Blame the 'mandyr {Tags: K'lir 8D}

[neeuqtar]

No more being pretty. Dael's voice was half sneer, half fury. Uu'n sent her a mental glare, but the salamandyr ignored the warning. She always did. It was halfway annoying, halfway endearing, and completely impossible of her. The gold crept along Adith's neck, keeping her wings tucked tightly to her rounded body, flattening so close to the violet-blue hide that her ribs spread as she wove around his neck-ridges, the wind making her tail whip behind her, a golden banner and a declaration of ire.

I'm going back, aren't I? Uu'n replied with acid ire, crouching low across his dragon's neck. It was daytime-- late afternoon, in fact-- and the sun was to their backs, limning the gold creature in liquid fire. His eyes hurt: a side affect of Adith's use of them earlier in the day, when even the thick, dark glass goggles he wore could not cut the pain of the light. Anything much brighter than the full moon burned, but between was not currently an option for the pair, not when they had been training for so long for endurance.

And not since what had happened last time.

You know that's not why she's angry, Adith said softly, chuffing softly as his shadow skimmed across the trees hardly a dragonlength below them. His wings beat steadily as the sky before them deepened to violet, and behind them flaming into orange and red streamers. The light did nothing to lessen Dael's balefulness.

The Selenitas River flashed below them, casting reflections. Silverwings below, Silverwings above, swimming and flying. From the river you couldn't see the scars, and Uu'n closed his eyes against the scene. Dael leapt, and without thinking Uu'n snatched her from the air. The salamandyr and dragon had become more and more extensions of himself in the intervening time. Dael hissed, writhing against Uu'n's prison grip, before sinking her fangs into his thumb. The man winced but didn't let her go. Stoppit, Dael, he commanded. We're here.

Moments later, the bottom dropped out of the world as Adith tipped into a vertical dive, nostrils pinched shut against the blasting wind. Uu'n opened his eyes, letting go and grabbing onto Adith's neck as vertigo hit him. Dael shrieked as she was released, tumbling in Adith's wake. The blue dragon bugled, his bell-like voice deeper than it had been. Without pause, he lifted into his howling pack-song, voice lilting through the eerie tones. The reverberations echoed through the canyon, and Uu'n smiled for the first time in months, for a moment removing the haunted look from his eyes.

In a move practiced over and over again, Adith flipped sideways, into a listing spin, stalling upwards and kicking off of the canyon wall to send him in a graceful curve outwards over the river. He turned again, a quarter-turn towards the sky, and powered upwards, over the lip of the canyon, before veering along the shore. Wait... Adith spilled air and altitude, coming close to the ground. Holding his wings in a frozen backwing, he hit the ground at a bounding run, leaping along the ground and over a few pedestrians-- was that a hatchling?-- before coming to a prancing stop at the entrance to the weyrling housing. This is the Barracks...?

Adith was panting slightly-- well, so was Uu'n, to be honest. Despite the work of months, they were only just recovering completely. Yes. Her name is Baoth. She was here for K'lir, and you were not. Get off of my back or I will bite you off.[/color] The reproach in Adith's voice, coupled with a glance over his shoulder and a slightly gaped jaw, was enough to make Uu'n obey. That, combined with the fact that Adith had never so much as spoken K'lir's name before, was enough to stun him to silence.

Questions like "how do you know that?" were too obvious to ask. Adith wasn't a conversationalist, but he had kept in touch with the Weyr's news while they had been, well, missing in action. Had anyone even missed them? K'lir maybe had. Ciara. Nia... was she a Turn now? More? He didn't even know how much time had passed. Adith claimed days before he'd waken up... but how much of that was a dragon's memory was impossible to know. A week could be forever.

Silently, Uu'n unloaded the dragon of what he'd brought back for K'lir. A small creature dive-bombed into his head, worsening an already-bad headache. Her claws scratched his scalp; the punture in his hand was still bleeding, albeit sluggishly. Uu'n licked the blood off as Adith launched again, heading for his own ledge and Weyr. Adith had learned to enjoy sunlight over the past months, and a sunning ledge was preferable to a clearing. Uu'n closed his eyes against the dust before heading inside, taking off his own goggles and his leather jacket.

His eyes slowly adjusted. Blinking away what he refused to name tears, Uu'n squinted at the weyr assignments. It had been... a long time since he had been in these hallways. Especially since he'd lived in them for less than a day while a pitch-black hole had been prepared from them. Their own weyr was far preferable...

It took a couple wrong turns to find the right weyr. He was about to knock on the doorjam when Dael launched herself from his head, right into K'lir's weyr. Showoff-mine! she shrieked. Need! Miss! She winged about, looking for him frantically. Uu'n glanced down at the floor, feeling awkward. He wasn't looking anything special... would K'lir even want to see him? Had he lost his chance?

"Uh... K'lir? Dael... brought me..." he said awkwardly, stepping into the weyr, almost hoping the man wasn't there. Then he would only feel stupid, as opposed to a monster. Tanned now, his hair growing long enough to tie back into a nub of a runner tail, his shirt worn and getting threadbare, his leggings still betraying the pattern of the feline-fur and the marks of inexpert leatherwork. Feet bare, dirty; a ragged scar running across his upper lip, clipping the left nostril in a dent, just missing the eye, and extending inches past his pale hairline. He wouldn't have given himself the date, let alone spoken to him. Maybe... maybe K'lir could be more forgiving.

