Kira laughed at Cyvarel's earnest expression. "Now, why wouldn't they?" she baited, "after all *we* saw it first..." She held up her hands to ward off any sudden moves, and continued. "Of course they won't let us go! We're far too much in need of a chaperone. As Val said, there's no way he'd let us go and look by ourselves. And anyway I wouldn't blame them for not taking us. We'd only detract from the real job of looking for clues."
"Ah well, you may be good enough to accept that- but I'm certainly not!" Cyvarel grinned, her green eyes twinkling. "So we let them go look for clues. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't look for our own, now should it?" It was her turn to hold up her hands now, and she raised an eyebrow in the bargain. "We could get one of the other riders to take us...just a little pleasure trip. No harm in that, is there?" There was that grin again as Cyvarel tilted her head and waited for her slightly more sensible friend's verdict.
Kira looked about the room, her eyes settling on the picture that Cyvarel had given her after she Impressed Somnolenth. She had meant to give it to K'dan when he graduated, but the time that evening had never been right. The sight of the object she now closely associated with the young bronzerider just served to harden her resolve to have some fun and excitement for once - and *she* wouldn't be caught doing it, unlike some she could mention! So, prompted by Cyvarel's knowing smirk as she noted Kira look at the picture, she said, "Right. Let's do it. But, yeah, we'll have to take someone legit with us. Otherwise Somnolenth won't come, and she'd tell Resanth. She's such an old Auntie." The last was said affectionately, but Kira still glanced across warily to where the gold lay sleeping on her ledge, tail drooping over the edge, the end twitching slightly.
"H-m." Cyvarel leaned forward and tilted her head, trying to think of a good rider. "Erm- I don't think any of the older riders will take us. Maybe some of the just graduated Weyrlings? They'd be more likely to...bend...the rules." Cyvarel glossed over the fact that they would be in for some serious talkings-to if they got caught. >>We just won't get caught<< "Any ideas? I don't really know any of the Lyric Wind riders too well."
>>Oh yeah, I have ideas alright!<< "Not K'dan. Before you even think of suggesting it. What about Jozi? Or Tari? Kat?"
Cyvarel giggled and shrugged. "Oh shards. And I was looking forward to meeting loverboy. Don't know 'em..." She wrinkled her nose, but smoothed it out as she remembered what her father always said about how it might stay that way. Not that she believed it. Cyvarel's mind ran over the possibilities- stopping as she remembered something. "I could ask D'llin- I've talked to him a couple of times. And his brown-"
~~Sillenth~~ Farsynth provided the name without being asked.
"-Sillenth would probably be willing to take us. What d'you say?"
"I say fine. And why were you debating mentioning *him*? Don't lie, Cyv, I know that look. You've got a nerve to call K'dan 'loverboy' when I saw you cosying up to D'llin at the Impression celebration - yes, I know it was a long time ago, but *I* remember." Kira couldn't resist the opportunity to get back at Cyv for her constant baiting of her. Though she must admit, she did ask for it by bringing his name up on a regular basis.
"So," she continued, "You wanna ask him? Since you know him so ... well?"
* * * * *
Flame's tail found it's way around D'llin's neck. The bronze got no argument from Spook, as she still preferred to hide herself in D'llin's arm. Only a few days old and the two had quickly begun to run his life. It was a definite flashback to the first week after his brown had hatched. Food and oil, then sleep.
>>They're full Sillenth, now it's your turn. Do you want a bath or any oil before we go hunting?<<
It was great to be able to go without asking for a chaperone, and the brown seemed to favor hunting in the wild- which also helped to save on Weyr resources.
~~Maybe some oil~~ the brown mused.
>>Ok, better scrub first then, I'll meet you out at the lake<<
Spook cheeped sleepily at him when he tried to settle the two flits on his tunic at the edge of the lake. "Go back to sleep, I'll be right here," he said encouragingly, smoothing her wings. Seemingly satisfied, she wrapped herself tighter around Flame and her eyes were quickly closed.
D'llin headed for the water and the waiting brown, >>a quick bath and then some oil, ok? Maybe I'll get to scrub myself before we leave, those two don't give me time in the morning.<<
The brown's eyes whirled in blue amusement. "Don't laugh, you lug. I'm the one that has to get out of bed to feed them!" He was in a good mood, despite the early morning, and began to scrub any spots that the brown directed him to.
* * * * *
It was quite early in the morning, but the heady concoction of excitement and anxiety had counteracted any thoughts of slumber that she might have had. The previous night she and Kira had decided that D'llin would be the perfect rider to ask for their little expedition. Today would be the day that she would have to ask him, and Cyvarel was preparing to turn on the charm. However, for that, she would have to get out of bed. ~~Rider-mine, wake up! I am dirty~~ >>I'm awake, but my legs don't agree<< Farsynth made a noise of mental disgust. ~~You are silly. Get up. We must go. I must get clean~~ She grinned at the urgency in her dragon's tone.
Grumbling all the way, the weyrling rose and plodded to the communal bathing chamber to splash some water on her face. In a quarter candlemark, she was ready to go- it had taken considerably less time because of her lack of long hair. Knowing Farsynth, she had probably already left for the lake and Cyvarel hurried there as quickly as she could, leting the freshness of the morning wake her. ~~Finally~~ The green mindvoiced, her rider coming into veiwing distance. Cyvarel turned, seeing another dragon at the weyrlake and followed that line of sight to the rider. >>It's D'llin! Why didn't you tell me he was here?<< ~~You didn't ask~~
She raised an arm and waved, walking closer. "D'llin- good morning!"
