Good to see you! (Tag: Spiffy)

[Dragon Song]

((For whenever you have time to reply!))

The day was drawing to a close, and everything starting to wind down. Including the infirmary. Of course during the day it was generally bustling with people coming and going for different check-ups, treatment for the minor, and sometimes major, injuries that the received during the day. It was of course already dark outside, with it being still early in the turn after all. The days were still shorter and cooler, but now was the proper end to the day where everyone was starting to finish up and head to bed, or maybe the baths. and it was this time of the day, when the healers changed shifts and there were only a few up and about, that a particular purple figure would slip out from wherever she'd been. Dusk tried to avoid people whenever it was possible - she was fed up of being skirted or glared at for one thing. But another was that she found you found out so much more when people didn't know where you were. So she'd taken to sneaking around the Weyr and eavesdropping on different conversations now that she didn't feel the need to remain quite to close to R'fel all the time. She rarely found anything of interest but the continuous exposure to language was rapidly improving her vocabulary and speech. Recently she'd stopped referring to herself in the 3rd person and was becoming more and more accurate with her grammar. And had begun insisting that R'fel corrected her whenever she slipped up.

Now that everything was quiet and the glows had been dropped lower, she appeared from between beside her rider's bed before hopping up to curl up against him. Her sudden appearance by this point had stopped making him jump every time she did it, and he was becoming more and more aware of where she was and when she was about to appear. As she leant into his good leg, R'fel smiled softly at the basilisk before rolling up the hide he'd been reading. Since he was no longer being dosed regularly with fellis he'd taken to reading up on various hides. Many of them had been on runners and other beastcrafting related items, though one or two had been reports of the attack. These however, could only be skimmed over less the memories they brought back became to painful. Placing the slightly untidily rolled hide on the table beside his bed (It's difficult to roll one up when your other arm is in a sling) he stretched across to rub Dusk's head knobs with his good arm. It sucked having alternate sides disabled.

A frown crossed his features as his fingers touched across a rough patch of her hide at the top of her neck. It was even worse considering that she was often flicking between. She'd been mainly feeding herself by hunting and he guessed that she'd been at oily meats to try and keep the problem down. But that didn't mean she didn't need oiling - just like any other flit or dragon.
"Dusk?" he asked softly, eliciting a head raise from her. "If you go and get some oil and a cloth I'll give you an oiling, okay?" Okay, she replied, sounding pleased. Hopping back down from the bed she vanished into between again. R'fel hated having to ask her to do all of this fetching and carrying, but she wouldn't let him up yet and he was sure the healers would frown on it. Though the sooner that he could be moving again the better. Just sitting inside the infirmary with nothing to do all day was slowly killing him, he was sure. If he didn't get outside sometime soon...

Dusk reappeared, precariously carrying a bucket half full of oil with the handle clamped firmly between her teeth. The concentration and determination at not spilling any was evident on her face as she staggered a little under the swaying of the bucket to place it down here he could pick it up. She was resourceful, and managed nearly every task she was asked on her own. No matter how long it took. Within moments she'd gone and come back, this time with a large-ish cloth in her teeth. Looking pleased she jumped up onto the bed once again to snuggle up against R'fel as he dipped the cloth into the oil and began to rub it into her slightly iridescent hide. Dusk hummed quietly in delight, grateful to be rid of the annoying itching and to have some attention from her rider.

[Spiffy]

He was a good deal earlier than most of the Weyrfolk in making it to the baths. There had really not been very much to do today at the stables - the rain had seen to that. With all the runners inside out of harm's way, the herdbeasts fed and cared for, all present and accounted for, there'd been little for him to do except watch and twiddle straw. So he'd stolen a early bath, for that evening he had an appointment. Though he'd only decided it on the ay before, and told no-one else about it, he still considered it an appointment, or meeting if you like. Something that trivial didn't matter much to Shea.

The baths were hot, and empty. Though on one hand he knew that not many folk would consider a bath with a smelly beastcrafter a good thing, he liked it better busy - the baths were usually a place to socialise and enjoy yourself, getting clean was secondary to the point. But more recently the Weyr had been more active than usual, for various reasons, the attack not being a small one, and there were fewer meeting there. Sad.

