[PRP] Minor Casualty (Set'al/Soui)

[Meepfur]

What a stupid way to hurt yourself, Pipith observed with a sigh and a tone that was more parts exasperated than teasing. Can you at least lie about how you did it so that it's less embarrassing?

"Oh, piss off, you a**," Set'al grumbled back at his dragon as he wrapped his left hand in an old shirt so that he'd at least stop bleeding onto the floor of his hut. Neither of them ever quite meant the insulting things they often said to each other, and there was usually an affectionate undertone to their barbs, but today it was barely present in the bronzerider's words. It was hard to be patient with his demanding, unsympathetic dragon when he had a sliced-open palm. Pipith was right, slipping up while working on new straps and cutting into his own hand was a dumb accident, but an accident was an accident. s**t happened. He didn't need Pipith harping at him on top of it. "Besides, you're the one missing a toe. You've got no room to talk."

That is not the same, the bronze insisted. That was not an accident, that was a fight.

"A stupid fight, so shut up. I'm going to the Healers."

It was not a stupid fight! He was too close to Cepheith!

"It was a Flight, getting close to her was the point. If she didn't like you so much - Faranth knows why - you'd've lost that one. And I still don't agree that it was worth getting your foot chomped over."

Yes it was! The only response Pipith got was a grunt and a dismissive wave before Set'al set off down the beach, trudging his way to the Weyr proper with a bloody shirt wound around his hand. He'd laid it open pretty well, and while he certainly wasn't looking forward to admitting how he'd done it and looking like an idiot, it was too deep to just leave alone. It would be his first time visiting the Healers since settling at Western, but he'd gotten to know the Weyr well enough that finding his way wasn't any trouble.

houllow

 

[houllow]

Today was proving to be a calm day, with injuries at the minor and no sign of Thread. It was a welcome break from all the hustle and bustle, and Soui appreciated the chance to sit and help inventory supplies. Making sure that everything was ready and well stocked was very important, despite what most people thought, and Soui enjoyed being tasked with keeping track. It made her feel useful, valuabe, and so she cheerfully hummed along with the trills of a fitter flying above. Occasionally the small green would drop down and land on her head, squawking out some sort of information, but other than their interaction the infirmary was mostly silent.

A little too silent. Maybe even a little....boring. Thankfully, that seemed about to change.

The young healer looked up as she thought she heard someone come into the infirmary. It was a rider, or so she guessed based on the appearance and the way his face made different expressions, and her attention was immediately drawn to the shirt (?) wrapped around his hand. "Ah, please, have a seat." The apprentice rushed over and ushered the man towards an empty chair, all the while motioning for the firelizard to go over towards where several rolls of bandages were.

Extending her hand out, so the man could let her see, she prepared herself to help as best she could before a more senior healer took over the case. She was young yet and being arrogant here and thinking she could help someone without getting help herself could and would be dangerous. "May I ask what happened, and how long ago? Are you in any pain?" Soui was careful to speak slowly and space her questions, lest she have everything come out as a horrible jumble.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

Set'al blinked down at the small apprentice who immediately bade him take a seat, but didn't hesitate to obey; whatever their difference in size, age, or relative rank, she was the Healer and he was the patient, and as far as he was concerned, that meant she was in charge. Once settled, he unwound the shirt from his hand and extended it for inspection.

He would have liked to be able to say he'd injured himself doing something heroic or rider-y or at least interesting, but alas, that was not the case. Well, it was techincally riding-related, since he'd been working on new straps, but there was an enormous difference between that and fighting Thread, or even just drilling to do so. Not that those were good injuries to sustain, per se, but they didn't (usually) result in looking daft or clumsy. And as much as his dragon would have liked him to at least bend the truth a bit, Set'al didn't have it in him, and so he admitted with a self-deprecating grin, "My hand slipped while I was working on some new riding straps." He rubbed at the back of his neck with his non-maimed hand. "Mm, it's been a quarter candlemark, maybe? Long enough to argue with my dragon and walk here."

When asked whether or not he was in any pain, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, although overall his expression remained pleasant. Amused, more than anything. It was probably just a routine question she was supposed to ask, but...really? "Well, it's worse than stubbing a toe," he answered dryly, "Better than getting scored. About what you'd expect from slicing your hand open, I imagine."

