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Post by salamander on Jul 6, 2010 12:01:48 GMT -5
It wasn’t long before another of her craft caught up with Solenne, and she was dragged away from her ogling to more productive tasks.
First, she was to water a beast from the small herd, along with other apprentices, one beast at a time. This was to ensure that each beast had been checked over for good health. The least healthy would be slaughtered tonight for a celebratory feast. This wasn’t usually how the herd was managed, and Solenne was glad for the break in monotony. Well, she was glad until she got a scrawny little calf that looked under-fed.
It wasn’t the insult that they thought she wan unable to handle more than a baby that bothered Solenne. It was the fact that the young beast was extremely skittish and pulled on the frayed rope with surprising force, given her state. Solenne sighed and began the long haul over to the other side of the half-finished Bowl, where she had been told a source of water had been found.
Finally the deep blue waters of a lake loomed into view. The apprentice squinted against the sun and stared at the body of water in surprise. It was huge! And, oh, shells. To make matters worse, it appeared that a gold and her rider were resting at the edge. How was she going to handle this….?
In the end, she ended up half-carrying, half-dragging the squirming calf over to the lake. It didn’t help that most beasts had a innate fear of dragons, especially gigantic golden ones, or the fact that the already skittish calf had just finished a long journey being slung under one.
“Greetings and g’morning, Goldrider.” Solenne managed to clench her teeth in a smile as pushed the panicking herdbeast closer to the edge of the water. She could already hear the laughter of her fellow apprentices as she relayed this tale after it was done and through. “I take it the water is warm, this morning?”
It was rather difficult to be formal, considering the circumstances. Solenne pleaded to Faranth that the maybe-Weyrwoman would forgive her.
Tag Sorelle and Sivarith
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Post by sorelle on Jul 6, 2010 12:38:08 GMT -5
Sivarith was the first to hear the Apprentice and she stared at the herdbeast calf with interest.
“Greetings and g’morning, Goldrider.”
Sorelle's hand had just touched the cool water, her fingers only inches away from the image of her lost love, when Solenne spoke. The image broken, Sorelle glared at Solenne, finding her responsible. "Did you not see him," she snapped at the innocent woman, "He was there... and your words frightened him away!"
Sivarith's head whipped up at the anger in Sorelle's voice and she took on a defensive posture, further frightening the herdbeast who had all but forgotten to drink from the lake. "Why are you here," Sorelle said, "who are you?" She pulled herself up to a standing position, all five feet of her seething in anger. A glance back at the lake revealed nothing but weeds and vegetation under the water. The former Weyrwoman looked down at her damp fingertips, then clutched her hand to her chest in sorrow.
Tag Solenne
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Post by R'enh and Mnoranth on Jul 6, 2010 13:01:04 GMT -5
"Why would they do this and leave it?"
Her whisper echoed through the cavern and he looked around to see there was a doorway it appeared also into the weyrleaders quarters. He was going to go investigate and was just turning to do so when a sound behind him made him turn to look at Maram. She'd sunk down to the ground near the spring.
"I don't know what I hoped to find, but this, this was not it. I can't begin to..."
She turned her head away from him but that didn't hide the hunch of her shoulders even in the dim light of the single basket of glows. Then her shoulders began to shake followed by sniffs.
He turned back and moved toward her "Maram?" he said softly but he knew she was crying. The last weeks had shown she could be so strong for those around her but here in the dark it must have overwhelmed her a little.
He hung the basket of glows on a hook then bent down and swept her up in his arms and turned to sit on a nearby stone bench. His arms cradled her and he rocked as he whispered nothings of murmured comfort into her ear.
"You're strong Maram, you've held everything together, it's ok" his hand reached up to smooth her hair where her head tucked into his neck. He'd felt the awful stress of the situation himself.
Caring daily for Sorelle and even oiling Sivarith himself he'd not provided her the kind of personal support she needed, he wasn't her weyrmate after all and didn't have the right yet. But now he couldn't help but hold her and tell her everything would be ok.
A gold the age of Chalarath must have risen several times and she'd told him she'd been a Junior Weyrwoman. She had to have lost her weyrmate and his dragon in the same calamity. His arms tightened around her and he kissed the top of her head.