Towelling himself dry in the steamy air, Shea quickly dressed himself again, pulling on some rather cleaner clothes than he'd had before, and hauling his work jacket - a thick and warm wherhide - over the top of these. Sure, the jacked wasn't exactly the cleanest, but he needed something warm on the way to the baths from the stables. It smelled mostly of straw, with a sweater hint of the hay from the barn, a smell that Shea liked. He was so used to the trace of manure that hung to it like a cloud that he barely noticed. To him it smelled of home.

Sufficiently dressed he picked up a second towel, unwrapping it to reveal a book, thickly bound in hide of some long dead wher. Quickly but carefully he stuffed it into the depths of his jacket, not wanting to expose it to the damp air any longer than necessary, before hurrying out of the baths with his old clothes clutched to his chest.

On his way through the Lower caverns he detoured slightly to drop off the soiled clothing in the washroom, before leaving the safety of the caverns for the outdoors. Instantly he was drenched, and he ducked back into the shelter of the entrance, gasping. By the egg of Faranth it was cold out there! And raining buckets, to boot. He briefly considered abandoning his visit in favour of a mug of klah and the hearthfire of the kitchens, then reconsidered. He hadn't seen R'fel in days now, and he'd have to venture outside at some point, so why not now? At least the infirmary brought him closer to the stables, if only slightly.

Taking a deep breath he mad a dash for the huge rift in the cliffside that was the infirmary, dwarfed as it was by the hatching cavern, his arms clutched close to his chest and head hunched over in an attempt to protect his precious cargo. Reaching the entrance he nearly ran headfirst into another person, presumably a healer, leaving the cavern, head also hunched over in a vain effort to stay dry. Unhunching himself now that he was no longer being pelted Shea wiped the water out of his eyes, plastering some flyaway hair to the top of his head, where it proceeded to drip. Removing jacket and book, he hung the former on the hooks thoughtfully provided just inside the entrance, holding out the latter in an effort not to drip on it too much, before delving deeper into the cavern.

Before long he came to the section usually reserved for weyrfolk who didn't have dragons to worry over them. But he continued on, nodding to the few that he knew that were conscious, further toward the end of the row of beds to where he knew R'fel would be - if Dusk still hadn't let him up, that is. Speaking of, he was just in time to see Dusk appear from nowhere in front of him, something dangling from her maw, before jumping up onto one of the beds. He stopped to watch, curiously, before continuing on to see the two of them sat on the bunk together, mid-oil.

"Still in bed, R'fel?" he teased as he approached, plunking imself down on the empty bunk next door, seeing as there wasn't a lot of room on his friend's bed what with Dusk on board. "Hey, guess what I've found!" he said, without waiting for a reply, holding up the book. Frowning, he flicked the corner of the book on the bunk, wiping off a drop of water, then held it out to R'fel.

"I found it when I was digging through the hides at the stables looking for a treatment for mud-fever; one of the mares isn't taking all this wet too well. Most of it's on heardbeasts, but there's a fairly sizeable section on runners that I thought you might like. You are still reading those old hides, aren't you?" he asked, suddenly realising that if his friend was finally up and about he may have no need of the reading material any longer. He scratched his head, puzzled for a second when his hand came back sopping wet.

"Say, you don't know where they keep the towels here, do you?"

[Dragon Song]

Whilst the sound of footsteps coming and going didn't interest R'fel in the slightest - he'd become incredibly used to the comings and goings of people whilst confined to a infirmary bed, Dusk was much more aware. She always at least looked and located the source of the footsteps, watching them for a moment to see if they were of any threat to her rider, or even to her. It never hurt to be cautious, especially with some of the people that were around this Weyr.

