Silly questions

Writers: Bree, Paula
Date Posted: 18th January 2006

Characters: Kustaava, Abrei
Description: Kustaava has a question to Abrei and ends up receiving nutritional advices.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 9, day 10 of Turn 3

Abrei

Kustaava waited her turn outside the infirmary. She had crossed her fingers and pressed them together with enough force to make her knuckles white. She felt nervous and silly. The questions she wanted to ask from healer where rather personal. She thought if she was silly asking it, but hey, better safe and sure than sorry.

Abrei came out of one of the curtained off areas on the far side of the infirmary and smiled, gesturing for Kustaava to follow her into another small area with a curtain that could be pulled out for privacy. "What can I do for you today?"

"Well, there's something I want to know," Kustaava started and then hesitated, not sure how to continue. "I'm candidate, I come from farming hold, I know how babies get started, but how you know if you are pregnant?"
Kustaava felt her cheeks redden. "I mean, before your belly starts to grow. How long does it take before it shows?" her voice turned to a faint whisper.

Doing her best to hide her amused smile, Abrei gestured for Kustaava to have a seat. "There are a few symptoms you can look for, though it's different in every woman. The most obvious symptom would be a late cycle."

Kustaava's brown wrinkled when she did a quick count. "I've bled twice since. Guess that means I'm safe?" "Most likely," Abrei replied dryly. "Is there any reason that you thought you _were_ pregnant? Any symptoms I need to know about?"

"Well, I did something that usually leds to a pregnancy," Kustaava said with a dry humour. "And I've worried about it since." Abrei smiled and shook her head and settled down. "Since you know how babies get started, I'll skip the technical lecture, but you should know that there is a tea you can drink that will make it far less likely that you will get pregnant, even while doing things that lead to pregnancy. It's not completlely reliable, but it can help if you think having a child is something you're not ready for."

"There is?" Kustaava was surprised, she had never heard of such thing. "I think I could use it," she said thoughtfully. Now that she was on Weyr, she had all kind of plans. "Well, while you're here why don't we do an entire checkup," Abrei said, making a note on the file in front of her. "I'll have an apprentice fetch you some tea before you leave. They can give you instructions on how to take it and how to get more."

Kustaava nodded. "Complete checkup?" Kustaava wasn't sure if she ever had one. Last time she had needed healer was when she had a firehead as a child.

Abrei nodded. "It's not as bad as it sounds, I promise." She went through the routine without having to think about it, having performed enough routine checkups in her time to make it habit. When she finished she pulled up the stool again, settling down to take notes. "The only thing I see that concerns me is your weight, Kustaava. You're quite a bit lighter than I like to see."

"I know," Kustaava murmured quietly. "I've been growing a lot lately," she said, although she had already passed her growth spurt and would remind the height she had reached. "When you're growing, you need to eat more," Abrei replied gently. "Your body needs energy, and if you don't eat enough to keep yourself going, you're going to be tired. It will be easier for you to fall ill, as well."

Ava just nodded. "Is there anything else, Kustaava?" Abrei pressed. "Any reason you might not be keeping weight on like you should be?"

"Well," Ava squirmed a bit. "My father kind of believes that a girl should eat only half of what boys eat. And he can be really nasty about it too. My younger sister Val has all but stopped eating because of it. She's even thinner than I am." Abrei's eyes narrowed, though she kept her voice even enough. "How old is your sister?"

"Fourteen. She's about turn younger than me," Kustaava answered. Pulling her file back out, Abrei glanced at it. "You haven't been here long... I assume your sister is still with your family?" There was little Abrei could do about it in that case... but if by some chance there _was_ a father in the Weyr trying to starve his daughters... "Yes, I tried to get her to come out. Maybe they could have searched her too," Kustaava replied with a sad sigh. "Maybe," Abrei replied, trying not to let her feelings show in her voice. She knew better than anyone how hard it was to pry young girls away from the Hold. She had to set aside her feelings aside for now and deal with the girl she _could_ help. "Well, we're going to be adjusting your diet, Kustaava.
Your father is wrong, and now that you're under _my_ care, I plan to make sure you get enough food."

Ava nodded. She let out a nervous giggle. "I used to eat in secret, you know, when I was cooking. Taste this, sip that, whoops, ate whole redfruit while the tubers boiled." Abrei smiled gently. "Well, you don't need to do that anymore. I don't want you to be hungry at all."

Kustaava nodded with total agreement.

Last updated on the January 18th 2006

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