Closed You Can't Fix Everything (Waisana)

[Dinah]

Dinah wasn't sure whether to be relieved or mournful over the quick return of healer Waisana. As weird as the sobbing mess of a former friend had been, at least that seemed to be some sort of step in the right direction to sealing up the chasm that had formed between them. It was Dinah's own fault, she knew it. That was the way things worked with her, her temper wasn't some fiery explosion that decimated but somehow things would eventually flourish again, it was a slow erosion that carved away at bedrock and left wounds that remained for ages. Thinking that somehow the Opal girl's outburst signaled that everything had suddenly righted itself was nothing short of stupid unwarranted optimism. Maybe I did hit my head.

Still, it wasn't the same detached professionalism that seemed to colour Waisana's actions and words so maybe something had been at least nudged towards something better. Maybe. Either way, there wasn't going to be anymore stalling about this whole stripping down thing. Great. It wasn't that Dinah was exactly shy or overly modest, but there was something about the rather exposed feeling that a lack of clothing caused that she wasn't exactly fond of.

"No, I don't mind." She sighed, far more heavily and dramatically than was probably necessary before she began slowly rolling up the rest of her shirt, bunching the fabric in her hands as she went.

Pauses were taken at every hint of resistance and she waited for the cool feeling of the water soaking through fabric to her skin before continuing. To her credit, Dinah avoided every urge to get it all over with as soon as possible and before she really could think too much on it, the green tunic was slipped over her head and dropped nearby. That exposed feeling came back swiftly, mostly with the revealing of a scar just over her heart, a curve like a drawn bow with two lines jutting out from the center. There was only a handful of people that had seen it, her husband obviously, her twin who had the exact same marking, and of course the woman who had put it there in the first place - her mother.

Dinah wasn't certain why it was that she was so damn secretive about the thing, reimancy scars weren't unusual for initiates to bare, but there was just something so personal about it, the way her mother had chosen some symbol to etch into their skin rather than the typical simple cuts that could have been made. Maybe it was more of the memories it brought up. It seemed sometimes like the silly thing was all she had left of that part of her family, her mother having left Endrykas not shortly after her twin did. The same was true for her eldest half-sister, the only one from her father's first wife that seemed to share any sort of affinity towards the same thing as the twins. It wasn't that Dinah felt like she was alone, just that things had irrevocably changed. Just like things between her and Waisana.

Her hand from her injured side rose to wrap around the glassbeak pendant that hung from her neck. Dinah told herself it was to help move her arm out of the way so the Opal healer could better tend to the wounds at her side, but she knew it was more a semi-conscious feeling of comfort that she was after, a ritual of her own that had started not long after she had received the gift in the first place.

"Pavi" | "Common" | "Tukant"

[Waisana]

The wet cloth was needed more than she would have anticipated. She told herself not to worry as she soaked so many points on Dinah's tunic so that she could remove it as painlessly as possible. A dab of water might have been needed a lot but that didn't necessarily mean that it was bad. The older girl wouldn't be without pain but it would at least lessen it while stopping her from ripping the wounds open again. They were probably only small and superficial. Some people bled more than others from nicks in the skin so why couldn't her friend be one them?

The garment came away at last and was dropped to the floor, wounded flesh made bare for her to examine. It was red stained but the wet cloth cleared it away to let her see what she was working with. As she cleaned the Emerald's cuts her eyes strayed to a peculiar scar on the other's chest. It was curious. The mark was no accident but one of design. She wondered if Dinah had done it herself or if someone had done it to her. It was a mystery why it was there but she wasn't going to ask about it. It was none of her business and her patient seemed a bit uncomfortable in her current state. Standing ogling marks on her chest while she waited for treatment wasn't a good way to help people.

Waisana finished cleaning up Dinah's arm and began to dab it dry carefully. The abrasions were treated with the uttermost care. While the flesh was clean she was going to be sure not to set it bleeding again. There hadn't even been that much blood in the first place. A few layers of skin had just peeled back in a few places and she didn't think that they were deep enough to leave scars. Considering how the ground had treated her arm even through the cloth it was amazing that her clothing hadn't been torn. If it had been then things would have been a lot worse and that wasn't something that she wanted to dwell on. It hadn't happened and only now was important.

"I need to get some vyfox, that helps stop infection, and then I'll bandage it lightly. Won't be a chime," she told her patient before going off to raid the herb stores. It took longer than she'd anticipated with the herbs being reorganised and restocked but once she asked someone some of the carefully preserved flowers were given to her. They were still moist and that was the way she needed them. She returned to Dinah with the vyfox and bandages and set to work. The flowers were unevenly distributed, the worst abrasions getting the biggest helping of the natural antiseptic before bandages were wound about the girl's arm. Most of the limb was soon encased in the off white cloth and tied off tightly as she reached the end. She didn't need it to unravel.

