Swim Therapy

Writers: AL, Anaria
Date Posted: 14th August 2011

Characters: Tiernan, Meledei
Description: Tiernan and Meledei go for a swim
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 1 of Turn 6

Tiernan exited the room that he'd been assigned in the Lower Caverns,
clad in nothing but his swimming trousers. In a Hold he'd probably be
considered indecent, but due to turns at sea, he was used to walking
about in whatever was coolest. And being at the Weyr made it even more
acceptable, as nearly everyone at Dolphin Cove seemed to be in a
perpetual state of undress.

Striding confidently to the goldrider's weyr, he knocked quickly on
the door before entering. He knew she was expecting him because he'd
sent Squirt over in advance. "Ready to go work those tired muscles
out?" He asked.

"Sure am." Meledei pushed herself up to her good leg and pulled her
crutches beneath her arms. Like Tiernan, she was dressed for
swimming, a top and bottom that would be easy to strip out of once she
was done. She smiled at Tiernan, then flicked her head toward the
towel folded on a cushion of the couch. "Mind carrying that for me?"

"Sure thing," he said grabbing the towel. "Anything else we need to
bring with? And are you going to be able to use your crutches on the
sand of the beach?" He added, frowning at the contraptions.

"I am, though I admit, they're going to sink and be a bit more
difficult than just walking, but I'll manage." Meledei hauled herself
toward the door. "Now come _on_, I'm ready to get out of here!"

"Alright," He said, and they walked out into the corridor. He walked
slower than normal to compensate for Meledei's decreased speed, but
did not offer to help her, as he didn't want her to be offended.
"You're getting faster and faster on those things," he commented.

"Yes, and by the time I get fast enough to keep up a normal walking
pace, I'll be off of them." Meledei was looking forward to that day,
but for now, she would just deal. "How are things going at the
Dolphin Hall?"

"Pretty well, I've been helping out their new Headwoman get some of
their rooms waterproofed. It's really impressive what they've been
doing with the area, hopefully they'll start using all of their rooms
soon," Tiernan said.

"Isn't there a whole level that they don't use?" Meledei wasn't
necessarily a frequent visitor to the hall, though she did enjoy the
dolphins. They were often in the water and, on occasion, they would
play with those swimming if not on duty.

"Yeah, the level took some damage from water... a storm or a flood or
something of that sort," Tiernan said. "Fortunately, I should be able
to help them make a lot of progress towards getting that area
repaired. I'm really excited about the whole thing, it will do the
Hall a lot of good."

"That sounds like an awfully big job to do in a month, though."
Meledei gave Tiernan a sidelong glance. "Are you going to have any
time to yourself with all that?"

"Well, they didn't want to take my marks, so I need to work for my
keep until my ship is ready. I believe there are some people that will
be helping me as well, so hopefully it won't be too bad," Tiernan
said.

"As long as you have time to visit me." Meledei paused long enough to
tap the side of Tiernan's leg with her crutch. "Otherwise I might
lodge complaints."

"Well, at least the injury should get you a bit of a sympathy vote,"
Tiernan joked. "And I bet you could do some serious damage to someone
with those crutches. They look like they would hurt!"

"I could use them as weapons." Meledei's eyes lit up at the idea and
her smile turned mischievous. "People would underestimate me, and
then _WHAM_. Take that!"

"That would be interesting to see!" Tiernan said. They'd emerged from
the caverns of the Weyr, and were getting to the areas that were
covered in sand. Tiernan slowed his pace even more, turning to watch
and ensure that Meledei was progressing alright.

Meledei slowed down quite a bit. The crutches were unwieldy on the
sand and sank in deeper than her footfall. She swung forward and
would have to pause to literally lift them out of the sand before she
could move forward again, the holes left behind half filling with the
fine grains. "I'm certainly going to get a work out with this!"

"Indeed you will. And you will certainly be happy when they let you
walk again!" Tiernan agreed. "Have they told you anything about that?
Do they want to start you on some sort of therapy program first?"

"Yeah, I'll probably be doing some Therapy. Right now, they just want
the muscles to mend, so..." Meledei shrugged. She tried so hard not
to complain because she knew that things could have been much, much
worse.

Progress was slow, but they soon made it down the beach to the ocean.
"Do you want me to help get you into the water? I'd wager you
shouldn't get those crutches all wet," Tiernan offered. He admired how
strong she was, and how she nearly never said anything to insinuate
that she felt bad for herself.

"That's probably a good idea." Meledei honestly hadn't thought of
that. She let the crutches drop then took hold of Tiernan's arm.
"Guess you get to be my crutch briefly." She flashed him a grin, once
I'm in the water deep enough, it will support me."

"I wouldn't want the healers chastising you for breaking their
crutches," Tiernan said, aiding her into the water before letting her
float under her own power. "Do you swim a lot when you're not injured?
I know I would if I had as nice of a place to do it."

"Oh yes, swim run. I try to stay in shape. Well, you kind of _have_
to as a dragonrider, though some people do more outside of drills and
training than others." Meledei was one of those people - especially
with swimming. She loved to swim!

"Yeah, there's very little room for people who can't swim on a ship,"
Tiernan said. "And climbing about in the rigging helps keep us fit as
well. I miss running a lot though. It just doesn't have the same
effect when you're running circles on a moving ship."

"I've never climbed the rigging on a ship. I'll have to try it some
time after I've healed." Meledei's face spread into a grin. "Maybe
I'll have to come take a visit on your ship. Have you tried running
on your ship?"

