Lost and confused (M'kai

[dragon]

Things had finally calmed down a little bit. Most everything was quiet again anyway. People were hunkering down, taking care of things, getting what needed done done. That did not mean that she knew any better what was going to happen next. Or what exactly had happened earlier on, barring that someone had attacked the Weyr.

She was dressed now ... sort of. If one could call a jacket on top of a nightshift as dressed. But at least with the jacket done up it looked more like her shift was a skirt rather than a nightshift. She had spent about an hour finger-brushing her hair for lack of anything better to do and having a need to do something. It looked better than it had than when she'd been dumped out of bed. But it didn't exactly look brushed either. Nevertheless she'd tied it up into a loose bun to control the curls and reduce the chance of hanging her hair in the bushes in the area.

Feeling somewhat presentable given the situation (at least she wasn't drenched in blood like a lot of people), she was on a mission now. Now that people were less busy with immediate emergencies... she was off to find the weyrlingmaster she'd heard someone mention being around. She sortof knew who she was looking for, despite not being a weyrling herself.

Mostly because she'd already pranked her sister a few times by pretending to be her... Orena's habit of sometimes having Isori do something with Riavorth had only aided those days. So, off looking for M'kai she went. It never occurred to her that the fellow might confuse her this time for her sister as well ... given she'd never really met him as herself.

But, he was the weyrlingmaster. Or at least one of them. Maybe he had a better idea what had happened to her sister. Isori wanted to know as much as she could know ... only then could she start thinking up ways to get her sister back. Hopefully he had some answers for her.

Finally spotting the sought after Rider, Isori tugged on the hem of the jacket she was wearing to straighten it, and made her way over to where he was. "Weyrlingmaster?" she asked, after coming to a halt and hoping that she wasn't interrupting something. People tended to be cranky when interrupted, she knew.

[Ruby]

M'kai was still shirtless. Clothes had gone to the nightshirt-clad girls first, men in thin pajamas second. At least he had shoes - it looked like T'mund had scavenged a sheet and used that to wrap his feet. The Weyrlings were generally taken care of for the moment, calmed, hidden, and assigned to draw maps of any of the terrain they knew around Selenitas. M'kai doubted it would reveal anything that Ka'rys' maps didn't already show, but it was worth a try, and it didn't require much movement. Check.

Someone else seemed to be taking care of the Weyrfolk (not that that was M'kai's job anyway, but as a Dragonrider he felt vaguely responsible), and Futh was still with the healers. For now, M'kai was at loose ends, nothing to do except find a shirt, and he wasn't about to go digging through the supplies until the healers were done. He'd taken a place at the base of a tree near Futh but not close enough to get in the Healer's way, waiting for the burn to be taken care of. Reina, banished from his shoulder because of her too-sharp claws, was perched in the tree above him, trying in vain to contact the people M'kai wanted to know about. The rest of the Weyrlings, his Wingleader, and yes - as much as he hated to admit it - A'emi. So far she'd had no luck, but then again, no one else had either. At least Cr'oph was here.

His eyes narrowed slightly when the girl came his way, but it was an inquisitive narrowing, not a suspicious one. What she wanted with him was way beyond his ability to comprehend, but he'd hear her out, just for something to do. Not to mention that she was both very attractive, and someone he'd seen around, he was sure. Who knew how long they'd all be stuck out here - might as well get in the good books of the pretty ones right off the bat. If they were in the open too long, the nights would start getting cold.

He hopped to his feet when she approached, pushing his loosely braided hair back over his shoulder. "Guilty as charged," he replied, flashing the girl a charming smile. She had to be Weyrfolk, or maybe a Candidate - he knew which rider went with which dragon, and there weren't really that many. Maybe she was friends with a Weyrling and got out that way. No chance she was sleeping with them, he figured, not given her choices... then, suddenly, he knew why he recognized her face. "You aren't one of the Junior Weyrlings, are you? Where's your dragon?" Now his tone was serious, near snapping at the end. If she was a Weyrling, she was dead. Seriously dead.

