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Post by Ness on Jun 10, 2008 15:58:54 GMT -5
The storm came from nowhere. Lari knew that if either she or Seioth had been paying attention, they'd have noticed the warning signs, but Seioth was hungry and Lari had been lying in the sun, watching her green stampede the wild herdbeasts. Olympia, her little green flit had been bothering her about something, but Lari hadn't payed attention and now she was paying.
The wind knocked the dragon about as if she was no bigger than a firelizard, though Seioth was slightly larger than the average green. Larita clung to Seioth as she tried to gain enough height to go between. Olympia was nowhere to be seen. She was probably already back in the Weyr, safe and sound and out of the storm.
Lightning struck a tree not two dragonlengths away and both Lari and Seioth screamed and the force of the thunderclap pounded in their heads. There was another strike, this one even closer, and then Seioth jumped between.
Lari felt the drops of water freezing on her eyelashes in the unnatural cold. She tried to gasp for breath, but no air entered her lungs. What was wrong? Why hadn't they emerged from between yet? And why had Seioth gone before Lari told her to?
I'm sorry Laritamine, came the most welcome voice in the world. But it was faint and Lari could not answer, could not remember what the Weyr looked like. She was running out of air.
Larita lay forward on her lifemate's back. As she let the last of her air escape, she conjured up a vision of perfection in her head, vaguely wondering if it would be enough for Seioth to reach Artemis Moonlight. But she had no details. There were only dragons, flying about beneath a clear blue sky and far below, a shape in the semblance of a weyrbowl. Perhaps it was where dragons went when they disappeared between forever...
Laritamine! The green's panicked voice thundered in Lari's head and her aching lungs pulled in air.
She tried to blink, but the rain that had soaked her had frozen her eyelashes shut and Lari found that she was shivering uncontrollably.
Laritamine, we are here. We are where you sent me. See? The sky is blue there are dragons!
The ice was slowly melting and somehow, Lari raised her frozen hand to her face, to wipe her eyes. They were spiraling quickly down towards an unfamiliar Weyrbowl, bathed in sunlight with dragons lounging here and there.
"Seioth," Lari tried to speak the words, but her voice didn't seem to work. She switched to speaking with her mind. Seioth, you are the most wonderful dragon on all of Pern. Thank you.
The green was only slightly less distressed with the reassurance.
I am Seioth, she was projecting to the watchdragon as she landed near a lake. I am Seioth and my rider is Larita. She is very cold.
Lari would have laughed her green's last comment, but Seioth sat down with a bump, knocking the air she had so recently regained out of her. She lay on her dragon's back, her fingers too cold to undo the riding straps and her muscles too tired to hold her up.
[[OOC: This all happens before the others at Artemis Moonlight left, but obviously after they've arrived at Araelen. I don't know how much before they left that this happened and neither does Lari. So she may have been gone only a day before they left, or a year, in which case she'd probably be presumed dead. Some one who knew Lari before can decide.]]
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Post by B'kay on Jun 10, 2008 16:27:21 GMT -5
A green dragon spiraled to the bowl. Gaylen, a far older Gaylen, gray streaks in her hair, her face gaunt but still recovering, watched the landing from where she scrubbed her dragon at the lake's edge.
"Well, now, 'Banth, who's that?" she asked aloud.
The old blue, his mind sparking with an alarm that Gaylen did not understand, replied, It is Seioth!
Alabanth rushed from the water, spray landing all about him, and lifted just high enough to glide to the green's side. As he flew, he called for Greylith, and requested that she alert C'lyn immediately.
Gaylen trotted unsteadily in her dragon's wake, calling, "Slow down, 'Banth! I can't keep up!"
She finally reached the pair, and looked up at the familiar face, noting neither the condition of the rider nor the distance of time that had occurred since last they spoke. She smiled brightly.
"Lari, dear, nice to see you. Can I give you a hand down?" She reached a thin, worn hand toward the greenrider as if they'd last spoken that morning.
