Two Greenriders and a Picnic (Open)

[reqqy]

It would be very useful to fly like that during Threadfall.

I wouldn't know. They won't field us because we have trouble with a lot of the formations, Phremath replied, somewhat hesitantly.

You'll figure it out. No one thought you'd be able to fly, but you managed that.

You really think so?

Reysalth snorted, stretching her wings to capture some of Rukbat's rays that managed to break through the clouds above. I know so. And I'll have to insist that you show me how to jump that fast and frequent without getting tired. I refuse to be less accomplished than a mere egg. That last was uttered teasingly.

Not far from the two greens, Kalierre stretched out on the grass, casting a surrepitous glance toward her lifemate. The young green was absolutely radiating pride at Reysalth's praise. "Yes, they actually gave me a day off. Can you imagine?" Wrinkling her nose, she smiled at her companion. "I'm pretty sure there's a betting pool on how many hours it will take before they call me back in."

Lauranna chuckled, pulling the third member of the small group arrayed out on a small blanket into her side. Miguel's laugh joined hers. It was doubtful that he knew the source of the mirth, but he tended to laugh whenever mommy did. "Well, you're looking well enough, for all the work."

"Oh?" Kalierre snorted. "You know full well that doesn't mean a thing when I'm around you. Might as well be invisible. In fact, I think I'll avoid you from here on out."

"Then who would be there to complain about my brother and his bothersome weyrmate-not weyrmate?"

Both women distinegrated into giggles, even as Phremath and Reysalth moved out of sight, presumably toward the river not far distant. The joy of being small greens; they could actually fit between some of the trees here. Miguel looked longingly to his mother, and after a moment, Laurie nodded. He took off with a raucuous whoop.

We'll look after him, Mine. No worries!

I'll hold you to that.

[randi]

Insomnia was, often, a bad thing. Being unable to sleep taxed the mind and body, usually a never rewarding experience. However, every once in a blue moon, the circumstances were far from annoying. After receiving only a few hours of sleep, Ellanie had awoken and, despite her best efforts, had found herself unable to fall back asleep. Ellanisk had wore her out the night before with a bout of particularly viscious playtime, which had ended when the green had almost collapsed in the apartment with a happy warble. However, after her short rest, the young woman had found herself feeling refreshed and, without too much worry, decided to give into her need to go outside.

The light was unusual for the girl and took a small amount of time getting used to. Her already pale skin had only gotten moreso since her sleep schedule had placed her among the nightwalkers, and her eyes hurt for the first few moments, but once she adjusted, she found herself excited at the prospect of venturing out in the day.

It had been a complete accident that she had stumbled, literally, on the two greenriders talking. Grasping a tree branch as she recovered from her slight spill, Ellanie peered at the scene for a few moments, intent on making herself scarce once she was sure that she had returned to her laughable excuse for balance. Backing up, though being careful of the offending hole had been a processed stopped by two things.

The first had been the sight of the small child, which had made her heart ache. She missed playing with the excited inhabitants of the creche, had almost been desperate for playing their small games with them that she had attempted to stay up several times before only to crash from her exertions with Ellanisk the night before. Not going to them today had been the hardest choice she'd ever had to make, but that had been meant to selfishly save her the heartache of having to leave them again.

The second had been the entrance of Chivalry. The blue firelizard had popped from between, chittering angrily at her. The story that she guessed was that Chiv had grown tired of nesting alone, and had sought to sleep beside her, only to find her missing and Ellanisk unwilling to snuggle. However, his momentary agitation was drawn away at the child's whoop. There were other people here?

It was not like Ellanie to be shy, reluctant from social gatherings, but it had been so long since her emergence that she was tempted to think that the world had flipped entirely topsy-turvy and that she would be excluded from her old world. Chiv, on the other hand, perching upon her, had scarcely been so excited. Try as she may, she didn't want to deny the flitter the chance to meet new people.

