Nøkk Haruichi Grimm: Resident: Male

CHARACTER PROFILE


Name: Nøkk Haruichi Grimm

Age: Turns 18 on the coming Spring Equinox (1st day of the season) His middle name "Haruichi" was given to him by his maternal Grandmother and may mean "the first born son of Spring."

Gender: Male

Distinguishing features: Freckles and unkempt hair.

Hair Color: Sun Bleached Blond

Eye Color: Intense Hazel Green


Description:

Nøkk is a slender, fit lad of medium height with a freckled tan, shoulder length straw hair and cautious demeanor.. Typically garbed in worn hiking wear with a pull down cap over fine straight hair as well as a carving knife and hunting blade tucked in his old boots. When outside he is usually bearing a travel pack and walking stick with a sling tucked in his belt. Often he is accompanied by a medium sized young canine female of mixed hunting breeds sporting a mottled coppery brown of black coat.


Personality:

With most of his life spent outdoors young Grimm is quite resourceful and self-reliant. Surviving so much time in the wilds has left Nøkk quite brave save in social situations where he is either politely reserved or simply distant depending on the company. Large gatherings tend to make him claustrophobic and he only truly relaxes outside. The youngest of his family, the eager-to-please nature of his youth has evolved into an earnest, eager-to-prove-himself manner. Despite his social reserve, Nøkk has a big heart and protective nature, and feels a sense of responsibility for those close to him.


History:

Son of Drs. Yørt and Kiminiko Grimm, Marine Scientists dedicated to the discovery and cataloging of Pern's coastal species, Nøkk has a special appreciation of the natural world. Along with his older sisters, Astrid and Yukio, both talented naturalists in their own right, he has been dragged along Pernese coasts for the last eleven years, although the last several years have been with the greatest of caution. As a result he (like the rest of the Grimm Clan) is quite the outdoors-man, no stranger to living off the land, dealing with difficult terrain or the impromptu swim. Nøkk has also gained some experience with basic seamanship, horsemanship and pack animals from some of his family's wider ranging adventures as well as basic first aid training that has occasionally been put to the test---most often on himself.

While most of his childhood was relatively carefree, Threadfall changed all that and it's was only then, as a young adolescent that he began to more than pass through the coastal villages. It was quite awkward at first for in his family Nøkk had always been the fastest runner, best swimmer and surest climber. He excelled in the physical and practical survival skills his more academic family members all but eschewed. However when matched with his residential peers he found himself falling short in compare. Little use were his survivalist skills among the settled nor were the academics he'd suffered learning as Grimm progeny. Nøkk quickly discovered, to his frustration, there were always a faster, larger, stronger boys each and every one more savvy to subtitles of civilized life. His less developed social skills and natural bravado proved a combustible combination often resulting some in scuffle... which he nearly always lost.

The last three years had forced the Family Grimm to balance the demands of their research with the reality of Threadfall, allowing far briefer forays in specimen collection and more time spent on domestic living. Father Grimm took to working alongside local fisherman as it allowed him opportunities for the occasional specimen collection. Mother Grimm put her academics to use as an educator while the Sisters Grimm enjoyed some notoriety as no nonsense Nannies. Nor was the youngest of their number idle.

The lone Brother Grimm found it was easier to deal with dumb animals then the perceived stupidity of his fellow teens, and so applied himself with an earnest passion as a veterinarian's assistant. His experience with riding and pack animals proved useful as did his basic but well practiced medical skills. Nøkk's courage and compassion gave him a reputation for being able to work with even the most difficult of animals, though it was not an honor he'd earned unscathed, unscratched or unbruised. Veterinarians he assisted would often complain they spent almost as much time healing him as their patients. Undaunted by such perils and reveling in the opportunity to prove himself, Nøkk took such jibes in good humor. The last few years have provided opportunities to help treat most species of domestic animals both livestock and pets alike as well as a chance to hone his fighting skills if not his social graces.

