|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:43 pm
In the hours after the Hatching, when the telepathic bonds were still fresh and raw, F'in had been transferred over to the designated area for the Weyrlings and given more numbweed to ease the pain of his face and chest. It results in him feeling a bit loopy, a curious place between great pain and great joy. The slumbering Conroith at his side did little to keep the new Greenrider awake - the weight of such peaceful sleep was a heavy temptation.
Thankfully, the healers had changed his dressings. His eye socket was bruised, tender, and rather swollen. Fluid occasionally leaked out of the corner of his eye, They hadn't sewn his eyelids shut so he could blink and that felt normal at least....
He lay on his cot, staring up at the ceiling, contemplating the Hatching's event. It was only starting to settle on him just what, exactly, had happened. His life had fundamentally changed in two very different ways and he was left to ponder what he would do now. Carry on, of course - that wasn't the question - but a small, rather vocal part of him worried that his disfigurement might put off Kylerr.
That thought made him trown... he liked the Harper and the chance that his ugliness would alienate Kylerr did not sit very well with the new weyrling. He sighed audibly, turning onto his good side to stare out across the floor where other Weyrlings were sleeping. Silently, he tried to find the Harper with his gaze, to check on him again... he didn't trust that brown, not with how violent it was, and he wanted the Harper very far from it.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:03 am
K'err had, of course, left the sands after F'in, following him closely. Surely leaving one after the other would mean they would be settled near to one another, right?
And so it was. K'err took the cot adjacent and settled in himself.
Sirinth said.
K'err smiled. He did that a lot. I know. He reached down and scritched her ridges. Sleep well, dearest. We've got so much ahead of us!
And she was quiet. Still there, just... quiet. Like breathing, or blinking.
K'err flipped onto his stomach, his chest atop his pillow. He reached across the gap between bunks and poked the safest-looking bit of Fadrin available. "Hey, you," he said with as much mock offense as he could muster. "I just realized I'm not sure what to call you now!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:14 am
Fadrin started when he was poked, grunting as the sudden motion sent a spike of pain across his chest. "Hnng?" He rolled the other way to look at Kylerr, his good eye squinting in the gloom. "Uh... F'in, I think." He offered a grin despite his weariness, "What about you?"
Somehow, just talking to Kylerr was soothing and he was glad for the company.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:24 am
K'err smiled. More. "It's a good one," he said. "But then again, I think I'd like it no matter what you came up with. For me, Sirinth came up with K'err. Sounds odd to say alone, but it sounds nice when she says it. 'K'errmine.'"
That's... all he could really think of to say at the moment. There were other thoughts, of course, but... he couldn't just voice them. Not yet.
That's when the pain in F'in's voice back when he shifted bothered K'err. "If you want me to leave you alone, just say so, okay? I mean... It's been a big day and if you want to rest, go ahead. You've suffered enough pain in one day on my account... I really don't think I could ever thank you enough. I just wish... well, I know there's nothing I can do now. But... if you want to talk about something or whatever, I'm here. Not much else we can do at the moment, right?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 10:19 am
Fadrin couldn't help but laugh a little when Kyler said he'd like whatever name he'd adopt. It was endearing and pleasantly supportive - almost like the other would just be there for him.
And then the torrent of words hit and the weyrling concentrated to keep up, brows drawing down with the effort, "No, no. I... well, I like having you here. You're... you're," He hesitated, uncertain, and swallowed, "I, well, you're not put off by this?" Fadrin gestured at his mangled face, "I'd do it again, y'know..."
There was a curious tone in his voice, as if the words had caught him by surprise. He would do it again, and again... because he cared.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 10:45 am
Could not. Stop. Grinning.
..until that last bit. He remembered the blood, so much blood... one tiny shift up or down, right or left, forward or back, and F'in would be dead now. All because of him. And how much it must hurt! Then, and now, and who knows how much longer.
"Don't... don't say that," K'err said. "Whether you would or not. I can't even imagine... I mean, it's too much responsibility. Thinking about it happening again, how many ways it could have gone worse."
Sirinth roused briefly and yawned. and curled up around K'err's mind as she settled back to sleep.
K'err reached down and rubbed her. "What I mean to say is thank you. And I don't wish it on either of us, ever. And of course I'm not put off by it. Besides, it's my fault after all. Your wounds were meant for me. I can only look at them with appreciation and recall what you did for me." And some measure of guilt, he thought.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 10:59 am
"But it didn't, and you're whole." F'in responded solemly, "I promised you I'd protect you. Besides, a Harper needs to be pretty, especially with such a lovely companion." He glanced down at the sleeping Sirinth.
