Niel hummed to himself as he walked up to the lake. There were a few boulders here and there, but he did want just any boulder. He was looking for one that would be comfortable for a while. Once again he couldn’t sleep and there weren’t many other Wher candidates to chat up. Honestly though, he wanted to get away for while and enjoy the night.

Picking a rock he jumped up on top and fidgeted until he was comfortable. The moonlight shining off the water really was beautiful. Niel wrapped his coat tighter around himself as a winter breeze made waves dance. Lifting up his pouch, he rooted through it looking for something.

Opening his journal he flipped through the pages until he found the section he was looking for.

Serean
Age 8
Gender Female
Diagnosis --

The empty space glared at him. The symptoms section was full, but the cause… He flipped a page.

Merin
Age 53
Gender Male
Diagnosis --

It was pathetic he had so many pages of his journal filled with names and deaths, but no causes. The empty spaces ate at him and sometimes he just had to go through and read them all again. He knew it was morose, but they helped him learn… learn many important things. He couldn’t save everyone.

Niel flipped back to Serean and read through her symptoms, searching for anything he’d missed for the past three years.
The wind wistled and made small waves pound agaisnt the shore.

"Mind if I join you?" Iella asked bundled up in her rideing gear. Telly might be finally be sleeping the nights now, but she's been to well 'trained' by his past antics that she found herself waking at the slightest sound and having a hard time falling back asleep. She knew Al and the flitts would alert her if Telly needed anything, she she'd decided to take a walk to tire herself out again.

"You're Niel right? Iella, current head of the day shift healers." she said offering him her hand. "I hear good things about you."

Niel jumped when he heard someone come up behind him.
“Uh, yes I’m Niel,” He reached out to take Iella’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a healer and I’m here. I’m waiting for the Wher eggs so I’ve been given a reprieve from healing duties.”

Niel closed his journal and placed it in his pouch. “What bring you out here this late, especially if you’re on dayshift. If you don’t mind me asking.”

"Wher's? Nice. Was kind of tempted to go for them myself, but I like the day light to much." Iella said with a smile. "As for why I'm out here, well I've a kiddo and I got so used to waking up in the night to tend to him that I just wake up now for no reason."

And while she worries about waking the child, she doesn't mind waking the flitts who wake me. Came a sleep muddled grumble to both their minds.

Iella chuckled as she watched one of the odd Foure wing Not Flitts dart past chasing her own Silence. "Ignore Al. I can't help waking the flitts when they sleep on me, and have gotten as conditioned as much as I have. My... those little things are cute. I wish someone had woke me when they hatched."

No. No more pets. No more children either.

“Daylight is nice, but at night it’s all a different world.” Niel grinned and tilted his head in understanding, “After my mother gave birth to my little sister, she became sickly and my father spent most of his time taking care of her. I practically raised Surala myself, so I know about all the sleepless nights.”

Niel started at the dragon’s voice in his head. He’d been spoken to before, but not often. He chuckled at the brown’s statement. “I wish I had a flit, they’re so fascinating, especially the four winged one’s. Of course I don’t have one, so I’m a bit ignorant.” Niel watched the flits zoom around. “I wasn’t here when the last clutch hatched and you don’t see many of the glowing ones around Telgar Hold. Hopefully I’ll be here for the next one though.”

Iella smiled at the wher candidate's comments on the night. "It is a whole other world, but it's one that tends to make me go a little loopy if I see it to often. My mother's helping when she can be spared from the hold, but... for all the trouble I have juggling things I wouldn't trade being a mother for anything."

Iella whistled and the queen wheeled and alighted on her out stretched wrist. "This is Silence. I think she'll be raising shortly, so maybe you'll get one of her next clutch if I can find it. This is the first I've seen the four winged ones myself. I know a few imprinted to other riders, but they don't seem to like me so I haven't had a chance to look at them that closely."

“Watching someone grow from a baby into a toddler is certainly an experience in itself. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one who was raising her at least during the day, so getting things done wasn’t much of a problem. Why does the night make you loopy? Not afraid of the dark are you?” Niel teased.

He watched the gold with interest. “Oh, she’s quite pretty. May I pet her? I’d love to get an egg, but Flitts aren’t nocturnal are they? Once I get a Wher,” Niel refused to think otherwise, “I’ll be up all night. The four winged ones are certainly flighty, maybe someone will find a clutch.”

"His father's still in the picture, but as he's a bronze rider he's a busy as i am." Iella said as she pulled a small leather bound folio. She opened it to show a painting of her holding a child next to another rider with a huge grin on his face. "Tolly's a good man, sweet as can be. As for my not liking the night, I get sleep deprived and I start acting ... well a lot like a silly green. Al's taken to sending people in to dose me into sleep when I refuse to leave off a project."

"They do all right, but they aren't nocturnal, no. I think the four wings are though."