Prevention is the Best Cure [Bordtai, Talian]

The little group arrived in a timely manner, Larrikith flying at a stately glide for most of the way, hovering just high enough above B'jin to prevent the children from sliding from their seats, but not so high that if they did attempt to jump off they would be overly hurt from the fall. Amorandii was chattering the whole way, to what she assumed was a sullen Bordtai, though the little dragon had been too busy focusing on Talian to pay too much attention to her passengers. Only when she'd found her Little Healer had she quietly informed him that B'jin had found a stray and was bringing it in for a vet check. She thought she was funny, she doubted Talian did but shit happens and the little dragon was hardly worried.

B'jin stepped to the side and Larrikith dropped gently to the ground, landing with minimal fuss as she turned her head around to look at her passengers, eyes sparkling with self supplied amusement as she lowered herself further to the ground and watched as Amorandii delicately flicked her skirts and slid into her father's arms, smiling happily as he placed her on the ground. The little girl hovered at his side as B'jin waited pointedly for Bordtai to slide down to him, and he set the child lightly on the ground. Unlike with Amorandii, however, B'jin placed a light and gentle - but definitely controlling - hand on the young boy's shoulder, preventing him from running away or walking in the wrong direction. He didn't know the child, and was unsure how the boy would rebel if he so chose to do so. A quiet comment from Larrikith had him doubting the boy would flee, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Which was exactly why the boy was going to see his boy. There could be damage done under the bruises that would need Talian's sure treatment!

"Come on, kiddo. Inside, up the hall and to that door there," B'jin ushered the child into the building, shooting a smug look at The Wherry as he passed her and her ever sour expression. She'd gotten herself on to B'jin's list of To Torment when she'd continually forbid him see his son; Talian had cleaned that up, quick smart (once he'd learned of it!) and now B'jin took a great deal of satisfaction in marching past her to see his boy, whenever he so damned pleased.

A knock on Talian's office door, and B'jin opened it, herding Bordtai in and letting Amorandii bring up the rear, the child closing the door behind her with a quiet click.

"This is Bordtai. He's just fine, of course, but I felt you might like to wash the blood off his face." Sarcasm was the undercurrent of the light and teasing words B'jin spoke, brown eyes haunted with a worry he was only allowing Talian to see. He did not like to see children in distress, and children in distress that acted like he was prone to, really upset him. The poor boy needed help, and hopefully, they'd be able to get it to him before the child wound up like them: Broken and bitter adults.

Bordtai was not as surprised by the flat ‘no’ as he might have been if he wasn’t already realizing this man was not only off-kilter, but very stubborn as well.  I wonder if he’s like that because he still sees his daughter.  But the notion wasn’t pondered long as he was caught off guard when two large hands caught him under the shoulders and hoisted the scrawny boy into the air as if he weighed nothing at all.  In fact, despite the four turn difference, he was barely more than Andi herself and Bordtai made sure not to look in the man’s direction as he was placed upon the green.

The boy had been expecting the rider to join them and when he didn’t, Bordtai had expected the dragon to walk along side his rider.  So when the dragon had actually taken off into a smooth, low glide, Bordtai found one arm wrapping instinctively around Andi’s middle as his legs clamed as hard as he could around the dragon’s neck and he clutched at the nearest neckridge.  Of course – he held onto the dragon to stay on.  He held onto Andi to make sure she did too, though he realized later that the girl was far more use to such rides than he was and didn’t have to even try to stay where she sat.

While he’d never admit it, Bordtai was actually glad that the man was there to catch him as he slid off the dragon – he knew too well what even that small height would feel like to legs unaccustomed to such a fall and in all honesty he was sore already, though that too he’d never admit.  When the man put gentle, but controlling hand on the same shoulder that had jarred and surprised Bordtai with Andi’s hug, he winced again, but didn’t fight it.  Fighting at this point was as useless as arguing.  If he moved where the man wanted him to, there would simply be less pain involved.

Hearing his name given to the healer, Bordtai had looked up only long enough to confirm that it wasn’t the healer he saw normally before dropping his head back down to look at his feet.  With his face down turned, he made a face at B’jin’s teasing words before muttering, “I can wash my own face just fine.”

