Like his elder sister Nalshi, when he was old enough Aquxianal tried his hand in the healing art. As an apprentice, he found himself performing menial tasks like stocking shelves and mixing salves and other medicaments, when not studying the systems of the body and various herbs. Now and then, one of his superiors took a group of the apprentices up into the hills to gather the various seasonal roots, leaves, and flowers.
It wasn't long before this simple and pleasurable life came to an end, when his first emergency patient arrived in the infirmary, which with the usual bustle, required the direct assistance of some of the apprentices. The chaos and thick swirling emotions permeated the air like a cloud of steam, and to the sensitive young Aqu felt like a shot through the heart. "But this is all normal during Threadfall," Nalshi told him, not understanding.
The lessons regarding life versus death, diligence over negligence and clumsiness are difficult for any 11-turn-old to learn, and the boy's instincts of self-preservation began to develop in him a negative attitude. He watched as Nalshi would bond with her patients, some who would die, others left scarred and bitter, all of whom took their psychological toll on her. Empathy was strong in their family, both aiding Nalshi and Aquxianal in their healing abilities, and tearing at them at the end of the day. He couldn't help his sister, so Aqu began a crusade that finally changed him irrevocably. He began to regard people with cool aloofness, and fed on their pain. He used it to pinpoint an illness or wound, then internalized it as if it were sustinence. But then he became prone to bouts of depression and fits of anger, which he turned on himself and inanimate objects (such as the stone walls of his room) in secret.
In time, people easily forgot how Aqu used to be and began to see him as just another sullen little weyrbrat who wouldn't amount to anything. They had forgotten that unless nurtured (especially with the loss of one parent, the chronic absence of another), a sensitive mind can take a downward spiral destined for destruction, unless caught by the wings of hope. Frankly, many people wondered how he managed to Impress a firelizard, let alone might a dragon of any kind. But perhaps that is what Forget-me-not found in Aqu that others failed to see.
The little firelizard came to recognize the signs of another one of Aqu's episodes, even before they presented themselves to others including the boy himself. Even now, stroking her neck, belly, or eyeridges have a very calming, even meditative effect on him. When his thoughts become dark and cynical, she has a way of looking up at him as if to say, "Surely, it can't be all that bad," which more often than not brings a smile to his face. Forget-me-not does offset some of his faults. Me's gentle yet demanding way of conveying her need for attention has a way of melting an otherwise cocooned heart.