Working and Whistling (open)

[horsegal]

It was like one of those regular days, one might say. Roslynn never called her days regular, not since coming to Southern Weyr. It was a relief for her to say that even if she said it only to herself. Today she was spending more time in the infirmary. This meant that all those clothe bandages she had washed and disinfected two days prior and left to dry were in need of further attention. So with two baskets before her she would reach her hand into one and begin rolling the thin lengthy sheet. Roslynn would then bind it and place it in the second basket for later storage.

She hadn't had much the chance to find the Candidate-Master or even a Searchrider. It was a little depressing, but not at all discouraging. Roslynn knew she would be able to in time, it was just all in waiting for that time to come or when she had the time to make it come. She sighed as her hands deftly rolled the bandage around and around. There was more for her than this, she knew it. And she believed it, too.

[virenn]

If there was one thing that Lutheryl knew, it was that life at the Weyr was a lot better than the one he had to live back at the mine. All he ever did there was run errands (at this, he ignored the fact that he was currently running an errand), sit in the watchtower, and get teased for his name. Lutheryl. Did his mother really have to name him Lutheryl?

He was yanked from his thoughts at the chirping from his flitt—he had a job to do, after all! “Hey, hey,” he mumbled, “I don’t see you carrying these.” At his words, Zaire adjusted his position from his perch on the side of the basket that his bonded was carrying, picked up one of the cloth strips, and flew ahead of him into the infirmary.

Rushing forward (careful not to drop his load), the Candidate ran after the flitter, cursing about how poorly trained he was. “For Faranth’s sake, you didn’t have to go and—” Lutheryl bit back his sentence, though he had already done the damage and cursed. Shards, why did there have to be someone else in the infirmary?

Well, there was not much left to do other than introduce himself at this rate. “Uh, I’m Lutheryl.” He said as he moved closer to Roslynn and gestured to the basket of new bandages he held. “I was told to help out in the infirmary today.”

[horsegal]

Roslynn looked over her shoulder, broken from the trance of rolling bandages. Her blue eyes flashed over the boy who entered, likely her age and unlike herself, a true candidate. She finished rolling the bandage she held in her hands and put it in the finished basket before standing upright and tucking some hair behind an ear. She decided to give him a good greeting, "Hello Lutheryl, my name is Roslynn." She said in reply and gave him a smile.

She motioned for him to come closer, "It is good to have some help every now and again, even when we think we can do it all ourselves." Roslynn meant this for herself very strongly. She would make herself a candidate somehow, she would. Maybe she would need help, but she would do it. "So have a seat, have you ever rolled bandages before?" She asked Lutheryl, waiting for him to come closer before sitting down one more.

[virenn]

Lutheryl smiled at Roslynn. Having barged in as he had, he practically expected her to yell at him or do something similar, and was glad that she hadn’t. Shifting the weight of the basket onto his hip, he moved towards her before grabbing a seat. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The blue flitter made it a point to fly up to his bonded and take a seat on the boy’s shoulder, chirping in amusement. “This dimglow is Zaire.” Lutheryl added, pointing at the flitt. “You can blame him for my rude interruption.”

Ignoring the flitt and his squeaks, Lutheryl placed the basket down. As soon as Roslynn asked him if he ever rolled bandages, the boy shook his head. Out of all the errands and chores he did, Infirmary duty was not one of them. “No,” he told her, “I’ve never rolled bandages before.” He picked a strip up from the basket he brought, allowing his fingers to run over the fabric until they reached the edge. “It can’t be too hard though, right? You just have to roll them up neatly.”

[horsegal]

"Pleasure." Roslynn concurred with Lutheryl as he took his seat along with her returning to her own. She took up another strip and arranged so that it was untwisted and most of it uncovered by the other strips of clothe. "Are all firelizards dimglows, or just this one?" Roslynn asked, a bad attempt at a joke. "I've heard so many refer to them as trouble-makers or little idiots, it is hard to tell if they are worth the company." Roslynn spoke from her own experiences, but her eyes were as open as her mind as she observed Lutheryl across from her.