Alabanth's eyes whirled in alarm, as he reached a muzzle toward Seioth, hoping she would remember him, hoping he could somehow help. I have called for the healer, he said, offering comfort to the green.
Little Memory, still as gray as gold, popped from between, a small, half-eaten fish in her talons. She chirped with concern when she saw the familiar pair, and began to chatter with anxiety as she scanned the area for her old friend Olympia.
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Post by Ness on Jun 10, 2008 17:10:47 GMT -5
A confused Lari, looked down at the old friend before her.
Alabanth! Lari heard Seioth calling happily to the familiar blue dragon that had rushed towards them. Then the green's head tilted in confusion. Alabanth, your rider is the healer, she said as though the old blue might have forgotten.
"Gaylen?" She croaked around chattering teeth. "Am I at Artemis? I was caught in a storm and ..." She pushed herself up to look around, not recognizing any of the landmarks before her. And yet there was Alabanth, the same old blue she'd waved at casually this morning before going off to hunt with Seioth. Only he looked different somehow. Older maybe.
Her survey of this unfamiliar weyr brought her back to Gaylen. Lari squinted at the bluerider, looking at her more closely. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked, forgetting her own cold. "You look - different." She'd been going to say "old," but changed her mind at the last second.
Memory, chattering away, caught Lari's eye, "Hello, Mem," she said absently.
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Post by B'kay on Jun 10, 2008 17:20:18 GMT -5
Gaylen was still reaching, now with both hands, toward Lari. Her green eyes sparkled as the young rider spoke, and she nodded.
"Oh, yes, certainly, you're at Artemis--"
No, Alabanth translated to Seioth, You are at Araelen Weyr, far in the futuretime from Artemis. It is a time of no dragons but us, and Thread returns soon.
"And I think you've missed breakfast," she squinted up at Rukbat, "Or was it lunch? I think I missed it, too, whatever it is."
My rider has been ... ill. We were lost in a time, between then and now, where there were no dragons at all, for many turns, before Memory found these dragons and helped us come here, the blue explained to Seioth.
"Maybe we should go inside," Gaylen said, squinting at Lari, and just now noticing that something wasn't quite right about her. "You feeling ill, dear?"
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Post by Shikai on Jun 10, 2008 17:44:12 GMT -5
H’run was seated on the ground near the lake, reclining against Gawyth’s foreleg. The bronze, having just finished a meal, had his eyelids half-closed peacefully. H’run gazed up at the sky, half enjoying the reprieve and half bored by having nothing to do. But it was nice to have time to just do nothing once and a while, with no one but him and his dragon, he supposed. And it was a perfect day to be idle – the sky was incredibly clear and beautifully blue. A light breeze rustled the leaves of the trees near the lake, and cooled the sun-warmed skin of dragon and rider alike. Gawyth was slowly drifting into a nap, and H’run, though he had never been much for naps, rather felt like doing the same.
However, just as H’run gave in and closed his eyes, Gawyth’s voice entered his mind, surprisingly alert and attentive given how near sleep he had been just moments before. Mine. H’run-mine.[/color] H’run’s eyes flicked open again instantly, although his eyelids were drawn over them as he frowned, concerned by the seriousness in his dragon’s voice. “Yes, what is it?” He replied, his blue eyes shifting as he sought the source of his dragon’s disquiet.
There! A green approaches. I do not know her.[/color] He said, and H’run followed the direction of Gawyth’s gaze, looking skyward. Indeed, a green was descending, spiraling down toward them. This was not an uncommon occurrence in itself, for they were in a weyr, after all. But that Gawyth didn’t know who she was was perplexing. Another arrival from the past?
The dragon landed further down the lake, and H’run rose to his feet, having to walk around Gawyth, as he could no longer see over him. How fast the bronze was growing! He stood beside Gawyth’s neck, a hand resting on the smooth hide, glistening with health. That’s strange…why isn’t the rider getting down? Do you think something’s wrong? He commented. Hm. Perhaps.[/color] Gawyth replied, his gaze focused on the green and her rider as well.
