[PRP] sweating buckets [ oreune + lyf/guarath

[houllow]

Still no chores today which honestly Oreune was starting to tire of. She wanted to move around and do things, to see how far she could take herself, but knowing how ridiculous she could be there was always the chance the teen would push herself too far and end up back in bed for a sevenday. Which wasn't all bad either, resting was a-okay and better than chores, but there was only so much a butt could be laid upon before it got sore in its own right.

What Oreune could do was carry a few light things from one spot to another - "an errand" that one lanky healer had called it - and so she had a few wraps in her arms as she slowly shuffled from point A to point B. It wasn't too long before she got tired, however, and the strain on her unused muscles punched in contest with the ache of her guts. It was time to sit down, and so Oreune found whatever closest spot and just dropped.

Figuratively, of course, because laying face down on the ground was not her scene.

Zaikt

 

[Zaikt]

Weyrling training had been an unexpectedly easy routine to fall into. Lyfrocier couldn't help but admit his surprise--it had sounded far more daunting without Guarath at his side, but now that the little Green had chosen him, it seemed...natural, to put it mildly. They would train, they would learn, and they would be riders. It would be perfect, with everything in its proper place. While they'd finished for the day, that didn't mean they didn't have more errands to attend to after that; Guarath still had to be bathed and oiled, and he himself could use a decent meal after all that. In the meantime, they were on the way back to the barracks, meaning to get a head start on their end-of-day chores.
The biggest distraction, however, came when they stumbled across somebody simply...sitting on the ground.
Guarath had no intentions of slowing down simply because of the roadblock, either. She trotted up to Oreune, picking up the pace just a touch--Lyfrocier had no trouble keeping up with her, but it was quite clear that she was on a mission at the moment. He couldn't say he blamed her, either; the shape on the ground was rather concerning, after all, and it wouldn't be right to simply leave them there.

Oh, dear. Are you quite alright? Guarath was first to ask--Lyf himself was a mere moment behind, but was all too happy to allow her to speak instead. As he looked at the girl before him, though, something slowly began to dawn on him, bit by bit with each moment ticking by. Of course he recognized Oreune--they'd been Candidates together, albeit for a rather brief time in the grand scheme of things. But there was one far more important piece of information that hadn't immediately occurred to him, and Lyfrocier was having some trouble trying to figure out how exactly to put...that.
Oreune. The girl that had been mauled on the Sands by a Green. His Green. Guarath.
His eyes flick over to Guarath's speckled form, expression an unreadable mask of calm--she'd picked up on the concern radiating from him, however, and had looked back over her shoulder at Hers with a soft croon. There was no confusion to be had--she knew exactly what she'd done. Still, concern swelled in her hearts for her rider, and the slightest itch of doubt threatened to creep its way under her hide all the same.

In the meantime, Oreune was still right there in front of her.
Ah. Briefly, she kept her words from Oreune--it wouldn't do to show such vulnerability so freely, but she felt she wouldn't be able to avoid it so easily. She probably owed this one an apology, didn't she?
A bit.
No way around it, then. Hers would never lie to her. Never in a million Turns. But hearing the finality of it didn't make her feel any less awkward about the whole thing, and she simply...shifted in place, tucking her wings a little closer to her sides. A few stray curls of yellow found their way into her eyes, and Lyf knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Oreune." he began, just as placid as ever. "Do you happen to...need a hand, perhaps? Being as you seem somewhat indisposed at the moment." It was a simple offer of help--he didn't doubt that she still needed the exercise so soon after making it out of the more intensive range of care, but she didn't have to do it alone, either. "We would be quite happy to assist you."
Of course. Guarath wasted no time in agreeing, although her tail still flicked with vague discomfort. At least Lyf was buying her some time to prepare. It would be our pleasure, in fact.

houllow

hi what's good i saw your intestines once

 

[houllow]

The sun was gone from over her and Oreune was about to wonder if a cloud or something had come and oh no oh no it was that dragon. The color instantly drained away from her face, leaving her normally darkened cheeks looking awfully ashen and gaunt. Not that she wasn't - okay, enough on thoughts on herself why was this dragon here. Had she somehow cursed herself through her conversation with Kleoth the other day? The whole idle thoughts of not wanting to see this particular dragon ever again for ~reasons~ despite knowing she wasn't supposed to feel upset or anything.

