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 Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 8:42 pm
He was exhausted in more ways than he knew how to count.
First the crisis at the Holdtown - and even now the implications were only just fully sinking in, that he could not go home again. Malvren was closed to him and Pioth. Then his imprisonment in the depths of Benden, caged up in the dark and waiting for death, separated from his dragon and unable - or just unwilling - to block his dragon's despair out of his mind. Then the frenetic rush to escape... and Threadfall.
His reunion with Kiril had been strange - bittersweet and all too brief, but at least in his brother's company he had been able to rest easy for a little while. The Resistance weyr had been... kind. Their conduct had been honorable, respectful of Natai and Iachixth (and by extension him and Pioth) in ways that had surprised him deeply. In different circumstances S'dekai might have seriously considered staying. Given what Natai was trying to accomplish, he was grateful to be able to count Trine as potential friends.
But he was also wary of overstaying his welcome. He lingered long enough to hear the Trine dragons keen the loss of one of their own - S'dekai didn't know who. Soon after the last of the Thread was charred from existence and the wings descended - and Pioth did not descend with them. The bronze wheeled one last time in the unfamiliar skies, then blinked between to parts unknown.
This time at least, S'dekai's memory of the coordinates was true. But Pioth was nearly spent, with fresh raw Threadscore across one wing and entwining around a foreleg. The bronze landed heavily, and S'dekai slid off his shoulder and immediately moved to wrap his arms around his dragon's muzzle. They stayed like that, mute comfort to one another, glad simply to be alive.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:11 pm
They'd not been expecting company. With Bereck out of commission and S'dekai at her HoldTown recovering, Natai contented herself to knowing she'd be alone for... well, quite a while now. Iachixth put her hunting skills to use and Natai? Well, she learned how to pitch the tent she stashed away in their chosen location back before they knew how to between and still flew from location to location. It could fit two and, she found, easily held all of her papers and maps and things. Their protection secured, most days she walked to look for what could be used for building, for hunting, edible plants from the book Bereck had sent her. That day, she fished with three lines staked out by the bank, her full skirt tied up and to the side to reveal knees and bare feet, the hem of her sleeveless shirt damp from where she wrestled with a fish the size of her forearm.
Natai won but only by a smidge.
When Pioth popped into existance and landed some distance from her, Natai had her butt on the grass and her fingers down a dead fishes throat. It's chin cracked and, with a flinch and tightly closed eyes, she ripped the guts out from jaw to tail. Mother would have been proud. Natai, her hands stinging, tried to keep from getting sick. A falling dragon distracted her and Iachixth, settled on top of a dead feline with its head crunched in half. Thankfully they didn't land on the tent or bit of oddity she'd begun to construct, her not-quite-so-little cellar hidden from view. (Whether or not it could be called such is up for debate. The more accurate description would be 'badly dug but well hidden amateur fall out shelter'.)
"Iachixth--?"
Pioth! The gold recognized the hide from her riders memories of the last -- the last too long. Pioth, you are here! Mine, Natai, look!
"I see, darling," Natai said though Iachixth could not hear her words. The dragon felt her acknowledgement. The goldrider scrambled to her feet, mind hopping from one erratic thought to the other. With all the regal bearing of a proper Weyrwoman, Natai dropped the chin-and-guts fish combo and started towards the bronzeriding pair in long, fast strides.
Pioth, that is Natai, she is coming and I have a feline, would you like some? It tried to chew on my toe but I hit it with my toe instead. Her blather hide Natai's quiet frantic thoughts, the fear lurking in the back of both minds and masked by Iachixth's cheer and Natai's calm expression. She's not going to say anything because it'd be interrupting but--
Hush. and when within range, she called out. "S'dekai!"
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:43 pm
Faranth, he still probably smelled of equal parts numbweed and firestone.
It was funny the things that ran through your mind when seeing someone you hadn’t talked to for a while. They’d had Bereck and Berath at least, to keep Natai from being entirely out of the loop, and to assure S’dekai that she was still alive and uncaptured. But that wasn’t the same as seeing someone.
The stone ring of Benden had not been kind to S’dekai – he wasn’t as bad off as those whose wounds had festered horribly, as he’d been taken captive still conscious and not horribly mauled. But the knife wounds had long since turned into scars, and there was a stiff halting limp in his step as he turned towards the goldrider’s calling voice.
She still looked just the same, and somehow that was comfort to him. Her skirt was hitched up to the knees, and she was looking inexplicably damp, but she was unharmed. He managed a smile for her. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I think by now you could safely say I’m unfashionably late.”
