Hello loves! While I haven't been writing, I have been working on updating some issues that have been hanging around on the layout! The Character change box is now at the bottom of the page, beside the up/down arrows! Green and Gold dragon flight dates have been shifted to the bottom of the page, where the (useless!) discord widget was located. Where the dragon flights were in the header, is now replaced by a Monthly Event box! This will be updated at the start of each month, with a fun mini-event you can take part in, if you want to! Thistle!
18.Mar.12, 05:43 PM
The Healers who had braved the Sands to collect Indivara and Jada were granted absolute obedience; the young Journeywoman was good at taking orders and quick to snap to it. Indivara's blank, unseeing eyes terrified the woman, and if it weren't for the obvious motions of life, her responses to Jada's frantically bitten out orders, then the older female might have gone into panic mode. Jada simply wasn't trained to be a Healer. She was a Harper, trained to teach and to listen. A Harper filled many roles, but Jada had never dreamed one of them might be here in triage. She'd always gotten sick at the sight of blood, felt the nausea and bile rise in her throat. She'd always cried like a child at the mere sight of her own blood, and could remember seeping even when her toe was stubbed. Yet now, Jada's amber eyes were dry, her forehead wrinkled. The sand caught her blood before it could drip too far down her arm, turning to paste before it could reach the gashes and cuts on Indivara's shoulder.
Hold this down, the healer ordered, and Jada obeyed, pressing as hard as she dared to try and staunch the flow. "Hey. Talk to me." she told the girl, trying to get a reaction from her. "Or I'll start to lecture you. I know how you hate my boring lectures. I'll make this one the most boring of them all." Water and Fellis were being forced down the girl's throat, to dull the pain. If only Jada could have some of that! It was an idea, anyways. She'd have to ask. Another Healer stepped up, and took over assisting, pushing Jada to the side. That was good. Indi deserved someone who could actually help her. All Jada could do was push down on her cuts and hope that she'd responded correctly. Hope that she'd done the right thing. Jada had only read about these things. She'd never needed to practice them, or study them. All she knew she'd learned from talking to people or from scrolls.
What if her lack of practical knowledge made it her fault that Indi was seriously hurt? Maybe she should have had Indi press somewhere more vital, not her face? Maybe she'd made it worse by putting pressure on what she had thought was the more serious of the wounds and leaving Indi to tend her own face. But the face was where she had thought she could keep an eye on the pressure of the girl's hands, if she was holding or not! What if- Uh oh. Jada was breaking down now that there was someone near who could help Indi. Someone who had half an idea of what was right.
Indivara was a bright little girl, a warm soul, and so sharding plucky. She would make a wonderful dragonrider someday. But not Gold, Jada reminded herself. The girl felt that Golds weren't good for anything, except laying guarding eggs. No, Indi wanted to be the first female Bronzerider. The irony that a bronze had mauled her wasn't lost on Jada. "Do you still want to ride a Bronze?" she asked Indi, lips twitching wryly. She had to keep talking to her, keep her awake; until the Healers sent her away, she would. But that plan came to a swift halt when a woman thrust her way onto the platform, sitting down next to Indi. She even looked like her daughter. "You must be Indi's mother. A'din. A greenrider. Khainth." Jada knew her voice was dull, knew her hands were shaking. Why were the little girl's wounds affecting her so much? Maybe because if it hadn't been her, who else could it have been? Valerian? Kerrin? Herself? Why was luck of the draw so cruel? "I'm Jada. One of the H- Harpers. Indivara is a very smart girl." But why had she been on the Sands?! Had she been so determined? D'ren was going to flay the child alive, if A'din didn't beat him to it. "I'm s-sorry." her shoulders shook once, and Jada wrenched herself back with a jerk.
Crying would help no one. Panic would help no one! It would do nothing but distract the Healers from the other woman's wounds. Reaching out, the Harper grabbed a rag, dipping it in clean water and pressing it to her forearms, cleaning the blood and sand from her wounds. Amber eyes shifted away from her friend, looking over to the stretcher. It was Farlint, the beautiful man who she'd carried back to the Candidate barracks, who she'd gotten in a food fight with. She recognized the man who had carried the stretcher, too. “O'wain.” her voice shook out his name, acknowledgment of his presence.
The rag fell from nerveless fingers, and she bent over to lift it again. Farlint was moaning, eyelids fluttering, and he lifted his head. “Talian?” he asked, and Jada tilted her head. The rag was dirty, so she pushed it into the hot water one of the Healers had shoved her way. She needed to be more careful not to drop it. A few moments later a dragon landed, bearing someone. A few moments after that, Far's shrieks filled the air, and she couldn't hold it in anymore.
Jada found herself gulping for air, staring at the profusely bleeding wounds on her arms. She would heal. They would suffer. Yet she was the one crying, since Indi wouldn't, and Far couldn't. She scrubbed at her wounds viciously. Maybe if they scarred too, she wouldn't feel guilty. But she didnt' want to scar. She wanted Farlint to stop screaming, and Indivara to make some noise to acknowledge her mother, for the girl to give some weak smile, to do something more than stare blankly. Her father had looked at her blankly too, when he died. Indivara wasn't going to die, or there would be more of a fuss, wouldn't there? So she had no sharding right to be looking so blank. (Oops, she might be out of fear and into rage.)
