Feels like Forever [J'on]

[Shiny]

Wind and raindrops lashed against J'ash's face as the Bluepair accelerated in the downward curve of their swoop. Leaning forward against the ridge in front of him, J'ash kept his eyes on the prize; the top of the Drumtower. Come on, we can do it!

Having been flightless while his wings slowly healed, Craivaruth was no longer fit for flight. So long without properly using his wings had caused the muscles to weaken, making the task extremely hard. It was possible for him to regain the skill through practice and training; that is what they had been focusing on since the Blue recently got clearance to do so. The pair were still a far cry from safe fliers, but without practice, they would never improve. Thus, here they were.

Craivaruth pumped his thin, long wings as best he could, and the pair began to rise. You're doing great Crai. Just a little more and we'll be there! Chancing a downwards glance, the lower half of the tower greeted him. J'ash turned back and looked up to see how much tower they had left to overshoot. There wasn't much.

Confusion flitted over J'ash's face moments later. They should have reached the top by now... An odd feeling in his guts told him that they were slowing down. The bafflement morphed into alarm, and J'ash grabbed the ridge harder. I can't keep us aloft for much longer.We're almost there! Come on, you can do it! You have to! And indeed he had to, or they would be a pancake at the bottom of the East Drumtower.

His flight muscles were shaking with the strain he was putting them under. Just a little more, a little more, and they'd be safe... Craivaruth used the last of his energy to throw himself against the exterior of the tower. J'ash's heart jumped into his throat as they slid downwards; Craivaruth dug his talons as hard as he could into the stone, gouging it. Once they had stopped sliding, the blue-green dragon carefully climbed the little distance they had left to the top like a lizard would scale a wall.

Crawling over the edge and into the center of the roof, the Blue all but dropped into a lying position. The pair rested in silence, letting the panic ease away. See, that wasn't that bad, J'ash lied, swallowing his heart back to where it should be as he undid his tethers. Craivaruth said nothing, knowing that his Rider was simply trying to console him. The blond-brunette pulled off his goggles and shook his hair free of its restraint before sliding off of the Blue.

The Bluerider walked to the edge of the roof and leaned over the railing, inspecting the distance they had just flown. That was a long, long way down... We made it up this high, though, Crailove. I'm proud of you.

The Blue rumbled affectionately. Both the raindrops massaging his dull hide and his love for his human allowed a rare contented blue to swirl in Craivaruth's eyes. The rainfall had just gotten a little more heavy as if to reward their success; although rain normally invoked sadness, flying and playing in the rain held a certain joy. J'ash smiled out at the landscape below. Who cares if they got soaked? It wasn't like anyone important was going to see him up here anyway.

[Kisha-Ra]

Rinagth soared, coasting, if not easily, then at least gracefully on the winds above the Weyr. All in all the sky was a perfect place for the green and her rider to, well, not to put too fine a point on it, sulk. The wind and rain the lashed at them only enhanced the negative emotions rolling off the greenpair, and given that the two of them tended to involuntarily join each other in sulking, that was a great deal of negativity indeed.

Rinagth’s angry frustration lent a sharp, clean, note to the bright green dragon’s movements, in her ire the female seemed to slice her way vengefully through the clouds. Why was she angry? Why wouldn’t she be? Her weyr was full of disgusting invaders, that was the wastelanders, all of whom Rinagth had decided she no longer liked since Millieth’s hatching, she’d been forced, forced to obey that overweight egg laying machine who presumed to order her around, and even worse than all that, her claimed brown mate, one Kaaoloth, was nowhere to be found and J’on had flatly refused to go along with any of Rinagth’s wonderful schemes for finding the missing male.

In contrast to his beautifully angry green J’on simply looked tired and worn, as so many Selenitas riders did these days. The greenrider sat hunched over in an incomplete defence against the rain that seemed determined to find it’s way into his clothing in freezing trickles. Rather than being angry with the world at large the young man just felt worn down by it all, he seemed somewhat pale, his eyes were adored with dark shadows smudged underneath them and he sighed frequently into the unpleasant weather in time with his thoughts. Presently his attention was focused on how he would deny Rinagth’s latest scheme to find the brown dragon she’d apparently claimed as her personal slave. It was rather strange the level of memory the green displayed there when her attention span for anything that as not a male dragon was short indeed.

J’on felt Rinagth change course and modify her flight from random patterns among the clouds to a fairly straight course but he didn’t really pay all that much attention to what the green was really doing until he noticed her slowing to land on one of the drumtowers, which still wouldn’t have been a problem if said tower had not been occupied by another dragonpair. J’on could hardly fail to recognise the distinctive blue and green hide patterns of Craivaruth, just as he could hardly fail to recognise the slight young man next to the dragon. Rina… he started but it was already too late, his dragon was not only committed to landing, she was also wilfully ignoring him. this is going to be awkward. I wish you’d warned me.

Why? Aren’t you friends anymore?[/color] Rinagth was remarkably innocent of the complications that surrounded human relationships, mostly because she’d never paid attention to anything that tiresome. She could hardly be expected to recall that J’on hadn’t really spoken with J’ask since before the wastelanders arrived, besides she was using that assumed friendship as an excuse to talk with Craivaruth, blithely assuming the blue was still her friend. Why wouldn’t he be? Everyone adored Rinagth.

Hello Craivaruth. I don’t think I’ve seen you in, at least forever. The green commented cheerfully, her ire presently erased by the distraction, as she landed neatly on the roof. J’on is being grumpy today, I hope your rider is happier. I should just ignore mine until he decides to come down.[/color] Judging by the way J’on was still sat motionless, that cold take a while.

[Shiny]

The chilly high-altitude wind cooled the raindrops that fell from the sky, producing goosebumps on J'ash's skin as they pelted him. A hand rose to swat the hair out of his eyes and was half successful in its attempt, displacing some of the damp locks to stick to the sides of his face. Taking in the surroundings with luminescent metallic eyes, J'ash inhaled the cool air with appreciation. It was a beautiful land, a beautiful Weyr... The sweet lacquer of oxygen turned stale as the Wastelanders and all the chaos they had brought came to mind. So stressed, all Selenites had been, but who could blame them? They all looked worse for wear. The Bluerider himself looked very tired; after dealing with a flightless dragon for half a Turn and then having to relearn the technique, who wouldn't? Not to mention all of the drama that had been going on around him... Wastelanders, J'on...

