Click. Click. Click. {Open}

[glamourie]

Click. Click. Click.

That sound was going to drive him insane, R’wign decided as he lay on his cot in the infirmary. Completely, utterly insane. No matter how he spun it, it was annoying, and no mental prodding seemed to convince Roxie to stop. The green was quite animatedly rattling her pinions against the headboard of his cot, clicking her claws off the wood every few seconds in an odd melody of clickity click click. In the stillness of the infirmary, that sound was decidedly loud. The only break in the clicking was the sound of his own wheezing, which was even less comforting… but Roxie was who was keeping him from sleep. He’d told her to stop, naturally, but… no luck. The green simply turned to him, scolded loudly, and then went right back to clicking. Stubborn fire lizard. He was fairly sure she was doing it to irritate him on purpose, too, though what he’d done to offend the green was anybody’s guess. Probably mad that he was too injured to lavish attention on her every waking moment or something. More likely because he was letting Ellie sleep on him instead. Who knew?

It was early morning, characterized prominently by the sunlight streaming into the weyr that was the makeshift-infirmary. His cot was near the back, so the sunlight didn’t affect him at all, but he could see it clearly from how he was lying on his back. Thanks to his green, he’d gotten very little sleep; maybe an hour over the night, and that was being generous. No where near enough for his tastes, thank you very much. R’wign required six to function, and… well, he was hurt. He needed to rest more, but nooo. Cursed creature. His bitterness, fortunately, didn’t show on his face.

His chest also hurt very, very badly. The fellis was wearing off, and the amount of agony creeping through him was nearly unbearable. Only sheer stubbornness kept him from calling out to one of the healers on shift to do something about it, and even then, it was only a matter of time. Lung contusions, a direct result of having been virtually crushed by a Benden bronze rider. It was painful, and he was under nearly constant supervision to make sure additional complications didn’t develop. Due to not getting treatment fast enough, he’d already dealt with some. The symptoms of his injuries came on quickly, and he wasn’t stupid; he knew that meant it was more severe than normal. Just how severe - that was the question, and he was too cowardly to ask. He didn’t want to know how badly injured he was. The eye was enough… He knew that would never heal. Thinking about his chest just made him miserable.

R’wign lifted one hand and rubbed his temples absently. The smell of breakfast wafted around him; sunrise meant the more early rising patients would be fed. He wasn’t exactly hungry, though. In fact, being confined to a bed had all but eliminated every urge he had save for that of escape. A terrible patient, he was, but he couldn’t stand feeling useless. There just… wasn’t much he could do, until his chest cleared up. It had only been three days. Three days. He probably had another sevenday left in the infirmary, by which point he expected to be stark raving bonkers. If they didn’t kick him out before then for being a nuisance, which was decidedly possible. He exhaled, groaned, and leaned his head back against his pillow with a sigh.

Click. Click. Click.

Collision was asleep on the end table next to him. Hazard and Ellie were on either side of his head on the pillow. Stumpy, on the other hand, was sound asleep on the foot of the bed, curled into a ball. The four of them as well as Checkoth had no problems sleeping, and R’wign mentally begrudged them that… though, he supposed he should be grateful. At least someone was getting some rest. Curse Roxie. CURSE HER.

[Tashe]

"The Weyrwoman? Shouldn't you be in bed Miss?"

"I suppose I should, but despite that... I'd like to visit with my wounded Riders. You can remove me when you think I've had too much." She offered the Infirmary worker a small smile, she was playing the injured damsel card, and she knew it. Plus, it was early in the morning, a time where everyone was either too tired or too groggy to really argue about anything. She had thought it out, there were to many people worrying about her when she was worried about everyone else, her injuries were bad but they weren't the worst. The medicines the Healers had her on made the pain more tolerable, and that was good enough for her. Azaran gave the worker a sleepy peep. He'd make sure his Humanpet didn't become more broken than she already was.

Slowly winding her way through the cots, Kaegan sat or stood next to the patients who were awake, checking to see how they were doing. She wasn't surprised to be met with a wide range of emotions, in the wake of so much peril, people had met it with different strides. Some were almost relieved to see her, while others seemed to keep her at a distance, not wanting to talk to anyone let alone the Weyrwoman. It took a little while before she made it to the back of the room. Having just returned from scouting for his breakfast, Azaran settled gently onto Kaegan's shoulder, on her non-injured side.

