Weyrling, Candidate, and a Dragon

[evendar]

Narna patted Muta's hand reassuringly, surprised and mildly pleased she had seen such a release of emotion from the boy she had thought to be above such things. For a moment she was old Narna, comforting her younger twin after he had caught his foot in the kitchen door. She shuffled a bit closer and laid a hand tentatively about Mutasim's shoulders, giving them a brief squeeze in reassurance. It wasn't much, and it wasn't what N'vis would have demanded back at home, but it was what she had, and she'd give it up willingly to Muta, he was family, or as close as one could get.

"Its not your fault." she said soothingly, rubbing his cheek with one thumb to dislodge a stray piece of dirt. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to Muta. I'd never make you laugh if you didn't want to." Narna herself didn't feel much like laughing these days. And those moments generally turned into hysterical sobbing or uncontrolled bouts of laughter that made people look at her funny. It was like constantly living in that time of the month, she couldn't stand herself half the time. She backed off, hating that even in a moment of normalcy her dratted brain had to turn it into something she would hate. While she didn't retreat her hand, glad for the contact and subliminal support it offered, Narna still felt very reserved right then, unable to leave but not particularly wanting to stay if all her mind was going to come up with was trouble and despair.

Now that they were out of the water and N'vis had taken a chance to see Z'hin alone in the water, his nervous nature was returning in full strength. He blushed and pulled his now wrung shirt over his head before speaking. "Yeah... um... she's much stronger now. I'm really amazed at her improvement." The green dragon was no longer an eyesore, a pile of skin and bones that had made even N'vis want to cry every time he saw her. But now she had only a few ribs that stuck out awkwardly and neck bones that could still be felt to easily upon inspection. She'd probably never be comfortable to lie against like Z'hin was doing with his brown, but she might be ridable one day. N'vis certainly hoped so.

"Jessereth looks healthy too." he said lamely, watching the browns chest rise and fall briefly. Its bulk lifting Z'hin ever so slightly as it contracted and expanded.

[Requiem]

He blinked at her, a little surprised when her arm went around his shoulders. What was that about? But as her thumb brushed along his cheek, his belly clenched, the intimacy of that negligent act on her part enough to thrust him back into a world he'd struggled to avoid. Just in time, he arrested the motion of his arm, the dagger trembling in his hand. No more than a hair's breadth separated the blade from Narna's exposed side, and though he was shaken from the suddeness of the gesture that had managed to unglue him, the slackness that had come to his features was actually in reaction to what he'd very nearly done in a moment of weakness. How could he have attacked her? No, she shouldn't have done what she did, but there was no way for her to know, to understand how anything remotely intimate terrified him. Nor was her action something necessarily meant to be that way, but his body had reacted to her touch, however slightly, and that was enough to set Muta's irrational fears off explosively.

Mutasim sheathed the dagger with a violent motion. In the next instant, he had pulled away from her, unable to voice the disgust and fear that flooded through him at how he could have reacted that way, still, after so long. The boy was on his feet and awkwardly hobbling away. He couldn't be near her. He'd almost killed Narna, for something so small. One second later and his hands would have been coated in her blood. The ring on the hand that had nearly gutted her...was a promise to protect Narna, and if that meant he had to protect her from himself, then so be it. Roundly cursing himself, he directed a pleading glance toward Z'hin, but the brownweyrling was at an angle that prevented him from seeing what was going on with his friend.

At that moment, the man had cracked an eye, looking at N'vis when he spoke. He genuinely didn't understand why a boy would - once the shirt was already off - put a damp tunic back on, but Z'hin didn't dwell on it. He was currently too lazy to remove his own. "She certainly seems to be getting around a lot better. Though I imagine she must be tired a lot." Reenith and Jessereth, lying so near to each other, were a strange combination. Reenith and her skeletal frame, compared to Jessereth's compact power...there really was no greater juxtaposition amongst the young dragons. Even W'liam's Rinth was not built so strongly as Jess, though he was larger.

Z'hin chuckled. "Yeah. Too healthy at times, I'd say. He hasn't quite figured out that he can flatten me as soon as look at me." The young man slapped Jessereth's flank affectionately, the brown shifting slightly at the stinging sensation, though he settled back into position with a playful growl. The brownweyrling noted that N'vis had elected not to join him, but he just mentally shrugged. The greenweyrling had ever seemed a bit skittish, at least around Z'hin. "So, are you working with some of the healers to help improve her strength? Whatever you're doing, it seems to be working."