A dangerous rumble from Craivaruth caused J'ash to turn around in surprise. Speak of the devil... Indeed, it was J'on and Rinagth. He was taken aback by J'on's appearance. From what he could see, the Greenrider looked like he'd aged a few years since they'd last talked. He was still a growing young man, but similar stresses that drained the Bluerider also appeared to have drained J'on. A sympathy string of his heart was plucked, but that vibration quickly turned painful at the realization that J'on was actually here. He hadn't particularly seen this man since... since he willingly slept with another man practically right in front of him. His wide gray eyes proceeded to narrow in anger and hurt, and his body language stiffened and closed up. Of course, the one person that would make this increasingly perfect moment go down the drain had to show up...

Any rare happiness that my rider has gained is now gone thanks to your presence, Craivaruth snarled, backing away from the Green in what space there was to back up in. Eyes swirling a fiery combination of red, orange, and yellow, he continued, voice dripping with a venom specially reserved for grudges. Have you forgotten what you have done to me, Rinagth? The name was sharply hissed. I cannot forget, not when it plagues my rider's mind every day of his existence! His tail flicked sharply like an angered feline's, and his long, thin dark teal wings flared out. Leave. Take to the sky, a place I can no longer easily follow you, he snarled through sharp, bared teeth, subliminally referencing the injuries he had acquired during the fight between Kaaoloth and him (and Rinagth, too; she was included, since she helped take him out of the sky).

Perhaps the Bluepair was overreacting a little, especially after such a time lapse between event A and event B, but Craivaruth was hatched from the Abandonment Egg, a shard of which hung from the second necklace J'ash wore. He'd chosen the skinny, feminine boy for a reason. He feared abandonment, he feared being left... Craivaruth would never leave him, but he couldn't control others like J'on and Rinagth. He could never forgive those that abandoned His.

Craivaruth, please control your temper, J'ash warned as he slid his hands from the railing of the banister. He could feel the Blue's anger starting to boil in his own veins. Crossing his arms over his torso, he tilted his head, observing J'on with sharp eyes that tried and partially failed to conceal hurt. "What are you doing here?" Really, he didn't know what else to say to the Greenrider. How's the sex with Sel'n? Oh, right, he's not at the Weyr anymore. Come crawling back to me, have you? No, that would be uncouth. But if they got into a screaming match, at least he had a few vague ideas of what to start with...

[Kisha-Ra]

For once in her life Rinagth actually seemed taken aback. The green took a startled step backwards and half flared her wings, her body language show her surprise, and her failure to adapt to the new situation as well as her clashing eye colours did. At present Rinagth did not remember the results of her last Flight for Craivaruth, and wouldn’t unless her rider focused on them, when it came to things that didn’t concern her directly Rinagth’s memory was woefully short.

J’on slithered down his green’s rain slick hide to land on the roof beside her with a restraining hand on her foreleg, he could sense Rinagth’s perplexity, a change from irritation certainly, but sometimes it didn’t take much to push Rina over the line from incomprehension to anger and he’d really rather not get into a fight in a place where a misstep could make a really unpleasant splash on the ground. Truth be told he’d rather not get into a fight at all, but the attempts he’d made mend his bridges with J’ash hadn’t gone all that well what with J’on’s own sense of guilt over Craivaruth’s injury and J’ash’s blatant jealousy over the results of Rinagth’s Flight intruding on any solution that could really be reached. By the time raw edges had been taken off the pain the Weyr had been invaded, and J’on had lost the oldest of his mindmates in the takeover. Wraith might have only been a salamandyr but the little green had been tightly bonded to the young man for even longer than his dragon and in the aftermath of her death J’on hadn’t felt much like doing anything.

Rinagth felt J’on sliding down her side, felt the restraining hand on her leg, although she didn’t really understand why J’on was bothering Craivaruth was the one who was being unreasonable here. What I have done? I just told you I haven’t seen you for soooo very long. The green turned her head to look at the two riders stood in the rain and let her wings fold back flat to her body in dismay. I forgot they weren’t getting along any more.[/color] She confessed, somewhat chagrined, this wasn’t going the way Rinagth had planned at all. No one was happy and Craivaruth was being simply hateful to her for no reason at all. I’m sure they’ll be friends again soon.[/color] The green’s tone made it clear that the statement was far more hope on her part than certainty. He has missed yours.[/color] She added, hoping that would mollify Craivaruth somehow. What could have gotten into the blue?

The greenrider took in J’ash’s stance with a hint of dismay, even though he knew things were probably going to stay awkward between them he had entertained some vague hopes that maybe they could at least talk, however the blonde man’s body language clearly stated that J’on and Rinagth were about as welcome here as an outbreak of plague. The question only added to that message. ‘It wasn’t my idea.’ J’on shrugged raising his gaze to meet the bluerider’s devastatingly silver eyes, still a powerful weapon in the other man’s arsenal, whether he knew how much J’on could read in them or not. ‘I didn’t even realise Rinagth was landing here until she was down.’ Perhaps a slight exaggeration, but it was as near to the truth as made no difference.

[Shiny]

The longer J'ash stared at J'on, the more vivid the memory playing out in his mind became, the worse the sharp feeling his insides were experiencing got. He could feel the pain of hitting the ground after being shoved away; he could feel his heart fall to pieces knowing that he had lost J'on to Sel'n and there was nothing he could do about it. He watched Sel'n carry J'on to the bed, a memory that seemed to be burned into the backs of his eyelids. Take that same J'on of over half a Turn ago, squeeze some healthy colour from his cheeks and add some dark smudges under his eyes, and produce the one that stood before him now.

His Rider's memory along with the strangely clear memory of his own had the Blue's lip quivering high in an expression of how double-crossed he felt with his threatening fangs. Let me remind you. The Blue took a few adventurous steps closer to the Green with his wings unfolded like sails. The back-lighting of the bright gray overcast sky illuminated them, making the opaque scar tissue easier to see. I bothered to participate in your Flight even though I never Chase, because I valued you as a friend - a rare title for me to bestow on another, and for J'ash's sake. I don't think either of you realized how much J'on meant to Mine. You chose Kaaoloth instead, and even went so far as to help him injure me. Well, you got what you wanted. I haven't flown in over half a Turn. And now that I've healed enough to, it will be a long time before I can fly at the caliber I used to. I hope you're happy with yourself, he growled.

The hurt in J'ash's eyes grew as J'on talked. There had been a flicker of hope when the Greenpair landed that perhaps J'on had come to talk and make things right. Oh, how he wanted that to be true. How he missed J'on. The smothering, burning feeling that had seeded in his chest had sprouted and was working its way up to his throat. He was just being stupid. Who would want him back? J'on was probably fine without him. He probably had another to spend all night with just talking, another who would do anything he asked, another who would be there for him no matter what.