[glamourie]

It was a showdown. K’lir was sprawled out on his stomach in his room of the barracks, his chin resting on top of his palms. He was backwards in the bed, head at the foot, and he looked for all the world to be staring off into space - oblivious. Except that he wasn’t. In fact, K’lir was very intently focused on something: Baoth. The dark green dragon was lying close enough to the bed that she looked much like an overgrown canine of some sort. It wouldn’t be long before she couldn’t creep into the human half of the barracks room anymore, but for now she could, and she liked to sleep right next to the bed. K’lir usually rolled off and curled up with her in his sleep, and she liked that. For the moment the pair were in a stand-off, both staring straight at one another with perfect stillness, though. Much of it was K’lir; he would shift between moods dramatically where Baoth was concerned. Sometimes he couldn’t stand to behold her, for the very sight of her green hide sent a wave of intolerable pain through him. Others, he needed to keep his gaze on her, as if he thought she would blow away on the first wind. She’d felt him staring and turned to look back, but no words were needed between the new green pair. Barely a month old though she was, Baoth knew Hers well, and she could pluck his thoughts from his mind with ease. She knew he was gawking because of that unintelligent one who let him go… and disbelief that she existed. He always doubted her. So silly. As for her? She was staring because he was… and because he needed to know that she saw him as much as he saw her.

They both stared. K’lir twitched his nose. Baoth ruffled her wings. And then -- sound.

Jerking his head up in surprise, K’lir actually jolted into a sitting position, while Baoth gave a sudden and abrupt backpedal until half her body was on the bed to escape the decidedly - hiss! - female noise. Her wings flared and K’lir reached over to touch her side, the contact meant to comfort, as Dael launched into sight. Her presence meant only one thing: Uu’n was back. From wherever he went. He hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye. Hadn’t said goodbye --

Daelminelooooove! Showoff called, scurrying out from the sleeve of K’lir’s shirt. The red-bronze salamandyr dashed forward and then threw himself off the bed, gliding across the air to his golden mate. His response actually calmed Baoth considerably and she settled down, her wings still twitching slightly. Showoff was oblivious, actually tackling Dael over (a comical sight between two creatures of such small size, to be sure) and flaring his frill, this time in a show of undeniable excitement. Gone so long! Gone so long! Thought you left! Daelminelove so happy to see! Happy happy. Dungheadmine, Daellove back! Look look! Greenthing mine look! Look! Greenthing new! New! Daelminelove missed muuuch. Also Fatty baby spawned. Rambling, who, Showoff? Far be it from him to be confusing and verbose. But he had so much to tell her! So, so much!

Shooting Showoff a glare, K’lir glanced over toward the small children’s bed that Kahrelir was sleeping on. Not a single movement. Kid could sleep through a quake, he was beginning to think. Good enough for him though for Showoff was projecting very loudly. Not that K’lir blamed him. He was kind of excited (and extremely nervous) to see Dael too…

K’lir turned his head abruptly and then jolted up and off the bed. His upset forgotten, he actually half-dashed across the room before stopping in front of Uu’n to look him over. His eyebrows reached his hairline and he reached one hand out to touch the scar on the other male’s face before his own twisted into a frown. “You’re hurt! You should be in the infirmary,” he said with a definitely scolding edge, as Baoth’s curiosity flared through his mind. He could feel her turning to look at Uu’n, unsure of what to make of this new one who inspired such emotion in Hers and K’lir bit back a hint of amusement; surely Showoff’s response would make her understand soon enough. “How’d you - where’d you -” His words died in his throat. The wounds looked old, but then, they should have considering that Uu’n had been gone since before the Siege. A very long time, indeed. He’d missed him - of course he’d missed him - and Showoff was positively unbearable without Dael much of the time. Did he know - well, Baoth made it obvious but -

“You didn’t even say goodbye…”

K’lirmylove, Baoth whispered through his mind, tearing away the sudden feeling of melancholy that came with that thought, and K’lir glanced at her. The green shifted to her feet and moved, serpentine, across the barracks room until she was standing close enough to get a look at Uu’n, up close and personal. Who is this one, and why does he upset you so, K’lirmylove? You are happy and sad at once. I don’t believe I’ve met him before. Is this your mate, then? The little lizard queen is Showofflove’s, so I would guess…? Her words went unanswered verbally, but the slight confusion he felt at them was enough. Baoth turned and looked at Uu’n, measuring… and then she fixed him with an intent stare. Happy she was okay with. Sad, not so much. This one was… different. She didn’t know what to think of him yet, and he had to prove himself before gaining her approval. Plain and simple.

