Coping.

Writers: Jelena, Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 22nd September 2016

Characters: Genna, Ilyssia, Firelloa
Description: Genna, Ilyssia, and Firelloa try to hold themselves together.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 8, day 8 of Turn 8

Genna

Ilyssia

Firelloa snuffled into a hankie, and Ilyssia smoothed her rumpled hair before brushing moisture from the younger girl's flushed cheeks. "Are you okay now, sweetie?" the greenrider asked.

The apprentice nodded, dabbing her nose and sniffling again. "I think so," she said in the thick voice of someone who had just finished bawling for good reasons. "I'm sorry. I know I did bad in the infirmary."

Ilyssia shook her head. "You did as well as anyone could in those circumstances." Truthfully, she wished she could have a good cry herself; having been in Cyan Wing for a while, she knew all too well how damn _lucky_ her weyrmate had been. But she had to be strong for Firelloa right now. That was something Dyosha had once said: **We can panic later.** Wise woman, her foster mother.

}:Lissath is asking if she can come up,:{ Gwynnyth interrupted. }:She says her rider is concerned for you two.:{

Ilyssia was a little surprised, but pleased. She hadn't really had a chance to speak to Genna even in passing for about nine days, and some support at this time would be more than welcome. **If she can fit, she can land,** she thought, and turned her attention to Firelloa again as Gwynnyth moved over to make room on her ledge. "Genna is coming up," she said. "Do you think you can see her?"

Firelloa nodded and went to give her face a quick wash in the large, flat bowl that seemed to be a fixture in most weyrs.

Genna entered the weyr slowly, announcing her presence with a little scrape of the throat. "Heya ladies," she greeted them softly, her smile warm but a bit sad. "I came to see how you two are holding up. If this is a bad time, let me know and I can come back later, no problem."

"Genna!" Firelloa ran to the goldrider and crushed her in a brief hug, then rushed through the curtain separating the sitting area from the ledge, pressing against Lissath's chest in a sort of embrace.

"Thank you for coming," Ilyssia said, trying to give her colleague a welcoming smile. "It means a lot, especially when you must be wrung out too." Her own need for comfort mingled with her compassion, and she stepped forward to hug Genna as well. She could trust the older woman, and had a feeling she wouldn't be brushed off.

Genna caught Firelloa in a hug and then let her go to see Lissath, moving towards Ilyssia for another warm hug. "Not as bad as you must be. How are you holding up?" she asked in a concerned tone, glancing back at the curtain at Lissath's surprised rumble.

The young gold had not expected the sudden physical contact, but she sensed from Genna how much appreciated some comfort would be, so she curled her tail into a comfortable little 'couch' for the girl, blowing warm air at her gently to encourage her to take a seat.

"Not as well as I'd like," Ilyssia admitted. "I mean, I've have some near misses with Gwynnyth up there, but nothing like that. I'm just trying to hold it together for Firelloa. She's going to be staying the night here, and then we'll get her out of morning lessons to visit A'kua again."

Firelloa was confused at first, but then she caught on when Gwynnyth nosed her toward Lissath's tail. She sat down, rubbing her eyes again. "A'kua was hurt," she said unnecessarily. "I couldn't see how bad because of the bandages, but-" She hiccuped. "I don't like the idea of him risking himself every seven days. I didn't get how bad flying Thread was until now. I'm really scared. I just found him. He's been a great brother. Why does the Weyrlingstaff make the weyrling dragons go up without firestone? It would be safer."

"The poor thing," Genna said with a sigh. "Thinking about how shaken up I am, having already seen my share of Fall accidents, I can't imagine what it must be like for her."

Lissath nosed the girl gently, listening to her talk without really understanding. Dragons didn't know better than it was their duty and there was no asking why. But she understood fear, so she continued her motherly affections, nuzzling the girl.

Firelloa hiccuped another time and rested her forehead on Lissath's muzzle, hands on the gold's cheeks. "Thank you," she mumbled. "I guess- I guess I just have to believe everything will be okay. It's better than going crazy like this. But I still want to cry."

"You can stay a while if you need to," Ilyssia offered. "We wouldn't mind. Unless you have important goldrider post-Fall stuff to do? But you're still welcome."