That flicker of hope wavered and finally snuffed itself out. "Oh," the sound was hollow. Suddenly, things seemed so much more awful. Everything was against him. The winds were pushing him, shoving him like Sel'n had; the cold raindrops acted as a simple reminder of how alone he felt. The arms that were crossed over his chest simply fell to his sides, as if he was subliminally dropping his defenses. "I see." Well, that wasn't exactly true; the image of J'on was getting blurrier and blurrier with every word he spoke as tears began to build up in front of his glassy gray eyes. "There I go again with my wild imagination, thinking you'd come to talk... How silly of me, hahaha!" The laugh that escaped him had to be one of the saddest ones he'd ever laughed. It smeared into a shuddering intake of breath - perhaps it was because he was cold, but the sheen in his eyes said otherwise.

Craivaruth's rage usually influenced J'ash, but this time, the reverse happened. Dark violet undertones of sadness and loneliness swirled into the magma of the Blue's eyes until they mirrored his Rider's upset. If Mine really meant as much to Yours as Yours meant to Mine, you would not have forgotten any of this, he rumbled, folding his wings against his back subconsciously in response to J'ash's defenselessness.

Before the tears spilled, J'ash turned his back towards J'on and faced the land so far below him. Craivaruth lifted his head and turned it to observe his Rider. The dragon's whole body seemed to jump to alertness as J'ash grabbed a hold of the railing and lifted himself up and over it. Mine, what are you doing?! the dragon called, jaggedly beginning to go towards him, but thinking better of it and staying put. The last thing he wanted to do was distract J'ash on a slippery ledge high, high off the ground, especially when he probably wouldn't be able to fly down and catch him before he went splat.

I'm not jumping. Of course he wouldn't, not when his beloved Blue's life relied on his for its existence. J'ash settled on the rail with his legs dangling down over the abyss of space below. With one hand to secure him to his spot, he tried to calm down, a hand rising to wipe tears away from his face. Not that it really mattered, as he was already soaked from the rain.

J'on could leave if he wanted to. Really. If he didn't want to be here, J'ash wouldn't force him to be. The Bluerider wanted nothing more than for J'on to be back in his life, but he knew things were far more complicated than was easily fixable now. It felt like forever since he'd last gotten to talk with J'on... to snuggle, to hug, to be with... And he hated the feeling that this ice wall between them would remain there forevermore.

[Kisha-Ra]

More peaceful, pleasant memories occupied J’on than those that J’ash had chosen to dwell on, he might have been better off if he could avoid them but they sprang to mind instantly and unbidden when he looked at the bluerider.

Thus influenced Rinagth recalled the more ideal parts of the relationship between the two riders not the ending. She also vaguely recalled, as a connection to her rider’s memories idle times spent on her ledge or Craivaruth’s in the blue’s company, talking, playing with the feline, just sunning and sleeping. It only made it harder for the green to understand Craivaruth’s apparent change of attitude. Rinagth’s wings flicked open and shut uncertainly and her body shifted slightly backwards, leaning as far away from Craivaruth’s advance as she could manage without actually backing up, her rider was still stood by her side and she didn’t want to leave him undefended.

Rinagth was somewhat aware that her memory was not totally accurate but she tended to be of the opinion that it didn’t really matter, the point of the past was that it was safely in the past wasn’t it? However on the occasions she felt she did need to remember something she did exactly what she was doing now, and used her rider’s mind as a reference system. You are unjust.[/color] The green protested calmly. You would not have been able to fly with me, therefore you ceased to be a contender. It was simply necessary to dislodge you from my rightful place. I doubt you would have enjoyed being Kaaoloth’s mate anyway.[/color] Rinagth didn’t see this as a problem, the natural, and indeed for her the only, conclusion to Flights was mating, if one of her chasers was incapable of flying because he’d gotten into a fight in the middle of her Flight, then obviously he was of no further use to her. I also fail to see exactly how who I choose to mate with affects your rider.[/color] She added with honest confusion, the idea that the bluepair didn’t experience flightlust and could not really comprehend it didn’t register too well with Rinagth, Craivaruth’s rider had enough Flights of his own to claim J’on as his mate in, her Flights were her own thank you.

The final question undid Rinagth, perhaps she was being influenced by J’on’s melancholy mood, or she may even have been genuinely regretful. Either way the green’s whole posture seemed to slump downward as her wings crumpled against her back and the customary challenging note ran out of her. No. I am not happy.[/color] she replied with more distressed tones taking hold of her eye colour.

J’on’s arm wrapped around Rinagth’s foreleg, partly to restrain the green dragon from anything she might feel like doing in response to Craivaruth’s approach, but mostly to gain some comfort from the contact with the only creature left alive who would always understand exactly what he meant, even if she didn’t always understand exactly what he said. The rising tide of hurt that infested those beautiful burnished silver grey eyes didn’t make J’on feel any more secure in this situation and it found an answering tide of emotion in the greenrider as he recalled a time when he’d been able to erase this slight male’s unhappiness instead of being the cause of it, when he could freely do what he wanted to do so badly it almost hurt, pull the bluerider into his arms and just stay that way, and that had somehow made everything better or at least not quite so bad.

The rain seemed more determined than ever to work it’s way inside his clothes, chilling the greenrider’s body to match the cold hand that wrapped around his mind and sent an unpleasant spike of coldness down his spine as J’ash spoke, flatly and hollowly. The words that followed were a bitter, mocking, counterpoint to the tiny sparks of hope that J’on still held to, almost in spite of himself. That laugh almost had him striding across the rooftop to try and comfort the bluerider anyway, but the fear of rejection, and quite frankly the worry that Rinagth would do something stupid enough to make her and Craivaruth into one giant sized splashy stain on the rocks as the green’s anger spiked up again kept J’on from taking more than one step toward J’ash.

A low hiss escaped Rinagth as her head came up, some orange flaring in her eyes as she stared at the small blue. How dare he say such things, and how dare he blame Rinagth’s poor memory on J’on? He does not wish to dwell on that which pains him so he does not think of it. He has lost much, thinks that only I remain to care for him.[/color] The green abruptly deflated again and swung her head out protectively over her rider as if to prove that she really did care about him.

Abruptly J’on was striding away from the dragons now that Rinagth had calmed down again (he probably needed to get a hold on his own emotions, ever since he’d laid eyes on the bluerider both his emotions and Rinagth’s had been flopping every which way, it really wasn’t good for either of them), he didn’t know what J’ash had planned over there but he knew damn well that he wanted to be close enough to grab the other rider if he slipped.

