The stairwell, Sunday evening

[firebringerborn]

After leaving the clinic, neatly stitched but still in a fair amount of pain, Jan made his way back to the dorms

Comments

[stocksgrrl]

"So that's how you do it!" Turtle, on her way up from her bogus little party down in the lobby, was always happy to see Jan, but that was because she didn't at first notice the limping. Once she did, though, she gasped a little.

"You're hurt! Are you...should I get some help? I mean, it's not like I can do anything, you're at least five times my size, but maybe I could go get Chad. He might be able to lift you..."

[firebringerborn]

Jan stopped, secretly grateful for the excuse to rest. "I will be fine. Usually, I jump up them, but not tonight." He flicked his ears at her with weary amusement. "I doubt there is anyone on the island who could lift me."

[stocksgrrl]

"I don't know," Turtle said, eying Jan a little bit more. "Chad's pretty strong. Get his boyfriend to help him, too, and they could probably lift anything. But he's very unreliable in these sorts of things, and I wouldn't be surprised if he only just made it worse. People always get hurt when you hire Chad into this sort of a thing..."

She trailed off a little, head tilted. "We really need elevators in this joint," she mused.

[firebringerborn]

"I don't know that I would want someone lifting me." Jan hauled himself up another step, placing his hooves carefully because they were narrow. "And I'm sure this is good for me - it will keep the muscles from stiffening." He curved an ear forward. "Elevator?"

[stocksgrrl]

"It's this device," Turtle explained, with a slight nod, hands ready for demonstrating gestures, "mechanical, that they have in most modern buildings that works as a lift between levels. So, instead of climbing up all the stairs, you can take the elevator, and it's a lot less work, especially for someone like yourself, who's, no offense, not really built for stairs. I know Adah probably always had trouble with them, too, and just wait until we get someone in a wheelchair. Oh, man. Law suit waiting to happen."

[firebringerborn]

Most of that went over Jan's head. "I think I would prefer the stairs," he said, snorting as he climbed a few more. "I know how they work, and it is not so different from climbing a rocky slope."

[stocksgrrl]

"Did you have to do that a lot back home?" Turtle asked, head still tilted as she wondered if maybe, at least, a conversation might distract Jan enough so that he didn't notice all the limping and climbing as much.

[firebringerborn]

He stopped, chewing thoughtfully, and his tail swished. "I...am not sure. I know we lived in a vale surrounded by mountains, I know I must have climbed them. Moving fast over rough ground is part of a warrior's training."

[stocksgrrl]

The pause had Turtle confused for a moment, but when Jan started to talk again, she recalled, abruptly, about what Jan had said about not remembering everything. She winced slightly, and her smile was faint and apologetic. "So you're a warrior, huh?"

[firebringerborn]

"I am," he said proudly. "It was how I was hurt, fighting on the other island." He arched his neck, curving his ears towards her. "We won, and we brought the island home." Even if Jan didn't really understand how that had worked, he knew that it had, and that was enough.

[stocksgrrl]

Turtle grinned slightly. "Well, of course we won. We always win."

[firebringerborn]

"Always?" Jan eyed her, before he started climbing the steps again. "We never lose?"

[stocksgrrl]

Turtle took a moment, trying to think back and go through all of the big dang events and raids and invasions and weird things that happened in this place, and then took a breath. "Nope," she said, "not that I can think of anyway."

And she made a quick little prayer that she didn't just curse them horribly with those words.

[firebringerborn]

"I hope that it may continue that way." He snorted contemplatively and climbed another stair. "Does it happen often, that we have to fight?"

[stocksgrrl]

"Every so often," Turtle admitted. "You kind of get used to it if you've been here a while like I have. But we've got such a great collection of resources and talents that there's always some way to handle whatever gets thrown at us, it seems. You have to keep on your toes around here. Or, I guess in your case," she tried a small smile, "hooves."

[firebringerborn]

Jan sighed as he reached a landing. "I will stay alert," he promised, letting his head droop. The stitches pulled at hip and shoulder, and he was afraid they might tear if he wasn't careful. To distract himself, he asked, ""Turtle? Would you help me find a job?"