H’run turned as he caught a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye, and he saw Gaylen and Alabanth moving toward the pair. They stopped before them and appeared to talk, but still, the rider did not get down. We should go. H’run said quietly to Gawyth, and the bronze rose to his feet, stretching his wings before folding them back against his back.
H’run walked toward Alabanth, Gaylen, and the mysterious green and her rider. As he drew closer, he could see that the rider was a young woman, not far from his own age. That was not at all the usual type to arrive from the past! As he and his dragon came closer, he hung back slightly, not wanting to intrude upon the conversation. However, he supposed, he really ought to see if his help was needed. Slowly, he covered the short remaining distance to the others, Gawyth walking alongside him.
“Hello. I’m H’run, weyrling bonded to bronze Gawyth.” He announced, unsure what to say. “Do you need any help?” He added, somewhat awkwardly, as an afterthought.
Greetings, Alabanth. And...[/color] Gawyth addressed the two dragons, his voice trailing off as he faced the green expectantly.
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Post by Ness on Jun 10, 2008 18:38:13 GMT -5
Lari shook her head. "I'm just is all," she said, forcing her numb fingers to move in the familiar routine of unbuckling her riding straps. The warmth of the sun was quickly warming her, but Seioth's next words started a new type of cold seeping in even deeper than the cold of between.
We are not at Artemis, the green said with certainty and Lari agreed. But I do not understand. Alabanth says we are in a different time. Far in the future. He says this Weyr is called Araelen and that Gaylen is sick.
Lari was only marginally surprised at her dragon's use of Gaylen's name. She'd used it before, but mostly only when stressed. But the rest of what Seioth had said. The rest left her head reeling. Surely this was not right. Lari had heard rumors of dragons who could time it, but she'd never believed them. Of course, she'd also never believed anyone could heal as Gaylen could. That thought brought her present dilemma.
Wherever, she was, Gaylen was here too so it couldn't be too bad. And she must not be dead as she'd briefly wondered. Lari pulled one leg over Seioth and took Gaylen's outstretched hands. She slid down Seioth's side, putting most of her weight on the solid dragon behind her as she found her legs still weren't quite working right.
Standing next to her, Lari could tell there was definitely something off.
"Seioth says you're not well," she said, still holding Gaylen's hands and looking at her friend with concern. "And I don't think this is our old weyr. Seioth says it's called Araelen."
I am Seioth, Lari heard her green say. She looked up to see another rider approaching.
"I'm Lari," she said quietly after H'run introduced himself. "And I'm really not sure..." The words were partially and answer to his question and partially a simple statement of how she felt.
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Post by C'lyn on Jun 10, 2008 22:20:40 GMT -5
Greylith heard Alabanth's call and peered into her rider's weyr Mine, Alabanth calls and says that there is a green and her rider in need of a healer,[/color] she informed her busy bonded.
C'lyn dropped what he was doing, setting the hide of notes aside for later Its not one of the weyrlings is it? he asked, always worried that something might happen to them, their precious few of them and he liked them all dearly. He gathered up his pouch and a blanket before jogging out to Greylith's side as she knelt. He clambered onto her back without straps, knowing he'd hear about it later, but time might be of the essence.
Greylith leaped into the air and winged toward where Alabanth was No, its not a weyrling. Its Seioth![/color] she said as she dropped to the ground, landing gracefully.
C'lyn slid to the ground and jogged over to the group just as Larita's feet touched the ground "Hello Larita!" he called out as he approached. He looked her and Seioth over quickly as his little Rhapsody appeared over his head, chirping her own greeting.
Greylith crooned softly Hello Seioth. C'lyn will help you and yours.[/color] she informed her fellow green gently. C'lyn unfolded the blanket and offered to drape it about Larita's shoulders. "What happened?" he asked softly.
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Post by B'kay on Jun 11, 2008 8:03:06 GMT -5
"Araelen, yes, Araelen," Gaylen said, still smiling, as if she'd never missed a beat. However, Lari's obvious concern caused the smile to fade, and she nodded, struggling to bring her mind into control. "I, I'm fine, dear," she said quietly, and reached up to lay a hand on Lari's cheek. "My, you're cold!"
