[PRP] Blue's Got the Blues [G'ar/Salva]

[ShinosBee]

Marasemeth usually could bear G'ar's overbearing nature with unending patience and good grace. He knew his rider better than anyone else, and knew exactly why he behaved the way he did. It was part of why he loved him, and part of what had made him the blue's perfect choice. But now and then the blue started to feel a little stifled, a little down about the restrictions put on him by his rider. Being reminded to stay close, that G'ar'd rather he stay put on their ledge, that this gold was due to ride or that bronze was having a cranky day and that he really ought to stay grounded...It drove him around the proverbial bend sometimes.

Can't we go for a fly around a bit, G'ar? I think some of the nice greens planned to go swimming and I would like to—

I told you, Mara, I need to finish this report, and...and I don't really want you to go without me.

G'ar for his part did feel a bit bad to not let his dragon join in whatever antics were going on, but any time the blue was out of sight or easy distance he felt his heart start to race, and more than once had had what he'd almost call some sort of anxiety attack. The blue, thinking along more or less the same lines, sighed and reclined along the edge of the ledge, watching wistfully as another blue went swooping by.

Could I ask if someone wants to join us then? I'm bored, G'ar-mine!

Alright, alright, of course Mara, you know I don't want to isolate you...

Of course G'ar, I do understand. I just...Altoth. Altoth, are you busy? Would you and yours like to join us?

The blue traced the other dragon through the air with his whirling eyes, hoping they'd deign to join him and his.

DruidTigeress

Sorry for the delay! Blue buddies, yes?

 

[DruidTigeress]

ShinosBee

No worries! Yeah, this is great!

Sunny and Altoth were on their way back to their weyr after bathing in the lake, when the blue suddenly banked and turned away, making another sweeping pass of the Bowl. Salva fell forward and put her arms around his long neck with a laugh, enjoying the rushing of the wind against her face and the jolt of surprise as they turned sharply. She wasn't sure what the big lug was up to, if he had a reason or if he just felt like flying one more time around the Bowl, but she was always happy to be along for the ride.

Are we busy Salva? he asked, as his wing beats fell into a steadier rhythm, slowing them down after the quick maneuver. In fact, she did have some work to finish back in their weyr, but it seemed like Altoth was going somewhere with this, and she wouldn't want to stymie him, so she just asked:
Busy? Why?
Marasemeth would like some company.
"Well, of course, we're never too busy for friends!" she said. She could always do her reports this evening after all.

The blue rumbled pleasantly in approval, his mind brushing against hers with a feeling of 'that's what I thought too'. Turning again, though a little gentler this time, Altoth made his way back towards Marasemeth and his rider's weyr.

Be there shortly! he replied, just a few moments before he touched down gently onto the other dragon's ledge. Greetings Marasemeth. How are you today? the blue asked brightly while his rider deftly rolled off his neck.

Salva hit the ground lightly, jumping to give her dragon a quick hug around the neck before she went off to bother her fellow bluerider. "G'ar, my lovely darling! What're you up to?" she called sing-songishly into his weyr, going over to him with a mind to lean her arm against his shoulder and peer at what he was doing (if he didn't stop her).
 

[ShinosBee]

Marasemeth all but lit up when Altoth took him up on his request, eagerly shifting to give up room on the ledge's (in his opinion) better, sunnier side for his guest. His head reached up towards Altoth's eyes whirling a blue so dark that they nearly were invisible against his hide. If a blue could ever glow like a gold, this one would be, so radiant was his delight at having company.

Altoth! Thank you for coming! How was the sky? You always soar quite prettily, and it looked so terribly fun. Tell me all about it please! Also, I'm very fine. Not perfect, perhaps, but happy enough now that he had something to do. He really never could or would blame G'ar for being who he was...The blue shook the thought off and gave his guest his full attention, eyes whirling rapidly with interest.

G'ar half-cocked his head at the sound of someone alighting on his weyr's ledge. Who'd Marasemeth summoned to join them tonight? It was always a bit of fun to see who'd...oh! He couldn't stop the smile as Salva's sing-song voice reached him, a beat before the woman herself. He wobbled a bit under her sudden weight on him, but kept right on writing, sparing only a quick side glance at his fellow bluerider, and a peek of pearly white teeth. "Reports. It's actually interesting stuff if you ask me but...well, Marasemeth isn't terribly interested. Thank you and Altoth for humoring him for me."

