Heal Up

Writers: Len, Miriah
Date Posted: 22nd April 2019

Characters: J'ackt, Sh'del
Description: Sh'del checks in on J'ackt
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 8 of Turn 9

J'ackt

The dark rain shower matched the mood of Sh'del. Ducking out of the
rain, he headed towards the infirmary. It'd been a sevenday since
J'ackt's attack, enough time that Sh'del hoped the boy would be
beginning to get better. How did this happen in the first place? He
ground his teeth in anger, remembering the attack on the lad by this
idiot's father. Honestly, what was wrong with Holders? Did they really
not understand that without the Weyrs they would be dead? He walked
towards the cot the healer directed him to, lost in his own angry
thoughts.

He stopped at the cot where the pale faced bronze rider laid. Taking
one look at the lad, he sighed heavily and scrubbed his face.

The sound woke J'ackt from his slumber. Even with the fellis regularly
given to him, he was still a light enough sleeper that even the
slightest noise was enough to wake him. He swallowed and opened his
eyes, then blinked in confusion as someone he'd never expected came
into his sights. "Sh'del?"

"Hello J'ackt, I heard you got into a bit of a scrap." Sh'del tried to
keep his tone light but the worry all over his face and the way his
shoulders slumped when he took the seat next to J'ackt's bed showed
his true feelings. Echoing her owner, green Trouble lit onto J'ackt's
bed, crooning so much her tiny body trembled. She stuck her nose right
against J'ackt's, her eyes whirling yellow in worry.

Eyes nearly crossing as Trouble came into focus, he lightly stroked
her head, then gently nudged her away from his face. The double vision
was a bit too much for him. Why was Sh'del, of all people, here? His
voice was rough, "One way to put it."

"And from the same family as the first attack." Sh'del sighed heavily.
If he had his way he'd go to that blasted Hold and make sure no more
of that blasted family ever tried a stunt like this again. "Do you
need anything?" Trouble again crooned at J'ackt and acted like she was
ready to do the young man's bidding.

"I know." He wondered briefly why Sh'del was asking and why he even
cared. He'd not spoken to the man since he'd graduated and it wasn't
as though they'd been close then. But the firelizard was cute. He
vaguely remembered petting her once. He lightly stroked his finger
over the tiny brow ridges and tried to gather his thoughts. "No. Don't
think so. Just sleeping mostly. Why're you here?"

"Because I care. Which I know is a strange concept for you, but you
were once my student and I care about all my students, even the ones
that drove me mad." Sh'del grinned to take any sting out of his words.
"If you want, you can keep Trouble with you. She's good at carrying
messages and getting help." The green flit had already curled up by
J'ackt's ear.

J'ackt just blinked at him and slowly arched a weary brow. He didn't
have the strength, or the desire to argue with Sh'del about something
that in the end didn't really matter. He turned his head to look at
Trouble, then shook his head. "Thanks, but she's yours and really, all
I do lately is sleep. Something about blood loss and needing rest that
makes some sort of sense. Is the person that attacked me still in the
Weyr?"

"That I don't know. I can ask N'vanik and get back to you on that." It
occurred to Sh'del that N'vanik might not want to stress J'ackt out
about it.

"I almost killed him. Had the chance to, but I didn't." J'ackt
stated. "Probably would have been easier if I had, but..." He exhaled,
still stroking Trouble along the side. "Looks like there'll probably
be more trouble with the Holds."

"The trouble will be on them," Sh'del said, his voice dark. "This
won't be a recurring theme." Beside J'ackt Trouble did her best
imitation of a canine growling.

That brought an audible snort from the younger man, his feelings
clear on the matter. "Like I told N'vanik, it would've been easier on
everyone if he'd have let me just take their lashes and get it over
with." He'd never gotten over his distaste for Emerald Falls folk, and
was certain this wasn't the last time he'd experience their anger. He
patted Trouble, his eyes weary. "Likely some of the new Candidates
you'll be getting will be from there. Good luck with that."

"Well, it'd be easiest if some Holders got a better education and
realised that the Weyrs are the only thing protecting them," Sh'del
said in a dry tone. "You're not going to be beaten because they can't
get their act right, both when you were a child and now this." No, the
heads that were going to roll over this were most defantly Emerald
Falls ones. He made a mental note to check on some of the candidates
from there about their attitudes about the Weyr.

Sh'del had previously blamed him for incident when he was a weyrling;
what had changed his mind? The man had been furious with him. "I
offered then. N'vanik said no. Not going to offer again. I think this
last time was enough." He exhaled, tiring. "I wish I knew if Corowal
or Zandan was behind it. I'd challenge them directly and I'd win...if
I was healed up."

"First off, no one is going to whip a bronze rider and live once his
dragon has his say." Sh'del ticked off his points with his hand. "And
secondly, you are_not_challenging anyone whilst you have that bronze
beast, who is beside himself with worry right now by the way. You
concentrate on him and on your own growth. Leave the Holders to
N'vanik. Last time I checked he was still Weyrleader, after all."
Trouble gave J'ackt an angry cherp when her person mentioned the
worried state Zith was in.

J'ackt grunted in response, knowing Sh'del was right, but hating to
admit it. Zith was still worried about him and was actively working
with the Healers to keep him abed until he was allowed to leave.
"Yeah, I just wish I knew how he was handling it. I hate not knowing
what's going on."

"I understand, I was in the same boat at around your age. Thread cut
me to the bone and I was abed for more sevendays than I care to think
about, and all with a young brown out of my sight that I couldn't
physically comfort, who had also been badly hurt." Sh'del sighed at
the memory.

"Do you think you could ask and find out?" He hated asking the man a
favor, but he knew N'vanik and Cyradis were both busy with the whole
ordeal.

"I can, and I will. Hang on." With that Sh'del stood up and walked out
of J'ackt's line of sight. Trouble cherped in the boy's ear, a hopeful
sound.

Sh'del wasn't gone long. After sitting back down, he said, "He's being
locked up for the moment and questioned why he did this and most
likely how he even got in without any of the watch knowing. You sure
you don't want Trouble?" Truth be told, Sh'del didn't like that the
man who had did this was still at the Weyr. The green flit chirped and
nudged J'ackt's cheek.

J'ackt went quiet, falling deep into thought. He hadn't expected that
one incident as a weyrling to come to this, but perhaps he should
have. How many more times would it happen? He had grown comfortable at
the Weyr and had relaxed the constant feeling as though he should be
on guard. That had been a mistake, he now knew. He tried hard not to
blame the Hold itself, but deep within, he did. "No, I'm sure." He
stroked the little green lightly. "But thanks. I appreciate it."

"Okay, just the same, I'll send her over in the morning for a bit in
case you need a messenger." Sh'del stood up and nodded. "But now you
need to heal up." He turned to go.

"I'll try." He didn't argue; he was far too tired. Instead, he just
closed his eyes, brow knit with his own private thoughts.

Last updated on the May 3rd 2019

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