A Good Friend

Writers: Paula, Len
Date Posted: 9th May 2011

Characters: Im're, A'shel
Description: Gormth reaches out to Angshel to help him find his lifemate, Im're
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 1, day 15 of Turn 6

Gormth was resting his head on his front paws and looking miserable.
His sky-blue hide has greyish tint and eyes were muted, clouded. His
injury didn't actually hurt, thanks to numbweed, but it throbbed. Most
of all he missed his rider. He could feel him through their link, but
he missed the sound of his voice, his touch, his smell.

He sighed heavily. Hearing steps, he turned to look. It was that nice
boy from their weyr. Gormth had never talked to anyone else but his
rider and other dragons. Now he reached out to touch his mind. }:
Where's my rider? :{ he asked.

Angshel stopped, stunned. He_had_been walking up to Gormth, to check
on him. The other day he had been too stunned by what was happening
to the blue and Im're to have helped. And besides, there had been
that pretty rider, who had all the brothers, with Im're, so Angshel
had felt awkward coming to help as well.

He walked up to the blue and asked, "Gormth, did you say something?"
He looked around. There wasn't anyone close enough to have said
anything. Could the dragon have actually talked to_him_?

}: Yes, I miss my rider, where is he? :{ Gormth actually had a bit of
whine in his mind-voice.

"He's okay, he's just resting." He reached up and caressed Gormth's
eye ridges. **If I do this, can you hear me?**

Gormth just butted his hand.

Angshel took that as a no. He leaned against the sad dragon and
rubbed his head. "Okay Gormth, Im're's okay. He's just over in the
infirmary, you want me to take you to him?" He wasn't sure how this
would work but there had to be a way of dealing with this sort of
concern from the dragons to their injured riders. "Maybe if you're
careful with that leg, we can get you to him." Or should he go see if
Im're could come to Gormth?

Just the thought seemed to cheer up the young blue, his eyes started
to swirl faster and the colour brightened.

Angshel stepped away from Gormth and looked back to see if he was
following him. "Or would you rather I get your rider to come to you?"

Gormth got up to his feet and took few tentative steps. But his
shoulder and large area of the side numbed by the numbweed salve, he
had less muscular coordination than newly hatched dragonet. He shook
his head and lowered himself back down to his belly.

Angshel sighed and came back to caress the dragon. "I'll go and get
him, okay? I'll be right back."

}: Thank you,:{ Gormth nuzzled him carefully.

"Okay, wait right here." Like the poor thing could go anywhere.
Angshel turned and darted out the dragon infirmary and over to the one
for people. He knew this place well. Running in, he looked around
but didn't see the shocking red hair and so looked to a young healer
for help.

"Excuse me, ma'am, do you know where I could find Im're? Bluerider,
sort of stocky, young, has lots of red hair?"

She smiled and said, "down that isle, over to the right..can't miss
him." The boy followed her directions.

Im're was trying to read, but the pain medication was making his head
fuzzy and he hadn't get past the first sentence.
The healers had operated his leg and it was wrapped in heavy bandage
from hip to knee. It was propped up for some reason he couldn't
fathom.

"Im're?" Angshel leaned down when he got to the other boy reading.
"Sorry, am I bothering you?"

"Angshel? Distractions are welcome," Im're replied and dropped his book.

"Sorry, it's not me..it's Gormth! He wants to know if you'll come to
him, he's really down." The boy sat in the empty chair by Im're's
bed. He was horrified to see just how badly injured the blue rider
was.

"I know he misses me," Im're sighed. "I can't come to him, I'm not
allowed out of bed until the wound is closed. You should see where the
force me to pee in to!"

"Oh..." What was he going to do now? He_had_promised the blue that
he'd bring him his rider.

"What?" Im're asked.

"Gormth...he said he misses you and I told him I'd come and bring you
to him." The boy looked up at Im're, hopeful that he could come,
after all. Poor Gormth was going to be bitterly disappointed, if he
couldn't.

"I can't, the healers would kill me if I tried," Im're's face showed
his bitter resentment towards his situation. "I would rather be with
him than lay here."

"What should I tell him then?" The boy sighed, thinking of how sad
Gormth would be with the news.

"Tell him I'll be there as soon as the healers allow me," Im're said.

"Okay..." Angshel tried to hide his own disappointment. He felt like
he was letting poor Gormth down, by not doing what he promised.
"So...how are you doing?"

"Just laying here and waiting to get better," Im're replied with a
sigh. "Don't you ever get Scored, it's not fun."

"Well, unless I run under you guys during a Fall, I don't plan on it!"
the boy teased.

Im're grinned at his words. "Presuming you don't Impress."

"Well..." Angshel ducked his head down to hide his grin at that
thought. "Let's see how I do taking care of your boy first. He may
be so mad at me for not bringing you that he'll personally push me
away from the Sands on Hatching day!"

"Not Gormth, he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He'll just be
sad," Im're replied, assuring the apprentice.

"Yeah..." Angshel sighed, his smile fading. Poor Gormth was already
sad. He felt like he was failing the blue.

"It's not your fault. Keep him company, for me, please? So he wouldn't
be so lonely," Im're asked. He almost had tears in his eyes when he
thought his life mate, all alone in the dragon infirmary.

"That I can do..." Already the boy was thinking of ways to cheer the
blue up. Maybe he would go by the feeding pens and beg one of the
workers there to slaughter a beast, so he could bring Gormth back
freshly killed food.

"Thanks Angshel. You're a good friend." Im're said.

Last updated on the June 13th 2011

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A Good Friend