It's Time to Wake

Writers: Suzee, Miriah, Heather
Date Posted: 3rd February 2014

Characters: Jeyme, Cyradis, D'hol, Kielya
Description: Just when the end is expected, something wonderful happens
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 4, day 16 of Turn 7
Notes: Slightly backdated, three days after "Thunder Thread"

Jeyme

Cyradis

D'hol

Kielya

Jeyme felt stiff, wooden, as she sat in the chair beside of D'hol's
bed. She had been there for so long that she could not even remember
the last time she had left the infirmary. The bronzerider's time was
drawing to a precarious end. The healers kept saying that he could not
survive without waking up. He needed water. Nourishment. Yumath was
turning a pasty gray, and his rider had yet to even move. Rubbing her
eyes, which felt gritty and dry, the greenrider stretched her arms
above her head, and then let them fall with a sigh.

"Come on, D'hol." She said as she reached and took one of his still
hands in both of hers.

"You should get some rest," said the gentle contralto from the
doorway. Cyradis knew Jeyme had been watching all through the night
and a part of her was very happy to know D'hol had found someone who
cared that much about him. "Or at least get something to eat."

She entered the room with a very sober Kielya clinging to her hand.

Yumath didn't even lift his head as the voices penetrated the silence.
He gave a shuddering sigh, one eye opening to peer at the three in the
room with his rider. He didn't make a sound of greeting, just looked
at them with weariness and closed his eye again, nudging his head
close to D'hol's cot.

Cyradis turned to the bronze and saw the full trough next to him. "And
you'd better be drinking Yumath. Yours wouldn't like it when he wakes
if you're not taking care of yourself." Her own will refused to accept
the loss of this pair and her will had been honed by dealing with a
gold dragon. "Panitath will bring you a fat buck if you're hungry."

Jeyme's eyes went to the child that Cyradis brought in with her while
the Weyrwoman conversed with the bronze dragon. The child was watching
D'hol's still form with very serious eyes. She sighed. If worse came
to worse and D'hol did... die... at least Cyradis would have Kielya as
a reminder of him. **I've got nothing.**

The big bronze did nothing to even signal that Cyradis' words had any
sort of impact on him. Any hunger or thirst had been blunted by
misery; his rider hadn't opened his eyes, and whatever flickers of
consciousness that Yumath might have caught were lost to the dragon's
growing weakness. He had stopped responding to the Healers, stopped
responding to Quinneth or Panitath. He simply did not care.

Quinneth was settled just outside the infirmary. Yumath no longer
spoke to her, but she was nearby in the event that her rider needed
her. The green had never experienced the type of sorrow that her
dragonrider was going through. It made Quinneth said to see Yumath's
glorious hide turn to a dull grey. The bronze had always been so
helpful to "explain" what was going on between D'hol and Jeyme when
Quinneth could not understand their complex human relationship.

Cyrads' eyes only twitched at the lack of response in the bronze and
her jaw worked. That was a bad bad sign but she refused to give up
yet. She tried to smile down at her daughter. "Why don't you give him
a kiss sweetheart," She nodded and encouraged her daughter toward the
bed.

Kielya was a bit shy of the other woman in the room, so crossed to the
opposite side of the bed. There she leaned over and kissed D'hol's
cheek. Even to a young girl's eyes he didn't look very good and Yumath
looked even worse.

"Daddy," she whispered in his ear. "Tell me a story." Her lip trembled
and she looked at her mother. "Tell him to wake up."

"I have done baby," she said softly. 'Why don't you tell _him_ a story
this time."

"Okay," said the little girl and leaned against the bed. She was
pretty sure she couldn't tell stories as good as he could but just
maybe he'd think this one was funny. And she began her story of the
feline and the canine in the bread closet. All the time she was
touching his head and his hair and trying to shake him awake. "It was
so funny when they came out all covered with flour." She even had
Cyradis laughing at the silly beasts.

Yumath moved, his head lifting in weak bobbing motions. He peered at
Kielya and then at Jeyme. Though D'hol didn't respond, Yumath did,
finally uttering a soft croon of encouragement. He laid his head near
Jeyme, his warm breath brushing against her leg.

Jeyme had found herself smiling at the little girl's story, but when
she looked down at Yumath the smile faded rapidly. Hot tears pressed
against the backs of her eyes as she rubbed her hand across the
bronze's muzzle. "Hang in there, Yumath." She murmured.