Feeling her concedence had set the blue into a flurry as he burst from her hiding place a short while when neither of the others were talking, seeming to announce with a series of twirls and flips accompanied with happy trills that someone important had arrived. He flew back to Ellanie, perching atop her head, being careful of his claws. Holding a regal pose until the girl giggled, her dark blue eyes shining with laughter, Chiv made the oddest looking hat the girl was sure she'd ever seen.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to the pair with a smile on her face. "He likes attention." The firelizard nodded enthusiastically, sweeping out his wings and lowering his head in a bow to the ones who had been on the receiving end of his brief show.

[reqqy]

Miguel never reached Phremath and Reysalth.

His headlong dash had come to a halt with the mushroom. Pretty colored mushroom, all red and shiny and large. Young though he was - just over two turns - the boy was rambunctious and precocious; he was already into anything and everything. To say he was a handful was something of an understatement. Lauranna couldn't be more proud of her son, however, and just looking upon his face warmed her. M'el was evident in every trait. Right now, though, he was beyond her view, which was not a good thing in this case. That mushroom wasn't the sort that got along with little boys too well if a lad got curious and took a taste.

Nor was Reysalth quick to pick up on his absence. The green was intrigued by Phremath's description of the unique flight pattern Hers had cooked up to accomodate the tiny, stunted wings that were all but useless. Pretty, in their fashion. But certainly too small and weak to generate any true lift. Both dragons had come to settle along the bank. They could almost have been twins, though the younger was a tad larger in most respects. Only Phremath's wings and Reysalth's light scarring truly made it possible for outsiders to tell at all. The two greens seemed more than content to lie by the water, soaking up the southern heat and speaking of the training that they shared. Phremath was quite staggered by how experienced Reysalth truly was, and hung on to every word with rapt attention.

Thus it was that, entirely unaware of Miguel's danger, Lauranna continued to chat amiably with her friend. "I'm not kidding. He's actually my age now because of it all. I'd always thought timing it was just a rumor, or perhaps something that the dragons of centuries ago could do, but not ours. Yet Salenth managed to take them back over a decade by pure accident." Her eyes had lit up with excitement, much as they always did whenever some new and curious thing came to her attention.

Kalierre, however, found it more disturbing than ought else. Phremath relied most on Between jumps, just to keep herself in the air. The thought that such a mistake could lead to a jump in time so easily made her quite nervous, to say the least. "You say they were stressed out, and that's what caused it?" Lauranna shrugged, obviously not caring much about the specifics. She seemed completely impervious to the dragonhealer's worry.

That was when they were interrupted by an alarmingly loud series of trills. Laurie rolled her eyes. Now - Sure enough, Zephyr came zipping in from where she'd wandered off to root in the nearby foliage, her clutchmate Gonen in tow. The sprightly green certainly couldn't be outdone! She sent a series of escalating chirps back at the blue, showing off with a smattering of acrobatics that would be difficult for a larger flitter to reproduce. Then, of course, she landed on the shoulder of her pet, preening fussily and obviously expecting to be admired by any male who happened to see that display. Poor Gonen was completely ignored in the wake of his colorful sister.

"I think I have something of an idea where that comes from," the older woman responded cheerily, her nose wrinkling.

"We all do," Kalierre added. Her smile was softer, gentler, but somehow more evocative than Lauranna's grin. Lust chose that moment to poke his head out above the laces of the dragonhealer's tunic, his frill flaring as he hissed at the male. He ruled here, not some ridiculous flying thing.

Her friend stared at her for a long moment, then burst into a sea of giggles. "You've got to be joking. You keep Lust down your shirt?!"

Kali's face colored. To her credit, though, she maintained her poise otherwise, refusing to let her embarrassment creep into her words. "I don't keep him there. He just kind of...likes it."

Laurie snorted. "I can imagine." Turning from her chosen companion, the small blonde waved over their visitor. "We've got more food than we could possibly eat - Kali's eyes are bigger than her stomach, as usual." The accused sniffed, but said nothing. "Join us. And of course your little friend is welcome. I'm Laurie, and this is Kalierre, the terror of the infirmary."