She had to admit, she had another motive to coming to visit. Kaegan not only wanted to visit the injured, she had heard that one of her friends had gotten injured too. It made her feel less guilty coming to see him if she coupled her visit with visiting the rest of the bed-ridden. Swinging her gaze around the rest of the room, Kaegan smiled slightly as her eyes fell on a form surrounded by flitters. As far as she knew, R'wign was the only one who had that many flitters. Slowly making her way over, the Weyrwoman somehow drew a chair up to the side of his cot. "Would you mind a visitor?" Her Firelizard trilled quietly in greeting.

[glamourie]

Kaegan’s arrive drew Ellie’s attention first. The little gold, curled up against R’wign’s head, lifted her own and gazed through the early morning light at the approaching woman with interest. Swirls of curiosity colored her gaze before she unfurled her wings and flapped them twice, each movement delicate. Her head turned and she looked at Roxie pointedly. She didn’t need to make a peep. That one look spoke volumes, and Roxie stopped rattling her claws instantly. As the green stopped, Ellie flicked her wings repeatedly. She twitched the very end of her tail, crooned low in her throat, and then turned her full attention to Azaran. There was a very dim glow to her hide, the first hints that she would Rise soon, and her slightly less-patient temperament may have been the biggest indicator of all; even Roxie was unwilling to test the young queen’s patience, a feat of quite impressive proportions all things considered. She was, after all, typically very ornery. And Ellie was typically very patient… and anything but a flirt. The way she twitched the end of her tail and watched Azaran, though, could only be described as exactly that: flirtatious.

The rest of R’wign’s flits were oblivious to the new arrivals. R’wign, however, wasn’t, and his right eye flicked open to see… nothing. He blinked quizzically for a moment before sitting up, a spill of black hair tumbling down over his face, in particular over the patch he wore to hide his missing eye. His nose scrunched and he turned his head completely in order to look at Kaegan. Both of his eyebrows raised and he pushed his hands back on the bed to try and prop himself up more efficiently. Hard to do, considering how much pain his chest was in, and it took all of his effort not to gasp from the strain. He was wheezing, but at least he’d (mostly) stopped coughing up blood. That was an extremely unpleasant experience.

“Kae-- Weyrwoman,” he greeted, offering her a weak smile. It was tempting to pull her over, hug her (despite how much pain he was in) and tell her just how relieved he was that she was all right. Everyone he cared about seemed to have died. Cezine. Marra. Religna. K’ran. It was exhausting to say the least. Kaegan - was hurt, definitely, but alive, and that thought sent a nice wave of relief through him, stilling a concern he hadn’t even realized he had until that moment. But -- hugging, grabbing, it was terribly inappropriate anymore. Kaegan wasn’t just the shy Junior Weyrwoman he’d befriended before he Impressed, and he wasn’t just a lowly candidate making friends with a dragon rider. She was Senior Weyrwoman now -- and he was just a brown weyrlingrider, not someone really -- It just felt strange. So he was trying to behave with some measure of manners, which, considering it was R’wign, was a miracle in itself.

Brushing one strand of hair from in front of his good eye, he shifted. A surge of self-consciousness flared through him and for the first time since it happened, R’wign was very aware of how… odd he must have looked without his eye. Odd, yes, and… probably bad. He was willing to bet he was absolutely repulsive to look at, which made him want to curl under the blankets and hide until she left. He didn’t. Instead, he scooped Ellie up (the little queen offered no protest) and took to stroking along her back. Anything to keep his mind off how… repulsive he was. Ugk.

“Your arm --” His head cocked to the side and he inhaled sharply, mainly because breathing was a difficult task to begin with. “You -- You look good, despite everything. I don’t - I heard you got hurt worse.” He’d heard a lot of rumors, actually. “I would’ve come to visit, but…” But he couldn’t. In fact, it was extremely difficult to keep from choking as he spoke. He hadn’t been doing much of that for a reason, but Kaegan visiting - even if it was just to be polite - merited at least trying… even if he would’ve preferred to be doing so under the blankets rather than in her sight. Meh.

[Tashe]

Lifting his head as his Human sat, Azaran offered the females a soft trill, knowing he'd be shushed if he vocalized any louder. Some of the hurt humans were still sleeping, and his Mine had told him to be quiet or she'd send him off. Jumping off of Kaegan's shoulder, the Bronze landed on the very end of the male human's bed, stretching the remaining sleep from his body. Sitting back on his haunches, Azzie tilted his head to the side, gaze flicking between Roxie and Ellie quizzically. Was he having a daydream, or was the little Gold shimmering slightly? Puffing up, the Firelizard offered her a croon, a little hesitant to solely devote his attentions on Ellie... Roxie was there too. He offered her a coo in greeting. How he was going to juggle flirting with both females was something he'd have to figure out on his own! Hopefully soon too.

