After the Storm (Post Avi's Flight)

[Lark]

The day had finally started to clear, but outside the world was still dark with clouds and drizzled rain slowly. A few feeble rays of sunlight tried to escape through the clouds reaching for Ara's weyr. Inside the girl slept, tangled among the sheets of her bed. She didn't want to wake up yet. Her dreams had been fitful, filled with thunderstorms and fear. She hadn't slept well at all and she felt as if she'd slept the wrong way. Her body ached, she could tell even inside her resting state.

Opening her eyes slowly, Ara looked first at Ad'os. The flight came back slowly. It was enough for her not to be too alarmed though. For now at least it seemed as if the boy was still asleep, though she could be wrong. Turning around so her back was to him, she didn't expect to see S'val there as well. Widening her eyes, the green rider covered her mouth to keep in the alarmed cry. It was too late though and she shot up, pulling the covers around her.

When that didn't seem to work well enough for her, she pulled them entirely over her head. She was in the dark now, no matter what they though. Her shoulders hurt terribly, but Ara knew that was Avirith's pain not her own. Not that her body didn't hurt. Oh Faranth no, it sharding did. Bititng her lip, Ara shook her head. What did she do that morning? What choice had she made? It certainly wasn't one she would normally make!

Awoken by her rider's thoughts, Avirith looked up and bit back a hiss at the soreness of her wings. She had pulled a few muscles, no, more than a few. Stretching the apendage out gently, she tried to see just how bad the damage was. Nothing ireversible with time at least. Looking over at the bronze which was taking up most of the cave they were in, the green moved to nuzzle his neck. Morning my champion.

[Zero]

S’val mumbled in his sleep, rolling from his side to lay on his stomach then back again. The previous nights dreams had been wild and had left him unable to fully draw on and enjoy the full benefits of sleep. Twisting once more till he was stretched out on his stomach yet again, the man groaned and made a wild, half hearted, snatch for the blankets as they were jerked up and away from concealing his partly clothed frame. Slowly his eyes opened, half expecting to see the dark bronze attempting to rouse him by snatching the blankets off the bed. It wouldn’t have been the first time.

Only this time when he opened his eyes and managed to focus on his surroundings he wasn’t in the familiar setting of his large weyr and this most definitely wasn’t his bed. Stretching his arm from the confines of the covers, S’val managed to locate his trousers and after sitting up he quickly pulled the piece of clothing on. Unfortunately he must have sat up to fast because a blinding pain pulsated in his head. Rubbing his temple, the bronze rider also grabbed at the large black and purple bruise that covered his shoulder, clenching his jaw against the throbbing pain. Man was he sore. Last nights events must have been something else.

Scanning the floor for his shirt that seemed to have been lost during the previous nights adventures, S’val spotted the still sleeping from of his bonded and only then did he take a glance back over his shoulder at the bed and its remaining occupants. Bits and pieces of the prior nights antics flashed in his minds eye at stomach churning speed. The rush made him dizzy and nauseous, so much so that he had to take a moment and lean heavily against the nearest wall. A few moments and a couple of deep breaths later, S’val continued his creep around the disheveled bed, still in search of his illusive shirt.

He kept quiet though as he realized the giant, silent lump under the blankets must have been the owner of the bed and reason for him being here. No harm there. His pride wasn’t hurt if she was too shy to face him after the fact. Pausing momentarily in his search, his eyes widened in surprise as he spotted the form of another who still seemed to be sleeping. Running a tired hand through his disheveled hair, the Rider shook his head with a small smirk. After all this wasn’t his first flight, morning surprises were kind of tradition. Ever since one rowdy post queens flight back when he still resided at Benden, nothing ever truly shocked the man anymore. "Now where did those boots and shirt get off too?" Mumbling lowly to himself, the Wingleader turned from the bed and the remaining occupants and continued his search, still wincing every once and a while from the effects of his dragons discomfort mixed with his own.

