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For the second time in way to short of a time period, Telatl found himself in the infirmary. However, this time the view was different. He was resting on his stomach. Thankfully, this stay would be considerably shorter than his last. Surindi's, however, would not.
At Telatl's request, Surindi was given the cot next to him. At the healer's request, the side from which Surindi was missing an arm was on the other side from Telatl. Still, it was a great comfort to Surindi to awaken to the face of perhaps the only person, well, only person his age, in the hold who understood his pain and greif.
"It wasn't a dream," Surindi murmurred. He said this to the air in front of his face but then turned to Telatl. "I'm sorry. I never thought I'd say that to you, but I'm sorry. For making you lose your leg, for calling you cripple, for everything. You may never forgive me, but I am sorry for it."
"I know," Telatl replied. "I guess... well, I can never forgive you for my leg. But I can accept that you're sorry about it, as you should be."
Surindi smiled wryly. "I suppose that's fair enough."
"It's hard to be mad at you, seeing as we're going through the same thing," Telatl said into the strained silence that followed Surindi's remark, nodding his head down at his stump. "You're still able to run, though, lucky."
"Run, yes," Surindi sighed, as though what he was best at was small consolation. "I'll never be on ground crew again, I'll have to relearn how to write and perfect riding runners one handed. You might not be able to run, Telatl, but there is a lot more out there for a one legged man than a one armed one."
"Don't feel sorry for yourself, it won't get you anywhere and everyone else does it for you," Telatl advised him. "You'll learn to do all those things without your arm, it'll just take time. I didn't learn how to use my crutches in a day."
"Learning from your pain, are yah, boy?" Telatl turned his head to see Fyraden striding up, a wide grin on his face. "Don't take his example completely, Surindi, or you'll end up on your stomach with your back bleeding like this dimglow."
"And," Telatl sighed and added, "Fyraden won't let you."
"Sharding right I won't," Fyraden agreed heartily. "Where is that flit of yours, by the way? I'm really here because she stole my belt knife this morning, stupid thing."
Fyraden was rewarded with a thunk on the head as his sheathed belt knife was dropped on him by Sirin. No, I borrowed it, she corrected sweetly, circling down to land daintily on the table next to Telatl's cot.
"I want to track down the wher who had the bright idea to create smart flits and wring his neck," Fyraden announced, rubbing his head and eyeing Sirin.
Wouldn't do any good, Sirin sang back. I'm already hatched!
"Fyraden?" a man's voice called out in suprise from somewhere behind Telatl, making him decide that the worst thing about a back injury was not being able to see who was around him. "Is that you?"
"P'mir?" whoever it was, a dragonrider, obviously, Fyraden eveidently recognized him. "What in Faranth's name are you doing here?"
"Came over to save boys like these from being eaten alive," P'mir explained. "You'll be happy to know that the wings have finally arrived, took them long enough though. If I hadn't been on my way back from Search... well, it's a good thing I was."
"Modest as always," Fyraden remarked with a chuckle. "How are things going back at the Weyr? Still as exciting as ever?"
"You call it exciting, I call it tourture," P'mir replied. "We got maybe a few sevendays between the time Frelarnith's clutch Hatched and Ellenath took the Sands. Stupid queen went and layed another gold, which means twice as much work for us."
"How many Candidates so far?" Fyraden asked.
"Oh, a good amount but we still need a few more," P'mir replied with a sigh. "It never ends, I tell ya. You've got a dragon's nose, Fyraden, seen any good kids around here?"
"Actually, you're looking at one," Fyraden replied, putting a hand on Telatl's shoulder. "I don't know if Siyeth would agree, but this boy'll take anything."
Telatl flinched at the touch, not so much from the pain but from the suprise. Him? A Candidate? Didn't dragonriders have to be in perfect health to fight?
That's what they say about ground crew members, Sirin reminded him.
To Telatl's dissapointment, P'mir voiced his doubts. "Isn't this the boy who lost a leg?" P'mir asked. Telatl could feel the Searchrider's eyes examning him though he couldn't see them. "And now he's got a backful of threadscores. Is he healthy enough to care for a dragon? Could he move fast enough to ride with only one leg?"
"He was a racer before he lost his leg," Fyraden replied, "I don't think you have to worry about speed. He fought on ground crew when it was sheeting early and came away with only superficial back wounds. I'd call that fast."
While the humans were arguing over human concerns, Sirin was working on Siyeth. You've already Searched him, haven't you?
Yes.
So would you tell your rider already? Telatl's getting worried.
I'll tell him eventually, Siyeth replied. Don't be so impatient, little one, I'll tell P'mir when he needs to know.
If you don't tell, I will, Sirin threatened.
"I've been what?" Telatl exclaimed a bit too loudly when P'mir, just as suprised as Telatl, announced the news.
"Oh, don't act so suprised, boy," Fyraden growled, though there was an unmistakeable note of sadness in his voice that Telatl was to have the chance to do what he would never do again. "Of course, you've effectively grounded yourself here with those scores."
"We'll come back to pick you up in a sevenday or so, your scores should be well enough healed by then," P'mir told him. "Until then, don't do anything stupid and get yourself more hurt."
When P'mir was gone, Surindi, who had been quiet during the Search, smiled over at Telatl. "See? There's a lot more a one legged man can do than a one armed one."
"Something'll come along for you to do," Telatl assured his friend? enemy? he wasn't sure what Surindi was now. "You'll learn how to do everything one armed, just as I learned to do it one legged. And, being you, you'll have a much easier time about it than I did."
A sevenday later, P'mir and Siyeth arrived to take him to Falas. He packed his things, said his goodbyes, and followed P'mir out to his blue. "Can you get up there alright, Telatl?" P'mir asked after he secured Telatl's things.
Of course he can, dimglow! Sirin hissed back, making Siyeth rumble with laughter.
"I think I can manage," Telatl replied and, for the first time since losing his leg, left his crutches on the ground and, using his good leg and arms, manuvered himself up and onto the dragon's shoulders. P'mir nodded approvingly and then, after adding the crutches to the rest of the baggage, swung himself easily into the riding harness.
Siyeth lept from the ground, making Telatl's stomach lurch and forcing him to use his stump and his leg to keep himself from falling. The blue had hardly gained the air when he flicked between to Falas Weyr.
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