When the Rain is Still Falling |Post Debrief|

[Shoki]

The sky was darkening again, but this time because of the late hour. It was still light enough to see, since the clouds had broken up somewhat. Still, it was only a pause in the rain, as far as R'le could see. He had changed his clothes already, and given up as much information as he could remember, yet again. Even so, his hair was not quite dry from the afternoon's adventure, something he was only vaguely annoyed at. He was ducking out to both have a chat with Quiorith and to take a walk. Quiorith had met him near the edge of the weyr and for the time being the pair were walking together quietly. The Cloud was relaxed now, not even itching for a good fly. For the time being he wanted to be with R'le.

"You dry yet?" R'le ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I'm mostly dry."

I have been for a while. I don't have to worry about a head of hair. The cloud seemed somewhat pleased at that. The gray snout angled slightly upward as the dragon gagued the weather. Hope you don't mind getting a little more wet if we stay out long.

"Heh, it doesn't bother me any. That and I figure your wings will do pretty good for shelter." R'le chuckled as the dragon feigned offense at the idea, but his eyes indicated he was amused. The pair continued walking to the edge of jungle, where the both paused and looked at the looming trees.

Mine. Does it bother you?

"Does what bother me?"

All of that, in the jungle. I mean not that it happened, that you saw them before?

R'le looked thoughtful for a while, staring out into the trees. It was some time before he spoke, but when he did it was a very sure sounding syllable. "Nah." He turned to face the cloud and smiled just a little bit. "I did what I did I guess. I made a mistake from my view now but for the time I did exactly what I felt I should. But..." His eyes fell to the ground for a moment, and he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm kinda sorry I bug you like this. I mean not listening to your worries so much. Even if I think your a worrywart sometimes, you got good senses." The silence stretched for a time, and raindrops started falling again slowly. The pair looked at each other for a bit until Quiorith lifted one of his wings up and R'le stepped closer to the Cloud to get safety from the rain. It was some time before the dragon spoke up.

I'm glad you think so, but I think we do well as we are. If you listen to me too much you get too jumpy. If I listen too you too much we don't get anything done. If you get yourself hurt though, I'll let you have it. Quiorith angled his head back to look at the dark haired rider who was smiling back at the dragon.

"Fair enough."

[Jay Kitten]

Must go. Must find... Her heart pounded with the exertion of her sprint. Elraishsa's spear felt like it weighed ten tons in one hand, she had since moved it to the sling on her back, and even that wasn't helping much as it knocked against her legs, creating red spots. Cold. Wet.

The trail had ran cold at some point, the girl was more or less wandering in the same direction she had seen the footprints headed, as jumbled and eroded by falling rain as they were now. Tracking them was pointless, but she knew that if they had gone straight for so long, and they had, that it must be the direction of the Weyr. The urgency in her step had not faltered, though her breath was faltering plenty, as she had kept up the quick pace for quite a long distance by now. It was well within her power, being as fit as she was, but her hair was positively drenched, and it kept getting in her eyes, and there was a good deal of mud caked onto her feet and legs as high as her knees. She bore it no mind, though, as it served to keep the cold at bay anyhow.

Rukbat was setting by the time she had to slow herself down, and soon she spotted the lights of the Weyr ahead. So they had gotten back. Elraishsa panted. R'le... Had they been carrying his injured body? Was he okay? What had happened? She must know, it was the only thought on her mind as she stepped through the trees, finally bursting noisily into the clearing.

But what she saw brought great relief on her shoulders, and she fell to her knees, leaning forward onto her hands which made deep prints in the softened soil. She was panting, sweating, but she was right in front of R'le.

"I ran... You are here." Reaching to her side, she grasped his knife that she had recovered from the campsite, and deposited it in front of her with a tired toss. It thumped against the wet ground and stayed in place.

"Are you safe?" she questioned, finally turning those burning goldenrod eyes upward, full of the conviction of her search for answers. From what she could tell, he was unharmed. The dragon, too. How long had they been here? Had they worried for her? She hoped that everything was in perfect order, but she had no way of knowing except by being told. Her stomach rumbled, it had been awhile since she had eaten, and only now having stopped sprinting was it catching up to her.

Her hair stuck to her face as she slowly pushed herself onto one knee, and then stood, heaving breaths even now. Ten paces away from the man, she looked rather pathetic compared to when they had first met.

