[FIN] sawi [ r'ose/sahrawith + rizdax

[houllow]

It...it had been the longest sevenday of his life. Waking at dawn, waking several times in the middle of the night. Having dreams that weren't his own, having feelings that weren't his own. Always being hungry, though the stomach pain wasn't his, and his skin constantly on fire and itching when it wasn't being cooled and soothed. He was exhausted, starving, full, itchy, soothed,,,and the happiest he'd ever been in his life. So where are we going?

The reason for everything was walking at his side, R'ose slowing his pace so that her small legs could keep up. Green Sahrawith trotted alongside her rider, her eyes whirling the happy blue R'ose had come to see in them on an almost daily basis. Today was their free day, their first one today, and when asked what she wanted to do, the dragon suggested R'ose meet with friends. Upon being asked why, there'd been a sort of mental shrug. I want to meet the people you like.

So that was why they were scoping out the area around the infirmary, though apparently upon finding whomever he was looking for was not there, R'ose turned towards the Candidate barracks. "Today should be their off-day too, if I'm not mistaken." Why did it seem like forever ago he was among them, not a mere seveday? Sahrawith gave another shrug, though she did rub against his leg again.

We'll find the radish. The tiny green sounded so sure of herself, of their mission, that R'ose couldn't help but chuckle.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Everything itched and everything still burned but at the very least he wasn't sick any longer. That was two times now that the Healers had managed to fix him up so well and Rizdax felt as though his debt to the entire Weyr had only grown in size. It was his first free day since the Hatching where an old friend and a new friend had both Impressed and he was out cleaning like normal in order to make up for some of his debt. There was a broom over his bare shoulder and he was wandering down the hallway shirtless looking for some place to clean next as he thought of all the new changes that R'ose and Farensil had to be going through with their baby dragons.

It would be wrong of him to be jealous but on some level he was, it was only natural. He wanted to find his partner out there and deep down he knew that he would but he did have a small amount of jealousy that had been fading as each day passed. It was his first time standing and both of those two had been standing for turns and turns. It was so good to see them come into their own and all of the hatchlings had been just perfect. So many greens had come to High Reaches and his heart swelled a bit because the only one that mattered to him was with a friend.

The little hatchling that had run her head against his hand and given him the best introduction ever to what a Hatching could truly be.

houllow

 

[houllow]

....that is a walking radish. R'ose stopped at the sudden words in his head, his dragon already having paused and her head turned in the direction of a walking figure. The colors whirled in a curious manner, and Sahrawith started a slow creep in the figure's direction. I want to see it closer. One step turned to two, then three, and soon R'ose watched the tiny green start creeping like she was invisible. It was quite endearing.

"Go for it, but be careful. No jumping on anyone." The green gave a mental nod as she drew closer and closer, her already tiny frame almost shrinking against the ground. Sahrawith moved silently, minus the mental noises she was making that echoed in R'ose's mind, and the teen kept a small distance to allow his lifemate the chance to do whatever it was she was trying to do.

She was only a small distance away when she stopped, her head tilting to the side as she inspected the 'radish' that had popped into R'ose's thoughts when asked about friends to meet. This is not a radish, mine, this a boy from the sands. Your Sahrawith remembers him, and his heart. The dragonet moved from her crouching position into a sitting one, and she let out a loud croon to get the attention of the human-radish. You again! It is you! Her words weren't reaching the boy's mind, as Sahrawith honestly had no intention to speak to another outside of hers, but it never hurt to think out loud.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Still glancing around himself, the walls and floors, rags hanging from his back pocket and the broom spinning in circles on his shoulder lightly, Rizdax almost missed the arrival of the little green. It startled him a bit and the broom slipped and dropped towards the ground but he was able to snatch it before it made a clatter that might scare her off. Gold eyes wide as he stared at her, his heart slammed harshly against his ribs for some odd reason or another. Maybe it could have been that she was the first dragon he'd ever had reach out and touch him and she was the same color as the one that had saved him not so long ago, but a lifetime ago in his mind. That pale green of her skin was almost a match even to the nameless dragon with her nameless rider.