Recently, Nøkk got in a fight with a villager's son for the third time this winter. After the boy's comrades cleaned the streets using the young Grimm's face, the Sisters Grimm retaliated with like violence. The local Vet reluctantly had to let Nøkk go as some of his best clients were related to Grimm's rivals. He offered Nøkk two bits of advice: 1) Caldera had a good deal of individuals working with animals and 2) try to stay out of trouble. He was also kind enough to write a glowing reference politely ignoring the Grimm boy's tendency to skirmish with his peers. After some anguished discussion, the elder Grimm agreed that a change of venue might benefit their son for a number of reasons and packed him off.

So it was with a tearful farewell and one heartfelt parting shot an the Potter's son nose, that Nøkk Haruichi Grimm made to seek his fortune in the nearly mythical (to him at least) lands of Caldera.


Hobbies

When the Grimm found themselves living under roofs more often then not, Nøkk tried a number of hobbies. Music was out when it was discovered he was fatally tone deaf. Sports were out, as his parents decided after several injuries their son took such things too seriously...and after he confessed he only played to knock a few arrogant heads. While he had some talent for drawing, the two-dimensionality of it left him unsatisfied, so he turned to carving.

He discovered a talent for wood carving and when unoccupied otherwise will set and carve small statuettes of animals or other things that have caught his fancy. His parents were unimpressed and thought the blade was just an excuse for further mayhem until their young artist gifted them with a small wooden menagerie of their favorite species which the Grimm proudly display to their peers when the opportunity arises. Occasionally, humor finds it's way into his creations and several unflattering caricatures of his sisters have been found.


Pets

Nøkk likes animals. He find's them far easier to understand then some humans. During his time working as a Veterinarian's Assistant he acquired a companion canine. Born smallest to an overly large litter, he nursed the pup to the fine spoiled creature she is today.

Name: Madame, Mad for short, Madame Curie Grimm when she's in trouble

Species: Canine

Breed: Mixed Breed (Appears to have at least some Black Lab and Irish Setter ancestory)

Age: 2

Description: Medium sized, with medium length wavy coat of mottled coppery brown on black.

Personality: Friendly, inquisitive, loyal and more than a little bit spoiled.

The young traveler, well bundled in many layers against the harsh winter weather, stomped the snow off his boots and shifted his pack with a wince. He winked from beneath a snow dusted cap to his canine companion, but she was otherwise occupied with tracking an intriguing scent round the corner of the small stone dwelling. With a grin he banged on the door the building. Puffing out his chest he attempted to imitate his father bellowing. “COME OPEN UP WOMAN! MUST ONE FREEZE T’ DET BEFORE COMING A PATIENT DEN?” He banged once more for good measure, when suddenly a young woman in a white smock swung the door open. The lad was surprised and disappointed all at once as his jest had went astray---this was not the person he’d expected.

Not much shorter than his own medium height, the girl looked at him with a mix of confusion and poorly concealed annoyance, “May I help you?”

Ignoring the doormaid for a moment he scanned the interior, wondering if his intended victim was out on a house call. He noted a large frayed umbrella sprouting defiantly from a stand near the door and he grinned anew with further mischief in mind. “Yes. Yes, you may!” he frowned down at her seriously and haughtily declared, “Please tell the good doctor that my parents have decided they wanted another girl instead and have sent me back in hopes of a refund. They say I am not at all what she’d promised in any regard, and she simply must make good on her mistake!”

Confused and now more than a bit concerned, the young woman cried meekly over her shoulder, “Millie, there’s a strange young man here to see you?”

The noisy lad had almost felt bad for his antics when he saw that what was certainly a new member of the Doctor’s staff was quite pregnant.