[neeuqtar]

Uu’n hadn’t expected… well, he hadn’t really expected anything. Maybe to have a chamberpot flung at his head, or to be utterly ignored. He was not prepared to be fixed in the stare of the most ‘snake-like dragon he’d ever seen, her flaring wings promising danger. His immediate reaction was to tense, grab a weapon, defend himself—but his belt had worn out long before this day, and his weapons were stored safely in the things still strapped to Adith’s back. It wasn’t like anything besides bow, javelin, or sling were useful on the back of a dragon, anyhow…

He felt a twinge of conscience, for leaving Adith decked out in gear and worn, mended riding straps. Of course, the dragon hadn’t exactly given him a choice. After what must have been a half-Turn or more in the presence of only His and Dael, in a less-than-desirable situation, the dragon was ready for some alone time. His mind was filled with nothing but sun and exhaustion from the long flight.

Showoff’s body collided with Dael’s midair, knocking her out of the air and onto Kahrelir’s bed, then the floor. The gold obviously did not mind, twining all around her bronze mate, licking him frantically. Never leave! she insisted. Love Showoffloveminelove, always come back! Happy love back! Her eyes gleamed violet as she reassured Showoff of her affection. Badwings caught us, made us hurt, and then scarydark almost took away! But back now, back back back for looooong time! she crooned in dual conversation. Greenthing good? Fatty baby annoying.

Uu’n almost took a step back from the sudden approach of K’lir, a response at odds with the pouring affection flooding through his mind. Half of him wanted to grab K’lir, kiss him; half of him needed to flee. A strange expression fled across his face as K’lir’s fingers traced the poorly-healed scar on his face. He couldn’t feel anything except a tingle along his jawline: an affect of the nerve damage and poor healing.

“We were only going to be gone a sevenday,” Uu’n choked out, closing his eyes. It hurt to look at K’lir. He’d lost so much weight… Uu’n, too, had slimmed slightly, due to illness and injury, but the past six months had put muscle on him and seen the advent of a few more scars and aches. “I don’t know what happened. Adith said that they attacked the Weyr, but we were on sweep when it happened. Two hit us… bronze and brown. We tried to fight…” His voice died. Memories of that night were terrifying, far more so than any of the other battles Uu’n had been in. This was the only one where he had been helpless as dragons tore into his beloved.

“Faranth…” The curse was whispered more at himself than at anything else. War was pain; why couldn’t he just get over it? His whole life had been pain and danger. The difference was that he had things, people to care about in this fight. He looked back down at K’lir, pain in his face. “I can’t remember it right. Flashes. Adith says that when we hit the ground, it took me days to wake up.”

The scarydark took them, but I made come back, Dael announced to K’lir, clearly keeping tabs on Hers’ conversation. Her frills fanned slightly as she looked over from her position on the floor (and Showoff). I good Dael. Then she turned back to Showoff, crooning at him. Stay long time.

Uu’n winced. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to talk about that, particularly when his memories were so… fragmented. He only remembered images, some sounds. The face of the brownrider, spattered in ichor, his face twisted into a furious mask, mouth open in a yell Uu’n couldn’t hear. The bronze, outlined in red as flame spewed from his partner’s maw, singing hide and hair, eyes rubies lit with battlelust. The sickening sensation of falling as the two beasts slammed into Adith, fire slicing his face as a talon hooked him. Ice and fire as they dropped into between.

His jaw worked as Baoth moved closer, fixing him with her piercing stare. It felt like a judgmental stare. Well, he deserved it. He turned his own dark eyes to hers, trying to hide his emotional. It wasn’t normal for him to want to flee, just disappear. Would it be better for him to just be out of K’lir’s life? Let Baoth heal him; let him forget? “My dragon Adith says your name is Baoth,” he said hesitantly, eyes flicking back to K’lir’s for confirmation. “I… um… my name is Uu’n. I… I’m glad you found him.”

[glamourie]

Badbadbad no take Daelmine I kill I kill no take Daelmine love love. Bad dark take ugly greenthing, mine almost go too! Showoff love Daelmine. We best, we best! Showoff announced in an undeniable show of affection, twining around the gold adoringly. He flared his frill around, living up to his name, as he tried to touch as much of Dael as possible. It was almost as though he was disbelieving seeing her. She’d been gone, she had, and he missed her horribly. The only thing that kept him from falling into utter depression was the need to protect his, and he was a very good protector, he was. See how His was still there? All him; he hadn’t let His go away when the evil dumb green left. How he hated her for hurting His that way. His had cried, he had. Cried and wanted to go away. He’d felt him fading, the life leaving him, the urge to jump when he couldn’t fly… and Showoff had flat out not allowed it. Screaming, biting, panicking: he refused to allow DungheadHis to leave him. He loved him, he did, didn’t he see that, couldn’t he feel that? He’d claimed him, not that stupid green thing, and it wasn’t like he was about to let go of that claim. His. All his. Just as he wouldn’t let any of the babies come near His, he wouldn’t let His leave because of the evil green. He just wouldn’t. We best, we stop evils. We bestest.

As for the greenthing? Showoff lifted his head to look at Baoth before conspiratorially telling Dael, Not good as me. But good. Dael queen, Baoth knows! That he was actually calling her by her name was a very high compliment from Showoff. He liked Baoth. Not because he liked dragons but because she plotted with him against those he didn’t like. Not like fatty baby, Baoth does not! Nor Fatty’s greenthing. Helps plot, it does. Like greenthing, me likes. Not Daellovemine, but second best is okay. Frilling contentedly, Showoff nuzzled Dael. He really did adore her. He’d never so much as looked at another female salamandyr or acknowledged flirting from them - if it happened at all. Not that he knew. The only creature worth his time was Dael. His Dael. He was so glad that she was back.