The 'terror' laughed quietly. When her words came, they were couched in a delightfully dry tone. "Now, I know you sometimes get confused, Lauranna, but I know that even you can't think I resemble a bronze salamandyr."

During this time, Miguel had drifted closer to the mushroom, thoroughly mesmerized and unnoticed by any who might have stopped him. He plucked the thing. Lifting it over his head like the umbrella it resembled, the lad sneezed as a cloud of dirt hit him right in the face. Then something caused him to sniff at the red fungus. Maybe it would be tasty?

[randi]

The pair watched as more flitters appeared by the greenriders, Chivalry crooning quietly at the Zephyr, entranced. Picking himself off of his dearest bond, he glided back out to the crowd, landing and offering the humans, Gonen, and, especially, Zephyr his deepest bow. His show had been put to shame, and he was more than willing to admit defeat to such a lovely contestant. Eyes whirling a lovely blue-green color, the blue turned his head, chirping encouragement to Ellanie, who emerged with a bright grin on her face. When he looked back, he was startled by the appearance of a salamandyr and, having never seen one, the blue flitter was suddenly amazed.

Unknowing of the rivalry sported by most firelizards and salamandyrs, the blue crept closer to Lust, peering cautiously. He chirped quietly at the bronze, taking to the air suddenly at the hiss. Oh, he did not like this thing, not at all! Fleeing with a bravery betraying his name, Chiv hid on Ellanie's shoulder, peeking from beneath her hair on the other side of her neck, rumbling lowly, waiting for the mean thing to dare to try and harm the fair lady whom he had watched dance in the air with such grace, determined that then he would burst forth and be the hero. Ellanie reached up to stroke his head gently, the flitter licking her hand when it came close, peeking about to find Zephyr again.

Laughing good-naturedly at Chivalry's tactics, Ellanie smoothed her hair from it's encounter earlier with the blue firelizard, walking to the blanket, settling herself down easily. New friends in a new day. Everything felt splendid! She quickly associated the names with the respective riders, bowing her head respectfully. Though her destiny had set her apart from the world of her father, she was more than happy to accept others who belonged down that path. She bore them no grudge, though Ellanie ever bearing anyone a grudge had to be, in itself, impossible. Grinning, she smiled at the both of them "My name's Ellanie. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you." Chiv peeped his head back out of his perch, licking her ear as an indignant reminder that he had not been introduced. "Oh," she giggled, covering her mouth in and attempt not to seem too much like an airhead. "The flitter is Chivalry. Chiv." Reaching up, she brushed at him, hoping he understood that it tickled when he did that.

Listening to Kalierre's banter made her grin grow, laughter flowing quietly from her. Oh, it felt good to be out, among different groups, easily accepted. Oh, she had missed this, whether she wanted to admit it or not. She was glad for this, and could only hope for more insomnia at this point. Maybe then she could visit her old friends. If Chiv had fun here, then imagine him around the weyrbrats!

A sudden thought dawned on her, her head turning in a vain attempt to find the child. Out of sight, was he, but certainly not out of mind. "Where did the child go?" She asked, tilting her head slightly. Surely, the young one had not just wandered off. Every child got scrapes, but the river wasn't far off, and she trusted that both of the women knew what they were doing, but she couldn't help but be curious.

[reqqy]

The little green flitter only straightened her spine, preening all the more as the blue gave her her due. Then she proceeded to scold Gonen. Didn't the brown know that this was how she was supposed to be treated? Her phlegmatic clutchmate shot back a few sullen chirps before taking up position on his bonded's knee. Zephyr was just considering flitting over to inspect Chiv from up close when he had a run-in with the mean frilly thing. The green flit merely stared, unsure how she should react. It was pitiful. Chivalry was far bigger than that small slip of an annoyance! Why was he afraid of him? Deciding that Lust must have merely startled her blue - yes, she had decided to claim him since he obviously worshipped her - Zephyr launched herself into the air.

