He Will Live

Writers: Anaria
Date Posted: 22nd March 2011

Characters: Mardria, Qatan
Description: Mardria sits with a newly dragonless rider after Threadfall.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 13, day 17 of Turn 5

Mardria forced herself to fix a cheerful smile on her face as she
walked about the Infirmary. While the Healers had declared that she
had no official duties during and after Threadfall, Mardria had taken
to using the time afterwards to visit the injured. Due to the nature
of the Weyr, with riders coming in from various other places, Mardria
knew there was always someone at the Infirmary who had no one to visit
them.

Mardria knew what it felt like to be alone, since her weyrmates and
offspring had all preceded her in death. It wasn't fair for someone
who had injured themselves in Threadfall to have to spend their
recovery time alone. And Mardria knew when her health had failed her
in the past that she had been visited by other retired riders as well.

Mardria was debating who to visit first when the dragon's keened to
mourn the loss of their own. As Thread has ended, Mardria knew that
likely meant that the dragon's rider was already at the Infirmary.

}:Iskafeth,:{ Soravath supplied.

**Q'tan...** Mardria thought to herself. Well, Qatan now. She had seen
the bronzerider around, and was somewhat familiar with him because he
was the son of one of her now-deceased weyrmates.

Flagging down an apprentice, she located the bronzerider's cot. He had
escaped with minor injuries, mostly scrapes and bruises from falling
off his dragon's back, and whiplash from when Iskafeth was caught at
the Weyr. Qatan was sleeping when Mardria approached, and would be for
some time according to the apprentice. When he awake, he would be
given the option of a mercy-draught.

Brushing a curl of thick, dark hair from his forehead, Mardria frowned
to herself. He looked so much like his father. "S'brian," she said
softly under her breath. "I do miss you so."

When S'brian had lain in Infirmary cot after the loss of his own
dragon, Mardria knew that she would lose him. S'brian had Impressed
young, and had been a plague orphan taken in by the Weyr. He loved
Mardria, albeit not nearly as much as she loved him. And she knew that
she wasn't enough to keep him from following his dragon.

Mardria's reverie was broken when a Journeywoman Healer entered.
"Greenrider, are you his next of kin?" She asked uncertainly.

"Uh.... no, healer. To my knowledge he has no kin," Mardria said.
"He's the son of an old friend of mine. I didn't think it would be
right for him to be alone like this."

The healer nodded, "He's probably not going to wake anytime soon, I
could send a firelizard when he does?"

Mardria felt her throat close, but forced the words out anyhow. "His
father woke up... alone. I don't want him to suffer the same fate."
Guilt threatened to overwhelm her, much as it had hundreds of times
since S'brian's passing. She should have been there when he woke up.
Should have been there when he took the mercy-draught. But she
couldn't bare the thought of seeing yet another of her loved ones
pass. Tears stung at her eyes, but she willed them not to fall. She
wouldn't be caught crying in front of a Journeywoman. That was for
certain.

The healer left, and Mardria began singing softly, one of the songs
that S'brian used to sing when he would clean their weyr. Before
long, she was snoring away. Soravath could see clips here and there of
her lifemate's dreams. Standing with S'brian as they watched Qatan
Impress bronze. The day that S'brian asked them to move into his weyr.
First Fall, and sitting in their weyr worried half to death that he'd
never make it back. Finally, the day that Soravath had told her that
Dorlaith had taken a hit, and that he had stopped responding to her.

Mardria woke with a start, her body covered in sweat, and tears
streaming down her face. Maybe the healers were right. Maybe denial
wasn't the best method of handling all of the things that she'd seen
in her life. Perhaps she did need to see a mindhealer. Sighing,
Mardria stood, working the cricks out of her neck.

**Sora, can you take me back to the weyr love?** she asked the green,
knowing that she was off somewhere sunning. **I want to get a book,
and some of my knitting. I think I'll be here for a while.**

She wasn't sure why she wanted to stay. Why she wanted this man, who
she had only met before in passing, to resist the urge to end his own
life. But he was her only tie to S'brian, and she couldn't let that
die. Not now, not when she had so little else in her life.

He would live. But would he survive?

Last updated on the March 4th 2013

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He Will Live