“Braver than me,” K’lir said softly, his hand dropping to his side; a sudden surge of guilt and hurt flashed through his mind and he took a step back, more out of instinct than anything else. Uu’n didn’t seem too… happy at the idea of being touched. He didn’t want to offend. His security was completely shaken -- ever since Calistoth’s death, as a matter of fact. Part of him wondered if he was pushing his luck with Uu’n. Yes, he liked him - obviously. Half of that was Showoff, but most of it was just his own natural fondness for the bluerider. But… Uu’n didn’t like him, did he? He distinctly remembered the ‘He’s not my boyfriend!’ comment, which at the time was taken in jest and playfulness. In retrospect, K’lir wondered if maybe it wasn’t a big hint that he’d missed. It would be just his luck to be so oblivious. “I hid away like a proper coward,” he continued with a weak smile. Actually, he’d been forced to stay inside because of Calistoth. “There were a lot of deaths. The barracks were-- rebuilt. The infirmary too.” His eyes dropped, and he gestured toward the bed weakly… afraid to touch Uu’n; what if he broke? Everything around him died or broke… “Sit…?”

Baoth fixed Uu’n with her same intent stare. His speaking made her sit up and her tail angled behind her, twisting and turning languidly through the air, as though in interest. Her wings gave a slight twitch, and then her head tilted to the side in a remarkable imitation of a human lost in thought. Curiosity whirled through her gaze, and she turned, from K’lir to Uu’n, and then back again.

Of course I found Mine, she said directly to Uu’n; he spoke to her, so she deemed it fair game. Only a fool can’t find Theirs, and I am no fool. It felt awkward, talking to someone who wasn’t Hers, but -- he liked this one, he did. So did her little cousin. That must have meant that he was okay. She flared her wings and stood up before circling around Uu’n, effectively putting herself between the two males. She didn’t appear to notice, though, instead leaning over to nose at the bluerider in interest. Each touch was as gentle as was possible for a weyrling, but - interested just the same. She was measuring him, analyzing the way a scientist might. What made him tick? What made Hers like him so much? And was he a threat to her? Adith’s, he said he was. Adith. The name was unfamiliar, so she rifled quickly through K’lir’s memories with an expertise that had formed very fast, and she was supplied with a curious fact: he didn’t like light. Did this one dislike light as well then? She wasn’t light. She was very, very dark. How curious…

[neeuqtar]

We very best, Dael agreed, plastering herself all over Showoff. She had wanted to come back for so long, but they had been very, very far away, and the big Adith blue thing hadn't been able to fly very long or very far for a very, very long time. And she couldn't go by herself-- she had no idea where they were! And besides that, what if Her Uu'nmine and the big blue had been taken by the bad dark while she was away? The risk was unacceptable, and so she had just yelled at Her Uu'nmine every day until he had finally taken them back. So happy happy to be back with Showoffmine. Never leaving so long again EVER. Her announcement was punctuated with a red-eyeball stare at Uu'n, who pretended not to notice the flying daggers she sent his way.

“It was idiotic of me,” Uu'n corrected, for a moment reaching his hand out as if to grab K'lir's. Didn't he know how much it hurt to see him again, like this? As if a bone which had set strangely was being broken again, to be straightened, but couldn't be set. He'd missed K'lir, desperately, missed his laugh and the way he walked and how he looked when you could get him dressed properly. And now... well, all those daydreams of coming back had been shattered, first by Calistoth's death, and then by Baoth's Impression to the young man who had lodged himself in Uu'n's affections. “I'm glad you're okay... Adith told me some of what he could find out, but... it wasn't much.”

The bluerider ran his fingers awkwardly along his left ear, flicking across the myriad of piercings there. A few of them belonged to other people, purloined by the devious pair of salamandyrs that were busy doing the salamandyr version of necking on the floor next to the beds. “I, uh, made you this,” he said after a second, at the same time K'lir offered a seat. He paused, then drove on. “It's for ontop of your furs. Just... to look nice.” Shifting his burdens around (leather jacket over his shoulder, goggles on the wrist now), he proffered a bundle tied with twine made of braided vines and the remains of his loincloth waistband. Not that K'lir would need to know that, or anything.

Hmph, Dael replied to Showoff's listing of Baoth's skills as the green dragon went to stare at HersUu'n. The gold salamandyr was not fond of very many creatures besides Showoff. She liked her Uu'nthing, and the big blue thing. A little, at least. Enough to not want them to wander off, or vanish into the dark. Big blue Adiththing says that greenthing-Baoth is good for Dungbutt-Yours, she said grudgingly after a moment. And since Uu'nmine loves Dungbutt-Yours, then greenBaoththing is okay, yes? She flirted her frills at Showoff, her words precisely calculated to irritate Uu'n as well as to be adoring with her mate. And she was not being discrete. Anyone within, oh, a few rooms or so would be quite capable of picking up her strident declarations. It was only fair payment for Uu'n keeping her away from Showoff for so very long.

