Bright Sunshine-y Day

[D'gellin]

((Calling Retivor! :D ))

Drawn out of the Weyr by the pleasant spring whether, Trilia carefully picked her way over the terrain, wary of any foliage that might snag her new dress. "Ooo, once you start to worry about it, it's so hard to stop." She huffed to herself, pursing her lips in agitation while her fire lizard wheeled merrily above her head. The young girl had worn the dress in hopes of drawing a flattering compliment to herself, but she had, unhappily, managed to remain just as invisible to everyone as always. 'Bad luck', she'd heard a few caverns workers mutter to themselves as she passed. Trilia sighed as she reached the edge before the gradual slope to the sea. Bad luck indeed! Her dragon simply had not hatched yet. That was the one and only reason why she was the only candidate who had to stand more than once.

"Of course I'll Impress next time though." She assured her brown flitter, proffering a slim arm for Ronin to land on. A delicate smile crinkled her light eyes. Yes, her dragon would not keep her waiting any longer, she was sure of it. For so long she had fretted over whether or not there was something the matter with her, but that was silly! "After all, my Ronin loves me." Trilia cooed, running a finger over the gratefully arching neck of the brown. "And my Minth and my Brueth love me." She continued to herself, feeling better for saying it aloud, as though speaking it made it more true. Ronin hummed contentedly, draping himself across her petite shoulders.

"Next time." Trilia mumbled to the ground before settling herself in a nice grassy patch, fanning out her skirts about herself. The young girl had recently taken to dressing up and presenting herself flatteringly, rarely the little adventurer that she used to be. It was much too difficult to keep herself respectable when she was covered in dirt! "Now then..." Trilia retrieved a battered old book from her pretty little carry-bag. Along with her new appearance came a sudden lust for knowledge. After all, she'd missed quite a few generations when she jumped ahead with her father. There was a lot of history to catch up on, and if she had to do it from one temporary stolen borrowed book from the Records at a time, then so be it. No one would call Trilia ignorant!

[M'kel]

((Retivor reporting to duty!))

After a concerted effort, Retivor had finally been able to haul himself into a comfortable position and was now draped along a nearly horizontal branch, his feet positioned against the tree's trunk for balance. Sprite was sprawled in a similar position across his stomach, faceted eyes lidded and chest gently rising and falling. The tree itself had been selected as the ideal resting spot due to its thick trunk, strong branches, and lovely sprigs of clean sprouting along each of its questing arms.

It seemed that the Valley was fast becoming a favourite retreat for the pair, as Retivor and Sprite often made their way there during breaks or on free days. It was the ideal escape from the hubbub of Weyr life, close to the Weyr and yet mostly vacated. Although the lad had made some friends in the Candidates' Barracks, he still longed for time alone. Life as a Herder had been quite solitary, and Retivor still sought an occasional break from Weyr society.

And yet he wasn't going to be entirely alone today, it appeared. Retivor's first clue of the approaching individual was a voice, and he craned his head around to look over his shoulder in an attempt to spot her. For a moment, he thought she might be addressing him. However, the girl seemed oblivious to his presence and was instead addressing her own fire lizard. Retivor turned back and closed his eyes, ready to drift off again, until he realized that the voice was growing louder and louder rather than passing by.

Anxious now, the candidate slowly opened one eye and glanced ever so slowly beside him...

The girl had settled onto the grass right below his tree!

Aghast, Retivor watched as she pulled out a book, tidied her dress, and went still.

For a moment, the lad wondered if he could possibly wait her out, remaining hidden up in the tree until she left and then slipping down and away. However, he quickly realized that if she happened to glance up and spot him after he'd been hiding there for a candlemark, she would be horrified. No, the only thing he could do was announce his presence as gently as possible and leave her to her reading.

Thus, he shifted slightly on the branch, preparing to sit up and hop down after giving a call. "Hey," he called softly, "I'm sorry I--" And his foot slipped. A short yelp was all that escaped his lips before Retivor tumbled from the tree. A flash of green was entangled with his descent for only a moment before Sprite's high-pitched shriek was cut off in a disappearance between, leaving Retivor to fall alone. The ground slowed in its approach, taking on such detail that the lad could pick out every blade of grass, even an insect crawling along a fallen twig, before he crashed into it. With a groan, Retivor lay still, his arm smushed underneath him quite uncomfortably. It might even be broken, if he could think clearly through that throbbing pain.

