Not Another Healer

Writers: Cali, Jane
Date Posted: 5th August 2008

Characters: Leisenn, Mosler
Description: Leisenn seeks out Mosler, the retiring Hallmaster.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 11, day 15 of Turn 4

Leisenn knocked on the door the Master of Apprentices had indicated.
The Hallmaster - former Hallmaster? - was using this suite and still in the process of recovering from his most recent heart attack. While she waited for some response to her knock she wondered what made a young man's heart suffer attacks when an old woman's didn't. Perhaps healers knew - she certainly didn't, though she found it curious.

"Come in" Mosler replied warily. If it was another healer come to poke at him...

Leisenn opened the door and peered around it into the room. The only occupant was a tanned man with grey peppering his hair, but younger than she was expecting if this was indeed Mosler. And more healthy looking, though perhaps if heart problems were visited on younger men, with more reserves, perhaps they didn't make for the frail appearance that a similar attack would in the elderly.

"Master Mosler?"

And it was another healer, Mosler realized with a inward groan. A woman at that, probably from the Weyr. Would they never leave him alone?
"Yes, that's me, can I help you?"

The old woman entered the room and wondered as she did so if the man was grumpy by nature of just by circumstance. "I'm Leisenn. I believe you're expecting me."

As the name set in, Mosler stood up awkwardly and held out his hand.
"Oh yes, Sorry, I thought you were another one of those sharding healers. I thought your boat wasn't coming in for another couple of days... I must have gotten the dates mixed up."

"From what I understand they've let you do precious little work - and that's enough to make it difficult to keep track of the days, let alone the dates." She took his hand and shook it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mosler, and I'm sorry to hear that your health isn't the best."

He waved off the sympathy, he'd had enough of it lately. "It was my own fault, too many years of drinking away my sorrow in my youth. I'm happy to survive at all."

"In your youth," Leisenn said with a smile from the vantage point of a woman much older than the man before her. "Well you can't be that far out of that now. This -" she waved a hand in the air, looking for the right words "- heart problem. Is it the reason you've stepped down as Hallmaster? That's what I was _told_ but sometimes things get muddled."

Mosler nodded, "It's the _reason_ for stepping down yes. I hate to do it because this Hall has had some instability the last few turns, but I never really wanted the position anyways. I was Hallsecond when the previous Hallmaster had a stroke and it sort of fell in my lap. Shells, I never even wanted the Hallsecond position to be perfectly honest, the old Hallmaster just kept at me until I accepted as a favor to her. I much preferred tending to the dolphins over paperwork."

"Oh." Leisenn's lips quirked into a small smile. "I suppose that answers my question about your interest in the Hallsecond's job."

"Ha!" he barked, it was probably one of the first laughs he'd given of late. "No thank you, not that the healers would allow it. But even if they did, I'd make sure to exaggerate the hardships so much that they'd recant and give me an out!"

"Well, that's as definite a 'no' as I'm likely to get." She looked around for a chair and sat herself down. "So, what are you going to do?"

Mosler shrugged, "Short term or long term?"

"Short term. Say the next few months." The time while she was getting settled in as the new Hallmaster. She wasn't sure how well it would work with old and new both at the Hall - surely it would cause divided loyalties? - but if she didn't have a choice then she would deal with whatever problems arose. What she wasn't going to do is be seen to be exiling an ill former Hallmaster out of her Hall.

He gave a resigned sigh. The short term was the part he was unsure of, the part he wasn't looking forward to. "I believe the healers keep calling it a convalescence. They seem to think I need several months of doing pretty much nothing since previously I've gone back to work and relapsed. I'd like to stay here, but if you feel I'd be a drain on the Hall's resources, I do have some extended family up north that might be willing to take me in."

"No, no. I'm not thinking any such thing. Like any other retired crafter you have a place here. And - without a Hallsecond - I'd appreciate it if you were around to answer the occasional question from me."

"I'll help in any way I can, of course." Mosler replied, glad to be of use.

"I'm glad." Leisenn looked around the room. "Do they let you out of here for meals and things?"

Mosler rolled his head from side to side, "If I insist. They don't like it though. For a few days I ate my meals in the Hall, but lately I've been eating most here, everyone tends to look at me like I'm breakable, and it's a most distracting way to enjoy a supper."

"Do you think you could manage one meal with me in the dining hall?
Even if you don't care to make an announcement - I can do that."

"Of course." He replied dutifully. "As I said I'll help make the transition easier in any way I can. I'm sure everyone will be quite relieved to have you finally here."

"I'm sure there will be a mix of feelings," Leisenn said dryly. "And it will take some time for people to get over them and settle back down."

He eyed her, curious about her meaning, "Are you talking about you being a woman? The Hallmaster before me was a woman, and we've got a fair share of women dolphineers here as well so there shouldn't be opposition on that front."

"This is a Northern Hall on Southern soil; I'm a Southern trained master dolphineer." She grinned, creasing her face into a wealth of wrinkles.
"There are always bound to be a few teething problems with a change of command. I've live through enough of those to know that."

Mosler waved it off, "I doubt there will be many problems, unless you make some horribly radical changes, we're pretty easy going around here."

"We'll see," Leisenn said non-committally, hoping the former Hallmaster was correct in his assessment. "Shall I meet you here, then, so we can go down to dinner together?"

"Sounds like a plan." he replied. The good thing about changing hands finally was he didn't have to feel guilty about all the paperwork building up any more.

Last updated on the August 7th 2008

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Not Another Healer