Uu'n was too busy dealing with the new sensation of another dragon talking to him. She sounded young, but piercingly intelligent. “I do not doubt it—hey, that tickles!” he protested as Baoth proceeded to prod him with her nose. He tried to hold still, but her nose combined with dragonbreath across his sides made him twitch and an involuntary smile wipe away the uneasiness on his face.

Dael flicked her tail. Well, Uu'nHers was clearly too busy with the greenthing belonging to Showoff's to listen to her. She would just bite him later, when she wasn't so busy being with Showoff. Maybe tonight, later. They were going to oil the big blue, and that always ended up messy and fun. She could bite Uu'nHers' toes when he was busy with the big blue's silver wings. Love you, she reiterated cheerfully. It was good to be home.

[glamourie]

It was really a wonder that Showoff hadn’t started glowing from sheer delight. Dael was his favorite thing ever - after K’lir but not by much - and seeing her always brightened the bronze’s mood. Seeing her after she’d been gone for so long was enough to make him deliriously happy, and he made no effort to hide his delight. Everything from the shade of his eyes to the rapid flaring of his frill gave indication to his mood, and even when he moved, he tried to keep as much of his body touching Dael’s as possible. His Dael. He would not have been able to bear it if she hadn’t come back. No doubt he’d have simply wallowed, constantly; she was the only one he wanted, you see, the only one who mattered. But all of it was irrelevant. DaelHis was back, she was back and as glorious as ever, the vision of perfection that she’d always been and that chased all of his gloom away. Nothing could compare to Dael’s wonder. Nothing. That she was as happy to see him as he was to see her just made Showoff trill in delight; too happy to formulate proper words. Mine mine mine, love Daelmine, love. No go again. Missed Daelmine, I did. Dungheadmine miss Dael’s dumb thing too! Flaring his frill pointedly, Showoff twitched. Much bad dark. Much bad dark. No let dark get any.

“Idiotic? The Night Watch saved Selenitas,” K’lir countered pointedly, as he tried to ignore the almost giddy high feeling he was getting from Showoff; it was definitely stronger than usual, though that stemmed entirely from Calistoth’s death. Showoff was almost impossible to ignore anymore. Amber eyes dropped toward Uu’n’s hands and K’lir cocked his head to the side but -- he didn’t ask. He couldn’t bring himself to. He just shifted his weight nervously, and rubbed the end of his nose. “I’m - she didn’t - Did Adith -” It was hard to say, so K’lir finally just gave up. Talking about Calistoth hurt more than words. The wounds were much too fresh. He wanted to know why Adith hadn’t told Calistoth where he was; surely he knew they would’ve come? Or maybe he did and she hadn’t told him? It was hard to imagine her being so spiteful, but on the flipside, he knew intellectually if she felt scorned she would be stubborn. Had she? His mind reeled, and K’lir abruptly put his foot down. No point in wondering. “You need to see a healer, Uu’n -- your injuries look like they were severe, you might have secondary infections or something. If nothing else, you should check to -- what?”

A … gift…? What? How - why - that made no sense - not that he was ungrateful, but K’lir didn’t really understand why Uu’n would bring him a gift back when he should have been focusing entirely on taking care of himself. He should’ve been focusing on getting well. Not… Not bringing him a gift. K’lir’s heart sunk and he frowned, then bowed his head slightly.

“You shouldn’t get me stuff -- not when you’re hurt --” Not when he didn’t deserve anything, he was a pathetic coward. He hadn’t even been with Calistoth when -- “I -” No hysterical showings of emotion, please. K’lir crinkled his nose, and then glanced over at the salamandyrs, before blinking up at Uu’n. He wanted so badly to blurt out “Is what Dael said true?” but stopped himself, instead settling for taking the offered bundle gingerly. “Well don’t just lurk in the doorway. If you’re coming to visit, come inside, so none of the other ‘weyrlings’ -” He made the word a mockery, “- decide to gawk at you or some such.” Gruff? Perhaps, but more normal for K’lir than anything else. “You keep bringing me gifts. Buying my affection?” He didn’t need to. “I don’t have anything for you, either…” He slipped over to the furs and gently took to untying the bundle to see what lay within. Patience wasn’t one of K’lir’s strong points, and he was curious.

I should certainly hope so, Baoth offered in response to Dael without looking at her. The green was busily nosing at Uu’n, trying to decide what she thought of him. ‘Tickles’, hm? Tickling. She made a mental note of that before circling behind Uu’n and actually bumping him forward from behind, as though to march him inside. She said nothing else; he wasn’t Hers and she’d said quite enough as it was. He should have counted himself honored to hear what he did. However, that didn’t stop her from trying to bait responses. She didn’t know what to think of this one yet. The lizard queen said he ‘loved’ Hers. Well, she loved him too, and she was betting she loved him more. At least this one wasn’t a female though. He couldn’t challenge her in that respect. Hmm…

[neeuqtar]

“The Night Watch might have, but all I managed to do was almost get killed.” Almost get Adith killed, which would have been worse. Far, far worse than just dying himself. Absently, he rubbed his scar. It still felt funny from K'lir's touch; Uu'n avoided touching it half out of habit (when he'd gotten his face lain open by dragonclaw, Adith's fear for him had been infections. Uu'n was too busy trying to keep Adith alive to bother challenging the dragon, and so it had healed without stitching). Possibly touch would help the nerves reconnect correctly, but as it was he almost always wore a half-sneer from the pull of the scar on his lip. “I think I'd have died by now if I had an infection,” Uu'n countered. “It's Adith I'm more worried about,” he added, a little more softly. “I know emergency work-- thank Faranth I learned-- but we're going to have a deal of work to do before he's fully fit again.”