What was she doing here without her bonded, without R'ose?

"Hey there little green, you were the one I met at that Hatching, the one that bonded to R'ose. I'm glad you chose him, he's a good guy." Riz responded to her croon and he slowly knelt down to his knees on the ground so he was closer to her small level. He'd been in such a state of excitement at the hatching that he'd never really gotten a chance to look at her, because he'd been afraid that anything he did might send a hatchling between. Now she was here before him though and he was still a little afraid to do anything that might not be wanted or make her newly bonded rider furious. They were still getting used to their bond after all.

"I made something for your rider for either of you, but I haven't seen him yet to give it to him. Think you can do that for me?" Riz reached slowly into a pocket and drew out a necklace with soft green and bright blue glass beads on a soft leather thong. "It's based off of your colors and those bright blue eyes. I used to make these all the time before I... well, let's just say before. I don't know that he'll like it, but I wanted to give the two of you this anyway, because your rider was one of the first friends I made here."

Moving his hand forward slowly, Rizdax held it out for the little dragon to see without seeming dangerous in any way.

houllow

 

[houllow]

A happy whirl of blue-green moved into the dragonets eyes as she watched what the young man was doing, what he was offering. There was a part of Sahrawith that absolutely adored shiny things, not that she'd properly made it known yet - not even to Hers - so for this not!Radish to give her something that delighted her was nothing short of amazing. She sent a wave of appreciation towards him, or rather it hit R'ose, and before Sahrawith could open her mouth and take it a streak of blue darted past. The beaded item was gone from the not!Radish's hands when she dared open her eyes and look again, prompting a small bugle of worry.

Without proper thinking she smashed her face into his hand, perhaps thinking that if she did so whatever he had would magically reappear.

Oh no, oh no, it's not working. I just looked at you before and you had something, so why isn't it working now? Her eyes whirled in confusion, and the dragonet swung her had back in the direction she'd come running from. Mine!! The Radish had something, but it's gone!! Come here, come now!!

A few seconds had scarcely passed before R'ose was at the dragonet's side, and thus by proxy Rizdax, and he knelt down swiftly to place a hand on her to stop the headbutting motion. She might have been doing it out of concern, but each headbutt was successively getting harder and she ran the risk of hurting the candidate, not to even think of the injury she could cause to herself. "Sahrawith, calm down. I'm here, stop hitting him." The dragonet did stop for a moment before resting her head on his leg, and R'ose patted her snout softly before turning to look at Rizdax. "You okay?" The tone of his voice was so different than that which he'd used with others before; it was far more warm, far more affectionate.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Just the sight of those eyes whirling between colors made Rizdax smile even brighter, he knew that he'd picked the correct colors for this necklace when he saw that. She really was wonderful and his happiness that a friend had Impressed to her grew just like his smile. A feeling washed over him slowly and he was startled, having never received the touch of a dragon's feelings before, this small green was giving him every first he'd had with dragons and his heart hammered heavily against his chest.

But he hadn't missed the necklace disappearing and certainly hadn't missed the flash of blue that passed in front of him and snatched the necklace from his open palm. No matter how fast a fire lizard moved it's claws gave it away and had he not been right in front of a baby dragon he would have stood up grumpily and yelled at it. He didn't want to upset the small green though and he was extremely glad that he didn't when she slammed her head into his hand not once but over and over again. Keeping his feelings firmly to his chest despite the spiraling concern that filled him for her actions, Riz opened his mouth to try and say something to calm her, only to have R'ose appear from nowhere.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for her to get angry, I was trying to give her the necklace I made for you two but a blue fire lizard seemed to want it more. I.. I might have some more beads and string back in my trunk in the barracks." Rizdax stuttered a bit, not just because his favorite of all the new baby dragons had just tried to hurt herself on his hand, but because he heard something in R'ose's voice that confused him and made his heart flutter. "Is she okay? I'm really sorry. Probably was a foolish thing to do, but she's still the first dragon that I ever met face to face. So.. I wanted to do something special for you two, not get her hurt."

