RCW: Thoughts of the future

Posted on Thu Mar 26th, 2026 @ 10:56pm by Sr Journeyman Nikolai & Bronze Rider K'ron
Edited on on Thu Mar 26th, 2026 @ 10:56pm

Mission: 3531 AL
Timeline: M4 D10

K'ron moved his arm a bit, testing to see just how he felt. He grimaced as it still hurt, but he also knew he needed to get back to his wing. He carefully did the sling back up and decided to let the healers take a look and get their opinion.

Nikolai looked up from the bandages he was wrapping and smiled at the bronze rider. “Hello K’ron. Are you looking for anyone in particular or will I do?” He asked finishing up the bandage standing up tossing the items in the basket.

The bronze rider smiled when Nikolai spoke up. “Noone in particular,” he answered. “And of course you will do,” he smiled. He walked over to where Nikolai was wrapping bandages. “Just came to see how my arm was doing.”

“Good cause you’d have to come back if not. Shirt off then K’ron lets have a look at it all.” Nikolai offered pointing to a cot with a curtain as he rushed off to wash his hand and cover them in redwort.

The bronze rider nodded, stepping over to the cot. He carefully undid the sling he was still using and slid his shirt off. His arm was still hurting.

Nikolai came over and stood behind first moving the arm around and then moved in front to feel how it was moving. “Hurts yeah?” He removed the padding over the wound and looked at the healing wound.

K'ron had to grit his teeth a bit when Nikolai moved his arm. He had been trying not to baby it too much but it hurt. “Yeah it still hurts,” he reluctantly admitted.

“But it’s still healing.” Nikolai assured softly as he gripped his shoulder. “Your muscles are tight so you are going to need to do some physiotherapy but as far as I can see there is no permanent damage.” Nikolai said, still smiling as they spoke. It was nothing that working the muscles could not help.

The bronze rider groaned a bit. “Healing is good. Tight muscles are not so good,” he answered. At least it seemed like he was on mend. No lasting damage. “Thank Faranth. Nerlyn would have strangled me if it was anything permanent,” he chuckled. “Of fed me to Thread.”

Nikolai chuckled but said nothing as he stepped back to give the man space. “I am sure she would just drown you now. But how is my favourite Dolphineer?” Nikolai wondered quietly.

K'ron groaned. “Don’t give her any ideas please.” She would probably try that too. He was actually surprised she hadn't yet. “She's doing well now,” he answered. “She's home and seems to be settling back into a routine.”

“I do not believe I need to give her any ideas. I ask as she missed a couple of appointments.” He hinted softly as he did one final check and covered the healing wound back up. “Stitches should come out in 2 days time as it's healed enough and if we leave them in any longer they won’t come out easily.” He hinted. He would do it now but he needed Thalia to look at it properly as it was her work.

Nikolai was probably right. Nerlyn had probably already considered drowning him. K'ron stared at his friend. “She has?” He asked. Shard it Nerlyn. What was she trying to pull? He shuddered at that thought. “Two days for me and maybe sooner for Nerlyn.” He was not real impressed at the moment.

“Thalia just needs to look at it.” Nikolai said quietly. “She might have just had duty changes and never got a chance to reschedule. I just want to keep an eye on her.” He said not wanting to say it aloud but he wanted to keep a closer eye on her for mental health.

K'ron nodded. That made sense. Thalia had done the stitches. He blew out a breath. “I hope you are right.” He wasn't so sure though. Nerlyn could be challenging at times and not realize she needed to keep those appointments.

“She has been busy. She’s been working hard moving from apprentice to journeywoman.” Nikolai soothed a little, finally stepping back. “All good to put your shirt back on. Any concerns?” He wondered stepping back a little to wash his hands again.

Perhaps. He was still going to have to talk to her though. K'ron grabbed his shirt back up. “Don't think so. I just wanted to make sure it was still healing.”

“It is. And how are you feeling about it all?” Nikolai wondered turning back to look at the wingleader. He now had his mind healer brain on thinking about how the psychological effects of the last few sevendays.

K'ron sighed a bit. “Okay. The nightmares are getting less. I'm just glad to be able to move a bit more and not feel so useless.” he was getting there. With time.

“Time heals but also you did nothing wrong.” Nikolai reminded more firmly that he needed to but the man needed to keep reminding himself of it. “You are here and will be back to normal soon enough.” The mind healer was sure of that.

The bronze rider nodded. He knew that was true. He hadn't done anything. It had just been a total mess. “Thank you. Sometimes that is hard to remember.”

“I can remind you as many times as you need as can many other people.” The healer commented. “What is going on?” Nikolai wondered sitting down on the cot opposite to chat properly. Sometimes healing was needed simply by talking.

K'ron smiled a bit. “I don't doubt that,” he answered. He did know he hadn't done anything wrong. It didn't stop the nightmares though. “Which part?” He asked. “Sometimes I feel like I am losing it.”

“All of it,” Nikolai offered. “It is my job to check in on everyone who lives in the Weyr and try and work through issues.” Nikolais reminded knowing it was just them in the infirmary. Thalia was at lunch and the apprentices were at lessons with the master healer.

The bronze rider nodded a bit. He did know that. And Nikolai had always made it easy to talk to him. “I'm worried about Nerlyn. Before this High Reaches mess I felt pretty good about where we were. She was happy and healthy. Now though I feel like she is pulling in and away from me.”

“How so?” Nikolai asked Leaning back against the wall getting comfortable as he thought this might be a long conversation.

