Stay With Neath

Writers: Len, Clancey
Date Posted: 10th November 2011

Characters: G'wen, N'klar
Description: N'klar checks in on a worsening G'wen
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 4, day 13 of Turn 6

N'klar

It happened, of course. There was often hurt weyrlings during
Blooding, and N'klar did usually visit them, a holdover from caring
for his younger sister. But he was somehow more bothered by G'wen's
injury than some of the others he'd known.

He sat beside the bed of his young friend, holding his hand. There
was no one else here with G'wen at the moment, and he was glad. He
wanted a little bit of time with the lad. He had spoken with the
boy's father and heard the story, and how he was burning up with
fever.

He sat quietly for a bit, then finally said with a smile hovering
around his lips, "You have to wake up and be okay, you know. What
fun is it to lay here and be sick? There is wine to be drunk and
adventures to be had." Maybe he could jolly G'wen awake...

The boy's only response was to moan softly, as the fever which gripped
him had settled into his very bones, making him ache all over. A
small rash had broken out along his body from it, the infection having
gotten into his blood, consuming him with fever. A healer had
thoughtfully propped him so he couldn't roll over onto his injured
back in those times that he thrashed about.

He was really hot, but N'klar had been warned that the fever was bad.

Realizing the lad couldn't hear him, he settled for just sitting
there, humming one of his sister's favorite lullabies, and took his
other hand and a cloth soaked in cool water to lay gently on his
forehead. Maybe that would help him a little.

He thought of his younger sister and how G'wen reminded him of her in
some ways. Kit had turned out well, though, and he believed G'wen
would turn out just as well.

}:He wants to die,:{ Neath told Julerith. }:He's in so much pain, he
just wants release from it. But I won't let him!:{ Despite her
greying hide, she looked furiously determined from where she sat,
feline-like, at the entry way of the infirmary. That had been her
spot from the moment they had taken G'wen away from her, and nothing
would make her leave it, not even the thought of food or a bath.
S'vin and N'den had thoughtfully tried to clean her up the night of
the accident, but there were still faint sweat marks from where the
fighting straps had been.

Her tone jarred G'wen a bit. Faintly he reassured her he wasn't
trying to die and slowly opened his eyes. Someone had put a cool
cloth on his burning forehead and he blinked a bit and focused on
N'klar.

Julerith's reaction was instinctive. }:He will not die. Mine
doesn't think so. :{ Julerith flew down the bowl to talk to Neath.
He would try to get her to move a little, at least out of the way of
the healers. }:You are right to hold on to him. But you should eat.
Come with me while mine is there. Mine will not let anything happen
to him. :{

In the room, N'klar peered in concern down at G'wen as he opened his
eyes. He took up the cloth and wet it again in the cool water,
blotting the hot forehead. "Hello there, G'wen. Don't try to talk,
eh? Just relax a bit. " He smiled down at him, and went on with a
grin flickering around his lips. "I need to yell at you, you know.
The longer you stay in bed, the less we can go out and have fun. So
you need to wake up and get better fast, okay?"

G'wen's response came out as a low moan. Whilst he may not want to
die, he_did_just want release from the terrible pain he was in. It
was tempting, so tempting to just let go and...

}:NO!:{ Neath sat up, ignoring Julerith. }:You_must stay!:{ She
half roared/half cried out into the night.

Julerith bugled at her, both for ignoring him, which he resented, and
to get her attention. She would have the queens down on her head if
she got too excited.

N'klar looked down in concern at G'wen. If he was in pain, it must be
time for more fellis, or more medicine. He was very sick, but one
thing he knew about healers was that they made sure to keep you
well-medicated when you were very sick. It was one of the things he
_hated_ about being injured. Your head felt half muzzy all the time
from all the medicine they tried to give you, whether you wanted it or
not!

"G'wen! Are you alright? I'll go get the healers for you now. Just
stay with us. Stay with Neath, eh? You don't want her to be lonely!"
He could hear Julerith trying to calm Neath down in his mind.

}:Don't!:{ Neath wailed into the night air. Somehow she 'grabbed'
G'wen, keeping him with her. She was a great green, and he was her
rider. They couldn't end this way.

On the other end G'wen cried out, both in misery and in determination
not to die. His body was warring with itself to both give in
and to stay alive and suffer through. The only release was to cry
out his pain.

N'klar was shocked, to say the least. For Healers to leave the boy
in this much pain seemed beyond cruel to him. He grabbed G'wen's
hand tightly and said as loud as he could, "Stay here, G'wen. Stay
with Neath!" He said it in his best "older brother" voice and then
yelled for a Healer. He couldn't leave the boy screaming like this
after, all! Something needed to be done.

"Coming! Coming!" A young man raced down the corridor to G'wen's bed
and, after taking one look at him, stuck a needle in his arm. "This'll
get the edge off, then we can get some fellis in him," he told N'klar.
He hovered over the boy, who had leaned up on his arms,
until G'wen moaned and slumped down onto the bed. "We're walking
a fine line with this child. Too any drugs and I fear we'll just
lose him, but on the other hand..." He sighed and looked sad. A
healer hated losing a patient and he worried that this one didn't have
much left in him to fight. "If you can brace him, I'll get some
fellis down him. And then hopefully he can just go back to sleep."

N'klar nodding in understanding. But there was no reason for the boy
to not fight - his dragon was whole, and unscarred, just worried for
him. He held G'wen firmly in arms made strong by turns of
dragonrider, and mumbled softly. "Neath is just waiting for you to
get better, my lad. This will make you feel better, hmm? But you
have to keep on feeling better and keep on fighting, so you can get
back to Neath! She's waiting for you to get well, alright?" He
continued in the same way while the Healer worked.

"He's going to be alright, I think, this lad is stronger than he
appears, Healer. I know you're helping him all you can."

"I hope you're right sir. I just hope you're right." The healer
blinked a bit--trying not to think of what could happen--and watched
his charge slip back into unconsciousness.

Outside Neath felt G'wen slip back under where there was no pain, for
the time being at least. She moaned and leaned against Julerith,
feeling as vulnerable as any point in her young life.

Julerith comforted her with the simple assurance that his rider had
that all would be well.
Both blue and his rider adopted the same comforting pose, though the
dragon could hear, and the boy could not. All would be well.

Last updated on the January 3rd 2012

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Stay With Neath