D'llin turned to see Cyvarel walking toward the edge of the lake. Sillenth had greeted the green a few moments before, but D'llin hadn't recognized and the brown hadn't offered her identity. >>Should have known that was Farsynth<< D'llin thought to himself.
~~I could have told you that~~ the brown said smugly.
>>Obviously! But you greet all the greens, I guess I should start keeping track!<<
"Hi, Cyvarel," he called, waving back, "so they've been keeping you busy, huh? Classes got you over-whelmed yet?" D'llin had enjoyed the greenrider's company the few times he'd talked with her since they'd first danced the day she'd impressed.
~~You could scrub while you talk~~ Sillenth cut in ~~a spot just down my chest.~~
D'llin turned back to his brown. "Pretty demanding aren't they," he nodded toward their dragons, and grinned at Cyvarel.
"Classes are as usual- have to take the good with the bad, I suppose." Cyvarel was interrupted by Farsynth splashing to a noisy halt in front of her. ~~Sillenth's rider is scrubbing him!~~ She cried, rather plaintively. ~~Why must I be unwashed?~~ "I think they've gotten the impression that we're just willing slaves." Cyvarel started scrubbing despite her voluble complaints. She made it a point to smile in his direction every few moments. "Though sometimes I can't put my finger on which part of this deal is good!"
D'llin laudged, "I know what you mean." Sillenth turned his head toward his rider and with a great huff, blew a spray of water at him. "Hey!" D'llin cried, covering his head with his hands, "we were only joking!" The brown's jeweled eyes whirled blue, spinning quickly in his amusement. ~~me too~~
"Speaking of slaves," he turned to grin at Cyv, motioning to the sleeping flits on the shore, "they're the ones that keep me on my toes every waking moment." Yes, he definately enjoyed Cyvarel's company, he thought, smiling across at her.
"You know, D'llin, you were just the man I was looking for." She made it sound like it was something of great distinction. She caught his smile and held his eyes for a moment. "I was wondering if you would do me a dragon-sized favour? I was really looking forward to getting out of the Weyr but since we haven't graduated yet, we aren't allowed. If you wouldn't mind taking us sometime we'd be ever so grateful." Cyvarel added the last with a smile that made it seem like D'llin had already agreed. >>Hope he doesn't notice the 'we'<<
D'llin raised an eyebrow, "Me?" He watched her face, "you mean like accompany you and Farsynth for some flying practice or something? I'd love to one day, Sillenth and I are headed hunting right now, but whenever B'ren says so, I'd be more than happy to."
"Erm well- a trip. Exploring. A little fun." Cyvarel seemed to shrug it off, but then leaned closer, her face serious. "Okay- I'm only telling you this because I trust you. The other day, when we went on the field trip we saw something that could have been tracks left by Talena and Raven. V'lderian's sending out a team, but what if they miss something? We could go and double check, since Farsynth isn't allowed out alone. But you and Sillenth are." Her face was quite serious, with a dash of earnest in as well. "Their lives could depend on it..."
D'llin thought for a moment, double checking where V'lderian was already planning on searching? He wondered just how much trouble he could get in, but wait, they were all supposed to be looking for the lost women, right? Looking back at Cyvarel he copied her confidential tone, "I suppose it doesn't matter which direction we go to look for prey, Sillenth and I could check out what you saw." He saw the expectant look on her face, "better yet, why don't you join us, we can leave as soon as we're finished with the oil." He paused, "that is, if you can get away?"
Cyvarel bit her lip, remembering that she still had some lessons to memorise. "I've a lot to do today- but tomorrow would be wonderful." She smiled brightly, glad that it went well. Now she just had to wangle Kira's way into the expedition. "Would you mind if we dragged Kira along- she _did_ see the tracks with me and she'd feel left out if I went without her."
D'llin brow furrowed, he had the distinct feeling that this had been a set-up. With a shrug, his face smoothed into a smile, "That's fine with me, what do you think Sillenth, feel up to escorting a green /and/ a gold?" He liked the other girl, from what he knew of her, but felt comfortable with Cyvarel, no pressures.
The brown merely spread his wings and shook from head to tail, sending water spraying yet again. "I'll take that as a yes," D'llin said, wiping the water from his face. "Early, then?" he asked.
"Absolutely!" Cyv resisted the urge to hug the Brownrider and instead settled for an extra-bright smile. "You have our eternal gratitude, D'llin...and now I've got to go tell Ki!" Farsynth rumbled as she realised her rider _wasn't_ going to wash her. ~~You come back here~~ Excitement fairly radiated off Cyvarel as she broke into a run towards the goldrider's weyr. >>Later, Farsynth. _Much_ later<<
* * * * *
Kira slid off Somnolenth, excited to be out of the Weyr for the second time. And this time she was sure they'd get to have a good look around, somehow with D'llin it seemed less structured than it was with Val. But then D'llin was closer to her age, and nice though Val was, he *was* one of the senior riders. >>Funny<< she mused >>Thought he'd be a bit more flexible, considering.<< She'd sort of expected Val to be a bit more relaxed in view of his friendship with K'dan, and the fact that it was clear in her memory that the two of them were obviously drunk together at the last Impression celebration. >>Maybe he got in trouble ...<< Anyway, this *was* more of an impromptu trip.