The firelizard hovered back at a distance that the salamandyr likely wouldn't be able to jump, scolding him rigorously for that display. Lust was clearly unimpressed. Bug shoo, he demanded haughtily, accompanying the command with a low growl. Zephyr's small chest swelled. How dare he talk to her that way?! Darting forward, she raked at him with her small talons. Lust howled. Buttmunch! It soon became apparent that this was a promise - not a name. Lust wriggled, trying to extricate himself from his warm, comfy spot in Kalierre's shirt. The dragonhealer hissed as his claws scratched furrows along her skin. He moved far too fast for her to stop, and suddenly the salamandyr was chasing Zephyr, who was far too shocked at the whole situation to think to gain altitude or pop between.

Lauranna and Kalierre looked on, neither moving to rescue their pets, then Laurie turned her grin back on Ellanie. Obviously, this sort of thing must be commonplace. "Seems like Zephyr's taken with your Chiv, Ellanie. Then again, she's about as fickle as one can expect, but she tends to like any male that pays her an ounce of attention." Turning her gaze to Kali, she wrinkled her nose. "Bad place for scratches." Kalierre pulled a face, but chuckled just the same. "I suppose that's why we don't carry salamandyrs around in our shirts. Ellanisk, isn't it?" The question was still directed at her friend, who quite naturally knew all riders, handlers, and their bondeds because of her job. Again, the dragonhealer didn't speak, though she did nod. It seemed she was distracted by the blood pooling beneath the laces of her tunic.

"You're up at an odd hour," the greenrider commented, gifting Ellanie with an amused grin. The expression didn't waver at the green wherhandler's question. "Miguel? He went with Phremath and Reysalth to the bank. Reysalth promised to watch over him." Just the same, it reminded her that she should probably check in on that front. Reys, love. How goes it with Phremath and Miguel? Having fun? There was a pause, sending a cold spike of fear down her spine. I thought he'd followed us. Concern tainted the dragon's tone.

Kalierre's head lifted from her inspection of Lust's most recent gift, brown eyes narrowing. "Laurie. Reysalth really doesn't know where your son is?" The older of the two greenriders nodded. In an instant, things shifted. Kali rose, her expression neutral, and she offered a hand to Ellanie. "I hope you won't mind helping us look for him? He's probably fine, but it is a forest," she added, with just the right touch of concern. No panic. Just enough to make it apparent that this was a serious matter. The dragonhealer's bedside demeanor was inherent in every movement.

"Why don't you follow the path the dragons made to the river, Ellanie? Laurie and I will fan out a bit." The mother, her eyes wide, nodded silently in response to Kalierre's suggestion. Both dragonriders moved off, within easy earshot of the wherhandler should Ellanie need to contact them.

And, closer to the river, the boy continued to sniff at his mushroom. It was really pretty, and he didn't want to ruin it, but oh! It smelled so very, very good.

[randi]

The scolding of the brown almost made Chiv puff up proudly. He knew how to treat such a beauty, more so than Gonen. How sad was it that Zephyr had not had someone to admire her properly until now? Oh, but he was here to praise her where the other had failed, once that small frilled menace was no longer a problem. He had more confidence now that he had inspected the thing. He would not be scared of it a second time.

Oh, how brave was she! At Lust's wriggling, Chiv's eye narrowed, extracting himself from his odd position on Ellanie's shoulder, watching the salamandyr with intensity. The moment he was free and chasing the green Zephyr, he leapt from his perch, swooping towards him with an intent to scratch him. He would distract the small thing and allow Zephyr to be safe! Chittering as he swooped back up, he turned to face Lust, making sure to twitch his tail out of reach belatedly, accidently giving the bronze a chance to strike back.

Wincing at the slight problem given by Chiv, Ellanie cast an apologetic look at Kali and Laurie, but she made no move the rescue the young blue either. He would learn, and she wasn't going to interfere when the other two weren't either. He had a good sensibility, she trusted him not to get anyone hurt any more than he already had. "He'll give her all the attention she could ever want so long as she holds it." She wasn't sure how he would act around a larger group, but he had always been one to be gracious to whoever was around. Chiv was a crowd pleaser, and with more people around, the wherhandler wasn't sure how he would react to one singular member. Laughing quietly, but feeling bad for Kali's scratches, Ellanie nodded automatically to the question, though it wasn't directed at her. She hoped they weren't mad with her for letting Chiv get everyone riled.