Slumping back into her chair with a sigh, Kaegan crossed her legs before offering R'wign a tired smile. "Not you too! Everyone calls me Weyrwoman now, and nobody seems to want to call me by my name anymore." She settled her good arm in her lap, fingers immediately began fiddling with the hem of her tunic. It was the first time she had seen the Brownweyrling since the attack, and to tell the truth, he looked pretty beat up. Or at least sounded like it, the wheezing hadn't installed confidence in her about his condition. She had been extraordinarily relieved when she looked over the casualties list and saw that he had only been injured, not killed.

Looking down at her sling when R'wign mentioned her arm, the Goldrider made a small noise before moving her elbow slightly. "Oh, this. They tell I got worse... But now I'm better." Her story, well what she remembered of it anyways, was one for another time. It helped that she was on pain killers, otherwise the achy throb in her wrist and hand would be rather incapacitating. "You on the other hand don't sound good at all. So please, don't strain yourself R'wign, I need you to get better not worse." Bobbing her finger at him with a small smile, Kaegan maneuvered her arm so that she didn't jostle her injured hand. "I can honestly say, I was happy to hear you weren't killed. In the face of loosing so many of my Riders, I don't think I could have handled the loss of another friend." Sighing, she closed her eyes before slowly rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I... I don't know... if I can even handle it now. Some of those... those things He said... I shouldn't be in charge. I'm too weak... a mouse." Her hand covered her face as she leaned back even farther. "I caused this, by coming here." What was she doing? She came to see if R'wign was okay, not to chat his ear off about her self-doubts. "Just... nevermind. Forget I said that." Returning to the position she had been sitting in before, Kaegan let her hand fall back into her lap, wincing as she hit her broken hand in the process. Shards, that hurt.

[glamourie]

Ellie stretched out in R’wign’s hands, her wings flaring again as she did so. For a queen she was long - long, but not muscular and emphatically not powerfully built in any way. In comparison to some of her color, she actually looked delicate. Nevertheless, she definitely had a decent amount of length to her, making her slightly larger than average for a gold. The gradient of her hide, from a rich gold to very pale, was painfully obvious when stretched out to her full length. She gave a sleepy yawn, then alighted up to R’wign’s shoulder possessively. Typically she was not a creature prone to claiming Hers exclusively and she’d certainly never gotten agitated at his other flits (they were Hers, too) for landing on him, but… lately? Lately he was only Hers and they were lucky she let them nearby. Not that she would’ve done anything, but the slight increase in irritability the gold displayed was enough to keep all of R’wign’s flits in line. All of them. Including Roxie.

Once she was settled, the little queen turned her gaze straight to Azaran and watched him with a level of intensity that some fire lizards might have found alarming. It was just Ellie’s way, though; she made very little in the way of noises, preferring looks to get her points across, and it usually worked out in her favor. After all, most humans didn’t like the squawking and screeching that fire lizards did, and appreciated her quiet demeanor all the more -- especially her bonded. The look she was offering Azaran was skeptical; half-interested, half-bored. It wasn’t personal. She was simply more easily agitated of late, and the dim glow to her hide was enough indication as to why. If he wasn’t going to fawn over her and give her the attention she rightly deserved, she didn’t really have all that much use for him (and she barely registered Roxie’s presence - could a green really be considered competition for her?).

“You are the Senior Weyrwoman,” R’wign teased softly; but he didn’t elaborate on why he didn’t use her first name. He had a feeling she’d be irritated with him… but irritation didn’t change the truth; he wasn’t really… it was weird, they were two entirely different social circles anymore. Not that they’d ever not been, but it felt more pronounced of late, at least in his mind, and R’wign was very uncomfortable trying to explain it out loud.

His good eye moved over Kaegan’s arm and hand, and his eyebrows raised nervously. It didn’t look good to him at all. Not as bad as what he’d feared, though. She was able to talk. He’d half-expected her to come back a crying, jibbering mess. When Marra came back from the trip to Blossom, she’d been unable to formulate words -- something happened. He didn’t know what, but that was what he’d expected Kaegan to be like. Then again, Kaegan wasn’t Marra - she was nothing like her. Why his mind compared them, he didn’t know, but he was glad to hear her speak mostly-clearly, glad that she could walk. The thought chased away a lot of fears he hadn’t wanted to voice to anyone. He didn’t really have many people he could talk to about his feelings anyway. Of the women in his life, Kaegan and Kalierre were the only two who survived… and Kalierre couldn’t walk. She couldn’t stand. He couldn’t bring himself to even visit her; the idea of seeing her like that made him want to fall apart. He’d expected just as bad from Kaegan, hence not bringing himself to try.