“Here now. What’s all this caterwauling!” an older woman wearing a worn doctor’s coat warbled testily as she shuffled into view while the younger, holding her stomach, made equally awkward movement backing away from the door. The lad chuckled softly watching their curious dance. As the frail elder filled the void the girl had just left, the young visitor marveled at how beautifully familiar the creased topography of her face was. He noticed her head tilted back to better view him through her bifocals and how she swiftly inventoried his stitched brow and abraded face before she actually looked for any familiarity in his features. Still, it took her only a second or too. “Why lil’ Nøkkie Grimm! Why can’t you just use the damn bell for once!” Her hand reached lovingly to his cheek.



"You have a bell?" Nøkkie Grimm replied with mock innocence. He then noted the sudden concerned glance past his shoulder and he gently placed his own hand over hers in hopes to calm any seed of dread. He softly, but emphatically assured, “Everyone’s fine, Millie.” He smiled at her obvious relief and added more jauntily, “Of course my Far’s voice is grievously strained from his last lecture, and Haha is on her last nerve… and my Sisters still shave more than I do; but otherwise… everyone is hale and hearty… and send their best.”

The old woman laughed and drew the larger boy into a warm, welcoming hug. “Of course they did dear. They sent you,” she muttered against his bulky winter’s coat.

Nøkk was caught between laughter and gagging at the saccharine quip.

She quickly with drew back, still holding on to his chest she peered again at his tend facial wounds. “Well come in out of the snow, and tell me all about your latest act of defiance.” Shaking her head in displeasure she added over her shoulder, Maggie, please put some Klah on and bring it to Examination.”

“No Klah for me please, Maggs. But tea would be nice, if you have it. Hot water is swell if you don’t,” he called out, immediately regretting the uninvited contraction of her name. He let it pass as yet another social skill he needed to work on and looked down at a scowling Doctor. “Haha would be beside herself if she found you were corrupting her little boy with stimulants.”

“And I’ll insist it was of a prescriptive nature. Look at you. Your freezing! Now come in before we both catch our death.” She backed up but stopped when young Grimm reached out for her hand.

“Umm..Millie. I… ah… brought a young lady with me. I was hoping---“ he started smiling as she interrupted with a startled gaze.

“Why of course, boy! Bring her in!” She looked at him querulously, “Is that what this is all about? You’ve---”

He, of course knew the conclusion she had leapt to. He had specifically chosen his words and demeanor to set her up for a final tease, “No, no. Not at all! In fact my folks insisted she come with me to 'keep me out of trouble'.” He turned and whistled at the corner his furry friend had last been seen.

Following his gaze, the old woman shook her head muttering mirthfully and cooed as the dainty bitch bounded into view. “Oh my. Why hello Madame! She’s grown into such a beauty, Nøkk.”

He knelt, ruffling his companion’s coat in rough affection, “Don’t tell her that. Her head’s already big enough. She’s of the mind that humans were placed on Pern for her personal pleasure. I’m having the damndest time convincing her otherwise.” He looked up to the aged physician, “Madame you remember Mille don’t you.” Looking down at the dog who had turned to peer curiously at her old admirer, “So... is Maggs there 'Staff' or 'Patient'?”

Ignoring the conversation, the comely canine licked the doting doctor’s down turned hand and nuzzled it for a scratch behind her brow. “Any reason she can’t be both,“ the doctor noted testily while responding to the furry beast’s request, “…not that it’s any of your business, my dear.”

Accepting her testy rebuff with a good humored nod, he watched lovingly as two of his favorite ladies in all of Pern made friends. “What did I tell you? We are here but to serve her every whim,” the young man snorted derisively as he stood.

“I was surprised when you finally got a pet.”

“Yeah, well. I think was always concerned, if I had, my sisters would dissect it the name of science…which of course would make it okay with my folks,” Nøkk frowned wistfully trying to recall if the event he had meant in jest might have actually happened. “Besides, I’m not sure if we have this whole Pet-Master relationship sussed out yet.”

“Well, she has a lovely coat. I’ve never seen marking’s quite like those. They're almost brindle except for the coloring,” the old woman remarked, inspecting the mottling of caramel among the shiny black curls, the animal obviously enjoying the attention. She straightened up in the pained manner of one too old for wintery weather. Shaking her head at the lad she gestured to a curtain, “Go drop your gear in there and take off your shirt---”

“Millie---you’re insatiable! What will Maggie think… and I’ve only just got here?” Nøkk rolled his eyes in mock dismay.