"It's going to be ok, we're going to figure all this out."
Tag Maram
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Post by salamander on Jul 6, 2010 13:02:52 GMT -5
Faranth must have been snoozing, for Solenne’s words fell on deaf ears.
”He was there… and your words frightened him away!”
The apprentice stared at the rider for a moment, rather rudely in confusion, and then blinked at the lake. Since she didn’t see anything in the murky waters, she assumed she had indeed frightened some sort of small animal away.
Flinching back from the infuriated pair along with the calf, Solenne murmured several apologies and bowed with respect to the two. “I am Beastcrafter Apprentice Solenne, and this is, uh, Bow-legs. I’m here to water and inspect her, ma’am, but I have an inkling that she’s going to end up on your dinner plate tonight.” She smiled weakly at the rider, giving a similar glance to the Queen. “Might I be of service in retrieving what you have lost, my lady?”
Tag Sorelle
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Post by Maram and Chalarath on Jul 6, 2010 13:34:07 GMT -5
Maram found she could hold back the walls no longer. Tears flowed freely and she hardly noticed when R'enh scooped her into his arms and moved them from the pool of water. All she knew was that she was not alone, felt his strong arms surround her. Her tears flowed in earnest then. Tears of hurt, of sorrow, of sadness, of betrayal, of hope.
Chalarath tried to touch her mind, but found Maram was unresponsive, so caught up in the well of emotion. Concerned, the gold dragon had left her perch and flown to the weyr opening, peering into the darkness and crooning her concern over her rider.
Maram's sobs were muted by R'enh's wher-hide riding gear as she clung to him, feeling lost and bereft for the first time since this journey had begun. She hadn't had many to lean on for support in all her time at Igen, not even T'pin. He'd been good to her most of the time, but...he'd not stood by her. Even that hurt was overshadowed by the feelings of loss, knowing he and the others were all gone.
Maram struggled to stop the overwhelming surge of tears. It was almost as if she couldn't stop. Finally, R'enh's strong arms tightening around her and the sad, frightening crooning of Chalarath from the weyr edge reached through to her overwrought mind.
Gasping in a breath of air, Maram managed to stem the sobs that had taken hold of her. It took her longer to finally regulate her breathing from the half-gasping, half-sobbing sound that was the evidence of the hard sobs that had shaken her.
"I'm sorry," she finally managed to whisper on a hiccuping breath. Why did it have to feel so safe and warm in his arms? Maram felt her exhaustion and the force of her recent sobs taking its toll on her. She nearly drifted off into sleep in his warm embrace, feeling safe and cared for. She truly hadn't meant to fall asleep on him, but after the intensity of her crying, her body gave into the feelings of safety and security, even though her mind had tried to fight it. Her breathing became more even as sleep took her away from the demons that had nearly overwhelmed her.
Tag R'enh
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Post by nerys on Jul 6, 2010 14:02:21 GMT -5
“Lemos is…” Nerystimon caught herself, “was a wonderful place,” she finished on a whisper. Yet, D’vin’s easy conversation soon roused her out of any sad thoughts about her former home. She looked around her as he mentioned the Weyr they found themselves in.
“It almost seems like a dream come true, to find a place already ready for us. Do you really think there could be others here, now?” Nerys looked around her quickly, almost as though she was expecting someone to come bursting out of the caverns and telling them to halt. That they couldn’t live here.
“I hope we can stay,” she said on a sigh. She was tired of traveling, homeless. She wanted a place to call home again, no matter where it was. To know when she awoke where she was, and not to have to try and recall such things in the early morning of dawn. “I don’t know what I’ll do here, though.” Nerystimon looked around her. The dragons and riders had a purpose, like D’vin. Even the crafters had a purpose, but Nerys did not have either of those. She’d been raised to become the wife of a holder. That had been her destiny before the world had crashed down around her. What would she do here now?
Tag D'vin/Any
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Post by sorelle on Jul 6, 2010 14:19:13 GMT -5
"I have an inkling that she’s going to end up on your dinner plate tonight. Might I be of service in retrieving what you have lost, my lady?”
