The End of the World? [Open. Healers and Rubberneckers Needed!]

Moments of peace had grown rare for Allendris after he had Impressed Vyaniorth and found himself thrust suddenly and unexpectedly into weyrlinghood. The young journeyman had hardly a chance to imagine what life with an infant dragon would be like before he'd ended up walking off the hatching sands with one in tow, but he was fairly certain that the reality of caring for his proud and demanding little bronze was far busier than anything he could have dreamed up, anyhow. After all, even new fathers to human babies didn't have the little creatures constantly in their heads, nor did they have entire Weyrs full of people reminding them of just how important to their livelihoods that gleaming hide could someday prove to be.

This brand new life at Katila was stressful in a way Allendris had never experienced at the Glass-smith Hall. Not that he didn't think he could handle it, of course, but it was no mystery why the young man chose to spend those fleeting moments of silence while Vyaniorth slept and he was left free of various other weryling responsibilities hermited away in his own barrack, drinking in the blissful feeling of relaxing quiet and solitude. Some days he would write in a journal of sorts, and others he would spend reading the few scraps of material available for such purposes at the Weyr, and other days he would simply sit back on his bed and reflect as he watched his dragonet's little bronze chest rise and fall in the steady rhythm of slumber. Today was one such of the latter days, as Valerian had yet to invade his privacy (not that he much minded the company of the usually equally silent and even-tempered man) and reprimand him for being boring. In the absence of the mental stimulation provided by asking his classmate for a piece of paper or leaning over his shoulder to read his poetry, Allendris found his mind wandering to Jada. The poor girl had been saddled with even a far greater deal of attention and responsibility than he, after bonding with Krypth. He wondered how she was handling the pressure. He wished to talk with her more than he did, but Krypth's very vocal dislike of Vyaniorth was a difficult obstacle to work around, and though Allendris was confident the proud little beast would eventually get over it the constant rejection was still a bit of a sensitive subject for the bronzeling, who did so love Jada... 

As if summoned by those very musings, Krypth's voice cut suddenly through the young man's thoughts, and when coupled with Vyaniorth's sharp creel of distress when the little queen's urgency snapped him from his slumber the sudden cacophony of sounds was startling and disorienting enough to send Allendris nearly toppling from his bed. It's Jada! Something's wrong! Vyaniorth wailed into his head, already bounding from his couch and towards even as his bonded still struggled to collect his bearings enough to rise. Allendris hadn't needed the dragonet to tell him who was in trouble - Krypth's widely broadcasted SOS had been obvious enough - but regardless of what the problem was the young journeyman was still fairly certain that there were people far more qualified to handle it than a glass-smith and a still-clumsly, reckless dragonet.

"Wait, Vyaniorth, stop that! You'll break it," Allendris hissed as the little bronze scrabbled at the door, leaving long claw marks in its wooden surface. Vyaniorth turled rapidly-whirling eyes onto his bonded as the man knelt beside him, wailing piteously. He didn't understand why Allendris wasn't rushing to the other human's side, and the soothing hand placed on his hide was doing nothing to calm him. But it's Jada! We have to help!

"There's nothing we can do, little one," the glass-smith attempted to reason, but with the rest of the Weyr's anxious dragons' cries joining the Vyaniorth's own, the little dragon was going wild with fear that Allendris wasn't quite sure how to ease. It turned out that he wouldn't have a chance, for it didn't take long for those whirling eyes to lock onto the door handle, which the dragonet had seen his bonded operate many times. With a sudden leap onto his hind legs, his jaws closed around the handle, and the door swung open with a tug from the clever beast - leaving Allendris to watch with a look of amazement as Vyaniorth darted out of it like a shot.

There was just no time to stand around with a stupefied look on his face, however. Allendris picked himself up and trailed after his renegade dragon. Jada was already being transported from the Weyrling Barracks and likely onto the back of a waiting dragon (one who was actually mature enough to help), and by the time the man had reached his bronzeling, the frantic little creature was already wailing about his failure to provide any comfort or assistance to the kind young woman he had grown so fond of. Allendris sighed, knowing that there was only one thing that could soothe the incoherent dragonet... and though it meant a jog ahead of them, he too was worried about Jada, and he wanted to know what had happened and to hear some assurance that she would be okay. "Come on then, Healer Hall," he told his beast, and pushed past the scattering crowd to break into a run.

Mercifully, Vyaniorth seemed to pick up on some of his bonded's calm resolve, and it was with a great deal more restraint that the little bronze rushed ahead once they'd reached the Healer Hall and began to push his through the crowd towards the room which held Jada, squawking his warnings for onlookers to move out of his way as he wound himself through the sea of legs. Allendris followed, apologizing all the while to the weyrfolk Vyaniorth upset, and the man was relieved to see that all of them seemed to be curious onlookers and the little bronzeling was wisely staying out of the way of anyone who looked important or seemed to be in a rush. Jada! Jada please wake up! the shaken dragonet creeled once he'd made his way to the front of the small crowd of rubberneckers and laid eyes on the girl's prone form, the noise loud enough to draw the attention of many who were surprised to see the precocious little bronze show up without his bonded.

Allendris, however, was soon to follow, and he felt a great deal of relief to see Valerian already there. So he wasn't the only or even the first non-healer to stick his nose directly into Jada's business. He still expected for his and his own to be chased out or scolded for being in the way at any moment, but for now he would use this opportunity to get a better grasp on the situation. Perhaps if he knew what was going on, he could calm Vyaniorth down enough to get him out of the way. With that in mind, the glass-smith came up behind Valerian, almost cringing as he got a good look at the young woman who currently held the Healers' undivided attention. He knew in an instant exactly what was wrong, even without having heard Talian's call for assistance, but even at the Glass-smith Hall he had never seen an infection so widespread or so advanced. His own boyhood injury had been limited to his hand, and with his livelihood on the line its careful treatment and care had been of paramount importance. How could they all have been so lax in paying attention to Jada's wounds?

Still he asked, in the dull tone of a man who simply wanted to hear the reassuring sounds of another's voice in a tense moment. His voice was soft, and to Valerian alone - the last thing Allendris wanted to do was disturb the Healers in their work. "What happened here?"