"It could take awhile for some of those abrasions to heal fully but they should have a good layer of new skin growing in thirteen or fourteen days. You have to be careful not to rub off the new layers that'll start forming in the next day or so. They come off easily and if you pull them off you'll be back to the way that you are now. The vyfox will help the healing. This time tomorrow you take those bandages off, take off the flowers and wash your arm carefully. Don't dry out the abrasions either, not fully or they'll take longer to heal. I can give you some extra bandages so that you can wrap them up again to stop air getting in there. Few days then they can be taken off. Keep them clean, keep them moist," the doctor explained, giving Dinah all the instructions that she was going to need.

She gestured to the garment that had been discarded on the floor. "You can put that back on and then I'll have a look at your leg."

[Dinah]

She had known there wouldn't be some magic fix-all, that it was going to take time and care for her to fully heal, but fourteen days, at least? Something made her doubt that they'd pass by exactly quickly either. Everyone among the Emerald Clan seemed to be gearing up in excitement for the Great Hunt and now here she was, a novice and an injured one at that. For the first time in her life, however, Dinah tried desperately to absorb all the instructions that were being tossed her way. Something told her that shrugging aside advice and doing things her way wouldn't exactly result in a favorable outcome this time.

She had been hoping to at least find some means of keeping her wounds secret but considering all the apparent necessary bandaging she was enduring, there would be no such luck. Great, all she needed was Orxan to find out how it happened and she'd never hear the end of it. You FELL?, followed by endless laughter. Gods, it could go on for days. He'd just glance at her and start giggling and she'd know. And then there'd be her husband who would start to treat her like some fragile little snowflake and...

Dinah had brought it on herself, she supposed. Even as she began tenderly tugging back on her slightly damp shirt she knew there was more she really should say. Not entirely personal things, either, though there were those too. Treat the symptoms all you wanted but if you left the cause to linger it would only be a matter of time before she'd need Waisana's company again. Not in the way she actually might want it, either. That was still going to have to be tackled as well, but for now, let them both get the professional junk out of the way.

The same careful slow removal of her pants was done as had been with the shirt, pausing to dampen fabric where needed. For some reason Dinah had only expected a bit of a mess on her lower leg, maybe a bit above the knee, but no such luck there either. The abrasions started right at her hip and went down her leg from there. Granted it looked far worse where she had expected the wounds to actually be, but none of it seemed as bad as her arm so there was that going for it at least.

As she let the healer begin her work once more Dinah struggled with trying to admit there was the possibility she actually had a problem. Not one that could just go away with bandages and herbs, either. At least, she didn't think so.

"I guess, while I'm here," she began, fully aware of the avoidance even in how she was trying to address it. "You don't have something that would help someone sleep, do you? Some sort of anti-dream drug or anything like that?"

"Pavi" | "Common" | "Tukant"

[Waisana]

The teen waited patiently for her friend to dress again, carefully averting her eyes for the time being. When she wasn't examining her there was no need to stare at her. She was sure that Dinah was uncomfortable enough as it was without having Waisana ogling her. A brief glance was given every now and then as the other followed her instructions and when she began to remove her pants the doctor stepped forward once more to provide assistance. It took time and plenty of dampening to get the garment off, which brought a worried frown to her face but she tried not to judge too much until she could see the full extent of the damage.

When she could see the whole injured leg exposed, gestures of general questioning and wonder were given and the teen shook her head in disbelief. "How did you do this to your whole leg?" she asked as she set about cleaning the abrasions up. It wasn't as bad as the injuries on her arm but it still looked terrible, probably due to the extent of her wounds. It was amazing that she'd managed to do so much by simply falling off her Strider. It was like she'd been dragged along but that surely wasn't possible. Waisana couldn't see how she could have done it at any rate.

"Are you sure you just fell? Niamh didn't pull you along by your hair?" the teen joked weakly. She began to treat the leg in a similar manner to the way she'd treated Dinah's arm but didn't apply any vyfox this time, deeming the cuts too shallow to warrant such treatment. She just set about bandaging it, winding the material around the limb by working her way up from the lowest abrasions. In order to cover her hip, the material had to be wound around Dinah's waist and tied in place. She could only hope that it would stay where she wanted it to but at least her patient would be able to secure it in place again if it loosened.