Sorelle waved a hand at Solene, "I have not been hungry for days. Save your beast for the others." She turned and began to walk into the lake. "He was here," she repeated.
Sivarith, seeing Sorelle, thought it was time for a bath and waded in after her.
"Back," Sorelle shouted to her in her mind. The golden dragon jumped backwards in confusion and shook her great head in irritation.
"Help me," Sorelle said to Solene, "forget your bow-legs and help me find him." She waded in deeper, feeling the squelching pull of the dark mud around her ankles. Her hands tried to separate the water as she dug through it with her fingers outstretched. "He's here. I saw him!"
Tag Solene/Any
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Post by R'enh and Mnoranth on Jul 6, 2010 15:49:33 GMT -5
He couldn't help but hear the croon of the dragon concerned for her rider.
"Mnoranth please tell Chalarath that Maram will be ok" he didn't know what else to have him tell the gold dragon.
"They grieve for their lost mates and many others"
He was aware of the grief, he had yet to even find out if his other son was still living. He knew Renhick was alright for he'd seen Lilia and the boy. But there were so many lost and missing that they would never know what happened.
Maram's weeping started to subside yet her breathing was wracked with gasps and shudders. He finally felt her beginning to relax and try to regulate her breathing yet he knew though the storm had passed this was far from over.
"I'm sorry"
"No need to be sorry," he said "We've all been through a terrible experience. You have been magnificent." but he was unsure if the last was even heard as she fell asleep in his arms.
A gentle caring smile seldom seen on the face of the wingleader slowly emerged as he held the grief-stricken woman. Her head fell partially back her eyes closed and body relaxed. Even still she took an occasional hiccupping breath. He gently smoothed several hairs out of her face.
The room was warm from the hot spring so he struggled one arm out of his leather jacket finally getting it off without waking Maram. He laid the jacket next to him on the bench.
"Sivarith's is behaving oddly again she is trying to find Brath's in the lake".
"Oh shard it!" he said under his breath and using his jacket as a pillow stood and placed the sleeping Maram down on the bench.
He turned and pelted to the entrance where Mnoranth waited and swarmed up the straps and before he buckled in they were airborne and sailing toward the lake. He saw Sorelle wading into the lake and Sivarith weaving at the edge. He knew the big gold was confused and upset by the changes in her rider he shook his head
"Over the water" he told the big bronze and as they skimmed the lake he dove from the dragons back and swam toward Sorelle popping up out of the water in front of her.
"What are you doing?" he asked picking up the tiny Weyrwoman and carrying her out of the water. "N'lon is not in the lake Sorelle" his brows drew together. She was so light in his arms even soaking wet. Mnoranth had taken the opportunity to dive into the water after him and was lying just below the surface, inner eyelids in place and eyes glowing first yellow with fear then going green and blue with his joy of the water.
"She doesn't need encouragement, thank you very much" he said to the bronze. "And now I'm going to have to oil your hide"
"Good" was all he heard from the bronze. He set Sorelle on her feet.
Tag Sorelle/Any
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Post by Darvin on Jul 6, 2010 16:42:18 GMT -5
"We'd better be allowed to stay," he intoned, his voice and features grim. "Shortly before your group found us, we'd sent out scouts. There's nothing left. Not one Hold or Weyr intact. Nothing. Telgar's a smoking crater. Ruatha's completely blocked with rubble. Ista's flooded... Everything out there is gone."
He shook his head, slowly, and closed his eyes. "This is it. As far as we're concerned, for the next fifty years, this," he gestured around the weyr, and up to the smoke-darkened, hazy sky, "Is Pern."
Tag: Nerys
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Post by salamander on Jul 6, 2010 17:12:11 GMT -5
Solenne badly wanted to respond to the rider’s refusal of her offering, but suddenly she had turned and plunged into a stroll across the lake, murmuring something the apprentice could not hear. She was just about to go after the Goldrider when her gold seemed to do the job for her. But she, too, was flung back by the woman in confusion.