The sand scraped as it came out of her arms; the flesh was red and raw. But clean. A healer spread numbweed salve onto her arms with two fingers, and Jada hissed at the initial sting. But it did its job well, and the pain faded, leaving the only pain in her chest. The bandages were wrapped around her forearms, and Jada looked between the two other wounded who were being paid prominent attention on the platform. Indivara had her mother, and Farlint was unconscious.
Jada took a deep breath and watched. Next time something like this happened, when she was Standing on the Sands with the next clutch please (because she couldn't handle more people she knew or cared about getting hurt) she would be ready. (t was very lucky she hadn't seen Valerian get tackled to the Sands, or she would be in general panic mode over another face getting ripped off, or intestines falling out. Did dragons eat people?!)
Hold this down, the healer ordered, and Jada obeyed, pressing as hard as she dared to try and staunch the flow. "Hey. Talk to me." she told the girl, trying to get a reaction from her. "Or I'll start to lecture you. I know how you hate my boring lectures. I'll make this one the most boring of them all." Water and Fellis were being forced down the girl's throat, to dull the pain. If only Jada could have some of that! It was an idea, anyways. She'd have to ask. Another Healer stepped up, and took over assisting, pushing Jada to the side. That was good. Indi deserved someone who could actually help her. All Jada could do was push down on her cuts and hope that she'd responded correctly. Hope that she'd done the right thing. Jada had only read about these things. She'd never needed to practice them, or study them. All she knew she'd learned from talking to people or from scrolls.
What if her lack of practical knowledge made it her fault that Indi was seriously hurt? Maybe she should have had Indi press somewhere more vital, not her face? Maybe she'd made it worse by putting pressure on what she had thought was the more serious of the wounds and leaving Indi to tend her own face. But the face was where she had thought she could keep an eye on the pressure of the girl's hands, if she was holding or not! What if- Uh oh. Jada was breaking down now that there was someone near who could help Indi. Someone who had half an idea of what was right.
Indivara was a bright little girl, a warm soul, and so sharding plucky. She would make a wonderful dragonrider someday. But not Gold, Jada reminded herself. The girl felt that Golds weren't good for anything, except laying guarding eggs. No, Indi wanted to be the first female Bronzerider. The irony that a bronze had mauled her wasn't lost on Jada. "Do you still want to ride a Bronze?" she asked Indi, lips twitching wryly. She had to keep talking to her, keep her awake; until the Healers sent her away, she would. But that plan came to a swift halt when a woman thrust her way onto the platform, sitting down next to Indi. She even looked like her daughter. "You must be Indi's mother. A'din. A greenrider. Khainth." Jada knew her voice was dull, knew her hands were shaking. Why were the little girl's wounds affecting her so much? Maybe because if it hadn't been her, who else could it have been? Valerian? Kerrin? Herself? Why was luck of the draw so cruel? "I'm Jada. One of the H- Harpers. Indivara is a very smart girl." But why had she been on the Sands?! Had she been so determined? D'ren was going to flay the child alive, if A'din didn't beat him to it. "I'm s-sorry." her shoulders shook once, and Jada wrenched herself back with a jerk.
Crying would help no one. Panic would help no one! It would do nothing but distract the Healers from the other woman's wounds. Reaching out, the Harper grabbed a rag, dipping it in clean water and pressing it to her forearms, cleaning the blood and sand from her wounds. Amber eyes shifted away from her friend, looking over to the stretcher. It was Farlint, the beautiful man who she'd carried back to the Candidate barracks, who she'd gotten in a food fight with. She recognized the man who had carried the stretcher, too. “O'wain.” her voice shook out his name, acknowledgment of his presence.
The rag fell from nerveless fingers, and she bent over to lift it again. Farlint was moaning, eyelids fluttering, and he lifted his head. “Talian?” he asked, and Jada tilted her head. The rag was dirty, so she pushed it into the hot water one of the Healers had shoved her way. She needed to be more careful not to drop it. A few moments later a dragon landed, bearing someone. A few moments after that, Far's shrieks filled the air, and she couldn't hold it in anymore.
Jada found herself gulping for air, staring at the profusely bleeding wounds on her arms. She would heal. They would suffer. Yet she was the one crying, since Indi wouldn't, and Far couldn't. She scrubbed at her wounds viciously. Maybe if they scarred too, she wouldn't feel guilty. But she didnt' want to scar. She wanted Farlint to stop screaming, and Indivara to make some noise to acknowledge her mother, for the girl to give some weak smile, to do something more than stare blankly. Her father had looked at her blankly too, when he died. Indivara wasn't going to die, or there would be more of a fuss, wouldn't there? So she had no sharding right to be looking so blank. (Oops, she might be out of fear and into rage.)
The sand scraped as it came out of her arms; the flesh was red and raw. But clean. A healer spread numbweed salve onto her arms with two fingers, and Jada hissed at the initial sting. But it did its job well, and the pain faded, leaving the only pain in her chest. The bandages were wrapped around her forearms, and Jada looked between the two other wounded who were being paid prominent attention on the platform. Indivara had her mother, and Farlint was unconscious.
Jada took a deep breath and watched. Next time something like this happened, when she was Standing on the Sands with the next clutch please (because she couldn't handle more people she knew or cared about getting hurt) she would be ready. (t was very lucky she hadn't seen Valerian get tackled to the Sands, or she would be in general panic mode over another face getting ripped off, or intestines falling out. Did dragons eat people?!)