And speaking of some people, this one was not one she wanted to see! Her tail twitched in irritation at the sight of Shea approaching, her gaze remaining fixed on the Weyrherder for longer than she would normally look at a passer-by. Tiny flecks of red entered her otherwise serenely coloured jewelled eyes. The changes of course did not go unnoticed by R'fel, who paused in oiling the basilisk to see what had caught her attention. His dark brown eyes followed the line of Dusk's stare, revealing Shea - who by this point was nearly at the bed.

He had to grin at Shea's tease, glad to have friendly company once again.
"Unfortunately so. And if this little lady has anything to do with it I don't think I'm going anywhere soon either," he added with an affectionate scratch to Dusk's eye ridge. The basilisk continued to watch Shea with distinct irritation, disliking the fact that he had interrupted her time with her rider. The evenings were hers. R'fel glanced down at her when he felt her tail flick against his leg, noticing that it was still twitching. He sighed slightly to himself - Dusk did not like Shea, for whatever reason that was. He'd yet to ask his friend. Shards, Shea probably didn't even know! He'd yet to work her out fully, and there were times when he wondered if he ever really would know all of her quirks and thought processes. For being her age she was already very complex!

Of course, At Shea's question that wasn't going to be allowed an answer her looked up again, to see the book being held out to him. Almost hesitantly he took it after having set the oily cloth down and removed the oil from his fingers, resting the book on his lap so he could open it and flick through it. He'd not often seen books - they weren't a hugely common thing on Pern. Hides were much more common place, so to have a book! Well, this was a surprise!
"Mud fever? Doesn't surprise me. Trick I always used to use was a redwort poultice left on for a day or two to soften up the scabs before removing them. I don't think there's a sure fire cure though. And of course I'm still reading them! This is great Shea, thanks very much!" he said gratefully, flipping the book closed before setting it gently on his bedside table beside the scroll he'd been reading earlier. Dusk nudged his now free hand as if reminding him that she was actually still there.

"I think that they keep the towels over there. I assume it's a little wet outside?" he asked with a smile as he pointed to where he was pretty sure the towels were kept. Of course is wet outside. Raining lots. Dusk snorted, nosing the cloth back into his hand once again. Of course it is wet, R'fel corrected gently as he once again started to rub in the oil to her purple hide. Dusk repeated the corrected sentence, distracted from Shea for a little. However, once she'd sorted that out in her mind she glared once more at the herder, before leaning into R'fel with a soft croon.

Say Dusk... R'fel asked her thoughtfully whilst Shea retrieved a towel to dry himself off with, What do you have against Shea? I don't like him. He's bad person, she paused for a moment. A bad person, she corrected herself. Bad friend. That's where I don't get you, Shea's a great friend of mine, I've known him for turns. Bad person, bad friend, she insisted, studiously ignoring any further questions.

"Hey Shea..." R'fel began when his friend had returned. Should he ask about Dusk's dislike, should he not? Dusk didn't appear to approve of him asking, though she was pretending that she wasn't saying or thinking anything. "How's Drift doing?" he ended up asking instead. He'd not seen the canine for what seemed like turns. Drift? Dusk piped up curiously. My canine, I'll have to introduce you to her sometime soon.

[Spiffy]

He was glad that R'fel took the book from him. He couldn't help but think that the longer he held it, the more likely it was to get damaged. He grinned at the look of awe on R'fel's face, though. A book was, indeed, a rare thing. He couldn't remember why he had one - probably got put in his box by mistake when they moved things over to the Weyr. Still, he could hardly complain about it, and he'd not heard anything from any of the Masters about a missing book...

"Mud fever? Doesn't surprise me. Trick I always used to use was a redwort poultice left on for a day or two to soften up the scabs before removing them. I don't think there's a sure fire cure though. And of course I'm still reading them! This is great Shea, thanks very much!"

"Really, that simple?" He mused for a second, before nodding. "I suppose that would work. I don't know why but I had it in my head that you weren't supposed to remove the scabs... maybe that's for something else. Anyway, no sweat, I saw it and thought you'd like it. I'll probably need it back when you're done though, I don't know if they're documented or something, but if I forget who I've given it to I get the feeling I could be in trouble for it,": he said with a wry grin.