[dragon]

Well, wasn't this spiffy. Not only willing to talk to her, but he actually had some mediocre measure of cheerfulness to him. Breath of fresh air, that. Isori couldn't help but get a slightly less grim expression from his greeting. However, that quickly vanished after his next statement. She took a hesitant step back again, a tad alarmed at the sudden vehemence in his carriage and tone. Twisting the end of one sleeve, she shook her head in the negative with a jerky motion.

"No, um. I'm afraid I'm not. I ... I'm a Candidate, not a Weyrling. You ... " Oh shardit. Her sister! "You ... um. You're probably thinking of my sister. Orena? She ... she's the weyrling." Isori clarified, before lifting one hand to indicate herself with a finger to the breastbone. "I'm Isori." She shrugged, and then twisted her fingers together again, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Actually, it was about ... my sister ... that I wanted to talk to you about?" Isori asked, hesitantly. "I ... I was hoping you knew where she was? If she was okay? Master Emoyan didn't give me time to go find her before I got brought ... out here." Isori made a slight gesture at the area around them. "So ..." Her voice trailed off again, and she just looked at him hopefully.

Gosh he was scary when he looked like he was on the edge of being mad!

[Ruby]

M'kai let out a gusty sigh of relief when she confirmed that she wasn't a Weyrling missing her dragon, the smile returning (a little rueful this time). "Must be Orena," he agreed, making sure to speak as gently as possible. Poor girl looked practically terrified. "I was just worried, you know, that you'd left a dragonet behind. I know the Jr. Weyrlings can't between yet, and being that far from a dragon that young would almost certainly damage your bond beyond repair. If you're a Candidate, that's... well, not exactly alright, but better", he finished.

Furrowing his brow for a second, he looked her over again. "You two must look exactly alike, I could have sworn you were one of Iskierka's," he said, then shrugged. "Well, Iskierka of Blue Ioth is Orena's Weyrlingmaster, and unfortunately she's here, not at the Weyr. She was called in as a Legatus member, and neither of us like to sleep in the Barracks if we can avoid it. So..." Argh, he hated to have to say this, especially when his twin was safe. "So I don't know. I can check with Iskierka, but I doubt she knows anything either."

No, that wasn't good enough. He knew how freaked out he'd be if Cr'oph were missing, he couldn't let her just worry. Not to mention that a report on the Jr. Weyrlings' well being would certainly help the whole force focus on what, exactly, to do from here.

It was Reina that gave him the idea, rustling her wings as she adjusted her stance so she could look down her nose at the Candidate. "Hold on...." he said, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me see what I can do. Reina, come here." The green just fluffed her wings again, until M'kai added a "Please?" Then she dropped to his shoulder, making sure to sink her claws into flesh as far as they would go. "Can you go find Bomb, have him sneak into the Weyrling Barracks, then bring him back here? We're looking for a girl that looks like Isori here." The green let out a long-suffering sigh, then hopped between with an annoyed huff. She was only doing this because Hers was so distraught, normally she would have ignored the whole proceeding.

[dragon]

An expression of shock crossed Isori's features. "Would it? Oh my! I ... I hope that doesn't happen. Orena really likes her dragon, it would be bad if Riavorth got damaged! ... or .... really bad if Orena got hurt..." She trailed off, blinked, and straightened. A moment later a whole new expression made its way onto her features; a more slightly embarrassed blush.

"Yes, sir. We're twins, see. Not even our parents could tell us apart if we didn't want them to." Probably not a very good thing to admit, that. But, given that this was not the most typical of situations? And he was trying to help. Such that it was. "Now, I suppose it's a lot easier ... she's got a dragon, and all that. I don't." She spread her hands and shrugged slightly.

She watched with interest as he talked to his pet, and then as she disappeared. "Who is Bomb?" She asked, curiously. "What if she's not in the barracks? I hope she is, I hope she's safe..." It would be bad if she was trapped in the hands of the enemy ... whoevertheywere ... but she would be relieved just to know her sister was alive and well. Really, knowing was better than not, whatever the circumstances were. "And ... thank you, sir. For your help."