Cyvarel followed suit, glancing back at D'llin and hoping he wasn't feeling left out or anything. She and Kira had a tendency to get involved with themselves, but it was completely unintentional. Only because they were such great friends. Cyvarel stretched, her arms aching dully from the flight- but not enough to cause discomfort. Everything was much better here- even the air seemed purer.
When Sillenth backwinged and landed, the girls had already dismounted, his descent having been much calmer than theirs. Once he was on the ground, D'llin removed his helmet and coat, juggling Spook in the process. As he walked toward Cyvarel and Kira, his gaze followed Flame who was already winging about, exploring.
Kira looked back up to Somnolenth, realising only then that she had forgotten the lunch she had got Jess to pack.
Cyvarel could tell by the look on Kira's face that something was wrong and bit her lip in advance. And she had just been getting comfortable too...
"Damn. Cyv? D'llin? Hope we don't get too hungry. I've forgotten the food."
. "Oh shards." Cyvarel sounded rather upset, food was a rather important part of her life, despite the fact that she was constantly on a diet. "Sear it, it's much too far to go back."
D'llin groaned along with the others. For a moment he toyed with the idea of going between on Sillenth to retrieve the pack, but quickly dismissed it, knowing the scolding he would get if anyone caught him leaving the two weyrlings alone.
Cyvarel leaned against a shady tree, scuffing her feet in the mud before brightening considerably. "I'll bet some of these fruits and things are edible. I studied herbs when I was a Healer Apprentice- I must know _some_ of them." She proceeded to investigate some of the nearby flora.
"I used to gather with my mother too," D'llin added, nodding agreement, "we should be able to find /something/."
"I certainly hope so!"
They had wandered a reasonable distance from their original point of arrival when Cyvarel happened upon some thick-skinned fruits scattered on the ground. "Aha!" She exclaimed, with the air of one making a groundbreaking discovery. "I remember these!" Her nose furrowed in an effort to recall lessons taught more than a turn and a half ago. "As far as I remember, they're good to eat." She shrugged, glancing at the others for opinions on the fruit.
Kira offered some up to Somnolenth.
>>Want some?<<
~~Dragons can't eat that. It's poisonous.~~
Kira was all set to discard the fruit, when her dragon spoke again.
~~But humans eat it.~~
>>Well that's alright then.<<
"Somnolenth says humans eat this. So it must be alright."
Cyvarel smiled, glad for her choice to have been ratified by the Gold. "I knew it!" She crowed, rather triumphantly. This was quickly interrupted by the large problem of getting at the fruit. "I'm just going to go back to Farsynth. I think I brought a beltknife with me." She muttered to the other two, setting off at a jog.
Kira peeled one of the fruit with some difficulty, breaking a fingernail in the process. It *did* smell alright, sweet and juicy. The first tentative lick was tart and slightly pungent, she didn't remember having tasted anything quite like it. But it certainly hit the spot. Though she must admit that the lunch she saw Jess pack would have been more filling.
Breaking into a fruit, D'llin tried to remember if he'd ever eaten it before. He looked up to see Kira sample it and took a bite of his own. He decided it was not what he would look for next time, but it was definitely better than nothing. He finished off the fruit and reached for another, he tried offering some to the flits but, as much as they usually ate, neither would accept any.
It wasn't until a bit later, maybe half a candlemark, that Kira started to feel a bit woozy, sort of nauseous, but relaxed and peaceful with it. And everything looked different, hard to say how, just different. A bit like when she'd Impressed, everything seemed a bit unreal, dreamlike. And it almost felt like she was walking through water, but that couldn't be right, could it? >>Never mind ...<<
~You're not well.~~ Somnolenth interfering again. ~~We should go back to the Weyr.~~
Well, Kira was accommodating. >>Anything you want.<< She giggled suddenly, everything was just fine, really fine.
As they continued along, D'llin began feeling light-headed, and the chirps from his shoulder seemed a bit loud. He heard Kira giggle but when he turned toward her he had to hold his arms out to steady himself. For some reason he had trouble focusing on the weyrling goldrider, an after image followed his gaze when ever he turned his head.
"Whas so funny?" he asked, his tongue felt thick in his mouth. Flame came darting to his shoulder just then, but all he saw was a strange figure in motion, bearing down on him. Gasping, he threw his arms across his face to ward off the attacker. The bronze managed to find his usual perch, but not before a talon left a long scratch down D'llin's left forearm. The brownrider didn't notice the blood beginning to bead on the scrape, didn't really notice the scrape at all.
"Ya shouldden bleed like tha'!" Were the loud tones that announced Cyvarel's return from her side trip. It was quite obvious she had eaten some of the fruit, and a sticky beltknife hung from her fingers. "S'not good for ya." She stumbled forward in short bursts of ungracefullness and brandished her beltknife in front of her to emphasise the point.
The sun glinting off the metal caught her eye and she tilted her head, leaning closer. >>Pretty<< She thought to herself, moving it so that it made interesting patterns on her hand. ~~Are you all right, rider-mine?~~ Farsynth interjected, mildly worried by the thoughts her rider had been sending to her. >>Fine, my dear sweet little...<< The girl paused, at a loss for another adjective. >>Dragon!<< She mindvoiced, hitting upon the perfect one. For some reason, Cyvarel found that extremely funny- giggling until she noticed D'llin and Kira in front of her.
