Keilah ambles in from the dark inner cavern.
And it's a sneeze! There's evidently been numbweed at work in the infirmary; the smell is everwhere, and Ilesyn looks entirely miserable, hunched over her desk with a hide, burying her head into it - her whole face red.
"Hey, isn't that dangerous?" comes Keilah's voice as she bounces into the infirmary. As it suddenly occurs to her that she's at a place where /sick/ people rest, she lowers her voice. "You're gonna get all red and swell up like an egg-laden gold you are, Ilesyn. Perhaps you should take a rest and have some soup." Okay, who died and made her healer? And now she shushes, standing there, hands clasped behind her back, as she beams.
Ilesyn's response is to huff, sitting up straight, her arms folded. "I'm /bnot/ sick. It's /bnot/ contagious." Besides, she's a Mindhealer. She doesn't /do/ sick patients, right? "I suppose," says she, her voice muffled by her block nose, "You're here for a bloody physical. And since Moloka isn't here," she scowls, "That means I'm in for it." Muttering, the Mindhealer adds, her nose wrinkled, "And I'm /nothing/ like an egg-laden gold. So there."
Keilah wrinkles her nose at Ilesyn, frowning. "Okay, but if you get me sick, and if the Hatching comes, and if I go onto the Sands, and if I sneeze on the gold, and if she eats me, I'm gonna come back and haunt you." She winks and steps over to the healer, nodding. "You are, too. You can be grumpy, but that's okay. Everyone's allowed to be sometimes. But yeah. I'm here for the physical and all." Fidgetfidget.
Ilesyn rises from her desk, wiping her nose with one hand, then wiping her hand upon the square of linen she's evidently been using as a handkerchief. "Huh." Yes, eloquence is a great talent of the Mindhealer, especially in such conditions as these. "It'd do you good. More sensible than wanting to be a dragonrider." She indicates one of the cots set aside for the purpose, muttering, "I'm not /supposed/ to have to do this stuff."
"Being /dead/ is better than being a dragonrider?" Keilah murmurs with a raised eyebrow as she crosses over to the cots, choosing one on which to perch. "Well, hey, want me to do them for you? 'Cause we've some cute guys in our candidate group and I... Well, nevermind." She has to be good till after the Eggs Hatch. "So you gonna check my nose and throat and that's it, right?"
"At least then you're dying for yourself, and not for someone else." Ilesyn's retort isn't quite serious - ah, but there's a faint moue of disgust, as she washes her hands, scrubbing them hard. "Hah. That's /my/ perk. And, let me say, it's been /quite/ a perk, indeed, in times past." Her head tilts to the side, and then she laughs. "Those, and various other things, too. Have to make sure you're not pregnant, and all."
Keilah snickers, giggling softly, as she kicks her legs against side of the cot. She grins, then, eyes twinkling, as she shakes her head. "Lucky, lucky woman," she murmurs as she looks at the walls about her. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Ilesyn! Unless it's possible to get pregnant... without... you know." Her face turns a dark red. "You know, being with someoen and all?"
Ilesyn's lips twitch - mirth is a clear flicker, here - commenting, "I've heard of some attempting it with one of those instruments used to baste roasts, but I don't imagine that's all that successful, all the time." There's an interesting idea. "Nonetheless, I've have to perform that test, regardless." She moves over towards the cot, sinking beside it. "Any questions, before I begin?"
Keilah wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. "I don't... no, I don't think I'd be doing any of that in my free time. I honestly think if I'm going to have a baby, I'd rather it be by a man than an inanimate object. Though men can be considered inanimate at times..." She gulps. Nothing she can do about it, then... yet... "No..." the candidate replies meekly.
Ilesyn laughs, the sound echoing through the cavern, as she nods. "Good for you, though I'd stick away from babies entirely, myself." Nope, not even a turkey-baster, for this healer. "You have a very wise opinion of men, for one so young," muses the healer, sniffing loudly as another whiff of the numbweed causes her nose to clog up again. She sighs, and explains, "I'm going to have a feel of your head and neck. For--I don't know. Things."
Keilah giggles and shrugs. "Yeah, I would prefer no babies, either. I know I said that about the firelizard, too, but this time I'm serious." She sighs then, nearly swooning, as nods. "But some men can be...simply... wonderful." Feel free to gag now. Then Kei nods, smiling. "Okay. I hope you don't find things. Or... is it good to find... things?"
"Bad. Very bad. To find...things." Ilesyn nods sagely. "Men are fine for a good time, but not for babies. We want no babies." At least - Ilesyn doesn't. "Can be wonderful, and yet you say you've never slept with someone? My goodness, you've got a lot to look forward to." Partially toothless grin is made wide, as the less-than-attractive healer moves to place hands upon Keilah's neck, feeling about. "Mm. Hmm. Mm-hmm."
"Well, in that case, let us hope my neck and head are empty of... things," Keilah replies with a chuckles. "Well, how else will there be men, without babies? Oh... your baseter idea... But isn't that kinda... not fun?" She shakes her head then, but not too much, considering the healer's task. "Oh, yeah," she admits with a blush. "I just didn't have much... you know... privacy living with my folks in the drudge barracks. But maybe... sometime. Did you find anything?"
