Lean on Me [ATTN: D'Ashan]

[AddiBeth]

The expression “stabbing oneself in the foot” generally referred to a person accidentally doing or saying with an ill effect on their interests – to cause one’s own downfall.  It was a concept painfully familiar to the brunette sitting in the, also painfully familiar, infirmary.  If not for the wonders of saidar, Addison would have been covered head to toe in scars; as it was, she was being attended to by a plump, elderly Yellow who seemed to epitomise the perfect grandmother.

 

Tears streamed down her cheeks and the trainee struggled valiantly not to curl into a ball clutching her foot, and scream.  Blood had begun to trickle from the corner of her mouth, the result of chomping down on her bottom lip to keep in the howls of agony.  “Now, now, my dear, it will all be over in a moment.  Just keep still a moment longer.” the Aes Sedai cooed.  “It’s probably best if you look away, dear.  It will hurt less if you don’t see it coming.”  Addi whimpered in compliance and twisted her head away from the Yellow as deceptively frail hands...

 

...gripped the hilt and yanked it from the trainee’s foot and apparently simultaneously performed the Healing weave, evident to any but an Aes Sedai only because the patient’s body arched and convulsed mid-scream.

 

Today, poor Addison Thwait had managed to, quite literally, stab herself in the foot.

 

This time, for it was definitely not the girl’s first time to the infirmary, it was not entirely her fault though her remarkable ability to figuratively stab herself in the foot undoubtedly played its role.  She had been practicing her sword forms, the balance exercise called Heron Wading in the Rushes to be exact.  A group of fellow trainees was horseplaying nearby and one of them bumped into their unfortunate victim mid-form, knocking the sword out of her hand.  Apologising profusely, the group had wisely decided not to remove the three foot spatha from where it was lodged in her foot and instead had carried her to the infirmary.

 

Gasping for air, Addi experienced the familiar wave of exhaustion and hunger associated with the after-effects of Healing.  “Thank you, Lynne.”  After her fifth meeting with the ancient Yellow, Marilyn Sedai had insisted on waiving formalities.

 

“You’re very welcome, dear.  No doubt I’ll be seeing you soon?”

 

The trainee smiled weakly and gave a sheepish laugh.  “Probably.”

 

Deciding she might make it to the mess hall before they stopped serving dinner, Addison made the mistake of getting up to quickly and swayed dangerously on the spot.

[TaiDashan]

Being a Trainee of the Yards was not without its chores. For instance the pot of herbs he was currently bringing to the infirmary. Melrin Gaidin had asked him to take them to the infirmary for Lauraa Sedai. Undoubtedly he could have done the job himself, however, mundane tasks like that were left to Trainees. D'Ashan sighed, he was being unfair. Melrin had a class on advanced sword forms coming up, and while he may have had time before the class, it was simply easier to give the task to D'Ashan.

 

Grumbling to himself nonetheless he strode across the yards, careful not to slip on the patches of ice where the shade lingered. It was still bitter cold and the stone soaked in the cold eagerly and held it like a coveted prize. The thin leather armor he wore creaked softly as he made his way. It was a comforting sound. He had tried to braid his hair in true Arafellan style once. He had thought he looked too much like a girl, and ever after worn it to his shoulders tied back with a piece of leather. In this cold he was grateful for the hair to keep his ears warm.

 

Pulling on the rough oaken door he made his way inside. The heat clamped down on him deliciously as a fist. Working the cold and stiffness from his shoulders he started peeking into rooms, attempting to find someone to take the herbs to Lauraa Sedai. Suddenly someone let out a howl of what sounded like intense agony, nearly causing D'Ashan to drop the clay pot. Muttering a curse he made his way down the hall to find where that scream had come from. Wherever it was, an Aes Sedai or at least an Accepted would be present.

 

Poking his head into the room, and taking in the blood covered spatha and the swaying patient in a glance, he quickly figured out what had happened. Rushing to Addi's side he supported her with one arm while handing the jar to the Aes Sedai with the other. He hoped she would forgive the lack of courtesies given the situation.

 

"Forgive me Aes Sedai, Melrin Gaidin asked that these be brought to Lauraa Sedai." he ducked his head for good measure. The woman nodded approvingly.

 

"I see you are in good hands now." She said to Addi with a small amused smile. "Make sure she gets rest young man, I will have some food sent in briefly." She added to D'Ashan. She attempted to be more stern with him, fixing him with a meaningful look before hurrying off with the pot. It was odd to D'Ashan how some Aes Sedai would practically scurry for some sisters and act like a noble with others. It was enough to make his head spin.

 

In truth, he currently had an armful of pretty girl and her body against his was currently making his head spin enough. Regretfully he helped her back down to the bed. He had helped her home that night at the Inn and had quite the memory of her. Smiling at her bemusedly he motioned to her foot.

 

"Drinking again?"

[AddiBeth]

A wince had already contorted her face in anticipation of the ground making painful contact with her knee – it proved unnecessary.  Conveniently, a handy shoulder appeared out of nowhere to save her from further self-injury.  Looking up at her Samaritan, she blushed.  Addi had realised early that female trainees and Tower Guards were, not a rarity, but outnumbered by their male counterparts a few times over.  With so many hormonally-crazed young men and so few women, female trainees became something of a commodity.  Light, the girls of Braden’s Hill had all fought over the same handful of suitable mates: good-looking, owned a farm of decent size, and wasn’t likely to start hitting a week after the wedding.  Addison could only imagine the looks on their faces if they could see the muscular, sometimes rich, and usually ridiculously attractive men she worked with every day – not that she noticed, of course.  Her single objective was to become a Gaidar and no ruggedly handsome trainee was going to get in the way of that!

 

All the same, Addi blushed while pondering the reason behind a nagging sense of déjà-vu.  As she glanced up at his face, no name flew to mind though he did seem vaguely familiar.  Why did she suddenly feel nauseous?  It was not one of the usual side-effect of Healing.

 

Lynne told the boy to keep an eye on her, no doubt worried Addi would wind up back in the infirmary if left unattended too long – which the girl begrudgingly admitted to herself wasn’t entirely unlikely.  While the whoever this boy was helped her hobble back to the bed, she shot a glance back at Lynne who winked very un-“Aes Sedai”-ishly.  Addi blushed.

 

His next question, however, gave her an idea of where she knew him from; it also explained the phantom nausea.  The former farm girl grimaced through her red cheeks.  “Unfortunately, my balance doesn’t seem to change much when I drink.”  In other words, considering the horrifying stories she’d collected from fellow guests, her balance was more than a little off.  “I er...  Well, I don’t actually remember most of that night past the confrontation with... what’s his name?  The big guy who...  Anyways, I’m uh... Addison.”  She stuck out her hand and gave a sheepish grimace.  “And I’m really sorry, but you are?”

[TaiDashan]

"I er...  Well, I don’t actually remember most of that night past the confrontation with... what’s his name?  The big guy who...  Anyways, I’m uh... Addison."  She stuck out her hand and gave a sheepish grimace.  "And I’m really sorry, but you are?"

 

"Bart. Er..that was the big guys name." he said, "I'm D'Ashan." I didn't expect you to remember too much of that night." He said with a grin. "You had a bit to drink and I had to help you home."

 

Feeling a little awkward, her sitting on the bed and him looming over her, he sat on the bed across from her. The silence stretched on for a bit, somewhat awkwardly before she finally spoke.

 

OOC: Sorry for the short post, figure it will give you something to go on so we can keep the thread moving.  :P