“She’ll think what a lucky ole gal I am to examine such a pretty young man.”

“I am not... pretty,” he groused as Millie hit on a particular pet peeve, but following her directions anyway. She closed the door as he entered fully. “I’m just …mildly attractive… in a youthful, but understated manly fashion,” he added in a surly retort.”

“Of course, you are dear,” she said placating, bemused that the lad was still sensitive about his looks after so many years. She suspected the Sisters Grimm of cultivating the sore spot for their own twisted delight. “Come Madame, let’s see if we can find you some real food before that wretched child drags you back out into this horrid weather to forage. ”

Nøkk was not surprised to be abandoned by his friend, as the canine had an uncanny sense as to who would pamper her most. As he took off his coat and cap, he was relieved at the warmth of the room and considered the kind of insulation behind the paneled walls and glanced around for the signs of a radiator. With less grace he took off his thick over-shirt and the thermal undershirt below both at once, leaving his ribs and shoulder complaining all the while. Halfway through the painful exercise, he heard at gasp.

He didn’t need to hear the proffered apology to know it wasn’t Millie who was startled by the unveiling of his torso, but he refused to comment until he at least got the shirts over his head. As he looked past the clothing tangling his arms he put on a brave smile to challenge the look of shock and pity the expecting girl displayed unchecked. “It’s not all that bad…really.”

Before she could stammer a reply, Millie stepped past the curtain and rescued them both from further awkwardness. “Maggie, dear… why don’t you see what sort of meal we can scare up for our guests?” The young mother-to-be nodded her head solemnly and waddled back out of the room, struggling not to glance back at their visitor’s heavily bruised torso.

“Told you I wasn’t ‘pretty’,” Nøkk grimaced in gleeful defiance. Finally breaking free of his self made restraints,

“Hmmmm,” Millie hummed noncommittally as she lit a lamp in the room, increasingly the illumination as young Grim deftly straightened and folded his shirts still one within the other. She patted the padded examining table, “Hop up. I want to see how “not pretty” you are today.”

Sighing, he complied suppressing a wry grin. “You should see the other guy…well guys really.”

“Not a mark on them I’ll wager,” she said looking down her bifocals along his back, prodding gently.

“Ouch! I left a very palpable cut along one guy’s knuckle when he grazed my teeth. Whined like a baby! Point for me I should think.”

Ignoring his valiant delusion, Millie shook her head dismissively and glanced up at the stitches above his brow moving aside the limp unkempt blond hair for an unobstructed view. “It wouldn’t kill you to use a comb once in a while; you can take that as my professional medical opinion. Hmmmm, this looks like Kimi’s handiwork. Nicely done, too.”

“Well I’ve been giving Haha a lot of practice lately,” he grimaced as gently traced along one of his ribs. “Look Millie. Nothing’s broke, okay? Just a little bruising is all. I’m getting really good at rolling with the punches…and ducking, too. I practically invented the Art of Dodging. Mom’s even taught me some judo moves.”

“Really,” Mille mumbled unimpressed as she gently lifted his right arm while feeling along his shoulder. “How’s that working out?”

“Really good---,” he snorted in sad humor. “For the other team! Thought I was in position to flip one of them and apparently put myself in the perfect position for a sleeper hold,” he stifled a groan as she continued her ministrations.

“This is all about the Potter’s boy, isn’t it?”

“How could you possibly know that!?” Nøkk moaned incredulously.

Noting the lack of denial, she continued as she shifted her attention to his opposite shoulder. “Your Mother is quite detailed in her correspondence,” she said matter-of-factly while observing his left shoulder.