The slightly scolding response just made R’wign smile; it was a weak expression but genuine nonetheless. He lifted one hand to stroke Ellie as Roxie glided down and over to Azaran’s side. The green nudged the bronze absently and cocked her head to look at Kaegan with interest. For once in her life, she didn’t make a sound. No sounds were truly needed, though. The silent inquiry was clear enough. For a green, she was on the smart side, after all. It didn’t take genius-level intelligence to realize Azaran’s was hurt; so was Hers. Something needed to be done about the ones making Theirs hurt so much. She wanted to bite them. And R’wign half-wanted to hug her… but it would just upset Ellie; she was very insistent that his attention all be on her.

He was just about to tell Kaegan that his injuries were not that bad (he’d heal, after all) when she spoke again… and her words made him scoot over on his cot, closer to her. Moving around wasn’t easy, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Both of his arms wrapped around her torso, carefully, to avoid causing her injury to be jarred (and it sent a wave of agony through his own that he had to bite back from showing on his face). To her, he whispered, words meant only for her to hear.

“He’s dead, isn’t he? And you’re not. I think that speaks volumes of who is weak and who is not.” It hurt to talk too much, but he managed that without stuttering, and he was grateful that he didn’t dissolve into uncomfortable coughing right at her ear. That would’ve been highly embarrassing. “B-Benden attacks places. It’s what they do. They attacked when Shmee was Senior Weyrwoman, too. They attacked Fort before you Impressed. Nothing that happened here - none of it - is your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’ve got a right to be some place safe, too, you’ve got a right to be happy. Just like everyone else. He was lying, and you’re a good leader. You know that. You shouldn’t listen to people who are broken beyond repair. Just look at who was doing the talking.” To be truthful, he really knew very little about Benden’s former Weyrleader. R’wign was just… trying to say what sounded right. Some of his words were honest, though: He didn’t blame Kaegan and he doubted anyone else did, either. It sounded to him like the bronze rider had tried to scare her… and it worked. “Don’t let him have that kind of power over you, please… not anymore. You’re not a mouse. You’re a queen - just like Millieth.”

[Tashe]

Looking up surprised as R'wign's arms wrapped around her, Kaegan was about to say he really should be laying down when he spoke to her in response to what had been said before. He was right, C'leon was dead now, but his words still echoed through her mind. Planted there with the sharp echo's of pain he had put her through at the time he had spoken them. His hold over her had not vanished when he had died, but maybe in time it would. Since her good hand was more or less confined to her lap, she let her head fall gently onto his shoulder. She didn't want to cry, but the Brownweyrling's words were drawing the beginnings of tears out of her. Did she really deserve such a friend as R'wign? He confident in her when she herself could not find a reason to be, either he was a fool or she was. And Kaegan felt more drawn to the latter.

Despite the fact that the older boy was almost always... weird, it was this kind of moment that showed Kaegan he had a more serious side. Maybe it was time for her to look at herself in the mirror. To drown in it, to sink deep and maybe find the courage to call an end to the masquerade. She wanted to be who she had been before her life at Benden had started, a woman who had always been confident and proud of who she was. She lifted her head from his shoulder. "For you I will try." And for the rest of the Weyr too. She didn't feel obliged to add the second part into her statement. She made an awkward laughing/sob noise, before speaking again. "I think you might have spilled Ellie..."

Shuffling his wings as Roxie glided over, Azaran crooned at her as she settled down next to him with a nudge. He was still riding on the coattails of sleep. He had been up quite late for the past few nights watching over Hislove, and only recently had he been able to start catching up with the sleep he had lost. Swinging his head in the direction she was looking, the Bronze made a small noise in his throat. Nudging Roxie slightly, Azaran stretched out his left arm before bringing it close to his body, chattering quietly. Her arm and paw were hurt... but what was wrong with Her's? He looked to R'wign with the same silent inquiry.