[D'gellin]

There really was quite a lot to keep up on. At first glance things didn't seem to have changed much on Pern but in reality...well the world did have a fair deal of time to develop. Trilia's brows creased as she leaned over the hide, thumb absently rubbing the corner in her concentration. Ronin had since become quite comfortable on his mistresses shoulder, although something seemed amiss. The little brown head raised, looking around uneasily. He heard something nearby, though he was uncertain what precisely that was.

When Retivor shifted in preparation to announce his presence, Ronin glanced up in surprise, faceted eyes whirling in alarm at the young man. Trilia, in turn, stiffened at the sound of someone's voice, unexpected as it was. She nearly cried out in alarm, looking about with wide eyes until the shuffle of branches and leaves drew her gaze upward. "What are you doing up th-?" She'd started in indignation, irritated at the lad for scaring her, but was cut off as he slipped.

Ronin and Trilia let out startled shrieks of their own, the brown blinking away and Trilia tripping on her skirts and onto her face before she could move to safety. Time may have slowed from Retivor's perspective but from Trilia's it was an unpleasantly rapid blur of activity. She therefore was not prepared to have Retivor land on her leg and certainly wasn't pleased with the sharp eruption of pain that accompanied it. The young lady gasped, struggling to retrieve her leg from underneath Retivor while the memory of stepping on, dirtying, and tearing her new dress in her attempt to get away sent her temper flaring.

Tears of frustration, discomfort, and embarrassment sprung into her eyes. "What" Trilia managed to articulate. "Were you doing up in a tree?" She realized belatedly that Retivor had also been hurt by the incident. Oh so now she was insensitive too. More upset with herself, Trilia rolled her eyes, mouth a thin line, as she attempted to master herself. A proper lady shouldn't be lashing out like this. "Are you alright?" She tried again, though she did look and sound rather defiant for someone who was supposed to be concerned.

[M'kel]

((I played with the timeline a bit for fun...hope y'don't mind!))

The fall must have been worse than he'd first thought, Retivor realized through a misty haze. He was starting to become delusional; he could feel something twisting and jerking underneath him, as if trying to escape, but the ground couldn't move like that... His arm, on the other hand, was painfully still, while throbbing surges of pain lunged up through his shoulder and spread across his back. A strange taste was also filling his mouth, an unpleasant dry sensation that seemed to suck the moisture from his tongue...

Was he dying?

With a screech, Sprite plunged from between and onto the back of his head, giving him a swift sting from her claws before leaping away again. How dare he disrupt her sleep like that, nearly crush her, and then lie there daydreaming about dying?!

The sparks of pain from the back of his head and the sad realization that Sprite seemed not to care of his imminent death slowly combined into a sheepish thought: he wasn't dying. His arm hurt, sure, but his vision was already clearing. That awful taste in his mouth was dirt (which he hastily spit up), and the thrashing object beneath him did not belong to him or the earth.

A horrified gasp escaped his mouth immediately following the last of the dirt. Retivor heaved himself upward, rolling to the side and into a sitting position. He stared, wide-eyed with shock, at the girl before him. Her tattered and dirty dress registered along with the malicious expression on her face, as the lad's mouth fell open, and he scrambled for words.

"I am so sorry!" he finally exclaimed, brow creased in concern and brown eyes still fixed in a horrified expression. "I was just taking a break! I finished my chores and had some free time, and I like trees! There weren't many up in the mountains, where I'm from, and it seemed like a nice quiet place, and I didn't know anyone would sit under it..." he rambled frantically in explanation before pausing and waiting with bated breath.

Suddenly, at the same time as she, he burst out, "Are you all right?" Startled at the same query coming from her, Retivor blinked and looked downward.

His arm was crooked against him, a dark bruise was beginning to spread from his elbow up his forearm, and it ached terribly to move, but he wasn't too concerned. "I think it's just sprained, but your leg! Is it okay? By Faranth, I must have crushed it!" Retivor's voice squeaked slightly over that, and he quickly flushed a dark crimson colour. She was a very petite girl, after all, and he had a fair amount of weight on her, especially with the addition of gravity in his plunge...

[D'gellin]

((That's fine. :] Them talking at the same time's a fun idea. :D ))

It took only about a second to realize that moving was definitely a bad, bad, very bad idea. The sharp pain from earlier was suddenly intensified. All of Retivor's hurried explanations were just a buzz of background noise, and her attempt at civility found her question reversed back to her at the very same time. At least he realized the folly of his actions. She wasn't sure, however, if she was glad he wasn't hurt all that bad, or frustrated that he didn't seem to be hurting as much as her.

