Prison Break

[B'kay]

(Proposed Location: Weyr bowl just outside the healing caverns area)

He was certain that he had been in the infirmary longer than anyone, and he just couldn't take it any more. One hand firmly gripping the ear of his dragon, whose neck had fortunately healed well enough that he could crawl slowly forward with his chin near the ground so his rider could reach, B'kay stepped tentatively out of the shadows cast by the Weyr and into the sunlight.

The sunlight he still couldn't see -- but he could feel it, and stood still for a moment, breathing in the fresh air, and drinking in the warmth of a beautiful spring day.

I still do not think this is a good idea, Mine, the dragon said, eyes whirling slowly with worried murky yellows.

I had to get out of there, Syth! I couldn't take it for one more moment! They'll keep me cooped up forever if I don't take matters into my own hands.

The matter you are taking into your own hand right now is my left ear, and you are pinching.

Oh, B'kay loosened his grip slightly and even that small letting up of security made him feel like he might topple. He slid his hand from the ear to the cheek and rubbed. Sorry about that, my friend. We'll just stand here for a minute, the sun feels good.

Yes, it does, though I will lie, not stand.

B'kay felt the ground roll slightly as the dragon settled in place -- and sensed that "standing here" had just become an option-less situation.

For the moment, the sun did feel good, and he had his dragon's great dark head for support, and he really didn't have anywhere to go, anyway. Just getting out of the infirmary would be wonderful.

I would rather like to take a walk ... somewhere ... eventually, he said wistfully to the bronze.

But there was no answer. Apparently the sun had taken quick effect on Syth, and B'kay could feel his mind drifting off into slumber.

[Journye]

Journye hummed to herself as she carried a mug of klah toward the curtained off cot area that Bronze rider B'kay was resting, or at least he was supposed to be resting. "Hello B'kay, I've brought you some klah," she said cheerfully as she slipped past the privacy curtain, stopping dead in her tracks when she noted the empty cot. She shook her head and headed toward the area where Syth, the rider's large bronze usually rested, thinking that perhaps B'kay wished to be with his dragon, not that she could blame him.

But, that space too was empty. She chewed lightly on her lower lip and shifted from foot to foot as she thought. She hurried out, the curtain swaying as she passed quickly. She still had the mug of klah in her hands as she hurried around the infirmary in search of the missing bronze rider.

As she passed the bowl side entrance of the Healing Cavern she spotted a bronze shape. She blinked and looked more closely, walking to the entrance. She sighed softly in relief as she recognized the dark coloring of the bronze. She walked toward the dragon, spotting the rider holding onto his ear.

"B'kay I brought you some klah," she called out as she neared the older rider, not wanting to sneak up on him since he still couldn't see. She worried about him and really couldn't blame him for sneaking out. She certainly wasn't going to tattle one him.

She stopped at his side and rested a hand lightly on his arm, glancing up at the sky. She moved her hand down his arm and placed the warm klah into his hand. "I wish you would have told me you wanted to come outside. I certainly could use some fresh air myself and would have been more then happy to have you escort me," she said with a smile, tilting her head as she looked up at the bronze rider.

[B'kay]

B'kay was still hanging on to his snoozing dragon, feeling the warmth of the sun on his face, when he sensed the approach of another person.

At the same moment he heard the familiar voice offer klah, Syth spoke sleepily into his mind: Lucaith's.

Even then, the light touch on his arm, which he knew to simply be a polite way of alerting the blind to a close presence, made him jump ever so slightly. Why he thought he would be able to get away with sneaking out for a while with healers continually watching over him, and in the company of an large bronze dragon....

The thought brought a half-smile to his face as he accepted the cup of klah.

"Thank you, Journye, that's very kind of you," he said, and took a sip. It did taste good. "I'm fine, though -- sorry if I worried you. I've got Syth here, after all, and he's the biggest mother wherry-hen imaginable."

The dragon grunted, shifted slightly, and slashed his tail. Forewarned, B'kay held the cup out and away from himself and Journye so that the resulting slosh didn't burn anyone.

[Journye]

Journye felt the slight jump through her touch on his arm, but she chose to ignore it. She smiled as he took the klah and took a sip. As he apologized she shook her head, her hair falling over her shoulder to brush his arm.

"No need to say you're sorry B'kay, I wasn't worried. I can't blame you for wanting to get out of there. I'm a healer and can't stand being stuck there sometimes," she said with a soft laugh, tilting her own head up to feel the sun on her face.

She felt so much more comfortable in the wery then she ever had anywhere else. No one made fun of her, not even the drudges anymore. Her unusual looks were barely noticed and she liked that. She shook her head and turned her attention back to B'kay.