And then they were both talking to her - both of them and Oreune's brain was racing at a million herdbeasts per candlemark. She needed to calm down, there was no way an adult dragon could ever hurt a human - once they were Impressed she was a thousand times safe - but that didn't stop her heart from pounding and her stomach from rolling. The scars she was slowly mending seemed to scream with unhappiness, and unconsciously she moved both of her arms to circle around her stomach protectively.

"H..." She gagged on the words, her shoulders lurching, but quickly swallowed them back down. It was ridiculous to behave this was she was 100000000 fine and safe shard it shard it!!! and so Oreune did her best to bite back the terror and bile and force her brain to understand she needed to forgive and forget or else everything would be made worse and she'd get a lecture and worst of all she'd upset two fine individuals who were being nothing but kind.

Slowly, carefully, she cleared her throat and turned to look at the pair. The arms about her stomach didn't move, but a ridiculously fake and shaky smile plastered itself on her face. "H...hello Lyfrocier...and Guarath. Surprised to see you." That wasn't a lie at all because of all the places in the entire Weyr they found her. Maybe she needed to bet on something. "It's been a while. Since...the hatching, maybe? I couldn't make it to the feast, sorry I wasn't able to be there to congratulate you."

OH SHARDS THAT COULD BE TAKEN AS SARCASTIC AND SHE KNEW IT and Oreune's face blanched even more, were it somehow magically possible. "I...mean that seriously!!! It's been a while!! Congrats on Impressing!! Two months later!!" If she could swallow her leg right now she would.

Zaikt

OREUNE.EXE HAS STOPPED RUNNING

 

[Zaikt]

"Don't worry. I understood what you meant." Lyf's tone was perhaps a bit more stiff than he'd intended, but he meant it genuinely all the same. While he'd been about to ask her if she'd like a hand up, he noted where her arms had wound up, and wasn't about to ask her to disrupt her guarded posture. Instead, after a moment of thought, he simply sat down in front of her, crossing his legs beneath him. A little dust was no issue with these clothes; it was merely training gear, after all, designed to take far worse offense than this.
"I hope you don't mind if I join you." he continued, delicately adjusting his glasses further up his nose. Everything should be in its proper place. "I must admit, I've been concerned as to how you were doing. Unfortunately, our training hasn't really given us a lot of free time to go looking for people."

Guarath could tell how nervous she was, even without any deep mental connection. Oreune was afraid of her, and that much was clear. There was no deep-seated sorrow within her hearts at the revelation, nor earth-shattering desire to keen any pain; it simply was, and that was that. The fear that Hers may judge her for having hurt this person ached more, although Lyf was quick to reassure her otherwise. She couldn't quite articulate what was bothering her about the whole situation, though, and that was intensely frustrating for the little Green. Oreune had long since shifted to protect her stomach from any additional assault, bandaged and slathered in numbweed as it was--an obvious sign of mistrust and fear, directed quite plainly at her. Guarath softly huffed, her mind working to try and come up with the words she knew she needed it say. She was careful to keep her claws very much in the girl's line of sight as she moved again, taking a seat before Lyfrocier's feet--if Oreune knew where those little daggers were at all times, perhaps she might be a bit less uneasy.

"Have you been healing well...?" He folded his hands in his lap, taking a slow, deep breath. He didn't need to be calmed--if anything, it was a reminder for Guarath to do the same. His lifemate paused, giving him a sidelong glance at the question. Bringing that up right out of the gate--ugh. She knew Lyf had a plan, of course, but she already felt as though she was under a magnifying glass.
Perhaps you should try speaking to her a bit.
Isn't it a bit soon for that?
You won't exactly know until you try, will you?

