No Hammering

Writers: Estelle, Miriah
Date Posted: 1st April 2019

Characters: Urlene, Lorican
Description: Urlene checks up on Lorican's head injury
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 22 of Turn 9

Urlene

***

Washing her hands of the redwort, Urlene briskly dried them as she
continued on through her shift. She checked the stitches of an older
rider who had a thread score that ran far too deep, and then a young
boy who had needed his appendix removed. Satisfied that they were both
doing well, she moved on to the next exam bed, flicking open the
curtain.

The man in the bed was sitting up and looking more alert than he had
been when he'd been brought in to the infirmary, but if anything, his
face looked worse. Although the swelling around Lorican's left eye had
reduced, the bruising on his cheek had darkened to a swirl of purple and
yellow-green and his hair stuck up out of the bandage that swathed his
forehead and temples.

He shifted himself to a more upright position, wincing as the movement
pulled on aching muscles, and managed a smile on the uninjured half of
his face. "Good morning, journeywoman."

"Good morning...Lorican, isn't it?" Urlene peered at his swollen face
and carefully lifted the bandage to check the head wound. "It's
looking much better than it was yesterday evening." She replaced the
gauze and peered into his eyes, checking his pupils. "How are you
feeling?"

"I've felt better," he admitted. "I'm sore, but I don't feel sick any
more, and the headache isn't nearly so bad. I still can't remember what
happened, though."

"That's not completely unexpected. It appears you took quite a blow to
your head and you have all the classic symptoms of a concussion. You're
lucky your skull wasn't cracked, but don't think there should be any
permanent damage. Damage to the brain isn't my specialty, but if I
recall, the memories may return in time." Her hands were cool, gentle as
she carefully turned his head to the side to examine his bruises.
"You'll be sore for a while I'm afraid."

"I'm not all that sure I want to remember," Lorican said. Given that his
runnerbeast and possessions were missing, he doubted it would be
pleasant. Even so, he couldn't help wondering. The gap in his memory
troubled him, and perhaps anything he could recall would be useful to
the Station Master. "Will it be long before I'm able to go out on the
road again?"

"Well, that's not something that we can control. They'll return or they
won't. I suspect that they will." She jotted down notes on a hide then
looked up again at his question. "You'll be with us at least ten days.
With that injury, you'll need mainly rest and to refrain from anything
but light activities to allow your brain to heal. I won't clear you to
leave until I'm absolutely certain that you're completely safe to travel."

"Ten days?" he echoed, and winced as his dismayed expression stretched
at bruised skin. "Oh, shards and shells...I mean, uh, sorry, ma'am. I
don't mean to be ungrateful, but I've got a lot of stops to get to on my
route, and I must be behind time already." Though without his tools, he
wouldn't be a lot of use to the holders anyway. He wondered whether
there was a smith at the Weyr who might lend some to a fellow craftsman.

She'd heard much worse, usually in a far more peevish tone than the
man offered, but she appreciated the apology that was offered. "I'm
afraid your route will have to wait, " her response allowed no
negotiation. "I'm sorry, Lorican, but it simply isn't safe to do
otherwise and I'll not have you leave my care at risk."

"Ah, well, there are worse places to convalesce. It's not everyone who
gets the chance to spend time at the Weyr," Lorican said, trying to look
on the bright side. "Is there any way I can get word to my family, back
home? So they don't worry about where I am?"

She offered a small smile. "Indeed there are. We can send a message to
your Craft Hall if you like. There are plenty of firelizards about who
are reliable. I'll ask one of our Healers if they can help you with
that. " She studied him. "You'll be on a diet of fresh vegetables and
plenty of lean meats while you're here. No sweets. If your headaches
get worse, or you start feeling nauseous, you're to let one of us know
immediately. "

"I should have known there'd be a catch," he sighed. "All right, no
sweets. Rest and light activities...I suppose that means no hammering
metal in the forge?"

Urlene slowly arched a brow and waited for a long moment. "Yes, that's
what it means. You're not to lift a single hammer. I think you can
manage for ten days. It might be painful, but you can manage."

The smith grinned, carefully so as not to stretch the tender skin.
"Well, I had to ask. What about drawing, though? I could use the time to
get some design work done." Admittedly, he didn't feel up to heavy
metalwork at the moment, but he balked at spending ten days doing
absolutely nothing.

"Yes, you can draw. As a matter of fact you'll be given small guest
quarters until you're ready to leave. They have desks in the rooms and
you can request any spare hides or what you need from our Headwoman.
I do want you to come in in every day so I can check on you and your
progress. "

"I'll do that. Thank you." Lorican almost added that he didn't want to
impose on the Weyr or its healers, but he got the sense that the
journeywoman might think it a rather silly statement since he was
going to have to do so regardless. "Um...can I ask a question?"

"You're welcome." She looked up from the notes she was writing. "You
may ask. I may not answer, but you may ask."

"This injury..." He hesitated. "It's not one of those ones where you can
go to sleep and not wake up again, is it? Only if it is... I suppose
what I want to know is, should I be putting my affairs in order?" He
managed a half-smile.

"Hm. Not anymore it's not. Why do you think I had them keep you awake
after you got here? You're past that part of the danger, I think. Which
is why you need rest, so you won't strain what's already healed."

"Oh. That's good to know." His eyes closed and he let out a slow breath.
Mingled with the relief was the disquieting sense that there had been
danger, a fact he hadn't appreciated until the worst of the crisis was
over. "Then I will certainly take care to rest and follow healer's orders."

"Good. I hope you do. Maybe you'll prove better at it than most of my
patients." Her smile was brief. " I'll give you some tea that will help
with some of the aches. I'd say only one cup every few hours and not
more than that. I'll send word to the Headwoman to quarter you with our
resident Smithcrafters."

"Thank you. I'm very grateful." Lorican wondered what his fellow
crafters would make of his injuries. Although he hadn't seen himself, he
was sure he couldn't be a pretty sight. "Maybe there's some work I can
do to help them out..." He caught himself. "But I won't forget. No
hammering."

"I'll be sure to send word to them. Just in case." A mildly amused
smile lifted her lips. "And you're welcome. Rest, Lorican. That's the
best advice I can give you."

Last updated on the April 12th 2019

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No Hammering