[glamourie]

For him…? It shouldn’t have been for him that she was willing to try and have confidence in herself, R’wign thought with a weak smile that he hoped at least looked genuine. Maybe someday Kaegan would be able to have faith in herself for her own sake, and not for that of others. Happiness was only truly achieved by feeling it was deserved, after all. He wanted to tell her all of that - that she should be happy because she deserved to be and not because other people told her to; that she should have faith in herself because there was no real reason not to, regardless of what a dead monster said. He was serious when he’d said she was a queen, and he just hoped one day when she looked in the mirror, she saw that, too. But that wasn’t something that R’wign was capable of fixing. Wounds of the heart only healed through time and effort on the part of the person who had them. He knew that better than most, in some ways… after all, hadn’t he failed Religna, Marra, Cezine, K’ran? And so many more. So many, many more. No, he had a long way to go before he’d be able to look in the mirror and not be disgusted with who he saw, but… it would be a long time before he could even begin to talk about it.

One hand came up and gently brushed one of the stray tears from the corner of Kaegan’s eye, and he offered her a weak smile. “Please do,” he said, and meant it; she did need to try… at least try… to have faith in herself. “Selenitas is safe now, and we want - need you at your best, inside at least. I’m surprised Millieth hasn’t yelled at you for doubting yourself yet, though. I’ve always gotten the impression she wasn’t the sort to mince words, and I’m sure she knows your worth, even if you don’t.” The words were meant to tease - or at least distract. Anything to keep her from focusing on feeling bad. That was one of R’wign’s better traits, the fact that he went out of his way to make people laugh even when he himself felt like his insides were turning into mush. Like right then.

Spilled Ellie…? Oh. Turning his head, R’wign squinted at his shoulder. Ellie was gone - probably to perch on Checkoth. “She’ll be back. She’s testy,” he explained, then smiled again; it was a slightly more strong expression, half-amused, half-exasperated. “Probably not happy with me for paying attention to another queen, but she’ll be over it soon enough. She doesn’t stay mad or upset long, little Ellie… she’s much too good-natured for that.” It took a miracle for Ellie to be upset to begin with, actually. If she was annoyed, he would’ve been surprised. More likely she just didn’t want to perch on his shoulder with him hugging someone, and it was more comforting to sit on her BigBrown than try to fight for his attention. No need to go into that explanation though. It was just long-winded dribble that would probably have bored Kaegan immensely.

But -- his mind latched onto something else, and he turned his eye downward before biting the inside of his lip. Slightly nervous, he asked, “Can I… ask a small favor of you, Kaegan…? I know you’re really busy but -- my sister, Religna…” Trailing off, quite deliberately, R’wign dropped his hands to his blankets to fiddle with them. Was she too busy to help…? Probably, but he couldn’t bring himself not to ask. Not where Religna was concerned…

[Tashe]

"Oh, she has... but she won't really get on me till I'm feeling better." Wiggling to sit straighter, Kaegan uncrossed her legs and recrossed them in the opposite direction. She remembered when Ellie was born, she had accidentally found the Brownweyrling a few moments after the Gold had appeared. She wondered whether or not R'wign had figure out who had slipped him Elegance's egg. Tapping her heel on the leg of her chair, the Weyrwoman nodded as he told her about the Flitter's temperament. It sounded much like the opposite of her own Gold. Short fused and able to hold a grudge long enough to forget the reason why. She was drawn from her reveille as R'wign began talking once again.

"A favor?" About his sister? Had something happened to her during the attack? Kaegan paused for a moment, realizing she hadn't known that the young rider had a sister in the first place. She hoped she could help him, despite the fact that the healers barely let her out of their sites. With her out of commission because of her injury, Kaegan had only been able to complete paperwork and request forms. Her bed was literally covered with scrolls, having an entire day with little interruption was a mixture that lead the Queenrider to complete as much work as she could. "Sure, what is it?"

[glamourie]

Yes. A favor. About his sister. R’wign’s stomach felt like it was trying to twist into a sailor’s knot, and he couldn’t help but stare down at the cot with the one eye he had left. It took all of his effort not to choke as he thought about Religna, and he did actually wince. If his words weren’t obvious, his posture was. His mind echoed with the man from that night’s words - that he would collect his eyes the same as he had hers. R’wign hadn’t seen Religna’s … body… at all. K’lir was the one to identify her, and he’d said it wasn’t something he needed to see. For once in his life, R’wign took the green rider at his word, too -- he wasn’t sure he would have been able to stand seeing his baby sister… like that. It was hard enough to look at himself in a mirror and not want to throw up in disgust. He’d failed her. R’wign was good at failing people, it seemed. Marra. Religna. Cezine. Z’hin. Kalerary. Even M’ta and Jabari were hurt. And what had come of it for him? He’d just managed to bruise his lungs and get himself bed ridden for awhile. Altogether quite a lack of success in his opinion, and yes, he was ashamed. Ashamed at failing to protect his sister. Ashamed at being pathetic and stuck in bed. Ashamed that he had to ask Kaegan for help when she was very, very busy; even he knew that. But… who else could he ask?