Ilesyn's shoulders shrug, amused. "I'll be gone, by the time any babies are grown up and ready to be men. It won't matter for /me/; just those that don't get born for the next generation." She pulls her hands away, adding, "You just picked the wrong kind of man, then. You have to pick someone with his own space, is all. And no, I didn't. Next - eyes. Open them wide, and keep them that way."
Keilah laughs lightly and shakes her head. "Is it really gross? Watching babies be born?" she asks. "I was there when my sister was born, but I don't recall much of it, I was so young. And right..." Her eyes widen as she chuckles and repeats, "Right... See, that's the good thing about a weyr. Men have their own places."
"I wouldn't know." Ilesyn grins wryly, peering into Keilah's eyes with something that hopefully resembles understanding and interest. "I've never seen any be born. I stay far, far away." She smirks, agreeing. "Weyr /is/ good for that, yes. Just hang around after a greenflight, and it doesn't matter what you look like, you'll be able to find someone."
Keilah grins and shakes her head slightly. "You're lucky, then, I'll bet," she comments, still attempting to keep her eyes from blinking. "That would have to be one of the grossest things of healing, but there are probably far grosser things that I've nver considered." She laughs, then, and shrugs. "I'm a candidate, so I'm supposed to stay hidden, I think, during green flights, but after the Hatching, I'll come back just for the festivities of those."
Ilesyn pulls away, waving a hand to indicate that Keilah can stop attempting to keep her eyes open for unnatural lengths of time. "Very lucky. Mindhealers, thankfully, don't have to deal with the blood and guts." Her nose wrinkles - and yes, she sneezes, rapidly blowing her nose, and then wiping it, going back to wash her hands again with a sigh. "Bloody numbweed. You're not going to stay, if you don't Impress, then?"
Keilah blinks several times as she smiles. "Mindhealer?" she questions, tilting her head to the side. "That mean you help people who are a little... Well, you know, like the old drudge at the weyr who thought he was a wherry? You help those people?" She attempts not to grimace at the sneezing before shrugging and sighing. "I don't know. I have enjoyed it here, despite... some... people, but the hall might need me. Or not. I dunno."
"Yes," agrees Ilesyn, cheerfully. "That's what I do. But not everyone who needs a Mindhealer is quite as bad as...the case you just mentioned. Most people could do with a Mindhealer, from time to time." She dries her hands carefully upon a clean towel, returning to her 'patient', to remark, "I would. More opportunities, here." At least in Ilesyn's view of things. "All right. I'm going to have a look at your ears." Or rather - a test of them. She clicks her fingers close to Keilah's right eardrum, and then further back. "Hear that, both times?"
Keilah giggles slightly. "I think there are some candidates who need to see mindhealers," she admits. "Like that one fellow, Brean. I think he's a fellow... she might be a ... lady or whatever. But, you know, to each his... or her... own." She pauses, then, to hear the clicking. "Sure did," she replies as she resumes kicking her legs against the cot. "And yeah, I suppose there are more opportunities here. I could work in the kitchens. I like it there."
Ilesyn's lips twitch, amusement, and then sage acceptance, visible within her expression. "I do imagine that that particular individual could use my specific talents, yes." Then again, it seems as though most of the weyr could. The clicking is attempted upon the other ear, in much the same fashion, as she nods. "There you go."
Keilah nods as a signal that she heard the sounds, before she giggles slightly. "I'll make sure to suggest he go for his physical while you're here, as I know you enjoy giving physicals and all," she replies with a wink.
"Charmed, I'm sure." Ilesyn's voice is dry, although she admits, "I wouldn't mind having a go at --it. Could be /quite/ interesting, indeed...Open your mouth, if you please."
Keilah snickers slightly and shakes her head. "I think it would be embarrasing for you-- you wouldn't know whether to give him the pregnancy test or not," she replies with a gigle before hushing and opening her mouth.
Ilesyn snorts. "Believe me, there's an easy enough way to find out what it really is." A rather obvious way, too. Her fingers probe into Keilah's mouth, feeling about teeth, and generally prodding a bit, but pull out before too long - the action really doesn't impress Ilesyn, whose eager to keep her fingers to herself, and scrubs them off rather rapidly.
Keilah giggles slightly, as she tries not to nod at that, lest she be gagged or something. "They're all there and healthy, I think. I coulda told you that," Keilah informs her with a grin. "So is that all?" She's still kinda nervous about all of this.
"I had to, er," Ilesyn pauses, as if trying to remember something, "Check your gums, as well." Gums, that's right. Her head shakes, smile wry, "No, now I get out my hammer, and test your reflexes, and then I do the embarrassing bit."
Keilah quirks an eyebrow up. "Your /hammer/?" she squeaks as she looks around for a toolbox. "Then what are you gonna... Oh. That part." She sighs. "I swear, the things that happens when you say yes to a Search rider."