Yumath blinked up at Jeyme, then lifted his head again slowly, looking
down with sudden intensity at D'hol. A flush of bronze returned to his
jowls, fading the pasty grey as a questioning croon erupted from his
dry mouth. In Jeyme's hand, a finger twitched. Yumath's neck arched
and he stared at Kielya. }: Keep going. Speak! More!:{

The little girl was startled by the voice in her head and shot a
surprised look at her mother and then the bronze for she knew without
doubt that was who had spoken to her. "Daddy," she commanded in a loud
voice. "Wake up!" She shook his shoulder. "You have to wake up!" her
tone grew more demanding. "Right now," she added in his ear in case he
hadn't heard her.

Cyradis kept a soft smile on her face though her eyes were looking a
little pinched. She'd seen more than one rider die this way and it
wasn't pretty but a lingering and wasting death. It wasn't what D'hol
deserved. "Come on," she said under her breath.

Jeyme gasped as she felt his fingers move in her hand, "D'hol?" Her
voice trembled, tears glistening in the corners of her eyes as she
stared at his face, mentally willing his eyes to open. Surely this
wasn't the end? It had to be that he was waking up, right? Jeyme gave
the man's hand a warm squeeze.

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" Kielya began chanting and shoving the
bronzeriders shoulder.

There was another twitch of fingers and Yumath suddenly reared, giving
a ear shattering bugle that rattled the stone walls. His one good wing
spread as much as the room would allow, the other twitching against
the bandages that secured it to his side. The bronze stared down at
the rider on the cot, his eyes whirling rapidly, with blues and greens
and far more excited and energetic than he had displayed in the past
two days.

Eyelids flickered and D'hol's brows twitched. Images, disjointed,
excitable and rapid flowed through his mind in confusing twists and
turns; he tried to turn from them. They hurt and it was too much. His
head moved, just a little, but a weak, cracked groan of pain emerged
from his lips. The images quieted immediately as Yumath lowered his
head, wiggling it between Jeyme and Kielya.

"We need a healer!" Jeyme cried through the curtain, now on her feet
beside of D'hol, her hand still clasping his as she looked down at
him. The slight movement of his eyelids and the moan made the
greenrider's heart leap with hope.

Geren came running and slid to a stop near the Bronzerider's head.
"What is it," he asked before bending down next to the little girl.

"He moved," Kielya said helpfully and went back to her mother's side
to get out of the healers way.

Of course the bronze dragon bellow had been a rather public
announcement of the fact and Cyradis took a deep breath.

Yumath crooned towards D'hol, his tail tip twitching in eager spasms.
The presence of Jeyme, Cyradis and Kielya were ignored for now, his
eyes locked on to his rider with feverish intensity.

D'hol's brow knit and the hand that Jeyme clutched spasmed in a light
grip as his eyes fluttered opened. There was confusion and exhaustion
there and his lips opened to utter a cracked word. "Water..."

Cyradis was on her feet immediately with the cup and reed that would
allow him to drink laying down. **Get someone to the kitchens for
broth** she commanded her lifemate. **D'hol's awake**

}:I know,:{ Panitath told her in prim rebuff.

**Well take care of it then,** Cyradis snapped back.

Jeyme knew that there were tears streaming down her cheeks but she
could not find it in her to be ashamed of them, her heart was in her
throat. He was alive! Her weyrmate was alive! He hadn't left her!

D'hol instinctively drank as the reed was pressed to his lips, sucking
the water greedily before slumping back. His brow knit, vision
wavering as the foggy image of three people and large whirling eyes
overwhelmed his sight. Yumath's mental assurances were a dim
background as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. His head
hurt, he felt weak, and he didn't know where he was. Blinking dry
eyes, he finally got the sense of someone holding his hand, and
another someone pressing a straw to his mouth. There was also a
smaller someone next to his cot. "Where..." He licked dry lips and
blinked again, struggling to make sense of the situation.

Finally, his vision cleared enough for him to realize who surrounded
him. Cyradis, Jeyme, precious Kielya. There was a momentary and
evidently groggy lift to his lips "My girls..." His voice trailed off
as he swallowed again, exhaustion rearing its head as his eyes
struggled to close. His hand tightened around Jeyme's fingers, the
callused thumb gripping hers.

"Daddy!" Kielya bounced next to the bed. "You're awake!"

Last updated on the April 28th 2014

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It's Time to Wake