“Religna -- she was killed during the attack. I-- I can’t go back to Nerat to tell our mother and father, but they deserve to know.” He wasn’t welcome at home. When was the last time he’d seen either of his parents? Not since he was a child. Odds were good that he was disowned and he wasn’t sure he could blame them. Running away from home at age nine was a travesty, but doing so and never returning, then moving to the South to become a dragon rider at a long-forgotten Weyr viewed with contempt by the north -- it was unlikely he’d ever be forgiven, and he hadn’t kept in touch to even ask. But his mother and father did deserve to know about the child they hadn’t lost so young - the daughter that they’d loved. “I --- is there any way you could -- someone needs to tell them, and I can’t. I can’t go back to Nerat, I’m not welcome there and it’s unlikely to change. I don’t even know anyone who could…”

Fidgeting awkwardly, the brown rider cast Kaegan a nervous glance. He didn’t know if she knew anyone who could go back to Nerat, either. It was Benden territory and most of Selenitas would not want to visit there, especially not after the attack with the hatred for the northern Weyr so fresh in their minds. He would have asked Ka’rys, but the bronze rider was so busy with Kalerary that R’wign thought it selfish. He would never have sent K’lir to the north, not even on a request so important -- he’d be killed. K’lir was too flamboyant to be ignored. And he couldn’t go back himself. He hadn’t told anyone yet, but his neglect of his own health had come at a price: the ability to fly between for long periods of time. Complications from his injuries made it difficult for him to endure the same level of physical stress most humans could. Between was hard on the body. He could do it - but not close together. Flying on a Wing was out. Eventually everyone would find out -- but for the moment, R’wign was keeping that fact to himself in embarrassment.

“Do you think there’s anything you can do…? Anyone who might still have contacts in the north…? If it comes down to it, I can write the MasterHealer. He’d probably be willing to do me a favor, there’s not a lot of Senior Journeymen and it’s not like there aren’t Healers in Nerat, but --” But he would have preferred it coming from a dragon rider. Religna deserved memorial only one of her peers could give. That went unsaid, mainly because the thought struck him as selfish. “If you can’t spare anyone, I’ll do that - I mean, I know Selenitas is in a pretty dire state and sending someone back to Benden territory could be problematic -- but… but I’d really like it to be a rider who talks to my mother. She, at least, would be very honored. It might make it easier -- for her to hear… about Li…”

[Tashe]

"Oh my, I'm sorry R'wign." She felt bad for the Brownweyrling, as far as she (now) knew, Religna was the only family here that he had. But of course, she hadn't known about his sister until just this moment, so her assumptions could be wrong. Leaning forward as she listened to R'wign intently, Kaegan began running through names in her mind. "Nerat... let me think." Nerat was far to the South of Benden, near the sea at the tip of their controlled lands. She was going to have trouble finding someone who'd be willing to enter that territory, many of her Riders being injured also limited her pool of possible candidates. They'd have to be fast, were originally from or around that area and know where they were going. That cut younger riders from her list, and anyone who hadn't visited the Northern Continent.

"I think there may be something I can do... and you'd prefer a Rider to go?" That cut it down to only Dragonriders. She had a list of all the transfers from the North hidden in one of the drawers of her desk, she'd have to look over it when she went back to her PersonalWeyr later on. "I'll see what I can do, but it will take a little time to procure a willing Rider that isn't terribly busy. I'm going to have to send out at one point or another a Rider to bring word to the families of the deceased... I'll see if he or she will be willing to make a jump to the Northern continent. I doubt that you will be the only one who's family resides in the North."

She placed a hand on his knee, patting it gently. She felt sad that he had lost his sister, again the weight of C'leon's words pressed against her mind. Religna might still be alive if she hadn't come in the first place... she squeaked as a small pain erupted in her leg. Looking down, the Weyrwoman removed her hand to shoo Azaran from her leg, only to receive what had to be a Firelizard's equivalent of chastising. Apparently he had either heard some of R'wigns comments, or shared the same mentality. He was tired of her blaming herself. She sighed and scooped the Bronze into her lap. "I really am sorry R'wign, and I really hope I can help you get word to your parents."

