Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jul 5, 2010 11:40:43 GMT -5
Oh, how disappointing. The little weyrling came to his senses after all. Kyrahth watched him drop through narrowed eyes. How tempting it was to dive onto him from above, how easy it would be to shred his wings and just let him fall…wouldn’t die, of course; he was too close to the ground for that – but – No, A’emi warned her silently, and Kyrahth hissed quietly before she dipped one wing, circling lower, never lower than Craivaruth. Instead, she came to land against the cliff face itself, claws sliding into convenient crevices along the rock, tail tangling around a small tree that grew from it for support. Her wings closed, eyes still intent on Craivaruth.
She might’ve worried about Chaoth, too, but he seemed about as dangerous as a firelizard. It was a fairly common theme, that, among the dragons at Selenitas. How much longer are you going to be? she inquired privately of A’emi.
A while, came the quiet response, along with a wave of brief apology. Don’t sweat it, sweetie. You can go home if you’d like, I want to look through the cave more. He ignored Kyrahth’s low hiss of disapproval as he rocked back onto his heels, gaze sliding away from J’ash to Raebeli. Hadn’t really expected the Mindhealer to be a girl, younger than him, but…eh. Sure. Apparently his story had been told, so that meant he could leave, probably, especially if he invented an excuse (date with K’thay, anyone?), but…
“Hey,” he announced, standing up. “I want to go look around in the cave some more. You wanna come?” The question was directed towards Mer. “I don’t think we’re needed here, especially with the dragons right there, too.” He slid one hand into his pocket, pulled out two pieces of flint attached by a string. So maybe he’d been planning on lighting arrows on fire. It was still nice to have it on hand, wasn’t it? “I’ve got fire, so we wouldn’t be going in complete darkness or anything,” he added, quirking one eyebrow at the brownrider.
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Shiny
creeper!Shiny
Posts: 311
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Post by Shiny on Jul 6, 2010 16:29:08 GMT -5
And then J'ash spontaneously exploded.The end. (Lol Vu <3)
Still shivering, J'ash blinked heavily several times, trying to hear the voices right. There were several of them now. One sounded like a mother sweet-talking a baby, and another was one he was recently acquainted to hearing. Sweat dripped down his forehead and neck as he clenched his fists.
Don't be scared, J'ashmine. Others are there with you, and Raebeli has just come to help you.
The soothing words of his dragon's deep voice resounded clearly in his head. J'ash swallowed a bit of the drying blood in his mouth, eyes slowly, hesitantly looking towards the ankles of the mindhealer. Her form was quite a ways away, still. She didn't trust him. Right now, J'ash didn't trust himself, either. Nor did he really trust anyone else, but at least he was a bit calmer at the moment.
Slowly, shakily, J'ash reached below his blanket and pulled out one of the larger pieces of Galaxite from his waist pouch. He held it up in front of his face, staring deeply into it as if in a trance. The glowing gold flakes inside the gem lit up the nebula-like tendrils of pink, and the outer layers of purplish-cobalt. The light softly fell on his face, hand, and shoulders.
Without looking away from the gem in his hand, J'ash spoke to the others briefly. "There are a lot... of cave-ins," pause, "and something lives in there... It will kill you." A larger shudder ran up his spine. The gem in his hand began to shake too much, so he put it back where it came from. He slowly pushed himself up from the ground to prop himself up, sitting, his back against the side of the wall. The throbbing in his shoulder was back, but J'ash ignored it for the most part.
He stared up at Raebeli's shaded figure with red, stressed eyes, the dark dips below them making him look rather unapproachable. "You think... you can trick me? You'll just pounce on me... as soon as I leave myself open...." He croaked. His voice was rather sore. "And then you'll tear me to shreds." He raised a shaking hand to run over the ridges of the various and numerous scars on his chest. His fingertips brushed the blood present from the wound caused by falling rock. A quiet hysterical laugh bubbled from him, though his expression was still rather scared. He stared blankly at the opposite wall. "Just finish me off, will you, already? I'm sick of you haunting me."
Craivaruth listened carefully to the happenings not too far away from him, but just out of his reach. Still, J'ash wasn't normal... the blue-green brushed Raebeli's mind. Mindhealer, it may take a while to get through to him. It's the darkness that's doing this to him. Be careful; he still isn't very sane. If you get him to calm down some more, let me take him home. He will recover better there.