If someone were ever to say that didn't hurt, they were either lying or didn't have feeling there.

houllow

 

[houllow]

Soui gingerly reached out and touched the man's hand, her own so much smaller in comparison to his. The size difference between her and adults always surprised her, even though she was aware she was just a child, but to actually be small for her age drove that gap even further. A few gentle turns of his hand had her deciding it wasn't that bad or deep, though it did require a few stitches. Sometime as simple as that she was certain she could handle, or at least would be allowed to handle.

At the man's comment about the pain, she frowned and gave a very faint squeeze with her fingertips. "Pain isn't a contest, sir, and the levels of it don't really matter either." The green flitter had returned to her side, carrying what looked to be a salve and some gloves. Soui held her hand out, and both were dropped onto her open palm. They were set aside in favor of the teen releasing the man's hand and walking over to get some water and a clean cloth, to wipe away the dry blood and any other than happened to be flowing. "Pain is just a sign you're still alive and functioning well enough to understand something has happened. Pain lets you know where there is a problem that I can try and help fix."

It was probably not wise to be lecturing someone who'd come for help, but Soui never liked those who took light of their injuries. What was nothing for them could be devastating, if only because the body had strange ways to cope with wounds and destruction. Carefully taking the man's hand again, she dabbed at the blood before finishing cleaning it. "Your injury isn't as deep as I originally thought, but you will need stitches in order to hold the wound closed while it heals." She turned his hand and pressed on a few of his fingers. "Are you able to feel the pressure from my hand? Is there any numbness?" Her questions were far more curt than she intended, but Soui was far too focused to really apologize.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

His attempt to amuse - inasmuch as it was ever an attempt, as it was more just his natural state, little or no conscious effort required - either went entirely over her head or was deliberately ignored. The girl was too matter-of-fact and intent on her task for him to gather any clues as to which it might be. And was she...was she cross with him? He was only- He just-

The bronzerider opened his mouth to refute the mistaken idea that he thought pain was a contest, only to think better of it and shut his mouth. He knew better than to argue with a Healer. The friendly smile faded, replaced by a sullen look that was disturbed by occasional flinches and clenched teeth while she cleaned and poked.

"Mm," he confirmed, no longer looking at the apprentice but down. He'd been prepared to be chastised for being stupid, not for having a sense of humor about himself, and it had put him into a bit of a pout. At least when Pipith lectured him, he could argue back; that really wasn't an option with a tiny Healer who was far less than half his age. "No numbness."

houllow

 

[houllow]

"Good, that's a really good sign. I was worried that maybe you'd hit something since you said you didn't feel a lot of pain." Soui gave a soft sigh of relief and looked up at the man, offering a smile...until she noticed he wasn't looking at her. Her brows knitted for a moment in concern, was he actually lying and that's why he was glancing down? "...are you okay?" The bloody cloth was set aside and Soui let the man's hand go for a moment, preparing to put on the gloves she'd need for applying the salve. "Did I push too hard, and you're just trying to be polite?"

The gloves were properly put on and the jar was lifted. Upon opening it the smell of numbweed filled the air, and Soui dipped in two fingers. "I'm going to apply some numbweed first. Have you ever had a bad reaction to numbweed before?" Her brain went down the checklist, asking all the questions her uncle had drilled into her from dawn until dusk. The flitter from before trilled along, as if to make sure that Soui really was following the proper steps. She waved it off with her free hand, causing a soft hiss before the green vanished Between.

"Sorry for Minimus. She's a bit of a stickler for process and tends to be loud when she thinks I'm doing something wrong."

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

"I mean, it does hurt," he clarified, rather at a loss as to what to say or do that wouldn't find him lectured by the young Healer. And now she was...worried? Shards! Even being quiet, he couldn't get this right. It didn't help that she was so young - not that it caused him any doubt or concern - as it just made the entire interaction seem strange somehow, on top of the ridiculous way he'd hurt himself. This was just not his day. "It just....seems daft to complain about, when I did it to myself being a dimglow."

There. That was a safe way of putting it, right? Asked about numbweed, he shook his head. "No, I haven't."