[Shoki]

R'le nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Elraisha. The woman was as silent as ever and the only saving grace was that she wasn't trying to hide. She looked drenched and muddy, but that wasn't the only interesting thing. His eye fell to her hand as she tossed his knife in front of her, R'le's expression changing rather quickly to one of surprise. She had been to the clearing. She had RAN from the clearing to here after the point he had thrown the knife. R'le had no words as She spoke, though, his eyes darted to her face quickly.

"ME? I'm just perfect. I should be asking about you! You look like you ran through mud puddles the entire way here! Quiorith?" R'le looked at the cloud, who extended his wing quickly to get the woman under shelter. The man closed the gap between him and Elraisha and held out his hand. "Come on, let's get somewhere that doesn't have a load of mud." He hear the vague sound of a stomach rumbling and checked his pockets. Shoot, no dried meat. 'Mind keeping close?'

Quiorith snorted, eyeing the woman's spear. He didn't respond but he move a touch closer to both of the humans and kept an eye on the weather. The cloud didn't see any harm in helping out, and he wouldn't want to be drenched any more then he had to.

[Jay Kitten]

"Jungle... Nothing... New." She looked up at him and offered a toothy smile, one that of course showed off her pointed canines. As the dragon offered her shelter from the rain, though, she could only comply, not wanting to get any more wet or cold than she was already. Taking the hand offered, she allowed herself to be pulled just slightly to get under the cover of the dragon's wing, and followed R'le.

Of course, Elraishsa understood the importance of warmth, so when he asked, she obliged, moving closer to him and practically hugging his side with her arms. She was still short of breath, probably due to the cold... But just knowing that everything was fine, that R'le was safe, kept her going easily.

"Where...?"

[Shoki]

Ah, there it was. The feline's smile. R'le smiled a little bit as a return, though it was mostly with relief. At least she was spirited. Honestly, hadn't expected to see here in a state like this, she seemed to much a part of the jungle for that. Then again, everyone got wet if they ran about in the rain. As she took his hand he could feel how cold she was. He was glad that she got closer for warmth, wanting to get her warm. Although the fact that he was almost hugging her wasn't entirely lost on him.

"Well all the paths are muddy, so I was kinda thinking the Weyr Bowl at least." He paused and looked from the direction of the Weyr, then back at Elraisha. "I'd kinda like to take you somewhere drier though. are you okay with going in the Weyr proper?" From their previous conversation he got the strong suspicious she really did not like populated areas. It left him with a burning question.

"You were in the clearing...you followed us back?" The words came out as a question, as he was still trying to understand. As far as he knew, he was the only rider that had seen her around, and she must have stayed hidden for quite a while before him. So why had she come now? Just to check up on him? "Why?" He turned his gaze to his knife and got it while still sticking close to Elraisha. Couldn't have anyone stepping on this. Even bringing this with her left him with one simple question. What was she thinking right now?

[Jay Kitten]

The girl really hadn't thought too much ahead, and all at once she felt that she was potentially threatening herself in this situation. The Weyr... Maybe it wasn't such a good idea... The Weyr Proper? To her, it sounded like a place only civilized people went, and the look in her eyes betrayed that she was uneasy. The thought of so many people... She was glad she had only found R'le, and not anyone else nearby. She may have attacked somebody had they been too close to him.

As soon as he went for his knife and came back, she grabbed his shoulders, steadying him into a stationary stance so she could turn around and warm her back. So much better than the freezing rain, even with her leathers. Right now, most of the furs on the insides of her leathers were soaked, which was still better than the cold air, but... It really had been awhile without shelter, much longer than normal.

"O...Okay." It was the only words she bothered with, even to his last two questions, she seemed more concerned about other things than answering him right now. In fact, she was already shying away at the prospect of others, visibly now too, as she kept turning to look back at the jungle. What was she to do in a situation like this? Be cold just so she could talk to him and fend for herself again? Even she knew that didn't sound like the best plan...

Elraishsa's thoughtful gaze dropped toward the ground, pondering on a leaf full of rain as she watched the small rings of raindrops play over it's surface.

"Followed you... Yes." She finally offered, after what seemed like ages after his question had been posed. "Don't know." With that, she rolled her shoulders in her form of a shrug. Her face looked indecisive, and strangely sad... But only for a split second. Afterwards she directed her gaze toward the Weyr, as if expecting him to lead onward. Now wasn't the time to worry about other people. R'le was safe, it was her turn to be safe, right?