When it appeared that J’ash was balanced on the railing J’on moved up to stand a foot or so away from the bluerider and lean, carefully, on the railing, slowly resting his weight on the wet metal and lowering his chin to rest on his crossed wrists with a sigh. Now was the time to say something, to just break down and tell J’ash how much J’on missed him. The greenrider opened his mouth to speak and was amazed to find that metaphorical hand appeared to have moved to his throat, choking off whatever he was going to blurt out before it even came to mind. A slight shift, another sigh. ‘I…I…’ J’on sighed a third time, stood up straight and turned to look J’ash in the face, quite unaware that tears were welling up in his eyes. ‘J’ash…I miss you. I want you to know that, even if you can’t stand being around me anymore.’ The greenrider blurted out the sentence before he could think the better of it and turned back to look over the edge of the tower again, trusting to the rain to hide his tears.

[Shiny]

Craivaruth's eyes bore into the Green with increasing amounts of anger as she spoke. I knew I was going to lose to that big brown turd, Craivaruth snarled, but you clearly have no sense of loyalty to your friends, if I was even one in the first place. You attacked me. Friends do not hurt friends. You appear guiltless about it, too. If I injured you, would you not be furious? His tail whipped against the rooftop as if he wished to break it. Human relationships are complicated. Some humans like Mine get very attached to one particular other; they feel very betrayed and hurt when that other person does something with someone else that should only be reserved for them, for example sleeping with another person. You choosing that big brown turd over me meant His sleeping with Yours, so no wonder Mine is upset. Craivaruth knew he had to explain it to Rinagth; he had the mind that was like a human's, after all. Rinagth's wasn't. That was why she didn't understand. Craivaruth tried to calm down knowing this fact, but he still found himself angry. His single-tipped tail flicked back and forth across the slick, wet stone.

Through blurry vision, J'ash stared out at the landscape that greeted him with a requiem, the grays and dull palettes of winter transforming it into something that more suited his mood. The wind would occasionally whip him with some of the hair that wasn't stuck to his face and neck. The hands he had planted on the rail on either side of his hips were shaking because of the cold weather and his upset, and quite frankly J'ash felt like he could tip over the rail if he wasn't careful. Perhaps it was just the depressed voice in his head muttering things to him again, but he didn't much feel like bothering to be careful at all. Suck it up. You're being a big baby. Nobody likes those. You'll be fine, you've only lost the only person who has loved you, and probably the only person who ever will. No, J'ash was definitely not a good self-peptalker, not when he was in such a damaged state.

The Bluerider tried to stabilize his nonrhythmic breathing in an attempt to calm down. His heart sped up as J'on's presence flooded over him like a wave, his skin prickling in a reactive way. J'ash lowered his head a little, trying to control himself. Why had J'on come over here? His knuckles tightened around the rail in the increased atmospheric tenseness. How he longed for J'on's arms to fuse around him and never let go. J'on. His protector. His best friend. His love. Love... Water-glazed silver eyes slowly glanced over to the figure that had deflated on the rail next to him.

I have been forced to witness J'ash obsess over J'on ever since your Flight, Craivaruth's posture rose in sync with his anger. You do not understand how much J'ash cares about J'on. Neither of you do! His wings flared for emphasis.

The wind and rain ate up the long moment of silence between them and seemed eager to consume any words J'ash spoke before they even left his throat. His lips parted and came back together in a frown several times, but still nothing escaped them. What did he want to say? A whole lot of things. Memories flooded his mind, good ones and bad ones, all of J'on. It certainly was a ride, everything they'd been through together. He didn't want to give it up, and he certainly hoped J'on didn't want to either. Maybe... Maybe the idea of starting fresh wasn't a bad one.

J'ash absorbed every sound of every single word J'on spoke, his eyes fluttering shut to focus on the sound of his voice. J'on's voice... he'd missed it. He could sit on his perch and listen to the Greenrider talk for forever. The words stabbed through him in the form of a hand and twisted his insides around its fingers. J'ash opened his eyes to observe the Greenrider. Was that... Was J'on... crying? As J'on finished speaking, J'ash felt his own emotions building up again.

The hand that was twisting his guts moved to choke him. There was so much he wanted to say to the Greenrider, so much he just wanted him to know. A shuddering breath and an uncontrolled sob escaped him as he turned to face J'on more directly. With tears leaking down his face, he forced words out of his mouth. "I miss you too." He looked into those eyes that he missed so much, those honey-coloured orbs of warmth. "I... I never wanted to avoid you, I just felt so hurt," the Bluerider turned a little more as words just gushed forward, trying to speak clearly between his shuddering intakes of breath. "You have no idea how much I just want to forget what's happened. I don't expect you to forgive me for my stupidity. I miss your friendship, I miss your touch... I miss you, J'on..." Removing one hand from the rail, he leaned forward and slowly reached up, wishing to brush away the Greenrider's tears. The hand in his gut twisted his insides further at the sight of them. He didn't want to be the cause of J'on's pain. "You mean so much to me, J'on. I think... I think I lo-"

A gust of wind came crashing down from the clouds, making J'ash stop mid-sentence. His eyes widened, expression freezing as he felt... off-balanced. Swaying forward, J'ash retracted his hand and slammed it down on the rail to try and pull himself backward, but the banister was slick with rain. Complete and utter fear filled his silver eyes as he tilted his head to look back at J'on, the steadily increasing real vertigo and the inevitable sensation of slipping consuming him.

Craivaruth's head sharply turned to look at the Riders once more as an awful feeling took over him, one of a different nature than the ones he had been experiencing since Rinagth and J'on had landed. A tide of fearful yellow splashed over all of the other colours that had been swirling in his eyes previously, and he took a step towards them. J'ashmine! he cried, beginning to flap his wings. Even if he could hardly fly, he was still going to try his best to save His. Even if that meant falling with him.

With a cry and a flail to try and save himself, J'ash's form slipped completely. I'm going to die, was all he could think as gravity got a solid, permanent grasp on him. J'on still didn't know how he felt, and now he never would.

