Not A Pity Party

Writers: Bree, Nici
Date Posted: 4th August 2005

Characters: N'klos, O'dan
Description: N'klos goes to visit O'dan in the infirmary
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 13 of Turn 3

The bed was shaken none too gently and when O'dan opened his eyes, it was to see a face he'd not seen in months--and certainly hadn't expected to ever see again.

N'klos look was grim. "Well, you certainly _outdid_ yourself, O'dan..."

"Oh, and I suppose you came all this way just to tell me that?" O'dan replied grumpily, trying not to wince. "And stop shaking the sharding bed...in case you haven't notice, I'm mortally wounded here."

"Mortally means you're dead. You look pretty alive to me, bronzerider." N'klos hooked a chair with his foot and sat down. "And I didn't come to gloat, specifically. T'moran asked me to return. Messing with you is just a bonus."

"Are you sure it's not _why_ T'moran asked you to come back?" O'dan asked sourly. "I can see him importing riders just to make my life miserable. And I thought he couldn't hate me more than he already did..."

"Blue skies, is it a pity party in here!" N'klos shook his head. "If you'd not been so stubborn and insisted that you could do this, I'd have stayed. But nooooo....you had to let your temper rule. I'm missing an upcoming gold flight to come back here...so you'd think _someone_ would be grateful."

"I'm sure _T'moran_ is grateful," O'dan replied, rolling his eyes. "But I suppose I missed your daily doseage of abuse."

"Of course you did. Who else is going to remind you of your shortcomings even when you're bagging every pretty woman who walks by." N'klos thought about something. "I forgot...is the ability to walk optional for you?"

"Depends on how well they wiggle," O'dan replied easily. "Now that I'm gonna be using a cane for the rest of my foreseeable life, it wouldn't be fair to be picky, would it?"

"Hmm...true enough." N'klos sighed. "There were a lot of losses. Many from the wing I used to lead."

"I know," O'dan replied, his voice not so easy now. "Trust me, N'klos...nothing you can say will make me realize it any more."

"Do you know what happened?" N'klos had heard conjecture and rumor--he wondered if anyone had bothered to even _ask_ O'dan's side of the story.

O'dan shrugged one shoulder. "The wind shifted on me near the end of the Fall. We'd had violent turbluance the entire time... I was exhausted and I made a mistake in the formation. I just couldn't think sharding fast enough."

N'klos nodded. So he'd panicked--which wasn't something that couldn't have happened to anyone else. It was just that O'dan was known for his irreverance. "Dragonsfall lost a Weyrleader to erratic Fall. It can....happen." When he hadn't been driving him insane, O'dan had been a friend of sorts and he could imagine just how many had already tried to make him feel horrible over what had to already weigh heavily on him. N'klos just didn't have it in him...surprisingly.

"Yes, but when it happens to someone like me..." O'dan trailed off. "Well, we all know I didn't want it. And I now from what I understand I don't much need to worry about it."

"You make a horrible pessimist, O'dan," N'klos said. "And again, I'm not going to join the pity party. You'll get out of that bed and while you may not ever be the same, you will make your arse useful _somehow_." He gave him an evil grin. "Well...as long as I'm around to annoy you into into it."

"You think I want _pity_?" O'dan asked, laughing. "Come now, I'll sleep better at night knowing I can never end up Weyrleader again."

"You're hopeless!" N'klos kicked the bed just to annoy him. "Most bronzeriders go to bed dreaming of leading the Weyr--_you_ have to be completely opposite!"

"_I'm_ hopeless?" O'dan retorted, wincing and putting one hand to his side. "I'm not the one picking on a cripple! You just wait until I get out of this bed, N'klos... even with one leg I think I can beat you."

"Now you really are dreaming, bronzerider! Go back to sleep and we'll test the theory when you can stand again!"

O'dan grinned. "That's right... run away and save your pride, N'klos. None of the ladies will want you anymore if I pummel you while still bedridden."

"Please, if I shake the sharding _bed_ too hard you'd probably cry on me, bronzeboy," N'klos said.

"I'll cry if they don't get me some pretty girls to look at in any case," O'dan retorted, wishing N'klos' comment didn't sound so true. Shards, his side _already_ hurt. "Tell the healers I need them to recover, will you?"

"Sure, I'll send some nice _male_ healers in to check on you, crybaby!" That said, N'klos made his way out, chuckling under his breath.

Things weren't great for O'dan, and N'klos knew things weren't going to be easy at Dolphin Cove, but at least for the moment, he could think of the Weyr's future and the rebuilding of its shattered wings.

Last updated on the August 30th 2005

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Not A Pity Party