"And it's my burden to bear, my worry, not yours." He smiled again, reaching out towards the other across the gap between their beds, "It's not your fault, either. It's that brown's. Be careful around him okay?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 11:19 am
K'err's jaw slacked at the unflinching compliment. There was that warmth in his face again. "I... I mean... I don't have to be..." He gave a slight huff. Why did F'in have to keep saying two things at a time, one of which flustered him and the other he eagerly agreed with! "She is very lovely," he added pleasantly, reaching down with his right hand to stroke her again.
He then reached across the gap with that same hand - he couldn't leave F'in's arm dangling. He grasped the other's forearm to offer it some support. It was a little tensed from the reach. K'err swallowed. "Okay. Well, I'll do what I can to bear it with you, regardless of who's fault it is. Nothing we can do to go back either way, to prevent it or do it again," he said with a laugh. "I'm sure the brown will be fine, now that he's got his. You can't really blame him, either, just having hatched. It's the risk we take standing on those sands. I know that's not much of a comfort, but..." He squeezed K'err's arm and let that speak for itself. The torrent of cliches that popped in his head would be far emptier and even less counsel.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 11:35 am
F'in blinked at Kylerr's promise to bear his wounds with him, at first surprised then moved. He nodded a bit, "Thank-you..."
He wasn't sure what they were doing, and the blush that rose to his cheeks was well hidden by the gloom and bandages. Kylerr always managed to fluster him, with his earnest remarks and genuine personality. Fadrin didn't know what to make of it, but it warmed him knowing they were a 'we.'
But Kylerr was a boy... and he'd never experienced a boy with a boy friend, was it strange? It wasn't something that had really been spoken of at the Wherhold, did that mean there was a sort of taboo on it here? He chewed his lip, confused by himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:03 pm
K'err smiled at the nod and sighed. The contact was reassuring. He'd been nervous about the Impression, nervous that it would suddenly shift F'in's position toward him to be more distant, but... sure enough, it was the same.
Wherever that was.
His heart sped up as he carefully chose his next words. "I thought this was kinda funny - I think someone out on the sands may have understood us to be partners," he said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:09 pm
Fadrin's arm tensed a bit as the other's words brought him out of his reverie and the youth found himself facing someone who thought that... that partners were a funny thing. Strange.
The onslaught of confusion that course through him left him dizzy. Did he agree? Disagree? Did he want that? Did Kylerr want that? The chill that raced through him as he lay there made him shiver as he spoke, unable to hide the concerned confusion from his voice, "Funny?" He rather hoped Kylerr would clarify.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:21 pm
He felt the tensing. Not exactly what he was hoping for... but it could just as well have been the injuries getting to his... friend-for-now. He craned his neck, alert, to look F'in over. "I mean, not humorous. And... not in a strange way either. I could understand how they could think that, given how close we always seem to be. It's not an uncommon thing here, after all, so it's an easy conclusion to jump to..." He didn't notice anything else out of the ordinary from the other. He turned his attention to F'in's eye. "You shivered. Are you feeling okay? Should I go and get a medic? Need an extra blanket? I'm not particularly cold. You can have mine if you like..."
He was doting on F'in more than his own dragon, it seemed. He'd have to make sure to keep that in check, especially in this early stage.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:36 pm
He paused, his mouth closing before he could cut the other off. "It's not uncommon...? Really?" Fadrin seemed confused and a little hopeful. "Huh? Ah, I'm... sore all over but I'm not cold. I just... I..."
Confused. Conroith supplied helpfully, if a bit sleepily, Say you're confused. She yawned and turned her head the other way as she returned to sleep.
Fadrin looked at his dragon a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. He was confused... "I, uh, I'm just confused, I guess. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 1:01 pm
K'err took a breath to collect himself and pursed his lips before speaking. "What I mean to say is that it -is- common," he said. "Happens all the time. So for someone to think that of us isn't bad or anything. No better or worse than someone teasing, but one of us was a girl instead. It's just something people do, around here at least. I don't know if you experienced that kind of thing back home or not."
I think I'm overwhelming him, he sent toward Sirinth. Her presence reassuringly brushed up against his and quieted again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 1:55 pm
All the time...? It wasn't weird to like other boys, or girls, as the case may be? Slowly, he shook his head, "No... its never really spoken of and its weird if there's rumors...I-I don't know. It's not strange for me... to, uh, ahm..." He was blushing heavily now, the words having slipped out before he was ready to follow through.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