[Ruby]

"If she's not here, I'm sure everything will be fine," M'kai assured the Candidate. "I know Futh would never have let me get far enough away to damage the bond, not without throwing the kind of tantrum that would bring the whole Weyr running. And he's just about the sweetest, most easygoing dragon ever," he added, glancing up at a swatch of blue hide visible through the trees. Futh was really only a few steps away, but the jungle was thick enough to hide most of the Blue even from his Rider's eyes. A gentle rumble through the trees - Futh had taken his Rider's words as a compliment.

She was a twin too? Interesting. "Is that so?" he asked, smiling a real smile again. "Me too. I'm in luck, mine's here. Cr'oph of Bronze Mavenath, you've probably seen him around. Maybe thought it was me, most people do. In fact, me and Cr'oph have switched, even since we Impressed. Futh and Mavenath think we're ridiculous," he added. Another rumble, confirming his words.

And then M'kai heard from Reina. She was still miles out from the Weyr, but she wanted to get an idea of the strength of the invasion before she betweened right in. M'kai was slightly distracted, then, as he answered Isori. "Bomb is my Salamandyr, he got left behind when we escaped. Probably terrorizing some invader's dreams as we speak." A pause, as Reina went between again, and then the pictures stopped coming. She was too far away. With a sigh, the Weyrlingmaster shoved his hands into his pockets, waiting. "Of course, I haven't got anything better to do. Futh's one of the two injured - we've been grounded until we know where we're headed, which makes me basically more than useless." Oh, no, that was not the way to play it. This invasion must have really shaken him up.

His smile got a little wider, and M'kai reached out to put a hand behind Isori's shoulder, squeezing a little. "What I mean is we twins have to stick together. Other people just... don't get it." That was a little better, but still, there were a few more things to address. "If Orena isn't in the Barracks, Reina will track her down. She's rarely obedient, but when she is, she'll get her task done. And c'mon, don't call me sir. I'm M'kai, and that makes me feel really, really old. Feel free to call Cr'oph sir, though, he'll love that."

[dragon]

Isori nodded hesitantly. "I don't think she's separated from Riavorth." She clarified. "I just don't know where she is. If she's still back there, though, and we know they were killing people ... I don't know if 'okay' can be applied?" She asked. After all ... they were killing people when she'd left! Dragons were dying right and left! But ... but ... that was a bad train of thought, reflected by her face washing out pale. Time to think of something else, yes. She turned her thoughts elsewhere, instead of on the idea that Orena might be dead. Getting cold and stiff at the behest of an invader's knife.

Faranth, they seriously hadn't known what they were in for when they'd agreed to come to the Weyr!! Isori was tempted, sorely tempted, to just go home again. But her sister ... her sister held her fast. If Orena was alive, she'd stay with her sister if at all possible. And naturally ... having a dragon, Orena would have to stay at the Weyr. The Weyr was their home now ... She heaved a shaky sigh and looked to M'kai as he talked, concentrating on his words to get her stomach back out of her feet.

"I ... I know. I ... I mean, I heard. Word." She admitted. He had a twin ... that kind of got around. On one hand they were identical, too. But on the other hand, not. They dressed differently, but she couldn't really hold that as an indicator. She and Orena did that too. But one thing was so - one of them had shorter hair than the other. Not to mention the overuse of makeup. Isori smiled hesitantly, not entirely sure what she should say. Oh! Dragons. "Yeah ... I know. I mean ... um. We do that sometimes. I fill in for her when she can't be somewhere. Riavorth has followed me around too. Sometimes ..." How much to say? "Once she couldn't attend lessons for being stomach sick. So I went instead, with Riavorth. I ... didn't tell anyone." And here she was telling the weyrling teacher. Sticking her head in the wher's mouth practically, while admitting to stealing an egg.