DruidTigeress

 

[DruidTigeress]

ShinosBee

"Mmmm.. I have some of those to finish myself." Salva replied after waving off his thanks with a friendly shake of her head. "Mine aren't particularly interesting though. More like depressing, really... Damage reports and the like." she explained. "There's still so many places that haven't recovered from the first wave. It's so sad to think of.." she sighed. But, perking up quickly (she was never one to dwell on things too long), she gently nudged G'ar on the shoulder with her elbow.

"So how's the Furies treating you? If you ever feel like joining a real fighting wing, I can put in a good word for your transfer." she teased, stoking the old playful rivalry between their wings.

Pinching a sheet of paper from the bottom of his stack, she turned a half circle away from him and leaned against his desk. "Anything I can do to help?" she asked, concerned mostly with getting this all done, so she could maybe try to coax the rider and dragon out of their weyr for a candlemark or two.

It is nothing you couldn't do Marasameth, I'm sure. Altoth was saying, meanwhile. It is lovely out today, though. Not too hot, and some excellent winds.. It was nice of you to invite us. Your weyr catches the light quite nicely here. he added, not having missed that Marasemeth had shifted to offer him the sunnier side of the ledge. He tried to think of what else to say that might be interesting to his fellow dragon.

It is fun. I especially enjoy flying with Salva. We were doing surveys all this last seven day and that was tremendously good fun. said Altoth, whose mind Salva had carefully kept distracted from what it was they were actually surveying. Doing a little trick flying for the Holds around there was part of that.
 

[ShinosBee]

He hummed at the thought of doing such reports. "Mine are all Starsmithing work, and, well...when you know what you're looking at it's interesting." He sounded almost like he was trying to convince her. Indeed the records looked like little more than incomprehensible lists and charts of numbers. "Barely important in the face of work like yours, for the moment, but I didn't want to wait." People needed shelter and food now, but they'd need it even more if they went without warning of weather or thread. Every cog turning the wheel together, or something like that; they were all important and at their best when working together, even though records of cloud patterns for a specific area for the last two hundred turns sounded rather irrelevant in the face of starving refugees.

He laughed sharply at her playful jab, shaking his head just so and sending long sleek hair flying. "The Furies are just fine with me, Salva. Just because you lot enjoy all your spinning and ducking and getting entirely too close to thread just to look cool while you singe it...no, no Marasemeth and I are just fine where we are." The cool rebuttal was half teasing jab back, and half genuine desire to remain in one of the more...sedate wings. Marasemeth couldn't not fight, but G'ar would be damned to between if he let the blue take more of a risk than he had to.

"Not unless you're terribly keen to learn how to chart future potential storm paths and cloud formations. I'm almost done though," He promised reassuringly, reaching out a slim, manicured hand to snatch back the page. He really did only have a bit left to go, though he'd had utterly no plan to exit the weyr once he was done. Note yet at least.

Thank you, thank you. G'ar chose the weyr, and he chose it well I think. I can see so much here, and it's...almost like being out there. Oh! Oh you got to fly survey? Oh do tell me about it Altoth, please? The dark blue's head swayed, nearly nuzzling against his lighter visitor. Not quite begging, not quite pleading, but clearly beyond interested. Across the room, G'ar's eyes shut for just a moment, nostrils flickering with a small sigh. Which direction did you go? For days at a time? I can't imagine being out of the weyr so very long...

DruidTigeress

 

[DruidTigeress]

It is an excellent choice. You can see the whole Weyr quite beautifully from here. You must have an excellent view. Altoth agreed, with a warm rumble of approval. Then, in answer to his question, went on, We set out South along the water. We could have betweened back to the Weyr if it was necessary, of course, but it was quicker to remain out there. And Salva says it's good to get to know the places we are visiting. Salva is very good at that kind of thing. he praised her unabashedly. She would sing for people sometimes and we would put on a show.