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Rowana
Hive Mind
Handler Roivao Rider G'tor Rider Merridan Rider T'ke Rider N'rik Handler Porita Rider Farryl Rider Kyr'n[/color
Posts: 1,550
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Post by Rowana on Jul 10, 2010 13:51:23 GMT -5
Merridan frowned for a moment. Exploring an unknown cave sounded like a lot more fun than standing around here, but J'ash still seemed unstable. If he turned violent again, Mer wasn't sure if Raebeli could handle him. Of course, she didn't know the healer than well. She should know well enough not to take people for granted. Mer watched and listened to J'ash for a moment. He didn't seem like he was about to attack anyone again. Finally she shrugged. "If you'll be alright, Rae?" she asked briefly. "I'll leave Auran with you, just in case. He can find me if you need help." Perched on the ground next to J'ash, the blue fire lizard puffed up with pride. His Mistress could count on him.
Of course, that meant Vikky was the one who had to come in the cave with them. Mer would have preferred Auran came, but he was better at following orders. Even if she told Vikky to stay with Raebeli, she would forget in about two seconds. At least Mer had a better chance of getting her to do as she was told. Besides, having her meant they could send out for help that much easier, if for some reason contacted dragons was difficult. Be careful, Chaoth called. His voice tinged with anxiety. He didn't like Mer going into dangerous places without him. I'll be fine, worrywort, she chided. How are things outside? Much quieter. I will keep watch, but I think all is settled now. Good.
"Alright," Mer nodded at A'emi. "Maybe we'll find something to explain all this." Mer had grown up near the mines and had been in several, so she felt at home in the cave. Especially being able to see, even a little. J'ash's warning was mostly ignored. He didn't seem to be thinking straight, so for all Mer knew the "thing" was A'emi. Vikky's excited chirps echoed as she alighted on Mer's shoulder. Mer tapped her noise sharply. "Be quiet, or I'll send you home," she scolded. Vikky went silent, willing to be still in the hopes of seeing something new and exciting. Going home would be so boring!
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Lotty
Shiny Hoarder
Rider Mi?rah Rider K?sel Rider Osnat Healer Raebeli
Posts: 1,020
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Post by Lotty on Jul 11, 2010 21:40:13 GMT -5
Dragons liked talking to her. Or at least Selenitas hatched ones anyway. This is what she had learned so far since once again, another voice pressed on her mind, different in both tone and cadence than Checkoth's though not unwelcomed either way since she loved all the dragons right back, and to show this love she would be sure to take very good care of poor J'ash. Harmless she assumed him to be, and so in small steps she grew closer, perhaps the blue-green he was bonded to could help with some reassuring emotions...let him know that she was kindly and the mindhealer was confident that she could do the rest.
"Hmmm yes, go ahead, it might do him well to have less eyes on him..." of course there was the chance that his bout of insanity was due to something down in the cave. Gases which certainly could be found in such a location had been known to fool with the mind, but she also supposed that it would leave him a little more docile than frantic at this point. Upon a bit of thought she added to Mer, "I would love Auran's company though," and then only a moment later she knelt down to his level and cooed to the boy, "I can't pounce on you when I'm on the ground like this now can I?" She tried her best to reason with him.
It was hard though, because she knew that first of all, getting him some light was very important, but also that fear of the dark was the most well documented and common phobia of them all. The apprehension of the unknown, the brain's attempts to wrap itself around what it could not see, the inability to comprehend what one normally could was all overwhelming. At the same time she had little in methods of getting him out to the light. Some flint she had....flashes in the black she could create but it was much too fleeting and the shock would do little to help the case.
"What is haunting you...is all in your head. Follow my voice out into the light would you? It will be nice to see the hand in front of your face yes?"
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jul 11, 2010 23:02:17 GMT -5
With J’ash’s words came a wave of very real amusement for the greenrider. Not that the cave-ins were funny, of course, but the idea of a monster in the cave that might kill them? Very, considering he knew fair well that it was him the kid meant. Even if he didn’t know he meant it. Heh. A’emi tilted his head, nodded quietly. “’kay. We’ll keep that in mind, kid. Thanks.” He kept his voice pitched low with almost a hint of a croon in it, soothing. They might have trouble explaining the death of a Mindhealer, after all, if the kid fell back into his hallucinations or whatever they’d been.
Of course, torches probably weren’t the brightest of ideas, pun not intended. (His thoughts went something along the lines of torch + gas pockets = BOOM. Not very articulate, but a very real threat nevertheless. BOOM.) A’emi didn’t suggest the possibility to either Kyrahth or Mer – the former would probably rather sit on him than let him go in, in such a case; the latter might chicken out. He preferred neither occurred. Of course, it was kind of a lie by omission, but…he’d never been particularly picky about white lies or anything of the like.
“Great,” he replied brightly to Mer, and waved at Kyrahth, tilting his head to call up – he spoke aloud purely for the sake of the others – “I need a torch, love. Toss down a stick or something.” There was enough scraggly moss growing near the cave to make a decent torch. Above, the green huffed, disgruntled by more than just the thought of Hers venturing inside the cave, and tossed down a stick obediently. Or rather, pitched it down, so that it landed with a clatter in between J’ash and Mer. A’emi crinkled his nose, sighed, “Thanks, Kyr, lovely of you.”
