Hairballs (Rishka)

[LyricalBlue]

(I'm placing this here for now to avoid confusion with the other open threads in the Jungles. Hg, feel free to simply continue it in here.)

The large shadow that passed over the treetops was followed by muffled wingbeats in the hot night. The massive form hovered over the tops as the feline took off into the jungle. Huge, yellow whirling eyes peered down at the girl below. A small human shape leaned over the dragon's shoulder.
What is it, Xi?

The bronze lifted his head, still hovering in the inky dark to try and look around for an area he could land in.
There is a girl down there. The feline got her.
The rider leaned back to grab a length of rope, which he quickly lashed around the great beast's neck.
Right, hold still Xi.
He tied the rope around his waist and leaped from the bronze dragon's back in a maneuver that would no doubt bring a tongue lashing from the Weyrwoman should she ever know about it.

E'dian grunted as the rope snapped tight a foot or so above the ground. Ow, that was not the best idea in the world. Looking around, he quickly spotted the girl.
A little lower Xi, I see her.
As the bronze dragon lowered enough that his claws brushed the tops of the trees, E'dian found his feet on solid ground. He untied the rope and dashed the short few feet to the now unconscious girl. No she was not in good shape, she need a healer and fast. It was sheer luck that they had happened by. His meeting with the steward of Ponaa Hold would simply have to wait.

He lashed the rope back around the girl then after making sure it was tight. The Weyrleader quickly shimmed back up the rope and onto the dragon's back.
As soon as I get her high enough, can you hold her?
Yes, of course I can.
E'dian pulled the rope up, hand over hand and as soon as Xialanth could reach the girl, he caught her in his forepaws.
Home?
Yes, right to the infirmary!
Within another moment, the only thing that was left was a rush of cold air.

[hrsegrl]

The moment she felt the freezing air she opened her eyes. Pain, so much pain. That was all she could think of. Rishka could not help but let tears fall as she struggled to stay conscious. In her own world she had not the slightest idea of what was happening. She remembers feeling cold, waking, feeling pain and then slowly slipping back into darkness.

Although she as not a muscular or tall young woman she had proven hardy enough to survive with the help of the Healers. After a few candlemarks of their tending, she woke up much less aware of the pain. Her hazel eyes searched the faces around her. No one she knew and thank the stars for that! In a moment of curiosity she reached with her hand to touch her face. Rishka jerked her arm back, reaching hurt. Her right eye was squinting a lot which indicated to her that something was wrong with her face. Her face and her chest were injured, she remembered a little of that.

Then there had been the shadow and the feline had run off. Where could she be now? All she saw were concerned faces that she did not know, ceilings and walls that looked like a caves and everything lit up by glows. No windows. What an odd place this was. Rishka tried moving her mouth, not so bad. She could talk, she thought, but maybe not too long.

“Where are we?” Rishka asked softly, moving her jaw after talking as if feeling how much was too much for her mouth to move. She had never been anywhere like this, that much she knew. Maybe it was a secret Craft Hall or perhaps an underground Hold. Mining was done underground so perhaps they mined here and this was their ward for the infirm.

Wherever she was she knew she could not leave. Rishka doubted she could even sit up, let alone walk or stand. “How did you find me?”

[LyricalBlue]

The gaggle of Healers had long since stopped trying to fend off the Weyrleader. And he had stood, lurking like a predatory wherry until the strange girl had managed to wake up. He had the Healer's assurance that she would live, but that the scaring could not be avoided. E'dian leaned over the cot as she began to mumble. Who was she anyway? And what was she doing in the middle of the jungle, picking a fight with a feline? Questions swirled through his mind at a furious pace.

"Shh easy does it there. You're in Ponaa Weyr. It was the fastest option after we found you." He did his best to be soothing and understanding, which for E'dian was a real effort. He couldn't be a teddy bear even if his life depended on it.
"My dragon found you after you tangled with that feline. We brought you back here."

Said dragon of course, was already back asleep on his ledge next to his Queen. The Healers were taking care of the girl so in his mind everything was alright. And he would much rather be next to Aliath in the sun than waiting in the bowl. E'dian could worry for now, if he needed to swoop down and rescue someone else, he was more than capable of it.

[hrsegrl]

Meeting the gaze of the man who spoke she considered his character. He seemed a stern and confident sort. Men like him were often leaders though she doubted the leader of any craft would be speaking to some idiot girl who had tangled with a beast. Not that it had been her intention to fight it. He spoke of where they were, Ponaa Weyr. She shook her head lightly. Had she been that badly injured.