"I couldn't sleep any more," she admitted, though she didn't sound worried about the possible predicament. She was enjoying the day. Ellanisk would just have to deal with her possibly being a little bit tired tonight. Ohh, the dragons were watching the little one. That was good, not to mention a fun promise for Miguel. However, something was wrong... He was missing?

Taking Kali's hand, Ellanie stood, nodding. "Of course I don't." The lack of panic did much to keep her from losing her head, but she definately understood the seriousness of the situation. At her direction pointed out, she gave a brief nod accompanied by an "okay," before she started walking towards where she had seen them go. Thinking suddenly of a good idea, she turned her head and whistled sharply. Chiv stopped what he was doing, offered an apologetic chirp to Zephyr, and flew to Ellanie. He knew when the games stopped, and the feel he was getting from Ellanie was easily one of the most serious he had felt.

Quickly, Ellanie took off, moving slow enough to see clearly but fast enough to not waste time. Chiv took off from his perch to sweep in between the trees, searching in areas Ellanie might not see. Small humans could be such a handful!

[reqqy]

Oh, Lust did not like this! Smurf, dirt face! Make loud. Make smurf down, growling nastily, he paused his sprint to launch himself into the air, small wings snapping out as he began to make good on his promise. Kali glanced sidelong at him. Smurf? Where did Lust get all these strange names that he spouted off with such ire? Strange, strange salamandyr. That salamandyr clearly intended to take Chiv right out of the air, but Zephyr wasn't about to have any of it. She buzzed the creature, before chirping bossily at the blue. What was he doing? They needed to get away! Lust rolled in the dirt, his anger growing.

The little green flitt was not at all happy when she was abandoned by that cowardly blue. In a fit of pique, she popped Between to give her bonded an earful, Laurie receiving a full catalog of the green's woes. Apparently she then realized that there was no bronze 'mandyr on her tail, and settled into Lauranna's curls, all puffed and broody. A similarly puffed and broody bronze found himself wholly abandoned. Oh, he was not at all pleased! L'rineeater! he wailed, taking off after his Kali. She recognized the name for when Lust was mad at her, but did not pause; Miguel was out here somewhere. The small, ornery guy would catch up eventually.

Phremath, love. Did you ever notice Reysalth's hatchling following you? Oh yes, he was playing with my tail for awhile, and then he dashed ahead. We just thought he was going to the river. She paused. I'm really sorry. I don't know how we could have forgotten him! Everything will be fine. Have Reysalth tell Laurie that he's probably within sight of the river, or awfully close, will you? Of course, Mine. And tell the girl with your green cousin. The nightwalker? Yes, love.

We think Reysalth's hatchling is close to the river, nightwalker. Please help find her! Came Phremath's youthful tones as she addressed Ellanie.

Now, during this time, Lust had been scurrying at quite a pace, gliding along and generally using the tree branches to his advantage. He'd actually managed to overshoot his bonded in his rush. It was the bronze salamandyr who first saw Miguel, the little guy stopping to quiver, his nostrils flaring. He knew the small bonebag was one related to his bonded in some way, and the child was touching a bad mushroom. The bronze shot forward. No! Down egg! Bad, bad, bad! Down! Miguel wrinkled his nose, annoyed to be interrupted. Even when Lust latched onto his hand in an attempt to get the child to let go, he refused, shaking the bronze free with quick, violent movements. The salamandyr hit a tree trunk. Hard. Dazed, he hissed his displeasure, before shooting his bonded a series of rapidfire images.

Lust immediately set off at a run, looking for the nearest big bonebag who might be able to make the egg give up the bad mushroom. The spike of concern from his bonded had made it quite clear that he needed to find a bonebag now. Ellanie was the first one he came across, the bronze salamandyr launching himself at her leg and sinking his teeth into the calf to get her attention, Chiv completely forgotten. Bonebag! Egg. Come, come Lust. Egg, he insisted forcefully.

