Monaco Bay Weyr - Infirmary
A long series of caves, each well lit with electric lights and featuring walls and floors laborously chipped smooth. A triage cavern/waiting room serves as the nexus between the doorway to the lower caverns and the tunnel leading to the infirmary weyr and is furnished with a soft rug, comfortable chairs, and a bookshelf with books to read while waiting. To the one side of this central area is an emergency surgery cave: steel-topped cabinets on wheels situated around a central table, with a sink and storage cabinet. To the other side, narrow man-made hallway links the healer's office, a small staff conference room, an examination cave, another surgery room, a storage cave, and several caves set aside for those patients who need to stay in the infirmary for an extended period of time.
The major doorway that leads out into the clearing beyond is a heavy one that rivals the sturdiness of the one guarding the Commons Cavern's main entrance. Put in to hold out the foulest weather, it generally stands open except in the worst of storms, a small bell on its far side allowing for letting in of stragglers who were too late to be let in the main doors.
The infirmary! A place of healing. A place of quiet. A place of… utter boredom. And also, a place that has been the sole chore of Quinn and Dashiel for a few days now. Other than some brief excitement when a man came in with a dislocated finger things have been extremely quiet, almost as if people don't want to be sick at the moment, though with the ever-present guards in the infirmary it's perhaps little shock to most that some have decided to stay home and be ill there rather than head down to see a healer. That's not to say there hasn't been visitors, oh no. The unconscious man's family visited a few times, though it was a somber affair as he faded away. The young man with amnesia, whose name turned out to be Avery, has only had a few visitors - one couple that were clearly his parents, and a couple of boys around his age who didn't speak much or loudly but were obviously concerned about him.
Which brings us to today. Another quiet day, no streams of visitors, no major injuries - just a basket of bandages that need rolling and only one person now under guard.
Quinn is in her stride as a guard in the Infirmary. Only she's not guarding - she's babysitting the last remaining patient in the area. It's not a chore she's ungrateful for; on the contrary, Quinn is demonstrating her abilities the best she can. Food and drink is brought to Avery whenever requested, and the delightfully boring chore of sorting inventory within the infirmary is taken in stride. It's also given Quinn plenty of opportunities to speak with the youngster, although casual conversation has quickly burned out into awkward silence when the topics are used up. It's not her strong point, after all.
Today, Quinn is doing the same as any other day - cleaning. With hygiene being an important factor in any place of healing, the young woman is wiping down some surgical tools at a side of the infirmary close to Avery's bed. On occasion she spares him a glance, but with how quiet the environment has been lately, she seems not to be too concerned.
Another day of bandages! This is the excitement of the infirmary… though Dashiel's been cheerful enough in his time here. A few curious peeks into cabinets that had the healers asking him what he was doing, sure, but mostly just doing his duties without complaint… if with a few more breaks 'to stretch his legs' with a stroll up and down the infirmary than he might strictly speaking need. At the moment, he's tucked himself into a visitor's chair to do that rolling… again nearish Avery's cot. If he's made the habit of being around there, his excuse - which he's been sure to give audibly at least once - is that it's quieter down here. (See? Looming guards are good for something.) And hey, while he's here… "You ever wonder how they get these things clean?" he muses to nobody in particular. "I mean, bleach, sure, but… how much would they even need?"
“What?" Avery seems to be slightly more talkative today, or at least he seems to have assumed that Dashiel's comment was directed at him. "I… I dunno. Maybe they just make new ones or something." Despite this sudden need to participate in the world again he still seems quiet, and though his hands are on top of the blankets he has a habit of twisting his fingers (and subsequently the blankets themselves) into knots. "Um…." He glances over at Quinn and her surgical implements, then back down to where his knees make little hummocks in the bed coverings. "Do you think I'll get out of here soon?"
As another guard passes by on their usual rounds, Quinn sends the familiar individual a nod - some of these are former colleagues after all. She's not really made the habit of slacking as Dashiel might, but for once she isn't lecturing him in the same way she might if this were a training session. Still, Quinn has been doing her best to seem like a casual Candidate who isn't too pleased about being around, trying her best to look bored every now and again and more interested when Avery does speak. This time is no exception and when Avery asks his question, Quinn gives the youngster a hopeful smile and a shrug. She's not exactly one for being subtle and happy to let Dashiel give the optimistic answer.
Dashiel turns his head to Avery, listening to his answer, and hmms. "Maybe, yeah. But then what do they do with the old ones?" A mystery for the ages! Or… a topic for idle conversation that isn't actually very important at all expect insofar as it fills space, either way. Dash's certainly got no compunctions about dropping it in favor of Avery's question. "Well… probably. I mean, they don't keep people without a reason, so…"
Avery shrugs, his immediate reply of "Burn them?" fading off halfway through with a very obvious wobble of distress. His hands knot in the bedding again - twist and release, twist and release. "I just want to go home. I didn't do anything, I swear." His head droops, breath coming out in a long sigh. "It wasn't me."