That would be pretty shaffing miserable, to not be able to use numbweed! Faranth. The firelizard only got a curious look, observed as something convenient to fix his focus on for a moment, and a shrug when she apologized for it. "It's fine. She's better-behaved than mine."

houllow

 

[houllow]

"You know, one time I stubbed my toe on a door in the hall and it broke." Soui started to carefully apply the numbweed, not wanting to get any of it directly in the open wound. "I didn't want to tell anyone either, since I was...actually kicking the door in frustration." Even though her eyes and hands were focused on the task, her cheeks did pink up a bit at the admission in her memory. The whole event had been awful and ended up with her being unable to walk for a few sevendays, not to mention the horrendous amounts of lectures she received. "T..the point I was trying to make it it's okay to complain, even if you did it yourself and feel like a dimglow for it. Sometimes it's good to let people know and worry, especially us healers." Her face was still red, and it was creeping. "I like being able to do my job."

His comments about the flitter did make Soui inwardly smile as she finished the application. "She belongs to my uncle, that one there and her clutchmate. They watch over me when he's out, and report to him on what I'm doing. I think he's trained them a little too well." It was like having a personal babysitter that was always watching. Always, even while bathing and sleeping. Sometimes it was unsettling. "And now we wait a moment, I need to see if one of the senior healers is open or if they want me to do it. If the numbweed doesn't feel like enough by the time I'm back, please let me know."

The small healer scuttled off, only to have the pale green firelizard pop from Between once again. She swirled around the man, inspecting the state of his hand and of Soui's location, apparently making mental notes or quickly transporting the state of things to her bonded.

Meepfur

please don't hate soui....she's trying....

 

[Meepfur]

The bronzerider was at a loss. Kids - err...very young people? - were well out of his realm of experience. Add in how incredibly serious and otherwise not-kid-like she was, and that she was more or less in a position of authority over him at the moment, given that she was a Healer (apprentice or no), and he just...didn't have the faintest idea what to do or say, besides as he was told. Most of the things that came to mind were funny, or at least amusing, but he wasn't going to risk that again, especially when she was being serious and telling him something that was apparently difficult to tell. Embarrassing stuff usually was...which was why he usually tried to soften it with humor.

Help! "My dragon would have preferred if I'd lied about it," was what he finally went with. "He's embarrassed for me."

Once informed of the firelizard's purpose, Set'al flicked his gaze around the room for the temporarily absent creature with a touch of suspicion. That they watched over her was...fine, maybe, he guessed, but it seemed awfully strange that they reported what she was doing. Now that he'd already gone awry once so far, he waited until the apprentice had scuttled away - and the flit had returned to flutter about and inspect things - to mutter under his breath, "That's not creepy at all."

houllow

rofl he is just SO LOST

 

[houllow]

There was something wrong in the area, and Soui couldn't quite put her finger on it. She'd gotten permission to treat the wound herself, stitches and all since it was such a minor injury and she'd been observed enough to be considered capable, and so she was gathering the last of what she needed when she noticed the man looking over her watchguard firelizard. The expression he wore on his face had her instantly feeling anxious, in the same manner that she felt whenever Pem silently looked her way. It wasn't good, but she needed to remain professional for now. She could possibly worry about it once the rider was gone and she was left to her own thoughts.

As she walked back over, she was careful to shoo Minimus away and pick up that list bit of parting conversation. "Maybe he thinks that he should do it for you, so you don't have to worry about it? My father always said that sometimes, people do or act in another's stead so they can be free to do something else." Perhaps it was just her father's attempts at easing her mind whenever she made mistakes, or even more likely she was misunderstanding what he intended to say. "But...sometimes if you lie just make sure there's a little truth in there. You don't want to make the other party feel like you think less of them right?" Soui paused in her talking to thread a needle; both items had been boiling in water previously to keep them clean and she was careful not to soil them.

"Your wound is rather interesting though. If you hadn't told me how you'd done it, I'd say the injury was consistent with pushing something away - like say...a rogue feline while protecting something valuable." Was Soui...attempting to give him a fun story? Or was she making it worse she honestly didn't know and her cheeks turned red. "An...anyway, I'll be the one performing your stitches as well. Rest assured that I am trained in such a procedure, and that I have been given permission due to the location and size of your wound." A small wooden board was brought out and placed so that the rider could place his arm down and keep it steady. "Please, try to remain still and if at all during the procedure you feel any pain, let me know right away. You've said you have a really high tolerance and so I am going to trust you and the numbweed, but don't be a hero."

Meepfur

soui is 98% sure he hates her and well, that she fails as a healer despite knowing it's not her and she shouldn't take it personally

 

[Meepfur]

"He thinks he should do most things," Set'al said with a snort, "Mostly because he thinks he could do better." The bronze was a sharding pain in his a**, and he'd been getting worse now that they were back in a Weyr. "Although in this instance, he's probably right. I'm a terrible liar."