Surely she must understand that the little bonebag was in trouble and she needed to follow him! He immediately released her leg and turned to lead her back to Miguel. Hopefully it would not be too late.

[randi]

Ellanie did not take it for granted that Phremath was willing to speak to her for child's safety. She would be honored, as she knew it made some dragons uncomfortable, but later. With a swift nod, she ran towards the river, her head whipping back and forth for any sign of anything that didn't belong. Chiv had tightened his search area behind her, sweeping swiftly for anything Ellanie might have missed, occasionally sending a flash of images which were denied as being important.

She slowed as she got closer to the river, not wanting to take the chance that she might miss him in her rush. However, her head had been turned in the other direction and her half-jogging when she felt something hit her, teeth digging into her leg. Drawing a hissing breath through her teeth, the naturally clumsy girl was thrown off balance, grasping onto the nearest tree to keep her from completely toppling. Hugging onto it, she looked down to see Lust.

Chiv caught up to her, and had been about to divebomb the troublesome thing for daring to hurt his Ellanie when the creature began to talk. Ellanie shook her head at her firelizard, listening to Lust. She needed to follow him, she assumed. On the off chance that he had found something else of interest, she told Chivalry to continue where he had been going, racing after the bronze salamandyr the moment her legs felt their balance again.

"Miguel," she whispered the moment she spied the child, racing to his side. "Hey, hey Miguel," she panted for breath, dropping to her knees to get to nearer his height. She took the wrist of the hand holding whatever he'd found gently, smiling, trying not to alarm him. As she felt her heart slow, she glanced down at the mushroom, sighing quietly. "That's..." Bad "...very pretty, Miguel."

Deciding to risk startling him, she turned her head away from him, her voice releasing as loud as she could manage. "Laurie! Kali! I found him!" Hoping they, or someone else, had heard, she turned back to the boy. "I'm sorry," she smiled warmly, "but we were worried about you." She refrained from using a condescending baby voice, merely speaking softly, trying to keep him calm until someone he knew got here.

[reqqy]

Disturbed by the limited range of images sent her by Lust - Kalierre recognized the mushroom right away - the dragonhealer changed course, then paused. The salamandyr was not at all good at sending a clear picture, and tended to symbolize things. She found herself at something of a loss as to what to do. Lust found him, but I can't seem to locate either of them, Phremath. There was a slight pause as the green relayed the message to Reysalth. Reysalth's going to see if she can't spot him from the air. Don't worry, Mine. We'll find the hatchling.

The boy himself was so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't notice the wherhandler's approach right away. Her dash unsettled him, and he took a step back, the blue eyes inherited from the father he'd never known wide and unblinking. Miguel froze when her finger closed around his wrist. His lips parted, but nothing escaped them, eyes running over her face uncertainly. The child wanted to run, but her quiet voice was beginning to calm him. Then she was calling his find beautiful! Still not entirely sure of her, he managed a shy little smile. "Bootful," he repeated, running the finger of his free hand over the mushroom's hood. His brows drew together again. "Pretty lady?" he questioned. Miguel was at the stage of speaking phrases, though they tended to be a little awkward still.

Then the quiet, calm voice raised into a thunderous shriek. The boy cried out involuntarily, suddenly pulling back, trying to jerk his wrist from her grip. Had he been paying attention to the words themselves - which he wasn't - he still wouldn't have known that Ellanie had called 'Mama' and 'Kal' (Kali still came out like a strangled 'chilly,' so the adults had made it easier on him). As it was, he just knew she was screaming, and that scared him. Even when she stopped, the child struggled, tears beading on his lashes. "Mammmaaaa!" he cried, desperate now. The mushroom fell to the ground, completely forgotten.

Lauranna's heart caught in her throat. Practically at the same time as Ellanie's cry, Reysalth's voice sounded in her head. They're in a clearing about three degrees of north...maybe a two minute walk from where you are now. The greenrider had no intention of walking. Not when, immediately thereafter, her son's voice lifted in a heartwrenching scream of terror. Lauranna didn't believe that Ellanie was doing anything cruel to him, but his scream clearly indicated that Miguel thought she was, and Laurie couldn't bear to hear Miguel so distressed.

