Feeling Better

Writers: Avery, Yvonne
Date Posted: 13th October 2007

Characters: F'lin, Riveenata
Description: F'lin runs into Riveenata by the Weyrlake and proves he knows how to take care of a sprain after all
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 6, day 5 of Turn 4

Even though it was fall, it was still warm enough to swim. Seneth indulged his rider for only a short while before demanding to be washed and oiled, and then while the adolescent bronze sunned his gleaming hide F'lin dove back into the Weyrlake to wash off the oil he'd gotten onto his arms. It felt good to be in the water again...
Weyrling training left little time for idleness, and the weyrling had avoided it since it brought back too many memories of home.

Paddling grew tiresome after a while so F'lin headed for shore. Sand stuck to his feet as he walked up the beach to collect his shirt and pants but he was distracted by a familiar dark-haired healer before he could get very far toward his weyr. Riveenata was sunning herself on the sand so he dropped down beside her and turned his wrist in a circle. "See? All better."

The healer had been lying down with her eyes closed, enjoying it, before she heard someone sit next to her. She looked over and smiled.
"That's fortunate. Did you have any problems with it before it fixed?" she asked.

"'Course not!" he scoffed. Riveenata was much prettier when he wasn't a patient. "I had you as my healer. Everyone knows that what you touch, stays fixed!"

"Everyone does, hmm? Who's been spreading such tales?" She said it lightly, but inwardly she was a bit curious. Was he exaggerating, or did people really notice her skills? No, it must be exaggeration.
Still, a faint blush crept up her face.

"Oh, everyone," he said expansively. "I'm surprised that you're allowed out of the Infirmary long enough to walk down to the lake, let alone laze in the sun."

"A happy healer is a successful healer. If we weren't allowed to laze sometimes, we couldn't do our jobs properly. Same goes for dragonriders, I imagine."

"Oh, I agree entirely. Some might not, but I do." M'galec, for one.
And his very own grandmother, for another. F'lin couldn't care less if the bronzerider worked himself until he dropped, but he worried about Tsaera.

"Some riders take on a little too much and should, perhaps, remove some of their duties." Riven was also referring to M'galec. "It's a good thing to have dedicated healers and riders. Without us, the rest of Pern couldn't function. Of course, fun is important too. I like having fun."

F'lin smiled, his expression not entirely innocent. "Is that right?
What do you consider fun, then?"

"Swimming, sunning, and..." She let that trail off. She had sexual urges just like everyone else. Unlike many people in a Weyr, she didn't always express them. She knew the benefits of sex, other than the simple pleasure of it, so tried to make sure to find a partner every month or so. Just to keep the parts healthy and relieve stress and all.

"...And?"

She smiled at him. "And a few other hobbies that are common around a weyr."

"Oh, so you're into playing music badly!" The weyrling grinned. "You never struck me as the type, but if that's what you're into..."

She couldn't help but laugh. "I'd have never been a Harper." she admitted. "Instruments and I just wouldn't get along."

"Me either. Nor can I sing."

"It's a good thing we never tried to be harpers then, eh?"

"Did you ever want to be anything besides a Healer?"

"Only a dragonrider. I never considered any prospect other than those two."

A funny little smile strayed across F'lin's face as his gaze wandered over to where Seneth was spreading his gleaming wings in the sun. A dragonrider... his mother was horrified, his grandmother and aunt proud. What would his father have thought? The smile faded. "I never really thought about it until after the Hurricane," he said quietly.
"I mean, I did, because of Tsaera, but I was happy just being a carpenter. It's satisfying to build something sturdy out of wood and iron that you know will last, possibly longer than you will."

"I think that's perfectly respectable. Being able to see something you made with your hands- it must be nice."

"It is- was. I kind of miss it."

"Do you think you'll have any time to do it after you graduate?
There's bound to be more free time, after all."

"Not really. I suppose I could take up furniture making or something, but it wouldn't be the same."

"That's a shame, then." Riven pondered it. "I think that's why I decided to stop Standing. Some dragonriders retain their healer abilities- look at M'galec! But that was pre Pass. I'd have to give up my Craft, and I think it's a needed one. I couldn't do that."

"Yeah, well, I'd have a lot harder time giving up an actual Craft as well. That's a lot of time invested in something, whereas carpentry I just learned on the job."

"Would you have been happy as a carpenter?"

Would he? F'lin had always envisioned his life at Topaz Sea Hold stretching out into a sun dappled future involving a wife and babies, but the Hurricane had washed that away. "I don't know," he said eventually. "Too many 'what if's'. I'm happy with what I've got now, and that's all that matters."

"It is indeed. And with a handsome bronze like that, who could want anything else?" she teased him.

"Well...." he gave her an appraising look even as Seneth bugled and shot Riveenata an opaque, jewelled look. "Seneth agrees with you..."

"I think all dragons love being told they're attractive." She wasn't just trying to flatter F'lin, either. She really did like the look of the bronze.

"Who doesn't?" A bell's peal echoed across the water then, and F'lin sighed. "Shards. I've got to go. I'll be _so_ happy when I'm done with lessons."

"It won't be too much longer before your graduation though, will it?"
She tried to remember when he'd Impressed.

"Yeah. The beginning of month seven. At least now, with Vilarth's Clutch, I'm not a _junior_ Weyrling anymore."

"That must be nice. Lord it over them while you can!" she joked.

"Something like that." He sighed again, then rolled onto his feet and brushed the sand from his skin. "I'll see you around."

"See you." she said. "Glad to hear you're feeling better."

"Yeah," he said, slightly surprised to realize that it was true.

Last updated on the October 14th 2007

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Feeling Better