[PRP] Seeking Solace (Bukichi + Aryale)

[Tsunake]

It occurred to him that Aryale was busy, and his sudden appearance might be an unwanted distraction. Still, his feet carried him towards her little rain-soaked hut. It was strange. He felt disconnected in an odd, jumbled way, like he was aware that his body was moving and could only observe it from a distance. He held his severed finger tightly in his other hand, and that too was strange and wrong.

Yaguareth. Never in a thousand Turns would he have predicted that he could reach for a dragon's mind so casually, but with Yaguareth being Aryale's other half, it had slowly happened over time. Are you and Aryale busy? Were they at drills? He knew their schedule, but right now, things were--fuzzy. Shock, he acknowledged distantly. He'd heard of it before, but never experienced such a thing until now. He could see rider huts littering the beach now, though his eyes shifted to a specific one to see if he could catch sight of a large, familiar green form. They might be elsewhere. Busy.

He hoped not. He knew he should be walking to to the Healers instead, but this somehow seemed more pressing.

demon_pachabel

He's just bleeding all over the place like an a*****e, whoops.

 

[demon_pachabel]

They had been having more grey days than sunny ones lately, so Aryale had thrown on an extra jacket before taking to the beach with Yaguareth. Unless she'd been making plans to head out into deeper waters her green wasn't a necessary fixture for fishing, but her company made fishing feel better. Not that trapping for shellfish was actually fishing.

Yaguareth had been watching Aryale securing the leads of the traps when she heard that bare brush of Bukichi's wavering thoughts, eyes whirling with orange, then yellow at the mere coloring of it. His mind felt...wrong. Aryale. Yaguareth communicated her entire concern to her rider in a single passing thought before turning to look down the beach. Aryale rushed the securing of her traps to join her.

We are here - come. she bid.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Of course. Fishing. They were all fishing these days, and if it meant having a place to remain, Bukichi had no complaints about putting in hard work. Hadn't, anyway. Could he even fish now, he wondered? Surely so. He pushed those thoughts away before they could spiral, unwilling to face them just yet. He didn't want to acknowledge what had happened.

He moved woodenly down to the beach, allowing his body to obey while his mind wandered. It didn't take long until he saw them. Part of him relaxed. This would be better. Perhaps they could help chase the strange blankness away from his mind.

Though that would mean facing the inevitable.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

While Yaguareth had felt that almost sickly and lost touch from his mind, Aryale saw it in the way Bukichi walked - at first she'd almost looked right past the man because it had been so out of character she'd not recognized it as him. But she'd quickly reassessed and the greenrider went rushing to meet him what was more than halfway, honestly.

Something was wrong.

She cupped his face with both hands as she looked him over. "Bukichi, wha-" Aryale paused mid sentence. Blood. Her hands dropped from his face as her eyes focused on his hand. Briefly, she patted him down, checking to make sure there wasn't anywhere else she had missed. No, it was from his hand, not on it.

Only then did she pull his hand up to look at it, her face paling. "We're going to the healers. Now."

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

The feel of her slightly cold hands against his face helped him to focus a bit more, twitching his fingers. He allowed her to tug his injured hand up, and winced when he stared at that strange spot where his finger should have been. The healers, he confirmed in his head. He'd known that.

"The line snapped." He said calmly. It felt important that she knew that. He didn't want to tug his hand away from her, but he began to shuffle in the direction of the healers.

Apparently fishing just wasn't his strong suit.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

She frowned slightly at the explanation he gave to the obviously severe damage his hand had taken. Clearly, she'd need to be more careful with her fishing - something she'd register much, much later. Aryale held his hand firmly with one of hers, moving with her other to get her jacket off and wrap it around the gushing wound.

Yaguareth. her voice didn't push with desperation more than it did with urgency and the green was soon enough upon them. "Up," Aryale all but demanded, taking advantage of his woozy state along with Yaguareth's assistance to get him up on the dragon.

From there, it was a fairly quick jaunt to the healers. Aryale, rather than shouting or demanding attention as she dismounted with Bukichi in tow, forced herself to be the calm of the situation. "We had a line snap," she explained to one of the healers, only releasing the (probably ruined) jacket from his hand when said healer came to take a look at the damage.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Aryale's call to action was enough to kick his instincts into gear. As she wrapped the wound, he applied firm, steady pressure to it even as he did his best to keep it elevated. It took him a moment to get securely up and on Yaguareth, but he managed with both of their help.

They arrived without trouble, and Bukichi tried not to focus on the healer's grim expression as they washed the blood away from his hand. It was a clean cut, at least. He noted wordlessly, staring at the damage without it really registering. He was ushered to sit and given a cup of fellis juice, which he swallowed without hesitation.