You’re not welcome, and neither are they. I hope she dies; I hope nobody’s allowed back in the cave again after this. This is an unnecessary risk, it’s stupid, the weyrling’s excuse of a Rider is out of the cave and practically trembling; haven’t you accomplished enough for one day?
It was Kyrahth’s version of begging, the violent snap of her thoughts ice-cold. A’emi ignored her, instead nodding at the stick on the ground and tossing the flint in Mer’s direction. “Catch. You know how to make a torch? I’m gonna go ahead and go in, I’ll just follow the wall or something. Yell if you need me, yeah? If you need another stick or anything, yell at Kyr, she’ll toss one down.” He nodded, briefly, and then stepped back into the cave, one hand resting lightly against the left wall. His footsteps were deliberately silent again as he drew his stiletto, the blade flashing once in what little light remained before the darkness settled around him.
It was comfortable, the darkness. A’emi relaxed slightly, stiletto settling loose in his palm, drifting quietly forward. Hopefully he wouldn’t run face-first into a wall or a stalactite/stalagmite or whatever they were. That would definitely kind of suck.
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Shiny
creeper!Shiny
Posts: 311
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Post by Shiny on Jul 13, 2010 1:48:33 GMT -5
No, Raebeli couldn't jump him if she was on his level, which he knew she currently was. Well, he did try to warn them about the cave-ins, but they didn't seem to be heeding his advice. Oh, well. Not his problem if they got trapped in here, or got hit over the head by falling rocks, or whatever.
An intrusive image of a bright, sunny summer day filled and warmed his mind before something suddenly landed on his non-injured shoulder. Softly crooning in his ear, his Brown firelizard swooped from his human perch to fly circles around Merridan's Blue firelizard, Auran. A small smile quickly crossed his features at Vomit's attempt to make him feel better. It did help. A little bit.
Listen to the nice Raebeli, J'ashmine, and come outside. I want to take you home. She won't hurt you, I promise. It was very strange, but Craivaruth actually trusted Raebeli, so he was comfortable in promising J'ash what he had. He didn't trust anyone except J'ash, but he had a good feeling about the Mindhealer. She seemed genuinely nice and caring.
It would be nice to see his hand, again, J'ash thought. To see anything, actually. To see Craivaruth. Vomit's mental image, and a combination of Craivaruth's and Raebeli's soothing voices gave him a little bit of his determination back. He really wanted to see his Blue...
Slowly, J'ash used the cave wall to stand lopsidedly, leaning most of his weight against the stone. It was difficult to breathe, and he felt pretty dizzy. It was no surprise, though; being literally scared out of his wits had taken quite the toll on him. All he wanted now was to curl up in his furs close to Craivaruth and shut himself off from the world. He was hella tired.
The worn man slowly followed the Mindhealer's voice, deciding to trust her. He knew he couldn't make it out on his own, so his only option was to trust that something else rescue him. He still wasn't completely convinced that Raebeli wouldn't attack him with her claws or fangs, but he didn't really have any other option left. (J'ash still didn't entirely see her as a human.) He found it hard to walk, having to use the scraped palms of his hands to shakily hold himself against the wall as he forced one foot in front of the other.
The pupils of his silver eyes contracted as light hit them and he squinted, ducking his head as if he was, for a moment, expecting the light to violently hit him. Slowly, his eyes creaked open a little more, taking in his surroundings tiredly. Water was falling in front of him; there were some thick rocks to the left that he vaguely remembered climbing on.
A snout split the waterfall almost in half, a dragon's head following suit. Dark teal matte hide, with circles of dark blue and green forming crescents around the citrus-coloured, worried eyes. "Craivaruth," J'ash whispered, stumbling forward a step or two to touch a sweaty, bloody hand to the side of the Blue's muzzle. Small, shiny pools of water were beginning to build up in J'ash's gray eyes. It was too good to be true. Even if this was an illusion of his insanity, it made J'ash happy.
The Bluerider looked at Raebeli through tired, red eyes, kind of half-registering her as a human being. The poor man was still a bit out of it.
Craivaruth gently pushed past J'ash's hand to nuzzle against his rider's chest and face affectionately. I was so worried about you, J'ashmine. Never do something so stupid again. Listen to me next time. After a moment, the dragon's eyes shifted to look at Raebeli with crystalline blue eyes. Thank you, Raebelihealer. We will have to repay you one day. He glanced at his rider, watching as Vomit accidentally landed on his injured shoulder. J'ash winced. The small Blue looked at the Mindhealer again. Would you mind quickly looking at his injuries? I think he may also need some help getting attached to my harness.
