[PRP] Do Your Duty, Die Anyway (R'ose/Le'x/dergs)

[Teiha]

Kratoth’s scream of pain had been the most terrifying thing Le’x had ever heard, or felt. Then there was the blackness of between, followed by a burst of light and fresh air and a panicked descent. Not long after that, they were on the ground at a healer station. The boy was pale and his hand shaking as he dabbed a fourth or fifth layer of numbweed over the brown’s scored eye ridge. He still felt cold, as if a bit of between had come with them. So many had been lost already. They could have easily been the next ones to vanish.

I am all right, Kratoth insisted. We are all right. He said the words, but could sense that his rider was barely containing himself. Le’x might be considered an adult when it concerned his duty as a rider, but seventeen was hardly mature, especially when it came to emotions. It was their first time flying in fall as one of the Trespassers, under a new Wingleader. The man wasn’t harsh, at least, not in the same way that V’mel was. In fact, he’d seemed almost nice during their orientation and early drills. Yet there was something about K’ienn that struck the both of them, and made Le’x nervous.

A stalking cat, flexing his claws. A trailing shadow. Those were Kratoth’s descriptions, of course. Le’x’s were much less elegant. At any rate, for some reason, they had been singled out. Le’x knew that what they did was constantly under scrutiny and that today’s failure was probably going to result in some sort of discipline. He wasn’t afraid as much as he was disappointed in himself. He’d never accept that any of it had been Kratoth’s fault, for it was the rider, the one who should have been in control, who’d trusted the dragon’s instincts and let the brown act on his own when faced with a critical situation.

I was right, Kratoth said simply, taking no offense at his rider’s thoughts.

“I know,” Le’x said. “But not everyone else will think so. We should have followed our training.”

houllow

 

[houllow]

Was it entirely healthy to allow his dragonet the run of the Weyr, letting her make most of the choices for the pair each day? R'ose certainly didn't seem to mind letting Sahrawith take the lead and he followed her around with contentment. The green was growing larger with each passing day and although she'd always be a small dragon, he wanted her to be able to explore locations that would be inaccessible to her in the future. To deny her a chance to fulfill her basic nature would have been cruel and R'ose also didn't want to have to deal with her drama that came with being told no. Sahrawith was a creature with a strong will (not as strong as his, of course) and refusing to let her do something she wanted never ended well.

It usually resulted in soiled bedding, her refusing to use the restroom where he told her, and....a long list of other things that he didn't want to think about. Sahrawith's mood had been glorious for the past sevenday and risking that? He'd rather chew firestone and fight Thread on foot.

Today's adventure had Sahrawith wandering near the infirmary; there had been a very recent Threadfall and she was quite curious to see some of the dragons who'd flown in it. Her reasoning had been that one day they would be flying in the sky alongside these fine warriors and so getting to know them would be good for both of them. R'ose humored that idea so long as the dragonet swore not to bother those who were seriously injured; they needed to heal and her constant questions and badgering would result in him taking her away.

I will behave. Her words danced like mint in his mind and on his tongue, and R'ose kept a careful watch as Sahrawith scampered over to a brownrider pair. One from the latest clutch, he assumed, that was just finally allowed to fly Fall. You. Are you and yours okay? There was no proper greeting from the little green, only curious questioning as her eyes spun a soft purple-blue.

Teiha

 

[Teiha]

The green dragonet’s sudden appearance startled Le’x, who jerked away from her. For a moment he stared, wide-eyed, as if he’d been caught with his hand in the stack of bubbly pies before supper had been served. Kratoth, for his part, was unmoved, his eyes whirling a gentle blue-green as he bent his head close to her. We are all right, he replied. Thank you. Privately, he reached out to his rider with soothing thoughts. It isn’t Yisketh and his rider.

I can see that… and thank the Egg. With a small sigh of relief, Le’x relaxed—more by sheer will alone rather than actually feeling like it—and turned to greet the green’s rider. This was one of the pairs from the clutch that hatched on the beach. Weyrlings, just as he and Kratoth had been only a short time ago. He wished they could go back to those days, when it was nothing but fun and lessons, being close to Kratoth and just utterly enjoying life. Back before the Blooding. In fact, he wished he could take Kratoth back home, to the time before Thread ever fell.