If a dragon got hurt because of him, not the least of which was his favorite dragon right now, Rizdax would melt into the stones beneath his feet with shame and sadness. He didn't even know her name and this had already happened! Sharding fire lizard, he'd have to find it when he was sure that he wouldn't upset R'ose's hatchling and get that necklace back. Maybe Phin could help, the little blue lizard enjoyed hanging around with wild fairs and ferreting away things of his own.

houllow

 

[houllow]

R'ose raised an eyebrow to Rizdax's statement and panicked offer to run back and get more beads. Sahrawith kept her head on his his leg, her eyes swirling several unhappy colors as she huffed unintelligible things through her mind. The rider scratched at one of her headknobs, continuing to do so until the grumpy colors started to shift back into her usual blue-green. Finally assuming she'd calmed down enough, R'ose popped the question. Sahrawith, what happened? Why were you headbutting him?

He had something in his hand before, but but now it's gone. I thought if I pressed his hand something would be there but it didn't work. And then you stopped me so now I'll never know if it would work. Sahrawith let out an audible huff, her warmth breath ruffling the material of the teen's pants. I'll blame you if I never get what it was he was offering. Her tail swayed back and forth as well in her visible sulk, and it took nothing short of inner strength to stop R'ose from laughing.

Looking from his dragon up to his friend, R'ose offered a relaxed smile. "She's not angry at all, despite how she was acting." He hoped his words would help Rizdax relax, as the teen looked like he was going to top off and explode from just how red he was. Certainly a walking radish, as Sahrawith had thought. "You had something in your hands, I guess, and when it vanished she thought slapping into you might make something new appear."

It made sense to me.

Hush, you're fine. Sahrawith got another rub on her knobs for her words, and she huffed again at R'ose's gentle dismissal. "She didn't hurt you though, did she? And don't worry about whatever it was, I happened to get it just fine." His words sounded cryptic, in as much as they always were for R'ose, and his relaxed smile turned into a sneaky grin. "Though look at you, trying to steal my girl with beautiful gifts."

Hattaki

small cackle

 

[Hattaki]

Just seeing the angry reds and oranges, yellows and some color he couldn’t ascertain as it swirled through there so fast, Rizdax felt his stomach drop and his eyebrows pulled together in concern for the little green. She was so new to be having those emotions, at least it appeared that despite it only having been a week since they’d been together, R’ose was well in control of her feelings or at least able to give his own level of calm to her. That alone made him breath a bit of a sigh and relax a bit, he didn’t want this pretty green to have any issues.

“I’m not worried about her headbutting me, that didn’t hurt as much as some of the things I’ve done in life.” Riz offered with a chuckle and a grin, shifting his shoulders so that he was facing R’ose and his deep scars on his shoulders didn’t show outright, “Really I was more worried about her reaction to that blue fire lizard stealing the necklace. Don’t worry little green girl, I’ll make you something else to show off those colors of yours.”

In the meantime… Riz shot a thought to his own watery blue fire lizard and the small thing appeared with a pop beside his head, gracefully landing on his shoulder in a way that earned the little lizard an audible grit of teeth as the redhead swallowed his yelp pain. Without reprimanding Phin, he sent him a question and received an instant image of the necklace, meaning that the lizard either had it and took it somewhere or had dropped it?

“Go get it back for me bud.” He said softly, steeling himself for the scratch of claws as Phin leapt off of his shoulders and disappeared instantly. “I wasn’t trying to steal her away from you, but I figured you’d like something to match her, I’ve been working on one for her too, to match, I just haven’t finished that one yet. I have an overabundance of green and blue beads since I was trying to find the right one. I don’t think it was all that great, but it was something I could do to congratulate you both, right?”