Then as if the man before her was as mad as she now thought herself to be she laughed. "Thats really good. Weyr! HAHAHAHAHAHAAH!"She eyed him again noting the seriousness on his face. "Oh, come on. There is no Weyr. Dragons are extinct. I appreciate you saving me but you go to far to call me crazy enough to think there are dragons. I have not completely lost my wits. " If they thought she was some dimglow who would beieve anything that came out of their mouths they had another thing coming.

Searching the other faces around her, she found her anger at being seen as brain dead diminishing. They looked completely serious. Maybe they all had the same mental illness? The Harpers even said they were gone for good. Besides she had seen no sign of dragons on her travels. No, it was more likely these people were mad. Rishka was not going to join them in their madness.

[LyricalBlue]

For a very long moment the Weyrleader stared at the young woman as if she had suddenly grown two heads. Perhaps their plan of secrecy had worked too well indeed. Dragons, extinct. No doubt most of Pern thought this true. E'dian's hands balled into fists with his typical tightly controlled emotional responses. One day Pern would not laugh at its protectors, one day he would watch Holder eyes grow wide as a flight of dragons passed overhead. One day... But today was not that day. There was still the very real danger that Pern's dragons could in truth, become extinct.

How to handle this... E'dian berated himself, he should have thought better. If the girl did in fact find out this was a Weyr, he couldn't let her go. Dimglow! He should have thought of that before. Of course, she was likely to figure things out rather rapidly, with or without a dragon in sight.
I should perhaps speak to her?
No, Xi. Something tells me she would only think herself more crazy were that the case.

The Weyrleader could feel the bronze's mental snort and almost chuckled to himself. Thank Faranth for simple dragon logic, if only people were that easy. Of course Xialanth's willingness to talk to this girl was another matter entirely. The bronze very rarely touched any human's mind other than his rider's.
"Well, you shall see for yourself as soon as you are well."
E'dian crossed his arms across his chest with one eyebrow raised appraisingly.

[hrsegrl]

The hazel eyed woman stared at him for a long moment. He was not wearing traditional clothing. Those were leathers, if she had any sense she would have noted it earlier. People with sense did not run awat from home or get attacked by large beasts in the middle of nowhere.

Perhaps there was some truth to what he was saying. If dragons did exist they had done an excellent job of hiding themselves away. Cowardice was not really the word for what they had done. Nor for what she had done. Self preservation was more like it. She laid her head back down.

"In any case, I thank you for my life."She paused and wondered if he were going to send her home now. That was something she would not be able to take. "There is no need to contact any in my family. I am now ruined and they would not want me." Her tone was one with no emotion. She felt no loss at not being pretty and she could care less what her family felt about her now.

Rishka remembered her brief freedom with a smile that made her flinch in pain. Biting down on her lip she said, "How long am I going to be here in the infirmiry?" The question was posed openly but she expected a healer may have to answer. "Bed rest is awful." Rishka added with a wistful sigh, she was no better at being idle now as an adult than she was as a child.

[LyricalBlue]

With a shrug that was characteristically no committal, E'dian replied.
"You can get up when the Healers say you can. Here, we listen to our Healers."
No family hmm? Perhaps there was more to this girl that was initially expected. Of course a fight with her family would explain the rather foolish idea of venturing out into the jungles alone. As for saving her, well any decent individual would have done so.

The Weyrleader inclined his head and sighed softly. If she was forced to stay in the Weyr, at least she was alive and had no family she would be missing any great deal. Ruined... He looked at her face and slowly processed what she had said. Ruined... there was much more to a person than their looks, but for a daughter of a holder, she could perhaps be right.
"Well no matter, you shall always have a place with us. You might even find you like it."

I like it hear.
Yes of course you do my dear. You are a dragon after all.
I can't imagine anything else.
The Weyrleader ran a hand through his hair and sighed once more. First it was a high strung, temperamental Weyrwoman, then his daughter Impressing a Gold... Why was he surrounded by women with problems? He didn't even know how to handle them on a regular day.

[hrsegrl]

No matter that she was unable to get a direct answer about bed rest. Rishka would entertain herself somehow, though teasing the healers was probably not a good idea. Her face was not what kept her here, it was her the slash across her chest. The numbweed was doing an excellent job but she could still feel a burning sensation whenever she moved. Laying down was best for now.

"I suppose I'll have to stay for a while until I'm healed." So much for freedom. Now she owed them. When one is in debt there is no way they can be free. Her life might mean very little to them but it meant a great deal to her. Rishka thought to herself, she'd like a lot better when not confined to this dungeon.

The man seemed stressed, "If you need to go, you should. I promise not to move from this bed until the Healers agree to let me go. Besides where would I go?" She had no idea where to go should anything happen here. Rishka did not like the idea of being back in a caged environment but she would endure it in order to heal.