[glamourie]

Asking Kaegan for help felt… selfish. He knew she was busy. R’wign knew that better than anyone, being cooped up in the infirmary for so long. He saw how many of her riders were injured… and how many were suspiciously missing. It didn’t take a genius to deduce that she was under a remarkable amount of stress. Adding to that was wrong but he couldn’t stop himself, even if he’d tried (and he hadn’t, not really). There were few subjects that could somber R’wign up completely and in a matter of seconds at that. Religna was one of them - and her death was enough to make any sense of humor he had evaporate at a speed rivaled only by the light. The simple explanation was that R’wign didn’t take open responsibility for many things. Lack of responsibility meant he never had to fess up and act like a grown-up in public. He liked people believing he was shallow, superficial and silly; he liked the assumption that he was unintelligent and therefore unreliable. He liked no one having expectations of him; he could never let them down. But Religna -- Religna had expectations of him; she’d known him… and he let her down spectacularly…

“You don’t owe me any apologies,” R’wign said with a slight shake of his head. A few long black curls bobbled down over his face from the movement - hiding his eyes from view. “It’s not your fault. I know you’re busy - you must be having such a rough time, trying to handle everything… If you can’t get anyone, just - let me know? Or have someone tell me, so I can write to the Hall…?” He wouldn’t have faulted her if Kaegan simply didn’t want to send any of the Selenitas riders back to the north. He wouldn’t have, in her position. Too much danger sending them close to Benden. It would have wracked his nerves in the Weyrwoman’s position and he was very glad that he would never have to make that kind of a choice. “I know - I know it must be hard. I can’t imagine how much you and the Weyrleader both are working. How’s um -- um -- K’duroy holding up?” That was his name right? K’duroy? Awkward; he couldn’t remember… probably because he didn’t pay much mind to Weyr politics. None of that concerned little ol’ him. He was just a weyrlingrider.

Another reason he didn’t pay attention to politics, though, was… jealousy. He’d come to terms with the fact that Stumpy’s crush on Millieth may have had… external influences. R’wign made no secret of his fondness for Kaegan and -- after Millieth’s last flight, he’d been surprisingly jealous. Not enough, of course, to ever say anything but… it was enough that he didn’t really want to try and talk to K’duroy or whatever. R’wign just wasn’t good at getting along with people when his own emotions got too heavily invested, and he didn’t want to unfairly judge the man without knowing him. He was determined to have faith in the new Weyrleader because, as far as he saw, he wasn’t a bad man. He was just… a bronze rider. Which meant he was in an entirely different social circle than R’wign even if he’d wanted to make friends. As far as he knew, Ka’rys was the only bronze rider out there that talked to everyone as equals. Then again, Ka’rys was damaged in the head.

“He’s -- he’s good to you, isn’t he? I don’t know much about him.” He supposed if the bronze rider was mean to Kaegan, though, Millieth would’ve eaten him. Logic dictated that, at least. “Because if he’s not -” Unlikely, “- I could always set my fire lizards on him. He’d never sleep again. Just um, tell me and I’ll make sure…?” It was only a half joking statement. He was very tempted to send Hazard to spy on the Weyrleader, just to make sure he was treating Kaegan well… but it wasn’t his place. He knew that, so temptation was ignored. Besides… If he wasn’t, what, exactly, could R’wign do? Shove love weed in his food until he humiliated himself by jumping the nearest thing in sight, and then pray that it was a male green riding weyrling he happened upon? Hardly seemed like a valid threat, in his opinion…

[Tashe]

"Of course I'll let you know if I can't. But, don't worry about it. I'm sure I can find someone, as I said before, I'll need to send someone out to inform families anyway. I'll just get a Rider that's in the know about the Region around Nerat." She ran a finger down Azaran's back, looking up from her lap as R'wign rather butchered the Weyrleader's name. Hiding a chuckle behind a small cough, Kaegan responded, clearly exaggerating exasperation. "You're an up and coming Rider, you should know the current Weyrleader's name by now. Doesn't Sel'n teach you anything?" This time she really did chuckle. "But really, K'roi is faring far better than I am. While I was out of commission he took on most of my work." She had been grateful to find out he had done so, less for her to make up when she was allowed to work again.