A sheepish look crossed his face and he scratched at the aggravated red skin on the back of his neck to try and hide it. Maybe he should have told R’ose that he was making the pair a matching set of necklaces long before this, but it was the first chance he had gotten to see his friend once more and certainly it wasn’t going the way that he’d planned it to go. Now he just had to rely on his flakey fire lizard to try and find a necklace that the thing had seen through the hive mind and he really had absolutely no trust in him coming back at all. It would have been a rare thing for Phin to actually be reliable for once.

houllow

 

[houllow]

"She's fine, really." R'ose repeated the words in a better effort to calm Rizdax down. Seriously, the dragonet with her head on his leg was sulking, not feeling much more, and whether that was from her base personality or his gentle nudges of affection the rider wasn't sure. Either way she wasn't focused on anger or fear or revenge, just the single-minded disappointment of not getting something she'd barely seen to start with. "And like I said, stop. I already have it, so you don't need to replace it or anything or whatever else you're stressing on." At his words there was a thin *popping* noise above the trio, and a blue flitter came from Between. It wasn't the one they'd just seen, the one who looked to Rizdax as partner, but rather the very beginning's blue streak.

The blue gave a thin hiss at Rizdax and flapped his wings before turning red eyes towards R'ose and Sahrawith. Instantly the eyes moved towards a mellow green before the firelizard dropped into a landing atop R'ose's mop of hair. The firelizard wasn't particularly large, likely less than a month in age, and so his small size allowed for a comfortable post. "See? Told you I already had it." The fact he didn't produce it from a pocket or such meant that, while it wasn't in his direct possession, the blue would eventually return it. Eventually. Hopefully.

Sahrawith, for her part, raised her head off of R'ose's legs now that the blue had returned and she calmer. R'ose's verbal affirmation to the Radish seemed to do the trick, as did his repeating mentally a few times, and her eyes were back to their calm blue-green. Tell the Radish it's okay because you say it's going to be okay. I trust in you Rosemine, and so must he.

Then tell him you're sorry for hitting him. Unlike you, he's not calm yet. R'ose gave her headknob an affectionate shake, prompting Sahrawith to shake her head as though the rub caused an itch. The green dragonet moved from her position over to where Rizdax was and placed an affectionate touch to his hands, almost as though she were offering an apology for her actions. She mentally said sorry as well, though only in a tone R'ose could hear. "She says she's sorry, but I guess not sorry enough to want to speak directly to you."

I don't really want to speak directly to anyone. Just you is fine, for now.

"Pfft." Her reply elicited a chuckle, and R'ose had to laugh and keep his head still, lest he disturb the blue firelzard that watched Rizdax like a sharp bird. "Anyway, enough about these early dramatics. I just wanted to bring her to meet you, not cause problems for everyone." There was a whirl in his mind from Sahrawith, wondering if she was a problem, but that was quickly shut down. "Meet Sahrawith. Sahrawith, this is..." How to introduce him? Friend? Dear friend? Person who still had his jacket (that he really wanted back)? "Rizdax."

I thought his name was Radish. Sahrawith blinked, and decided that those thoughts were the ones that deserved to be shared for the whole party. Her voice was crisp like mint, soft as always in his ears. If one could focus on the sounds, the flavor, their mouth would feel cooler as well.

Hattaki

HE SAID HIS NAME PROPERLY DUN DUN DUUUUN

 

[Hattaki]

Where Riz had been literally moments from telling the taller rider that he wasn’t overly stressed out about the entire situation because his fire lizard had the hive mind connection and could likely find the errant necklace, a pop announced the arrival of a different blue. Unfazed by the hiss that it threw in his direction, all he could do was roll his eyes and rather than keep Phin on a wild wherry chase he sent him an image of the jacket that he’d been meaning to return anyway. A blurry image popped into his head and though he knew that it meant the lizard would return he couldn’t quite grasp what it was supposed to be before the image was gone. It seemed they never lasted for long, but they had been getting a bit clearer and lasting a bit longer as his little blue got older, so he couldn’t really complain that it was an issue.

“Well, at least it seems the little rogue is yours, so you might get it back if he’s more reliable than mine is.” Riz said with a laugh, a grin stretching over his face that crinkled the edges of his eyes a bit. “Phin has a brain like a bubbly pie sometimes, though it could be that his brain is on bubbly pies too… really hard to tell with that little flake.”