"I would like too, company usually helps me from fretting too much. But if you both need time to rest, let me know and I'll find something else to busy myself with until I'm sleepy enough."

}: You can cry. But it /will/ be alright :{ Lissath hummed into Firelloa's mind with compassion and conviction that yes, indeed it would be alright.

The girl tried to summon some courage in the face of the gold's encouragement. "You'll be careful up there next time, right? And you, Gwynnyth?"

The green bobbed her head in imitation of a nod. While she was a bold sort, it was caution that kept her and her Ilyssia safe in Threadfall.

}: We will :{ Lissath replied warmly. Of course she was always careful, when she had such precious cargo.

"I'll send for some warm drinks. I don't think any of us can stomach solid food right now, but we need _something_," Ilyssia said matter of factly. "I think I have A'kua's card deck too. He brought it down for a visit last sevenday and I forgot to give it back."

The drinks were delivered soon enough, carried by a drudge up the inner stairs that also lead to the greenrider's weyr. Firelloa had calmed down a little more to the point that she could accept a serving of tea.

When Illyssia found the deck of cards, Genna dealt each a hand for a light game. She was pretty sure none of them had the focus for anything strategic. "Firelloa, do you want to start?"

The girl was able to play a couple of decent hands, but soon confessed to being very tired, and excused herself for bed after hugging the dragons and their riders again. Ilyssia kept an ear out until she was certain her in-law had dropped off, then looked to Genna. "Let's order some wine," she said bluntly. "I know it's a bad idea, but I need something a little stronger than tea now." She would take care not to drink to excess, but a potent drink to rock her back on her heels probably wouldn't go amiss at the moment.

"Agreed," Genna said with a small nod. She could really use a little warmth in her guts too, after the chill from A'kua's accident. Now that Firelloa had gone off to bed, she felt a little more free to speak of her own worries. "How was A'kua when you talked to him?" He'd been a bit morbid when she had visited and Genna hoped that wasn't a sentiment he'd be hanging on to.

"Disoriented at first, but as soon as he realized he was awake, he pushed Firelloa off and did this." Ilyssia crossed her forearms against her chest. "He's scared now." The way she understood him, it had been so obvious. "But he was glad to see us. We stayed until Firelloa couldn't take it. I don't blame her; I keep thinking about the scarring and possible nerve and muscle damage, and everything else that could possibly be a problem." She rubbed her forehead. "It wasn't so severe that it can't be made better. But knowing my weyrmate, he's going to be wound up for a while."

"He was a bit morbid when I was there," Genna admitted. "Talking about who would take him /between/ when the day came..." She could certainly understand him thinking that way, but that didn't mean she didn't worry about it. He wouldn't be the first rider to fall into a dark pit of depression after an accident like this. And it had only been A'kua's first time up there!

The greenrider looked shocked, then indignant. "Well, wounded or not, clearly I need to smack some sense into him again when we visit in the morning."

"Are you sure that is the right way to go?" Genna asked hesitantly. "You know him best, of course, but wouldn't he get angry if we didn't take something that means so much to him seriously?"

"Yes, which is why I'm not dismissing it outright, but-" Ilyssia had to break off for a moment to work through her weyrmate's logic and her own thoughts. "I think I know where he was coming from, given where he was scored, but if anyone's going to take him between, it's going to be me. The burden shouldn't be on anyone else. Not on a friend, not on a ranking rider, but on me. I'm his weyrmate, and I- I'd need to say goodbye."

Genna nodded, suddenly realising she hadn't even thought of that before. How presumptuous of her, of course it would be Ilyssia. She fell silent for a moment. "But yeah, thinking about stuff like that at a time like this... It feels pretty morbid. We'd better come up with a plan to cheer him up a little somehow."

"We need to take care of ourselves before we can take care of anyone else," Ilyssia said, getting up. "Deal us another hand, and I'll order the wine." She stepped around the table to give Genna a quick hug. "And thanks again for coming by."

"That's so true," Genna agreed and she grabbed the cards again to deal another round. When Ilyssia came to her side, she returned the hug gladly. "Thank you for having me."

Last updated on the September 28th 2016

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