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 Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:36 am
Aerith was too wounded to travel far and after a short trip between the white burst out again, trying desperately on failing wings to keep her landing from killing them both as she clutched Mercy to her chest. They hit the ground hard but Aerith took the brunt of the force, skidding to a stop with Mercy safety sheltered.
'Are we safe?' The white asked her rider, releasing her from her grasp as she lay upon the ground.
"I...I think so" Mercy soothed her white, running fingers over the formerly pristine hide as she looked around. Aerith had taken them to a tiny cove on the beach - it wasn't far from the fighting by the sounds of things but Mercy didn't think the white could go any further without resting and they seemed to be sheltered from view by the most part. "Yes..yes we're safe for now..rest" She told the white...something that she herself needed to do. What she wouldn't give for some numbweed right about now Mercy thought to herself as she eyed her dragons torn hide - or some of the medical supplies she had used to help her student's practice with during lessons. Casting about for anything useful Mercy saw nothing that would help and desperately she tore strips from her shirt to try and clean some of Aerith's deeper wounds.
'Leave them' The dragon commanded flinching from the attempts 'There is nothing you can do - and it hurts to much without numbweed...bind your own wounds, I just need to rest.' Aerith told her, her faceted eyes closing with a great sigh.
Mercy wasn't a crier..not normally, and she was typically able to see the silver lining in almost any situation but truth be told she was having trouble doing so at the moment and she sniffed slightly, rubbing her face on her sleeve to clear her eyes while she did as Aerith had told her and tried to bind up her own injuries. Aerith would be find she told herself...she just needed rest. It was all both of them needed.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:01 am
After the fighting in the tunnels he had felt the need of some air. Fighting, it turned out, was really not his thing. After getting the all clear from Ficksk he stepped outside and started to pick his way around the beach in search of a secluded space. Up above dragons battled, screaming in anger and pain.
Before too long they found a little cove, and hid themselves amongst the rocks. Sighing heavily Fick put an arm over his wher’s shoulders; she was all cut up, poor darling, but the wounds were clotting already. “We’ll be alright,” he muttered, “we can just hide here until it’s over.” They’d done enough to prove their allegiance, right?
“Brrsk!”
Fick’s head jerked up; dragon indeed. White dragon, crashing down onto the sand. He knew her rider in passing, nice kid.... He couldn’t just stay here now, he ought to go and find out if they were alright... and what side they were on.
Taking a deep breath Fick got to his feet and stepped out from behind the cluster of rocks with Ficksk at his heels. They looked in bad shape. He cleared his throat. “Mercy. Hi.” How exactly did you go about asking somebody what side they were on? What was he going to do if he found out she was with the resistance?
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:28 am
Aerith stirred as the human and wher approached. 'Someone comes' The white stated as she tried to drag herself to her feet, a slow process in her wounded and exhausted state. Alerted by both her dragons movements and words Mercy abandoned her attempts to bandage her wounds and whirled around, a protective hand laid against the struggling dragons hide.
Fear crept into her face as she spotted the wher, focusing on the green even before she recognized the handler and his words. Not that a dragon would have been any more welcome, it had been a dragon and his rider that had savaged them - no one was safe. She recognized this handler however. "Fick? What are yo.." She trailed off - it was a stupid question, even from here she could see the wounds on his Wher. "You've been fighting...for who?"
Maybe he hadn't turned against them, it was possible right? She'd always liked Fick - even if he was a bit on the cranky side, he had a fairly sensible head on his shoulder's - surely he wouldn't have turned against the Weyr that was his home..right?
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:27 am
...She was Assistant Weyrlingmaster now, wasn’t she? She’d be with the resistance then. She had her rank, comfort, respect, bordering on awe from some for being the White Dragon Rider. She was a nice girl. He didn’t want to be against her, but she didn’t know how good she had it.
Fick sighed.
“Revolution,” he replied shortly, raising a hand to touch his split lip. “Not enjoying it. Don’t like how they’re doing it. Don’t got a lot of choices though.... I’m guessing you’re with the resistance?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:32 am
Revolution. That split lip and the wounds on his Wher, he could have gotten fighting someone she knew. Ficksk could have killed someone even, unlike dragons, the wher's had that option. Mercy had seen enough of the battle to be pretty sure that the Rider's were losing and she had no idea where that would leave her in the future.
"I see" She replied, sorrow in her voice. There didn't seem to be any point in confirming his guess and she turned away to stroke Aerith's eye ridges. "You know the funny thing? It wasn't even a Wher that did this and that's who the supposed 'bad guys' were. I never had a problem with Wher's you know, I always liked them - but suddenly we were told they were chewing on our friends. No one told us why...Aerith and I thought maybe we could finally prove ourselves - we're not allowed to fight thread, not allowed to time it, not allowed to do anything but wander about the Weyr looking pretty. Pretty sharding silly thought now that I think about it" Mercy wasn't even sure why she was telling him this. He probably didn't care and turning back she wiped her hands on her pants, attempting to get the green ichor off of them. They were fairly well trapped in this little cove. Mercy wasn't dumb enough to believe that that she could take on a wher and it's handler all by herself, not with Aerith in the condition she was. Maybe if the silver hadn't gotten to her earlier.