"No I'm not okay, you squashed my leg." She replied temperamentally at the same time that he voiced his realization of falling on it. She felt her lower lip quiver as she struggled to fight back those upset tears. All she had wanted to do was enjoy the weather while expanding her knowledge, was that so much to ask? Instead she had people falling out of trees on her! Noisy people.

Trilia looked up defiantly, though was startled to silence when she actually got a good look at the boy. He was...adorable. His eyes were gorgeous and there was a certain gentleness about his features, albeit clouded by distress and what was probably pain at the moment. Trilia didn't exactly make a very good cushion, all bone that she was. "Sorry, I -" She tried to correct herself, feeling the foolishness of her outburst, once again belatedly. She looked down, her face heating up as she was temporarily distracted from the pain.

She should say something. "Um," Ronin, however, suddenly popped back from between, crying out in alarm at the shadow of Trilia's pain, reminding the young girl of why she had been upset in the first place. She sucked in a breath, biting back tears. No, no, no, she'd already made a bad impression on an attractive guy. It would only make things worse if she started bawling in front of him too. How could anyone take her seriously after a scene like that? "I have to..." She looked around, struggling through her foggy mind and teary eyes to find a means of getting back to the Weyr without upsetting her leg. Whenever she tried to move it, there was a ripple of pain warning her to remain still. That definitely wasn't a good sign...Oh shard it all, if she had known this was going to happen, she would have stayed in the barracks today!

[M'kel]

Concern was etched across his soft features, as Retivor gazed with wide eyes at the young girl he had nearly crushed. The watery look that her own eyes took on did not escape him, and he looked away in shame, not wanting to further her discomfort by gawking at her while she attempted to gather herself. What was worse, the pain in her eyes seemed clouded by anger, and the lad felt terrible seeing that. She deserved to be angry at him, of course, for he'd hurt her quite badly, but Retivor never liked making people upset.

Her tone shifted suddenly, as she murmured a hasty apology, and Retivor glanced back just in time to see her duck her reddened face. He glanced downward himself, thoroughly unhappy with the entire situation. He just felt guilty, and miserable, and OH his arm was really starting to hurt!

Just as Retivor let loose a groan that refused to be repressed, the girl's flitter appeared in the air, chittering away in upset. He watched as the girl cast a teary-eyed gaze towards the Weyr, her face clenched in a grimace, and suddenly he shoved himself to his feet.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" he cried. "Here, let me help you; you need to see a Healer!" Retivor hastily extended his right hand, as usual, and just as hastily snatched it back, yelping in pain. The shooting pain rushing from wrist to elbow was not encouraging at all, and the lad was beginning to wonder if the injury was worse than he thought.

"Shard it!" the candidate cursed, then bit his tongue hastily. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be swearing..." My, he was apologizing a lot. "Okay, let's try this again..." With that, Retivor knelt down on one knee beside the girl, reaching around her shoulders with his left arm to give her support, hoping she'd be able to stand. He tried not to look at her lovely, now torn, skirt. What a sweet little girl she must be, and here he had come crashing quite rudely into her life.

[D'gellin]

Trilia was trying very hard to control herself, to block out the pain in her leg and forcibly (albeit ineffectively) dispel the blush which had spread across her cheeks. "Ronin, hush!" She scolded wearily as the fire lizard darted about in distress, generally making things worse than they needed to be. She was afraid the flitter would drive the poor (handsome) lad away!

She did, however, need to get back to the Weyr. Her leg was killing her and as much as she would like to give Retivor a proper introduction, she was cognizant enough to realize pain like this warranted priority. As she discreetly struggled to find a position to stand from that didn't agitate her injured leg, the lad offered a hand and apology. Trilia could only stare in star-struck wonder at the hand and gentle face for the briefest of moments before Retivor retracted his limb with what appeared to be a pain-induced sound.

"Are you okay?" Trilia found the words tumbling from her mouth almost immediately, and only remembered belatedly that she had been furious with the candidate only a moment before. Was she so shallow that she could be swayed by a pretty face alone? Maybe it was his failed but apparently honest show of concern and attempt to help, or the mutual pain they shared from the little accident.

When Retivor made an effort to help again, offering her support, she couldn't decide if she should proudly turn his aid down or just let herself get swept away by this curious stranger. Considering her leg, she supposed, pride could be set aside. For just a moment she could be a helpless little damsel in distress. "Uhm, thank, thank you." She mumbled, glassy eyes meeting his before quickly darting away. Thank Faranth she was a tiny little thing. With no fat or muscle to speak of she couldn't be embarrassed by weighing him down. "But your arm..." She mumbled, looking down. She wanted to help too.