Things had been weird for Talian. He had a lot on his mind lately, stemming not only from recent events but also from past and upcoming anniversaries. His birthday and the day he'd been kidnapped passed quietly, celebrated and mourned only in the privacy of his own room and with no mention to his friends or new family. There was one final milestone remaining, but he was trying his very best not to dwell on that one too much. It was perhaps the worst of all, and it was perilously slow. He also had more recent baggage to worry about: J'ver, Valerian, and Jada. It was a mess.

Talian never was quite sure how he felt about things anymore. Perhaps that was for the best. He knew he should have been rattled more by certain recent events than he actually was, but that in and of itself was disturbing. He'd been upset at first, and he'd tried to be more upset later, but it didn't even seem worth the effort. Part of it was his natural instinct for resignation and submission. If it was easier to give in, sometimes that was the best thing. If anything, his bump with Valerian some months later had taught him to expect it more often.

How weird had that been. In a screwed up way, Tal was almost happy to have been J'ver's victim first. It taught him not to care.

Not caring: the ultimate Katilan survival tactic. He shrugged it off as if to say 'Keep it coming, Katila. I'm made of tougher stuff than you think'. It didn't offset his sadness, but it encouraged him to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Tal's thoughts were along these lines when he heard the knock at his door. Thank Faranth! Nothing kept him alert and in working order like a good patient. He sprang up and hustled to the door, where he found B'jin and a couple of kids waiting for him.  One was familiar, the other was not.

Tal's eyes went to B'jin's, and he understood. He leaned forward and smiled at the young man. "Hello there, Bordtai," Talian said in a personable manner. He wasn't a childhealer specifically, but he had a good manner for working with them. No one had ever spoken to Talian like a child, least of all when he actually was one. He didn't speak to children like children, either.  He spoke to them almost like grown-ups. He'd been scolded for this back at Healer Hall, but he saw no reason to argue with results. They liked being treated like grown-ups. They often felt as smart as grownups. As a child, Talian had been as smart as most grown-ups. He couldn't empathize with treating them any other way.

"Looks like nothing serious," Talian said. He walked back to his desk and got a cloth and some salve. He dampened the cloth in the bucket of water he kept close by, then returned and offered it to Bordtai. "Here you are. Once you're finished, do you mind if I do some basic first-aid?" he asked. He winked at B'jin.

When Bordtai heard the healer say that it didn't look serious, his demenor brightened ever so slightly - or at least wasn't so dark.  Hear was a healer, and more importantly, an adult who might actually believe Bordtai when he said he was fine.  With the prospsect of a possible ally against the strange rider-father, the boy actually took a moment to heave his thin frame onto the bed to sit while the man came back with the wet cloth.

While it pleased him immensly and made his guard fall a little more, Bordtai had not been expecting the man to offer him the cloth.  Someone was actually listening.  Eyes that had widened in surprise closed after he took the cloth offered and went to work scrubbing his face, his touch only becoming gentler around his sore nose and puffy, tender lip.  Where it was split open stung, but he held the cloth there a moment anyways to make sure it was clean.

Lowering the cloth, he made a face at B'jin and his daughter.  "See, I'm fine under the dirt."  At the question about 'basic' first aid, however, Bordtai looked back at the healer, confidence wavering and confusion clear on his face.  "What's 'basic first aid'?"  Wrinkling his nose he thought of that terrible tea the last time he had been given while here.  "Does it involve drinking anything?"

B'jin watched with mild amusement as Talian took stock of the situation, the young Healer moving smoothly to take control and handle the child with ease. The greenrider leaned back against the door, watching with a subtle smirk twisting up one corner of his lips as he watched Bordtai settle on the table and wash his face. Talian's wink was greeted with a widening smile, the greenriders eyes sparkling as he flicked his gaze back to the boy - and caught sight of Amorandii peering curiously into various things kept on a shelf. Pulling a particularly comical face, B'jin fluttered across to where his daughter was peering into a jar, and swept her up with a squeak.