Putting the entire debacle from his mind for the time being, Rizdax let the small green touch one of his hands, not moving even though he wanted nothing more than to reach out and scratch the spot above her eyeridge. As far as he was concerned she was still the same as a hatchling and he needed to control his emotions around her and make very few motions as she could perceive any of them as a threat especially in light of what had just happened, his training having sunk in months ago in that regard. It was still lovely that she even felt the need to touch him for a second time as she had during the hatching, it was enough of an apology that he would never even need to hear her voice as it seemed she wasn’t happy to share it. Some dragons, he’d been taught, were simply like that and he would never press this most beautiful of greens to be anything other than the sweetie that she was.

“Oh don’t worry about that, or about having to apologize. I don’t expect dragons to ever talk to me, it would probably be weird if I ever did hear one, can’t even imagine it.” Rizdax pondered what it could even be like, the hatchlings on the sands had apparently been talking to quite a few of the Candidates but Riz had only heard others speaking of the command the bronze dragon had issued in order to find it’s rider and that hadn’t at all been a dragon’s voice. Someday he might hear one of his own, if he ever found his own, and to him that was enough since he wasn’t special to any other dragon in any other way and wouldn’t expect to be. “But it is really nice to meet you again Sahrawith, especially since this time I learned your name. I’m really glad you chose this guy, he’d been waiting a long time for you.”

Slowly he rolled on the balls of his feet until he was standing once more and he stretched out his shoulders despite the sting of pulled sunburn. In reality it was a move meant to mask the fact that his name had, for the very first time in the history of knowing him, come out of R’ose’s mouth correctly and without being twisted in any way. He wasn’t going to point it out or dwell on it, but it certainly made for an odd moment as he tried to remember what it was like to hear his own name in the company of this particular teen. It was then that a voice threaded its way into him, not heard with his ears but with his entire being, one that left an odd taste in his mouth and forced his eyes to widen.

A Radish?

With a terrific pop, Phin erupted into being in the air above R’ose’s head and unceremoniously dropped his jacket on top of the teen with a triumphant chirp. It would appear that he was quite proud of himself, but Rizdax’s face only shown in amused horror as his green filled his mind with happy thoughts and images in an attempt to have him tell the blue that he was proud. It was all he could do to not burst out laughing.

houllow

 

[houllow]

The sudden jacket on his head caused R'ose to start, which in turn brought the unwelcome emotions to that of a blue firelizard and a very unhappy green dragonet. Sahrawith's eyes whirled yellow at the brief shock, and she let out a very undignified bellow at the blue that floated near the Radish. She was not kind in her thoughts, sending a massive wave of go away in the direction that was certain to hit both firelizard and poor candidate. It was a strong rush, one that even took R'ose faintly aback as he peeled the jacket from atop his head. The pair had been together for a scant sevenday, and he'd never really encountered all of her moods. Sahrawith had always been pretty upbeat and happy, even when her rider was feeling flustered and a little more than moody.

"Calm down." R'ose tossed his coat anyway, allowed the blue atop his head out of the darkness and into the sky. "The both of you, really. It wasn't that bad, you're overreacting." The firelizard hissed at Rizdax before popping between, and Sahrawith thought about bellowing again before pressing her face into R'ose's side. A glance was sent in the direction of the Radish, one that saw the yellow turn back into the pretty blue-green. "I am not even remotely sure how I'm going to be able to handle these mood swings. I can barely handle my own, you little brat." The green got another gentle shake of her headknobs, one that would have likely equated to the fluffing of a human's hair and not actual shaking or violence.

....... Sahrawith gave no indication that she wanted to apologize for the outburst, knowing she'd probably have been better off doing so.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Mortified that his fire lizard had managed to do the exact thing that could ruin any sort of mood or friendship, Riz reached out to grab him from above R'ose's head but missed. Normally he'd have been able to catch him, it wasn't like Phin was super fast or even attempted to escape very often, but it was the sudden feeling that swelled through his whole being. Up through his stomach into his ribcage and then wrapping around his heart came a feeling of dismissal, one he'd felt before but not to this degree. Not intentionally forced into him from a dragon that he felt nothing but kindness for.