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Rowana
Hive Mind
Handler Roivao Rider G'tor Rider Merridan Rider T'ke Rider N'rik Handler Porita Rider Farryl Rider Kyr'n[/color
Posts: 1,550
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Post by Rowana on Jul 19, 2010 15:58:11 GMT -5
Merridan caught the flint easily, despite the dim light. It would certainly be more fun exploring when it wasn't dark. Open flames in unknown caves weren't always the safest things, but that wasn't going to stop her. Chaoth was nagging the back of her mind. He was nervous about her going, but he knew better than to try and stop her. She was very stubborn. "Take care," Mer called to Raebeli. Auran chirped assurances that he would watch them well. Mer nodded and trotted forwards into the cave until her foot kicked something wooden. It was J'ash's torch, right were he had dropped it. A few clicks of the flint and the spark caught.
"Someone's impatient," she muttered. A'emi was already out of sight. Mer held the torch high and started walking slowly after him. Calling out or running was dangerous in a cave. One could trip, fall down a hole, or start a cave in. Vikky circled Mer's neck nervously. She didn't like it in here. It was too close and too quiet. After a few minutes, A'emi's back came into view. Mer pulled out her own dirk. If something was really lurking back here, she wanted to be ready for it. "Right behind you," Mer kept her voice low. She might not have called out at all, but she didn't want A'emi to turn around and stab her. It wasn't a good start to a friendship, she should know.
((I give Lotty permission to play Auran a little as needed. ^__^ ))
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Lotty
Shiny Hoarder
Rider Mi?rah Rider K?sel Rider Osnat Healer Raebeli
Posts: 1,020
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Post by Lotty on Jul 30, 2010 19:01:39 GMT -5
Marching her way out, she paused only from time to time to make sure that J'ash was following suit and not planning on having a frantic episode again. At least she was hoping that she was going the right way - the sweet smell of fresh air and the roar of the waterfall was a greater aid that the peephole of light she had to follow - because the last thing she wanted was to metaphorically and physically lead the weyrling down a dark, spiraling, tunnel of doom. Auran, admittedly was a great help, and she immediately took to gesturing the flit to her arm for attention and support. The mindhealer was liberal with lavishing scratches behind the blue's eyes.
While continually walking in fear that at any time J'ash could pounce on her back and try to scratch her to death, she hummed to herself a little song in true Raebeli fashion, until the bright white glare of the outside began to be too great for her little blue eyes to handle. Squinting she was, in similar fashion to the weyrling, but hopeful that this was exactly the aid needed to snap the guy out of his funk. Plus, as signaled by the snout that began poking it's way through the falls, and the words that yet again entered her brain space, his dragon was there to help some more, "Don't worry about it sweetie, it's my job..." she said to the blue-green before turning to the boy.
Small cautious steps were taken closer to J'ash until she was able to take his wrist in her hands. The journeywoman wanted a look at his palms, for a glint of red had caught her attention, "All scuffed up are we? Let me take a look?"
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Avu
Weyrleader Ce'thian Rider A'emi Handler Sena Harper Matteo Weyrbrat Riaren
Posts: 2,439
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Post by Avu on Jul 30, 2010 22:32:32 GMT -5
Loud.
She was loud and if there was a monster in the cave it’d be all over them in seconds. A’emi slowed his own carefully silenced steps to let her catch up, fingers brushing against the stone wall still, even with the flickering light from the torch coming ever closer. Mer’s word of warning was largely unnecessary, the greenrider rolling his eyes to himself as he let his stiletto flip once around his hand, caught the hilt in his palm. “I know,” he replied, brief and simple, and gestured for her to move ahead of him. She had the light.
Of course, the fact that if they did run into any random monster she’d be in front was also a bonus, but whatever. A monster might be fun. A nice change from pretty rocks. Which actually happened to be quite shiny – but that aside. They were rocks.
A’emi dug his fingers into a crack in the wall anyway, worming them as deeply in as he could, and tugged until a small section of the wall crumbled away into his palm, rough dark purple in the dim light. He turned it over in his palm, rubbed his thumb against the rough gray outside. “Hey,” he commented, casually, and dug his thumbnail across the surface, trying to scratch it. It didn’t leave a visible mark, but given the lack of available light, A’emi wasn’t particularly surprised; short of it cracking in two he probably couldn’t have made anything out anyway.
“Think this is valuable?” he asked quietly, gaze flicking up at Mer. “Looks like the cave’s practically covered in…well, not this stuff all over. Think there’s anything valuable?” A’emi reached out, touched a section of the wall smoothed by water flow long stopped, and rubbed his thumb hard across the surface. “Like – ruby or sapphire or whatever? Don’t much keep track of pretty rocks, but…” He’d stopped walking by now, carefully eyeing the wall in front of him. “…could be useful…”
Know what else could be useful? You, Kyrahth informed him, grouchy as always. Alive, not dead.
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