"Salamandyr?" She asked, with some interest. "You mean one of those skinny little small-winged things that talk really loud?" Isori asked, sounding almost as if she really didn't like them. But then she smiled, a true genuine smile, if a small one. "They're cute. I don't know where people get em though."

More than useless? "Your dragon being wounded makes you useless?" She asked, not quite understanding that concept. "Why? You're not useless ... you are helping me find Orena, no? That's not ... that's not useless. You're the Weyrlingmaster, aren't you? That's not useless." She pointed out, matter-of-fact. It was almost as if the statement of being useless turned her thoughts in a way that she was showing a new side. Something other than scared. Something more practical, something firmer. Intellect, she wasn't lacking in. After all ... it was hard to get into the mischief she and Orena tended to get into, and back out again, if one was a cretin.

"M'kai. Right. I'll remember that." She smiled in return, grateful for the contact. A somewhat tactile person, she was rather derailed by not having anyone she could grab at a whim. The problem was ... the only person she really knew wasn't here. "I am glad you and your brother made it out together." Isori really wished she could say the same for her and her twin. "Howcome he ended up with a bronze and you didn't?" She asked, with genuine curiosity. Truthfully, if she ever managed to impress (which didn't look terribly likely right now), she really didn't expect anything different from the green to which Orena had found herself. But then ... matters of the workings of a Weyr still somewhat escaped her. Growing up, she'd never really paid it any mind at all, more occupied with matters closer to the chest. Looking up at M'kai again, she studied his face a moment, and decided that Orena was right. M'kai really was a good looking fellow!

[Ruby]

Keen to get the subject on to something more positive, M'kai just made reassuring noises while Isori worried about her sister, instead latching on to her explaination of the swapping she and her twin did. At that, the Weyrlingmaster totally forgot that he should probably tell her not to do that and laughed aloud, clearly entertained rather than mad. "That's a good one. Me and Cr'oph had a few bad cases of firehead between us while we were young Weyrlings - we missed some pretty awesome chances for hilarity there. We did switch up in Candidate Lessons a few times, since we were in different rotations. That way at least one of us could know all the answers. Pretty sure it drove Emoyan nuts," he said, then abruptly remembered he was Weyrlingmaster. With a skeptical look, he added, "Can you believe they ever put me in charge of anyone?"

Her description of Bomb made M'kai laugh again. He'd have to remember that Isori was good at cheering him up; seemed like they'd have a tough while ahead of them, he was sure to need it. "Yep, that's about right. Except Bomb doesn't talk, he screeches, and it never makes sense. For instance, either he's really, really confused, or he thinks I'm his boyfriend. Both choices are equally likely. And they hatch just like anything else, you can get them at gathers or catch a hatching, I guess. Cr'oph got me Bomb's egg," he said with a grimace, remembering his brown's hatching. "Think twice before you get one, though. They affect emotions way more than fire lizards, about as strong as dragons do. Me and Cr'oph have gotten in more than one fight because my Bomb didn't like his Jiggles."

Idiot thing, M'kai mused, drifting away from the conversation for a second. Still, he couldn't help but like the mandyr, something that had never really made sense to the bluerider. Mental bonds; bleh. M'kai was just about done with them. It was the word 'Weyrlingmaster' that brought him back, and the Rider felt like he should qualify that. "Temporary Assistant Weyrlingmaster, that's how much confidence they have in me. I only got promoted to full Weyrlingmaster because the Weyrsecond needs Iskierka for more important things. Plus, dragons aren't much use when they can't fly." He made a face at Futh, then turned his attention back to Isori. "Glad I can help you find your sister, though. Guess I'm not totally useless."