“Ha..ha…knows…”, he stammered in quiet dread. “It’s a wonder I didn’t get a lecture on all the brain cells that died that night.” Then he pondered and winced as the aged doctor guided his arm through some added uncomfortable motions. “Wait!” Shaking his head as if Millie was trying to trick him into some unintentional revelation, “What exactly did she write you?”

“What was it?” She stopped for a moment to gaze at the ceiling, as though her memory might be jogged by hidden notes in the plaster above. “Something about making a spectacle of yourself with some young buck at that last harvest fest---”

“She saw that?” he gaped at her disbelieving.

“Her and half of Pern… though I’m sure she exaggerates on that point.”

“Oh Millie…” Nøkk sigh resignedly, “He got me drunk. You know we don’t drink, I th---“

“What? Forced it down your throat, did he?” she countered testily, stepping back to look him in the eyes.

“No.” He faced her somberly, “I… I thought it was… I thought it was some sort of ‘peace offering’… not a prelude to …debauchery.” He shrugged grimacing. “Besides… nothing happened. I was a perfect gentleman.”

“Really…and exactly how far does one’s tongue go and still hold to such illusions,” she remarked dryly.

He blushed down to his belt as looked down grinning, “It was… just a kiss.” He smiled wistful, “A really nice… sweet… um… well…uh…a ‘memorable’ kiss. But it’s all it was. Really.” He glanced back to emphasize his protest. “I guess…yeah… I wouldn’t have minded something more but …,” he looked down at the floor shaking his head in sad remembrance, “…but then his buddies came around the corner and Jenner nearly pushed me off the roof....” He took a labored breath before continuing, “Millie. The things he said… the way he acted… it was unreal. And then they started to egg him on in that insane rant… and I just… just... popped him one. Right in the nose!“ He sagged his bruised shoulders. “Well… it seemed the appropriate response at the time… but while part of me was thinking ‘Buddy, you deserved that!’ another was thinking ‘I guess a second snog is out of the question? ’”

“Hmmm,” she remarked with a disapproving frown. “So… he was afraid of being caught kissing another boy.”


“What? No. Not at all.” He looked at her as if she hadn’t been listening. “He was just afraid of getting caught--- kissing ‘ME’!” He added emphatically and then looked back at her with a hint of anger in his eyes. “You know they have one face for their mothers, another for their fathers, another for their buddies and for their teachers and the pretty girls and the not-so-pretty girls and …another for me... It’s duplicity. It’s deception. It’s cowardice! It makes me frikkin’ dizzy! I can’t keep up.” Nøkk abruptly ended his impromptu tirade with a heavy sigh. “You’re not like that, Millie. You’re the same with me as with my folks as with…well … everyone I’ve ever seen you with.”

“The benefits of age, my dear. People are far more forgiving when the elderly conveniently forget the subtleties of tiresome social mores.” She patted him on the knee and turned shuffling toward a cabinet. “The problem is, Nøkk, you’ve been in that village for what? The last three years, now? One would think a Grimm would have enough wit to adapt to their surroundings.… and yet here you are. Three steps away from being a piñata.”

“A what?”

“Never mind, dear.”

“Okay… oh and by the way, it’s ‘Grimm Wit’ that caused all this in the first place. The first day I got there… I was all of 13-14 years old… some of the local kids came up and ask ‘what kinds of sports I like’. I was so excited, I’d been worried we wouldn’t have any common ground. So I regaled them with all my favorites my family had run across in the wild, and emphasized how my sister Yuki was making a special study of Pernese Sports. I even offered to show them her sketch book. It went on like that for a good while before I realized they were asking about some sort of field games and… well… I’m not sure they ever figured out I was talking about mutations. Regardless, it set the precedent for the next three years.” He snorted in disgust, “Like I knew the first thing about simulated warfare! That’s all it is, you know. Using sticks and various ammunition to acquire abstract dominance in a predefined territory? Good clean fun, my sisters' left b---”


“Nøkk!” Millie interrupted plaintively and then waved back toward his legs, “Anything else I need to see?”