She shook her head as she answered his question. "I should think not, but it can be a bit tricky. Since they sometimes need to be used quickly to stem the bloodflow from a wound, they need to be rolled straight and smooth." Roslynn told him as she looked down at the ones she had completed before he came to join her. "And they need to be wound tightly, too, else they just fall back apart and don't store very well." She started on the one in her lap, occasionally glancing up at Lutheryl so that if he had any trouble she could help him. This was a chore she had done when she was very young as part of early healer training. With young, small, sticky hands it was hard to roll, but easy to learn.

"When you get to the end..." She held hers up, "you tuck it in one side so that it stays." Roslynn put it in the completed basket and smiled back at Lutheryl, "And that is pretty much the art of rolling bandages."

[virenn]

Looking at the flitter, Lutheryl’s bows knitted together, before his face smoothed out into a smile. “He’s a particular kind dimglow,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t have him any other way, really, even if he’s frustrating.” He nodded, before adding, “I think that they’re worth it. They make really good companions, really.”

As Roslynn explained the intricacies of rolling a cloth bandage, Lutheryl looked down at the one he held in his hand. “And I thought that Watchtower duty could get a little complicated, especially since you had to figure out a way to go down to the Lord Holder and tell him about any visitors without leaving the tower empty. Usually there’s only one person at a time on watch, too.” He looked down at the strip, rolling it up slowly and tightly, as he was instructed. Whenever it got messy, he pulled at the bottom, tightening it up and straightening it out.

When it was completely rolled up, he followed Roslynn’s instructions, tucking the loose end into a side. He held it up, and asked, “Like this, right? I never realized that infirmary work could be so hard.”

[horsegal]

Roslynn merely nodded. Her opinion on firelizards were mixed. They could be well-trained and very helpful. They could make good and loyal companions. They could also be mischievous and scheming. They could be wild and untamed troublemakers. In that way, Roslynn had decided that she would take on a firelizard once she had completed her first and more important task: impressing a gold dragon. "One day perhaps I shall get one."

She tackled on another bandage and began rolling it. Her fingers deftly moved and nimbly rolled the clothe. It was almost mind-numbing except that she often had her head filled with some degree of throught. Right now, she was wondering about Lutheryl. About what he used to do, how he came here, and why he was here? Perhaps those were akin to hers if not somewhat alike.

"Yes, you've got it. It really is rather simple, but it comes easier to those born in raised in Healer Halls I suppose." She smiled as she replied to Lutheryl when he was done with his first bandage. At least he hadn't gotten tangled in it. He wasn't a dimglow like some people were. "So, why are you here at Southern Weyr?" Roslynn asked him to start off.

[virenn]

“No matter which one you end up Impressing, I bet they’ll grow on you,” Lutheryl told her. He, personally, loved firelizards; sure, they could get a little out of hand, but the ones he seen were pretty loyal to theirs.

Once he got the OK from Roslynn, Lutheryl placed the rolled up bandage in the completed basked before he grabbed another strip and slowly rolled it up. He stayed concentrated on keeping it straight until Roslynn asked him a question.

He looked up at her as soon as he finished rolling the bandage up. “I used to live at a mine that specialized in firestone. I’m guessing that the Weyr needed some more, because a rider came and asked for an extra shipment. While he was waiting for the Holder, his Green decided to come talk to me.” He chuckled, remembering Regryth perfectly. “Well, the Green wanted me to go to the Weyr with her and her rider as a Candidate, so here I am. It’s pretty exciting; I never really expected to be Searched, though I set my heart on it.”

He paused, taking a second to tuck the end of the bandage in before placing it into the basket. “What about you? Are you a Candidate, too?”