That got a sideways smile, and M'kai shamelessly turned the shoulder pat into a half hug, keeping his arm loosely around Isori's shoulder. The touch was platonic enough for now - he didn't want to scare her away, after all. But she was pretty distinctly shorter than he was, and M'kai discovered that she fit quite nicely into the curve of his arm. Very good. He kept his eyes fixed on the trees, giving Isori a view of his profile while he answered her question. "Dragons pick based on personality, not appearance. Me and Cr'oph might look just about the same, but he's kind of an ass - hallmark of the Bronzer - and I'm nice, fun, smart, and charismatic, of course, just like your typical Blue." M'kai's tone was light, his statement clearly hyperbolic- or was it? He was good at talking himself up, after all. "Who knows? You could get a Bronze, for all we know about dragons. Except you don't seem even remotely like an ass, so maybe a Blue would suit you better," he added with a distinctly cheeky smile. Maybe this invasion was a good thing after all - it got A'emi off his mind (the greenrider HAD to be alive, but M'kai only let his subconscious consider that thought), and he had met Isori. Not bad, so far.

[dragon]

Isori was genuinely surprised that her admission to impersonating her sister hadn't earned her a stern talking to and lecture and all that fun stuff. Instead he seemed to actually find the story interesting and hilarious, countering with one of his own ... or a few. Whichever way a body chose to look at it. A small smile touched the corner of her mouth as she watched him with interest, listening. It also helped to distract her from her missing sibling, even if the topic was on siblings. "Did he ever catch you at it? I mean, find you out?" She asked. Personally, she was a touch unsure of how to take the Candidate Master. He was at times a very easy going person that could be talked to about just anything. At other times, he was downright scary. Like when he'd been sending people away. She'd been too scared to not do what he said. She couldn't imagine what actually raising the man's ire would be like. Nor did she really want to find out. "I can't say as we ever did anything to mess with the Candidate Master ..." She supplied. Of course, she and her sister were ... had been ... on the same rotation. So it would have been very difficult to do anyway.

"You? Well ... I would imagine they wouldn't have done it if you hadn't been fully capable and everything." She offered. "I mean ... you seem to be doing a pretty good job. The Weyrlings that are here seem to be doing alright. That's gotta count for something, right?" She suggested, not really sure what she was supposed to say to a question like that anyway. After all ... was he joking, or serious, or ... or what?

She did have to giggle a little bit at his tales of his mandyr, somewhat amused at the very ideas that he was presenting on how the creature thought. "He must be confused, regardless." Isori suggested, before another thought occurred to her. If this creature was so ... confused. How could they really trust it to find her sister reliably, and not just invent some story? But she didn't air the question, afraid it might be an insult or something. Insulting someone who was trying to help was ... generally ... not a good plan. "You two came up with some very interesting names for your pets." She surmised, instead. Really! Jiggles and Bomb?

"Temporary Assistant." She repeated thoughtfully. "Well ... my pa has a saying. There's nothing quite so permanent as temporary. Quite often it's true, you know. And really! With so many weyrlings rolling around, who doesn't need an assistant? Think how swamped the Master would be if you weren't there to help? I doubt they hand the full bird position to someone who's never taught classes on anything before. Do they?" Of course, she was only assuming that he'd never taught any kind of class. But it was a rather logical assumption, given how youthful he still was, and the stories he had already turned out for what his growing up turns had been spent doing ... not very studious, those things!

Getting an actual hug - if only half of one - was pretty much a lot of what she needed. It was almost all she could do to keep from raining down in tears (really, why?), but she managed it. Leaning over onto his side in a very natural fashion, she appreciated both the gesture and the warmth. She really should have gathered up some clothes or something before fleeing. A nightshift really wasn't the best of outdoors wear, even with a flight jacket thrown over the top. It felt good, to be hugged. Isori watched him in rapt fascination as he answered her question, quite capable of admiring and listening at the same time. A full smile made its way onto her features at some of the things he said, and she laughed a little bit. "Really? You're all that?" It really did sound like he was tooting his own horn just a little bit. Just a little. "It's hard to find fun and smart in the same package." She teased, quite amused. "Are you sure about that? A blue? Are you sure you're not just biased toward blues?" Isori quipped, sneaking a glance past him at his own rather obviously blue dragon. Pulling her hand out of the pocket of the flight jacket she was wearing, she wrapped that arm around his back. Just to steady herself now that she was not standing square on her own feet ... yeah ... that's what her excuse was, anyway. It didn't have anything to do with a warm hug and a charismatic profile, nooooo.

