Bare Truth

Writers: Clancey, AL
Date Posted: 19th September 2008

Characters: Zelle, J'darin
Description: Zelle gets more than she bargained for in her first visit to J'darin in the Infirmary.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 11, day 17 of Turn 4

J'darin

He turned onto his left side again, his eyes closed tight against brief pain. The pain was more emotional than physical, since he was dosed heavily against the pain of his raw injuries.

Hasaarth was doing better, and the healers said he would regain full use of his right wing.

But not for at least a month. A MONTH!

The pain welled up again and someone who didn't know J'darin might have thought there were tears in his eyes.

He would tell you they were not tears.

}:We will fly again. Please do not be so sad. I am in no pain. Will you come and see me today?:{ Aching from the plea in his dragon's voice, he tried to roll his left leg around so he could get out of bed.

He struggled for a time, and it must have looked quite comical to someone who came in to see him from the backside.

"Need some help?" A familiar voice greeted J'darin's ears and after a moment, the familiar face of Zelle stepped around and into view. "I can help you up if you'd like."

He had had few visitors, though there were some. Traelyn had come yesterday, almost right after he was awake and able to receive visitors. K'hetah had come to report. K'deren -surprisingly - had also visited. Traelyn was supposed to come back today. But that was all.

At first, he didn't know if he was happy to hear Zelle, or irritated that she would see him this way. Without knowing how he felt, anger was what rolled out of his voice.

"I don't need any help!"

Perhaps she would realize he was angry, hurt, frustrated and embarrassed, and not really at her.

Zelle bit her tongue. Her first impulse was to lash back out verbally, but she realised in time what was going on. So, after a moment longer of watching him struggle, she strode over to the other side and placed her hand upon his shoulder. "Friends help friends, even when help isn't needed."

Blue eyes snapping with pain and irritation, he frowned darkly at her. "I thought friends would know when to leave well enough alone!" But he accepted her help reluctantly and got both feet on the ground. The healers had told him he could not get out of bed, but as usual, he was defying them, like any bad patient.

"Hasaarth wants me. Do you think you could help me out to him? I've not seen him since .. " his gaze fell to the ground, the very opposite of the normally confident, arrogant, perfect bronzerider.
Was he _ashamed_?

"Of course." Zelle let her hand slide from his shoulder and held it out to take. "Too bad I don't know when to leave well enough alone. Ah well, let's go see your lifemate. I'm sure he's eager to see you."

"Help me stand." He had little of please or kindness in him, and he knew he should stay in bed. "I can't walk very well yet, but perhaps I can limp if you slip your shoulder under my left side. " It cost him almost more than he had to say that out right; but it was just pure and simple truth. The bandages still swathed him, but underneath, he had more numbweed than ..well.. a dragon. But his right leg would not bear much weight, nor even flex in the stiff bandages, and his right arm was useless completely.

"Just tell me where you want me and I'll be your personal walking stick." Zelle assured him as she slid beneath his arm and braced herself to give him as much support as he needed. She had a feeling this wasn't really allowed, but she wasn't going to deny the man an opportunity to visit his lifemate. She would hope that he'd do the same thing for her were she in that situation.

Truthfully, J'darin wasn't even sure he could make it to Hasaarth.
He was being cared for in the dragon infirmary, which normally was not far. But to a man in his state with only a slender greenrider for help, it might as well be Dragonsfall Weyr.

But he had to try. Something was wrong. Wrong. He felt it would only be right when he could touch, when he could see Hasaarth's wing again.

Using the bed for some help, he slipped his left arm around Zelle's back and let her settle in comfortably before trying to lean on her.

He was a lot of lanky, tall bronzerider, and who knew how much in bandages, and he would be heavy. Half his weight was on his left side, the other half on her.

"Well?"

"Ready whenever you are." The man was indeed heavy, but Zelle was strong and he wasn't putting _all_ his weight on her. Just most of it. They could make it, though, she was sure. Yes, think positive. If she thought they couldn't, then they couldn't. She took a deep breath, at least, as deep as she could considering her position and then inched forward, taking it very slow so as not to upset the dragonrider's precarious balance.

Aching from the strain and trying not to lean too much on her, he moved one agonizing step at a time.

All that drove him was the thought of Hasaarth waiting for him.

"Thank you, Zelle." He managed to get out between ragged breaths as they started out of the Infirmary.

"No problem." Zelle's words squeezed out under the pressure of the man upon her. The travel wasn't going to be easy at all, but she wasn't going to deny J'darin his chance to see Hasaarth.

Before they had gotten completely out of sight, a Master Healer came around the corner and started yelling at J'darin to get back to bed immediately.

"What are you doing!?" Foretner quickly closed the distance between him and his patience, his expression hard and eyes flashing. "Don't you know you could open up the wound by moving like this?"

Zelle paused, grateful for the chance to catch her breath under J'darin's pressing rate. She leveled her gaze with the healer, her own eyes daring him to try and stop them. "There's a far greater wound that needs to be attended to and it's only going to happen when he gets to see his lifemate." Okay, so it was a little dramatic, but shardit, Zelle wouldn't want to be kept away from her Rillith!

The first smile in two days came to his face then, as he heard Zelle defending his need to see Hasaarth so vehemently. Her usual impertience was very welcome now.

"She's right, Master Foretner. I _must_ see Hasaarth. Come if you wish, but I am going." He raised his head a bit more and stared back at the Healer. Zelle's presence gave him a little help in facing down his jailers.

He took another step with Zelle's help, then another, and another, and soon they were outside, leaving the flabbergasted Master Healer behind. His voice was soft, almost normal now, "Thank you, Zelle."

"No problem." Zelle squeaked, weighed down by the man but unwilling to stop. It had been harder to stop then start again - much easier to keep going and get to their goal. "Not much farther."

It wasn't much farther. Hasaarth was crooning a welcome that could be heard even from where they were, and they moved toward him in the same slow but steady progress. The sunshine felt good, but he found the places inside of him still raw, damp, and cold. He shivered in response, and held to Zelle tighter still.

Zelle delivered him to Hasaarth's unmarked left foreleg and J'darin fell forward, clutching his dragon as if his life depended on him.

And he knew, somewhere inside, that it did.

Zelle stumbled back at the sudden freedom she had regained from the lack of weight. She managed to right herself and took a couple of deep breaths. Well, they had gotten there. All they had to do was get back. If they did it once, they could do it again.

She stood silent, watching for a moment, then asked softly, "Do you want me to leave for a bit?" The expression of his face, the intimacy she was witnessing wasn't anything new to her, but she wasn't sure if J'darin realised how much he was exposing himself so to speak. He didn't seem the kind of man who liked to show his feelings too much.

He didn't hear her at first. All he heard was Hasaarth's crooning. He lost himself in the sound. He didn't ask her to leave, though he didn't speak. He had nothing more to hide from Zelle. Maybe he would have to stop hiding from everyone.

Last updated on the September 19th 2008

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Bare Truth