Cold and Dark

Writers: Paula, Suzee
Date Posted: 30th September 2014

Characters: D'ale, Yanley
Description: It's a blackout.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 9, day 13 of Turn 7

D'ale

Yanley

Daley's crying woke Yanley up. Instantly she reached out to flip on
the light. Nothing happened. She flipped the switch back and forth few
times before realizing the light was out. Was the bulb burned? She
cropped around until she located the glowbasket and got the lid nudged
open. Then she got up from the bed. She let out few very unladylike
curses when her bare feet landed on cold stone floor. She realized her
breath was forming a steam. "D'ale!" she turned to shake her mate.
"The lights are out and it's cold here." She tried to stay on the rugs
when she went to pick up Daley from his bed.

D'ale had been through this drill before in his years at Dragonsfall,
so he was prepared mentally but the cold was still a shock to his
system. "Shards," he said as he shoved his feet into slippers and
grabbed his firestarter.

In the winter he always kept dry wood in a small stack near the
fireplace. Thought they didn't usually need it it was there for just
this kind of emergency. "Get Daley under the blankets with you Yanley.
I'll get the fire going. That will eventually take the chill off."

"What happened?" Yanley asked. Checking Daley, she noted his diapers
were heavy. "I need to change him to dry nappies," she sounded
worried. Based on smell, Daley also need to have his bottom washed.

"Power's out." he said as he stacked the wood in the fireplace and
shaved some kindling and added moss to catch the initial sparks. "Try
and keep him warm for a few minutes and then you can change him in
front of the fire where i's warm."

He struck flint and steel together and got a good spark going. In only
a few minutes he had the fire roaring and pouring out heat in to the
chilly room.

"Alright," Yanley said. She located woolen socks for herself and Daley
and wrapped a wool shawl around them.

"Does this happen often?" she asked. This was first time for her.

"Not alot but sometimes," he smiled and motioned her over near the
fireplace. "But that's why I keep the wood and fire starter right
where I know they are." He replaced the screen and pulled a fur off
the bed for them to sit on in front of the fire. "Here," he said and
laid a cloth down on top of the fur for her to change the baby.

"Thank's," she brought wool socks and scarf for him too before
settling down to change Daley to clean ones. The boy protested clean
up with cold water, but there was no helping it.

D'ale slipped off his slippers and then put the socks on and slid them
back. He'd huddled in front of the fire more than once. When they were
very young he'd spent nights huddled against Torerath in the black and
cold of a winters night.

He went quickly into their sleeping chamber and brought out all the
furs. He piled them around Yanley and Daley. "I'll like the braziers
as well. It will give us light and more warmth."

With Daley taken care of, it really wasn't that bad. It was warm near
the fire and she loved snuggling under D'ale's arms.

"Have you any idea how long the black out will last?" she asked with
hushed voice. Daley was about to fall asleep again.

"No," he said and bustled into the bedroom to haul out a brazier and
light it to warm their sleeping place. "Sometimes its just a short
time but once it was nearly a week." he came back toward where she and
the baby sat in their nest of furs and wapped himself around them
protectively.

"If it goes more than a day," he said as he repositioned the furs. "I
want to take you and the baby to Amber Hills until it's over."

"Not again," Yanley groaned. "It can't possibly get that bad, can it?"
she asked and leaned against D'ale.

"We can't huddle under the furs all the time and I don't' want Daley
getting sick," he said serious. "K'ale got very sick in his lungs
during a long blackout when he was about five. The healers were
overwhelmed. When it happens in mid-winter, that's the worst."

"So it does get that bad," Yanley murmured.

"Hey," he said and lifted her face to his. "I'll take care of you. Always."

"I know, I feel so safe with you," Yanley replied.

Last updated on the October 3rd 2014

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Cold and Dark