Though dragons were never known for their astute memories, Altoth was perhaps even worse than normal, and he had already forgotten much of the precise details of the trip. But although the holds might blur together and he may not be able to recall their specific names, what he did remember were the experiences. Children petting his pale blue hide as they laughed. People applauding when they turned a wide cartwheel in the sky. Salva falling asleep on his back as they slept together under the stars. With as much clarity as he could muster, Altoth sent these images to Marasmeth, hoping his friend could enjoy the experiences vicariously.

"Not at all! This sounds immensely important." she said, looking back at the blocks of figures with a newfound appreciation. "They say prevention is the best cure!" And if weather charts could help prevent people from being caught out in the fall, then all the better for everyone. She smiled at his next comment, leaning an arm against his shoulder again with a sly grin. "Ohh, so you think we look cool, huh?" she said, extracting entirely the wrong point from what he was saying. "But it's not like it's just show off, you know. We're the ones who have to pick up the thread you guys are too chilled out to bother with." she teased. Though she was, of course, only playing.

Sunny looked back at the paper on her hand and sighed. "Well, I wouldn't mind learning but I don't think that would save us much time today." she laughed, sliding the sheet of parchment back where it was on his pile, resigned to the fact that she would not be able to help clear his backlog. Salva sighed heavily, draping her arms over his shoulders as her upper body went limp. "G'ar, Marasemeth is bored." she whined, sounding more like she was the one that was. "And in case you hadn't noticed it's a beautiful day outside! What can I do to make this go faster so me and Altoth can take the two of you swimming?"  

[ShinosBee]

The darker blue could nearly leap between himself to the places in the images Altoth presented, he found them so vivid and exciting. If a large (and admittedly reclining) dragon could do the particular wriggling motion some canines did at the sight of their master returning home, Marasemeth would have been doing it. Oh it's simply wonderful, isn't it? So many people! And new smells and sounds and... They were at beat second-hand impressions of fragments of memories already fading away, but Mara tore into them with a furvor, savori g each like the first bite of an excellent meal. His memory too was a fleeting thing, but he'd savor the memory of this while he had it.

"It's not ao difficult to learn," G'ar assured Salva. "Just take you maybe a decade to catch up to me, yes?" His own jab was twinned with a brief, somewhat uncertain smile. He didn't often jome around with people, lacking the confidence to do it well, but Sunny was always the sort to almost be asking for it with her very presence. He didn't stop working to shrug on an apparently indifferent face at her claims of laxness in the sky either--just kept right on charting and calculating and writing away. "Perhaps if all your looping about wasn't so distracting. You know the other wings have a pool on how long until two of you end up tangled together or losing a game of chicken with the ground." Of course they didn't, but now that he thought of it... "I think you look very cool, yes Salva," he deadpanned.

At the sudden wrap of arms around his shoulders and the feeling of a body pressing in part to his back, his whole form went rigid, and lurched with an aborted move almost to pull away. Dimly part of his brain that wasn't suddenly racing worried he'd hurt her feelings reacting like that. People were simply so much more...touchy, and ...social than he felt he could be sometimes. The rest of him took a moment to swallow, catch a steadying breath, and finish the line he was writing before setting the pen down, reaching up, placing his hands over hers where they hung in front of his chest, and gently began to peel her off of himself.

"It's lovely out, yes...but we'll have to say no thank you. It's nearly sundown, and it gets chilly at night." He could already imagine Marasemeth growing cold in the night from the water, getting sick, skin turning gray, and eyes, before...He shuddered faintly and shook his head. "Perhaps some other time...?"

((This is becoming really interedting to me. He might end up freaking out a little. Guy has some biiig issues to work on. :/ ))  

[DruidTigeress]

Altoth trilled joyfully at the excitement Marasemeth seemed to get from the memory of his adventures. He himself thought back on them more fondly now, his feelings echoed and amplified through the other blue. Oh, it was good to see his friend again! They should do this more often... Yes, it was a wonderful change of pace. But it is good to be back at the Weyr too. We missed everyone when we were gone. The Weyr, ultimately, was where they belonged. And what about you, Marasemeth? How have you and yours been doing?