Perhaps she drew out her sigh a little long. Perhaps she felt that same trickle of frustration pick up again, wearing away at her patience. Why was this so hard? It was just as simple as talking. That was it! That was all! So what was the problem?
...Oreune. For all her mental turbulence, Guarath's mindvoice remained soft, almost as if she was afraid any increase in volume would send Oreune scrambling for the hills. I--would ask if you've been well, but I'd hope the healers have been taking good care of you. And you're certainly in better shape now. There was just the slightest quirk of Lyfrocier's eyebrow--nothing more. He cast her no uncertain stare, instead keeping his gaze solely on Oreune. How--have you been handling everything?
Maybe they were putting too many questions on her all at once. Guarath certainly would have preferred to stay silent, but. Well. So much for that.

houllow

you wanna play 20 questions while the memory of a dragon playing operation on you is still fresh and also being directly brought up

 

[houllow]

And of course she was probably making them super uncomfortable with how she was acting and forcing them to try and act nice and Oreune was filled with mild self-loathing as the rider and dragon both sat down near her. Why was she the literal worst? Making this rider and his not-murderer dragon worry about her and look at her and uuuggggghhhh stake her out for Thread please.

But not literally because Oreune didn't particularly have a death wish. Just paranoid thoughts. Honest.

"I lost my abs." That was all she managed to croak out when she finally came back to speak after their barrage (it wasn't a barrage) of questions and genuine concern happened. "I used to have such beautiful abs, which most folks found funny considering I would sit in front of a loom all day. Right now I can't do that since sitting for too long hurts." Sitting was a balm for the exhaustion of moving, but doubling over prompted a whole different type of ache. She was fine at the moment though, what with all the adrenaline running in her veins to basically numb all sorts of feelings. "I also am pretty sure my butt will never be the same. Too much time spent on it." There was a joke in there somewhere, but yeah her butt was sore. Back too, everything else that came with being bed bound for so long. Enough care had been given that she didn't have sores or a lot of atrophy, but still there had been a decay in her natural state.

Oreune was talking now though and the death grip she had about her stomach somewhat loosened, but the fear was still there on the fringes of her mind. Later she'd likely hunt down one of the Mindhealers and tell them about today but only because she was required to do so while still in recuperation; something or another about maintaining a healthy enough mind to remain a candidate. Which Oreune wanted to do, despite all signs pointing that she probably, really, honestly, should not be a candidate. Not only was she likely to never Impress but she'd probably end up dying next time through no fault of her own. She just had such shitty luck, and really what dragon would even like her?

Okay well Kleoth seemed to like her but legit Kleoth had a rider and was a nice dragon. Oreune had been on those sands when she didn't even get looked at thanks for the memories on that.

"The healers have been nice, if not a bit smothering. I mean I can't blame them considering what happened and all - a lot of which I don't remember after a certain point but." She shrugged, accepting that. Her memory was absolutely clear about being stood on and moved on and mangled, and then the parting stomp that had been the one that did the most damage. The stomp had been entirely spiteful (in as much as it could be for an unImpressed dragon, in Oreune's opinion) but she was still alive and recovering. "I don't think my nose will ever recover. Numbweed is a smell that will haunt me for Turns to come."

Was she making thing worse by babbling? Who knows. "How about you? Training been fun?" It was absolutely time to divert the topic from her because dragons were able to read minds and emotions and Oreune was pretty sure her mind was functioning on a level of miniature chaos.

Zaikt

SORRY FOR DELAY also oreune is like REEEREEEE (dailup modem noises)

 

[Zaikt]

"Recovery like that does tend to take the most out of us." Lyf gave a small half-shrug, although it was hardly coming from a place of disinterest. It simply made sense to him--there was no real room for being awkward and confusing when there was logic to adhere to, after all. "It may take some time yet, but I'm sure you'll be back up to snuff soon enough."
At her mention of numbweed, he wrinkled his nose; he hadn't needed much of it himself after the Hatching, but he'd certainly been close enough to others who had in the meantime. It was the type of scent that lingered with you for hours, if not days, and he could hardly imagine being slathered in it for as long as Oreune had. Eugh.
"That's fair, really. I personally prefer to avoid the stuff if at all possible, but in your case...it couldn't be avoided." At least--not without making the entire situation much, much worse, that is. "I suppose that's part of why you're all the way out here? Getting as far away from that smell as you can and all that." Was that a bit of a smile--? Just a hint, but it was there. Amazing.
She'd asked them a direct question, however, and he'd be remiss if he simply let it stall. At least training was an easy enough topic to touch on, and one that Lyfrocier himself could be sure was safe.