"I'm off duty right now, is there any where you want to go?" she offered. She didn't think Master healer C'lyn would get too upset if the bronze rider was in the company of another person and she saw no reason to keep the man cooped up any longer. She wished she could help his eyes though.

Journye shifted when B'kay held the klah away, laughing softly at the bronze. "He is a good bronze," she said gently, nearly cooing to the large, dark bronze.

[B'kay]

Even after all this time in the infirmary, B'kay couldn't get used to having people take care of him. Therefore he stood quietly at the offer of being guided to where he wished to go, unsure of how to respond. What he really wanted was to go on his own. He wanted to be free to move about. He wanted his eyes back.

He wanted his life back.

Instead, he simply repeated, a bit more awkwardly, his thanks to Journye for her kindness.

Syth, on the other hand, raised a dark eyelid and turned it toward the young healer woman. He twisted his neck around, the slight stiffness no longer causing him pain, and gave the girl a very gentle sniff, then rubbed his muzzle against her with a pleased rumble.

The dragon's simple act relaxed the rider ever so slightly, and he chuckled. "Syth thanks you, too ... in case that wasn't obvious. And, there really was no where special I wanted to go, I just wanted to get the heck out of that infirmary for a change." He turned his face right and left, seeking out the direction of the sun, wondering where the various points of the Weyr were in relation to his location. Trying not to let his inability to orient himself frustrate him further, he asked, "Do you have any recommendations?"

[Kitari]

((I don't think time of day was ever mentioned, but I'm going with mid-morning...correct me if that's wrong!))

Rukbat was shining, a cool breeze tugged at her black curls, and Thread had yet to make a re-appearance over inhabited land, for whatever blessed reason. In other words, Pern was absolutely lovely today, and yet Kitari's mood wasn't nearly as carefree. Partly, no doubt, as a result of that impending Threadfall that could rear its ugly head at any unsuspecting moment, and partly because of this sharding load of Weyr business that she was struggling through with Alana on a daily basis.

And partly, too, because of Alana.

Although she had gotten on well enough with the other goldrider before, it seemed that their opinions were coming into conflict more and more often. With Sitareh gone, Kitari had been ecstatic at the prospect of changing things around the Weyr, but Alana seemed determined to uphold all of the decrees made by the past Weyrwoman.

Thus, it was with a growing weight of trepidation in her gut that Kitari strode alongside the other young woman, across the Bowl from the Lower Caverns towards the Healing Cavern. Over morning klah and a perusal of the Sweepriding schedules, Alana had suddenly happened onto the topic of Weyrlingmaster B'kay. She had voiced her concern to Kitari regarding the progression of the Weyrlings' training, unsure of the quality of the temporary replacement for the bronzerider, and had then declared that they should visit B'kay to guage when he'd be able to return to duty.

Although Kitari was looking forward to visiting the bronzerider again, she wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of doing so with the ever-brisk, business-like Alana at her side. She especially hoped that Alana wouldn't press the man too much about resuming his role as Weyrlingmaster...after all, he couldn't help it that he was blind!

As they neared the Healing Caverns, Kitari noted the bronze dragon resting by the entrance, and upon drawing closer, was surprised to realize that it was Syth, with B'kay standing beside him. One of the Healers, Journye, was with him, and Kitari felt a moment's hesitation. If he was busy with some kind of Healer-prescribed physiotherapy, they really ought not to interrupt...

Still, the young woman knew that wouldn't stop Alana, so she called out in greeting anyways. "Good morning, B'kay! Journye! Are we interrupting anything?" She glanced at the sleepy dragon, unsure he would register her presence let alone her words, but added, "And good morning to you as well, Syth."

[B'kay]

B'kay had no sooner asked the healer woman for her recommendations, when Syth's head swerved gracefully on the long neck.

Our Queen Riders, the bronze said, an air of pride and energy replacing the lazy feel of a moment before. B'kay had no doubt, as he sensed the dragon's head moving back and forth, that he was scanning for the presence of the two golds.

Immediately following the bronze's alert, Kitari's voice drifted across the bowl to them. B'kay raised a hand, and could not help the smile that accompanied it, in greeting. He was always pleased, more than he liked to admit, by a visit from Kitari, but what had prompted the honor of two goldriders at once?

(OOC: mid-morning sounds about right to me, too)

[Journye]

Journye couldn't help but smile as the great bronze gave her his own thanks and rubbed against her. She reached out to pet the dark bronze's nose as she thought how to answer B'kay's question.

She couldn't blame the man for wanting to get out of the infirmary and while she couldn't really sympathize with his condition, she could under stand him wanting his normal life back.