As H'run, and then C'lyn, arrived, it distracted the old rider again, and the smile return. "Ah, here are some old friends. Lari, you remember C'lyn and H'run, yes?" Her brow wrinkled for a moment, as she knew there was something not quite right about the question.
The long jumps between time ... the first made during a brain spell ... and many turns without her medicine.... Alabanth could not finish the explanation to Seioth, and he reached out to nuzzle his rider gently.
Gaylen reached toward the blanket C'lyn offered to Lari, out of a desire to help. Deep inside, she knew that something was very wrong with the young greenrider, that things were very much out of place, but she couldn't quite grasp the full meaning of those feelings. So she just patted the young woman's shoulder, and smiled.
Memory, who had been circling high above and chittering with concern, now landed on her human's shoulder, eyes whirling, still crooning. An image of a green firelizard flashed into Gaylen's mind, and she blinked and looked all around.
"Where's your little one, Lari?"
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Post by Ness on Jun 11, 2008 10:42:45 GMT -5
"C'lyn, too?" Lari looked at the greenrider with surprise, but was grateful for the warmth of the blanket.
"What happened?" C'lyn asked and Lari wasn't sure what to say. She didn't really know had happened. She was nearly in tears with the confusion of it all when Gaylen asked about her flitt. And the old Lari snapped back.
"Olympia!" she cried. "I left her behind!" Suddenly she couldn't hold the words back. "There was a storm. Seioth was hunting. We were near that little cove. You know the one with the boulder that looks like a large feline? And there was a storm. Olympia tried to warn us, but I wasn't paying attention and it hit and Seioth couldn't fly and there was lightning and I forgot where we were and then I was dead and I came here and I left her behind!"
Lari knew she wasn't making any sense, but it didn't matter. That little glimmer that was always present in the back of her mind, the one that meant Olympia was somewhere nearby, safe and happy, was gone. The absence wrenched at her.
"I have to find her. I have to go back!" She dropped the blanket from her shoulders and turned trying to scramble back up on to Seioth's back. But her body was not cooperating and neither was her dragon.
You cannot go back now, Seioth said, worried. You are not well and I do not know how to go through time. It was an accident. Your flitter is well. She is not lost between, only lost in time. We will find her when you are better.
Lari slumped against the soft hide of her green, defeated. Seioth's mind voice was calm in an attempt to calm her rider, but Lari knew she was upset. The green felt the jump was her own fault.
"It's not your fault," Lari said quietly to her dragon. "Like you said, I sent us here, though I don't know how." She glanced towards H'run, then looked back to Gaylen and C'lyn. "I don't understand how you are here," she said to both. "If I'm forward in time... What happened to Artemis Moonlight? And to you Gaylen?"
Alabanth and his rider were lost in time. Alabanth says Gaylen has gone many turns without medication for her brain spells.
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Post by C'lyn on Jun 11, 2008 12:28:23 GMT -5
C'lyn could understand the green rider's confusion and place a gentle hand on her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly "I, and many of the other full riders followed Weyrwoman Sitareh here to this time. She deduced that Thread was going to falling here and their were no dragons in this time," he explained softly.
"I decided to come here because I had faith in the healers still at Artemis Moonlight and I thought my skills might be needed here. I didn't have anything left for me at Artemis since the day Gaylen disappeared." he said as he picked the blanket back up and draped it about Larita's shoulders again. He looked at Gaylen fondly and reached out to touch her shoulder tenderly. "Gaylen went for a rider and from what I've been told she had a brain spell while between and got lost in time, but little Memory finally found a way here for them," he explained.
C'lyn nodded to H'run, glad to see that one of the weyrlings had been about to help "How about we all go get some klah and some lunch, then we can find Larita a weyr," he said with a soft smile to everyone.
I will help the best I can to find your little cousin,[/color] she offered Seioth.
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