[Ruby]

"Not as far as I know," M'kai replied, then pursed his lips a little. "No proof, anyway, and Emoyan isn't exactly the type to just give arbitrary chores because he suspects something. Much better than - back at home." There was a slight pause, where he replaced 'Benden'. Probably not the best thing in the world to admit that he came from any weyr besides Selenitas, these days. M'kai still didn't know who had attacked - he'd heard 'Wasteland' thrown around, but that made no sense - but until then, identifying himself as an ex-Bendener was probably not a good plan. Her praise confirmed his decision. Smiling, he said, "Thanks for that. Sometimes it's hard to see what's going right when everyone seems to have no confidence in you." He left out the part where he'd lost three Weyrlings Between, and three more to the invasion. This was not his pity party.

Her saying made him smile, a touch ruefully. "Sounds about right, not to mention that being a full Weyrlingmaster seems to make people balk and quit," he added, "But I've got a full load, a class of my own. Supposedly I was only filling in until Sel'n decided to return to teaching, but even before this that looked about as likely as Thread in the sea." The other bit made his smile fade, though. "They do, actually. If you're experienced, they said, so basically if you're old. They had X'rx helping me out before he graduated - he was in my brother's class - and they'll probably put him over me if he applies when we get back, because he's experienced. Not old, though, I guess. Maybe we'll be even." Clearly, M'kai was still a little sore about that.

He only let himself brood for a minute, though, before the smile slid back into place. Isori was warm, and pretty, and barely clad, and now her arm was around his waist. And he certainly wasn't the candidate master. Keeping a cheeky smile on, he replied, "Mmhm. I just get better the more you get to know me. Right, Futh?" The blue stuck his head through the trees, his one visible eye an amused green. M'kai's gaze went blank for a second, then he laughed. "Futh would like me to inform you that I am most certainly biased, as Greens are also excellent. He also says he'd like to meet your sister's green - she must be pretty to be bonded to such a pretty girl," he added. Futh just snorted at that.

The companionable banter only lasted another moment or two, though, before M'kai dropped his arm and stepped away, closing his eyes for a minute. Reina was back in range, but her connection was weak, and M'kai suddenly felt a stabbing pain near his chest. An image - Orena, it had to be, and a muscular Green that looked big for a hatchling, the dragonet darting after an adult Blue's tail. Putting a hand to his heart, M'kai kept his eyes closed, barely managing not to gasp. "Orena, she's - she's fine. With her hatchling, playing. Lessons or something." Another image: M'kai's Weyr, Bomb scrambling out of the shadows, a wild leap in Reina's direction, only to be speared by a throwing knife, dead in an instant. Reina herself had swerved, taking the knife in the chest, then gone Between to pass her message on. "You'd better go." This time M'kai did gasp, folding in on himself so he crouched on the ground. Futh had barreled through the trees to curl a forepaw protectively around his Rider, his eyes and hide rapidly greying. "Seriously, everything's fine. Just... go!"

[dragon]

Whatever he had said, whatever he had done, that she would have liked to respond to, all of it was forgotten. Despite how interested she'd been in the things he said, and the questions that popped up for it. Seeing him suddenly stagger away and then fold up on the ground like that was more than a little alarming.

Despite what he said now, about it being fine, Isori was not a dunce. She could tell that nothing was even remotely close to fine. "I'll get help!" She said, before dashing off. Isori didn't panic, or even lose her wits - that was not her way. After all, she frequently had to watch out for her twin. She knew what to do. Go find someone who could help. The only thing she could think of was that he must have been injured some how and was only now having problems with it. Even though she couldn't recall him acting wounded at all before just then.

"Healer!!" She called, as she dashed from place to place. She sorely wished she knew who the healers were, she couldn't spot them on faces alone. Usually healers were in the infirmary, but they didn't have an infirmary anymore. "Healer!!" She called again, pausing at each group of people only momentarily before racing off to the next. "I need a healer!!"