Dinah's request for a sleeping aid caught her by surprise. It wasn't that she was having trouble going asleep but seemed to be that her dreams were disturbing her rest. It didn't matter what the cause was really because the Opal girl had something that could make her friend sleep. After a few pointed questions of course. "I could give you tolm, that would help, or connal, that would make you sleep but why do you need it? Are you not sleeping well? Is that how you fell off Niamh?" she asked. She stepped back and gestured for Dinah to dress herself up once more. "If it leads to more injuries like this then you need it. Why are you not sleeping though? Maybe there's a better way to fix the problem. Maybe what I give you will only mask it. You can only use it a little while or you won't be able to sleep without it," she explained.

Blue eyes scrutinised Dinah's face as she awaited an answer, watching for any attempts at evasion or subterfuge. If she thought that she could simply ask her for such a drug and get it without any prying then she was very much mistaken. No way was she getting away that easily.

[Dinah]

It wasn't guilt that brought along the sheepish smirk at Waisana's joke about being pulled along by her hair, but it wasn't entirely amusement either. Truth was, Dinah couldn't remember much of how it had happened. Maybe she had nudged her Strider into being faster than she had thought before dozing off. It must have happened quickly, there was no way Niamh would have continued at such a pace for long if that had happened.

"You know how my luck works," Dinah responded, an indifferent shrug countering the sardonic smile that formed among the small flinches as her leg was tended to.

The bandages warred with Waisana's questions as to what felt more awkward. She had been hoping that the healer would simply give her some herbs and along with it the expected warnings of using it too much or for too long. It wasn't that Dinah hadn't expected more prying but it certainly didn't seem to come out in the professional curiosity sort of way. The Opal girl was digging for answers with trying to seem like she was, or at least that's what it felt like. Fine, she wanted answers? She'd get them.

"Yes, it's the reason I fell, which probably has a hand in not really remembering how it happened." Dinah wanted it to end there, to leave the discussion ended with the curt response, but one look into Waisana's eyes and she knew it wasn't going to work - not this time.

"I just..." She began again, pausing as she felt her hands betray her feelings of nervousness and general unwillingness to share. Nothing new really as far as Dinah was concerned. Just like the reasons for everything. "I guess I keep having dreams that I don't really want to have. I keep going back to that day."

Dinah didn't need to elaborate, she knew fully well that Waisana knew she referred to the day her twin had been ostracized by their father. No single event had coloured the girl's life more, or had caused so much fallout with family and friends.

"I keep seeing myself standing there and I don't say anything." Dinah shook her head as if trying to chase the thought away but it stuck stubbornly in place, just like always. "I know it's not true, I know I tried, but I should have done more. I should have fought and screamed and told my father off for being so stupid over a mistake."

The girl didn't need to sign the bitterness she felt, it was plain in her tone. A heavy sigh was given and a new twinge of guilt cramped her stomach and brought about a quick glance towards Waisana. "Guess my head is done with letting me blame everyone else for my own shortcomings." It certainly wasn't an apology, but there was no denying the insinuation that Waisana was among those she had wronged.

"Pavi" | "Common" | "Tukant"

[Waisana]

Waisana's poor joke produced a smirk from Dinah that was almost rueful. She was regarded with a watchful eye, the corners of the healer's mouth turning down at her comment. She knew what her friend's luck was like although she wasn't sure that it was as bad as she made it out to be. What had happened with her brother had been a terrible thing and she no longer saw her twin but things hadn't turned out as badly as they could have all things considered. She had married into a family that was happy to have her and she didn't have to struggle within the confines of the Ruby Clan anymore; she'd never liked pottery. The positives could easily be changed into negatives, something she was sure Dinah would do with them if Waisana mentioned them, but the Opal teen was more inclined to think of things in the best light.

Not being able to sleep wasn't something you could put a positive spin on though.

A worried frown etched her features when Dinah admitted to sleeplessness being the cause of her fall. She'd no doubt dozed off and slipped from the horse's back. If her sleeplessness was a hazard then the teen was going to have to do something about it. Giving her sleeping aids probably wouldn't get to the root of the problem though. It would only hide the real problem and perhaps cause more if she just gave her connal.

The married woman didn't seem eager to share, a stance that Waisana was well used to dealing with and one that had never stopped the blonde from pressing in the past. Her arms were crossed over her chest, a stern look levelled at her friend. "Dinah... You better tell me," Her voice was almost a growl, conveying something between a command and a warning. More didn't seem to be necessary. It wasn't clear whether she'd decided to tell her of her own free will or whether Waisana's words had convinced but all that mattered was that she was willing to speak. Her expression softened into a more sympathetic one as she explained, becoming a thoughtful frown within a few moments.

"I understand why that would upset you but why now? In the summer it would make sense, would be on your mind but why now?" The teen shook her head, bewildered. She signed an emphatic inquiry as if hoping that the other could provide some sort of answer. If she could manage that then she would no doubt have done something to solve the problem much earlier. "How long has this been going on?" she questioned abruptly. They weren't that far into Fall so perhaps the Summer season had had some overhang into this one.

