Working Your Way Back

Writers: Ames, Avery
Date Posted: 18th February 2014

Characters: Kenza, Talwynn
Description: Talwynn works on improving her muscles and Kenza surprisingly offers to help
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 4 of Turn 7

Riveth was harnessed up and ready to go. All Talwynn had to do was get the firestone and they could sneak off to the small flat plain they had started training on. She'd chosen a time when she had no duties scheduled, and also when she thought she'd be unobserved. No Wings had drills scheduled for another two candlemarks, so there weren't riders out preparing, and few people were walking about before dawn had even finished breaking. Who would be awake to notice her?

She picked up a bag, opened it, and carefully started filling it with her good hand.

Kenza had grown used to the odd hours that she kept, especially during her recovery. There were times that being alone in her weyr
became too much for her. She found that taking a walk, early in the wee candlemarks of dawn seemed to give her a better start to her
day. It was becoming more and more of a routine for her. As she strolled along, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the quiet, she
heard a shuffling noise near the firestone pits.

Curious, she paused, turned and headed that way. She stopped quite a distance away as she watched the young girl working to fill the bag. Kenza hadn't spent much time with Talwynn. It had almost been too hard for her. To think about what _could_ have been if she hadn't been able to recover the way she did. She stood, silent, watching, contemplating. What was the girl up to? Was her duty to fill the bags early in the morning? Kenza wasn't realy sure what all Talwynn's duties were now that she couldn't fly Thread.

Instead of interrupting, she decided to simply stand where she was, quiet, and watch a bit longer.

She stopped at a quarter of a bag. Tying it off, she tried picking it up with the one hand. Her fingers curled around it and lifted it off
the ground, though immediately the effort burned. She hissed slightly and counted for ten seconds before setting it back down. She
tied the top, wincing at how long it took her, and scooped it up with her good hand to carry back to her ledge.

She wasn't expecting to see anyone, so she started and let out a little noise when she saw a figure. Better to bluster through. "Hello," she said with a wave of the bad hand.

"Talwynn," Kenza nodded in greeting, stepping out of the shadows. "Doing some early morning work? Even I'm surprised they have you out here loading bags on your own at such an early time."

"I was up late crafting, so I wouldn't have minded being told to work in the morning."

She swallowed before continuing. Well, there was no way around it now. She wasn't going to lie to the face of a Wingthird. Especially not someone she respected. "But I wasn't exactly told to do this."

Kenza's brow furrowed at that. "Oh?" She inquired, now more interested than ever. If the girl hadn't been told to fill firestone sacks than what was she doing with one?

"I, uh." She was at an uncharacteristic loss for words. "I wanted to see if I could still carry and toss the bag," she blurted out.

Kenza eyed the girl again as she moved away from the wall towards her.

"Carry and toss it from where?" She asked, "the ground or dragonback?"

"I was going to practice tossing it on the ground first." She wasn't going to overstrain herself immediately, and it would be humiliating to brain herself with a firestone sack.

"Well, that's smart thinking at least," Kenza replied. "How _is_ your hand?' She hadn't really engaged Talwynn in much discussion
about her injuries. It seemed almost too close to what could have been for Kenza. Yet, now, seeing that the girl was actually eager to
try and improve her skills, Kenza found she, herself, was more interested. Working hard to get better and back in the wing was
something Kenza knew quite a lot about.

Talwynn held it up so Kenza could see, then curled her fingers. The thumb and index finger came together fine, though the ring and pinky barely moved. "The arm doesn't just hang anymore. I can't
ever write with it again, but I can manage basic tasks. And the leg
doesn't matter when I'm mounted."

"Hmm," Kenza replied, as she watched the girl moving her hand. "If you could get a firm grip even with just those two fingers you might be able to do _some_ tasks. Though you would be more of a hindrance in actual Fall without full use of your hand and your arm, but..." she left that drift for a moment, "you might be able to help more if with the right practice and training. What have the healers told you?" He own prognosis hadn't been good, but she had ignored the doubters and fought her way back to training and then finally worked her way up in the wing.

"I need to ask them. I didn't want to get my hopes up if I
couldn't even pick up a bag." Even if she couldn't fly a Fall, maybe she could do something beyond just carrying messages. "I could go talk
to them today."

Kenza gave a sharp nod of her head. "You should. Find out their thoughts. There are many things that can be done to help you increase the use of your hand. Some of it isn't easy, trust me I know, but it will help. See if they think it's worthwhile. Then, come find me. I'd like to see if I could help."

Talwynn shifted the bag back to the weak hand. "I'll do that. And...I'm honored by your offer. Thank you." She had been afraid of dismissal.

Kenza gave a firm nod. "Come find me after you speak to the healers. I'd like to know what they said."

Last updated on the March 15th 2014

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Working Your Way Back