Vitriol, in Green

Writers: Halyonix, Yvonne
Date Posted: 26th May 2026

Characters: Jisalle, Laithan
Description: An unexpected mishap during Threadfall
Location: Healer Hall
Date: month 3, day 10 of Turn 13
Notes: Mentioned: K'valdran by rank

Notes:
~*~

Threadfall days came with a rhythm of their own. Drums, the patter of feet, the hushed voices and heavy knowledge that Thread fell above them and dragonmen threw their bodies between that devourer and the verdant lands below.

Dawn had broken beneath heavy bellied clouds, but the rain wasn't enough to keep Thread at bay. Jisalle spent the morning watering trays of newly sprouted arnica and mixing vats of fertilizer by diluting compost in barrels of water hauled up from the river. When Threadfall approached overhead, she locked the doors of the greenhouses herself and retreated to an empty classroom with a book on medicines she'd pilfered from the library.

It was a reference for an apprentice, but Jisalle was finding that there were huge gaps in her knowledge. She could mix up lotions to soothe skin and toothpaste by the vat, but she only really knew what to do with the native flora that grew around Amber Hills. The greenhouses offered so much more opportunity, but she had to know what seeds and sproutlings to ask Master Laithan for - and how to care for it.

Jisalle was deep in a paragraph about the shatterstone plant that grew on tropical islands when the crash of shattering glass made her yelp and drop the book. **The greenhouses!** She gathered her skirts and ran to the locked greenhouse doors, then hesitated-- if the glass was broken, Thread could get through.

Down the hall she could see several students and Masters poking their heads from classroom doors, wondering what was going on. Among them was her niece, Narode, clad in Healer green.

If her plants died, if she failed at her job-- Master Laithan might replace her, and Narode would lose her place. Jisalle whirled to the door, jammed the key in the lock and was through before anyone had time to talk her out of it.

The humid air of the greenhouse slapped her in the face, but beneath it she could smell rain. A massive hole with broken glass teeth gaped half ways down the greenhouse, and in the sky above she could see the hot flash of dragonflame.

Jisalle froze like a frightened avian. Her mouth dried and her knees locked as she stared upward through the rain-streaked glass of the greenhouse roof. Was that lighting or Thread? Her gaze snagged on the broken glass. Had Thread invaded her gardens?!

"By the egg of Faranth, what are you DOING?!" Laithan roared from the doorway nearby. His dark gaze was aflame as he looked upwards at the Threadfall, back to her in the greenhouse, then around as though he was angrily deciding if he should follow the foolish woman or not.

She jumped, then held up a hand to acknowledge the Master Healer as she darted down the aisle toward the break. Dread writhed in her belly as she skidded around the edge of a long work table to see a spray of glass that spilled into the black soil of the bed she'd been growing aloe in. The aloe stems were broken and oozing, and there was a crater in the middle of the bed with-- **A _sack_?!** Not Thread.

There was a growl behind her but it was coming from an irate Hallmaster, not Thread. Having grabbed a flamethrower from one of the ground crew, Laithan stormed towards her. "Move before it gets you!" he snapped, fiddling with the nozzle in preparation to pull the trigger.

"No wait!" Jisalle leaped aside anyway. "It's not Thread!"

"Red Star burning it isn't," he shot back. He took aim with the nozzle and...

Stopped.

"What the--"

"Someone threw a bag and broke the roof. We can figure it out later." Jisalle tugged at his arm, one eye on the flicker of bright flame high in the sky above them. "It's not Thread. I thought it was Thread. It's not Thread!"

The realization that it wasn't Thread and was just a firestone sack was slow in coming but when it hit, indignant fury lit up Laithan's face. "He hit my _greenhouse_?!" he roared, ignoring Jisalle's attempt to get him back to safety. "That shard fardling piss poor excuse for a Weyrleader let a dragonrider hit my _greenhouse_?!"

"Language, Hallmaster!" Jisalle gestured to the group of apprentices and Healers huddled by the door. Some fo the apprentices were pale as milk, but the cause at this point was highly debatable. "You can yell at the dragonmen later!"

"By Faranth's egg I will!" he promised vehemently as he let her pull him away. His charcoal dark eyes went back up to the sky. He made a rude gesture with one hand. "See if I help you with your prosthetics after this, you entitled excuses for wherries!" he shouted.

Jisalle practically shoved him through the door and whirled to slam it behind them, locking Thread and the dragonmen safely away. She rested her head against the door as her limbs began to shake. Faranth, what had she been thinking!? What if it _had_ been Thread in the greenhouse, and not some-- some sack! The gardener was suddenly beset with the urge to laugh but she knew if she started, she'd never stop.

Besides, there were apprentices watching - her niece among them. She could have a nice cry later in the privacy of her own rooms, once her children were asleep. Jisalle straightened her shoulders and plastered a smile on her face before turning back to the group watching her. "Who wants to join me for a cup of tea in the kitchen?"

Their Hallmaster continued spitting invectives and insults towards the unaware dragonriders above. Finally, one of the apprentices answered Jisalle with, "Tea! Tea um...tea s-sounds good." Anything to get away from the angry Hallmaster.

"Doesn't it just? Come on," Jisalle said, spreading her arms and herding the apprentices forward like she was herding ovines. "I could use some chamomile tea. Or lemon balm and lavender. I'll brew a whole pot. Maybe two." Enough for the lot of them to stop shaking - although she had the sneaking suspicion that all the tea in on Pern wouldn't make a dent in the Hallmaster's temper.

Last updated on the June 4th 2026

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Vitriol, in Green