The voice of another prodded him from his deep sleep. Instantly a pair of swirling eyes snapped open as he felt a warm body nuzzle against his neck. Solarith lifted his head slightly, just barely enough so he could look around the dimly lit cave he was curled in and the little green who was currently pressed up against him.
Morning comes far too early…
Jaws parting in a rumbling yawn, the bronze rested his head back on his forelegs before allowing his eyes to slide shut once more. His body was more then just a little sore and even with that slight amount of movement the gash across his shoulder was working well to stiffen his range of motion and leave him with a fair amount of pain. No, it would be better to just simply lay here in the quiet and rest.

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[Zirin]

It had been a fretful sleep; his dreams full of dragon claws coming at him, ripping him to shreds as he cried for mercy. It had been just before dawn when he had finally settled into a proper, deep sleep. Yet, sleep was not going to last for him, as the shuffling of blankets and the sound of someone mumbling caused him to stir. Blinking open sleep-deprived eyes, Ad’os sat up slowly. At first, he did not take in what was around him, but after a moment he realized the bed he was in most certainly was not his own. Confused, he looked around the weyr only to see another man.

“S-S-S’val! Sir!” He yelped, feeling wide-awake as the thought that he had somehow spent the night with a Wingleader, of all people. It was his first time ‘winning’ a flight, though he wasn’t sure what to actual call it since his dragon had not been the victor, as such the entire morning surprise thing was completely new to the young man. In fact, simply waking up in someone else’s weyr was a new experience. “How... why…” He grabbed his head as memories, flashes of the night before came rushing back; the night with Ara and S’val, the flight, and the pain. Soheath!?Ad’os suddenly called out for the brown, recalling the injuries he remembered the brown taking. I am fine. Soheath replied sleepily, passing on the feeling of his numb muscles as well. Ad’os sighed in relief, glad that the brown had gotten help from a healer of some sort. At an unspoken question, Soheath gave his rider an image of the ground level weyr he had crash-landed in the night before, and though the dragon did not mention it, the weyr was likely to be his temporary home for a short time while his injuries healed.

With the worry of his dragon out of the way, Ad’os returned to the task at hand. He sat up, still rubbing his head, and was surprised to feel resistance from the blanket. Looking down, he held back a chuckle as he realized the greenrider must have been what was holding the covers. Well, that took a weight off his chest; he had been terrified that he had somehow gotten himself involved with only the bronzerider. He nervously placed a hand where he thought Ara’s arm might be and looked back at the bronzerider, uncomfortable with the entire situation and he was a little miffed that S’val looked so… normal. Maybe he was only over thinking things. Maybe this was how some flights ended? One thing was for certain, Addy wanted to leave the room… but he did not want to dress while this other man was in the room. His face went beat red at the notion.

[Lark]

Feeling the other two riders waking up, Ara finally peaked out from under her blanket. Seeing Ad'os first the greenrider gave a feeble smile. "Hi..." Then she pulled her blanket down like a cloak. Turning her head around she saw S'val's fully clothed form. "Leaving already..." She blushed. Was she that bad to wake up to? Well, fine then let them leave. A bit more than hurt she looked down at her hands. It hadn't been the flight she'd hoped for. Not at all. Shaking her head Ara got up out of the protectiveness of the covers.

She did at least keep one with her though, leaving the other for Ad'os to have. Wincing as Ara got to her feet, the green rider tucked the side of the sheet into its wrap around her body. "I don't know about you two, but I'm starving." Walking past S'val, perhaps brushing up against him on her way, she went to the place where riders could call down to the kitchens. Ordering a few plates of food the rider turned back to her two "roommates." Over the initial shock, Ara had moved to I need to sharding grow up. Besides there were more important things to do than hide underneath covers.

"Avirith?" The rider called out for her green as she looked at S'val and Ad'os. The two riders were on opposite sides of the room, S'val closer to her and Ad'os to the bed. "Avi sweetheart?" Not hearing any sort of response Ara dropped her hands from where they had been placed on her hips as she walked over to the dragoness' cave. She saw the bronze form of Solarith first, then the pale green one of her dragon.

Pulling her head up tired, Avirith crooned softly to Hers. The usual playfulness wasn't there, and sighing Ara went to the green. "Oh love." Sitting next to the green's forelimb, still wrapped up in her blanket, Ara didn't mind if the riders had left now. The pain her dragon was feeling echoed in her own body and it was enough of a distraction. She bit her lip as she ran her fingers along one of the dragon's wings. It hurts mine. "Do you think it's just pulled or did you pop it out of the joint while flying?" Flexing the wing out the green hissed. I don't know. "S'val! Can you check Avirith's wing please? I can't tell if the muscle is pulled or if one of the sail's bones have been taken out of its joint."