[horsegal]

Encouragement was always a good thing. So Roslynn accepted it with a gracious smiled and responded with a soft, "Thank you." She kept her head bent downward as she rolled and listened to the deeper voice of her current job companion. So he was a miner? That was not an easy task. People got hurt, cave-ins occurred. There was a certain amount of courage and strength needed to be a miner. She wouldn't be too surprised if many were searched and impressed reasonably well. If she knew anything, mind.

Roslynn's hands stilled the moment he asked. Her body went rigid for a moment and then slowly she returned to work. "No, I'm still merely an Apprentice Healer." Her voice had hardened a little as she began to spoke. Slowly, though, she regained control of her emotions. "I came too late for the hatching and I did not come as a candidate, so even if I had made it in time they would not have let me stand as one." Roslynn continued to roll as she spoke, keeping her hands busy.

"I intend to become one. I will be a candidate and I will impress." She spoke the words strongly and with much conviction. She was staking so much on her coming here. She had partially disobeyed her father and almost was not accepted as an Apprentice Healer. It was all worth it though, she was going to impress, she was. "I believe it with every fiber of my being." Roslynn said, looking up at Lutheryl with a small smile.

[virenn]

Was it his imagination, or had Roslynn tensed when he asked her about Candidacy? Lutheryl wasn’t sure, and he soon decided that it would be best to pretend that he didn’t notice it. He quickly changed his mind when he noticed the tone in her voice; it seemed obvious that she really wanted to become a Candidate.

Once she proved to Lutheryl that she set her mind on the decision, he smiled. She was certainly an interesting one; he liked the fact that she was so determined. “That’s good,” he told her. “Determination can really bring you a long way, you know.” He began to roll up a new strip, before he laughed and said, “Unless you want to be a Harper and your voice fails. Nothing helps you then. But with a dragon, you’ll have the chance to Stand until you’re too old. Not only that, but don’t some dragons Impress to kids in the stands, too? You may get lucky, even if you’re not a true Candidate.”

Though he spoke true words, Lutheryl understood that it was easier Impressing if you were out on the Sands with the hatchlings. He wasn’t sure if a Hatchling could automatically tell if Theirs was in the stands or if they had to spot them, and it was probably not a good idea to experiment—it would be bad if a hatchling were lost between.

[horsegal]

Roslynn looked at Virenn tentatively before smiling a little more warmly at him. "I believe so myself." She said in response. It was amazing the people she had met, each in their own little moment of coincidence. Each helped her to believe more and more that she was supposed to be here. She was meant to be a dragonrider and she would impress gold. "But you are right, I always have some chance to impress, but I want my chances to be greater than the smallest. I want it to be beyond any shadow of doubt." Her dark, indigo eyes sparkled a little at that challenge, the challenge of securing her future that she believed so strongly in. "If I fail, then I fail, but I prefer much more to succeed."

Roslynn paused a moment before asking, "Are you a candidate because you want to be, or just because you were searched?" It was a silly question in a way. Most who didn't want be searched were left alone, but who really would refuse being searched? To her it felt like the most natural thing to do. The most natural thing to want to be.

[virenn]

“If you want your chance, you really would need to find a Searchrider, and hopefully their dragon says that you’re fit for the sands.” He smiled warmly, “that way, you’ll have the best chance to Impress. You never know where you’ll be going at a weyr!” Lutheryl had to admit that he liked this girl’s determination; she could, and would, Impress to her dragon, whether or not the Searchrider said she was Candidate material.

Really, he couldn’t wait to get himself out there on the sands. He wanted to see what a dragon clutch looked like up close; he wanted to participate in a touching and Impress his dragon… He had to have one at Southern, right?

Once Roslynn asked him about his Candidacy, he smiled. “I had plans on becoming a Harper some years back, but my voice broke and never settled properly,” he admitted. The thought stung, really, but he was over it. “I thought that I really had nothing left to dream in life, other than being a miner, but that’s not what I wanted for myself. I was out in a watchtower when I really saw a dragon up close; it was a beautiful Green. After that, my mind was set, and I decided that I would be Searched somehow. I got lucky when I’tel and Regryth came for more firestone. Regryth spoke to me, and she brought me right back to Hers, and had me come with them.”