At the sound of Kitari calling out she jumped, looking toward the two gold riders approaching. She bit her lips softly as she curtsied to the two women, unsure of how to interact with the higher ranking girls. "No Lady Kitari, you're not interrupting anything. B'kay was getting bored in the infirmary and was just asking if I knew of any place he might escape to for a while," she said softly, at once self concious about her appearance. Perhaps in the healing cavern she could forget her different looks, but in the presence of the two gold riders she felt very concious of it.

[Shikai]

Alana’s pace was brisk as she walked through the weyrbowl with Kitari at her side, glancing skyward at Rukbat to gauge the time. It was only mid-morning, so thankfully, she was ahead of the schedule she had set for herself. That was good, she thought, as while she would never dream of suggesting it, she was looking forward to seeing B’kay again. She would be lying if she said she wasn’t upset, though she kept it to herself, when she found out that B’kay had been injured, and worse, left blind by his injuries. And not just because he was the Weyrlingmaster. B’kay was a nice man, despite his initially foreboding appearance, and she genuinely hoped he was making some improvement in his health.

Not that she could let Kitari catch on to that. Hence why they were going together, officially to check the Weyrlingmaster’s status, and secretly unaware of each other’s less professional motivation.

“Good morning, Weyrlingmaster! Journye,” Alana began, a smile on her face as she addressed them and nodded to each in turn. The tall young woman’s hands strayed to her pockets after one was employed to push a few stray strands of dark blond hair out of the way, behind her ear.

“Glad to hear it,” She said, as the healer answered, although her tone was soft. Alana had to keep herself from looking oddly at Journye, although she only half-succeeded, at the healer’s uncertain manner and tone. Not to do with her appearance, of course, as Alana bothered little with her own except to keep it neat (anything else, she had always thought, was a hopeless cause), but her hesitation around them. It must be due to Kitari’s presence, she thought. Alana was still very unused to eliciting such reactions from people, as she had rarely been given a thought in her previous occupation as no more than a minor cotholder’s eldest daughter. Any influence she had was wielded entirely behind the scenes, and for nothing more than the good of her siblings. As a result, she didn’t find herself the least bit intimidating, and didn’t quite understand how others could find her so.

She was, however, determined not to let her newfound power get to her head. That would be silly and wholly unproductive. There was work to be done, always, if the weyr was to keep functioning, although she had seemed to get the notion in her head at times that the weyr itself would collapse if she wasn’t there to hold it up. Yet she meant well, in her heart of hearts, and endeavored to look after the weyr in the same manner she had tended to her family. Which, perhaps, was why she simply couldn’t understand why Kitari seemed so unenthusiastic (in her mind) about helping her.

“I do hope you are feeling better, B’kay,” She said as she turned to the man in question, tone empathetic. “Kitari and I stopped by to see how you’re doing. The weyr is going to need its Weyrlingmaster back eventually! But you must, of course, take all the time you need to recover.”

[B'kay]

The slight tension in Journye's voice and the minute stiffening of her stance as she addressed the goldriders made B'kay curious and slightly uncomfortable. They had been his students, and had become his friends, after all ... it was hard to think of them as the Weyr's senior Queen Riders (even though trust into the duties in an unusual way). Everything that had happened since the Fall, however, had changed Araelen drastically.

It hadn't really sunk in how much it must have changed their lives as well. Being trapped, blind, in the Infirmary had caused him to miss out on more than just the sunshine. It was spring ... when he was blinded, there were no leaves yet on the trees, no flowers blooming....

Musing over this, an odd, sad shadow fell over B'kay's features. Though his eyes were still lightly bandaged, the rest of his wrappings had been removed, and the wounds had scarred over and toughened for the most part. There was even a little bit of hair growing back around the edges where it had been burned away just above the one ear, and he spent a lot of time rubbing that stubble and wondering how much might grow back. His hand went there reflexively now, and he caught himself in the awkward act, and dropped the arm suddenly to his side.

The words that leapt to his lips, however, were even more awkward.

"Are there flowers blooming?"

His mouth hung open for a second, and then he snapped it shut. What kind of question was that for the Weyrlingmaster to ask his two Senior Goldriders the first time they visited him together since his injury?

"I, um..." he stuttered and shook his head, and then chuckled despite himself at his own self-consciousness. "You ladies must be incredibly busy right now. I thank you for taking time out of your schedules to come and see me."

Alana's last words then registered, and the shadow darkened slightly. "I wish I could have returned to duty ages ago," he said softly, "Though word filters back that the new dragonriders are progressing well. They're flying already...." his voice trailed off, and he struggled to school his features so that it didn't show quite so clearly just how much that bothered him.

He'd been trapped in darkness for far longer than he liked to think about. The more time went on, the more he feared he'd never escape this sensory prison. The fact that all still politely referred to him as "Weyrlingmaster" often made him wonder if it was just a courtesy. Oddly, Alana's mention of him returning to duty brought a sense of comfort, and he smiled in the direction of her voice.