We are right where we should be, came his dragon’s deep voice. Perhaps that was true, but at the moment, it didn’t feel that way.

“Hey.” He managed a half-hearted nod to the redheaded youth. “If you guys are looking for a healer, there’s one over that way.”

houllow

 

[houllow]

"Nah, we're good. Sawi wanted to check out the infirmary, see if there was anything she could for the people in here, and since she can't cause too many issues at the moment I didn't see the harm in letting her." R'ose had no idea who this rider was, at least not right off the bat. Dealing with Sahrawith had left a lot of gaps in his memory as of late, with him constantly trying to wrestle her into staying calm and collected rather than attempting to socialize and revisit old friends; making new connections was a fever dream. "I mean, unless she's bothering you? I figure you're here because of the recent Fall. Didn't go so well?"

For her part and towards the head leaning down, Sahrawith did her best to reach up and offer an affectionate nuzzle of greetings and comfort. She didn't have to stand on her hind legs like she might have before and her feelings of accomplishment allowed for a smug snort of triumph. Eyes still the same purple, the green settled into a more seated position - a clear indication she didn't plan on wandering off. What exactly happened? Is your eye broken? What is that awful smell?

Teiha

 

[Teiha]

At the other’s question, Le’x’s brown eyes slowly unfocused, shifting to look at something in the distance. He was back in his mind again, going over the events of the fall in high speed. He rubbed his forehead as if trying to scrub the memories out, then ran his fingers back through his hair, sweeping them away. It would have been nice if that’d actually worked. Everything was still there in stark, vivid quality. “No. Not at all. I’m… probably going to be disciplined.” The boy spoke innocently, unafraid of the mockery or gossip that could come from such an admission. Thus far he and his brown had done well, but mostly seemed to have gone unnoticed by their peers. He had few, if any enemies in the Weyr… and just as few friends.

The bulwark that was Kratoth was charmed by the energetic little green, eyes twinkling with shades of deep blue as she nuzzled him and asked her questions. His eyeridge burned like nothing he’d felt before, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle. He opened his feelings to the green, just a little, so she could have a small taste of it if she so desired, but not enough that she should be frightened by it. I was scored, but I do not mind. The other dragon would have been scored much worse if I had been a coward and retreated. He was not bragging; it was just a statement of fact. Kratoth was not about to let anyone get hurt if he could prevent it. Their worth was as great as his own. They were valuable. Just as was this dear little green who stood before him. He gave a rumbling chuckle deep in his chest. The eye is not broken, but it will most surely be scarred. The smell is something called numbweed. It is an ointment that takes away pain.

houllow

 

[houllow]

R'ose felt his brows knit at the other rider's confession, and he frowned. He'd been studying his face and that stare - R'ose had seen that stare a few times on several riders who'd come back worse for wear. This kid was entirely too young for that sort of look and so the greenrider felt maybe it was his place to try and cheer him up. "And what of it? It's not like the punishment will last forever, and even if you messed up you and yours are still alive and - for the most part - uninjured." He shrugged. "I mean, yeah you won't like what's going to come and it'll be awful and people will run their mouths, but this is what - your third Fall? Fourth? How dare you make mistakes that didn't result in massive injury or death." The sarcasm in his voice was strong, and maybe R'ose missed being able to sass like this.

Then you're really brave, if not a little foolish/ Sahrawith's words were clear and crisp, despite the merriment that remained in her eyes. R'ose had spoken to her often about what the Weyr expected of them and how they would show all of High Reaches just how wrong they were to judge. It's good though that you're not going to go blind, and scars aren't such a bad thing. Lots of our kin are covered with them, and I'm sure maybe I'll get scars too.[/i] Her words faltered a little as a shade of fear colored her admission. I don't want to get hurt, I don't want to have things broken or smell like this numbweed. I just want to fly and explore, not be stuck here.

