Numbers, Figures and Faces (2/2)

Writers: Aaron, Avery
Date Posted: 16th November 2017

Characters: K'don, K'ran, Saheni
Description: Kedon gets a taste of checking on injured riders with K'ran
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 13 of Turn 9

K'don

K'ran

K'ran gestured at the next room. "We're going to see Saheni next.
There's a mark on her face now and she's always been shy, so don't be
offended if she reacts badly."

He tapped on the door to alert her, then walked in. A girl was curled
up on the bed, facing away from the door. She was wearing pants, but
with only a modesty band around her breasts, exposing most of her skin
to them. There was a long furrow down her right shoulder where Thread
had struck, and it was obvious it was recent because it was still very
red and looked like it had been melted away.

"Saheni?" he said. "It's K'ran. I came to check in on you, and I have
a Candidate here shadowing me. Is it okay if we both stay?"

"Okay," a soft soprano voice said. Slowly, the figure pushed up to a
sitting position, and then used her left hand to help turn herself
around without losing her balance.

It was obvious she'd been a pretty girl, with dark eyes and delicate
features, but a fresh and bright red furrow cut a diagonal from the
tip of her nose across her cheek and down to her neck. She looked at
K'ran and Kedon for a brief moment, then dropped her eyes.

"Wingleader, how's Ahazith?" she asked.

"She's fine," K'ran said.

"Good morning, ma'am," said Kedon, smiling and waving. If the wound
bothered him, he was very good at not showing it. "I'm Kedon. How are
you feeling?" he asked.

Her eyes widened a bit at the wave and she looked up at K'ran quickly
before looking back at the Candidate.

"Hi, uhm, Kedon. I'm Saheni. Of Ahazith. How come you're following the
Wingleader?"

"L'pin thinks I'm high-speed enough to learn from the master,
himself." Kedon smiled a bit more broadly at his own joke. He hoped a
bit of levity would help her feel more at ease. "It's nice to meet
you, ma'am."

"Kedon is seeing what a Wingleader's job is like. That means he gets
to see the boring part like hidework and sweep reports, as well as the
important jobs, like checking on you and seeing how you're feeling,"
K'ran said.

"My shoulder itches a lot," she said. "The one tea tastes awful and
the other one makes me feel fuzzy."

"When can you leave?"

"The Healers say it has to scab over so I can wear a shirt before I go
back to my own weyr." Saheni turned herself slightly so they could see
the shoulder again and her face was in the shadow.

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

"I get a little bored here."

"What do you like to do for fun?" asked Kedon as he pondered what
might work in the Infirmary. Cards, chess maybe? Just talking, even.
If he could come back to visit L'grel, he could surely visit Saheni,
too.

That got her to turn her head and look at the Candidate again. She
blinked once, twice, and looked over at K'ran again. The Wingleader
said nothing, letting her make up her own mind.

"I can play checkers. My da didn't teach me anything else," she said
hesitantly.

Kedon glanced at K'ran as well, suddenly worrying that Saheni might be
afraid of him for some reason. She seemed so hesitant, so unsure about
him. He walked closer, keeping an eye on how Saheni reacted.

"Checkers is good!" said Kedon, smiling and hoping it would reassure the
skittish young woman. "I have a board we can use. Is it OK if I come
back to play later?" he asked.

"Don't patronize me," the girl said, turning away farther. Then flicking
a glance over her shoulder. He was still there. And closer. She started.

"You're still here?"
Kedon was still there, and wide-eyed with worry. When Saheni jumped, so
did Kedon. "I. I'm sorry. I can bring something else?" he offered, not
sure what it was she wanted or how to help her – and not sure either
what 'patronize' meant.

"No, it's...Whatever." She turned her back deliberately. "Please see to
Ahazith, Wingleader. I want to know how her wing is."

K'ran touched Kedon gently on the shoulder and eased out of the room.
Once they were outside, he spoke softly, "I expected her to be shy and
not speak, not rude."

Kedon looked like he might cry. But he pulled himself together. "Would
you tell her I'm sorry again next time you see her?" he asked,
absolutely sure that he had done something offensive without meaning it.
"I don't know what I did wrong, but..."

"_You_ didn't do anything," K'ran emphasized. "Saheni has had some
shocks in her life, and the Threadscore is the most recent one. The
mindhealer tells me she thinks it's ruined her face and no one can love
her. Now here's a young man close to her in age trying to talk to her.
She may just be reacting because she's afraid of what you think."

By Kedon's face, it was quite plain and clear that he never would have
thought to consider this. He was more than a little bewildered. He
wondered if he knew what it was like to see other people in the light of
physical attraction whether he might have understood this subtext to his
interaction with Saheni. As it was, he had only seen Saheni as a person
who had been injured and needed his compassion. Or _somebody's_
compassion, as she had clearly rejected his.

For a few moments, he struggled to process what K'ran had said.

"I should have thought of that," he said. "Faranth. I don't want her to
think that..." But it was impossible to change what people thought. Only
they could do that for themselves.

K'ran was right – this was a difficult job.

"I don't know what to do. Should I come back later? I don't want her to
get mad at me again, but I don't want her to think that I really am just
pretending to be nice to her, either." He was visibly torn.

"You could try. If she rejects you, it's her choice," K'ran said. "I've
been trying to get through to her, but maybe I'm too old for her to feel
comfortable with."

"I want to try," said Kedon. He hated the idea of just leaving anyone to
that kind of sorrow. "I'll come back after I've finished everything
else..." He had already to finish his shadowing of K'ran and to wash
Vikarath. "Maybe tomorrow if I run out of time."

K'ran nodded. "In the mean time, we have a few more tasks today. I'm
glad you didn't find this to be a total waste of time."

Kedon blinked, a bit confused for a moment. "You'd never set me to doing
anything that was a waste of time," he said, though there was a slight
question to it. He would not, right? "What should we do next?" he asked.

"I don't think seeing my injured is a waste of time, but I was worried
you'd find it boring. A lot of people would have been itching to get out
of here, not waiting to listen to them as people," K'ran pointed out.

"Next up is a quick review of the sweep assignments so I know who's
going out, and then wing drills..."
"See, now that's boring, sir," said Kedon, smiling to show he was
kidding. On the inside, he found that he was saddened by the idea that
any of his peers would want to run away from comforting the injured. If
anyone deserved their time and attention, it was they.

"Is it just a table?" he wondered.

"The assignment list? It's a chart of territories and assignments, yes,"
K'ran said. "But I can explain how we set it up if you want."

"Yes, please!" said Kedon. He worried it would be hard to understand
like Tyselin's motor hinge drawings, but even if it was, it was
something he had to learn.

Last updated on the December 10th 2017

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Numbers, Figures and Faces (2/2)