Dael was purring now, her whole body thrumming. She'd stopped being so frantic, just wrapping her body around Showoff, as if to reassure herself (and him) that she was going nowhere. Being away from her mate for so long had made her world dark and her mood worse than irritable. It had been a long time, far longer than she ever wanted to be away from anything. She adored Uu'nHers, oh yes, but Showoff was all hers. She had to share Uu'n with the big blue, an inconvenience she tolerated but was never truly happy with. That Showoff had a person didn't really register as sharing: K'lir was his, and thus also belonged to her. The same went with the 'Niaworm-- Uu'n's and thus hers as well. K'lir-Showoff's had a wormbaby in his room. It was intriguing to the salamandyr (as another creature in her domain, of course), but not enough to pry her off of Showoff. Uu'nmine missed Yours too. All droopy and stupid. Not how I missed you, Showoffminelove, she trilled back, waving her bronzy frill at him. Oh, yes was she happy to be back.

“Actually, I um... I made it. Adith couldn't hunt, and I didn't need all the furs...” Uu'n trailed off, feeling decidedly awkward. About to take a step in, he was bumped forward by Baoth, and ended up staggering forward with a look of surprise. Momentarily, he turned to the green dragon, fixing her with a dark-eyed glare, before taking a seat on K'lir's furs, almost shoulder-to-shoulder with the greenrider... greenweyrling. Shards, but that was weird. “I doubt any of them would gawk long,” he said, trying to be light-hearted and managing to get almost the right tone of voice. “I look more like a bandit these days than a dragonrider.”

K'lir's untying would reveal what looked like a bunch of hides, stitched together. It was rolled tightly, like a bedroll, and didn't look like much from the outside: tanned leather with puckered seams. Once unrolled, though, a round throw was revealed, made of alternating feline and wherry hides, so that black feathers alternated with the tawny gold and black spotted and streaked hides of forest felines. “I killed one of the felines myself... the rest attacked us at night, and Adith and I fought together,” Uu'n offered, with a slight smile at the memory. A battle he could win, even when grounded. Adith's talons always gave the killing blow, with Uu'n distracting the beast and trying not to get savaged, mostly successfully. The blue had gained a taste for the meat when scarce two Turns, and they had killed many together in the past.

Uglysnotgreen was mean and stupid, the gold salamandyr replied to Baoth archly, pinning her gaze on the irksome green. Just because she was acceptable didn't mean that Dael wanted to be all friendly. The gold didn't like the tone in Baoth's words. As if any stupid dragon should have hopes about her feelings, except that she wouldn't bite them! Hardly worth looking at. You better, but still not like.

[glamourie]

Wow, it was tempting to slap him. Not because he expected a slap to really be productive (K’lir didn’t), but because he was frustrated. Adith was a dragon and most dragons had a sense of self-preservation about them; they wouldn’t sit and let themselves get mutilated without just cause and if they needed medical treatment, they sought it as soon as they could. Uu’n, on the other hand, was a human and human beings were terribly idiotic creatures for the most part. Pride and ego tied into it but most did not seek help when they should have. That statement applied as much to K’lir as Uu’n, true, but his face wasn’t covered in a hideous scar; he wasn’t covered in scars, period. He was just thin enough that it was perfectly possible to count all of his vertebrae when he didn’t wear a shirt, or wore one particularly tight -- but that was more left-off from when Calistoth died than anything else, and depression was much different than reckless behavior. Therefore, he was perfectly justified in being agitated with the bluerider. Didn’t he know that K’lir cared about him? That it mattered whether or not he was okay? Of course Adith mattered. Of course it was important that Adith be okay. But -- didn’t Uu’n understand that he couldn’t handle losing someone else and that neglecting his own care even if it seemed like the right thing to do was stupid? It was very, very tempting to scream. The only thing that kept him from doing so was that he was distracting himself with the movements of his hands. No screaming. Gift unwrapping instead.

“I hope that Adith has told you what a wherrybrain you’ve been and that the first stop both of you should have made upon returning to the Weyr was the infirmary to be checked out, so as to make sure that you’re both in tip-top shape. And you can tell him that applies to him, too.” He cast a sideways glance at Uu’n as his green attempted to nudge the bluerider to the bed, and he crinkled his nose. Then without much hesitation, he launched into what could only be described as a true-blue tirade .“And when I’m done opening this up, I intend to haul you by the ear straight there. Let there be no mistake on that. Gifts won’t save you from me throwing you at the first healer I can find, and you better hope it’s not R’wign -- he’ll go hard on you just to avoid having to deal with my agitation being turned on him. Do you have any idea how much I worried about you? How much I missed you? How worried I still am? Hm? I don’t have very many people. My brother. Beka. Calistoth. Gone. Don’t you be neglecting your health and abandoning me too.”