Some time would pass until the healer was satisfied. Bukichi was to leave the wound well alone and come back daily to be inspected until otherwise. The healer didn't want to risk any sort of infection. Later, he would be given exercises for his remaining fingers, though he was warned that his grip would never be as strong as it once was.

His severed finger had been gently pried from his other hand earlier. He didn't know where it was, and he didn't particularly care. Reality was settling in, and Bukichi felt a little dead inside. His hands were the tools of his trade. Had been, anyway. He silently got to his feet, dark eyes lifting to search for Aryale. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she would be waiting for him.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

She'd lingered. She'd lingered with a pacing impatience that had her ushered away so that the healer could focus on the task at literal hand. But her impatience hadn't held doubt that, beyond being down a finger, Bukichi wouldn't be okay. It instead lingered on the way he'd looked when she'd rushed up onto him on the beach - not quite there, like the mind had disconnected from the body and was now controlling it like a puppet.

Once the healer was finished up and she was allowed back, that manic impatience had her all but rushing Bukichi again. Instead, Aryale settled for resting one of her hands on his cheek again. "Hey. Do you think you'd keep food down if I got some for you?" She wouldn't ask how he was feeling.

He was down a finger.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Food. He almost wanted to laugh. Food seemed like such a bizarre thing to consider right now. Instead, he focused on the feeling of her fingertips against his cheek, tilting his head down slightly to look her in the eyes. "I don't know." He finally said. "I could try." Better to keep his strength up. Wallowing in this wouldn't fix anything.

That was the logical thing to do, after all. But there was a part of his mind that just wanted to curl up like an abused canine and howl until his voice gave out.

He couldn't do that. So he'd play along right now, talking, pretending like he hadn't just crippled himself in some stupid, stupid way. He'd have time to dissect his thoughts later, pouring over each and every detail. He just.... was too tired for any of that right now.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Frankly, she'd have been surprised if he could keep food down, but she'd seen what traumatic injury had done to her father's appetite. She didn't want him to forget because the queue didn't come on it's own. But....

"Or we can go back to my weyr for a bit. I'll have Yaguareth talk with Eosphoth." Danzik and A'ral would find out either way, after all.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

"Yes." He responded automatically. He didn't want to face the curious faces of the other Candidates right now, though it would hardly be a secret for long. Trust Aryale to have an easy solution, and Bukichi was grateful for a place they could simply duck away and hide away for a time.

And wouldn't Matotoka just be thrilled to find out what he'd done to himself? The bitter thought rose up before he could squash it down, and Bukichi merely exhaled.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

She made a note to get some food to her weyr later.

First and foremost Aryale had to get Bukichi back on the dragon, easier now that he wasn't woozy and stunned. Yaguareth nosed at the young man's head as she looked him over herself. Aryale had kept her informed, of course, but she wanted to look too.

Another quick venture back to the beach, which Aryale was thankful for since she was down her jacket, and she ushered him inside.

"Make yourself at home," Aryale said as she set about at least getting Bukichi something to drink.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

He was able to at least grip with his good hand as he hauled pull himself up onto Yaguareth, accepting her concerned touch without much reaction. "I'm better." He said, and at least that much wasn't a lie. His mind was... clearer, at least.

Bukichi knew there would likely be a mindhealer in his future, whether he wanted it or not.

As he slid from the green's back, he distractedly thanked her for the rider before allowing Aryale to take him inside. His eyes wandered over the interior, unconsciously looking for soggy spots. Improvements had been made after the first deluge, of course, but it didn't hurt to be careful. He slowly allowed himself to take a seat. "Any more flooding?"

It was a safe topic of conversation.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

"It stays pretty dry lately," Aryale answered. Which made warming her weyr up an easier task since fire could actually be sustained in her little wood burning heater - the same thing she was using to start up some water for Klah. The candidates had worked hard in building up their canals and sandbagging and she got to enjoy the results.

She sat on the edge of her bed while she waited on her little pot. It was nice to have a little space of her own.

"Sorry it's a little cold - it'll warm up soon."

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

"Good." And it was, knowing that their hard work was making a difference in the lives of the dragonriders here. He still remembered helping Aryale snatch up as many things as he could carry less they get completely ruined by the flooding.

He shook his head at her apology. He hadn't even noticed, distracted as he was. When he'd arrived at the Weyr a few years ago, he never even would have considered discussing what was on his mind with Aryale. Now, it seemed foolish not to.

"Do you think this hurts my chances?" It wouldn't. If it had, he was sure he would have been spoken to already, rather than released. That didn't stop the doubts starting to swirl in his mind. He was maimed. Lesser than he had been only hours ago. His grip would be weakened permanently in this hand, never mind that he'd have to relearn how to use it--

He stopped himself, exhaling roughly as he forced his mind to abandon that train of thought as best he could.

demon_pachabel