Ilesyn's shoulders shrug. "In future, you'd be wise to remember that riding is not all fun and games. Physicals, and then possibly dying on any given day, for the sake of other people..." Her nose wrinkles, as she moves to pick up the hammer - not all that big, honestly, and hardly likely to hurt - indicating Keilah's knees. "Just a tap?" Tap is done - "See?"
"Oh, I thought that sounded brave," Keilah naively remarks with a sigh. "I have a harper candidate who promised to write a ballad about me if Leyrith kills me. It's going to match the lyrics I wrote, 'Leyrith, Leyrith, biggethed bum, sat on candidate twenty-one.' And kidlets can sing it and remember me forever... and laugh." She giggles and winks before looking toward the hammer and her slightly-moving knee. "Oh, that wasn't bad at all..."
Ilesyn's head shakes, her eyes roll. "Brave? Hah. I'd call it all folly. The whole ridership thing." She mutters, beneath her breath, as she brings the hammer down lightly upon the other knee, remarking, "I don't see why you people say yes, honestly." Never mind that Ilesyn did, too, once.
Keilah laughs and shakes her head. "I don't understand it, Ilesyn. You don't want men, firelizards, or a dragon. Just going to bond with your numbweed for the rest of your turns?" She shrugs, then, sighing. "It was that or do candidate work at HArper with the headwoman chastising me and without the chance of interacting with people my age. So I said yes."
Ilesyn sneezes, as if on cue. "I don't mind men. For sex, anyway." Love is an entirely different story. "And I definitely don't want numbweed. Give me a few head-cases, and I'll be perfectly happy, forever." Wiping her nose with a sigh, the Mindhealer nods. "I suppose," says she, almost owlishly. "But..." She trails off, adding, "Better get your clothes off, then, and lie back on the cot."
"Well, that's a good thing to know," Keilah replies. "At least you don't have to do with the whole... baster method." She shudders then. "And okay..." she continues as she slips out of her clothes, doing as instructed, pausing to bite her lip and take a deep breath. "I'll drive people crazy, just to give you more patients."
"Except," points out Ilesyn, calmly, "that I don't want children. Ever." The idea of Ilesyn as a mother is, in truth, a rather horrifying one. "Ooh! Just what I like to hear. Though I seem to have plenty of patients, as it is." She moves around to the far end of the bed, crouching, as she adds, "I'm just going to have a look - a bit of a feel. Close your eyes, and pretend I'm a man, if it makes you feel better."
"Oh, I don't blame you," Keilah replies with a nervous chuckle as she stares toward the ceiling. "And that's too bad. Pern could always do with less crazies, although, I have to admit, they are interesting to talk to. And... um... okay..." she ends softly as she hums, trying to distract herself.
Ilesyn's fingers - like those of most healers - are cold, and probably don't make things entirely comfortable, but she works quickly. "I think the word is probably more likely to be 'eccentrics'. Not everyone is crazy, but they have their problems, and it's always good to talk problems out."
Keilah pulls down the end of the scarf wrapped around her hair and plays with the thread-like tassels. "Oh, I'll make sure to call them 'extentrics' instead, then." Hey, it's a new word for her. "I guess, like riders, even the cra-- extentrics like their titles. Except if I called the old man at the hall that, he'd probably just warble at me and run off flapping his arms."
"Well, I think of them as eccentric, most of the time," says Ilesyn, attempting to enunciate the word. "Except for people like that wherry-man; they're just plain insane." Her fingers pull back, and, rather rapidly, she moves to wash her hands. "All right, you can get dressed now. All done."
"Eccentric," Keilah repeats a few times as a whisper as she nods slightly before breaking into a giggle. "Okay, so continue calling him a crazy is safe, then, and oh, thanks so much," she finishes, moving to slip back on her clothes. "I do pity you, Ilesyn."
Ilesyn tilts her head to the side, the vague nod that greets Keilah's other comments still compared to her own comment: "Pity me? Why?"
Keilah wrinkles her nose. "For having to put your hands in all... sorts... of places," she replies with a shrug as she moves down from the cot, readjusting her clothing around her.
Ilesyn laughs, although her expression is rueful. "Thankfully, I usually leave this to the--body healers. I'm not much delighted with the idea, let me say." She finally finishes scrubbing her hands, and wipes them upon a towel. "Well. Good luck, I suppose." It does not, however, sound as though she means it.
"Yeah, thanks. And you, too, with... whatever... you need good luck for..." Furrowing her forehead in confusion at her own words, and shaking her head, she waves and heads back to the barracks.
Keilah walks off northwestwards to the center bowl.
=============================== FTW Cand/Wling ===============================
Message: 15/26 Posted Author Gettin' Physical Sat Feb 16 Keilah
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Hmm... What is there to say about a physical that won't make people grimace? Nervously, Keilah had hers, where she and Ilesyn engaged in multiple conversations, including on how firelizards, dragons, and men can all be useless to Impress, and how crazy people should not be called 'crazy' but 'eccentric'... except for that old dude back at the hall who thinks he's a wherry. Kei, the healer says, can still call him 'crazy wherry man.' Besides that, she's healthy--physically, at least. Ilesyn never reported on the candidate's mental condition. ;)
Keilah, the physical free
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