Yeah, it was perhaps too emotional of a rant. K’lir was aware of that. Truthfully, his words were more bent out of worry than anything else, though. Yes, Uu’n was probably fine but that didn’t change that he felt horrible. Seeing him scarred up made K’lir want to just grab him and sit on him so that he couldn’t leave again. He was fussing, yes -- but wasn’t he justified? Hadn’t he earned the right? A warm brush through his mind told him that Baoth thought he was justified, but that was not nearly so reassuring as he wanted it to be… because she was Baoth, not Calistoth. His hands stilled on the stitched-together quilt as he managed to unravel it, and most of his temper dissipated in the flurry of a moodswing that he wasn’t quite able to explain. He flopped down on the end of the bed, or rather, plopped, and hugged it to himself before glancing up at Uu’n, as if shy; he hadn’t meant to blow up - he didn’t deserve any gifts - he didn’t deserve much of anything…

Fixed, fixed. Lovelove Daelmine. Dungheadmine fixed soon. Eat more maybe. Not be stupid. Almost go dark, did mine. ShowoffYours not let. He settled his head against Dael’s body, his own frill flaring as much as he could in that position, and relaxed himself; Baoth was ignored. So happy Daelmine back. Did miss, did miss. Stupid false gold baby Fatty claim you die. The hint of irritation that graced the word ‘fatty’ spoke of his feelings for Brat, and the mere mention of her had him twitching his wings in fury. He’d almost attacked her. Would have, too, had K’lir not stopped him, but His was often wretchedly in the way. He’d come to the conclusion that his humanslave did it on purpose, too. So irritating!

Dael’s response made Baoth turn to look at her, as the green settled down back in her spot in a classical sphinx pose. The dragon gave a low rumble, before replying simply, A mutual feeling, lizard queen, make no mistake. She had little use for other females, plain and simple. Not personal against Dael or even salamandyrs -- she liked Showoff quite a lot. She just didn’t like anything female. Hatchlings were… irksome, but tolerable. Others? Well, they needn’t be around Hers. This one… Her gaze swiveled back to Uu’n. He was okay. He wasn’t a threat to her, nor was his blue. That meant that he was tolerated. Her tail flicked back and forth as she fixed Uu’n with quite a penetrating stare; she had yet to formulate an exact opinion on him. Time would tell. Hers certainly liked him a lot but -- apparently, that had something to do with her Showoffcousin. Hmm…

[neeuqtar]

((It was about time for a reply x.o; ))

Uu'n stared at K'lir, mouth slightly ajar, as the green weyrling ranted. He wasn't terribly impressed at threats of R'wign--the healer had seen him with far, far worse, and Uu'n had always been a pretty bad patient--but the fact that K'lir was yelling at him was completely unprecedented. Oh, he'd been yelled at before, mainly for pranks played early in weyrlinghood, but for the past three or four Turns he had lived relatively apart from the rest of humanity, doing what he wished and hardly interacting with others. The bluerider could sense Adith's disgruntlement at being upbraided, but the dragon didn't deign to reply.

"We... I... you..." he stammered out, completely unsure of how to respond. "You were worried?" It sounded stupid, but Uu'n couldn't stop himself from asking. They had tried to contact the Weyr, once both aware and capable of rational thought, but they had been on the far edge of their sweep, far up the Selenitas River, and the pass-and-rake maneuver which had marked Uu'n's face had also marked Adith's, leaving the blue dragon with silvery-green scars tracing down his neck and with his right headknob literally gouged out by dragon-talon. The Weyr had been too far to reach by mental call, and as for between... impossible, for Uu'n at least. Adith hardly remembered that they had been attacked, but he'd picked up the gossip of the Weyr as they had approached the last two days. Not, apparently, announced that they were alive; but neither man nor dragon had ever been deeply part of the Weyr. Even the Night Watch, their brain-child, had carried on well without them, it seemed...

Stupidfattybaby is yellow flit no gold. Not know anything. I alive, see? Dael thrummed, flicking her frill around as her tail snaked tighter around Showoff's. Though the gold salamandyr knew intellectually that Brat was her child, she could not bring herself to admit it. Rather, she'd done her best to disown the only other gold 'mandyr in the Weyr, to the point where she believed intuitively that the stupidfattyone was on the same level as fire-lizards, just as she believed that her own glorious self had Hatched, fully formed, without any parents at all. Out of a stone, maybe. Hadn't she come into the world in her humanpet's hands? No Clutch at all!

I salamandyr, no lizard, Dael hissed at Baoth, twisting around to glare at the green dragon with ruby eyes, her frill wide and her stomach pressed to the ground. You stupidgreen, like uglysnotgreen before! Only not kill because you Showoff's-mine's. The 'mandyr kept her angry gaze at the dragon for a moment more, then turned to K'lir. You tell, she said imperiously, before returning to her adoration of Showoff. She thrummed again, rubbing her face against his. Love you, she purred again.

Adith, help? Uu'n asked in desperation of his dragon. Adith sighed, sprawling out in the sunlight, his eyes clamped shut underneath his protective goggle. The dragon tilted his head, rubbing his face along his forelimb lazily. Adith!