[Rei]

Stay where you are idiot. If you attempt to save him you will surely die… Lucith’s voice broke icy and hollow into Craivaruth’s mind even as the slate colored blue snapped his wings shut and plummeted towards the falling boy. Reaching out as they drew even Z’ves managed to snag J’ash around the waist and pull him against his chest, arms encircling the slender male to keep him from slipping in the wet weather. “I really hope that was a mistake.” The bluerider commented loudly above the rain his tone conveying mostly worry although it had a scolding edge to it as well. Seriously? Was the kid really that depressed? He hadn’t seemed even a tad bit suicidal at their first meeting. Would be a shame to see him break his pretty little body before Z'ves even got a chance at it himself. Tch.

As Lucith pulled neatly out of his dive and sharply turned, spiraling back upwards towards the top of the tower, he brushed Craivaruth’s mind again. Your rider has been safely acquired. You can now stop acting the self sacrificing fool. Z’ves pulled J’ash into place in front of him, snapping one of his own safety tethers to the boy just to be safe. Leaning forward he spoke softly to J’ash. “You alright J’ash?” Easy Lucith. His dragon isn't near as quick as you and since we went to the trouble of keeping him alive I would rather not see him splat without some type of kick back. The small blue snorted in response, the action also serving to clear his nostrils of the pouring rain. What idiots clamber over slick surfaces in the pouring rain anyway? The dragon swore the whole entire human species was…dim.

Giving Rinagth a mental brush of warning Lucith back winged to a landing, keeping his wings outstretched as he settled all four feet onto the slick roof, talons finding a purchase easily enough on the slick surface. Shaking his wet hair like a damp dog Z’ves gave J’on a smile and a salute. “Lost your boy?” Prodding J’ash gently in the back he leaned forward and said quietly. “I can stay or leave if you want me to. But regardless you are going to get out of the rain.” Sitting here on the top of the tower in the icy rain like a band of idiots was just asking for pneumonia.

With a jerk of his head he signaled J’on towards a nearby window that belonged to one of the drum rooms. That done he undid the straps that attached both him and J’ash to Lucith’s harness and as the blue dropped into a crouch he dismounted. Not even asking for permission he simply scooped J’ash up and carried him bridal style over to the window, ducking into the room after J’on.

Setting his wing mate down he stepped back to lean against the window frame, ignoring the water dripping off his frame. Running a hand through soaked hair he cleared his throat. “Not sure what’s going on but stay off the roof. Not only is it a bad place to be but it’s too cold out there to be messing around.” Pointing to a nearby door he continued. “The stairs there lead to the bottom of the tower and the dragons can obviously get down on their own.” For a moment the bluerider was silent as he tried to catch J’ash’s eye. Did the other want him to leave or stay? The air seemed to be charged with a tense air that hinted at something….personal.

((Feel free to let Z’ves leave or let him stay. Figured I’d leave it up to you guys now that J’ash has been rescued. ^^))

[Kisha-Ra]

Rinagth’s wings flared again, the motion expressing her ire far better than anything she could say at this point. Mostly because all she wanted to do was point out how unfair Craivaruth was being, she had tried to explain things clearly to him but it was obvious he didn’t understand how logical it really was. She decided not to answer the blue, if he was going to be immature then she could be too, and in any case Craivaruth was back to harping about how her choice of mate upset his rider.

Your rider is rather silly not to realise my choices are my own. I will not change my mind because he is feeling insecure over J’on. Ever.[/color] The green snorted and flared her wings yet again to emphasise her point. Craivaruth really needed to get the message that her Flights were about her. Not J’on, not Craivaruth, not his rider, and not even Kaaoloth (particularly not if the brown didn’t put in an appearance). He may be able to keep J’on yet but he will never control me.[/color] Rinagth raised her head and one set of front talons in a proud pose, she didn’t understand all of what Craivaruth was saying but she still felt the need to get that across if nothing else. Craivaruth’s was obviously deluded if he really thought Rinagth would choose Craivaruth just because he wanted her rider. Does he not have his own Flights to lure mine to chase him in? You should teach him to use those a little better.[/color] That could have been advice, or a taunt, Rinagth wasn’t sure herself.

Being in close proximity to the object of so many of his desires and frustrations was doing nothing at all to give J’on a better hold on his emotions, even as he stood gazing out over the muted landscape through a haze of tears, the greenrider was quite unsure if it was hope or despair he was experiencing while he waited for a response from the slender man beside him.

A sudden sob from beside him made the greenrider turn, slowly swivelling on his heels while attempting to blink away the water that hazed his vision. Damn he was caught by those eyes again, soft burnished silver that somehow grabbed and held his own gaze, so much so that J’on realised he was actually standing and staring while J’ash’s voice washed over him without any of the words actually stopping to make sense, for all the greenrider actually knew he could be gazing into pretty eyes while J’ash told him to go and die in a hole because actually the bluerider never wanted to see him again. The hand that reached to him suggested otherwise though, so J’on took half a step forward, then froze in place in response to the fear in J’ash’s eyes, his skin prickling with an icy certainty.

For one moment it looked like the slight man was going to regain his balance on the railing, then with a cry the bluerider slipped over the edge. J’on sprang forward, reaching out and hit the barrier hard enough to knock the wind out of himself but by then gravity had its victim well and truly in its grasp and beyond his. Instinct and a need to call out to someone, anyone, sent J’on calling wordlessly for the presence that was always closest to him.

Rinagth hissed softly, a partially threatening sound that was somehow shot through with ironic amusement. The green was about to inform her angst ridden companion in no uncertain terms exactly how aware of the level of obsession their riders held for each other was. There was no doubt at all in the green’s mind that everything was reciprocal. Had J’on not spent so long annoying her with his unhappiness at having no mate, yet refused to simply find someone to fly with, all because he wanted Craivaruth’s? Before she could her words together and really give the bicoloured dragon something changed in the situation. Fear slashed through Craivaruth’s eye colours at the same time as it almost paralysed her rider. Rinagth’s head lifted to scan the air for a moment, seeking out the invisible threat before she managed to get a sense of what was really going on, right after J’on reached out blindly and incoherently for her.

Before she realised what she was doing Rinagth was moving smoothly and swiftly across the rain slick roof to her rider’s side and shoving her head out over the edge of the tower to see if Craivaruth’s rider was still catchable while her muscles bunched under her ready to send her springing over the edge. Someone was already there. Wordlessly Rinagth fed what she was seeing to Craivaruth, unaware that the newcomer was already speaking to the small blue. Even if they were no longer friends he would surely want to know why Rinagth wasn’t diving over the edge after his rider, after all the drop hardly had the same consequences for a creature with wings.

Once he realised J’ash was safe, or safer than he had been anyway, and that Rina had decided to abort her attempt at going after him (understandable since there was now a third dragon landing on the tower roof, with J’ash safely on his back) J’on pressed his body against his mindmate’s foreleg again and tried to remember what his heart was actually supposed to sound like and how to slow it down.

