A Half Step Behind

Writers: Shawna, Sia
Date Posted: 2nd January 2026

Characters: Alyndra, K'leriac
Description: Alyndra is offended to be out of the loop on K’leriac’s medical care
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 25 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Laithan

“K’leriac!” Alyndra did wait to be invited in before she stormed inside, but from the aggression in her stance and her stopping, it was a near thing, “Why did I have to hear third hand that you came back from the Healer Hall with a new prosthetic? Why am I the last to find out there even IS a new prosthetic?” She stopped just inside the weyr, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow while she waited for whatever excuse he would have.

K'leriac was, actually, practicing with said new prosthetic when the Weyrhealer stormed in, and if he hadn't been leaning so heavily on a crutch a more normal person might not have even recognized that he was wearing one. "Well, Alyndra, I think you need to take that up with your healer staff." He said mildly. He wasn't going to out Quennas himself for not reporting sending him to Master Laithan, but he was happy to throw the Hallmaster under the cart wheels. "And probably the new Healer Hall. I thought this one would at least send you a note."

“Well it seems we were both wrong about that. I'll have to stop by the Hall and have a discussion about professional courtesy.” Her arms relaxed slightly, and she gave him a considering look, “Well, how does it feel? Less troublesome than the last one?”

"Remind him that there's women master crafters. Make him feel real bad about it." K'leriac suggested. "The fit of the prosthetic is a lot better, that's for sure. It's not aggravating the stump the way it used to. Laithan _thinks_ that this fit will help redistribute my weight in the straps so I can safely fly with Obrianth."

“Oh, I will!” She stomped forward, staring at his leg like she was trying to see directly through his pants. “Well, are you going to let me take a look at it? It would be good if we could find a way to get riders like you back in the air. It's frustrating that your leg can take Obrianth out of the fight.”

K'leriac straightened a little bit, shifting his weight entirely on his real leg to make it look like he wasn't leaning so hard on the crutch. "There are better ways to get me out of my pants, Alyn." He teased mildly, but he was already dragging a chair out from the table so he could roll up his pant leg.

“I know, I know, cook you dinner first,” she dropped down to her knees to take a better look at the prosthetic. “And the extra padding doesn’t make it too unstable? I’d have assumed you’d be trading the lack of chafing for…wobblyness. That’s the technical term.” Admittedly, the physical injury itself was more her expertise than the prosthetics.

"I'd prefer if you weren't the one cooking dinner." K'leriac deadpanned. "It's making the fit more snug, really, which I think prevents the chafing. But that ends up being the problem, isn't it-- it needs to be tight enough to not cause damage but flexible enough that I can move with Obrianth. Laithan said something about it being modified from ones the holders use when riding runnerbeasts."

“You burn one single roast, and no one trusts you again,” she scoffed, still poking at the contraption. “Even in normal circumstances, there’s more straps involved with riding dragons. Surely someone who could stay on a runner could stay on a dragon. But, we need to see if this really does work better long term, it might just not be causing problems yet. How is it for walking?”

"Still figuring it out, but it's not _worse_. It's already not nearly as painful as before." K'leriac said. "That's my thoughts exactly. But a fall off a dragon is usually a bit more deadly than a runner."

“Then I don’t recommend falling off. But with enough straps, we can probably make sure you don’t plummet, just a matter of if you can still move enough to stuff firestone down Obrianth’s gullet,” Alyndra finally finished her investigation and climbed back to her feet, though she promptly invited herself to sit down in one of his other chairs. “I wish I’d known about this sooner,” that had more apology to it than anger.

"There's only so many straps before they become a hindrance." K'leriac agreed with a shrug. There was also a concern of too many straps to cut off in case Obrianth was injured, but that was an issue he'd easily overlook if it meant the two of them could be in the Wings again.

He pulled the pant leg back down and used a hand to lift his leg off the chair and settle it back down. He tested his weight on it again. The discomfort flared, but it was dragonlengths better than it had been. "Yeah, well. You're busy. Do you want me to give Laithan a hard time for you? He seems to like it."

Alyndra waived her hand dismissively. “No. I’m the Weyrhealer, I can and should deal with it myself. I just didn’t know what I didn’t know. I’ll pay him a visit. Tomorrow, if I can swing it. I admit I don’t know much about him. Any tips?” She didn’t sound overly worried, but it would be foolish not to see if K’leriac had any insider knowledge.

"I think you should go in swinging. I did, and he mostly matched my energy. I want to know if he's always that charming or if he's flirting with me." K'leriac said, then more seriously, "My sources say he was a healer at River Bluff, so maybe you two can compare notes."

“Well, according to you, everyone’s always flirting with you,” she pointed out. “Ugh, well, at least he probably won’t throw a fit about a woman healer, but that’ll probably make him more likely to fuss about the greenrider part. Ah well, if my job was easy, it would be boring. I’ll compare notes and we’ll see what we can come up with to get you back up and running. Now then, how have things been otherwise…”

"Why wouldn't everyone be flirting with me?" K'leriac asked, "I put my best foot forward every time."

Last updated on the February 8th 2026

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A Half Step Behind