[G] [P] 734.09.05 | Rebuilding

Casa had been at a lost after the landslide. For two days, she lie there, drugged to the gills and recovering, struggling awake only long enough to feed or oil the dragonet who sat by her side in constant protective fear. She couldn't bring herself to think about anything that had happened, instead focusing on the few things she did know: she had Impressed. She had her Gold, even if she couldn't bring herself to forgive her yet. She was not dead.

But she tried not to think of the dead. She had found out that not only had she lost Quenym - her heart still ached now - she had lost her father as well. Everyone she had loved was gone except Thallyath...who wanted her to move on and live her life. In time, Casa came to begrudingly forgive the Gold, though she was still frosty and unsure of what to say for the most part. Over the last month, they had come to an agreement on civility and teamwork, though it was limited in what Casa could do for her beyond sloppy oiling and messy food. Her left collarbone had shattered in three places, and there was a huge gouge in the same shoulder from a claw.

She had spent the month focusing on doing what she could with recovery, taking the limited lessons into account while focusing purely on what she was doing at any given time. She was still not ready to face what had happened; she could barely face Thallyath, though she loved the fierce Queen with every inch of her heart, afraid that she too would die and leave her alone.

Get up and stop those thoughts. It's not going to happen. It's time to go see the Healer, not to sit around and wallow. The dragon's frank voice was like a bucket of ice water over her, and she slowly stood, throwing Thallyath a sidelong look. She still couldn't bring herself to say she adored the little creature, not yet, but she knew that she was unerringly right in most things. Shuffling along, they cut through the many rooms that had been set up, all temporary housing and learning areas established since the weyr had been all but wiped up. Trudging into a room set aside for T'lian, she gently knocked at the frame, soft eyes trying to be bright against the hollows below them.

T'lian didn't have many breaks these days. The landslide had given him and endless stream of work, most of which had passed him in a wild blur. He spent weeks doing little more than focusing on work and trying to rest, often guilty that he was unable to work more. It was tiresome, but in a gratifying way. He was glad to help, and he was glad to have something to focus on to keep the immediate horror of the events in the very back of his mind. He'd always done his best work under pressure.

As he deaths, operations, and amputations started to die off, he found himself facing a more mundane workload. Stitches, infections, gangrene, poorly set bones...There was no end to maintenance and continued care that followed in the disaster's wake. Now that the emergencies had passed, T'lian started to feel the effects of the long days and much busier schedule. It also meant he had time to think about everything he'd seen.

He wasn't losing sleep over it, at least not directly, but it did put him in a dour mood. He wouldn't have wished such deaths on his most hated enemies. No matter how little he cared for most Katilans as people, he valued human life too greatly to feel anything but grief and pity for them now.

Today, he was taking a rare break. He was seated in his makeshift exam room, carefully oiling his fire lizards. Fellis was finished, curled up sweetly in his lap while he worked on the larger, fussier Tansy. The little queen was still polite enough to alert her bonded to Casa's appearance with a light trill. T'lian grunted, sitting straight up and spinning around in his seat.

"Oh, back again I see," he said, smiling wearily. "Is it time to have them out all ready, or do you have a problem?" he asked, slowly rising to his feet. He left Tansy and her pot of oil on the table. She would have to wait. 

Casa trudged into the room, nodding a soft acknowledgement to the healer without much thought. She waved him back to his oil for the moment, sliding into the seat quietly for a moment. She wasn't in a huge rush, and realized that he must be exhausted - he'd been doing nothing but working since that horrific night. He so rarely got a break to just relax, and here she was, interrupting him. He looked like she felt, and she felt guilty for coming, even though she knew it was time to have the stitches out, even if her collar bone wasn't done healing yet. She tried to find the energy to speak, but ended up merely shaking her head, still feeling tired and dazed from her thoughts while in her room.

Casa. That's enough. You need to get it looked it, its smelling funny. The gold came tottering into the room behind her, holding her tiny head head as she moved around her awkward, uneven body. Her voice seemed to have much more poise than her sideways stance, still not 100% able to keep it to herself, but having learned to at least establish a firm tone to everyone she was addressing. Turning, she bobbed a greeting to the Healer, chirping a greeting to the Queen as well.

Casa mumbled some quiet reply, sitting up straighter and sliding the tunic off to reveal the still-healing wounds. Her collarbone didn't look bad; tiny stitches held the skin together there as the bone was still in process of knitting back together. The shoulder area was much messier, a large mass of ugly skin and threadwork. She carefully slid the bits of the bandage she could off, knowing she'd need help if she was to not jar the bone.

"T'lian, can you help please?" Her once energetic voice was soft, and she stopped tugging futilely at the bandaging, letting the healer do his job. "I'm sorry to interrupt your private time, but she's right...the shoulder wound isn't...its off. I need it to not go south, if you understand." There was still a steady stream of injuries and illness, and she didn't particularly want to join the ranks of those tossed between.

Thallyath came to rest beside her rider, trying to sit as primly as she could whilst beginning to grow unevenly. Casa slid her eyes over the dusty gold hide, noting more spots to oil and scrub at when she could next rope someone in to help. The gold brushed her head against the limp palm near her in a sign of affection, her eyes trained on every motion the healer was making. She had to ensure Casa survived after all.

"Of course I can," T'lian murmured as he moved aside to wash his hands. He didn't need to tend to the poor girl with thick, disgusting oil all over them. Tansy rumbled lightly, aggravated to have her pampering cut short. Some part of the tiny beast's brain must have still understood the necessity, as she behaved herself regardless. She instead cuddled up to Fellis, who was eyeing Thallyath with mistrust, and started delicately lapping at him with her tongue. T'lian had given the little blue a perfectly good bath, but what could a little extra cleaning hurt?

T'lian finished drying his hands and when turned to face Casa. He still remembered how spirited she'd seemed the first day she'd come in. How long ago had that been now?  He honestly had no idea. Time had a way of fading here in the south. He looked over her quickly, trying to ignore the dourness and weariness, instead focusing on her health. "What's the problem?" he asked as he took a step closer. He cleared his throat. "..Specifically." What on Pern did 'off' actually mean?

He leaned forward to inspect the bandaging. "It's looking a little irritated," he said. It had a slightly foul smell. He hoped it wasn't infected. He squinted at the stitching, noting a bit of red puffiness. It was noticeable, but not quite worrisome. "It looks like it might be a little infected. Have you tugged at it, or perhaps rolled in your sleep?" he asked as he moved towards his cabinets. "I think it's about ready to come out. We'll cut the stitches out and give the area a good cleansing...And maybe repeat it every couple days for a while and see if that helps. Does it hurt?"

BlueDragon

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SP Team