Was it still raining? J’on wouldn’t have noticed if it started raining bricks, or poisonous tunnelsnakes in the last few seconds, but he nodded in response to the wastelander’s gesture in the direction of the window, and moved towards it trusting the wasteland rider, whichever one he was, not to drop J’ash after he’d gone to all the trouble of saving the falling rider.

Inside J’on moved far enough away from the window to let the two blueriders in, experiencing a flash of jealousy as he realised J’ash was being carried, that was dispelled as soon as J’ash was on the floor and the third party leaned back against the window frame to leacture the pair of them like he was the only responsible adult in the group (which might just have been the truth). However this was the second speech that went entirely over the greenrider’s head today, he was at least polite enough to wait for the end of whatever the mystery man was saying before he stepped forward and swept J’ash into his arms, practically crushing the thinner than ever form of the bluerider against him. ‘You… you idiot! You just scared about ten turns life off me so I hate to think what you did to Craivaruth. Don’t ever, ever do anything like that again.’ He pulled away for a moment, hands on the slightly taller male’ shoulders, looking into those mesmerising eyes. ‘I don’t want to lose you.’ He half whispered before pulling J’ash back against him in a lighter grip this time, all thoughts of what was going happen between them erase for the time being.

Out on the roof Rinagth heaved a sigh of relief that could only be called dragon sized. Tense.[/color] She commented, flopping down on the wet tiles. Thank you Lucith.[/color] Ordinarily Rinagth would have expressed her gratitude to the blue in a more physical fashion as well but she was loathe to touch Lucith until she sorted out what was wrong with Craivaruth.

[Shiny]

((I don't know how this turned into such a monsterpost, but I apologize for the length x.x;))

Craivaruth's ichor was beginning to boil at Rinagth's rebuttals. Was she trying to piss him off on purpose? Because it was working. The Blue was feeling extremely obstinate - he did not want to be proven wrong, because he simply wasn't. Perhaps the Green was right about a few things; those things went flying straight over the Blue's head. At another time when his head was clearer, it was possible that he could consider what she was saying, but definitely not now, not when the heat of the argument was reaching hellish proportions. At the Flight comment, Craivaruth lost some control over his anger. Even if it had been a genuine question, Craivaruth took it as teasing. Extending his long wings to their maximum length, he snarled and snorted, turning raindrops into sprayed mist. You should know I am incapable of Flight, hence so is Mine.

Oh, she was enjoying this, wasn't she? Craivaruth's eyes gleamed a bloodlust red. The Blue picked up a trace of amusement in Rinagth's threatening hiss, making him change his stance into one more ready for battle. The growing urge to launch himself at the Green was suddenly cut off by the consuming fear he felt. His stance shrunk back from the dangerous one it had just adopted, his already dull hide turning pale.

Craivaruth noted Rinagth slither across the stone as he began to pump his exhausted wings as hard as he could, trying to gain some leverage. Even though he had a feeling the Green was going to try and help J'ash, he was panicking, and couldn't sit here and do nothing while His was falling to a certain death. He rose several times in the air, but kept sinking back down. He'd spent too much energy getting up onto the roof to do anything but glide slowly. The Blue landed heavily against the roof floor; in a last attempt to do something to save His, he crawled over to the closest edge and spread his wings. Perhaps he could glide fast enough to catch him... it would be risky, but he had to do something.

A horrifically sick feeling swirled in the hole where his insides used to be as the Bluerider fell, wind screaming in his ears as he whipped through the cold air. His own cry of terror was ripped from his throat by said wind, silencing him like a hand covering his mouth. From between emerged both Vomit and Tux, both summoned by the extreme fear they had sensed from Theirs. Squawking and screeching, the Brown firelizards grabbed at J'ash's clothing as he shot past them and tried to beat their wings as hard as they could, but the force of the resisting air pushed their wings back, making their attempts completely useless. J'ash's terror, already as horrible it was, was made worse by the additional fear of both his dragon and his flits.

The ground that had seemed so far away from the roof was steadily getting close, closer, too close for comfort. J'ash had left his lungs' contents back on the railing so far above him, but the last thing on his mind was breathing. He was going to die in a matter of seconds. It was all going to be over... With his eyes squeezed shut, he mentally clung to all of his mindmates, expecting an explosion of pain to snuff him out of existence.

A black, numb fog took over him due to a lack of oxygen in his system as a pair of arms wrapped around his middle and pulled him in to safety. Vomit and Tux squawked at their fainted human as he was adjusted against the one who had saved him so that he wouldn't slip. Once J'ash was safe, the Browns detached themselves from Theirs to follow Lucith.

The Blue was just about to drop off of the roof when a familiar hollow voice cut icily into his mind. The image of his Rider being saved by Lucith and Z'ves flooded his mind from a more trusted source, Rinagth (despite being furious with her, she was still much more trusted than that Wastelander, Lucith). With a snort, the half-blue, half-green dragon backed off from the edge, his wings in an uncertain position of half-folded.

J'ash's eyes fluttered half open, but it took a long, long moment for him to register anything at all. Something was wrapped around him. He was leaning against something. Someone. Wind and rain was rushing into his face. For a moment, he was hazily confused. What was his name again? What was he doing here? The information he was temporarily blanking on slowly came back to him as the black fog of unconsciousness started to dissipate. Anything that his rescuer had said had not gotten processed in the least, although J'ash had definitely heard sounds formed by a soothing voice. Too weak to do much on his own, he was grateful for whoever it was that was tethering him to... oh, he was riding on a dragon? That would explain the weird rushing sensation.

The memory of what had just happened came rushing back to him suddenly. It was J'on he was with on the roof before he slipped. As far as he was concerned, it was J'on who was saving him. He rested against who he thought was the Greenrider. As they landed on the roof, he felt the man he was certain was J'on poke him and ask a question. His voice was still mostly lost in the wind that had tried to kill him, but he managed to get a few words across clearly, if the other was able to even hear his dazed murmuring. "Stay... of course... want you to stay... love, love you..."

Craivaruth's tail whipped against the stone in his discomfort and anxiety as he watched his enemy land on the roof with His in their possession. I suppose it is necessary for me to extend my greatest gratitude to you, Lucith and Yours.

It was then that J'ash blinked, eyebrows angling slightly downwards. Waaaait a second...