Lauranna and Kalierre burst into the open at practically the same moment, Miguel finally wrenching free of Ellanie's grasp and dashing to his mother. He clung to her leg and sobbed quietly. The woman's hand fell on his head. "What were you doing, going off on your own?" Laurie demanded, though her tone was meant to be soothing. "You could have been hurt, lovely. Shhh. Calm down. That's Ellanie. She's a friend of your mother's and Kal's. Shhhh."

Looking up, the child blinked, his face red and tearstained. "Knee?" He released Laurie's leg long enough to capture a couple of fingers on her free hand, casting a shy, uncertain glance toward the woman who had scared him so.

"Yes. Ellanie."

Kalierre hardly seemed to notice when Lust promptly retreated back to his favored place inside her tunic, though it could be imagined that the skin he'd scratched up was still pretty tender. She'd knelt by the fallen mushroom, her expression grave. "It seems we have a lot to thank you for. At his age and size - I doubt I could have helped him before his system shut down."

Lauranna shifted, visibly paling.

[randi]

Yelling had been bad. She hadn't wanted to, but she hadn't thought of a better way to get their attention. As he began to jerk away from her, she let her grip remain about the same, not wanting him to run. Running would be bad. Especially if Lust decided to try and keep him from going too far. Going back to speaking gently, she continued to try and calm him back down, trying not to let herself get choked up. Oh, Ellanie was so angry at herself for alarming him, even if it had been necessary. As she heard footsteps getting rapidly near, he managed to get free of her, and, for a moment, she feared he'd dart away from all of them, but he ran to Laurie. Happier now that he hadn't run away.

Listening to Laurie, she stood slowly, watching him, feeling a bit better now that he seemed to be calm. "I didn't mean to scare him," she said, probably unnescessarily. Meaning to scare him would make her horrible, and she wasn't. At least, she didn't think so.

Looking at Kali as she moved to the mushroom, her eyes widened slightly. She had known it was bad, but she didn't know how much so. "Really, I didn't do anything. Lust found him. I was just the first person he ran into." All she had done was scare the poor boy, to be honest. Oh, and get bitten, but, in comparison to how much she hurt herself on accident, it wasn't that big of a problem for her.

[reqqy]

Lauranna, who had now levered Miguel up onto a hip - and was thinking that this sort of lifting was going to have to stop pretty soon, the big lad - smiled pleasantly at Ellanie. "Oh, I know you didn't mean to. He's just not used to yelling. If my parents had raised him..." Wrinkling her nose, she let out a little gasp as Miguel grabbed her. The greenrider carefully loosened his fingers. "Not there, sweetie." She was trying to hide how very frightened she'd been, particularly at the dragonhealer's words. If she lost Miguel - There was still F'rah, but this little tyke was all she had left of the man she'd been joined to for twelve turns. She couldn't bear to think of it.

Kalierre smiled gently at Ellanie's humility. "Lust may have found him, but this little terror couldn't possibly have stopped him. Miguel's like a nephew to me. If you ever have need of anything, feel free to call me at any time." Mine. An emergency. Torn wingsail, one of the little weyrlings. They don't know what to do back at the infirmary. The dragonhealer suppressed a sigh. She'd known a day off wasn't going to last.

Flashing a grin at Lauranna, the woman shook her head. "I wonder who won the betting pool."

"You're kidding! Can't you stay with us just a little longer?"

"I'd love to, but wingsails don't repair themselves, and I'll skin any of my apprentices who try when they don't have a clue what they're doing. Besides, you can share the picnic with Ellanie." Moving through the trees and toward the spot where Phremath waited to carry Hers back to the infirmary, Kalierre added, "It was a pleasure, wherhandler! And remember: any time."

