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 Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 5:43 pm
J'aro's state in wakening was within reason one of narcosis. His sense of self would yield to the pounding against his head for a while. He didn't know how long it would be before he could think anywhere close to coherent so he merely drifted in and out of consciousness. It was a curse and a blessing both to be given back comprehension. He couldn't decide if he were adored or unfavored by his circumstances. Now he was awake to fight for his life, but fight against what?
With the pitch blackness cloaking everything around him all he could do was try to sit up and regret it. So quickly regret it. The sharp pain -- agonizing was a befitting definition -- struck his arm and made him hiss against his will. A Whiterider did not fear death or pain or even a painful death as much as most islanders, yet they were still human; it was the human side of him that left him utterly terrified.
"Hello?" J'aro called into the nothingness. "Hello? Is anyone there? Somebody?!"
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 6:32 pm
"Stop yelling, you stupid git!"
Augh. F'sey groaned softly. He was covered in dust and darkness, sitting up and wheezing as he tried to get his bearings. It came to him slowly, but the pain rushed him. The redhead groaned again, reeling as his head swam. The pain in his leg was almost enough to make him violently ill. Oh, Faranth.
"J'aro?" F'sey blinked, swaying where he sat. There was no way he could stand, not yet. "J'aro, are you alright?" A stupid question, considering where they were, but if he were in the same shape as F'sey...
And then it hit him.
MINE! Mine, Mine, oh dear Mine!
F'sey almost fell over for the second time in under three minutes. Shutting his eyes and pressing his fingers to his head, he tried to settle the frantic dragon. Easy. Ialluth, sweetheart. It's okay. Please, sweet, deep breath.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 6:40 pm
"Ye--" Was that his voice? That choked noise was his voice? He tried again and sounded more dignified the second go around. "Yeah, but..."
I don't know for how long.
J'aro reached up and wiped the tears from his eyes, wondering why he was crying. When he'd Impressed Rajath he had plenty of tears of pain that could be fought, just never conquered. This was something different; something dipping into emotional waters.
"I must be more afraid to die than I thought," he choked out with a laugh so bitter it could be tasted in the air.
--Shards! The air!
J'aro reached his hand out to find the wall, trying to gauge how small of a space they were in. "I don't know how much time we'll have in here."
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 6:56 pm
"I hate this. I hate my life. Mostly, I hate you for dragging me to this forsaken island."
They both knew who's fault that actually was, though. (B'lin.)
F'sey tried to get up and observe their small confinement, and regret that decision immediately. Eyes welling, the greenrider wiped at them furiously, trying to cover up the dry, muffled sob of shock as a cough and sputter. He'd never felt anything like this before, not even when he'd gotten sick that time Cheoth's clutch had hatched...
"We aren't going to die, J'aro. We're far too stubborn to die." Hopefully. Though, Brambel had been write about his living long enough, his time to die. Hopefully he hadn't predicted F'sey's as well...
"I'm not sure we're high on the priority list, however..."
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:06 pm
J'aro shook his head. Pointless in the dark, but he did it anyway when he said, "Maybe you are. I suddenly feel a lot like dying." He really did. There was some part of him he felt he'd lost and it was killing him. The overwhelming emotion left him shameless in his confessions. "I didn't know I'd become such a coward," he whispered to himself, not F'sey.
"I'm not sure we're high on the priority list, however..."
"The queen fell, so I would say probably not." The sounds from above were just scratches and thumps to them for now. "You want to drink?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:17 pm
"Oh, you and your mood swings," F'sey scoffed. Even trapped underground, he still had enough wits about him to poke fun, it would seem. "You don't want to die, J'aro, you have plenty to live for." Because, let's face it, if the greenrider actually encouraged someone to suicide, he'd feel awfully guilty. And you never could tell with this redhead, the older of the pair had witnessed a fairly impressive change in demeanor when they were in jail.
He'd give his right arm to be back in jail, instead of under this mess.
...maybe J'aro was right.
"That Queen was hefty. It might take a while to get her out," he decided. He tried to shift near J'aro, and hissed as soon as he tried to move. "Damnit, yes. I want to drink."
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:24 pm
"I have plenty with me," J'aro confessed. Oh, the guilt of carrying alcohol onto the grounds; he always had it with him and hatchings were no exception. "I keep it on me for when they finally take Rajath out. One of my boys--" He sought out F'sey, linking their hands together so he could place one of the flasks in it. "--he's a heavy drinker. I'm not sure how he manages it. If I lost my wits, that dragon would be crazier than she already is. I was going to hold off until she was killed, but it's fine just this once. We're going to die, anyway, and she'll end up between no matter what I do."