He turned to look where R'fel was pointing. "Ah." He stood and head over. "Wet? It's like swimming out there," he said, hauling a towel off of the shelf. Throwing it over his head, he rubbed it over his hair as he walked back to the bunk, plunking himself back down on it. He paused as R'fel said his name, looking inquiringly at his friend. He waited for him to continue. Hmm, strange, R'fel looked as if he was going to ask something. Then he did.

"Drift? Oh she's fine; Ash and Keera are keeping her company," he said, naming the two other canines who lived at the stables, one of them his own herder. Flipping his muddy shoes off onto the floor, he drew his feet up onto the bed and wrapped his arms around his legs. "She misses you, you know. Poor girl. She's fine though! No need to worry about her," he added, smiling encouragingly.

[Dragon Song]

R'fel shrugged lightly, ignoring the fact that his shoulder twinged when he did so. Unfortunately he'd probably yanked it at some point during the attack, not that he could think quite when. Or it could have been afterwards, before he got back to Skyline. Back home. At least, that was what he had once called it. Now, he wasn't so sure. It was hardly hidden from him that people wanted him gone. Or rather, dead. That stung, that former wingmates and fellows, some of them people he might have called friends, wanted him dead. How could that not sting?
"I guess normally you're not meant to remove scabs, so it's habit. I used to think that when I first found out that. I hope it works for the mare. And don't worry, I'll make sure you get it back," he smiled, well aware of Shea's slight habit of overlooking things.

As Shea was towelling himself dry, Dusk rested her head on R'fel's chest and looked up at him, her eyes firmly meeting his. The blue green swirls were much more rapid now, and there were faint tinges of red anger and irritation in them now. Make him go away. I don't like him, she demanded, making a sigh like sound as she did. R'fel quietly ignored her whiny plea, only giving her a scratch between the headknobs in response.

Of course, it was a relief to know that Drift was okay. Not that he'd had any thoughts that she wouldn't be of course - the black and white herder canine would be perfectly well looked after. Still, it hadn't stopped him from worrying a little. Though really, that question had just been to fill up the pause when he bottled about asking why Dusk didn't like Shea. Well, maybe not bottled. But rather, decided against at the last minute. Oh all right, he bottled it. It wasn't like he needed to know though, was it?
He's still here. Dusk grumbled, not quite snapping though no doubt if he ignored her for long enough she would do. She shook her head and neck forcefully, sending a few tremors through the bed with her movements before flicking her tail sharply to move it away from where it was slightly close to Shea at the end of the bed, so that it hung off the side instead. Get rid of him, she ordered, whilst leaning into the oily cloth. Shards, was this what a queen dragon was like? Suddenly, R'fel found himself pitying the riders of the majestic coloured dragons slightly. No Dusk, he can stay as long as he wants, he told her firmly. Try and be nice to him? Please, for me? Dusk snorted at the preposterous thought. Her? Dusk? Be nice to that thing? How about no.

"I'll try and come and see Drift soon. Shame she can't come in here really, but hopefully I'll be moving again before too long," he sighed, in an attempt to distract himself from Dusk's irritated thoughts and insistence that he made Shea leave. That was going to happen, he was firm on that thing, Most of the time he didn't mind too much doing as Dusk told him too, but he wasn't going to send away one of his few friends. Not now, not when he needed at least someone who didn't hate him. I don't hate you! Dusk huffed. Shea is bad for you. I only trying to help, keep you safe from him. Shea's not dangerous in the slightest Dusk, I don't know where you've got this idea from. Another mental snort.

He was going to have to get to the bottom of this.

"Shea, there's not...." How to ask this? He would be better off asking it directly really. Well, nothing tried nothing gained, or whatever that saying was. "Has something happened.... between you and Dusk. Because well... she doesn't like you that much. And I don't understand why," he rushed out a little, suddenly hoping that something hadn't happened and that he'd not just put Shea in a really awkward situation. Because really, Dusk wouldn't just decide that she didn't like someone that much for no reason... would she? He desperately hoped not. That could end up very nasty.