"I'll have to see if I can spare the time." she laughed. Though she might seriously consider learning. She always liked new challenges and new skills! Though she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't drop it again after a month, if it didn't hold her interest. Once again ignoring the insults and going straight for the compliments (whether they were sarcastic or not) Salva winked an eye at him, clicking her tongue playfully. "Thanks, babe. Nice to know you can't keep your eyes off of me. Me and Altoth will try to be less dazzling next time. I'd hate for you to get distracted." she teased back, never one not to take as much as she could give.

"Hm?" Sunny looked down when she felt G'ar's hands on hers, barely aware that she had been leaning on him up till that point. "Oh." She stood, withdrawing her arms from around his shoulders. Despite the apparent affection of the gesture, she tended to get like this around, well, pretty much anyone, really.. friends, family, casual acquaintances. She'd been that way since she was young, always moving in close to people when they were talking, casually breaking the touch barrier on a first or second meeting. Most of her friends in the Weyr were fine with it, either growing up with her since childhood, or just generally more casual about that kind of thing. But she knew not everyone liked it.

She sighed heavily, backing off a little. Great, now he's all antsy again.. she thought, resting her hands on her hips instead. She looked over at the dragons sitting out on the ledge, having what seemed to be a rousing conversation. Her feelings for Altoth were always overwhelming. Even after all these turns, just looking at him was enough to make her feel like she might scream or cry, that's how much she loved him. It wasn't hard to see how it might drive someone to anxiety also. "I get it, you know." she said, her tone losing all levity and facetiousness. "I never want to be apart from Altoth either... The difference is, I actually get out sometimes." They too were what people sometimes described as 'unusually close', even for a dragon-rider pair. So she couldn't fault him for that. But living with this kind of stress couldn't be good for either of them.  

[ShinosBee]

The blue was all but trilling at Altoth now, just pleased as punch...not that he knew what punch was. We have been well! My G'ar is so busy, but his work is important. He can tell, somehow, when the rain is coming and when the sun will shine. I think he is working on telling when thread is coming too. that was a sobering thought, and it momentarily brought low the blue's mood, but not for long. But that will help us be ready! If we know exactly when it'll come, we won't grow tired flying too early, or stop too soon and be scored by a last burst of it! The blue's words were a clear echo of something his rider must have said before, and often enough that it'd stuck in the dragon's slipshod memory.

Thankfully Sunny didn't seem offended by his literal cold shoulder, and though his response was sharp and discordant enough to make Marasemeth look sharply in his direction, it was not enough to make the blue deviate from his conversation.

"...There's just...a lot. Out. Outside. Out there, I mean," G'ar's voice came at last, small and almost child-like in the timid fear it'd been laced with. The quill in his hand had stilled, and though a bead of ink welled up, in danger of dripping onto the otherwise spotless page, but even as distracted and overwhelmed as he was feeling he would not allow himself to sully what work he'd managed. He blotted the tip of the quill against a small square of cloth he'd laid near by for exactly that purpose, before setting it back into the dish the inkstone sat in with a sigh.

"So much could happen, Sunny. I can see it all. Even here, you know. Even in the weyr, our weyr, I see a hundred ways I could lose him." He sounded so tired, so terrified, so sad. Firm mental barriers kept his worries apart from the blue—G'ar would rather die than bring any sorrow or worry to the dragon's heart.  

[DruidTigeress]

That sounds thrilling! Altoth trilled happily. Anything that helps fight thread is a good thing indeed. he purred, with a note of pride for Marasemeth's rider and the work he'd described, but also thinking of his own rider. While fun, everything they'd done while on the road was to that end. Even if it wasn't the same as predicting when thread would come, they could still hopefully gain some insights from looking at the past patterns of damage. What patches of thread they missed, and why... That was above his pay-grade, though. As far as Altoth was concerned. They made their observations, that was enough for him. Though with the two of them, it was his rider that always wanted to do more.

Sunny sighed heavily from across the weyr. Titlting her head back, she looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. She wanted to say this as gently as she could.. The last thing she wanted was to upset him any further. "D'ya think.. maybe.. you should talk to someone about these feelings?" she asked, delicately. "I mean, like.. a healer someone." Because the truth was, even though she'd do anything she could to help out a friend, in these kinds of situations, she really wasn't confident about what was 'helping' and what was hurting.

