Following the Signs

Writers: Chelle, Cymiri
Date Posted: 7th August 2014

Characters: Reeva, Rhosyn
Description: Rhosyn and Reeva sit down to talk about her problem.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 8, day 5 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Briata, N'vanik

She had returned to full duty and had somehow managed to get through her Threadfalls.
Immediately all Rhosyn wanted to do was sleep. The Weyrwoman walked to her weyr, threw
off her clothes, and dove into bed. A few candlemarks later, she woke up a bit bleary eyed
and managed to bathe. **Time to eat. Am I hungry? No, but should eat.** That inner debate
lasted awhile until she managed somehow to get to the Dining Cavern.

For most, a rider not being hungry and not wanting to eat wasn't a huge thing. For little Rhosyn
that usually swallowed her own weight in food everyday this was a sign.

Reeva glanced up from her own meal. The infirmary had been busy, and the petite healer was
starving as usual, so it didn't slow her own pace of consumption. "Not hungry, Rhosyn. That's not
like you?"

The Weyrwoman was quiet for awhile and shrugged. "It's been hard being back...I'm just tired. My
body is trying to get used to things again I guess." A drudge put a plate in front of her and she did
eat, albeit slowly, and not with her usual gusto.

Reeva flashed her knowing smile, just briefly, but turned back to her meal. When she rose, however,
she briefly paused with a hand on the Weyrwoman's shoulder. "Come see me sometime, Rhosyn."

The Weyrwoman was an old enough hand at infirmary policy to know that if she didn't take the 'offer',
Reeva would find her.

Sighing, she gave a small nod before going back to her food. It took a long while for her to get half
the plate down her gullet. And then Rhosyn found herself heading back to her weyr. The next day would
be a long one. Sleeping in a bit, she pulled herself out of bed and got Orlaith taken care of. Then she figured
she might as well and headed to the Infirmary.

Reeva regarded the Weyrwoman over steepled fingers from the vantage point of her desk. "Greetings, Weyrwoman,"
she said softly. "Do come in. And then you may tell me how you feel inexplicably not as radiant and marvelous
as some harpers would have you believe giving birth should leave you." The words were said very gently, for all their
buoyant tone. The observant healer knew all too well what she was looking at. The challenge was whether Rhosyn
would admit to it.

"Hm I never thought it was going to be some radiant and marvelous thing. And anyway, I've got too many hides
and threadfall and whatever else to do to worry about being wonderful." She looked across at the wall. "And I have
to get back in shape. It's harder when you get older."

Reeva nodded appreciation of her words, smiling gently at her age comment. "Oh, to be as old as you are, Rhosyn.
Talk to me in a decade or so. Do you feel like exercising, though?"

"Right but you probably haven't ridden your body half as hard as I have." Indeed, taking care of a gold dragon, binge
drinking, and all those things she did in her younger days probably hadn't helped. Plus there was the matter of multiple
abortions. "Not really, but I force myself. I'm tired a lot and it makes it hard to eat when I am so tired too. Plus..." It was Reeva so she really didn't care about saying so. "N'vanik and I...sort of...well that's done with." Frowning, she tried not to show how much it hurt.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Weyrwoman. I know Weyr relationships are different, but that doesn't make it less hurtful when
they don't work. We're all only human, after all." She let the smile ghost her lips again. "You too, Rhosyn. Humans suffer foibles. Sometimes, their body's turn on them, too. Have you ever considered you're not just tired? Out of shape?"

Her head came up and she recognized the Reeva fishing technique. "What do
you mean? What else would I be considering?"

"Having a child takes a toll on more than just the body, Rhosyn. It's not unusual to feel as you do right now afterward. It's not just a physical thing, and simply throwing yourself into things will not
help you recover swiftly or well. I'd like to assist you more comprehensibly."

Well if it was a normal thing then she supposed she should find out more about it. She wasn't used to this sort of thing nor had she had a baby before to know what was normal. Besides, she trusted Reeva and would listen to her before most. Sighing, she nodded. "Allright, what is it and what needs to be done?"

"I'm going to schedule you a few regular appointments. Look on it as a chance to park off and have tea with me, if you will. There's a particular decoction I'm going to send you away with, as well. One of my little...experiments. It will help speed your recovery a little." Actually, it would help lift her depression, but Reeva was not fool enough to tell the Weyrwoman that judgment up straight. For all her honest approach, she had common sense. She wanted Rhosyn to co-operate, not insist there was nothing wrong. "You need to be a little gentle with yourself too, Rhosyn. You're not being weak right now. You're just...being."

She considered Reeva's words and had to wonder at them. It wasn't exactly adding up but her sleep-deprived mind didn't make the leap. She sighed and looked down at her feet. "Being..." Alone. She was so alone just as she had been for so long. Her heart ached and there was nothing to fill it with-not even her daughter. Because she wasn't hers-she was Briata's. Rhosyn's eyes drifted and then came back. "Allright...but I need something to sleep."

Reeva relaxed a little. While the lack of fight in Rhosyn was another sign of the woman's depression, she was still glad they didn't have to lock horns as they had on other occasions. "What I am going to give you will help with that. But I'll also give you something stronger for the first few days."

She just nodded, trusting Reeva. Maybe when she had slept, she would ask more questions for answers. For now, she just wanted whatever it was that would take her away. "I still have to do my duties."

"And I'll make sure you can." Reeva's soft smile was sympathetic.

Last updated on the August 17th 2014

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Following the Signs