"Ah." She said, rather vaguely, trying to remember what she had been talking about. A sudden smile lit her features and made her seem slightly crazy, like a genius who's just had a flash of brilliance. "Told you fruit was good..."
D'llin looked around when Cyv rejoined them, images still flowing across his vision. He blinked, and squinted, trying to make his eyes obey his orders.
~~What's wrong with you?~~ Sillenth inquired, concerned with the curious sensations that were radiating from his rider.
D'llin gave a laughing snort, >>wrong? Wha' makes ya' think I'm wrong?<<
He was surprised at the effort it took to look at the arm Cyvarel had motioned to. Seeing a bit of blood on the long scratch he grinned foolishly, "Hey! Look!" But his attention was quickly drawn by Cyv's flashing knife. "Whoa..."
~~There /is/ something wrong~~ the brown was getting awfully persistent ~~we should go back~~
>>oh, fine!<< D'llin gave in, and turned to the others with a cheesy grin, "ladies? Shall I.. we.. he wants ta leave." He tried to decide which of the several images were the real Cyvarel and Kira, and finally gave up. Unsteadily he held out both his arms, offering to escort the girls, and with a woozy laugh said, "kin I help ya's to the dragins"
Cyvarel wasn't in much of a state to disagree, much less provide a reason to. "Thankya." She managed, latching onto D'llin and using him as a support. Hopefully he could keep the both of them upright. Or not. Cyvarel stopped giggling for no apparent reason and basked in the glow of- blankness. Her mind had never felt more...empty. "A real gennelman...eh, Ki?" Cyv grinned in the direction of her friend, squinting with the effort.
"Yip." But there was something bothering Kira. She waded through the fluff in her mind >>now, that shouldn't be there should it?<< until she was able to grasp the thought by its long evasive tail. >>the knife<< "The knife!" she exclaimed, with some difficulty in making her words fall off her tongue. D'llin was bleeding and Cyvarel had a knife. Kira started to cry. She had been so sure that her friend liked the brownrider. She watched a tear drop off the end of her nose and fall... and then she was mounting Somnolenth, grateful for the proffered foreleg, and marvelling at her triple shadows in her hide.
* * * * *
Once his mindmate and the other riders had dismounted, Sillenth had stretched himself in the grass to sun. He wasn't the least bit hungry, having hunted the day before, but he knew that his rider would need to eat. He caught D'llin's concern at having left the food back at the weyr, but once the decision was made to look for food, the brown figured all would be well and was promptly asleep.
Farsynth, on the other hand, was a bit more active. She stuck her nose into everything, padding away from the others. She had never been quite so alone before and had solemnly decided to explore the feeling. However, she had the sense not to wander too far....
Somnolenth regarded the small green things offered to her by her rider. She wasn't hungry, but even if she was, she wouldn't eat that. Some instinct told her that it would hurt a dragon.
~~Dragons can't eat that. It's poisonous.~~
But she had smelled the same thing at the Weyr, and knew that someone had drunk the juice.
~~But humans eat it.~~
Somnolenth was the first of the three to become concerned, Kira was uncharacteristically bewildered. Not by a dilemma or that bronze's rider, as Somnolenth was used to, but perplexed in general - her thinking patterns were slowed and lacking in organisation, and the content was unconcealed. This was indeed cause for concern as the gold had become used to a subtle shielding of their shared mind on both sides.
The sun had not reached its zenith when Sillenth was awakened by strange thoughts from his rider. Their link was usually so clear, but he was having trouble following D'llin's wandering mind. During all their ground and aerial drills, they had learned to share each other's vision, it was more of a bleed-through of their mate's perceptions, but it effectively doubled the area the pair could scan for thread. But Sillenth was now confused from what his rider was seeing, and he inquired about the problem.
Farsynth was the last to realise her rider's oddness. She had seemed perfectly fine to her when she came to collect her beltknife- but something else along the way had _changed_ her. Her thoughts were wild and rather unfocused, exactly like her vision. The very feeling of Cyv's mind had changed from sharp to rather fuzzy and it worried her. However, Cyvarel's assurance that everything was indeed alright soothed her slightly.
Sillenth was getting more and more worried and the fact that D'llin easily agreed to head back did not settle all of the brown's concerns. So he turned to the others, ~~are your riders having any difficulties?~~
~~mine is somewhat confused~~ admitted Somnolenth, rather surprised that she hadn't thought to ask Sillenth or Farsynth the same question. ~~and she's willing to go back to the Weyr. But we've only just got here~~
~~mine cannot move properly~~ Farsynth pronounced, a hint of amusement showing through. She had always thought human legs were useless stumps of flesh, anyway. The lack of coherence from Cyvarel soon shifted her back to seriousness. ~~we should go back. My rider is never this...~~ Farsynth searched for a suitable word, unable to pluck one from Cyv's wandering mind. ~~...happy~~ She finished, conveying an image that made her words make more sense.
Knowing that all the riders were in the same condition didn't help to calm Sillenth. ~~They didn't find what they were looking for anyway, so we should hurry~~ The brown's tone was full of the distress he felt. With a short hop and glide, Sillenth was as close to D'llin as he could get. Luckily the terrain was more open than wooded, and the brownrider wouldn't have far to walk in his odd state. The brown dragon watched as his rider half walked half stumbled toward him and his concern became even greater. He rumbled aloud and began to shift his feet in apprehension.