The only one that'd made him feel this level of dismissal before was own father and he hadn't seen that man since the day he'd attacked him with a knife.

A hiss from R'ose's fire lizard brought him back from his brief moment of inner reflection and he pulled away, staggering backwards with widened eyes. Phin took that moment to creel as if in pain and the little blue popped Between abruptly, images and feelings of fear flashing through him. None of which helped with the sucking feeling that was in his chest. It was not what he needed in light of his most recent failure and the current date that was creeping up on him, filling him with small amounts of pain the closer it crept forward.

"S-sorry about that." Riz stammered, his cheeks flushing an even deeper red than the sunburn already was, it felt as though his cheeks were glowing from the heat that both together created, "I didn't mean... he's kind of. I should go and get him."

Phin was the only family that he had anymore and the little blue was upset, it was his own fault of course but he couldn't stand for the lizard to be upset and in any sort of mood. He was always happy and that was what Rizdax had come to accept and get used to, what he needed on some lonely days. Giving him a clear thought that formed a question of where he was, Riz was rewarded with a series of images that popped into his head and he turned on his heel to leave, still feeling miserable that he'd upset the only dragon that had reached out to him.

houllow

 

[houllow]

Of for the love of Faranth - was he going to have to ??? Ugh, sharding shells and all other curses. R'ose didn't want any part of this - the stubbornness that came with the green who refused to speak properly when she'd done wrong, and the candidate who was turning to leave because he was wearing his heart on his sleeves. Wasn't R'ose supposed to be the one who was emotionally unstable, having been more or less linked into a bundle of brand new sensation at every corner? Granted he was pretty decent at handling his own emotions thanks to a wonderful lifetime of denial and all the practice that came with it, so Sahrawith's little blips weren't too overwhelming.

Rizdax's reaction, however, was. R'ose debated calling him a King Harper but stopped before he let it slip. The boy was clearly on edge about something - maybe still feversick from the sun - and Sahrawith had just been the icing on the sweet bread. Shardin' flippin - His cursing thoughts continued he quickly got to his feet, slightly shifting Sahrawith away and forcing her to stand properly instead of using him for support. Any small snort of protest she might have had stopped as R'ose grabbed hold of the departing Radish, a strong hand clamping about a swinging wrist.

"Shardin - wait - a second." Rizdax was whirled around, in as much as R'ose could turn him without hurting the teen, and two hands were placed against a very red face - emotion or heat burn - it didn't matter. R'ose had Rizdax in his grip and he wasn't letting go. "I told you to calm down, I thought you were good at listening." Softly, closely, the taller teen closed his eyes and allowed his forehead to rest against that of his companion. "Listen to me. She's not mad at you, she's never been mad at you. I want you to stay here, and so does Sahrawith."

As if almost one cue, or following the lead of her rider (and his faint emotionally nudges), the small green had managed her way over towards the pair of humans. She didn't quite understand R'ose's fascination with the Radish outside of knowing that her bellow had been misplaced, but she wasn't wrong to be upset. The little green had been communicating with her rider all the while, mostly through little snippets and feelings as the teen tried to stop his best friend from leaving. Her anger at the firelizard for the surprise had not been wrong, but her manner of dealing with it had. That much she understood, as now the reason why R'ose had asked her to apologize.

Radish, don't go. Her voice spoke into his mind again, that of Rizdax. The same soft feel, the same cool and crisp scent left behind. Gently and lovingly encouraged by hers to continue, only if she really wanted, Sahrawith moved and let her tail softly snake about the shorter boy's leg. It wasn't uncomfortable to touch him, since hers was doing it without hesitation, but the talking was still a bit....

You did enough, it's okay. Actions are often louder than words, Sahrawith. I think he'll understand, since he's pretty fond of you.

And what are you to him? Her question was innocent, but R'ose mentally cleared his throat to move her on. The green wasn't satisfied with being brushed off, however, and asked another. Do you think he likes me more? This time his answer left Sahrawth snickering loudly, her feelings of mirth and love echoing about onto her rider and his friend.