Her unease prompted R'ose to look over and reach out, his fingertips brushing against small wings that were fluttering in faint distress. Calm, love. We're here because you wanted to be, so don't go acting out. The little green snorted. "Sorry, don't mind her."

Teiha

 

[Teiha]

After a horrible moment of thinking he might actually be serious at first, the other boy’s sarcasm prompted a faint smirk from Le’x. “Okay, you’ve got a point.” He glanced at Kratoth, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, attempting again to reset his emotions. “I kind of miss the days when my master was the one in charge. All I had to do was obey, and it was never anything difficult, like this.” He gestured with a circular motion of his arm, trying to indicate… well, everything that was High Reaches.

Kratoth rumbled with amusement at the green’s poorly veiled insult. Whether or not she really meant it as such did not matter. The brown knew who he was, and perhaps he had been a little foolish, but he’d done what was right. His hearts warmed still more toward Sahrawith as she expressed her fears. The unknown can be very frightening, but the fear of what could happen is most often the worst part of it! More often than not, you will find that it is not as bad as you expected. At his rider’s last words, Kratoth’s eyes whirled yellow. Le’x. No.

The boy looked up at his dragon, eyebrows scrunched into a faintly beseeching expression. It was a good life.

Our world is different now. The old life is gone. You know that.

I… I know. I still wish we could go back. You would have loved it.

houllow

 

[houllow]

Hey. Sahrawith's words were faintly sassy, but not entirely cruel or rude. I'm the one talking to you, so please don't ignore me. I came here to see you so it's not nice to talk to someone else while I'm here. R'ose, if he'd been paying attention, would have been quick to remind her that she often did the same thing, but for now he let her be. There was no harm in her talking to a dragon who didn't appear phased by her childish attitudes, and even though she was growing there were still aspects of her personality that needed polished through interactions.

Like not being rude when she wasn't getting her way was one of those aspects.

But you know, I think you're amazing. So far I'm the oldest of my clutch and I've done some interesting things, but not Thread yet. I've walked the drills though so many times I have them all memorized and Mine says I'll be sure to dazzle and Impress when I take to the skies. Sahrawith was proud of the fact that she had all the drills memorized, and R'ose had taken pains to make her watch the training of the adult wings too. Even though it was often boring and she wanted to do literally anything else, her rider's feelings of the importance kept her paying (a little) attention. She needed to be able to tell stories later on. Also I'm not really scared of the unknown because there's nothing I can't overcome. I'm the first hatched from a clutch nearly forgotten on a beach after all.

Sahrawith sounded so proud despite the extremely unusual situation of her hatching, and the feelings of smugness she radiated had R'ose mentally chuckle and give her an affectionate bop. Apparently he was rubbing off on her way more than he'd thought.

"You had a master? Really?" R'ose raised an eyebrow, having ignored everything that came after the word 'master'. "That's still a thing on Pern? I'd have thought we'd all become far more civilized than that over the last....I dunno, thousand turns or so."

Teiha

 

[Teiha]

Le’x winced as he realized he might have said a little too much. It was still strange to consider that his former master was his cousin and had therefore they’d been nearly equal all along, and now that he’d Impressed that master was technically below him in rank, and living right there in the same Weyr. And, try as he might to move on, he still had a hard time not offering to do everything under the sun for Karone when they were together—even though both Kar and Kratoth actively discouraged him. “I served my Lord Holder’s son since birth, pretty much. It really wasn’t bad. We were like brothers.”

Reluctantly, Kratoth grunted and left his rider be for the moment. This reminiscing about “the good old days” would most likely stop when Le’x came to terms with today’s upsets. The warm blues flared back into his eyes as he put his full focus back on the little green. You most certainly will dazzle, my dear. You are quite accomplished for one so young! He didn’t see any need to discourage her with warnings to be careful and maybe a bit less cocky about the most dangerous parts of weyrling training. V’mel would no doubt take care of that when flying lessons began, and she needed every bit of confidence to be her best when the time came to move forward. The brown just let his approval and sense of pride in her attitude wash over the little green.

houllow