"Something valuable? Like my throat?" the bronzerider chuckled. Okay, he couldn't help it, he just...couldn't not make jokes (generally bad ones), unless he didn't say anything at all, or else spent too much time thinking about what to say. Either would be painfully awkward. Not that this wasn't. "Got it." He didn't look the least bit shocked or concerned that a relatively young apprentice would be the one stitching him up. He had quite a lot of trust in the profession to start with, and if she'd been given clearance to do it, then he trusted her. Besides, what was the worst that could really happen? He put his arm down as indicated, and waited.

houllow

 

[houllow]

Soui nodded to his question. "Your throat is really valuable, yes, or maybe you were moving to protect your dragon." The healer was aware that most dragons could take down something without much trouble, and the rider had said that his dragon felt as though he could do much better. "Or you could be silly, and say you cut your hand in an arm wrestling match with your dragon. You won of course, but it came at a great cost." It was fairly hard for her to come up with a plausible story that would make an injury seem...better. Wounds were wounds and how people got them often helped with how they were treated, but if someone was embarrassed then all she could do was try and ease some of it.

She wasn't a mindhealer after all, so anything beyond bedside manner wasn't her thing.

Carefully and with methods she'd spent Turns studying and learning and practicing, Soui started to stitch up the cut on his hand. She was beyond thankful it wasn't too deep or too large, the rider was probably thankful too if he only knew, and she kept counting down the steps inside her head. Perhaps her face looked a little too stressed as she bit at her lower lip, but really she was just focused. Sort of. Mostly.

Still, her stitches were clean and small and neat, all in an effort to leave as tiny a scar as possible if his hand would indeed scar. "Is everything okay? Are you in any pain, do you need more numbweed or a small dose of fellis?" Her hands paused as Soui looked up at the man, concern over her features.

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

"I'm sure Pip would be offended by the very thought of needing me to protect him from anything." And as Traders, they'd had their fair share of encounters with danger, including felines! And whers, and bandits... It certainly wasn't one of the safer jobs on Pern, although having a bronze dragon along with the caravan was a good repellent for some of it. "Or winning against him. He wouldn't think that was funny at all." The bronze was rather touchy about some things.

Set'al held carefully still, and watched the very young Healer's progress with curiosity and without flinching. Thank Faranth for numbweed making that possible; bad enough he'd hurt himself being a clumsy dimglow, he'd better be able to get through the stitches that had earned him without complaining. "I'm not sure a cut merits any fellis," he answered with another agreeable smile, "But a little extra numbweed couldn't hurt."

Ha. Haha.

houllow

 

[houllow]

"Your dragon is nicknamed Pip?" Soui always liked to hear that people gave affectionate nicknames to their dragons, since it showed just how strong and loving their bond was, but she also understood that not everyone was that way. She didn't particularly enjoy nicknames dedicated to herself, though to be honest with a name like Soui it was a bit difficult to do. "It must be nice, being a rider. Except for when you mess up and accidentally cut yourself."

She took the time in conversation to place a little bit more numbweed, careful in application, before she went back to stitching him up. The work was small and meticulous in the hopes that it wouldn't cause any troubles in day to day use, and as she approached the end of her line she looked it over once, twice. "I actually....really love dragons, though admittedly I've only been around one." Maybe Yudueth didn't count?

Meepfur

 

[Meepfur]

"Mm," he sounded again by way of casual confirmation, "Short for Pipith. Don't think he's particularly fond of it, but since I had to shorten my name, it only seems fair." Not that the bronze was really, seriously bothered by the nickname, especially after all these turns, but he probably wouldn't appreciate it coming from anyone other than Set'al. Or Narisa.

"That is one downside," he agreed as to the cutting oneself, "And it is a lot of work, and now danger as well. But...here we are." Set'al had never been a candidate, had never seriously entertained thoughts of being a dragonrider once he was past the childhood fantasies most Pernese grew up with, so he had a strained view of all of the responsibilities - and yes, the danger - that had been thrust upon him. He wouldn't say that it wasn't worth it, that he regretted it or would change it, but...well, he'd never asked for it.

It was complicated. "Only one, really?" Western might not be as densely populated as some Weyrs, but it was still hard to go much of anywhere without tripping over a dragon. "Have you not been at the Weyr long?"

houllow