[Ruby]

"NO!" Shards, shells, the last thing he needed was a healer, or help. He just needed to be alone with Futh (and of course now that he'd sent her away, M'kai decided that Isori could stay too. It would be good to have a human shoulder to cry on). So, wiping a forearm across his red eyes, he straightened, leaning on Futh for a moment before marshalling something akin to anger to give him the resolve to head after Isori. Otherwise, he could have sat in Futh's arms crying all day, and that wasn't useful to anyone. Sure, it hurt - Bomb especially, which surprised M'kai, who had had Reina longer and always felt like he understood her a little better - but other people had lost, too. Other people hurt. Some of them in nasty, bloody ways. This was just his heart, and no one but him could fix that one.

She was easy enough to find, yelling as she was. Meira or E'rro might have noticed, but not before M'kai caught Isori by the shoulder, spinning her around to face him. Loss and pain dominated his tear-filled gaze, but the Rider's body launguage communicated anger more than anything. Everyone dealt with pain differently - M'kai by sulking, and to sulk properly he had to be mad first. Not at Isori, though. He was very firm on that - this was not her fault. It was whatever unfortunate Wastelander had been given M'kai's old weyr. Unfortunate? Yes. M'kai did not intend to let him live.

"I'm ok," he insisted, trying his hardest not to sniff. Despite the anger he felt, the poor Bluerider looked pretty pathetic - Pajamas, boots, and a flight jacket, his hair mussed from sleep and upset, face and neck blotchy red in the worst places, tear tracks in the dirt and ash on his face. As much as he tried to look strong, he really just looked about ten years younger, like a little kid who'd lost a favorite canine. "Really," he gasped, suppressing tears with all his resolve. "It's Bomb, and Reina. And there's nothing we can do for them now. They're... there was an invader, back at my weyr. He..." M'kai couldn't say it, couldn't form the words. Just like Megs. Oh, Faranth.

[dragon]

"He-EEEE!" Isori squeaked the last, interupted mid-word and yanked almost off her feet. She staggered sideways and managed to regain her balance, staring at M'kai again. "Oh Faranth." She breathed, looking at him. "You don't look okay." She told him as gently as she could, touching his arms gently, even as she tried to sort out what it was he was trying to say.

Bomb? Reina? Those ... those were the names of his pets. An invader? Isori was not a dense girl, quite the contrary. But she also had never experienced any kind of bond to any creature other than her twin. And that was just a twin thing. She had no way of knowing what so ever what it was like to share a mind with something else. Much less have that torn out again ... or in double doses. She did, however, understand that something terrible had happened. Part of her felt guilty for it ... the only reason his flitter had gone back to his weyr was because she'd asked him about her sister. It was as much her fault as anyone's, whatever had happened.

"Oh Faranth." She breathed again, trying to fill in the missing pieces. But she didn't ask. It was habit for her to not admit to any shortcomings she had. But beyond that, she really didn't need to know. The important part was that he was hurting ... and not from anything physical.

It was sort of alarming to see how many years he seemed to have dropped, so fast, in just a split moment. No longer looking the part of a weyrlingmaster - albeit a young one - trying to keep it together for those around him (or so she assumed), to someone just as lost as she was, and hurting far more.

She watched his eyes for only a moment, before deciding on the best course of action. He needed help alright. But it was no help a Healer could provide. Maybe, just maybe she could help. It would probably be better coming from someone he knew, but shardit. She didn't have that luxury.

Isori gave him a hug. "I'm sorry." She said, genuinely trying to comfort him. To any level, though she knew that in all honesty, it was a hopeless endeavor. Only time could heal his woes, and even then it would never truly heal. Loss never did. "I'm sorry." Both for his loss, and sympathy toward it, but also in the role she had played in it. Terrible terrible thing that it was. She knew better than to try to take the blame though ... that was not what he needed.

What he needed was an understanding hug. That, she could give him.