"Hey!" Indignant, the child crossed her arms over her chest as B'jin settled her on his hip, despite her being several turns too old for such treatment (or at least, when she didn't want to be held at any rate) and arched an eyebrow at the girl. "I wasn't touching anything!"

"Not yet," B'jin dead panned, not letting the child down as he made his way back to the bench by the door and sat himself down on it once he'd pushed a book aside. Amorandii was settled firmly on his lap with one arm wrapped around her waist. The child, less than impressed, had a very particularly powerful scowl on her face as she settled her skirts with all the dignity the child could summon.

"I want to watch!"

"Watch from here."

"Hrmph!"

---

[sup]It's not much nor very good, but I didn't want to hold you up. You can continue without waiting on me. I'll toss B'jin in at intervals but mostly he and Amorandii are liable to squabble quietly in the corner. ;)
... and it helps to use the right account :|[/sup]

Tal understood the child's hesitance when it came to drinking anything given to him by healers! Medicine tasted terrible. Tal still shuddered a little when taking certain brews, even when he was just tasting them to make sure he'd blended them correctly. He smiled a bit and slowly shook his head. "Nope. It's just a quick look at you. Making sure you aren't bruised up too bad or have any little tiny breaks or cuts. Sound okay?" He wasn't going to proceed without the child's permission, but it wasn't too big of a deal. Talian just wanted to make sure he wasn't beaten up too badly.

"So tell me," Tal said, winking once at B'jin before he continued. "Do you have any cuts and pains? Do you need any bandages?" Kids were hearty, and this one looked just fine. Talian couldn't help but wonder what happened, though.

He glanced over to B'jin, who was thankfully wrangling the little girl. Shards, Tal had no idea what to do about children. Nothing they did made any sort of sense. "Whose is he?" Talian asked B'jin softly. "And what happened?" The question was casual, though there was perhaps a hint of legitimate worry behind Tal's eyes. Bordtai appeared to be just fine. Kids, Talian had learned, usually didn't mind hiding or lying about their ailments like grown ups did. Bordtai was acting just fine and seemed to find the whole affair silly, so he was probably just fine. Still, it didn't hurt to ask.

Bordtai had been listening intently, curious to the answer until the healer mentioned that he'd be looking for bruises and broken things.  Wincing, his chin fell to his chest and he let out a sigh.  "I said I was fine."  Was the mutter he seemed to favor thus far, though it was quieter this time.

As the additional questions followed, he answered them obediently when they were aimed at him, though the degree of truth was debatable.  "No, nothin' hurts."  He said, though he left out adding that it didn't hurt till someone touched the worst of the fresh bruises hidden beneath his shirt.

"No cuts, jus' the lip, but that ain't nothin."  Full truth there...  at least last he checked.  He didn't miss the soft questions that seemed more directed toward the rider-father, though he didn't try to interupt their convo by answering himself.  Instead he studied his feet before asking, "Since nothing hurts, can we skip the looking and leave me be?"

When Talian turned his attention on him, B'jin's brown eyes shifted from his daughter to meet that of Talian, and he pursed his lips. The greenrider shook his head slightly, indicating a lack of anyone to claim the boy seated before the young Master. While he looked as if he might be about to answer Talian's question, the young brat's insistence that nothing hurt caused B'jin's expression to cloud with irritation.

"Liar!" Amorandii spoke up suddenly, wriggling out of B'jin's grasp and flouncing over to the table in a great show of indignant irritation. "You do hurt and they just want to make it better! Don't be a liar!" Her little pointer finger was waved threateningly in Bordtai's face as she glared up at him indignantly.

Spinning to pin Talian with a deep blue and sturdy gaze, the little girl put her hands on her hips even as B'jin finally got over his surprise and slipped up behind her. "Go on! Give him a poke! He's sore because those bullies were beating him up again! Reckon he's stupid, they do, 'cause he can't do his letters. Acting pretty stupid right now though, trying to lie to grown ups and saying he doesn't hurt when he does."

