That's Not How It Works

Writers: Estelle, Paula
Date Posted: 16th December 2019

Characters: Olwinna, L'keri
Description: Olwinna visits L'keri, but he is unwilling to accept her treatment
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 10 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: D'ale (not by name)

L'keri

L'keri yawned conspicuously and leaned back against his pillow with a
weary sigh. His injured leg itched, he missed Rhalith, and the enforced
idleness was wearing on him. He considered whether he was bored enough
to ask for a volume of harpers' tales to read. It was tempting, but what
if one of his wingmates came to visit and found him engrossed in a
romance? He'd never live it down.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and beamed as he saw a petite and pretty
healer approaching his bed. Finally, the day was starting to improve.
"Hello!"

"Hello, you're L'keri, right? I'm journeywoman Olwinna," Olwinna replied
and introduced herself. She pulled a chair and sat next to his bed.

"That's me," the brownrider replied cheerfully. "It's very good of you
to come and visit. I've been stuck here in this bed for days, longing
for company. And pretty healers are just the kind of company I like most."

"Why, thank you," Olwinna replied with a smile. She decided to wait and
see which direction the discussion would go without her telling him she
was a mindhealer. "So, how are you feeling? Besides the obvious
boredom?" She picked up his chart and pretended to examine it.

"Well, I suffered a most humiliating and painful accident, and now I'm
trapped in bed with a cast on my leg, forced to live on a diet of greens
and fruit juice. And when I get out of the infirmary, my wingsecond will
probably put me on night watch duty for evermore." L'keri sighed
plaintively. "Not too bad, considering."

"Greens are healthy," Olwinna remarked almost absently. "It says here
you've been suffering from delirium."

"So they tell me. I'm afraid I can't remember much of those days other
than having the most atrocious headache and being sick to my stomach,"
he replied lightly, with a wink. "I hope I didn't say anything too
compromising."

"Don't be so flip about it. Delirium is serious condition that can kill
you," Olwinna said with stern tone. "It's something that heavy drinkers
get when they suddenly stop drinking and it's sign that you've been
drinking so much that you're damaged your mind."

"Aww, it can't be that bad," he protested. "I'm still here, and my mind
appears to be in good working order. Though since no-one seems to want
me to have any fun any more, I'm not sure it was worth the bother. I'm
not even allowed to drink at Turn Over! That's just cruel."

"That's the problem with alcoholism, you don't see you have a problem.
What drives you into drinks?" Olwinna asked.

L'keri pretended to think for a moment. "Well...my Wingsecond can be
enough to drive any rider to the bottle, at times," he joked. "And then
there's the small matter of facing Thread every few days."

"Those aren't reason, they've excuses," Olwinna pointed out "I'm sure
your wingsecond is doing everything to keep you idiots alive and if the
Thread was that horrible, why aren't all dragonriders drunkards?"

"I don't know. Maybe other riders have their own ways of dealing with
it." He shrugged. A brief shadow passed over his face as he went on.
"It's not so much fighting Thread in itself that matters, it's what
comes after. I've been flying since the beginning of the Pass and I've
lost too many friends. Why shouldn't I raise a glass to them, now and then?"

"Doing it now and then is fine, doing it daily is why you end up like
this," Olwinna replied and gestured towards the infirmary bed. "We've
all lost loved ones," she reached to squeeze his hand.

His eyes flickered up to hers at the touch, but he didn't draw back. "It
was just an accident after a party. I've never turned up drunk to fight
Fall, or to wing drills. I wouldn't do that to Rhalith."

"Yet," Olwinna said with weight on her word. "If you keep drinking, you
will reach a point when you do turn up drunk in Fall. You need to dig up
to the root of your problem, only then you can start healing. Because it
is a sickness."

L'keri gave her a long, suspicious look. "You're a mindhealer, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's my specialty," Olwinna replied calmly.

He sighed, theatrically. "And here was I, thinking how lucky I was that
so charming a healer had come to see me simply for the pleasure of my
company. Ah well. I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Journeywoman, but
there really isn't anything the matter with my mind."

"Oh, I haven't been wasting my time. This been very revealing," Olwinna
flashed him a smile. "Sometimes the things people don't say are as
revealing as the things they do say. "

He seemed a little disconcerted by that, but covered it by bowing as
gallantly as he could from the bed. "Then I'm glad our conversation was
as entertaining for you as it was for me. While I may not be in need of
your healing, you certainly livened up a boring day."

"Oh, but there you are wrong. You're in a need of mindhealing very
much," Olwinna replied, her tone serious. "However, until you're ready
to admit it ýourself, there's nothing I or my colleagues can do," she
gave a sad little shake of her head.

The brownrider just grinned. "If you'll come back and visit me from time
to time, I'll admit to anything you like." The days in the infirmary
were long and dull, and she was rather pretty.

"That's not how it works," Olwinna grinned. "However, if I have extra
time, I wouldn't mind to stop by to keep you company," she continued.
You never know, sometimes just being there and listening led to a
breakthrough.

"You'd be most welcome." He gave her his best little-boy smile, pleased
with the success of his own charm. "Any time. I'm not going anywhere for
a while."

Olwinna just nodded and flashed him a smile. Let him think his charm was
cutting into her.

Last updated on the December 18th 2019

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

That's Not How It Works