Resolutely, Trilia finished the scarcely connected tear near the bottom of her skirt. It was already a lost cause, she decided, and she could already feel those alien but delightfully warm butterflies one gets from helping others as she set about her task. "Hold your arm up, like this, if you can." She demonstrated, lifting her arm in front of her chest. Whether or not he protested, she was going to make up for her outburst earlier! Carefully, she brought the make-shift sling under his arm and over his shoulder, inwardly a mess of smug delight as she tied it tight. "There.."

She'd really have to thank him properly later. It was amazing what kind of discomfort the mind could block out while properly distracted, and Retivor was proving to be a fabulous diversion from a terribly painful injury.

[M'kel]

Half-expecting the girl to refuse his assistance and send him scuttling off, Retivor was both relieved and surprised when she acquiesced. He certainly wouldn't have blamed her if she'd wanted nothing more to do with her assailant; he had already crushed her leg, and she was doubtless concerned about his ability to support her without causing more harm. Nevertheless, the candidate was determined to make it up to her as much as possible, even carrying her into the Weyr on his back if need be! Although he hoped that wouldn't be necessary...this situation was mortifying enough!

"Okay, let's just..." he began, stopping abruptly as she reached down to tear a strip off her skirt. Retivor's eyes widened in surprise, and he didn't even resist when she ordered his arm raised and began building the sling. The lad still hadn't recovered when she settled everything into place, a satisfied look in her still-watery eyes, and looked up to him expectantly.

"Your skirt..." was all he could murmur, looking mournfully down at the piece of material now holding his arm in place. It was such a beautiful fabric, and he felt just terrible for ruining it in his crash landing. For her to then sacrifice even more by making the skirt irreparable was quite overwhelming.

"I know I've said it too many times already, but I am very sorry, and I will buy a replacement skirt for you as soon as I possibly can! It was so lovely," he murmured, casting his eyes down at the remaining fabric hanging loosely from the girl's waist. Retivor's tone was entirely genuine, for although he'd never had much in the way of Marks, he could spot a high-quality fabric easily, and the colours had suited her marvelously. "And thank you," he added, gesturing slightly with his injured arm before wincing at the jolt of pain the movement caused. "If nothing else, it'll help remind me not to use that arm..."

The lad grinned sheepishly, arm still around Trilia to steady her. "I'm Retivor, by the way. Not the kind of introduction I was hoping for, but, well, let's hope you don't make too firm a judgment on first impressions alone. Can I help you to the Weyr, now?" She was so slender and frail it was hardly any effort at all to support her, though it wouldn't make walking one-legged any easier. "If only I'd Impressed a dragon by now, so I could fly you there..." This was said in a slightly self-deprecating tone. If this was his performance in meeting new Weyrfolk, how was he ever going to Impress a dragon?

[D'gellin]

"Don't worry about it." She replied, waving a hand dismissively as Retivor protested weakly. Inwardly though, she was trying her best not to look at the tattered skirt. She really had been proud of it...No, no helping other people was the kind thing to do. The skirt was already damaged! How could she think of material things when another person was hurt? Particularly handsome, polite young men…

Retivor's flattery made her miss the skirt even more! But the warm flush that filled her cheeks, causing her to look down shyly - Trilia? Shy? - wasn't regret. He was too nice! Oh how could she have been so mean to him when he fell down from that tree? "No, it really is fine, I promise." She assured him, suddenly hyper-aware of how close he was. Was that her heart thudding in her ears? Oh shard it all, she was silly! Silly, silly, silly Trilia. "Thank you though, I appreciate the offer, but it's okay." Unless saying yes ensured she could meet him again...oh shaffit, Trilia, you're on a mission! This boy needs to get to the Healers! Ow - you too! Her mouth lifted at both corners as he thanked her, all butterflies. "You're welcome."

Her sheepish grin turned to an honest smile, nervous giggle. "It's a pleasure. I'm Trilia." She replied demurely before nodding her head in agreement to get going. She would have loved to stay and talk, but owwww... Trilia bit her lip on a laugh at Retivor's 'if only' whim. "I could say the same...it's a shame fire lizards aren't just a little bigger. Then we’d be set." Ronin ruffled his wings indignantly in response. If she were actually thinking, she might have suggested sending Ronin to get Q'tris or Brell...