"I'm not saying it's wrong to worry." she added quickly. "It's just.. All this stress can't be good- for you or Marasemeth! You can't spend your whole life locked inside this weyr, G'ar..."
 

[ShinosBee]

Marasemeth would be glowing in pride if he was a gold, and he glanced briefly back into the weyr at G'ar and Sunny. His favorite person...The blue gave a gentle almost chuckle-like sound before turning back to Altoth. Thread is terrible. I want to burn it all away. I think if it were gone for good, then G'ar would be happier. The blue bobbed his head sagely. He knew on some level the stress that his rider lived with day after day, though he was shielded from most of it. Of course the dragon wanted nothing more than happiness for his bonded, and knew he felt the same. Though it WAS gone...I mean gone forever. Gone for good. All burned up. The blue's tail lashed, momentarily agitated.

G'ar almost instantly dismissed the idea Sunny proposed, anxiety twisting to panic at the need to shed attention from the issue. He didn't have a problem. It was entirely normal to worry about the most important person in his life. He didn't take it to the extreme that Marasemeth suffered, or that either of them couldn't do their jobs. There was nothing wrong with the way they were living their lives, and his first instinct was to rebuff her apparent attempt at giving friendly advice. Still, reacting firmly, almost intensely aggressively would only make her feel more concerned he was sure. He didn't need her talking to someone on his behalf.

"They're just feelings, honestly Sunny," He forced his voice to grow bolder, stronger, to shed the quaver of fear it'd held before. "And the healers have plenty more important things to handle, people much worse off than me right now. So I'm a bit particular about where Marasemeth goes and when. Thread's only just returned—we can predict it, but not perfectly, not yet, with the pass still increasing." He forced a smile, hoping to disarm her somewhat. "And I suppose, if that would make you feel better, perhaps tomorrow you and I can take those two to the coast. Give Marasemeth that swim they were talking about before."  

[DruidTigeress]

So we thought.. Altoth agreed soberly, the blue whir of his eyes slowing somewhat, though they remained the same color. After a moment they picked up again, spinning pleasantly as he leaned his nose towards the other blue, hoping to calm his agitation. But I'm not worried. Thread is awful, but our Weyr is strong. We have our wingmates to guard us. We have Yours to tell us when it's coming. And we have Salva too. I have faith. Things will be fine. This is what dragons were made for, after all.

Sunny exhaled heavily, ruffling her short blonde curls with one hand. She was no mindhealer. And honestly, this went way beyond her ability to assess. She couldn't say if there was really something wrong or not. All she knew was that it didn't feel right to her. She lifted her shoulders in a long inhale then let them drop. Ultimately, she thought G'ar should get some help, but she wasn't going to fret and fuss and wring her hands of he didn't do it. In the end, it was his choice.

"I'm sure that would make Altoth happy." she said diplomatically. As for her, she wasn't so convinced, but she wasn't willing to fight over it. She lifted her arms, hoping she could bring the conversation to some kind of compromise. "If you only leave your weyr for drills and threadfall, it's no wonder you think the world is awful." She leaned her elbows on the back of his chair, putting her head in her hands as she let the conversation turn back to more pleasant topics. "There's some amazing things out there too, you know. You ought to see the sunrise over the mountains. Or walk through an orchard in the middle of spring. It's breathtaking. There's colors so beautiful it makes you want to cry. Those are the things worth living for! Not cold weyrs and calculations."

She straightened up, shrugging her shoulders lightly, the bright smile back on her face. "All I ask is that you give the world a chance. Maybe it'll surprise you."

"Isn't that right, Allie?" she said, wandering towards the ledge with the two blues.
That's right! he agreed enthusiastically, despite having not heard a thing she said. He lowered his head and Sunny wrapped her arms around his nose.
"G'ar invited us to go to the coast tomorrow. What do you think?" she asked, 'creatively' interpreting his words again.
Sounds fun! Altoth agreed easily. Will Marasemeth be there?
 