K'ron tried to think how to put it into words. “I don't know. She just acts like she doesn't belong here. she didn't even want to come back once I was out of the infirmary.”

“She belongs just like I do.” Nikolai rolled his eyes. He was a weyrbrat turned crafter after failing to impress but he could understand the heartache of not quite fitting in to how the Weyr worked now. “I wonder if this is all delayed PTSD.” Nikolais rubbed his beard thoughtfully, thinking about it all. “Anything else?”

“I've tried telling her that but of course she doesn't listen,” K'ron sighed. Nerlyn could be very stubborn sometimes. “I am just worried she is going to spiral down again and I don't know if I can bring her back a second time. I nearly lost her a few different times the first go round.”

“She won’t once she has gotten it in her head.” Nikolai said fondly before he sighed. “What was she doing before this all happened?” He wondered trying to piece the story together.

He sighed softly. “She didn't want me to go to High Reaches and of course I couldn't back out. The Weyrleaders had requested my presence.” He absently rubbed at his injured arm. “She chose to stay at the craft hall with Raen til I got back.”

“Okay but it’s literally a 15 minute walk.” Nikolai raised an eyebrow. “And that is when you both discovered Raen discovered his abilities?” He wondered.

K'ron slowly nodded. “Nerlyn nearly had a heart attack when we realized. Poor Raen couldn't figure out why his mother was so worried.” He scrubbed at his face with his good hand. This was all too much.

“So we need to get her down here for check over and chat before the clutching happens.” He said realising that K’ron would be heavily involved in that. “How long do I have?” Nikolai said knowing he was the one who was going to have to track her down or get someone to drag her down there.

K'ron groaned. He hadn't even thought about the hatching with everything else that had happened. “I hadn't even thought about that,” he admitted. Some Bronze Rider he was. “I think the clutch will be laid any day now and then letting the eggs harden so not long,” he admitted. What a mess.

“Have you spoken to Master Jameas about this?” Nikolai ventured not wanting to venture there when Nerlyn was a good dolphineer by all regards. Why she walked the tables so easily as people loved her approach to working and she had a knack for charts and knowledge from being a rider. “I am just wondering if getting her on a sea duty might help.”

He shook his head. “I haven't. I honestly didn't realize things were this bad,” he said quietly. Things just continued to get worse. “Maybe. Before she can't with the baby,” he agreed softly.

“What has made you think it’s so bad out of interest?” Nikolai wondered, grabbing over a piece of scrap paper and wrote out something before folding it up. “Koda handy?”

“It's like she's pulling away. Like she doesn't want to be here and shouldn’t be here. I'm not sure what to do.” Somehow he had missed her slipping. It seemed like it started with those ruins and timing and now Raen being able to hear the dragons. “He is,” he answered just as the brown appeared with a chitter.

Nikolai smiled and held out the note. “Take this to Master Dolphineer Jameas please.” Nikolai requested politely. He waited for the brown fire lizard to disappear. “So we need to prove to her that she is needed here.” Nikolai said gently. “Other than the obvious.”

Koda bobbed his head, holding his leg out while Nikolai attached the note. The little brown then disappeared. K'ron nodded. “But she doesn't seem to listen or believe anything I tell her,” he sighed.

“So who does she listen to right now?” Nikolai asked, trying to delve into what was going on. Nerlyn had 2 good turns until whatever was going on right now.

The bronze rider shook his head. “I honestly wish I knew,” he said softly. He still couldn't quite figure out what happened and how things had gone downhill so quickly.

The man frowned a little as he tried to work out what to say. “What about the Weyrleaders?” He eventually vocalised. If Nerlyn was struggling with Weyrlife or adjusting to her place in it then it would be handy to get their attention on it all.

He shrugged his good shoulder. “It's worth a try. It just seems like things have gotten out of hand since Raen's ability and then the knife at High Reaches.” K'ron sighed softly.

Nikolai looked at the man and bit his lip for a moment before he treaded down a path he had not last time. “What happens if… what happens if we can’t stop the spiral?” Nikolai asked the man. He wanted to know the man’s thought pattern.

K'ron blinked at Nikolai like he had two heads. He hadn't even considered such a thing. Of course Nikolai was right. The bronze rider closed his eyes tightly. “Then we do what is best for her even if that means letting her go.” He hated to even think that but he would rather have her alive and happy then not surviving at all.

Nikolai nodded slowly, hating himself for what he had said but he needed to be that person who said it. “Do you want to speak to the Weyrleaders or would you like me to?” He said quietly, feeling the tension from the man.

K'ron trembled a bit. Somehow his life had just turned upside down and he had no idea if he could ever fix it. “Do you mind?” He asked quietly, not sure if he could handle that too.

“I can do it after my shift.” He promised already thinking of how he was going to approach it. “I am sorry that I asked it K’ron.” The man said expressing his guilt.

He shook his head just a bit. “It's fine,” he said quietly. “It needed to be asked even I didn't want to face it.” K'ron still didn't want to face that possibility.

“You’ll be okay.” The older man soothed gently. He did know the future but he could not see Nerlyn without K’ron or K’ron without Nerlyn. Even as a teenager he could see it before Nerlyn impressed.

K'ron slowly nodded. He would be. He just hoped that he would still be with Nerlyn. Her safety and sanity were what mattered though. “Thank you.”

“I am always here K’ron. Not just as a healer.” Nikolai wished he could offer more right then and there but hope was in such small quantities but it was something he could offer.

“I know and I am grateful for that.” depending on the outcome of this he just might need Nikolai even more.