a deep sleep, her other arm wrapped snugly around her son.

[glamourie]

To say that he was exhausted would be an understatement. Rawign looked - and felt - as if someone had taken the time to beat him black and blue on the inside. It was nerves, he knew, but that did not minimize the fact that he felt considerably more jumpy than words could describe. He'd delivered a lot of babies, and the amount of time it took varied depending on the baby and the woman in question, and most first births seemed to take longer. Cezine's baby was clearly trying to kill him. No other explanation could be offered for the early and quick birth. He was thoroughly convinced it was all one elaborate scheme to make him want to bludgeon his own eyes out. He had nothing against Cezine... or her baby... well, okay, technically Rawign disliked babies immensely, but it wasn't personal. But the idea of delivering a friend's child had scared him more than words and Cezine's blatant terror didn't help. She'd tried to hide it but Rawign wasn't a fool and he knew her better than she gave him credit for. Needless to say, his nerves were on end. The baby was out and he rather wanted to curl up and hide somewhere.

The only reason that he didn't was because Cezine was still awake. He was quite determined to tough it out and hang out until she fell asleep. So it was that he sat at the side of her bed and stared at the wiggling poop-making machine, and thanked Faranth that it was not his. No babies for Rawign. Not any time soon, anyway.

"You're welcome," he said quietly as his gaze tore away from the little noise maker to his hand. He offered her the most reassuring smile he could, though he honestly did not know what he was being thanked for. Fortunately, he didn't have to elaborate, as Cezine seemed to fall asleep quickly enough. Once she was out, he gestured for the apprentices to take care of the infant and squirmed his way free, his hand carefully freeing itself from the greenrider's grasp. The apprentices could handle themselves from there, as far as he was concerned. The baby was fine. The mother was fine. The healer was a nervous wreck. He squirmed away from the bed, nodding to the firelizards assembled before stalking out of the infirmary. The other healers were there. Time for him to find something worthwhile to do. He would probably go rest by the river - it was oddly therapeutic. And there were no babies there.

[ Not sure what else I could post, you sort of ended the thread. So~ short. ]