Poor kid. Quinn gives Avery a small frown and she pauses in the cleaning of her tools in order to push herself up and move around to the youngster's bed. Seating herself at the end and getting more on his level, the former guard forces herself to smile as gently and kindly as possible. "Noone is suggesting anything." Quinn reassures him. "I'm sure the healers and the guards just want to be certain you'll be okay before you go home."
The corner of Dashiel's mouth twitches up at Avery's answer involving fire, just a moment before the young man's mind catches up to what he's saying and the distress comes with it and changes that expression to concern. Dash sets down the bandage he was working on. "Hey, it's okay. I believe you," he says. He's earnest as he looks to Avery, and nods to what Quinn says. "Yeah. I mean… you already got hurt…" There's a flick of his gaze, over to the bed where the unconscious man lay until he didn't anymore, though he doesn't say anything about it - just a slight grimace before he returns his gaze to Avery. "People're worried."
Avery moves quickly, pulling his feet up towards him as Quinn sits down - the bed tenting around his legs. "Yeah they are. They talk about it all the time when they think I'm not listening." He glances up at Dashiel just in time to catch his gaze move to the other bed, his own gaze follows, then immediately snaps towards the door, then back to his knees. There's a vague sort of unease there, more than just the sadness he clearly feels. "You're like me though, right? In trouble, too? That's why they stuck you here. Least that's what they've been saying about you."
For the time being, Quinn has been determined to keep any mention of the recently deceased to a minimum and so when Dashiel mentions the concern from others, she can only nod in agreement. Noticing her decision to sit might have well made the youngster uncomfortable, Quinn quickly picks herself up again and makes some distance around to the end of the bed and closer to her fellow Candidate. She doesn't try to catch his eye, but she nods in his direction. "I don't know about him but I got in trouble with one of the weyrwomen after I started a fight in the barracks. One of the other candidates called me fat." Treating her duties like a prison sentence? She can do that. Maybe she didn't have to come across as a brute, but she doesn't quite know how else to prove she's supposed to be a troublemaker.
Dashiel nods to Avery. "Yeah. It's supposed to teach me about responsibility and being accountable." A half-smile. "Which I think means they got annoyed that I was late to things one too many times." And it certainly fits with the apparent slacking he's been doing while he's here. "But I mean… it's not like I can prove anything." A frown, now. "They'll just think I'll be late again next time… or that I'm only on time because I skipped out on doing something else." Quinn's answer gets a half-smile from him, and a corroborating, "Really, he /started/ it. You just finished it."
"You started a fight??" That tone in Avery's voice? Utter incredulity. "I mean… that's not very… I mean… You're not fat." He eventually settles on the safest ending to the statement — the one least likely to get him beaten up in the process. "Being late's not bad. Suprprised they stuck you in here to babysit the liar for that." Again, his gaze flickers towards the door, but he tries his best to hide it by sitting up a bit more and wrapping his arms around his kness. "Don't suppose you feel like smuggling me out of here? Since you're in trouble anyway."
Quinn returns Dashiel's half-smile and nods. "Glad you've got my back." She responds, trying to give off the 'buddy' impression by trying to nudge his shoulder. No doubt he's probably gained a bit more muscle as a result of all that training he's been doing, but Quinn isn't going to refrain from giving him a particularly strong shove. He's a man - he can handle it! "But maybe you won't be late to training sessions anymore either." She jests, trailing off as her attention returns to Avery. A bite of her lip follows as she notes his discomforted movements, and she hesitates at his question before answering with one of her own. "Howcome you want to leave so badly? I'd love to be in your position, having food delivered to me all day and having friends visit." Of course, she's lying. Lazing around in bed would be the last thing on Quinn's mind.
Dashiel hehs to Quinn's shove - turning his shoulders a bit with it, but taking it in stride… as it were, it's not like he's standing up. "Not unless I want more of this!" he replies to her. "Though I think it was that one I missed that really did it…" A wry smile for that, one that remains he looks back to Avery. "Neither's lying. Long as nobody gets hurt by it, anyhow." The semi-smile fades there, and he looks back to the bandages he was rolling, picking up the one he set down and continuing its wrap. Round and round it goes… mmh. His fingers pause, gaze going to Avery, then to Quinn as she answers with her own question… then back to the bandage as his fingers resume their motion.