"Anyways...Aerith's pretty much done for until she rests. I'm sorry we ended up on opposite sides like this. I always liked you Fick...if your going to send Ficksk on Aerith I'd just as soon go with her if you please."
'I can fight' Aerith stated firmly, unfurling her wings slightly before Mercy laid a soothing hand on her.
"No you can't Aerith, your far to tired" Mercy responded "And I don't want to fight..I've decided I don't really like fighting, especially against people I know" Mercy added with a slight quirk of her lips. She was rather hoping that Fick felt the same way - his words made her think that maybe he did. Maybe he'd let them go if he knew they were done with the fighting too.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:28 am
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Fick replied quietly, “not fighting anyone else either. We’re done with that.... Ficksk never touched anyone you know. She got all of those just protecting people. I fought people... didn’t want to, but I did.” He wasn’t sure why he’d felt the need to say that. Shards, this was all a mess. He sighed again. “I didn’t want this, but it’s happened, and I picked my side. You might like and think well enough of whers, but plenty don’t, and plenty more won’t after this. I want me and my girl to be safe... and a bit of respect would be nice. That plenty of riders have joined in the revolution says something, doesn’ it? Your systems are broken, stupid, unfair, insane.... Still don’t like how it’s happened though. They didn’t have to start killing people.” That he was still feeling conflicted about the choice he’d made was quite clear on the handler’s face. "Had to make a choice," he added softly, "probably made the wrong one morally, but the best one for me and her. I never claimed to be a good person."
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:33 am
Mercy let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. With the threat of a fight gone a good bit of fear drained away. If Aerith could rest just for a little while Mercy was sure the white would have the strength to take them away from the fighting and the Weyr. I was good to know that the green Wher hadn't hurt anyone.
"I suppose if I had a Wher I would have done the same - but it's no different on your side of things, the riders fighting on your side might think they are breaking away from a failing system but in truth..when this is all over, they'll just be treated with the same disdain that Handlers have been treated with. How many handlers are going to hate dragons when this is over? Bronze and brown Whers still chase Queens, blues chase green's and I'm sure there's some sort of distinction to having a bronze or a gold above the others." Mercy shrugged and sighed, it seemed to her that it was just trading one system for one that was very similar.
"Anyways..it's not my system, Aerith and I never really fit into it. I don't think your a bad man Fick - your like me..just a person stuck in a bad situation with limited choices." She offered quietly, though really she had no idea why she was trying to cheer up a member of the opposition - except that perhaps she realized that she believed what she said. He really wasn't a bad person..just a stuck one.
"What will happen to Pern though? Thread is still falling...and with the dragons and whers both injured and scattered and fighting each other. Who will take care of the thread?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 4:17 am
Fick shrugged. “Don't know how dragons on our side will be treated, but wherhandlers favouring shinies? Not so much. Queens are the breeders, but having one doesn’t guarantee you anything. You see a lot of Master handlers with golds, generally that’ll be a second wher for them though; they'll tend to go for the big eggs that might be queens, best to have somebody with experience controlling them. I guess there's a bit of 'wow, that's rare and special' going on but you can be a master, and as important and respected a master, with a green as with a gold.” She probably didn’t want to hear about wher politics and social structures just now. Fick sighed and sat down in the sand.
“Guess my choices were limited.... Anyway. Doesn’t matter. Can’t change what I’ve done, and wouldn’t anyway. Rather be alive and safe than dead or made an outcast and noble.” And more questions he wasn’t comfortable with, this one because he didn’t know the answer. He trailed his fingers through the sand and shook his head. “I don’t know.... I guess we hope this ends quick, whoever wins. After that... maybe enough dragons will be with us to protect the territory we have. That or we work on something with whers; ride them on the ground with flamethrowers or... I don’t know. Keller must have some sort of plan; if he’s planned all this he’ll know he has to make our future sustainable.” He hoped so in any case.
Finally deciding that the woman and dragon were not dangerous, Ficksk settled herself down beside her handler and licked at one of her wounds.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 4:40 pm
"I suppose" Mercy responded although she still had to think that there must be some sort of stigma attached to having a gold rather then a green. In any case she wasn't going to argue it with him - doing so seemed kind of pointless given the circumstances. Besides they weren't fighting when everything dictated they ought to be and she didn't want them to start.
"I hope he does..I really do, because this whole thing is going to end up really badly for a lot of innocent people if he doesn't" Some of his idea's weren't bad at least, glancing over Ficksk she could see someone riding her well enough - she had more mass then a runner and people rode those well enough. Ground protection wasn't going to keep thread at bay though..not completely, at least she couldn't see it working as well as the dragon wings did. Mercy decided not to mention that though.
