Not So Brave

Writers: Bree, Eimi
Date Posted: 14th October 2005

Characters: Abrei, M'galec, Lenala
Description: Abrei asks M'galec to deal with Lenala when she's brought in during Threadfall.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 8, day 10 of Turn 3

Abrei

Lenala

The first casualties from the Fall had just started to come in when a hand caught M'galec's arm, pulling him around to face a tense looking Weyrhealer.
"I have an injury for you. It's not as severe as some, but it's the Weyrwoman's Second and I'm not taking any chances with it."

Abrei didn't wait for a response, setting off at a brisk pace toward the back of the room and trusting he'd follow.

And follow he did, calling orders over his shoulder to the journeymen and candidates assigned to him. He could understand the gravity of the situation. Golds were too valuable to be left to chance. It was the kind of pressure M'galec thrived on.

They were just bringing Lenala in when they arrived at the cot Abrei had set aside for her. The Weyrhealer disappeared into the chaos again as two bulky men lowered the goldrider onto the cot on her back. The front part of her left leg was a mess of Threadscore--not bad enough to be terribly dangerous, but obviously painful enough that the woman managed little more than a desperate whimper as gripped the edge of the cot.

"Redwort and numbweed," the bronzerider called over his shoulder to one of his waiting assistants. Leaning over to get a good view of the goldrider he smiled at her reassuringly. "It hurts, I know, but it's not bad. You will have full use of your leg, and I don't believe there will be any permanent damage. Just stay strong for a few more minutes and we will dull the pain."

Tears leaked from the goldrider's eyes even after she closed them, but she gave M'galec a tiny nod. "I--I'll be able to walk? You promise?"

"Not even a limp, I promise," he said as he dipped his hands in the redwort.
"And when I'm done with it, it will barely even scar, you'll see."

It was the thing she'd wanted most to hear, and the smile she managed for him was radiant, even through the tears. "Thank you."

"What is your name, goldrider?" he asked he shook the excess liquid from his hands.

"Lenala." It came out thin and shaky, but the goldrider managed to open her eyes. "I don't think I've met you, yet. What's _your_ name?"

"My name is M'galec. I am bronze Dwarkanath's rider. I am also a surgeon."
He took a cup from one of his waiting assistants. "Now I'm going to give you a bit of fellis. It won't be enough to make you sleep, but it will dull the pain a bit. Can you sit up for me?"

Strength in the face of pain had never been Lenala's strong suit, but with a little help from one of the apprentices, she managed to get herself mostly upright. The room swam as the movement sent throbbing pain up her leg, and she had to squeeze her eyes shut to keep from feeling queasy. "I think I'm a little dizzy," she whispered faintly.

The bronzerider frowned as he saw the color drain from her face. "Wait. Lay her back down. Biljo, fetch a blanket. Topah, elevate her feet. We can't have her going into shock." he called to the apprentices nearby. "Lenala, how old are you?"

"T-twenty-nine." Lenala was intensely glad that she wasn't faced with Abrei and her scathing looks right now. Maybe she wasn't as brave as some--but her leg _hurt_ and there was nothing she could do to ignore it.

"And where were you born?" he asked as he reached for her wrist and felt her pulse.

"I--I was born--" Lenala opened her eyes and blinked up at him blearily.
"What--why do you need to know? Can I lay back down yet?"

M'galec smiled at her gently. "Please, Lenala, just tell me where you were born."

"I was born at... at Shady Creek Hold." It was the right answer, she _knew_
it, but it seemed like it had been terribly hard to give. She stared up at the face above, concentrating on the wonderfully clear blue eyes. They were intelligent and gentle and Lenala clung to the knowledge in them. She was going to be just fine. No limp. No scars. Just fine.

Color returned to her face slowly, along with the knowledge that the pain in her leg was fading. She couldn't remember drinking the fellis--but then, she couldn't remember laying down, either. The world was pleasantly smudged around the edges from the fellis, and she found a smile for M'galec. "I feel better now."

"Good. Then just sit back and relax. I'm going to keep asking you a few questions while I work, alright?" He looked to the apprentice standing by her side. "Biljo, watch her and make sure her breathing and color stay normal. Tell me if it changes even in the slightest. And keep that blanket on her, and don't let her fall asleep." M'galec looked back to the goldrider and smiled again. "All right, Lenala. We're going to use redwort to clean the wound on your leg now. It doesn't look bad at all. Can you tell me how it happened?"

"Two many things going on at once," Lenala replied, watching him through slightly narrowed eyes. "I'm still new at leading a wing... I missed the clump."

"How long have you been leading the wing then?" he asked as he inspected the flesh, looking for any thing that could still be left in the wound that could lead to infection.

Lenala focused her attention on the wall, not wanting to see anything he was doing to her leg. She'd never dealt all that well with blood. "Just under a month... ever since Tabarnith got too egg heavy to fly."

"Was this your first time leading the wing yourself, then?"

"The third," Lenala admitted with a sigh. "I was just starting to think I knew what I was doing, too... over-confident I suppose."

"Well, trust me, I have seen a lot worse injury for a lapse in judgment.
I'd say you were very lucky." M'galec took the clean cloth from the waiting journeyman as he mumbled some instructions to her. "Well, Lenala, I think I have done all I can for now." He gently dapped the remaining redwort from the uninjured skin. "You should stay in the infirmary for tonight at least and keep your leg immobile. Journeyman Fadva has gone to fetch you some tea that will help fight infection."

"Here?" Lenala's head whipped around fast enough to make her a little dizzy.
"I have to stay here?"

"Don't worry, Lenala," M'galec replied as he cleaned his hands. "You will be comfortable. We need to keep the wound open to the air for a while. It will help it heal faster. And in a seven-day or so, when the new skin has started to grow, we will give you some oil to rub into it that will reduce the scaring. But tonight, yes, you need to stay here."

"Don't worry about that. I'll make sure she knows," he said as he reached out to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "And don't worry about your leg, either. I'm taking good care of you."

Lenala held on to his hand longer than necessary, but she couldn't help it.
It felt good to feel like _someone_ was taking care of her again. "Thank you, M'galec."

Last updated on the October 15th 2005

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Not So Brave