Can't Be Helped

Writers: Leigh M-F., Miriah
Date Posted: 3rd August 2013

Characters: Bahji, Lokkun, Eirlira
Description: It's just some standard checkups. That's not too aggravating, right?
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 1, day 11 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentor Approved

Eirlira slumped in her seat, her chin resting in her hand. She hated this part, the uncertainty, though she?d certainly been through it more times than she could could. It was the price for enjoying herself, she supposed. But she prayed that her lateness in her menses did not equate to a rather unwanted pregnancy. She glanced impatiently at the apprentice Healer calmly wrapping some imbecile child?s elbow and rolled her eyes with a loud huff of irritability.

A polite cough momentarily drew her away from her mounting irritation. "Are you alright?"

The soft lyrical voice caught Eirlira?s attention and she turned to stare at the young girl across from her. She didn?t answer at first, her eyes taking in pretty face and the rather distant look in the girl?s eye. Immediately, her defenses went up. Competition. Her eyes narrowed. "I'm fine." Her eyes flicked over Bahji and narrowed. ?Why??

Bahji answered softly, her hand drifting to cover her abdomen. "Oh, you just sounded rather upset."

Eirlira's nose wrinkled. "Sounded? Of course I am. That fashion reject is taking forever and I've been sitting here waiting for at least a candlemark."

Delicate brows rose as Bahji turned to face Eirlira. "It hasn't been that long. I was here before you arrived and I would think it's only been a few minutes." There was a pause. "Fashion reject?" That was a phrase she?d never heard before.

"Humph. Obviously you haven't been paying attention. But look at him! That shirt!" She waited for Bahji to agree and blinked when Bahji just quirked a brow. "What, are you blind? That color is horrible!"

The next words were dry. "Yes, actually I am." Bahji lifted her lips in a smile.

Eirlira simply stared at Bahji for a long moment. "You're kidding. What are you here for then, an eye exam?" She smirked.

Bahji met the vitriol calmly. "No, just tea for morning sickness. It's obviously not the emergency you must have."

"Morning sickness?" Eirlira's voice dripped with scorn. "Oh lovely, they're going to let a blind girl breed. How nice. Populate the Weyr with the hopeless and helpless."

Bahji blinked, stunned into wordless shock.

"All right now, bend your elbow slowly," Lokkun told the boy he was kneeling beside, releasing his arm. The child did so. "How does that feel?"

"A little tight," the boy said. "But it's okay."

"Good. Now I want you to leave that wrap on for today, and then have your father re-wrap it after your baths tomorrow and the day after," Lokkun said. "The sprain will feel better then, so when it does, go ahead and discard the wrap, okay?" The boy nodded, and Lokkun smiled, ruffling the child's shock of hair. "All right, you take care," he said, and gently shooed the boy away. He stood and dusted off his hands, stretched, and looked around to see if there was anything else to be done. Oh, those young women there; had they been waiting long?

He walked over, proving it was a good thing Bahji was blind. He was wearing a snug, short-sleeved orange shirt that did not go well with his hair, his blue headband, the white and red sash, yellow pants and black boots. "Good afternoon," he greeted them, inclining his head. "Have you two been helped yet? Or do you have appointments?"

Eirlira rose before Bahji could speak, pointedly ignoring the fact that Bahji had indeed arrived first. "No, I haven't been helped yet and I've been waiting." Her eyes suddenly went warm and alluring. "Not that I mind of course, but I'm so very worried you see."

Bahji's lips thinned and the blind girls chin lifted as she spoke firmly. "Excuse me, but I arrived before you...as I stated before you went on your tirade about how long it was taking."

Eirlira turned to glare at Bahji, a rather pointless exercise but not one she could help. "We don't need your opinion. No one cares about your whelp."

Wait, _what?!_ Lokkun's jaw dropped and his emotions changed from **oh my goodness pretty girl close to me** to **ancients did I really just hear that?!** so fast, they almost gave him whiplash. His temper flared, but he swiftly beat it down. He was a healer; even just an apprentice should not lose control of themselves in front of patients. "Uh- I- You- Um-" What could he do? As much as he was appalled by Eirlira's behavior, he couldn't (again, as a healer) say he wouldn't help her. But then, he could offer to fetch another healer for her.

Yes, that was a good idea. It was helping her without helping her. He took a slow breath. "I care about unborn children," he said as firmly as he could. "So I will find you another healer, miss," he said to Eirlira, "while I assist this young woman over here." He walked up to Bahji. "I'm sorry for your wait," he said.

Her jaw dropped in shock. He chose that blind girl over her? Her eyes narrowed as she acted out of pure pique and darted over to move in front of him. She ignored the horrible fashion sense and moved to lay her hands on his chest as she stared up at him through her lashes. "I'm sorry...I really need your help and she's just been so horribly rude to me." She ignored Bahji's intake of breath and thrust out her lower lip in a delicate pout.

Bahji could well imagine what was going on. "Oh please..." She shook her head. "I just need tea for morning sickness, good Healer. That's all. I can wait while you...deal with her."