[evendar]

Narna sat there on the rock, her arm still slightly raised from where it had been about Muta's shoulders. Her eyes were wide and her breathing quick and shallow. A dagger. Muta had tried to bring a dagger to her flank. In one swift motion he could have ended her life. And still she sat there. The old Narna would have bolted, grabbing N'vis by the hand and dragging him away forcibly. But the new Narna stayed, she didn't have the courage nor the want to bolt. She knew Mutasim, or she thought she did. The hand she held out had the silly string band around her index finger, a symbol that he'd always be there. It was that band of brightly colored twine that made her stay there, made her remember that every action had a reason.

She gulped and took a deep breath, her heart beating faster than the day she'd returned to her home to find it eerily empty. She breathed heavily, her other hand clutching at her chest as she tried to gain control of herself. He hadn't stabbed her, that was the important thing. Narna clutched to that thought like she did to the ring of her father that hung beneath her shirt. It was sort of calming. She knew she had to do something, tell him she understood, even if she didn't entirely.

It had to do with his past, she was sure of that. The few hints she'd gotten had given her enough to at least gleam that his life had been hard before Selenitas. She didn't want to add any further conflict to it either. So she stood shakily, looking at his back with apologetic eyes. She wasn't going to stay much longer, but she had something else to say first.

"I'm sorry, for everything. What just happened, what happened to you before, whatever it is that makes me mess up so sharding well when I'm around you, I'm sorry. I know it wasn't all my fault, but I just want you to know that anyways." she said. It wasn't pity, she wanted him to understand that. She felt no pity, not for him, not even for herself. Pity didn't make things better. She did understand though, at least a bit. The words now spoken she turned to go.

N'vis launched onto the conversation of his dragon eagerly, anything to keep his mind off Z'hin and his still damp physique. "Yeah we're doing a lot of water therapy, general swimming exercises. We've started to get her to pump her wings underwater. It's doing wonders for her muscles." Even with all the therapy, N'vis wondered if his green would ever fly. She was still so small, so vulnerable. He'd be terrified to leave her now. N'vis was about to go on when he noticed the boy Narna was talking with stalk away almost angrily, well as angrily as one with a cast on their leg could. And there was Narna, standing alone. The two of them had been so close a moment ago, hugging and what not. And now she looked so alone, so heartbroken

"Narn?" he said, rising quickly to walk to her side, his conversation with Z'hin instantly forgotten. She took his hand silently and turned to face him briefly. As he looked into her eyes, he saw in them that she didn't want to talk about it, that she might never talk about it. They may have drifted, but they were still siblings. He took her in his arms and held her tightly, feeling slightly awkward as he'd rarely done this before. It had always been her comforting him, not the other way around. But there he was, and he knew it was the right thing.

Narna let him hug her a moment before turning to Muta one last time, her hand still in N'vis's, waiting to see if the scrawny lad would do anything.

[Requiem]

Z'hin frowned, stirring from his position against Jessereth, when N'vis cut off. He caught a glimpse of what was going on, but, for the life of him, he couldn't quite understand it. Mutasim seemed in an awful hurry to be away from here, though. And Narna looked as if she'd seen a ghost. The brownweyrling climbed to his feet, just picking up part of what the candidate said as she seemed to appeal to his friend. The man glanced at Muta to see how he'd respond. But...nothing came. The dark eyes of the small boy flashed up to his, a small plea hidden in their depths. Z'hin understood enough to mentally nudge Jessereth.

The beast climbed to his feet, not altogether happy to be enticed to move. Before they'd gotten too far, however - Z'hin had paused long enough to lever Muta up to his back - the boy's hands tightened around his shoulders."Wait. Just a moment." The brownweyrling paused. He could feel no shifting of weight, no indication that the small candidate had turned to look at Narna. Yet his words were obviously directed to her. "I'm sorry, too. That shouldn't have happened, and...it won't happen again."
Another light squeeze, and Z'hin knew that was all Mutasim wanted to say. The man resumed his movement with Muta on his back, Jessereth taking to the bank.

Once they'd put a decent amount of distance between themselves and the twins, the brownweyrling finally asked, "Muta. Are you all right?"

"No."

But his friend...said nothing more.