She lifted her eyes up to look back into her weyr. So much for a happy morning after. Hoping that at least one of the two had stayed around, Ara waited. She had called for the bronzerider assuming that his experience might help them more. Though Ad'os could know too she guessed. Either way she wanted a second opinion. Turning to the bronze next to Avirith, Ara reached out to touch him lightly if he'd allow. "Are you alright Solarith? That gash looks pretty bad, I know I have some numbweed and bandages in my weyr if you'd like them."

[Zero]

The Rider sighed softly as he watched her bustle about her weyr. He hadn’t meant to offend her by rising so early and moving to gather his clothes, it was just something he was accustomed to. Normally his female companions were eager to jostle him out the door the morning after a flight, so he just decided to save them the trouble and try to disappear before they had a chance to get rid of him themselves.
He finally abandoned his search for his shirt, turning to watch her move to call down to the kitchens, S’val followed her to where Solarith and Avirith were curled in the other room. “Solarith, are you okay?” Kneeling next to the scarred maw of his companion, S’val placed a gentle hand on the bronze hide as his eyes searched out any visible wounds he would be able to treat without a trip to the Dragonhealer.

The pain is tolerable. I will survive.
Solarith spoke to both His and Avirith’s Rider at the same time, adding a slight huff at the end of his simple statement as if the very thought of needing assistance was absurd.

“Your as bad as a hatchling sometimes, Sol. We will take some numbweed though, Ara, if you‘ve got it“ Shaking his head at his dragons comment, S’val stood and moved to stand by Ara’s side. “I’ll be gentle Avirith, let me know if anything I do hurts.” At first he kept his hands to himself, choosing simply to look at the wing joint in question. Obviously due to his Solarith taking up most of the space and making the quarters very cramped, S’val couldn’t get the best look at the problematic limb but by the time he was done looking it over he had a pretty good idea what the problem might be.

The Wingleader furrowed his brow as he gently traced his fingers down the wing in question if she let him. “Now I don’t think you’ve got a dislocated join here,” he paused a moment and scratched wearily at the two day old stubble on his chin. “I think she’s just managed to twist and pull a few muscles during last nights antics.” Again he gently ran his hand down the contours of her wing before turning to look at Ara. “Though I will suggest grounding her for a few days. At least till she’s not feeling so sore and perhaps spending some of that time at the lake so she doesn’t get to lazy.” He offered a small smile at that last part before he stepped back to grab a cup of klah that the kitchens, hopefully, sent up by now.

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[Zirin]

Ad’os blushed slightly. “Hey…” He replied, feeling a bit awkward about the entire ordeal, since his dragon had been the one mostly responsible for the negative turn the flight had taken. It had been something he had never expected to happen; Soheath had never fought before. He wanted to apologize, but Ara had already turned her attention onto the true winner. When Ara got out of bed, Ad’os decided it would be a good idea to copy her. He wrapped the remaining blanket about his waist while he tried to find the necessary pieces of clothing; he wanted to be decent after all.

Ad’os was grateful when both Ara and S’val became occupied with the dragons, though he wished it was him instead of the bronzerider. He felt out of place in the room, and he wanted to go to Soheath more than anything, but leaving while they weren’t looking seemed… rude. As the two inspected Avirith and Solarith, Ad’os took the opportunity to gather his clothes, quickly pulling the articles on as quickly as he could before moving towards the ledge. It was a good thing Ara hadn’t called to him, since he knew almost nothing about dragonhealing, usually requiring Soheath to tell him what was wrong.

“Sorry…” He mumbled to greenrider and both dragons after S’val re-entered the weyr for klah. He shifted from foot to foot, not sure if he should excuse himself and leave the two alone or not. He brushed his clothes off slightly, grimacing at the dust and wrinkles they had gathered during their time on the floor. “I guess I should leave you two eh… go find Soheath.” If he left now, he swore to himself to seek out Ara and properly apologize.