Lutheryl paused, and hoped that his short story didn’t bore her. “I want to be a rider more than anything, really.”

[horsegal]

Roslynn smiled in a warm, but sad way. It was not the first time she was told that. Before Lutheryl there had been the former Weyrleader, now gone forever, and the current Weyrwoman, of course that was before she had left and returned with a fully mature gold beneath her. She seriously doubted that Siten remembered their encounter in the lower caverns, but perhaps when she impressed, a memory might be brought back. In any case, she nodded. "I intend to seek one out, I suppose you could say that I am simply biding my time. I may just go straight to whomever the Candidatemaster is if I must." She tucked some stray blonde hairs behind an ear as she said so.

She listened to Lutheryl's story, her deep blue eyes settling on him as her hands rolled the clothe. A harper, really? It was a shame that. "Your singing voice, right? You must have wanted to sing. That must have hurt." Roslynn said, seeing the way Lutheryl almost cringed at the mentioning of his once-harper dreams. Then she smiled. Lutheryl was not unlike herself, perhaps not in the being open front, but certainly in that they wanted more for themselves. More than what they were born to... and they believed in that, too.

She cocked her head to one side as she completed another roll and watched Lutheryl carefully, "It seems we both have much in common. We both want the same thing more than anything else in all of Pern and have the mindset that it will happen." Roslynn placed the completed roll in the basket and set to another one as she added in a rather grim tone, "As much good as a healer can do, we cannot keep the dead from dying." Her gaze was downcast as she said it. "Myself, I do not want their blood on my hands anymore or hear the death keens of Southern dragons, I want to end this war one way or another."

[virenn]

When Lutheryl saw Roslynn’s sad smile, he grabbed at a new bandage and rolled it up. Had he messed up? He was not very perceptive when it came to what girls thought—they confused him too much… It was probably why he had also taken a liking to boys; they were a lot easier to understand—not quite simple, but not overly complicated.

He was relieved when she continued talking to him, and he looked back at her as she discussed the Candidatemaster and his lack of singing talent. “My singing voice,” he clarified as she asked. “It was sad, and I was angry for a long time. I still kind of am, really. It would have been, well, amazing to be a Dragonharper, if I Impress.” If. Why would it be ‘if’? He grinned, before correcting himself, “Well, I guess it’s more likewhen I Impress.” The two of them, like Roslynn said, really were very similar. Their determination was what made them one and the same; for a second, Lutheryl wondered if he found his first friend at the Weyr.

At her reasoning for wanting to Impress, Lutheryl couldn’t help but nod. She was a brave person, and she really had the determination to succeed. “You have a good reason for wanting to become a rider. A war is never a good thing.”

[horsegal]

When was the only option for her and if, though it was more necessary or really more likely, was not guaranteed. Still, Roslynn was sticking to her guns on this one. If she let herself lose hope, then what was the point of her being here in the first place. Here where she was able to not only able to work as a healer, but also as a candidate and Weyr worker. Here where she was able to do so much more for Southern. If only she impressed gold, only then could she do even more.

"You will impress at Isiloth's hatching, I am sure of it. I have to be sure of it for myself even." Roslynn replied with a strong and steady voice, her hands at ease with the clothe she wrapped. "If not, then how can any dragon want me? I would not be worthy." She smiled a little. "If you believe, anything is possible." Where had she picked that up? Certainly not from her mother and father, they were not so romantic as to have the thought. Roslynn couldn't recall, all she knew was that it was there and that was enough for her.

"No, needless death is never a good thing." Roslynn shivered a little, ever so slightly that her hand seem to tremble as she reached for another length of clothe to roll. Would she ever get past those images? The feel of warm, sticky blood. No. It was with her forever. "And respect is much to be desired. I still don't see why the North targets us so."