“Huh?” Young Grimm took a moment to consider her question and followed her gesture, then chuckled. “Oh. Uh… well as much as I like showing off my nether regions to family and friends, I’m afraid my upper half was the primary recipient of… uh… their …kindly attentions.”

Satisfied for the moment, Millie nodded and unlocked her cabinet full of numerous medical supplies. “So, my boy. Why don’t you tell me what happened that resulted in a Grimm so far from the rest of the Pack?”

He sighed, looking at his boots for the answers, quiet for a moment before continuing morosely. “He just wouldn’t stop. Jenner, that is. The “Potter’s son.” He’d come by to apologize. He’d be flattering… and charming… and even soulful and funny… and I thought, ‘Okay. Maybe we can at least try being friends’… and then his buddies would come around and---POP---he’d disappear and be replaced by one of the village idiots again. Looking back, I think his friends knew the truth all the time. It was just some twisted game for them…” Nøkk looked up with a resigned sigh, “…the rules and purpose of which are far beyond my ken.”

Rummaging through several jars, she prompted him distractedly, “And this all explains all your bruising how, dear?”

He glanced up at her and with a tilting nod acknowledged, at least to himself, he’d been rambling. “Well the last time, he came to... uh… commiserate… I’d had enough of playing High Tide-Low Tide, so I regaled him with a personal theory on cowardice, the intellect of certain young local men and their …um… other …short comings. Well you know how dramatic we Grimm can get when…expounding on a point. Rather demonstrative… uh…you know… loud...”

“Oh…” she looked back, recognizing the hubris of the older Grimm in the boy, and easily guessed at the scene their son could have been making.

“Well Jenner’s buddies heard most of the row and um… I guess they objected to… uh… my assessment of the local gene pool… and they had some… counter arguments… they wanted to express. I suppose you won’t be surprised when I tell you they express themselves, by default, in a bit more physical manner. My mouth was big---but their fists were bigger… and their feet for that matter.”

“Well, Nøkk, my dear that’s---“

“But that was just the beginning, Millie! I was fairly bad off when someone discretely carried me off to my folks. My sisters saw me laying there, worse for wear, and apparently felt their rights as my primary abusers had been violated. They headed off like two Valkyrie bound for Ragnarok--- at least that’s how Far puts it. They caught each one of the guys and… well… thankfully no one was permanently hurt.” Nøkk swallowed uncomfortably at the memory, “I was just… just so… ashamed… at what my own stupidity had dragged my family into.”

“Surely, my boy, you realize that no one drags your family into anything.” She gently protested in offer of small comfort.

“Well… maybe so,” he conceded distantly. “It seems, however, that while the village could accept the occasional roughing up of the relative newcomer, when half their teenage boys were tossed about in similar vein? Well--- That just wouldn’t do! And the Vet I was training with took exception to the how the events were going to affect customer relations…so he had to let me go. He wrote a nice letter of recommendation, though. Told me there might be a lot more opportunities around Caldera proper. My folks finally agreed that it might not be a bad idea.” He rolled his eyes at the last comment.

“I’d been wondering about Yørt and Kimi. Your parents… well they’ve always seemed rather dependent on you.”

“Not really. Not since Threadfall and we started living among the ‘civilized’ rather than the ‘uncataloged’. But it wasn’t a tearless farewell by any stretch. Even my sisters acted liked they’d miss me. We had discussed all of us leaving as a family, but their work is too important. I convinced them it was rather like me going off to University like they’d all done back on Earth at my age... a Right of Passage! Besides…it really isn’t that far and they can see me when ever they want. Oh that reminds me. I have a letter from the folks. Far is sure to say something about his latest Threadfall algorithm and Haha probably hopes you wouldn’t mind looking me over, but really… as you can see--- I’m fine.” He offered in hopes of supplication.

“What I can see is you’re a very lucky young man,” she said opening the jar in her hands.