[ShinosBee]

There were times G'ar almost hated Sunny. How dare she remind him of everything in the world he (and worse, Marasemeth) were missing out on, saying such lovely things and painting such images with her words. His face remained placid, though he raged and ached inside at the thought. In the end, he would simply have to relent. A sigh. This did happen from time to time. Marasemeth would be delighted, he was sure. Well. He'd be a nervous wreck over the next handful of months, but it was what had to be done.

"It does sound lovely..." His fingers laced, as his face shifted to one of deep consideration. "Maybe...hmm." He seemed to come to some determination, and he pushed up from his desk, suddenly but without knocking anything about on the top of it, somehow. "...Do you think...would you and Altoth be willing to go with us? I...I'd rather stay here, but at least with two of us...maybe?" It would assuage her to actually go out a bit more, and then she wouldn't worry. Having two along genuinely would make him feel better about it too. A full wing would be best, but...that was not quite realistic.

A small, somewhat sad, almost vulnerable smile quirked the corner of his lips as he followed her towards the ledge. Marasemeth turned to regard him, eyes twirling bright happy blue-green. "You always were a stubborn one, Sunny...if it'll make you worry less...the beach, then. Tomorrow." He reached up to pat the blue's dipping nose, and Mara fluttered his wings slightly, realizing adventure was to be had soon. "Maybe...maybe the next rest day...that orchard's not still in bloom, is it...?"  

[DruidTigeress]

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." she promised with a warm smile. Maybe she could even convince a few others to come along. It shouldn't be hard, she had a small contingent of riders she often dallied with. As long as they were the right kind of company. Fun was fun, but G'ar was her special friend (picked out for her by Altoth, granted) and she wouldn't have anyone along who might rile him.

She grinned as G'ar came to join them on the ledge, feigning indignation at his words. "Whaatt?" she exclaimed, mock-insulted, turning towards her dragon. "Altoth, am I stubborn?"
Like a draybeast. he replied, as lovingly as if he were giving her a compliment.
She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Like a draybeast, he says," she said, clicking her tongue. Well, she supposed he had her there.

She leaned against his side languidly. Altoth, at least, had never minded her overly-touchy nature. She lfited her shoulders. "If they're not, we'll find another place that's just as lovely. There's so many colors in the world, G'ar. It makes me wonder why dragons only come in five." she joked with a laugh.

She looked back at Altoth, a wide but bittersweet smile taking over her face as she ran both hands along his eye-ridges down to cradle his face between them. "I know I'll probably die young, G'ar." she said, quieter than before, though the tone of her voice and the smile on her face had not changed. For his part, Altoth didn't seemed disturbed at all by the sudden shift in tone. She laughed softly and pressed her forehead against Altoth's, nuzzling her nose into his. "We're not careful like you are." More than a dragonrider, whose odds were already less than stellar in the midst of an uncertain pass, she was a reckless dragonrider. The kind to take big risks when it mattered most. No amount of training or caution could ever change that. It was just in their nature, hers and Altoth's both.

"But that's all the more reason to make sure we get our fair share of happiness before the end!"
 

[ShinosBee]

The change in tone ruffled G'ar somewhat, the ever-present spectre of doubt and fear looming a bit larger before he could wrap it tightly once more, and stuff it down deeper in the recesses of his walled up heart. "Don't say such things, Sunny." His voice wobbled between chiding peer and frightened youngster for a moment, then steadied. "What will I do if your words come true?" Marasemeth's nose dipped to nuzzle at the man's chest, and he wrapped his arms around the blue's neck. "Who'll keep Marasemeth and I company, and kick us out of the weyr from time to time?"

For a bright, brief instant he held the image in his mind's eye of them both aloft, battling the great enemy that fell in silver sheets. He could picture, with horrible realism, the tangle, buffeted by the wind...falling, falling, unseen and deadly. His heart twisted as the idea of exactly what he'd do bubbled up, and he had to look away from the woman lest she see the added wetness in his eyes. It was hard to hide the blue's low comforting croon though, and he set about busying himself scratching at a favorite spot to distract them both.

"No one expected thread to come back, Sunny. I doubt any of us here today will see the end of it, the other side. But we have to try. For our sakes, at least, try to take care of yourself."

DruidTigeress