At Sillenth's agitation, Farsynth started to become more worried. Her rider seemed to be hanging off the boy, and neither seemed very stable. ~~I do not like this~~ She mindvoiced to Cyvarel and the other dragons. A few moments passed and the weyrling's response was too garbled for even her mindmate to make out. The Green spread her wings slightly and rocked back onto her back legs for a moment. ~~I cannot understand her!~~
~~It's alright.~~ Somnolenth's mindvoice was soothing to the other two. ~~If we can get them to mount, we can return to the Weyr. We all know the way.~~ Her quiet tones were firm and unable to be argued with.
Farsynth calmed a little at the reassurance in the gold's mindvoice. ~~Yes we do~~ She confirmed, nudging her rider gently. With a jerky motion in the direcion of the harness, Cyvarel was starting to mount her. The green kept up a steady flow of gentle insistence to make sure that her rider didn't get too distracted on the way up. ~~Use your claws!~~ She muttered exasperatedly at the struggling girl.
Finally close enough, Sillenth stretched his head toward D'llin to help support him the rest of the way. His eyes spun yellow with anxiety, showing sparks of red in his agitated state. He crooned encouragements to his mate when D'llin had trouble reaching the toe loops of the harness. The two firelizards were obviosly concerned as well, they spun around Sillenth's head looking for direction from him, but all he could tell them was to calm down. When D'llin finally settled between the last two neckridges, and managed somehow to fasten his belt to the straps, Sillenth bugled his relief and readiness.
Somehow or other, Cyvarel had managed to clamber up onto Farsynth. The Green tried to aid her rider, making some rather interesting contortions to help her up in the process. Farsynth rumbled deeply as she felt her rider slump onto her back instead of fastening her straps. ~~Rider-mine!~~ She mindvoiced sharply, her worry making her harsh. It seemed to bring the girl out of her reverie, and with quite a lot of relief, Farsynth felt her get ready for flight.
Her rider was becoming more labile. Somnolenth thought of calling for some help from the Weyr, but then Kira was climbing on, albeit unsteadily, and fastening the riding straps.
~~Home!~~
* * * * *
The three dragons, riders precariously balanced despite being well strapped on, arrowed into the Weyr and gently landed in the bowl near the hatching grounds.
~~You should go and see the healer.~~
>>Somnolenth, you are such an old Auntie! I'm fine. In fact I've never been better.<<
Kira slid down Somnolenth's side, landing with a bigger bump than she anticipated, staggering and almost falling. >>I wonder if I'm drunk?<< This brought K'dan to mind and she decided that *now* would be a good time to see just why that tunnelsnake (giggle) had been so conspicuous by his absence. She tried to tell Cyvarel that she thought that it was about time her best friend met that gorgeous hunk of bronzerider, but the words got lost on the way out, and all she could do was to grab her half-heartedly by the arm and indicate the way to where she wanted to go.
Cyvarel nodded very solemnly even though she hadn't understood a word. Who cared? It didn't matter! They all loved each other and that was the most important thing. In her turn, Cyv hooked her left arm around D'llin's and left her right arm in the grip of Kira. She let herself be dragged along and made sure D'llin kept up with the goldrider's rather frenetic pace.
The entire trip home D'llin had tried to force his brain to think about his brown's questions. Was there really something wrong? But he couldn't focus long enough to form the question properly, let alone answer it. Instead, he'd spent the time studying the clouds as they'd flown by. >>That's what I feel like<< he thought to himself, >>a cloud<<. A cloud that just floated... and let the wind blow where it would. Even now, as Cyvarel linked her arm in his again, he simply floated along behind her.
They careened down the corridor, coming to a halt outside what Kira knew was K'dan's weyr. She smothered another giggle, before kicking the hide door half heartedly.
"Oh, spunk-bubble, I know you're in there. There's someone I want you to meet." Well that was the general gist of what she wanted to say - it came out slightly garbled, but Kira knew what she was saying.
"Almost got it... aaaand...." Kie's precarious balancing act was cut short as he could have sworn someone was kicking at his door. And talking. "Hear that Saith?"
~~I think....~~ But the bronze fell silent again, with the mental equivalent of a shrug. Thankfully, he didn't try this, or Kie would have gone tumbling. Balancing yourself between the wall and your dragon was not the most intelligent thing he could be doing, but he'd been trying to reach the small pocket in his wall where he kept all his marks and other 'valuables'.
"Huh." He scooted down as quickly as he could, and wandered over to the door. "He-- Kira!"
Kira flung herself at him, her arms draping themselves over his shoulders as she kissed him all over his face. Backing up a little, she pointed at Cyvarel and said a largely unintelligible "Thith ith Cyvawel. An' D'llin," then as she swung back around to her best friend and D'llin, still with her arm around Kie's neck, "An' thith ith K'da. The love of my ..." She attempted to smile, then came to a hasty realisation. "An' I think I'm gonna be *sick*!"
Cyvarel grinned lopsidedly, completely ignoring Kira's profession of sickness. "You-" She tried to point to K'dan, but jabbed far too forward and missing poking his eye by a few centimetres. As it happened, she retracted her hand and decided to start again. "You-" This very promising beginning was halted when the girl realised she had no idea what she wanted to say. "I'm Cynalel." She pronounced, with a bit of difficulty. "An' you- are a...tuddelsnik!" The insult brought a fresh wave of giggling over the girl as she remembered that she had promised to tell the bronzerider that he was indeed a tunnelsnake some while ago. Her eye happened to catch Kira's. "We sh'd go ta my brotha- he'th a Healer..."