Solenne was beginning to fear for the women’s mental state. She could not refuse a command, however, especially from such a high-ranking rider. So she tied the calf’s frayed rope around her waist so she would not stray and waded into the muck.
"He's here. I saw him!"
“Oh, I’m sure you did,” Solenne reassured the frazzled woman, “And he can’t have gone far; the lake is—should be closed off to exit… Maybe you could describe ‘him’ so I might be able to, uh, find ‘him’?” The young woman attempted to place a hand on Sorelle’s shoulder, struggling with the weight of the heardbeast who was digging her hooves stubbornly into the sand at the edge of the lake.
Tag Sorelle/Any
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Post by nerys on Jul 6, 2010 17:31:05 GMT -5
His words cut her to the bone. Nerys actually gasped in shock to hear the truth he spoke of. Gone…they were all really and truly gone?
Nerystimon started to hyperventilate as she felt an almost panic-state come over her. Her lower lips trembled and she tried to speak, but found that no words would come. Only a shocking breath that sounded almost like a wheeze.
Nerys actually emitted what sounded like a whimper. She instinctively drew her legs up under her chin, with her arms wrapped around them. She couldn’t help the sniffle that escaped her. Oh, she missed her mum and da. To feel their arms around her, just as they would have done any other time when she was hurt or upset.
“They can’t all be gone, can they?” She managed to whisper with a strangled sound. The look of utter disbelief and devastation evident on her face. D’vin’s words had re-affirmed her greatest fears all these days…that she was alone. Nerystimon had never been alone before in her whole life. She suddenly felt very cold and numb as though she’d doused herself in a frigid lake. Tucking her chin against her knees, Nerys couldn’t help the few tears that escaped her eyes, running down her cheeks.
She might have gotten up and run away so as not to cry in front of him, but she felt so numb that she didn’t think she’d be able to move.
“They can’t be gone,” she murmured more to herself than to him this time, as she hugged her legs against her, as though trying to protect herself from the truth that she’d been trying so hard to ignore. Nerystimon couldn’t ignore the truth any longer. She felt almost as though she were breaking into a million pieces inside. She hurt in a way she had never hurt before, and for a moment she wished she could go back to feeling distanced from everything as she had during a good part of the journey. Then, nothing had seemed real to her. Now, everything was far to clear and real, she didn’t know how to handle it.
Tag D'vin/Any
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Post by Darvin on Jul 6, 2010 17:43:20 GMT -5
He bit hit lip as the harshness of his words, and sighed, quietly. After a moment, he moved an arm around the young Holder's daughter, moving to gently pull her against his chest. He sighed, quietly, and closed his eyes, hearing the echoes of the truth in his own words.
Everything is gone.
After a long moment, he lifted his face to the smoky sky, and opened his eyes, staring longingly into the hazy depths, as if expecting his dragon to come flying out of it at any moment.
So this is what home is like.
Tag: Nerys
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Post by nerys on Jul 6, 2010 18:36:26 GMT -5
She truly hadn't meant to blubber all over him like a fool, but she did anyway. When she felt his strong arm around her shoulders, Nerys almost felt like it was her father wrapping her in his embrace like the good ole days. She ached at the thought of knowing the walls of the hold had taken them both from her. There was no denying that, as she'd seen it with her very own eyes.
Her head leaned against his shoulder ever so slightly taking in that small amount of comfort when her heart felt like it was breaking inside her. How did one deal with such things?
As she reached up a hand to swipe the tears that still trickled from her eyes, she glanced at that man beside her, wondering about his life before. Had he had a family, too? Were they here or was he alone like she way? He seemed so strong, sitting there beside her, Nerys tried to tell herself to get a grip. She could be strong too.
Angrily swiping away the last of the tears, she straightened, removing her head from where she'd placed it. She didn't want him to think poorly of her. She was after all the daughter of a Holder. Her mother would have drilled into her the need to never show weakness in front of others. Hadn't Nerys already done that? Yet, it had felt so good to feel the warmth of a real human touch again. It reminded her that she was not truly alone.