Huffing out a breath Amorandii didn't object when a wide eyed B'jin picked her up once more, shooting Talian an apologetic look in the process. Despite that, it was clear he was in agreement with the trail his daughter had gone galloping down. Brown eyes shifted from the healer to the patient and his voice was soft and mild when B'jin spoke. "You're awfully determined to make us believe that, young man. I'm afraid all you're doing is making me doubt it more."

B'jin set Amorandii back on the ground, where the girl once more brushed her skirt down and stared up at Bordtai with wide blue eyes.

Talian plunged into a drawer once more, rooting around for something he always kept tucked safely in the back. It was curious  for a healer to remove himself so far from his numbweed, but Talian had his reasons. He winked to B'jin was he removed a small pot of the salve from the drawer, holding it close as he returned to his little patient.

"It'll only take a moment," he said, gently encouraging the boy to let him have a look at his ribs. It wasn't anything too serious, but like B'jin's daughter suspected, there was some bruising. Tal wasn't worried about it. After all, little boys got bruises. The healer quickly rubbed a small bit of numbweed on the worst of them before backing away, giving Bordtai a quick smile before returning the nubmweed to it's drawer and rinsing his hands off.

"Have trouble with letters, do you? It could simply be that you need it presented in another way," Talian offered casually, still careful to address the boy as if he were another adult. Talian then walked over to B'jin, who he greeted with a careful hug. "You should talk to his teacher, if you are worried," he offered lowly, though not quite a whisper. "He may need special instruction. Social anxiety or poor socialization can make classroom learning difficult. High and low functioning brains sometimes learn differently, too." He had no way of knowing if the boy was actually slow, though so far his impression was simply that he was quiet. "I had to have special teachers starting when I was five turns."

He looked back to Bordtai. "You did very well. If those boys pick on you again, you are welcome to come here. We won't let them, okay?"

---

Sorry for the mild PP there!

Bordtai had winced at his younger classmate’s sudden accusation of being a liar.  It wasn’t so much that being called that bothered him as much as it was the way that she said it.  She was annoyed, but what struck a cord more was that she was annoyed because she apparently seemed to care.  Nobody ever cared one way or another, which was why it was so easy to make them believe the lies.  People, especially adults, were willing to take the easy road even if it meant letting his simple lies and half-truths go.  Just like they were quick to believe he was okay, they were just as quick to take his neglect to speak the truth about some error as confirmation that it had been HIS fault.  How often did he become a scape goat just because it was easier and it kept him away from the worst of the bullies?  Extra chores were easier than the beatings to endure.

Even the green rider’s words stung a little, but Bordtai had already given in to the small girl.  He hated taking off the shirt that was four sizes too large for him – it was his protection from adult eyes; his protection from women’s complaints that he was underfed; protection from the crèche worker’s protests that he needed to learn to stand up for himself.  Without that protection, he was nothing more than a punching bag that clearly skipped on meals simply to avoid certain individuals or find quieter areas when his headaches were occurring.  When the headaches lasted for days, well he’d go quite a while with only a small bite to eat here and there and it showed.

He looked like a terrible piece of art, colored by a colorblind Weyrbrat.  Old bruises of various ages and degrees mixed with those that were new.  Thankfully, even the healer could see that none were worse than simple discoloring at a glance and the administration of the numbweed was over quickly.  The man’s touch had been surprisingly light compared to some healers Bordtai had dealt with before.  It was a nice change, but it didn’t stop the boy from pulling the shirt and it’s comforting security quickly back over his head.

Bordtai was listening to the quiet conversation and while he didn’t really care to speak up, he found himself taken aback by one of the healer’s statements.  “You needed special teachers when you were little?  But you’re a healer.  Healers are smart.”  He said with a slight wrinkle to his nose.  He really refused to believe a dimglow might ever become a healer, special teachers or not.

When he mentioned the healing hall as a safe haven, Bordtai shrugged, making a point of not looking at the little girl in the room.  He was finding it difficult to see her upset – for some reason it made him feel uneasy.  “They ain’t so bad.”  Pausing, he looked at his feet for a moment before deciding that he liked the healer who spoke to him like and adult and more importantly listened.  “If… If I do hurt… Not saying that I will – “ he said pointedly, interrupting himself.  “- can I come back to see you again?” 