Until K'dan opened the door, D'llin hadn't bothered to try to figure out where they were going. At the sight of his friend, he lifted his free hand in greeting and tried to smile normally. Of course his efforts only succeeded in testing their already unsteady feet and making him look more absurd than he already had.
The only thing K'dan knew was that they were confusing him. And the giggling (something he'd never been able to stand on grounds of it sounding downright obnoxious) was getting on his nerves.
And he would have taken offence to the tunnelsnake comment, but none of them seemed particularly 'there' at the moment. "Hey Kira, Cyvarel, D'llin..." He shifted his weight, almost pulling away from Kira, half-afraid she'd fall over if she did. "Er... what're you... what've you been up to..." Or INTO?
"Careful," D'llin managed, "thas a gold rider you got there." He tried to carefully pronounce his words, but they were still slow and thick.
"*We* have been ... umm ... wha'v we bin doin'?" With something to concentrate on, she was distracted from the rising sensation of nausea. And shards, but K'dan was delectable, with that tousled mop of hair and baffled expression. She could just keep him forever. Kira leaned over to kiss him on the cheek and run her hand through his hair, but misjudged the short distance, ending up hanging off his arm. Fancy him being here when she hadn't seen him for ages, and just when she'd been thinking about him too. How thoughtful and considerate he was. "Oh , yeah, *searching for los' wossnames. Ya know - T'lena, and Raven." The words came out awkwardly but basically clearly. "But ... we *had* to come back, umm ... why again?" asked Kira in the general direction of the two Cyvarel's in the room.
He stared at her. Blankly. "Oh yeah... I guess you haven't had any luck." He shifted his weight again, glanced helplessly at D'llin, then decided his savior didn't reside within the brownrider. And it definitely didn't reside with himself. So he just did his best to make sure she didn't fall on her nose... or something...
"Cause o'Semnolenth..." Cyvarel made a hash of the gold's name and winked at K'dan- or at least tried to. "Said we sh'd go back tah Weyr...Morelivin Weyr...sho...d'you love 'er or not, K'danny." She said, abruptly switching topic. She waved a fist in his general direction. "Ya bettah shtop messin' about or ah'll...er...."
>>Great Faranth... that must've been some wine.<< Kira was all over him (he had no clue what to make of this... if she'd been sober, he would have been flustered... not to say he wasn't now). "That would be a confession for a candlelit dinner..." He muttered, then shook his head, and patted Cyvarel on the shoulder in a friendly manner. This wasn't easy, because he was still expecting her to poke his eye out. Or something. "It's alright, really. No harm done, right? Um..."
What would J'rek do? Um.
* * * * * Sillenth wasn't getting much in the way of intelligent response from his rider. He'd decided that, what ever was wrong with D'llin, he'd be happy to get him home safely and hope that someone would know what to do. Not expecting any arguments about his flying, Sillenth dropped quickly to the bowl floor with the others. He turned a great whirling eye toward his rider. ~~We're back, someone will help you now.~~ He watched as D'llin finally moved to undo the straps and crooned when he fell to his knees upon dismounting. Not surprisingly, Flame and even Spook, choose to stay with the brown, their worried chittering adding to the mood.
~~Somnolenth~~ Farsynth's mindvoice was edged with worry and deference. ~~My rider is being silly. She is never like this~~ The Green's eyes whirled faster with worry. Whatever crazy thing Cyvarel was up to, she was never 'silly', and her lack of mental control was bothering Farsynth no end. While the two of them were close, her rider _always_ made sure that she did not seem like...Farsynth searched for the words her rider used so often...a vacuous airhead. The green was lost in puzzlement for a moment- her rider’s head was definitely _not_ made of air. She turned to regard the other two dragons, her mind turning back to their current plight. ~~We must do something!~~
Somnolenth was busy processing what had just happened, and was stuck on Kira's final words to her. Old Auntie ... Old Auntie ... It wasn't even so much the words themselves as the way in which they were delivered that rankled, Kira was the last person she would have expected to treat her with such informality. Not since she was a hatchling had her rider ever come close to that level of familiarity in her thoughts, in fact not even then!
Once the trio was out of sight, the brown turned to the other two dragons. ~~Will they find what they need? My rider has no destination in mind.~~ He paused, tuned into D'llin's mind, ~~he still thinks he's flying.~~ Even though Somnolenth wasn't full-grown yet, she was old enough that he looked to her as queen, ~~Somnolenth, we can't follow, but there must be something...~~
The concerned mindwords of the other two broke through Somnolenth's perplexity and outrage, and she was able to put it back into perspective. It wasn't just *her* rider that was acting so out of character. And as the obvious leader of the group, it was up to her to take charge. ~~Resanth? Could I have a moment of your time? Kira's not well, she's rather strange - she called me an old Auntie!~~ Somnolenth huffed in indignation. ~~Could you ask your rider to investigate? The picture in her mind is of Saith's rider, I think she's gone there.~~ Despite her pique at Kira's comment, she knew that all was not well. Kira was *never* that informal with her. And she was sufficiently concerned to use that bronze's name, despite her dislike of him.