Lucith? Since when was Rinagth Lucith? As his tether was undone and he was pulled from the dragon's back, he registered the colour of its hide. Rinagth was green. Not blue. Still stunned, J'ash put up no resistance to being carried over to the window. Lost your boy? No, now that he replayed what had been said, that was not J'on's voice. This man was not J'on. This man was Z'ves.

He was gently placed on the ground by his wingmate, and although J'ash was very grateful for his help, all he wanted right now was to see J'on. Z'ves had succeeded in trying to catch his eye, but it was unclear how useful that action was for J'ash's silver eyes were solely filled with stunned confusion and the residual shell-shocked effect of intense fear. The Bluerider tried to voice his gratitude to the other Bluerider, but all that came out was a strangled, meek "t-thank you... Z'ves".

Before he knew it, he was being crushed. J'ash's eyes opened wide as his tired brain slowly processed who it was. Was he certain this was J'on, this time? Double-checking just to be sure, he confirmed it with himself and allowed himself a huge, shaky exhale. Squeezing his eyes shut, he collapsed into the man, shivering as he bent forward to burrow his face into the slightly younger Rider's neck.As soon as he figured out how to work his vocal cords again, he replied to J'on's scolding. "I know, 'm an idiot... complete idiot... m'sorry..."

As soon as J'on finished his little speech, J'ash started croaking what he had meant to say all along. And he wasn't going to stop saying it until he physically couldn't say it anymore.

"Love you," he half-whispered against J'on's skin. "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, J'on..." he trailed off into an incomprehensible hoarse repetition of the phrase as J'on pulled back to look into his eyes, then completely fused to the Greenrider as he was pulled in again for a gentler hug.

Meanwhile, Vomit had perched on Rinagth's headknob, wrapping his tail around his new perch. From here, he would be able to watch them all and make sure his human was in no further danger. Tux, on the other hand, betweened and came back with something small and shiny in his talons.

Tux fluttered over to Z'ves and landed on his shoulder, chirruping pleasantly in his ear. Thank you for saving J'ash, mystery man! Carefully, the sweetheart firelizard dropped his loot into the human's palm. Although Tux was known for giving incredibly creative and unique gifts, he had not found this one on his own. It was a small piece of Galaxite, a gem J'ash had found when he stumbled upon the mining caves in its undisturbed state. Surely that would top anything Tux could find elsewhere. (His human surely wouldn't miss it, now would he?)

Nothing was going to get him out of J'on's arms now. Not Z'ves, not Lucith, not Rinagth, not Craivaruth... well, maybe Craivaruth. The Blue's snout came down gently between them, nudging the tightly-packed-together pair apart, speaking softly and calmly. Please step away for a moment, Greenrider. The Blue made sure J'on was sufficiently backed up before he turned his attention back on the pale stick that was his Rider.

Craivaruth roared, baring teeth and all, right in J'ash's face so loudly that some of the Bluerider's soaked hair flew back in recoil. But the assault didn't stop there, oh no. While J'ash's ears were still ringing, Craivaruth started screaming in a mindvoice so loud, it was probable every human and dragon on Pern would hear him.

YOU IDIOT! YOU SHARDING ACCIDENT-PRONE BLUNDERING STUPID DENSE FOOLISH IDIOT! HOW DARE YOU DO SUCH A THING TO ME! HOW DARE YOU ALMOST DIE ON ME! HOW DARE YOU ALMOST MAKE ME DIE! YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD IF NO ONE WAS AROUND TO SAVE YOU! DO YOU SEE THE WHITE IN MY EYES? THAT'S BECAUSE YOU TOOK TWENTY TURNS OFF MY LIFE, YOU IMBECILE! NEVER, EVER, EVER[/b] DO THAT AGAIN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?![/i] Whipping his tail forward, Craivaruth smacked J'ash upside the head, hoping that it would knock some sharding sense into the boy.

While J'ash just stood there shell-shocked, Craivaruth's attitude completely changed, and the Blue pounced forward to drag the boy into an odd version of a hug, forelegs wrapping around the boy and pulling him against his chest. The Blue was seriously too human-minded for his own good as a dragon (and probably J'ash's, too, as the Bluerider was being partially squashed). I swear on Faranth's Egg they dropped you on your head when you were a child. I am never letting you go near a ledge again. In response, J'ash pressed himself against his Blue, turning his face into his hide as he began to sob quietly a second time.

Craivaruth turned his head to Rinagth and observed her with mild yellow eyes. Thank you for your concern for Mine. He then let his gaze sweep to Lucith, and although his eyes hardened, he tried his hardest to be... nice. The Bluepair had just saved His, after all. Again, thank you both, as well. Even though I don't trust you and never will, I am... glad... you showed up. Finally, he turned back to rest the bottom of his jaw against J'ash's shuddering back, trying to comfort the terrified Rider. Although he spoke to J'ash, the message was broadcast to both J'on and Z'ves. J'ashmine, I think you should follow Luciths' advice and get off of the roof. You will probably be sick enough as it is with all this rain, we don't need you almost dying on us again, now do we.

But all the response the Blue got was a feeble "J'ooon..." whined into his chest. Craivaruth snorted as he let J'ash go. But before J'ash stumbled to the Greenrider, he went over to Z'ves, instead, and threw his arms around him. "Thank you... for saving me again," he muttered gratefully. "I really... really... owe you one now..."

[Rei]

Wet hair dripping into his eyes Z’ves nodded shortly to J’ash’s thanks, offering a smile. Then however the greenrider was quite efficiently snatching the boys attention. The man took in the scene before him with an calm and unreadable expression. Stoic.

Awww now wasn’t that just sickeningly sweet? If J’ash told the guy he loved him one more time the bluerider was seriously making him consider eating the words. Cold laughter rolled through his head then, a hissing quality to the voiced words after. Jealousssss? I told you we should have ignored it but no. Had to play hero and what gratitude do you get? The bluerider gave a mental snort. Oh it will come. One way or another. He owes me his life now you realize. Twice it’s been now that we’ve saved him from pervious harm or death. The kid is far too loose with his life and there are ways to get around this…J’on problem. Hmmm. They where on the rocks before it seemed, shouldn’t be all too terribly hard to break that fragile hold again. What was the phrase he was going for here? Once bitten twice shy. Lucith replied in a deadpan voice. But this boy is….dim, clingy, and pathetic. The saying might not apply. Z’ves smiled at that, only allowing the expression because it would seem to the other two riders that he was smiling for J’ash and his wonderfully almost vomit inducing reunion.