He had no intentions of coming back for his run-in’s with bullies, but instead he had his headaches in mind.  If the healer promised no terrible drinks this time, maybe he had something else that would help them that also included nothing too nasty.  It might be worth the try and might cheer up the little girl at the same time.

Talian frowned at the geography of bruises, shaking his head slowly, though he made a conscious effort not to make too much of a show. He would point out just how abnormal that was to B'jin afterwards. Making a show of it now would only make the little boy feel worse, and if previous interactions with children had taught Talian anything, it's that upset children usually withdrew even more. This kid seemed to be on the stoic side, perhaps a little bit slow afterall, and certainly wouldn't respond well to being called out. He'd view it as being 'picked on'.

No, what this one needed was to be treated like an adult.

"Absolutely," Talian said, nodding his confirmation to the child. "You are welcome to come any time you like," he said. He started to clean his supplied up, then realized with some embarrassment that he;d forgotten to respond to one of the boy's questions.

"...Yes," Talian said, looking back to Bortai and straightening his posture. "I had special teachers. Sometimes it isn't a matter of being smart or not, it's a matter of needing different kinds of lessons.  There are also different kinds of 'smart'," he pointed out. It was plain to see that his kind of 'smart' and Bortai's kind of 'smart' weren't the same, but he wanted to encourage the kid without pandering to him too much. Telling him he'd grow up to be a master healer at the age of 25 would be a bit much, now wouldn't it? But telling him that he could learn his letters if he went about it a different way? That was reasonable.

Who knew. Maybe he could be a healer by 25. Tal didn't know, though. He was having a hard time understanding the lack of an advanced vocabulary by 10, but that had always been a problem for him. Like Bortai, he didn't understand...he just didn't understand in a different way.

Amorandii watched the interaction between her brother and the boy she'd found with a wide, curious gaze that clearly indicated the little clocks within her mind were clicking over and churning away, intent upon reaching some kind of conclusion, though what it was would remain a mystery until such a time as she came to a suitable end. When Talian invited Bordtai to come back whenever he felt the need, and Bordtai actually took him up on it, or at least acknowledged it, Amorandii gave a firm nod as if she approved of their interactions and brushed her hands lightly down her skirt once more, pursing her lips thoughtfully.

Then Talian was speaking about different kinds of teachers for different kinds of students and Amorandii's churning clockwork apparently came to a conclusion. Stepping forward pointedly, she grabbed a hold of Talian's hand - for no other reason than that she could, and clung to it tightly - as she turned her bright, clear blue gaze upon Bordtai thoughtfully and with obvious excitement as her lips pulled at a small smile, delighted with the outcome she had decided would be just perfect.

"Daddy is the best teacher." She stated firmly, and while she emphasised exactly how much better her father was than everyone else, it was apparent the child wasn't gushing: she simply firmly believed in that conclusion. It wasn't even because he was her daddy. It was simply a fact. Daddy was the best, and even her friend's said that their older brothers and sisters said that! "We can do our homework together, with daddy. He will help you learn differently so you learn faster." She nodded firmly, still clinging to Talian's hand and refusing to let it go.

"R'nd is smart too! If Daddy can't help you - which he can, but if he can't - than R'nd can try. And if he can't, Talian will. Because he's the best, too!" She nodded firmly again, turning to look huge blue eyes up at Talian with an expression that was half demand, half beg and entirely her father's daughter.

Behind her, B'jin had looked slightly amused for the process of the talk, before uttering a soft half breath-half choke of laughter at the idea of Amorandii cornering R'nd into helping teach Bordtai. That was something he would very much like to see, just to watch his lover squirm under Amorandii's pretty blue gaze. B'jin was not unaware of how he could manage to get R'nd to crumple if he managed to give him the right look at the right time. Considering how tightly Amorandii had him wrapped around her little finger, he assumed she had the same skill, and despite R'nd's avoidance of children, would undoubtedly win him over with little effort.

B'jin smirked behind an upraised hand he used to shield his mouth from a laugh based cough.