[Shoki]

R'le caught her unease before she steadied him so she could arm her back. Not that either action helped much for his decision making process. Of course he couldn't see her face by the time she spoke again, but even he could hear that okay was not confident at all. Well, what could he do about this? Could he sneak her inside without much event? Well it was dark and rainy to boot, so the majority of the Weyr would be inside if they could help it. If he was lucky the fact that many wanted to get dinner in would deal with some of the foot traffic but he couldn't say. He was still fumbling around in his head when her next words reached his ears.

R'le turned his head to try to get a better gauge of Elraisha but the more visible reaction was actually from Quiorith. The Cloud had kept quiet for the conversation and to the untrained observer, hadn't seemed to care about the humans' chat. In reaction to her last words he turned his head toward the woman, eyes searching for something. The dragon had not liked her introduction, not one bit. Still, her actions right now spoke loud to him. R'le caught her mood and was about to lead them back toward the Weyr, when Quiorith finally got his thoughts together and spoke directly to Elraishsa.

Thank you.

The Cloud hardly ever spoke to anyone but R'le so the rider's jaw dropped when he felt himself being left out of a conversation by the Cloud. Not that he was mad, just he did not think Quiorith would talk to the wild woman of all people. Still, R'le started to silently guide everyone back toward the WeyrBowl's edge, keeping a hold on Elraisha to make sure she was both not getting too cold and not slipping away. From there he would check who was out around the Bowl and then... Where would he go from there? He could go back to his weyr but he didn't exactly feel that would be right. Maybe the Healers would have some good supplies but that meant a bunch of people. still, they were usually more...professional. He continued to think about it as they walked, not quite ready to make a decision. He kinda wanted to see her reaction to the Bowl first anyway.

[Jay Kitten]

The girl at this point was more or less reduced to a shivering mass, it was obvious she was very cold still, even with R'le's warmth to help her out and the dragon's wing to shelter her from the rain. A bit better, maybe, but certainly not as warm as she needed to be. Catching a cold this time of year was relatively easy, however good her immune system was against the jungle's viruses. But as R'le started to move, she shifted slowly with him, appreciating the fact that he was still there to warm her even slightly.

R'le... So he was okay. Then... Who were those two that were dead? Why was his knife in that tree? Now questions abound began to surface in her mind, but she kept her mysterious ways and refrained from asking. Not yet, there was a time and place for everything her mother used to say. As Quiorith addressed her, though, she jumped, not expecting a voice in her head like that, but she was smart enough to realize that it had been the dragon, and so she gave a slight smile and nodded her welcomes back at the Cloud.

"I... should be thanking." She looked over at R'le too. "Not you." The last statement generalized them both. She had only been wishing to look out for a friend, and now that she had found him, she only found that he was proving how much of a friend he could be. To her, warmth was everything. To lose it was to die, right? All alone in the jungle... Just the thought of R'le sharing his warmth with her kept Elraishsa's mind set on the fact he was treating her like a friend.

...But it was weird to think that she, the lone wolf, had a friend... And her friend had a dragon.

As they moved about, Elraishsa noted the sights of the Weyr. Such a strange place, why would anybody live here? The Bowl was very... Big. Too big, in her opinion. She snorted a noise that betrayed that she was unimpressed, but then glanced to the side at R'le for a moment before she wore a look of apology. She didn't want to offend him, after all, this was his home. Her arms crossed over her chest, hands rubbing her shoulders as she shivered gently to herself.

"What is this?" she questioned, pointing upwards toward the top of the Bowl.

[Shoki]

R'le took some solace in the fact that Elraisha had no idea that Quiorith was gonna speak to her either. He felt her jump, noting how much she was shivering. Yeah, he was gonna have to get her warm quick. Lucky Quiorith made a good umbrella. When she did respond, R'le got a pretty good idea what the dragon said anyway. Quiorith seemed pleased, in a much better mood now then when he had met the strange woman. It seemed to him that the dragon very much appreciated her concern for his rider, which seemed to line up with how much he disliked her last time. He approved of her response too. Not that he was going to start a long conversation with her now.

"Guess we can trade thanks anyway. Either way, welcome to the Weyr Bowl." He caught the snort from the woman, but didn't seem to mind it any. "This is where the dragons usually take off or land. its big enough to let multiple dragons maneuver without trouble. Certainly not everyone is as small as Quiorith." The Cloud snorted. He certainly didn't mind being small. Besides, he could fly better then lots of dragons, and that's what he really cared about. R'le grinned at his friend and dragon before taking a better look around. No one was out, which did not surprise him. The weather and the time of day made sure of that. It wasn't like they were saying here though.