Sniffing and wrinkling her nose, Lauranna let Miguel down off her hip, the little boy stepping toward Ellanie, then back toward his mother. He repeated this a few times, getting closer to the wherhandler each time, before he tugged on the girl's pantleg and dashed back for Lauranna, ducking behind her legs and peering out at this stranger. The greenrider watched the entire thing with amusement, waiting to see what this young woman would do.

[randi]

Ellanie was incredibly relieved that Laurie hadn't been agitated with her for scaring Miguel. She supposed the situation was just odd enough to fix any anger that might have ended up on her for that accident. "Wish I wasn't used to it," she admitted, trying to joke, a smile forming on her face. She hadn't grown up in loud households, precisely, but it made her feel better to joke a little.

That was true. Little children on a mission were not the easiest to stop. Feeling a bit better, she smiled, "If I need it, I will." It was likely that it would be soon. She had been large-accident free for far too long, something had to be brewing in the near future. The question directed at Laurie made her frown slightly, forced to guess that her dragon had informed her of a situation which was confirmed seconds later. "The pleasure was mine, Kali. Any time." She confirmed, feeling sad that she had to leave, but alas, work to be done.

However, her attention was soon drawn to Miguel, watching the little one's dance steps as he neared her before fleeing back to the safety of his mother. The last time he did it, she chuckled at the tug on her leg. Her smile grew at him, even though he retreated, peeking out from behind his safety at her. "Migueeeeel," she said in a gentle sing-song voice, pushing her bottom lip out in a pout, "I'm sorryyy."

There they were! Chivalry, having missed most of the excitement, felt rather huffy about having to stop being around the beautiful green for what felt like no reason, though this was largely due to his inactivity in helping. The blue landed on a branch nearby, preening, resisting the urge to chatter at Ellanie because she felt like she was being careful right now and he anticipated anger if he interrupted whatever she was doing with the odd look on her face.

[reqqy]

Zephyr was not at all pleased to note the blue coward's return. Even as Gonen detached himself from his bonded and took up his customary position threaded through the laces of Miguel's jerkin, the small green danced on Laurie's shoulder, scolding Chivalry roundly. He'd left her to that beast! The brown flit let out a short huff of irritation at her continued dramatics, before rubbing his head along Miguel's neck with a soft croon, attempting to calm the child that was of utmost importance to his Minepet. She loved nothing more than this one - even Gonen himself. And in the brown's own devotion, he often looked after the tyke. Now he felt a tad guilty for not doing so this time around. A tad. His bonded was no longer upset, though, so it was hard to be so himself.

The small boy watched Ellanie through wide blue eyes, clutching his mother's leg in that way children had when they were not quite sure of someone. His thumb had even popped into his mouth. Now, Miguel didn't make a habit of thumb sucking, but he tended to do so after a fright or when uncertain. The lad didn't scare easily. Nor was he typically anything less than confident. Thus it was an infrequent action, this sucking, and it made Lauranna toussle his hair affectionately. Poor thing wasn't used to raised voices - something she was frankly amazed at given the fact he'd lived with Shmee for so long. Once silence had fallen for a few short moments, he stepped away from the greenrider's leg. A tentative step, two.

"Sowwy?" he repeated, around a mouthful of thumb.

That was when Lauranna caught him up in her arms, swinging him past the height of her shoulder and setting off into a light jog. Miguel giggled, kicking his little feet frantically. This was one of his favorite games! Reaching out a hand, he called to Ellanie, "Hep! Hep! Monster! Hep!" Wriggling around with extra enthusiasm - likely just for show - he nearly squirmed out of his mother's grip. She had him back on the blanket they'd laid out for the picnic and was tickling him mercilessly, the poor lad in tears, when Miguel managed to get away and capture Ellanie by the hand, staring at his mother in a good imitation of fear.

When the greenrider took a step forward, he ducked behind Ellanie's leg, leaving just one eye to peek out. Lauranna laughed, then. "Didn't take long, did it?" She threw a wink at Ellanie. "Come. I don't want any of this to go to waste. That is, if he'll let you eat." So saying, she wrinkled her nose at her son, the boy immediately sticking out his tongue at her before gifting Ellanie with an angelic little smile.