Calm whirling eyes regarding the other two dragons on the rooftop, the slate blue again snorting to clear his nostrils. Then baring his teeth in a sinister smile Lucith spoke. No need for thanks. Really there was not the dragon would have been perfectly fine with watching in amusement as the human broke upon the ground and the rain turned him into a glorified bloody puddle. Sad really, he would have much preferred that to being stuck on a roof with theses idiots. Transparent lids blinking over his eyes the blue watched as Craivaruth approached the window a growl beginning in his chest. Too close to his. Not that the other would try anything but all the same it made Lucith…uneasy. His own bonded was too close to the window and the bi colored dragon for his liking. The blue had just started to stalk towards the other when a mental command from his stopped him and the dragon’s tail lashed across the rooftop.

Blinking as something alighted on his shoulder Z’ves raised a brow at Tux. Hmm when the firelizard dropped something into his palm the bluerider examined it briefly and then nodded to the brown trying to look appreciative. Bringing up one hand he stroked the little pet and then slipped the stone into his pocket. The question remained. Did the firelizard do that on his own or was he prompted? Those thoughts where cut short as Craivaruth stuck his head through the window and Z’ves was forced to back away from it, eyeing the bi colored as if it had gone insane. Really? Then however the beasts was roaring and snatching it’s rider. Berating him obviously but not without also trying to kill the eardrums of everyone else in the room to. Lucith was right Craivaruth was perhaps a bit…dim and unstable. Or perhaps the other simply didn’t care about deafening other humans beside his rider?

Eyes narrowed at Craivaruth the bluerider was just starting to get his hearing back and considering a ninja like exit. Sobbing boys. Roaring dragons and proclamations of love? Yeah he’d had just about enough for a now. The whole ridiculous situation needed time to work itself out before Z’ves could even attempt anything lasting anyway. The other two riders where way too high on dramatic emotion to even listen or make sense of anything. He’d put a sliver of doubt into J’ash later. Hopefully it would eat him up and the bluerider could go back to working on his wing mate.

Before Z’ves could put operation exit into action however J’ash was hugging him and muttering thanks. With a soft friendly smile the bluerider wrapped his own arms around J’ash and squeezed him tightly. “It’s alright. I’m just glad we where around. Try not to go sky diving like that again hmm? Gave me a heart attack.” Ruffling the younger rider’s hair he dipped his head closer to the boy’s ear and whispered. “If you ever need to talk, about anything, feel free to find me.” Straightening up he gave J’on and smile as well and eased J’ash back, nudging him in the direction of the door. “Craivaruth is speaking sense. You really should get off this roof and get warmed up now before you have the healers barking at your heels. Scary the lot of them.” Really Z’ves had no idea if they where scary or not but like any normal person he didn’t plan on interacting with them unless it was necessary.

Lucith brushed Craivaruth’s mind with a brief feeling of acknowledgement that he had indeed heard the other and that was it. The blue didn’t feel like he needed to waste words on the bi colored dragon. Swinging his head towards the window opening the slate colored blue merely waited for his bonded to return. He had no more desire to waste time in the company of idiots.

[Kisha-Ra]

For the moment J’on was contented with the mumbled apology for scaring him half to death, mostly because he had J’ash half collapsed against him, and having a pretty little bluerider, even one as generally soggy and cold as J’ash was currently, in his arms was something to inspire contentment. As J’ash half whispered something against his neck the greenrider leaned down to listen more closely, but he needn’t have bothered, it seemed that J’ash was determined to make sure J’on got the message.

A small part of the greenrider was embarrassed to have someone so determinedly declaring love for him in the presence of another person, a man who J’on barely knew. However the rest of him was flying so high over this rather sudden outburst that he was hard pushed keep his expression at an affectionate smile rather than an outright stupid grin, only a small portion of J’on remained to wonder if this was some strange reaction to the a recent near death experience.

There was some mild curiosity about what the younger of J’ash’s firelizards was doing, but wasn’t he the one who liked to give gifts to people? Apparently so, since J’on saw the brown drop something into the rider’s hand. Cute firelizard, nowhere near as much so as his bonded though. J’on might well have stayed right there in front of the window with his arms wrapped around the bluerider for the rest of the day if a dragon muzzle hadn’t come through the window and started nudging at the comfortable embrace they had going.

Oh it was Craivaruth (well who else would it be?), J’on supposed the blue had the right to deliver his own lecture to his rider, he’d probably be better at it than J’on anyway, make a more lasting impression. With a slight nod of acquiescence the greenrider released Craivaruth’s bonded and stepped back a ways, leaving J’ash to his dragon’s tender mercies.

A few seconds later J’on was very glad indeed he’d stepped back, he wouldn’t want to be right in front of that! In fact he seemed to be partially deaf now anyway but it was all for a good cause if it made Craivaruth feel better about being bonded to someone as accident prone as J’ash (technically the bluerider wasn’t that bad but one near death fall was worth a thousand trips in J’on’s opinion). Apparently J’ash was getting much the same treatment from Craivaruth as he had from J’on, although a little less restrained it had to be admitted. The dragon definitely seemed to be bawling out his rider at some amazing volume, it probably sounded better if you were getting the whole speech rather than just the end of it, it seemed Craivaruth’s sense of where his speech was going started to slip at the end there. Just before J’ash was all but crushed against his dragon’s chest, which looked very nearly as bad as being yelled at, dragons were not really made for hugging but that didn’t seem to be stopping Craivaruth. J’on attempted to exchange a glance with the mostly ignored man of mystery over the bicoloured dragon’s behaviour, but since the wasn’t looking the same way it was rather pointless.

J’on nodded absently in agreement with the dragon who was halfway in the room with them but most of his attention had refocused on J’ash hugging the mystery man. Again? Did that mean J’ash had needed rescuing in the recent past? Probably the greenrider decided, if he couldn’t get J’ash to tell him Craivaruth might, he was going to have to talk to the blue at some point anyway, and he wasn’t much like other dragons, too human for his own good really.

‘I hate to have to gang up on you with everyone else J’ash, but they are right, if you stay out here much longer you’re going to have a horrible cold or something. You should get a hot bath, some dry clothes and some food. You should probably avoid the healers too, they’re terrifying if they think you’ve done something stupid.’ The last sentence was said with a smile for the mysterious stranger, he might as well be friendly to someone who was apparently making a habit of saving J’ash. ‘Thanks, I doubt Craivaruth would have appreciated Rinagth grabbing his rider in her mouth.’ Well he’d have appreciated it more than his rider going splat but J’on just glossed over that part, he didn’t really want to think about it.