Lokkun's brain momentarily shorted out again. Women normally weren't this close to him unless he was treating them, and they certainly didn't get this touchy-feely. Bahji's word partially snapped him back to reality, letting him latch onto "morning sickness". Even an apprentice could handle that. "There are several remedies," he said. "Dried parsley, ginger tea, peppermint tea, even apple cider vinegar in warm water. Which would you prefer? It wouldn't take me long at all to get it." Then he braced himself for more from Eirlira.

Eirlira moved directly into the Healer's line of sight between he and Bahji. She would be burnt before that blind girl got the better of her. "Okay, you've told her what she needs. Now..." She trailed a hand along his jaw. "You can concentrate on me."

Bahji took a long, careful breath. Sometimes, it just wasn't worth it. "It's no rush."

Lokkun's muscles went rigid with pleasure at the touch, while simultaneously, his eyes widened in alarm. He had no idea how to deal with this, so he jerked away, taking three steps back. "Miss, please don't stand so close to me," he said, unable to sound as stern as he would have liked." **Pegas!** The little blue popped into sight, chittering worriedly at his person's emotions, and landed on a slim shoulder. There. Maybe Eirlira would hesitate to approach in case Pegas decided he didn't like her. "Fine. Come with me, and I'll take you to a cot while I get some peppermint tea."

Eirlira wasn't able to hide the pleased smile at the reaction. He definitely wasn't immune to her and there was a slight smugness as the flit appeared. She allowed a sweet little pout to come to her mouth. "A cot, hmm? A nice and private one?"

Bahji rose and shook her head. "Look, I'll just come back later." She gave a restrained smile. "It's quite alright, really." She nodded in the direction of Lokkun's voice and didn't see the look of triumph flit over Eirlira's face. "Thank you for your time." She turned on her heel and walked towards the door.

Okay. Eirlira's comment about a private cot put the final nail in the crate. Lokkun's voice came out surprisingly frosty. "I can see now you have no intention of actually seeking a healer's advice," he said to Eirlira. "If you want a healer who's easily bedded, you're looking at the wrong apprentice. Go find Jaone. He'll take _good_ care of you." As Pegas hissed, the blond stepped around, deliberately not touching her, and strode after Bahji. "Miss," he called, "I recommended that lady-" and he used the term loosely "-find another healer. Now I am free to be of service to you."

Stepping back, Eirlira's face betrayed her shock at being so abruptly dismissed. How dare he? Her eyes narrowed towards Bahji and then back to the healer. Her voice was waspish. "Ah, I see. You'll only go after those who can't see how utterly repulsive you look in those ridiculous clothes. I was at least going to give you a chance. Or maybe you enjoy boys. I hear that's popular here. Disgusting, but popular." She gave an audible sniff of derision and turned her venom to Bahji. "Well, little specialty case, I'll be _seeing_ you." Tossing her hair, she stalked out of the infirmary waiting room, her mind working. That little blind chit wouldn't show her up again.

Sighing, Bahji shook her head, her lips turning downwards. "What a utterly lovely woman." She turned to Lokkun and spoke softly. "I'm sorry for the trouble."

The apprentice didn't answer at first. He was trying to steady his breathing and continue to keep his temper under control. Concerned, Pegas crooned at him, and was finally rewarded when Lokkun forced his shoulders to relax and tickled his pet under his chin. "You were no trouble whatsoever," he said, pleased to find his voice wasn't shaking in sheer wrath. "Her, on the other hand." He shook his head. "Would you like to come with me to get that tea, or would you prefer to wait here?"

Giving a slight rueful smile, she gave a shake of her head. "I'm fine here. I don't know the infirmary well and may run into something. You're very kind and I appreciate it."

Now why would running into things be an issue? Was she clumsy? Or did she have eye problems? Lokkun paused and examined Bahji's face carefully, nodding to himself as he finally got clued in. "I'm just doing my job," he said, blushing at the compliment. "I'll be right back with the ginger tea." He moved away, making sure to tap his heels a little harder on the stone floor, and doing the same when he returned with the packet of tea. "Pardon me," he said, and reached for Bahji's hand to put the medicine in it. "Now, you'll need to steep this in a mug or teacup, whichever amount you think you might need, and drink it as soon as you get up and before breakfast. Whenever you feel nauseated, you should have some then as well. Is there anything else I can get you while I'm here?"

She appreciated his efforts to make sound and she didn't resist when he took her hand. She closed her fingers around the tea and listened as he gave instructions. "I don't think so." She tilted her head slightly. "How much of this can I drink? I don't want to get sick from taking too much. And how much for one cup?"

"I think it's safe to say there's no such thing as too much ginger," Lokkun told her, smiling. "One tablespoon for each serving should do the trick. About this much." He turned one of Bahji's hands over and traced the amount needed in the center of her palm. Hopefully that wasn't too forward of him.

She allowed it, paying attention to the small size he traced and then nodded. "Okay. I can remember that." She smiled and nodded. "Thank you. I'll let you go back to your duties. I appreciate your help."

"You're very welcome," Lokkun said. It was always nice to help people who had manners. "You take care now. I hope you feel better soon."

Pegas chirped as if agreeing.

Last updated on the August 9th 2013

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Can't Be Helped