[LyricalBlue]

He found himself nodding slowly, yes bed rest really was the best option for her right now. Though... he was not sure how much the Healers could do about her face, at least she would live. And the Weyr was not such a bad place to be trapped in, not with such magnificent beasts as they had.
And we are only with our riders.
The warmth of the bronze's mental tone couldn't help but make E'dian smile, why would he ever want to be anywhere else? For now... things were quiet, which was a blessing in the Weyr. Though he couldn't help but feel that there was a storm looming on the horizon.

E'dian patted the girl's shoulder absently, he'd never been good at the familial care, much less anything else. Well, she was in a strange place with no one to know her or to really speak to, an effort couldn't hurt. After all, she'd clearly been out in the middle of the jungle for some reason.
"My name is E'dian, if you need anything, just ask the Healers. Or you can think really hard, I'll have my bronze, Xialanth, keep an ear out for you. Hmm?"

He could feel said dragon's amusement at that idea, the bronze rarely spoke to other humans but that didn't mean he could not enjoy the woman who thought he did not exist.
Is she a egg that needs sitting now?
Lets go with that idea.

[hrsegrl]

The dull ache of her wounds was starting to catch up with her. Rishka didn't dare touch her torso right now. The wound on her face was already enough to deal with. When she realized he was speaking again she stared at the ceiling trying to piece together what was being said.

E'dian. That was not a normal name. How did one say it again? She tried saying it with the lilt in the right placement. "E'dian...Did I say it correctly? Your name is very odd." She admitted. Not that she had any say on what dragonriders called themselves, if that was indeed what he was. "Xialanth. Interesting." She paused mulling it over in her mind. "I do like that name. Did you name him?"

There were so amny questions to ask, she almost wanted to continue to ask about the Bronze but the only other question she felt like detaining the rider was important. "How could Xialanth possibly hear what I'm thinking?" Rishka began to think about what the dragon may have heard in her mind already. How hard was really hard anyway? She should not be so concerned. Dragons in myth were said to never harm humans.

To Rishka everything here was new and her curiousity could not be quelched on bed rest. This was going to be harder than she thought. " Do dragons converse often with people who are not their rider or people who have no dragon of their own? Sorry, you don't have to answer that. My curiousity is going to get the better of me for the last time, I hope."

She paused and thought out how titles should be said. Her family was related to the Lord Holder, etiqutte had not been forgotten as readily as dragons had. "It has been a pleasure to meet you Bronzerider E'dian. My best to your Xialanth." Perhaps the formality of her words would give her away but she hoped not. Rishka would be happier if no one here expected anything more of her than any other woman.

[LyricalBlue]

As the questions came out in a sudden torrent, the Weyrleader stood there, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he smiled. Well, at least if she was in a bit of a bad state, her mind seemed to be working well enough. Of course, for one who thought dragons were a myth, he could not really blame her for the questions. E'dian nodded shortly in response to the question about the pronunciation of his name before responding.

"Yes that's right. It is a honorary shortening because I am a rider, before I Impressed my name was Eradian." The questions kept coming and he could not help a quiet laugh. Perhaps Weyrleader was not the best job in the world, so many questions. He was having to talk more now than he'd ever had before. "Xialanth named himself. When they hatch, they already know their names." E'dian shrugged on that particular question. The hows and whys of dragon names were lost even on their riders and all the dragons would say on the matter was simply that they knew what to call themselves.

"Dragons do not speak like we do. They speak into your mind. Some people... are louder than others, but they mostly only talk to their riders. " He nodded once more as her questions trailed off. "Just focus on getting better, you'll have as much time as you like later for any more questions.
She is a very loud egg.
E'dian only chuckled as he walked off, time for more questions. Getting something to drink first was in order.

[hrsegrl]

Listening, the wide eyed hold bred girl kept her other burning questions to herself. “I suppose that makes sense. The name is their own after all.” She said softly to herself. Rishka wondered what a dragon actually looked like. How big were they? Did they have hides or scales? The debate with her siblings had been ongoing when not in their mother or father's presence. Dragons were not a topic of conversation allowed to them. In fact mentioning dragons at all was not permitted. Their Harper would have been in trouble if her father ever found out that he told them of dragon's in myth.

Only now, after running away from her preordained life, wandering runner-back across the Southern Continent and being attacked by a large furry beast, she found herself laying in the very home of the last of the dragons. Would that she could have a look around. Wistfully she sighed and took in his last comments with a voracious mind. “Alright, though I don't think concentrating will make me better any faster.” Certainly not fast enough!

Should she need anything she would think of the dragon's name. Xialanth. Yes, she really did like his name. Yawning with her mind still rummaging through old myths and legends she had been told she began to fall asleep. Rishka had not realized how tired talking had made her. Her face seemed glad of the break from talking as well. Maybe she should keep her mouth closed more for the next few days. That was the last thought in her head before drifting into a sound sleep.

(End Thread)