The last bitter words startled her and she could only stare at Dinah in shock for awhile. She could hardly believe her ears. Had the girl actually admitted that she could be to blame for something? That wasn't like Dinah at all. She'd always been so good at lashing out at other people when she herself was at fault or when she felt that she was. Waisana had received a fair share of blame after Zhol was exiled by the twins' father despite having had nothing to do with it at all. She hadn't been there and even if she had been, there was nothing she could have done. It wasn't her family after all, not even her clan.

"You know there was nothing you could have done, Dinah. An Ankal's word is law, you know that. You could have suffered for challenging his authority. You can't blame yourself." She considered the girl for a few moments before she sighed. "I can give you something that should put you to sleep because it seems you need it. I'll give you enough for a night or two to allow you to get the rest you need but I'm not letting you take it all the time." She signed for her to wait and then headed straight for their herb stores.

Connal was a plant that they had in plentiful supply. It grew in many places in the Sea of Grass and so they were sure to harvest it whenever they came across it, drying it to keep it for later use. She measured out some of the dried roots for use in sleeping teas for three nights and a small amount of flowers that could be used in a soak to soothe her wounds in. Each of part of the plant was wrapped separately in squares of cloth and tied. The two bundles were carried back to her patient.

"This one has connal roots in it. You add hot water to them and make a tea. The tea will make you sleep. It's cut into bits, you use enough to cover the bottom of a cup. There's enough for three days." The first parcel was handed to Dinah. "This one has flowers from the same plant. You use these in warm water too but they're for the skin. If you can soak your abrasions in it, you'll feel much better. You can use it when you take the bandages off. Use all of them." The second parcel was handed to her patient as well. The healer stood fidgeting, unsure what else she could say. There was nothing else she could do for the other and she couldn't afford more time either. She wasn't here to socialise after all. She didn't just want to tell her to go either.

[Dinah]

It was hard to put everything into words when it came to personal situations, or at least it was in Dinah's opinion. Trying to pin down exactly what may have been causing the haunting dreams involving her twin had probably contributed to her sleeplessness almost as much as the dreams themselves. All she seemed to manage was a half mumbled yet sincere, "About half a season, wish I knew why."

She'd heard once that the webbing that connected a family could hold up even over long distances, that it was stronger than anyone would dare to believe and that no matter how far you went you would always be tied back to Endrykas. Of course - that had also been the ramblings of an old man and as much as Dinah adored her grandfather, his stories did tend to go on into the fantastical quite easily. She wanted to think that if one day she learned more about it, learned how better to see and use the web that she might even be able to communicate one day with her brother. But no, that was silly and even if such a thing were possible, no doubt Dardanus had severed the connection as surely as he had cut the family apart that day. Petching bastard, even if Waisana was right, and Drykas law dictated that she had to respect her former Ankal just as much as she had to when she was still under his pavilion, that didn't mean that Dinah necessarily had to like her sire.

Her grumbling thoughts as she redressed occupied her while Waisana prepped the herbs. Dinah let a low sigh leave her as she once again tested the mobility she had with the bandages. Gods, she was going to end up limping back to her pavilion, wasn't she? Well, it could be worse. A lot of things could be, really. That too was something that Dinah didn't necessarily have to happily accept.

As the Opal girl returned to where she sat, Dinah tried to commit her instructions to memory again. It was interesting how one little plant apparently did so much good. It suddenly seemed a shame she'd never tried to learn any of this sort of thing on her own, knowing what plants could help heal you would certainly save her from anymore embarrassing trips to the healing tents.

Not that the trip had been all bad, she supposed. Even with her over abundance of bitterness, Dinah couldn't exactly argue that it hadn't been good to see Waisana again. It was the one thing her life was really lacking no matter how badly she had tried to deny it. Her husband, his father, and his brother were her new family and they treated her as if she was actually wanted. But there was only so much of men talk and habits she could take. What Dinah needed was a friend. What she needed was her friend.

A bit more stiffly than she would have liked she stood up, moving the small parcels so she could hold them in her hand of her bandaged arm. The next course of action was considered, fought against, and eventually conceded to as Dinah quickly put her good arm around the Opal girl's shoulder and gave the other girl a quick half-embrace.

"Thanks, 'Sana. For everything." Just like that, as quickly as the display of endearment began it was over and Dinah had pulled away. Her lips pursed in thought before she managed to make herself look back to the other teen. "It... It was good seeing you again."

A quick and heavy breath was taken, let out sharply as if suddenly relieved of a great burden. "Maybe next time it won't be under such..." Dinah paused to consider the words, a half smirk forming before she spoke again. "Exciting terms."

"Pavi" | "Common" | "Tukant"