In My Time of Need

Writers: Heather, Suzee
Date Posted: 11th July 2013

Characters: W'ser, Sasima
Description: W'ser is comforted by Sasima after losing a patient.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 4 of Turn 7

W'ser

Sasima

W'ser stared long and hard at the nearly empty bottle of wine on his
desk. It had been a vintage given to him as a gift, when he couldn't
remember, but then it didn't really matter. Any wine would do. It
wasn't often that the Weyr's dragonhealer consumed more than a glass
or two of wine, and that was usually only with a meal, or at a feast.

No, the dark, violet liquid in the bottle was not for celebrating, not
tonight. Tonight it was for consoling. Death happened, it was expected
in the Weyr, and W'ser wasn't an idealist who believed that death
would never come to him, or his patients. He couldn't save them all,
realistically, but that didn't stop W'ser from reliving every
painstaking moment of their deaths when they came.

It had been a blue dragon, an older one, but still a few Turns from
retirement. Having suffered an injury a few 'falls back, W'ser had
felt that the dragon was out of the woods, but fast complications had
sent W'ser and his team rushing to the infirmary, only to have the
dragon scramble out in his misery and go /between/. Not only was the
guilt of misjudging the situation weighing heavily on the
Weyrdragonhealer, but he could still hear the anguished cries of the
dragonrider that had lost his lifemate.

}:We did our best.:{ Branth had told him repeatedly, but it did little
to make W'ser feel better.

He didn't hear her when she knocked so she slipped into his weyr.
She'd heard the talk, it was inevitable when a dragon went between the
whole Weyr mourned but she knew W'ser and how keenly he would feel the
loss. So, she just walked up behind him and put her arms around his
neck. "I"m so sorry," she murmured in his ear.

The woman's touch brought W'ser out of his stupor and he reached up
and touched one of her arms, "Thank you." His voice was gruff.
Swiveling in his chair, he pulled Sasima down into his lap and wrapped
his arms around her. Her presence was comforting.

"Hey," she said softly and wrapped her arms around his neck just
holding him. He didn't have to tell her, he didn't have to speak
unless he wanted it. She would just _be_ and give him whatever he
needed.

"I should have known something was wrong." W'ser murmured into her shoulder.

"W'ser," she murmured. She'd seen him take these deaths very hard and
she knew the dragons did as well. But the dragons, thankfully, could
forget.

She put her hands on either side of his face and looked deep in his
eyes. "Look at me," she said. "There are two rules to healing. Rule
number one; during Threadfall dragons sometimes die. Rule number two;
Healers can't change rule number one." She pulled him back into her
embrace. "Oh W'ser, you tried your best. I know you did."

W'ser took solace in the comfort that Sasima offered, before pushing
aside the self-pity and guilt he'd been wallowing in, "I'm glad you
came by." He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, trailing his
thumb along her jawline. For a man that hadn't ever really focused on
a long-term relationship, he found himself surprisingly attached to
the drudge.

Sasima smiled as he seemed to be a little more reachable than he'd
been just moments before. There was something about W'ser that reached
her in the deepest parts of her soul, and for a person who'd been
suspicious of everyone and everything for most of her life, that was a
very big thing. She kissed him.

The brownrider returned Sasima's kiss, smiling against her lips as he
stood and placed her to her feet. He shuttered the glow basket with
one hand while the other reached out for her's. Linking their fingers
together, he gently guided Sasima behind him, taking her over to the
lounge that rested parallel to the fire place. Searching her face in
the light from the fire, W'ser reached out and drew her down onto the
couch with him, his lips finding hers once again.

She'd never been one to allow anyone close or let them see her
vulnerable side but then W'ser wasn't like anyone she'd ever met. She
responded to his hunger with her own.

"Thank you for coming, Sasima." He whispered softly against her lips,
looking up into her eyes.

"Of course," she whispered back and leaned in again for another kiss.
"Now, take me to your furs."

Last updated on the July 19th 2013

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In My Time of Need