Stroking Aerith's hide Mercy studied the sky's, trying to decide where she would go - Aerith would rest and then they would leave..but she didn't know where, Benden was gone..Malvren she was pretty sure would shortly follow them if the carnage at the battle she'd seen was any indication. She wondered briefly about the things in her room...and her flits..she hadn't seen either of them since she'd left the Weyr to go to the demonstration. "Aerith and I are going to leave soon...I suppose it wouldn't be smart to try and grab some things from my quarters huh." She added with a soft, sad laugh - there were a of nice clothes in there.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 5:20 pm
Fick looked at the sand, and thought. After a few moments his lips pursed into a hard line and he got to his feet. "Tell me where your weyr is, and what's precious to you," he said gruffly, finding it hard to meet the rider's eyes. "I'll fetch it, and bring it here. I.... I'll be sad not to get to see you again. I like you. I wish we'd been on the same side. Wish none of this had happened." He could have gone on quite happily as he was, just grumbling a bit about how they were generally treated. He wished he could Time like a dragonrider and change things.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:45 pm
Mercy was somewhat startled by the offer "Are you sure ? I don't want you getting into any trouble for it...though I suppose you can always act like your looting the place if anyone catches you..." She added and then glanced at him "Thank you..it would mean a lot to me, my whole life is in that weyr..." She added quietly so that he wouldn't think she was being glib about his offer.
"Maybe it ..won't be forever? Maybe it will just be for a little while..." She said "Or maybe sometime in the future the two sides will make peace...I wish I could have gotten to know you better too" She stated sadly, her hopes at a future peace was likely a bit far fetched..but she couldn't help trying to find a bit of silver in the thunderstorm ahead, Recalling what he had offered Mercy thought about a few small items that she would want to take with her..an outfit she was espechially fond of, a piece of Aeriths shell..the decorative harnesse's for her two flits in case they came back, small things..but things that were important to her, she also described to him the location of her weyr and the items in said weyr. "There's a jar of numbweed too..if no ones found it yet, might be useful..for Aerith..and Ficksk"
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:20 pm
People were people. This whole sharded mess was going to be remembered for generations, probably longer. Factions would split more, and there'd be more fighting and....
"Yea." Fick smiled weakly. "Maybe it won't be... and you're welcome. C'mon Fi, let's go." Clambering upright, and then onto his wher once she was standing too, he gave the green's shoulder a slap to send her loping back towards the Weyr.
It wasn't too long before the pair returned, looking a little out of breath and rumpled but not injured any worse than they had been. "Here," Fick jumped to the ground and held out a bag towards Mercy, "there's everything you asked for I think, couple more bits that came to hand too, figured I might as well. The numbweed's in there... but I don't think you should stick around to use it here if Aerith can fly." With an expression of worry etched onto his face, Fick glanced back at the Weyr. "My side's winning," he said bluntly, looking back at the young rider, "And... well you're iconic, aren't you? I heard a bunch of people talking about finding you and... look, you'd better just go, okay? You don't want them catching you."
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:33 am
Mercy had been growing more and more nervous by the minute while Fick was gone, her eyes kept straying to the skies..and she fully expected for some enemy dragon to come swooping low and see them, or a horde of enemy wher's to come barreling around the corner and jump on them.
'Stop fretting mine..I believe I can fly now..' Aerith assured Mercy, the white had been taking full advantage of her chance to rest, barely moving until now when she raised her head. 'They are returning' She advised her rider.
'Good Aerith..good we'll go somewhere safe soon' She assured the white before turning to face the approaching pair, accepting the bag she offered him a smile - sure it was a terrible time but he was proof that even in terrible times good things and people still existed..of course his next words made her pale a bit and rethink her earlier hope. Impulsively she hugged him. "Thank you Fick...please just...be careful, I don't know how well you can trust your new friends" She told him truthfully before releasing him and going to Aerith, the White had already risen to her feet and Mercy climbed up as quickly as she could. "We'll go between as soon as we clear the ground...that way no one will see us and wonder, I don't want you to get into trouble for helping us" She told Fick and since there wasn't much of anything else she could think of to say she merely offered him one last wave before Aerith took to the air..as promised the white had barely cleared the ground before she disappeared from sight.
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 9:48 am
The hug startled him, but after a moment he returned it hesitantly. She was a nice girl. A lot of nice people were getting hurt today, on both sides. Why did people have to be so shaffing stupid? "Yea, sure," he said lamely in response to her thanks, "and take care of yourself, right?"
Stepping back he put a hand on Ficksk's shoulder and watched Mercy mouth up, take off, and vanish.
That was that then.
Sighing wearily he gave his wher another pat and headed back up to the rocks to hide, and hope it was all over soon.
Somehow he had a suspicion he wasn't going to get that lucky.
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