"I have. It's sort of fun. It's definitely a challenge because you can
never really predict how the ship is going to move underneath you. You
have to do it in calm seas though, if you don't you're liable to end
up overboard," Tiernan said with a smile. "And climbing the rigging is
fun, from the top of the mast you can see for hundreds of
dragonlengths in every direction on a clear day."

"But wouldn't you have to climb the rigging even if it wasn't calm?"
Meledei didn't particularly want to give that a go, especially for her
first time. They had moved into the water by that point, the liquid
chill against the warmth of her skin. Eventually it got to the point
where it was deep enough that she didn't need to hold on to him and
her uninjured leg was allow some respite.

"Oh, most certainly. And no matter how calm the waters are, the masts
sway more than the boat does, and you're quite high up. On bad days we
might tie ourselves to the top of the mast in order to prevent us from
falling. I'm sure it's not that much worse than being on a dragon
fighting Threadfall," Tiernan said.

"Well, that's why we have straps." Meledei couldn't imagine fighting
Thread without them. Short, smooth flights, sure, but not in the heat
of battle with Pern's greatest enemy. Meledei let the water buoy her
up and began to slowly swim further out. "Do you get to do this
often?" She asked, her strokes lazy.

"Not as often as you'd think, considering I'm surrounded by water all
the time," Tiernan said sadly. "There are always other
responsibilities, and the risk that the ship could leave me stranded,
so most of the time I only swim when I'm in Port. I have to admit,
this trip to Dolphin Cove has been rather nice, I've swam almost every
day."

"At least there's something positive to the break, right?" Meledei
flashed a grin and picked up her pace a little, then slowed down when
her leg began to complain. "You'll get tired of us before you know it
I bet, though. Restless to go back out to sea."

"I am a bit restless," he admitted. Although it wasn't so much about
missing the sea as it was about trying to find a good moment to tell
her how she felt. "I still need to deal with my family situation
though. I visited Fievan's mother last rest day... I still need to
head home and see what Da has to say about the matter though."

"What did she say?" Meledei turned in the water so that she was
upright and tread through the waves which were gentler further from
the shore. "I imagine she must have been heartbroken."

"Yes, she had no idea about my mother. Her husband passed away a few
turns back, and Da had apparently been talking about moving her to the
Hall with him when he retired from being a Captain," Tiernan shook his
head. "I am considering moving her and her remaining daughter to a
Weyr."

"They'd be welcome here." Meledei pointed out as she returned to her
back and floated in the water. "I'd even volunteer to go get them but
I'm grounded for now. My father would probably be willing to though."

"That would be really great," Tiernan said with a grin. "Vanilesa...
she feels the frustration of never being her own person. I don't think
that she wants Vanera to have the same life that she did. She might
even be so inclined as to want to craft."

"Then the Weyr would definitely be the place for her." Meledei just
honestly could not understand the attitude men had when it came to
women and crafting. Women were just as capable! "Just let me know
and my father would be happy to help, I'm sure."

"Ok, I'll go talk to her again after I see my father. I'm still very
nervous about it. I think I will speak to him alone, and try and
convince him to tell my mother. I think it'd be somewhat easier
hearing it from him," Tiernan said.

"Maybe." Would Meledei have taken news like that well from her
weyrmate? Would things have been different if F'gol had come to her
rather than her finding out because of gossip? "It doesn't sound like
it's going to be pleasant. I hope...well, I hope it goes as well as
can be expected at least."

"Yeah, I have no idea what my mother will do, they've been married for
over 35 turns. It just makes me question what I've always believed. I
mean maybe a happy marriage while one partner is away at sea is
impossible. Maybe it's impossible even if they aren't off at sea...
who knows," Tiernan said. This thought - in addition to the fear of
rejection - was the only reason he hadn't confessed to Meledei how he
felt.

"It's not impossible." Meledei shook her head. "My parents were
weyrmates and they were happy til my mother's death. I know plenty of
people who are happy. It's just something that _both_ parties have to
be dedicated to, to loving each other and the willingness to forget
others, even if they're tempted."

Tiernan nodded. The young goldrider was wise beyond her turns, he had
to admit. "That makes me feel better," he said softly. He decided to
change the subject to something a bit more pleasant. "How's the leg
feeling? Swimming helping it a bit?"

"I can feel the muscles pulling but I'm feeling very little pain."
Meledei was pleased by that and had a feeling the healers would be do.
"Though I have a feeling I'll be sore after this swim is over."

"Well a little sore is good, that means those muscles are getting
exercise that they desperately need," Tiernan said. "Just let me know
if you get tired, I don't want you over exerting yourself."

"After the injury I got tired so quickly, but it's getting better
now." Meledei didn't have to take a nap every day, or for as long
when she felt like she still needed one. "I think I can go a little
longer. Then you can drag me back over the shore and to the Weyr."

"Ok, but I fully intend on dragging you back by your hair!" He said
with a wicked grin. **And back to my room...** he thought to himself.
But he'd never say it aloud. He just didn't think that Meledei shared
his feelings.

"That sounds painful!" Meledei laughed. "You're supposed to be
_gentle_ with me!"

"I have a feeling the Headwoman would have my head if she saw me drag
you back in such a fashion. Then again, I think half the riders in the
Weyr would agree with her," Tiernan said with a laugh.

"They probably wouldn't care for a goldrider being treated that way."
Meledei agreed with another giggle. "Come on, let's swim for a
while." She knew her stamina still wasn't what it used to be and she
wanted to enjoy the water while she could.

"Sure thing," Tiernan said, diving into the waves in similar fashion
to a dolphin. He tried to focus on swimming, and not on his feelings
for his companion - whatever they might be.

Last updated on the September 2nd 2011

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Swim Therapy