“Hey… Millie. You don’t need to waste that stuff on me. Really, I’m---”

“Your fine,” she finished shortly for him. “Yes, dear, I know. And you’ll be staying here until we’re in complete agreement.” She began to apply some medicinal ointment to his bruised left shoulder. “How close is Yørt’s Fall Model this time? Does it actually work yet?”

“Oh yeah! Works great,” he grinned broadly, “…for starting fires! Far always uses that nice crisp paper when he writes out the latest schedule. Haha has got him trying to extrapolate some undiscovered mass that would account for the variances. Still, we tried using his latest results on the way here. His projection was a half day off, but fortunately I could see Threadfall on the horizon and we had time to get to a runner station along the way. Spent the time having a kid younger than me explain how I could improve my running speed--- not that I’d ever seen one them taking off with a pack like mine. Nice guy, but if I spent a moment longer cooped up with his non-stop advice and Fall commentary, I would have left to take my chances dodging Thread. Fortunately, I have Madame’s interests to consider. Once again she protected me from my baser instincts.”

“Hmmmm,” Millie noted as she tended her chatty patient’s back with more of the ointment. “Nice to know you have an excuse to behave sensibly. So… Caldera? It’ll be nice to have you so close by. Have you any prospects, yet.”

“Oh yeah. Vet Richards gave me a few names. Picked a few more along the way…and then I met that runner. I guess they pick up a lot in their line of work… the kid gave me a bunch of possibilities. Do you know there’s likely a half dozen Vets all in Caldera alone… well that’s my A-list. Then there’s a couple of Science types that might do animal related work I could help with and maybe those Grimm Academics my folks tried so hard to bless me with won’t go to waste. B-list, there. Then there are the breeders, ranchers, dairy farmers and the like--- definitely the Bastion of Last Resort. I’d rather work with a variety of species than just one the rest of my life… at least while I’m still training. If worse came to worse, I could approach some hunters, but I’d rather spend my day healing than killing if given a choice. Of course, with my luck, I’ll get there and most of the Vet’s will have retired, moved elsewhere or have gotten scored---”

Millie quickly slapped him on his head. “Not funny. Ever! And it’s even less humorous where you’re headed. Too many have lost their lives to this madness, and Caldera is the most affected. While you hide out with gabby runners or have troubled romances in that village. They risk their lives so we… that all of us have a chance to survive!”

“Sorry. Really Millie,” Nøkk protested apologetically. “I know what Thread can do. I’m in awe of the Riders, honestly I am. I see the way a Fall can go crazy sideways in a strong wind… and I…frankly… can’t see how they can survive that kind of chaos.” He shrugged sadly, “And I realize that sometime… one of them will fly out one day… and just… won’t. And it breaks me up that they’re up there putting everything on the line to save my worthless hide…and I’m down here doing---“

“Doing what we all do. Praying they’ll survive another Fall,” she groused replacing the lid on it’s small container. “And you’re not worthless! In fact veterinary work is very import. We’ll need healthy animals to survive Pern, both in flesh and spirit.”

“Uh, yeah…” Nøkk remarked cowed by her gentle vehemence.

“Now get dressed and join us in the kitchen. Let’s see if we can fatten you up a bit before you’re ready to continue on,” the elderly doctor demanded as she left shuffling out past the curtain.

“Thanks Millie,” he absently offered to her wake.

Nøkk reached for his shirts noting the pleasantly warm tingle in his shoulders and a similarly enjoyable heat caressing his torso where Millie had tended him so carefully. He thought of trying to get some of the medicine for his mother’s medicine box, but then realized, wistfully, with him gone the chances were she’d never need it.

As he dressed he found himself relaxing at the lack of familiar pain and stretched back against the padded examining table for a second’s comfort before he, quite unintentionally, fell fast asleep. And so it was that his journey to Caldera was delayed for a while, as the young man slipped into an impossible dream world where older sisters were kind, Potter's sons weren’t infuriating, Thread never fell… and a guy like Nøkk Haruichi Grimm knew his place in the universe.