Hattaki

some happy love for you

 

[Hattaki]

He'd been in the process of leaving, he really had, Rizdax could be pretty fast when he wanted to even but today wasn't the day that he could escape quickly apparently. A strong hand wrapped itself around one of his wrists and without any warning he was spun about to face R'ose once more, his eyebrows raising towards his ruffled hair and an expression of shock spreading over his face. What was...

Hands on both sides of his face startled him even further and his heart leapt up into his throat at the contact, closing both of his eyes when R'ose pressed his forehead against his own as if he were flinching. Unable to stop his heart from pounding so loudly in his chest and throat he reached out and hugged the taller teen the same way Sahrawith's tail was hugging his leg, hoping that a hug would hide the look of confusion and muddled feelings that his face was betraying in that moment. The newly minted rider and his dragon couldn't feel those, shouldn't see them or know that he was feeling them, though he knew full well that his heartbeat was likely hammering a pattern on R'ose's ribs too. Having had very little good contact in his life from anyone other than his siblings always gave him an excuse, but this wasn't the case currently. Or at least only slightly the case.

"Okay, I just was taught that dragons shouldn't be exposed to strong emotions so early." His voice came out only a little shaky given the situation he found himself in, but both of his arms tightened up on R'ose's sides gently so he couldn't pull away and see his expression just yet for that very reason. "If you don't want me to go I'll stay, Phin should be okay for a little bit. I'm sorry, this season is just... bad in general."

A minty taste spread through his mouth once more and he swallowed roughly at the lump in his throat, turning his head just slightly so he could look down with one gold eye at the little green dragon with her tail around his ankle. "I'm sorry Sahrawith, I promise to make that little rascally blue behave better if there's a next time we meet." Just the movement of his head snared his bright red locks up with R'ose's brown and he instantly regretted his tangle-prone hair for not the first time that day. "Um..." Laughter echoed through his head with the same mint flavor and filled him with love for some reason, sending a shiver through him as his only reaction.

He hadn't felt love of any kind in a turn, it made his heart swell a bit as it's beat slowed a bit.

houllow

 

[houllow]

There was a feeling of relief that washed through both dragonet and rider as Rizdax seemed to relax. Both had been holding their breath, in a manner of speaking - R'ose because he didn't want his friend to go and Sahrawith because she didn't want to be the cause of someone's sadness. The hug about his torso was welcomed in that R'ose didn't flinch away, and he kept his hands on his friend's face the same way that Sahrawith kept her tail wrapped. Neither were going anywhere, and it looked like the Radish had agreed to do the same.

"The strong emotions you need to worry about hurting Sahrawith are mine, and last I checked I'm a pretty calm and collected individual. As if I'd allow myself to get worked up over something and have my lifemate suffer for it." R'ose was too skilled at denial, too skilled at refusing to accept something to allow his emotions to be swayed. He had to stay calm and collected, but no longer just for his own sake. Just like his words he'd spoken, he knew everything had to be for Sahrawith. R'ose couldn't be selfish anymore. "And of course I - we - want you to stay. Sahrawith's got a bit of a fancy for you."

At the mention of her name, Sahrawith beamed and squeezed tight her tail. I do like this one. Her words echoed in R'ose's head, who gave her a soft nudge to say it to her intended target. There was no scolding, but she'd need to learn to talk to people to fix her mistakes. This was...something R'ose needed to work on too, but this wasn't about him and so he brushed it off. I do like you too. I remember you, on the Sands. From my memories and from Mine, I remember you. The way she spoke was soft, affectionate, and R'ose's grasp loosened a bit as he debated reaching down to rub her. There was a kindness and love here that was distracting.

The mention of the season sent R'ose's mind into thought, and he tried to connect the date and month with anything he might have known about Rixdax. There was a long pause, followed by a small pain in his heart as the dots connected. He was looking at the proof of it, the beautiful lines on burned flesh. "Telgar."

Hattaki