A helping Hand [Indivara]

Pregnancy at Katila tended to be a lonely affair.  Ravana backed out of the bathouse with an unsettling speed, unable to shake the image of Indivara getting sick over a bucket.  Three years ago, that had been her.  Only the fact that Indivara was not one to welcome direct aid had kept her from crossing the room to help her then and there. 

It tugged at her though and in the end, drew the green rider to her own hut.  Finding the herbs was easy, she made all her own teas and had for years now.  She had fat jars of each, and they were still potent.  Mixing the tea had become second nature to Ravana, she still knew the measurements by heart. 

Morning sickness had been the least of her problems when pregnant.  She hoped Indivara was having an easier time of it than she had.  Forcing her mind off her own pregnancies, Ravana ground together the tea, mixing together ginger, mint, chamomile and dried orangefruit peel.  She gathered some cheese cloth next, portioning the tea into individual sachets.  Last she put the whole kit into a box.  Pausing, she looked around her and shook her head to clear it.

She went to get a piece of parchment, paused and wrote Indivara a simple note, explaining that the tea should help with her morning sickness and that it was nonaddictive.  She paused then added that if she was showing it was too late now, but if she ever needed a trip between, no questions asked, to find Ravana.  She tucked the note into the box, and whistled Stubborn over to her. 

The lizard came quickly and Ravana focused on the hut Indivara shared with her mother.  Getting the idea that she was supposed to deliver the box to the hut and make certain Indivara got it, the gold lizard grabbed it and took off, plainly pleased to be useful. 

Indivara was distinctly pregnant now. The curve of her belly was, while not huge, visible if the girl didn’t take care to make sure she wore the larger tops she was so fond of. Not that it mattered; most everyone at Katila was aware of their impending doom since the Hatching of the last clutch, and the secret had gotten out. Indivara hated it, hated every moment, every look, and every twitch her body made – whether voluntary or otherwise.

The girl spent a lot of her present time alternating between whining pathetically, fighting with her friends, and puking her guts up. Par’a had told her the sickness would start to fade away soon, now that she was into the second trimester, but Indivara had yet to see the proof of that! She was half hoping she’d puke so much she’d upchuck the cause of her issues… although even she allowed that that was a particularly disgusting thought.

Bathing was a horror all its own, too. Indivara still had issues with the scarring that was littered over her face, shoulders and chest area from when the bronze dragon, Hoth, had Hatched several years ago. Now, she had a belly poking out making her look increasingly fat, and Indivara knew there would be stretch marks involved. Because that was just what she needed! More blemishes on her less than desirable body! On top of that, her boobs hurt.

Sulking, Indivara made her way back to her home, freshly bathed and sick-free for the time being, she dragged her feet miserably. There were still over five months of torture to trudge through, and the girl was not looking forward to it at all! Her pace quickened when the threat of crying started to become very real once more – she had managed to keep such outbursts contained to her home thus far, and she had no desire to fall apart halfway between hut and bath when she was still capable of running! Wet hair danced around as Indivara pelted the rest of the way to her home, dodging between huts, dragons, riders and children.

Skididng to a halt, the girl entered the hut, bypassed her mother and brother without more than a grunt in answer to the greenriders vague question, and pushed her way into her own bedroom - where she stopped suddenly at the sight of an extra gold firelizard. That wasn’t hers! Frowning, Indivara held her arm out to a distressed Psh, who landed, crooned, and cried sadly, as Indivara cautiously approached the other. The firelizard in question was younger than her Psh, so clearly not from the original find. The girl paused again when the box was noticed and she studied it for a moment before looking back at the firelizard.

Indivara didn’t keep very careful tabs of who claimed what firelizard, but she did know that there were only a handful of gold within the weyr, and the one before her wore rather distinctive markings. Despite that, Indivara had no idea who it belonged to – which was rather pathetic, for a girl that took such pride in being up to date on all the weyr gossip – and she grumbled to herself as she extracted the box from under it, pleased when it didn’t bite her. From atop her dresser, Blood Sucker hissed, as if dismissing the need for such a thought.

“What have we here?” Indivara murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed and glancing once more at the firelizard before opening the package. Her frown intensified, contorting the scars on her face in unattractive ways as she picked up the little packs of tea, and sniffed them. Her nose scrunched, but she shrugged, and fished up the note. The girl read it slowly, grumbling at the part about trips. She wouldn’t be making that mistake again, that was for sure! Most of the dragons she usually used refused her a lift due to the demands of D’ren’s command (something S’kef hadn’t lifted, which also irked Indivara). However, she’d have done her due once she birthed the bastard child, and that would be the end of it!

Indivara was quite sure all her friends – notably Jada and K’rin – would never deny her a trip between in the future, not after how miserable she’d been sure to make them because of her condition – and she wasn’t even half way yet! That caused a  slight smirk of amusement, and Indivara stood up, rustling around her dresser top to find a stick of charcoal to write with. A ‘thanks’ was scrawled in Indivara’s neat, precise writing on a blank piece of the parchment, and Indivara tore it free and offered it to Stubborn.

“Bugger off, then.”