Resanth detected the distinct tone of distaste for the bronze in her daughter's message. Although the Senior Queen was well aware of the other gold's feelings, she was a bit surprised to hear them so clearly voiced. And then the rest of the message sunk in.
~~Your rider's acting strangely? Calling you names? That /is/ odd. I will tell my rider immediately.~~
* * * * *
Alea had been ministering to Varanth. The big bronze was healing nicely from him injury although his rider seemed more than a little depressed by his lifemate's enforced grounding. The petite Weyrwoman perked up her head when her gold addressed her in a serious voice.
~~Somnolenth says there is something wrong with her rider.~~
>>Wrong, love? What's wrong with Kira?<<
~~Somnolenth says she called her an Old Auntie and is acting strangely.~~
>>She called Somnolenth a what? That doesn't sound like Kira. But it's hardly cause for alarm either. Is there anything else?<<
~~Just that her mind is rather 'fuzzy' and she's gone to see Saith's rider.~~
>>Saith's rider? Really? I'll go check it out. Please let Somnolenth know I'll go find Kira in a few moments.<<
Resanth relayed the message and Alea gave the bronze a final farewell pat on his foreleg. She gathered up her skirts and half-ran toward K'dan's weyr. If there really was something wrong with Kira, she didn't want to wait. Fortunately the way to K'dan's weyr took her past the Healer's workshops and Alea paused long enough to call out to Sedaren. If there was truly something wrong, his presence would be needed anyway. As the pair of them walked quickly toward K'dan's quarters, Alea filled the healer in on what she knew.
Sedaren stared with shock at the news he had just recieved. He telegram fluttered out of his fingers and he swallowed. Just as he was about to decide how to deliver the news to his sister, he heard the Weyrwoman call for him. He stood up and walked out, she looked decidedly worried. Snatching up a few necessary items he followed her without a word.
"And Resanth said that Somnolenth reported Kira is acting strangely; calling her names and generally acting in an odd fashion. I'm not sure what she means by that exactly, but perhaps we can figure it out together. /If/ she's still at K'dan's... And K'dan has to be ready to leave for South Wind soon. Hopefully tomorrow."
They rounded the corner and stood before K'dan's open door. The voices from within were loud and raucous. Alea looked in the doorway, amazed by what she saw.
The Masterhealer debated telling the Weyrwoman the news he had just recieved but decided against it. From the looks of things, she had enough on her platter as of now. He opened his mouth to reply and closed it just as quickly- K'dan's door was open and the sounds issuing from within were _loud_. Incredulously, he recognised his sister's voice saying something garbled.
>>Something is horribly wrong<< Sedaren strode in before Alea and surveyed the scene. "Everyone- quiet." He snapped authoritatively, in his element. He twisted his head around to look at Cyv- her eyes were curiously unfocused and she seemed on a different continent.
"Cyvarel?" He asked slowly, holding her chin between his fingers. He leaned closer and his nostrils were assaulted by a sickly aroma- one that every Healer knew.
"I tolja mah brotha wa' a Healer..." The girl mumbled, in the direction of D'llin and Kira. "Wacha doin', Sed?"
Sedaren ignored her and quickly examined the other two, casting a sharp glance in the direction of K'dan. Unfocused eyes, slurred speech...the symptoms were blindingly obvious to the well-trained man. He turned to Alea with a puzzled expression on his handsome features.
"Weyrwoman- they're dosed up on fellis!"
D'llin distractedly watched Kira beside K'dan. >>Gold and Bronze, Gold and Bronze<< he repeated to himself. The litany soon struck him as funny and added to the dazed grin on his face.
He didn't notice when Alea and Sedaren entered the weyr, and jumped slightly when the Masterhealer call out, "Everyone- quiet."
As Sedaren examined first Cyvarel and then Kira and himself, D'llin tried to force the swimming images of the healer and Weyrwoman into recognizable figures. He had a fleeting idea that he shouldn't be so fuzzy with the Senior gold rider in the room. But any lucid thought was not long lasting and he soon found himself studying the rocky surface of the ceiling.
Kira looked up as she heard Cyvarel acknowledge Sedaren. >>Wonder where he came from?<<
She made a feeble attempt to struggle as Sedaren inspected her face too - attempting to focus *and* look upwards was a bit of an effort - however it was soon over with and he hadn't quite managed to dislodge her hold on K'dan, so she supposed it was alright. Though she did say as a parting shot "Don' lookit m'darlin' li' tha'."
She yawned mightily, and as she closed her mouth, caught sight of Alea. >>Funny - I'm sure *she* wasn't here before!<<
"Weyrwoman- they're dosed up on fellis!"
"We di'n'ave any fellis, di' we?" Kira looked at K'dan, baffled. >>I don't remember taking *any* medicine.<<
That pronouncement caught the brownrider's attention. Something in his mind told him he ought to be concerned about it, but he couldn't figure out why. Suddenly he felt exceedingly tired. "'m gonna go t' sleeeep," he announced. D'llin tried to walk toward the door, but found he couldn't move very far. Investigating the reason, he found that his arm was still hooked through Cyvarel's. His eyes moved from her arm to her face and back, but just how to free his arm eluded him.
"Fellis! Wha-?" Alea had no words for the situation she found herself in. She looked from Sedaren to each of the youngsters, pausing finally on K'dan's face.
