For Dave Strider and Dave Strider

[not_only_wisdom]

Nynaeve is taking this time in the infirmary to portion out and label more of her simples, tisanes, and poultices for general use.

Her hair -- shorn now to her shoulders -- is pinned up, and she wears a yellow-fringed shawl on her shoulders.

" -- for headache," she mutters to herself, writing down dosage instructions in neat, even letters. "One cup at need, no longer than a week."

Comments

[stridersgonnastride]

"uh hi," Dave says.

He's come directly from the bar, and is carrying his younger self.

"is there a doctor in the house because i don't think take two and call me tomorrow is really gonna cut it"

[not_only_wisdom]

Nynaeve looks up, and while she doesn't actually knock her chair down in getting up and bustling toward the obviously unconscious boy and his -- carrier --

She does move very fast across the room, not even worrying about gliding.

"Here, put him down -- no, not there -- over here, and tell me what happened."

Some days she misses having a braid to tug.

[stridersgonnastride]

"well it's sort of complicated because he's actually past me

"you know magic right you look more like a magic-y person than a surgeon or anything and that's good because he basically gave himself an atomic time wedgie concussion"

The smaller Dave is wearing his god tier outfit. His nose is bleeding, his usual pallor is heavily weighted towards 'pasty' rather than 'pale', and that might be a little blood coming out of one ear as well.

"also i'm skinny as fuck holy shit he needs to eat like three sandwiches he's probably deficient in goddamn everything"

[not_only_wisdom]

"Of course it's his brain!" Nynaeve snaps crankily, even as light springs up around her, making her glow brighter than a star.

Such are the side effects of embracing saidar, here at the end of the universe.

"Boys never manage anything simple. Sit. And try not to talk unless it's important."

[stridersgonnastride]

"hey i resemble that remark everything that comes out of my mouth is a perfect pearl of wisdom i'm basically spitting out a fortune in mollusk pimples like they were ill rhymes straight from snoop"

He also doesn't sit, but hovers cautiously outside of her reach, eyeing his unconscious other self.

[stridersgonnastride]

Some time later, the younger Dave wakes up. He doesn't know where he is, or what happened. He tries to sit bolt upright, but barely pushes himself up before a blinding headache knocks him right back down.

"oh fuck," he groans. "oh god stop the world i want to get off"

He lies very still and tries not to be sick. At least he's still wearing his shades.

[not_only_wisdom]

"Just don't try doing it yourself again, time powers or no."

The voice is snappish, but the hand that touches his shoulder is gentle.

"Here, drink this. It will help with the pain. Don't bother opening your eyes, I'll help you get the cup up to your mouth."

[stridersgonnastride]

Of course, Dave immediately opens his eyes. He also flinches, but whether that's from the unexpected touch or the jagged spike of pain from the mere presence of light is up for debate.

"okay," he groans. "where the fuck is this and who the fuck are you"

[not_only_wisdom]

"The infirmary in Milliways is the where," Nynaeve snaps, shoving a heavy clay mug into his hand. Or trying, anyway.

"As for me, I'll ask you to mind your language before I give you any other answers. I would hope the older version of you that left you here would say the same."

It's true, she does hope for that. But --

[stridersgonnastride]

That's a vain hope, Nynaeve. Maybe don't hold your breath on that one.

"i think i remember that," he mutters. "did i really pass out fucking weak"

He wraps his fingers around the mug, leaning back against the pillows. It gets a cautious sniff. His expression of disapproval is microscopic, but visible to someone watching closely.

[bloodyvirgo]

Later still, as promised to Dave's older self, Kanaya breezes in to the infirmary.

She's taller than he's probably used to, and most notably, not glowing. She also comes bearing a large glass of apple juice from the Bar.

[stridersgonnastride]

After some painkillers and more sleep, Dave feels almost human again. Definitely not god tier, maybe not even up to Knight status, but like he might survive.

He squints at her from behind his shades. Tall, pointy, green. "maryam huh i guess maybe future me isn't completely blistering bugfuck nuts after all"

Then he catches sight of the glass. "if that's what i think it is you are my new favorite person in every universe"

[bloodyvirgo]

"I Am Pretty Fantastic, she agrees lightly, helping him sit up if he needs it, and pressing the glass into his hands.

"I Have Food, Too, If You Think You Can Manage It."

[stridersgonnastride]

"not unless you wanna redecorate this place in some uncomplimentary colors like puke green and barf orange"

Normally, Dave would be all over that AJ like a man dying of thirst in the desert, but he holds the glass with a tight grip and sips it cautiously.

"holy shit i don't even care if this is a weird hallucination anymore"

[bloodyvirgo]

Kanaya is silently marvelling at how tiny thirteen year old Dave is, but then again, they were all smaller back then. His pallor and the way hes hunched over his juice doesn't help any, though.

"Perhaps Later, Then. Though I Do Assure You That This Place Is Not A Hallucination. It's...Similar To A Nexus Of Dream Bubbles. A Pocket Of Space-time."

[freedom_is_grey]

Ysalwen, who has a stack of healing poultices in her hands and a bag of stamina potions hanging off her arm, pauses halfway into the room.

Liranan is lurking by the door. He does not want to scare little Dave! He knows big Dave is not comfortable with him!

"Um. Dave? I -- I didn't know how you'd be feeling except for having incredible head pain -- that's what the other you told me, anyway, if I remember what concussion means, so. Um. I hate waking up in infirmaries alone, so. Um."

Um.

"Hello?"

[stridersgonnastride]

"hi"

Dave stares blankly at her.

"and who th fuck are you supposed to be"

[freedom_is_grey]

"Ysalwen Surana. Um."

It's even more awkward than she imagined. Ah, well.

"We're bros. Or we will be, later. Ish. Um. You taught me the lyrics to Space Jam and now I hum it all the time?"

Double um.

Liranan stays quietly by the door. Now, he feels, is not the time to say hello!

[stridersgonnastride]

"oh

"future me mentioned you"

He looks her up and down. His face is still mostly expressionless but the tilt of his head suggests he's at least a little curious.

"seriously though space jam"

[freedom_is_grey]

She laughs a little, very quietly.

"I think it was supposed to be ironic? Only I'm terrible at irony. So."

Liranan yips in agreement from his position by the door.

Then he tries to hide his face behind his paws. He was supposed to be quiet!

[veryvorkosigan]

At some later point, Cordelia steps very quietly into the infirmary and scans the beds for a shock of white hair.

(Reminding herself that it's going to be attached to a smaller body than she might expect.)

[stridersgonnastride]

There's one, attached to a rather peaky looking Dave. The bright red of his god tier outfit makes him look even more washed out than usual.

He's quiet and still in one of the beds. It's hard to tell if his eyes are open or not, because of the ever present shades.

[veryvorkosigan]

He looks tiny, to her eyes, and entirely too still.

She takes another step closer, trying to see if he's awake without disturbing him if he's asleep.

[stridersgonnastride]

He turns his head to face her. "you a doctor or am i just real popular today

"always with the broads up in my grill" His voice is a little raspy, probably from sleep.

[veryvorkosigan]

"Not a doctor," she says, keeping her voice down, "just a friend. I know you're here from before we met; I'm Cordelia."