Iachixth, Pioth greeted. The eyes he regarded the gold with were grey shot through with brilliant blue, and his mindvoice was dull with exhaustion but still warm. He didn’t lift his head, merely folded all his legs and sunk onto the ground with a grateful deep bass groan. Thank you for the offer, but I think I will just have a little rest here.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 10:04 pm
"Oh yes. I'm terribly angry at you for being here late." Natai didn't stop walking until she was in arms length of the other rider. Bereck sent word, yes, he said that S'dekai and Pioth were treated right, alive, well, but he smelled of firestone and numbweed and had his riding gear on. No blood - ichor, she smelled it, Pioth. Natai reached over and took his face in her hands, quickly studying his face to make sure he'd not been gouged anywhere or started coughing blood.
He passed the 'not dead' test - that's all she needed to know. Natai leaned in again and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him into a hug. He smelled like air and fire and ichor and she hugged him anyway, damp and fishy herself. "I'm so sorry, S'dekai."
You're hurt, The gold grabbed the limp body of the feline by the torso and carried it towards their small homestead. She dropped it by the fish and hummed curiously, ignoring the fact no eggs were to hatch. Natai hummed sometimes. Iachixth liked the noise. Natai said. Uhm... I think we have things for that. Maybe. Bereck sends things! He can again. Iachixth peered at Pioth - so small to her now when once she'd been smaller than his head. Yellow swirled with her greens and blues, the dragon antsy even in her excitement to see her friend, yes, yes. I can keep watch on our humans if you want to sleep! Nothing bad will happen.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 10:20 pm
She took his face in her hands and S’dekai stayed quite still, the kind of anxious tension that came from not knowing how familiar to be with someone else. For all that he’d only known her for brief periods of time, Natai had become such a central part of his and Pioth’s world – not just for herself but for what she represented. A third option. Their out from the unending war. Something worth fighting to protect.
But when she hugged him he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight, not because that seemed like the thing he ought to do, but just because he wanted to. He closed his eyes and rested his head against her shoulder. It had been such a long time; he deserved a moment to catch his breath. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Everything worked out all right, see? We’re here. We made it.”
Pioth yawned enormously, carefully shifting and re-settling himself so that his weight was off the scored leg, both wings folded flat against his ash-dusted flanks. I will be fine. There was Threadfall over Trine, he offered by way of explanation. Too many of their dragonriders were hurt or just coming back from being captured. So we flew with them, to show that we still wish to be friends, even if we do not join them.
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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:17 am
It never occurred to her that s'dekai might pull away or be upset over the hug. He didn't die, he came to the right place, everything was okay and it deserved a hug. But he didn't jerk away and arms stronger than her own hugged her back, tight and solid and real. They were almost the same height, enough for him to put his forehead to her shoulder and her cheek to where she approximated his ear to be. Spindly fingers curled along the back of his neck, grip as tight as she dared, and Natai nodded.
"You're here," she agreed, voice a murmur. "Alive. I was worried - Bereck said you weren't. And I trust him but..." The rider squeezed again, pulling back just enough to drop her forehead to his shoulder in return. "Are you hungry? Hurt? I know Pioth is but I'm not sure what to do with Threadscore."
Iachixth curled up at Pioth's uninjured side in as tight a ball as a long slim gold could. She took a page from Natai's book and reached out her muzzle to poke at his neck and then wedge part of his face between bronze and dirt. That was nice of you! And you got hurt for Trine, they aren't allowed to say you didn't do your job. Trine is nice, though! Or, well, nicer than the other places. Natai said it. I'm sure they saw and like you even more for it.
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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:45 am
“Alive,” he echoed, pulling back just enough that she could see the wry smile, “despite my own best efforts. It’s been an exciting ride.”
And just like that, it was over. He was safe – he’d made it home. He and Pioth had both made it home. He blinked, as if coming out of a slight daze, then glanced down at his own flight leathers. “I... don’t think I’m scored anywhere.” S’dekai actually had to double-check with a quick visual inspection; he’d felt so unreal since arriving that he wasn’t even sure if he’d know. “No, I’m all right. My leg’s a bit of a mess but that just needs time and rest.”
His fingers brushed lightly over his ribs, where one of the last-healing wounds from his captivity was the source of the numbweed smell. No answering pain or dampness told him that the wound was still dressed securely beneath the flight leathers. No need for concern there. “It’s not the first time we’ve flown Threadfall, and it’s not the first time he’s been scored either. As long as we keep it clean and keep an eye on it... Dragons are tough creatures, designed to heal quick.”