>>Resanth, please let Somnolenth know that Kira is a bit... er.. out of >>sorts, but she should be fine. She'll need to sleep this off, I think. >>But do tell Somnolenth her lifemate will be all right.<<
"Kie, do you know anything about this?" Alea asked. Then, as if realizing the slim likelihood that K'dan would know anything, she turned to the Master Healer.
"All right, Sed, what do we do now? They will be all right, won't they?" The Weyrwoman certainly hoped so since she'd already had Resanth assure the younger queen.
Sedaren held her glance for a moment, shaking his head slightly. "Just a bit of rest and observation at the infirmary." With a firm grip, he took Cyvarel's arm, noting that her other one was still connected to D'llin.
"Cyvarel, let go of D'llin. Cyvarel. Listen to me. Let go of D'llin." He said softly but firmly. Surprisingly enough, the girl complied with a minimum of fuss. The sleepy stage was setting in. Cyvarel winced slightly and tried to pull away from her brother. "Where did you get the fellis?"
"F'lis? Dunno 'ny F'lis...d'you Ki?" She grinned lopsidedly and blinked.
Sedaren gave up with a sigh, releasing his hold on the girl. He crossed his arms and tried to think, he needed to know the dosage before he could treat them properly. If they had injested too much...he stopped the train of thought with a shudder. He was _not_ going to lose his sister, not today...not after...
~~Fruit~~ A voice intruded into his mind crudely. It was somewhat like Cyvarel's..but deeper, more base. ~~They ate fruit~~ This time the mindwords were accompanied by a picture. With a jolt, Sedaren realised that it was Farsynth- talking to him. Before he could think of an appropriate response or even get over his immense surprise, the presence was gone.
"Thankyou, Farsynth." He mumbled out loud. Sedaren turned to his sister with an accusing glance. A first year apprentice would _definitely_ know the fruit from the fellis tree. "It's alright, Weyrwoman. They ate fellis fruit- it's not very dangerous. Low concentration. Cyvarel should have recognised it. We'd better get them to the infirmary."
"You-" He gestured in the direction of K'dan, too upset to recognise his bronzerider knots. "Help D'llin, will you?" He put an arm around Cyvarel, starting to guide her out of the infirmary. "Weyrwoman...could you help Kira? The fewer people that know about this, the better."
Alea nodded and slipped one arm around Kira's waist. She let K'dan and D'llin move ahead of them and it wasn't too difficult to keep Kira moving with her favorite bronzerider in front. Although she felt awkward talking about them while the trio was in the presence, Alea had questions.
"They ate fellis fruit and this happened? I had no idea. And you're sure they'll be all right? No lasting ill effects?"
D'llin didn't even try to follow the conversation around him, nothing was making much sense anyway. He watched disjointedly as Sedaren led Cyvarel from the room. When K'dan took his arm, he studied the shorter bronzerider intently, but allowed himself to be led away.
Kira followed K'dan and D'llin down the corridor, trying not to stagger. "Where we goin'?" She was vaguely aware of Alea holding her up on one side and steering her away from the walls that loomed suddenly. She tried to look around for Cyvarel but couldn't see her, however the sound of Sedaren's explanations to Alea were coming from ahead, so she assumed that was where her friend was. >>Not fair. He's always picking on her!<<
Cyvarel looked up at her brother, her eyes unfocussed. "I wan' talk Kira." She mumbled, her tone surprisingly firm. "Lissen, 'Daren...I wan' talk ta Kira!" The Masterhealer simply tightened his grip on her arm. He shot her a glance which clearly said that she was in for some serious trouble later...but in her present state Cyvarel didn't seem to get it.
All D'llin really wanted was to sleep, a piece of his brain began to wonder if they would ever let him. He looked down, trying to figure out where they were going by watching his feet. This, however, was not a good idea, since he tripped and almost hit the floor. He surely would have if K'dan hadn't been helping him.
Kira gave another mighty yawn as they arrived at the Infirmary. She tried to protest "'m no' sick!" but it was really too much effort. She allowed herself to be tucked into a bed, reaching out futilely for K'dan as she leaned into the warm softness and sank down, down, down.
D'llin allowed himself to be seated on a bed, but it took an effort to decide whose bed it was. When he finally came to the proper conclusion, he was so close to being asleep that it didn't matter. But it bothered him... something did... something about the infirmary... Oh, yes! he had been attacked right? The memory was as fuzzy as everything else. He tried to move his tougue to tell someone about the perceived injury, but all he could manage was a terribly garbled sentence. So instead, he began to wave his scratched arm around, hoping someone would notice. The movement made him even dizzier and he had to lay back or fall to the floor.
Sedaren laid Cyvarel on a bed next to Kira, which quieted her down. After a few initial protests, she found that she was actually quite sleepy. "G'night." She grinned, completely ignoring the pained look her brother was giving her. She closed her eyes, and in a matter of seconds, was fast asleep...
The masterhealer sighed exasperatedly- there was no way he could tell her the bad news now...but he just _knew_ that she would be demanding why he hadn't told her sooner after she woke. His attention was caught by a jerky movement made by D'llin's hand. Walking over, he realised that the boy was scratched. >>Only superficial<< He remembered that there were more serious injuries sustained at the Hatching as he tightened a bandage about the young man's arm.
That done, Sedaren moved to the side with Alea and hoped that nothing would go seriously wrong...