All hope was lost. He felt like there was nothing.
Nothing to live for and nothing worth holding back. "Can I ask you something?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:31 pm
F'sey did not begrudge him alcohol, though he found it hard not to smile when J'aro referenced to one of the members of his guard as one of 'his boys'. Perhaps they were not so different, after all. (Raging dragon aside, that was.) It was so difficult, trying to keep all the young in line, trying to get them to lead their own lives without killing themselves, first.
He took a long swig, and, grimacing, offered the flask back to the Whitemaster.
"We'll be fine." F'sey wasn't convinced, but if J'aro needed someone to tell him so, then he would.
"Go ahead. Ask." He could blame the alcohol, if he lived long enough to regret this.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:36 pm
They were still different; J'aro didn't know if he was older or younger than X'nar, but he knew R'xen was many turns his senior and he was not the only one.
The Whitemaster took his flask, downed a mouthful and passed it back. "You like him, don't you?"
He didn't need to elaborate on either "like" or "him". F'sey knew damn well what and who he meant.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:44 pm
"Of course I like him." Like him, yes. He was a fine man, a fine rider. What wasn't he to like? Or sure, maybe he wasn't the perfect student, but that would have been boring, wouldn't it? Really, there was nothing to complain about.
But that wasn't the question, was it?
"...yes. I do. Why do you ask?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:54 pm
J'aro breathed in and out, quietly sobbing. He still didn't understand how he had lost his cool to such an extent. He'd never deny he was, internally, an emotional man. Knowing he had also become a man skilled in hiding that left him baffled as to why all the walls were coming down at once. He searched for any explanation, just needing something to cling to.
They were dying, he reminded himself. They were dying and he was upset. That was all. "Well..." J'aro thought over how to answer. "I just wanted to know. There's no reason for us to be coy, is there? Might as well tell our secrets to someone."
Which led him to wonder... "Does Ialluth know that?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 7:59 pm
"Yes. And no. I don't think she really understands. She just knows..." F'sey trailed off, gazing off into the darkness. Was this how his weyrmate felt, falling from his dragon's back? No, probably not. He had far too much time to contemplate everything, at least X'doc went quickly...
"...she knows someone is missing, but I'm not sure she remembers him, either. We had weyrmates, once. When I was young. His riding straps gave, fell to his death. It actually happens."
And there it was. He'd never admitted that out loud before, not to anyone. But if they were dying, he may as well confess it in his final hour.
"Anything else?"
Something wet rolled down the side of his face. Shards. J'aro's emotion was contagious.
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:04 pm
Silence...
Silence...
Was he dead? Had he died? Had he--
Laughter. J'aro was laughing. Not joyously, but laughing still. "No," he answered, the submissive hopelessness bleeding from his voice. "No, nothing else. What could you say to follow that up? I knew you were a tragedy the moment I saw you, F'sey. I had thought it was just because of B'lin, but -- but wow. You poor, poor b*****d. All that and now we're going to die down here? What a life."
He reached for the second flask and drank the entire thing. Was it the influx of alcohol or was it really getting harder to breathe in their cramped space?
"You know..." It was cruel to point it out. J'aro wasn't feeling especially nice. "If you had refused, I'd be down here with him instead. I'd probably ask what he thought of you."
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:09 pm
J'aro must be going crazy. (Big surprise, that.)
Were he not in such pain, F'sey might actually try to put some more space between himself and the whiterider. He should have kept it to himself. Damnit. This always happened.
"Mhhm, a life indeed." He hadn't managed to save anyone. Not X'doc. Not B'lin. J'aro had caught him, after all. Though, the crazed redhead raised a good point. He was buried down here and B'lin was elsewhere, safe and sound. Presumably. Hopefully.
Damnit.
He felt so...tired. "It doesn't matter. He is a bronzerider, he'll fall for a goldrider, someday. He'll be better off, that way. And, what's more, we're going to die. So hand that flask back over."
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 8:18 pm
"A goldrider, huh? The one we have is pretty nice looking..." J'aro shut his eyes and leaned back. Come to think of it, he'd never gotten to bed a woman before. Should have taken the opportunity with that girl of R'xen's way back. Shame he was too loyal for that. Loyal, selfless... stupid.
He wanted his alcohol for himself, but J'aro would die as he lived: giving things away with no real appreciation for what it meant. F'sey felt the flask press against his hand. "I don't think-- OW!"
A nice bundle of rocks had fallen down at his side. He didn't have time to be thankful that it was the side F'sey wasn't on before he could be thankful for the small ray of light that shone down into their prison.
"Better call for 'em, Weyrlingmaster."
J'aro didn't have the heart to do it himself.
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