Pioth crooned softly to Iachixth, opening one wing to drape over her and lifting his head so that he could entwine his neck with hers. They lost someone – I don’t know who, but we heard the keening. And some of the Thread got through to the ground crews. Which only further reinforced their decision to lend some extra flame. How have you and Natai been faring here?
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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:55 am
"You'll have to fill me in," Natai leaned back again to give S'dekai room to look over his flight leathers, see if he'd been scored or flayed alive while flying. She touched his cheek again, just once, reassuring herself that yes, he'd not started lying about his health or anything along those lines. The goldrider took a deep steadying breath and wiped at her eyes that were not slightly red, thank you, and came away with a distinctly fishy smell. "--Shaff, and I just got fish stink all over you. That was not clever of me at all. What happened to your leg?"
And his ribs, for that matter. He touched his side, something happened. Maybe not his ribs but something. Natai sighed and looked down at her hands, her head shaking at her own inability to not wipe dead animal on another person. "We have redwort, if need be. Bereck's been sending some. I'm... I'm not exactly equipped for 'roughing it'." She grimaced and looked back to their camp, holding out her hand, or her arm if he preferred, or anything at all. "But there's a tent and other such things. Some knives. Dead fish, obviously."
Dead felines, Iachixth butted in helpfully. She scooted in closer to cuddle at Pioth and the shade of his wing, long neck entertwined comfortably. She closed her eyes with a low croon, energy kept at bay from a mostly full stomach and the warm sun and dragon next to her. I think it's been fun. We've been making plans and she's learning how to do real life things that aren't in books and I get to fly a lot to look for - for things to help build. We've colors now! And she likes the Weyrhold idea so we're doing that. But we were worried about you and she wrote a lot. I've been rained on and the felines know not to come buy anymore. And I dug a hole, like I did when I was small, but now there's the supplies that Bereck sent us in there and they're hidden so if anyone tries to attack they're there. She's not having too much fun but she will be happier now that Yours and you are here.
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Posted: Wed Jul 24, 2013 12:20 pm
If S’dekai saw the hint of red in those eyes, he opted not to mention it. Perhaps it was the old thrill of adventure taking hold of him, but for the first time in a long while he was feeling like his old self again. So it was with a bright teasing laugh in his voice that he responded to her question. “I’ll tell you what happened – a bronze dragon fell on it, that’s what!”
It was not my intention to hurt you! Pioth protested, clearly dismayed. But S’dekai waved off his dragon’s apology with an expansive hand.
“It wasn’t his fault. We got mobbed out of nowhere between a green and a gold. Poor Pioth was the one who was bleeding everywhere, and I was too slow to unbuckle myself from the straps before he went over. It’ll mend.” Everything would mend. S’dekai was young and strong and healthy, and so was Pioth. All they needed was time and fresh air and good company, which they would get in spades.
He took her arm like a gentleman, and while his stride was a little stilted he didn’t feel the need to lean on her for support. “I don’t mind fishy smell. I used to be a beastcrafter, fishy smell is still better than wherry gut smell. Speaking of, is there anything you’re in urgent need of here? I’ve got firelizards, which means I can get in contact with people.” People in this case actually meaning my sorely put-upon brother, but Kiril wouldn’t protest.
Mollified, Pioth turned back to Iachixth. Rain and felines and digging holes – goodness, you have been busy! You picked a beautiful spot. And I bet if we went to the beach, we could bring back some sand to make wallows like Trine has.
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 11:14 am
S'dekai didn't comment and Natai didn't thank him for it. She felt silence to be enough on both sides - or ignorance, if he'd not caught a peek at the red of her eyes. The laugh caught her off guard and promptly yanked the woman out of her less than cheerful thoughts. He sounded.... happy. Not injured or heartbroken, but at ease with the lot life dealt him. That's when the words sunk in. The scholar in her blinked to life, proverbial ears perked. "So dragons can hurt a human if it's not purposeful? I - well, you've just answered a question on my mind for the last two turns, it's just unfortunate that this is how we find out about these things."
And she spoke with a smile, small but genuine. A weight stayed from her shoulders with s'dekais arrival, ill fears put further to the side when he could walk on his own, arm in hers, and did not appear to be in horrible pain. "Poor Pioth. Iachixth would be distraught. Items needed... anything to read or look at to help get an idea of how to do this would be excellent. Ah... perhaps a change of clothes for you. I'm afraid I don't quite have your shoulders, though a few of my skirts would do nicely as a dress."
This was the last place we found! The other two places were nice but this has water and hills, a place to find fish, and Natai says we aren't moving too close to other Weyrs. She churred her contentment, cuddling closer to the bronze that used to be so much larger than herself. Ooh! I would like the beach! We should go and get some when you are better and we know where we'll put the wallows.
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