"I'm sure your Firelizards would do a more than copacetic job at driving him bonkers from lack of sleep, but as of now, they are out of the job." She eyed his Flitters that were still in the vicinity. "K'roi is nice enough. Its common knowledge in the Bronzeriding ranks that I'm a bit flighty, so they're always careful around me." She shrugged slightly. "Though he's not, how can I say it... un-genuine? I don't know. He's just more natural, if that makes any sense." Once more she gave the Brownweyrling a pat on the knee. "But I might just call upon you and your hoard if I do get miffed. Oh what were those things called? Um... Knits? No... knight! Yes, thats it!" Kaegan grinned, happy that she could remember the name she had heard in a story so long ago. All she could remember though, was that knights were good guys who helped people. Other than that, the real meaning of the word was lost to time. "You can be one of my Knights."

[glamourie]

In the know about Nerat… what a funny thought that was. R’wign tried to imagine how many riders at Selenitas actually were from the area. He didn’t know of very many. Odds were, the majority of the candidates from that region were at Benden itself. The only reason he was at Selenitas was because he was a healer and -- well, he was glad that fortune smiled upon him. The north was an unpleasant place, but more so for him than many -- he could never go home. He hadn’t left on good terms. He’d run away. While he had no doubt that his mother would forgive him upon finding out he was alive and well (she’d likely even be proud of him for having Impressed and made a life for himself that didn’t involve the Wars as much as it would have in the north), his father never would. His father would hold it against him for all time that he’d run off, and instead of becoming a fisherman, he’d become a Healer. More than that, he was a dragon rider, and not even a bronze rider at that. Selenitas was nothing more than a tiny little blight of a Weyr in the south, to his father, and he was sure that no amount of justification and explanation would make the man realize how fortunate he was… and R’wign was loathe to try.

His head cocked to the side and he scrunched up his nose in surprise at the notification that he had mangled the Weyrleader’s name. It did not surprise him, however. Half the time he still referred to S’rei as ‘The Chair-throwing former Weyrleader’ and before Aslath’s second flight, he’d simply called him ‘Chair-throwing Weyrleader’ - it was easier that way than trying to recall his actual name. T’rid was remembered by sheer fact of ineptitude; it was often easier to recall negative aspects of something than the positive, and certainly it could be said that the bronze rider was a very poor Weyrleader. Ka’rys he’d known before Ciceroth Caught Aslath. K’duroy -- K’roi, he mentally corrected himself -- was not a bad Weyrleader, nor had he done anything expressly memorable. Recalling his name was therefore actually quite a feat for R’wign. Ranking riders weren’t people he made an effort to remember… especially since he could never Fly thread…

“I imagine that Weyrlingmaster Sel’n has mentioned it, but I didn’t see a reason to remember the man’s name when I would be referring to him by his title,” R’wign admitted with a roll of his shoulders. “Besides, it isn’t as though I’ll be interacting with him much. I can’t Fly thread.” Kaegan was the first person he’d ever told that… but it was true nonetheless; the injuries he’d sustained during the attack meant he couldn’t go between very often, as it was highly stressful on him. One or two jumps, he could do, though it would be a while before he healed enough for that. But the kind that were required for flying Thread? No, he had no hope, even if he’d wanted to. R’wign resigned himself to the fact that he’d probably be in charge of triage while everyone else was fighting and making themselves useful. A dragon rider without their purpose -- he probably should have been shamed, but all he felt was exhaustion on the subject. Disgraced, yes, but it wasn’t something he could fix, and there was no sense dwelling.

The rest of her statements made R’wign smile. It was good - at least - to imagine that Kaegan was being treated… well, right. He didn’t really trust the bronze riders she’d gotten mixed up with in the past. R’non -- well, he was obvious. N’tia hadn’t seemed all that spectacular either. If K’roi was okay, well, then he was okay with R’wign. “Just the same, I’m glad to know he’s been good to you. I’m afraid he almost certainly could take me in a fight, unless he’s adverse to hitting a half-blind man… or someone crying; I’m not above crying at him to make him back off.” He quirked an eyebrow, then smiled. “Knight -- is that supposed to be something good, and - and relate to me? You do know that I am the essence of cowardice, Weyrwoman…? You’ll find me hiding in corners. My fire lizards can be your protectors though. They’re much more brave than me. Right Azaran?” His head cocked to the side as he addressed the bronze plaintively; he was quite fond of talking to fire lizards like little people. Possibly this was why he had so many - he didn’t view them as ‘pets’ at all, but rather, companions. Friends.