"We've been faring well, to my knowledge. Busy as always, but the routine is quite easy to keep after you pick it up." He'd hardly had a problem with it, anyway. Especially not when it centered around Guarath as much as it did. "It...does have its fun points, however. I'm enthused about the prospect of our first flight lessons in particular, even if those won't be for a while yet."

For all of Oreune's barely-restrained emotional chaos, Guarath seemed--calm all the while, letting Lyfrocier handle the majority of the speaking. Perhaps a touch frustrated by her own internal dialogue, sure, but there were no curls of dangerous red in her eyes. It didn't take mind reading to know the sheer depth of Oreune's fear, and even though Lyfrocier had wasted no time in telling her that she was alright, these sort of things happen at Hatchings sometimes and he didn't think any less of her for it...well, somebody certainly might. And that particular somebody was sitting right in front of her, doing her best to force herself to calm down for fear of being mauled again, as far as she was aware.
Shards and shells. This sucked.
I'm. Sorry for what happened on the Sands. She paused for a moment, thinking--should she be? It had happened before she'd found Hers properly, and could she really be held accountable for that? Lyf reached out and gently stroked between her wings, a soft touch to help settle her mind before she let that particular train of thought get too far off the tracks. No, she couldn't. Not really. But this wasn't a matter of accountability, was it? Oreune had been wronged, and she could only try to help the girl decide whether or not there was a grudge to be had.
I...hope I can. Avoid intimidating you like this in the future, particularly unintentionally. Like this. Simply by being here. I don't exactly--know what to do about this, though.

houllow

guarath is Also dialup noises but she's just. Going For It

 

[houllow]

It took the opening and snapping shut of Oreune's mouth to keep her words in check, as she bit back the phrase 'no, you're not' to the apology that the dragon had issued. The candidates had all been taught, and taught well, that the actions of hatchlings on the sands were all forgivable no matter how bad they were and if one were to dwell on it they were the one in the wrong. To hear the dragon say that she was actually sorry for the wounds that now ached against her body brought a bitter taste to the teen's tongue for more than one reason. She knew the dragon probably was just doing it for the sake of formalities, and to help Oreune save face - after all, how could anyone continue to be a candidate or function properly if they shied to the sky each time they saw a dragon?

Thankfully her unease was (for now) directed at a specific beast and not a color as a whole, or else Oreune might as well turn in her candidate knots and head out. Not that she wasn't already sure that would happen anyway with her string of luck. No, Oreune wasn't terrified of dragons, but what if her wounds didn't heal properly and they considered her unfit for dragon riding? She would have endured an entire Turn of loneliness and then massive injury for absolutely nothing which....again, not surprising.

Wait she was supposed to be talking and not just making faces and Oreune sighed as she slowly released the grasp about her waist. Yes she still felt the urge to cover it but now the pressure was making it hurt worse and she was certain the healers were going to bark and snarl either way once she made it back.

A soft wave of her hand against her hip was the only physical sign Oreune gave that she was trying to push past it. "It's fine, it's in the past. I mean, if that brown had gotten off when you asked the first time you wouldn't have lost your temper and mauled me and the others in the first place. Things happen when they do and usually out of our control." Oreune should probably know the names of all the dragons from that clutch, but she didn't. Different priorities, after all. "And if you think of it, when I was getting carried off the sands so I didn't die, the brown ended up Impressing to the guy who was helping me. If you want to put a positive spin on it, it worked out for everyone in the end." A pause, a beat. "Except for me, because of all the injury and numbweed and such, but you didn't kill me and even if you had no one would have blamed you. I certainly wouldn't have, but then again I'd be dead and couldn't complain." They'd have mourned her for like...a day and moved on. Which was much better than not being mourned at all, she supposed.

"Anyway, I guess it's enough that the two of you aren't avoiding me, which isn't what I'd expect to happen but probably could. I mean I've never seen it happen but then again I've only been at the Weyr since the last clutch they had here, with the twin Golds." Had Oreune already mentioned that? She felt like she might have already but she was well on to her way of a word vomit so the candidate might as well just go all out. "I don't know if that makes you both really nice or really cruel."

Probably nice since they were doing the wonderful sort of immersive therapy thing in which a person is forced to face their fear with absolutely no escape routes.

Zaikt

FAX MACHINE NOISES also sorry for delay orz thank u...