Fears

Writers: Miriah, Paula
Date Posted: 9th April 2019

Characters: Olwinna, Urlene
Description: Olwinna and Urlene discuss fears
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 25 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Lorican (Not by name)

Urlene

***
Olwinna's latest patient had been what she called weeper. Since she
had break between patients, she went to fetch a dry tunic.
Since healers tended to get all kind of things on them, tears being
the least messiest ones, there was stack of fresh tunics at the back
of the infirmary. Olwinna was just trying to find one that wouldn't be
too big for her, when she saw the other journeywoman.

"Hey, Urlene, how's your day? Mine's been...damp."

"It's been pretty normal." Urlene eyed Olwinna's tunic. "That's why I
let you handle the weepy ones. I can handle blood far better than
_that_." She sniffed a bit. Tears irritated her. "Your size is at the
bottom."

"Thank you. That's why I'm the mindhealer and you're the surgeon,"
Olwinna replied and found a tunic was around her size. She pulled off
the damp one and tossed it to a laundry basket.

"I never understood the draw of Mindhealing, honestly." Urlene dug
through the linens. "It's too abstract. I get the basic concepts,
but I prefer the what I can see and look at."

"I love digging into people's head, to figure out why they do as they
did," Olwinna replied. "There's more than one way to help people to
get better." She put the clean tunic on and went to check if the klah
pitcher had anything left. Most healers she knew tended to live on
klah.

"I just made a fresh pot. It's to your left." Urlene frowned. "I may
need to refer you to someone then, a Smith who recently arrived with a
severe concussion. He's reporting some memory loss. Perhaps you could
help him."

"I might. Usually lost memories return when the injury heals, unless
there's permanent damage to brains," Olwinna replied and poured
herself a cup. "Then there's amnesia caused by psychological trauma.
That can be dealt with therapy."

"It could be either," Urlene admitted. "As I understand it, he was
attacked and that may have been traumatic enough, especially with the
blow to his head. His name is Lorican. Whether or not his memory loss
is due to that or his injury will tell, I suppose." She paused in
thought. "Olwinna, you're weyrbred, are you not?"

"Yes, I am," Olwinna replied. "My mother's greenrider, my father
is...well, take a pick, there was two candidates."

Urlene's brow quirked. Even after living sixteen turns in a Weyr, she
still found the ease of relationships here a bit hard to get
accustomed to. "So, you're used to dragons and their riders. You
grew up with them. " Her lips pursed in thought. "That must make it
easier on you."

"Make what easier?" Olwinna asked. She tried not to presume,
preconceptions were a bad for a mindhealer.

"Being around them." She replied simply.

"Well, yes, naturally. I grew up using my mother's green as a slide
and climbing tree," Olwinna replied.

Urlene couldn't hide a little shiver at the thought. She couldn't
imagine crawling over one of the massive beasts. Even the greens were
too large for her tastes. "Sixteen turns and I've never gotten used to
them."

"That's the problem with irrational fears, they've irrational. Telling
yourself it's perfectly safe around dragons or silly to fear them, is
not going to work," Olwinna said. "Have you tried getting yourself
slowly accustomed to them? Start small, like just touching a
weyrling's dragonet."

At first, Urlene was about to hotly deny that she was in any way
irrational, but closed her mouth just as quickly. To someone who had
always been around dragons, she could reasonably see why her
dislike...or if she had to be completely honest : fear, of dragons
would be seen as irrational. "No. I don't really see the need to. I
prefer the infirmary and Lower Caverns. I try not to be around them at
all."

"Up to you," Olwinna shrugged. "But what if you have to go somewhere
to treat an emergency, a patient that can't be moved or taken
/between/. I know you're one of the best with scalpel, so that
situation may come up."

She _would_ have to bring that up. But, Urlene thought, those
situations were rare, and she wasn't the only surgeon on Pern. "It
hasn't happened yet," she muttered softly.

"Well, it's first time for everything," Olwinna replied and placed her
now empty klah-mug among the other dirty dishes. "If you need help in
that matter, don't hesitate to ask. I better get back to prepare for
next patient."

Urlene's eyes narrowed just a little. "Perhaps. But tell me, have you
any fears, Olwinna? Certainly I'm not the only one on Pern who feels
as I do."

"Oh, I have fears, everyone does," Olwinna replied.

Urlene made a noncommittal "Mmm," then summoned an apprentice to wash
the dirty dishes in the sink. "I'll think about what you've said. "

Olwinna just nodded. "Have a nice work-day," she said with a friendly
wave and hurried back to her office.

Last updated on the April 12th 2019

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Fears