Avery laughs, rubbing his chin against his knee to alleviate an itch. "Oh sure it's great, lying here with people staring at you all the time. Judging you. Stuff." he makes a noise of… frustration? Certainly some sort of displeasure. "How about if it wasn't a lie, only… only it sort of became one?"
Quinn gives a slight look of confusion to Avery at his remark. She had been staring now and again, but perhaps for other reasons rather than judging. She shrugs again as if to dismiss his comment, then tries to reassure him with another smile. "I think, personally, it's best to be honest. It makes you a better person and people respect you for it. I would have been in more trouble if I didn't admit to throwing the first punch the other day." She says nothing more, and lets Dashiel chip in with his contribution.
Dashiel listens to Quinn's thoughts about honesty, then nods. "Sounds like when my aunt comes to visit. And I tell her that I'm glad to see her, 'cause I am… but by the time she's been there a couple hours, I kind of want to push her out and lock the door so she can't get back in…" A wry smile. "Even if it wasn't a lie when I said I was glad." He finishes the bandage he's rolling, and sets it in the basket with the others. "But if I told her I don't want to see her, that'd be a lie too, because I /did/… so… it gets complicated. Honesty's good, but sometimes… you have to make sure people are ready to deal with the complicated. And that they'll listen to the /whole/ story, not just one part or another."
Avery nods slowly, but keeps his eyes lowered — very deliberately not making eye contact with either of his candidate babysitters. "I didn't do the fire." It's something he's said over and over the whole time he's been under supervision. "Not that one anyway. The… the first one. In the kitchens? That was me. I mean not just me, but… yeah." One finger draws a pattern on his cloth covered knee, the same shape over and over. A letter R.
A confession? Time to slap on the iron chains and-.. no, wait. Quinn halts herself before she immediately gets carried away and takes a long deep breath to keep herself composed. Instead, she nods as if understanding and gives a shrug as if what he had said wasn't something devastating. "Like.. An accident?" She asks innocently, amber eyes sweeping over the boy's movements as he starts to trace his fingers over the fabric. A 'd'? No, wait, it was upside-down. Her analysis might be a little too obvious, since she starts squinting.
Dashiel reaches for another of the loose bandages, starting to roll it for… something to do; something to make it seem just a little less like he's /just/ staring at Avery as he listens. "People were mad about that one, but not /that/ mad," he offers in a calm, matter of fact sort of tone. "They'd probably have made you all scrub out the kitchens or something… but then they would have forgot all about it. If it was just that."
"It was just…." Avery begins, hand stilling, though his lowered gaze means he failed to notice Quinn's watching. "It was something to do. You know? Just a bit of fun. Set a fire and run away, nobody gets hurt, just… fun." His head shakes a little, lifting briefly so he can once again look at the door. "The garden, that was… that was Malk's idea. We were bored and it seemed like a good idea at the time."
Perhaps this is where Quinn should step in with scolding, but no, she holds back. That isn't why she's here, after all. She keeps on nodding and trying to remain passive. Her eyes finally leave the patterns being drawn out as she realises the letter being made, but instead move to Avery's face. With hair falling in front of her left eye, it helps shield her intense look. "Did one of your friends suggest the stables too? Scaring the runners for a laugh.. ?"
Dashiel nods slowly, continuing to roll that bandage. "If it was fun once, why not again?" he says, a sideways tug at one corner of his mouth. "Sure, it leaves a mess for other people to clean up, but… it's easy to forget about that part." A shrug, and then he looks to Quinn. Is she going to break into lecture? No? Good; there's a trace of relief, and he adds his own piece. "I know /you/ didn't want to hurt anyone."
Avery's gaze snaps immediately to Quinn, and for someone that just admitted to lying there's an awful lot of open honesty in the look he gives her. "No! Shells no. Never that. We said… after the barracks got a bit… big… we said we weren't going to do it again. We promised. But." He cuts the sentence off, no 'but' forthcoming as he just stares at the door once more.
While an outburst like that might come across as denial, Quinn seems satisfied that this might well be a scenario where the truth was coming out. Perhaps it's Avery's age, but his willingness to cooperate has earned the former guard's trust - for now. "But?" There's the magic word. Quinn leans in and lowers her voice, as if to give the boy something of a respite from talking so openly out of fear. ".. Someone tried to convince you to go to the stables?"
Dashiel gives the bandage in his fingers another turn, moving in fits and starts as he goes between listening fully and remembering that he's pretending to be doing something else. "You didn't want to hurt anyone," he repeats, with a small nod. "But…"
Internal wars are rarely as obvious as the one Avery is clearly having. His hand presses into his forehead, then smacks against it… hard. "We tried to be nice to him. To include him. I can't believe we were so stupid. He laughed, he actually laughed. He said he… he said…." The only description for the noise he makes would be 'aaargh', "He said he'd do it anyway and blame us if he got caught. Me, Malk, and Finn. I tried to stop him, I swear! Then that guy showed up and now he's… he's…." Tears. So many tears.