"Thank you," she murmured quietly, giving him a slightly watery smile. She blew out a breath of air as she turned her gaze to the sky. It looked so clear here, like the beginnings of a brand new start. She wished her brother was sitting on her other side with her. They had always loved lounging around and gazing up at the skies. "I miss them," she whispered into the air, not really expecting a response.
She dropped her gaze into her lap as her legs extended out from her once again. She sighed, "Why does it have to hurt so much?"
Tag D'vin
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Post by Darvin on Jul 6, 2010 18:45:33 GMT -5
He chuckled, "We're all gonna miss the people we lost for a long time... It never goes away. You never, not for a moment, forget where you came from." He smiled down at her. "All you can do is find somewhere else to be, and call it home. A new family. Regolth was all the family I had," he quietly admitted. "No mother or father, brothers or sisters. Not even a girlfriend, or a child."
"I spent my whole life in the skies... Everything looks a whole lot different from the ground, up." His voice was quiet, strained, as if trying to reach her from a great distance. "But, here we are. What can you do?"
Tag: Nerys
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Post by Maram and Chalarath on Jul 6, 2010 21:02:16 GMT -5
Even though the room was filled with a humid warmth from the pools, Maram awoke suddenly as though cold. Her dreams had been filled with images of Igen falling under the fires that had struck the planet. Sitting bold upright, she realized she was alone.
You are never alone, mine came the soothing voice of Chalarath. Picking up the jacket that had been placed under her head, Maram ran out of the baths and into the main cavern, only to run almost directly into her beautiful golden dragon.
"Oh, Chalarath, what would I do without you." She threw her arms around the wedge shaped head that had stood watch over her ever since R'enh had left. Maram felt the sadness of loss creeping into her soul again, which Chalarath immediately tried to stop.
Don't be sad mine. I can have Mnoranth's come back. He helped you. But Sivarth's was not well. He had to help her.
"Oh, no!" Maram looked up concerned at the whirling eye of her dragon. "No, no, Sorelle must need him. Don't call him Chalarath." Maram stroked her dragon's head.
If you wish. Garath's was not as nice to you as Mnoranth's has been.
Maram's breath caught a bit at the mention of T'pin's dragon Garath. Chalarath had been satisfied by him, but neither had been in love with the bronze or his dragon. Then, to have T'pin stand against her in front of the Weyrwoman and Weyrleader...it was almost too difficult to even dwell on. Had he sided with her, they could have saved so many more. Maram ached for the losses, even T'pin and Garath. None deserved to die in this new attack from the menacing Red Star.
"Are Sorelle and Sivirth okay?" Maram finally remembered to ask Chalarath. Sivirith is unhappy and worried, but they are safe now.
"We should go help the others then," Maram said on a sigh, looking out towards the opening to would lead to the Weyr Bowl.
You are tired.
"I'll rest later. Let's go see what we can do now." Standing upright, Maram walked with Chalarath towards the edge of the weyr. She glanced back at what would be her weyr. It would need some work, but that would have to wait until she was sure the others were settled. Wiping at her face to remove any traces of her earlier tears, Maram climbed onto Chalarath and the two glided down to the bottom of the bowl.
She immediately set to trying to help organize and order things, helping the new inhabitants prioritize. Dragons were set to watch for Thread just as they had been each day and night of their journey. And with no sign of any in sight, Maram felt that cleaning the weyrs could wait until the kitchens were prepared, food was gathered and the injured and ill were tended to. Everyone could sleep under the stars one more night if need be, they had done it so long as it was.
With everyone now moving about trying to accomplish their tasks, Maram sought Teal who had been moved into a shaded area. Ralianth stood guard by her, her eyes still whirling with upset and confusion.
"Any change?" She asked the healer who had been watching over the comatose Weyrwoman. With a shake of the head, Maram sighed. Why wouldn't she wake? They could find no reason to explain it, but it weighed heavily on Maram. If Tael did not pull through....Maram closed her eyes at the thought of what such a loss would do to all the dragons and riders, now, when they had just begun to feel hope once again. Giving directions to have Tael moved to a chamber inside as soon as one was prepared, Maram headed back across the Bowl and settled with a sigh on a log that had been brought to the middle to serve as a temporary bench.
Tag Any
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