Stretched Too Thin (4): Are You All Right?

Writers: Bree, Eimi
Date Posted: 2nd September 2005

Characters: Sarian, U'kaiah
Description: Sarian comes to U'kaiah's weyr and finds him in a sorry state
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 7, day 16 of Turn 3

U'kaiah walked out of his bathing chamber, wrapping a towel around his waist. He was surprised at the trouble his hands were having with the simple act of securing the towel closed. Why on Pern were they shaking like that? It was starting to get really annoying. "Shards, what _happened_ to you?" Sarian had wandered in from his ledge again, but for once she looked worried. She grabbed the towel before it could fall and started to dry him off with it. "I don't know. My hands are just shaking. Too long of a day, I guess."
Long day was an absolute truth. He had flown an entire Threadfall and timed it back so he could lead his wing in a full set of pre-Threadfall drills. It was quite literally the longest day of his life.

She tossed the towel over his head and rubbed his hair dry with no ceremony. Then she tossed it onto the floor and prodded him towards the bed. "Get off your feet before you fall off them. I'll be totally unimpressed if you faint."

"I'm not tired yet, surprisingly." U'kaiah said as he slid onto the bed. "And I have never fainted in my life, and trust me, I am not about to start."

"Sure..." Sarian planted her hands on her hips and looked him over. "You look _terrible_ U'kaiah. You're shaking and pale. And you're trying to tell me you're not tired?" "Are you just going to stand there looking at me or are you going to join me?" he asked in a half hearted attempt to flirt. Even he had to admit it was a poor reflection of his usual charm.

Sarian looked suitably unimpressed. "Bronzerider, in your condition I very much doubt you could do me justice." "And for once, I think that is a challenge even _I_ cannot rise up to." He sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. It had become very familiar to him over that last couple days.

"No one is asking you to," Sarian retorted. She shrugged out of her clothing and slipped onto the bed next to him, propping her head up on her hand. "I shouldn't offer, since you were terribly grumpy in drills today... but maybe tonight I'll do you justice." "Was I really all that bad?" he asked guiltily. The Wingleader already knew the answer. Even U'kaiah had been surprised at how he had lost his temper at the wingriders at ever little mistake.

Sarian raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious? Have you ever seen your wingriders look like they want to _cry_ before?" "Well, not while _I_ was wingleader at least," he conceeded.

She prodded at him until he rolled over onto his stomach, then straddled his hips so she could rub at the tense muscles in his back. "Shards, did you get this stressed out from _drills_?" "I lost T'em," U'kaiah said quietly. They had all known that timing it would be dangerous, but he had been so sure they would all make it back.

The man had been their wingsecond so briefly that Sarian had already forgotten about his loss. "Yeah... I'm sorry about that." She even managed to make it sound mostly sympathetic. "I could have saved him. I _know_ I could have," U'kaiah mumbled, his eyes closing slowly.

"You can't save everyone," Sarian replied easily. One thing she'd learned with the return of Thread was that people she knew _would_
die... the only tragedy was that some of them never bothered to enjoy their life before they did. U'kaiah's tired brain registered what Sarian had said, but he could not reply. He could feel himself drifting along in that place between sleep and awake. Sarian's hands were still kneeding away at his muscles, and he could feel the pressure of her body on his. His ears picked up the sound of his heart and his breathing. He was drifting... drifting...
falling... _falling_! Falling in blackness like /between/! His heart raced and his eyes flew open as he hands flew out to catch himself.

Sarian squeaked and rolled off him before he could knock her onto the floor. "What was that?" The bronzerider rolled onto his back again, his eyes wide open and his breath fast. "I felt like I was falling."

"Well you weren't," Sarian replied, her eyebrows drawing together in concern. "Though I almost did... are you _sure_ you're all right, U'kaiah? You're acting pretty much like a crazy person." U'kaiah closed his eyes and dug the heels of his palms into them until flashes of light appeared before his eyes. He listened to his heart pounding in his ears and took deep breaths to calm himself. "No, I'm all right. It was just a dream."

Sarian made a rather rude noise, but shrugged one shoulder. "If you say so. What can I do to help?" He took his hands from his face and looked at her. Her question sounded far off, almost like a whisper. What could she do? He was hungry, but he didn't want to eat. He was thirsty but he could not bring himself to drink. And he was tired and could not sleep. "I don't know," he finally answered. "Just stay with me."

If he hadn't sounded so lost, she very well might have put her clothing back on and left. But it was U'kaiah, and he sounded pathetic and quite possibly crazy enough to wander into his own bathing chambers and drown, so she pressed her body into his side and leaned down to kiss him softly. "I'm right here." Because she _was_ who she was, though, her hand slid down his body in a rather provocotive manner. "And not going anywhere." U'kaiah sighed deeply. Her touch would not be able to produce quite the response she would expect, although he had a feeling she knew that already. But at least he could _feel_ her fingers moving along his skin, and that was more than he felt all day. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of being able to feel.

Last updated on the September 3rd 2005

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Stretched Too Thin (4): Are You All Right?