Tears in confessions are nothing new to Quinn, so thankfully she's not swept up in the emotional confession being thrown her way. Still, she can't just sit there being emotionless. Maybe a hug? No, too weird. Instead, the woman carefully approaches Avery and attempts to lay a comforting hand upon his shoulder instead. "It's alright.. Is that how you got hurt? Did you try to stop him?" Quinn tries her best to sound considerate, but there's a clear thirst for further information in her tone of voice. ".. What is his name?"
Dashiel's mouth pulls into a frown. He starts to nod, then he sets the bandage down. His impulse to stand and go over… well, Quinn gets there first, but still. Dashiel continues over, to stand for a moment by the foot of that cot and look back at the now-empty one before turning to Avery. "…it sucks. Because… who'd believe you? You're just going to get in more trouble, right? Only…" The frown deepens toward a grimace. "I don't think he's going to stop. /You/ don't want to hurt people. /He/ doesn't mind. He… maybe he even thinks it's fun. Now that he's tried."
Avery's head stays down, one hand buried in his hair and gripping tightly as he tries to keep calm. "I didn't remember at first. I swear. I didn't lie. Not then. We agreed yesterday, soon as I got out of here we were going to go see the Weyrleader and tell him everything. We'll probably get banished or something but Rellick he's… he's not right." Finally his head comes up, but his eyes stay resolutely away from either candidate. "Guess you'd better go tell the guard to lock me up now."
A name. That's all Quinn needed, but she isn't going to go skipping off just yet. "This 'Rellick' sounds like a troubled boy who wanted nothing more than to be a bad influence. Don't beat yourself up over it - I think if you're open and honest to the Weyrleader as you were to us, they'd understand. But." Now it's Quinn's turn to be a little more down-to-earth about it. "Although I don't think you're going to be banished, I think you should be brave enough to accept responsibility. I'm sure noone meant to be hurt, but.. It was still a very poor way of having fun." A lesson to be learnt for sure. She looks to Dashiel. "Would you stay with him while I fetch some water? I think he could use a drink."
Dashiel nods slightly, a tug of one corner of his mouth as he shifts to settle into a seat on the edge of Avery's cot. "You're not the one the guards want," he says, and reaches out his hand to set it lightly on Avery's knee. A glance to Quinn, and then a nod. "The thing they want /most/ is to stop it from happening again. That's what the Weyrleader wants, too." Or so Dashiel assumes, anyhow. "And it's what you and Malk and Finn want. So we're all on the same side, now. And sure, you'll probably have some work to do to make up for the kitchen and the garden, but… making sure it doesn't happen again is a good start to that." He smiles a bit to Avery, with a nod to Quinn that he'll stay here.
"Guess I should be glad there's no thread any more." DOOM! And a good dose of gloom. It's clear Avery's been thinking about this for a while, though that should perhaps be overthinking about it for a while. He's obviously built it up to the point where he's as guilty as Rellick ever was. "Tell them…." he looks up at Quinn as he speaks, clearly not believing her 'water' line. "Tell them I'm sorry?"
Quinn makes a mental note to thank Dashiel later; without him this venture would have been fruitless and his way with words had given the weyr the information that was so desperately needed to stop any further accidents before they occured. Rising from her seat with another reassuring squeeze to Avery's shoulder, Quinn lightly excuses herself and makes way to one of the out-of-sight stations to retrieve a drink. Of course, Quinn isn't just going to get refreshment and even the kid knows it. Pausing before she vanishes out of sight, she looks over her shoulder and smiles. "I will. But be sure to tell them in person too, okay? It's like Dashiel here said - you're not the ones the guards want." And with a wink she vanishes off, hurrying away to retrieve parchment and ink to scribble a note. No doubt there's a firelizard or two hanging around out of sight somewhere. With a message made detailing names and important details, it's sent and Quinn returns to her duties, seeking out a pitcher of water for the boy.
Dashiel gives Avery's knee a pat. "It'll be okay," he says. "Just… yeah, like she said. Tell 'em everything… and she was a guard before she was a candidate, so if anybody's going to know, it's her." He smiles. "And, tell you what. If they do try to lock you up? I'll come visit." But for now, he'll sit with the young man as they wait for Quinn's return… and then for all the many results of Avery turning Weyr's Witness. The wheels of justice spin!
Avery laughs a little, looking up at Dashiel. "I'll keep you to that." With a faint ghost of a smile the boy falls silent again, though there's a definite air of relief about things now that it's all come out. Maybe life isn't going to be impossible after all.