I am trying to be mad at you,[/i] the blue said reproachfully. You have been as mopey as a wet mop, and wanted to just fly away and pretend it had all never happened. 'It will be better that way,' I think you said. And now you are back with the person you never stopped thinking about because I made you come, and you want me to rescue you? Adith sounded like a chiding mother, and mentally Uu'n squirmed, while trying to pay attention to K'lir at the same time, while ignoring the Dael-fed urge to just throw the painfully skinny greenrider onto the bed and make up for months of separation. I think not, Adith concluded. I am going to sun, and you are going to take your upbraidings because you deserve them. Then we will go to the healers and get yelled at by them, and then get yelled at by that woman who terrifies you so.[/color]

"She doesn't scare me!" Uu'n retorted. Aloud. He immediately turned bright red. "Um. Sorry," he said, rubbing his hand through the hair at the back of his neck, in the process accidentally pulling out the leather thong tying back his overgrown, sweaty, dirty hair. Yuck. "Adith is yelling at me, too... I, uh." He stopped and bit his lower lip. "K'lir, I'm sorry. You have to believe me. I... I didn't want you to worry. But... I really didn't think anyone would."

[glamourie]

It was highly tempting to smack Uu’n. In fact, the only thing keeping him from doing so was self-restraint, of which he had little. The sudden surge of amusement from Baoth helped, though. Apparently Daeluunya’s outburst had the exact opposite of the desired effect. Baoth had no use for females of any species, but she’d decided to tolerate Dael for the simple fact that a salamandyr obviously couldn’t contend for his affections, and the more obnoxious Dael became, the more it reinforced the lack of competition she offered in Baoth’s eyes. The tantrum was enough to more than entertain the green, and she settled down on the floor with her whirling eyes fixed on Uu’n in a look that could only be described as alarmingly intense. She was studying him, trying to decide what this one’s importance was, and how to best deal with him: keep him around or make him leave. She trusted she could rid herself and Hers of him if it was necessary. K’lir could feel her plotting in the back of his mind as surely as he could his own breathing but for once he didn’t scold her. It was too easy to sink into the anger that came with his depression, and her entertainment was the one thing keeping him from raging uncontrollably at the bluerider. And for what? For abandoning him. He felt completely alone….

“No, Uu’n. I wasn’t worried. I was hoping you wandered off into oblivion, disappeared without a trace so that I can be completely alone for the rest of my life because everyone else I’m close to managed to die in the Siege. I was just crossing my fingers with the hope that you’d left me too. By Faranth, you’ve figured me out! Whatever shall I do now?” He wanted very badly to slap Uu’n for his blatant idiocy, but instead jolted his chin upright, eyes narrowing on Uu’n’s face. “Of course I was worried about you, you – you – are you stupid? I never took you for stupid, but you might be if you think I wasn’t worried – honestly – no, I wasn’t, why would I worry about someone who I spend half my time with given a choice – I don’t care about you or anything, why would I worry – wherryheaded menace!”

Slightly perturbed by Dael’s upset, Showoff curled more tightly around her, though he chirruped in amusement; he didn’t usually make such noises, but the idea of the Fattybaby (he was totally convinced that her name was, indeed, Fatty) being one of the stupid flyers appealed to him considerably. He flared his frill, and then nuzzled against Dael, eyes fading to pleasant, happy shades. Fattybaby dumb, Showoff agreed; he’d either forced himself to forget that Brat was his offspring, or simply chose not to acknowledge it. He didn’t like Brat. It was more likely the latter, too, since Showoff usually recognized his own spawn and was happy to call him ‘Babymine’ most of the time. He particularly favored Freckle, though Showoff generally got along with his own offspring pretty well. And some of Brat’s, actually. He was okay with Sylph and Skink.

He wrapped his tail in his golden mate’s and flared his frill in nervousness before adding, almost thoughtfully, Greenling-mine always say ‘Lizard.’ Not ‘mandyr.’ Call flyers ‘Flitter.’ It was an explanation. While he didn’t like Baoth all that much, he knew that she hadn’t meant to offend Dael with the comment and he felt inclined to try and calm his pretty down if he could. After all, if she was upset, he was upset. Mustn’t let a good thing be spoiled~

The sudden outburst distracted K’lir mid-tirade, and he blinked and gaped for a moment before cocking his head to the side. “Who?” he asked, as Baoth lifted her head in interest; this mention of a ‘she’ apparently had the small green’s attention. “What – who – who scares you?” The protest was evidence that someone did, indeed, scare Uu’n quite a lot, else he wouldn’t have felt inclined to argue with the point. The apology should’ve been satisfactory, but K’lir crinkled his nose before replying, “Adith is going to get yelled at himself. I don’t exactly like the idea of him gallivanting off getting hurt either and I thought better of him. But I’m glad to know at least one of you does have sense, since you’re obviously too dense to see what’s in front of your face. Did it ever dawn on you that maybe, just maybe, you’re extremely important to me? I don’t let just anyone in. Faranth – ugh. We need to get you to the infirmary to be checked out, but – but this is lovely.” He nodded to the gift, before pointing at the door. “I’m grateful. I’ll be more grateful when I’m sure you’re fine, now march.”