He started leading them to the closest door to the healer's area, mentally figuring out the best path between a lack of people and speed. Mostly speed. As they approached the entrance the Cloud stopped, letting his wing cover them until they got inside, then got ready to go himself. "Thanks Quiorith!" The cloud nodded, took a last look at the pair of humans before heading off to get some shelter himself.

It was just a minute or two, and luckily there was not anyone in the halls. There was a healer or two working with some patients, leaving one rather grumpy looking man to greet them. He approached them, took one look at Elraishsa, then turned around, vanishing for a few moments. R'le stared at where the man had been, and was about to ask one of the other healers what exactly had happened when he returned, carrying a stack of towel and some spare clothes. He presented the armful unceremoniously to the woman with the words, "Here. Get dry." He motioned his head toward an area with curtains up, indicating where there was privacy. The curly haired man didn't seem to think much on her tattoos or the furs she was wearing, but rather was staring at R'le with a particular look. His gaze seemed to indicate that the healer assumed whatever got her in this state was his fault. R'le just didn't know what to make of that.

[Jay Kitten]

The girl took in the sights of the Weyr Bowl, and with his description, she gave a small chuckle at the idea of Quiorith being small, though she said nothing about why she was laughing. He was, though, quite tiny in comparison to that Gold she had seen circling the campsite with the bodies. Her gaze wandered over the cliffs of the Bowl for a moment, noticing all of the different holes and caverns in the side. Now those, she was interested in, if she could find a small cave cut into the side of a cliff like that, she wouldn't have to worry about the rains washing out her home. After all, that was why she was out and about and soaked, right? Her nice little cave, drenched... She sighed.

It was about then that she noticed they were standing next to the entrance of a place she didn't recognize, and he let Quiorith cover her until she got to the door and followed R'le. Her curiosity was getting the better of her, but as soon as she saw that unfamiliar man, she hissed and moved behind R'le a bit, baring her teeth. Who was this guy? Where were they now? She didn't like it here, it was so... So... Confining!

The man moved closer to her and offered her towels and clothing, and she instead returned the favor by lashing out with force, swiping her pointed nails across his face and making him scream in pain. He dropped the things he had been carrying, and clutched the marks on his face while blood seeped through his fingers. She moved away and backed out the door, seeking the comfort of Quiorith. Moving under his wing again, she kept making strange beastial noises, crouching low under him and frowning to herself. What had that man tried to hand her? He didn't seem friendly at all.

Meanwhile, the Healer started to yell at R'le about the fact that his partner had bloodied his face, exclaiming something about how she needed to be belted. All he got in response was another hiss coming from outside.

[Shoki]

Yeah this had been a bad idea. R'le saw that very quickly. It was like throwing water on hot oil. Or, more accurately, introducing a feline to someone they didn't like. It took R'le half a second to regroup his thoughts, and by that time he was left with a VERY angry healer and down one jungle woman. Considering the surprise emanating from Quiorith, R'le had a pretty good idea where she had gone. Still, now he was in some sort of mess, and this guy was not going to be easy to talk down. Which meant R'le was going to get himself into trouble again.

Quiorith was going to have left but when Elraishsa appeared again, the cloud stopped and looked to see what was up. She didn't like others it seemed. Of course it didn't seem like she would know how to handle people in groups if he didn't miss his guess. Still, it was kinda nice that she had decided to jump to him as a refuge, even if it meant standing in the rain. From inside he caught some familiar emotions radiating from R'le, and the dragon shook his head. This was not going to be good.

"Hey now, there is absolutely no reason to get violent. You're a healer, it just means more trouble for you." R'le scooped up the towel and clothes quickly, while the Healer continued yelling at him, mostly some off color remarks which got the other healers behind him giving him some bad looks. R'le instead grinned, his eyes cold. "Well look at it this way, you don't have to go far to fix your face, but I'm afraid your personality was dead on arrival." Another explosion from the man was heard as the rider bolted away, not bothering to stay. R'le was just gonna did himself into a deeper hole. He ran out to where Elraisha and Quiorith were, motioning them to follow. "We gotta go guys, I don't need a lecture tonight."

You really need to learn sometime to leave well enough alone.

"Not nearly as satisfying. Come on, lets get home." He didn't exactly have a choice about it now, they were gonna have to go to his weyr and lie low. He grabbed one of the towels and miraculously didn't spill the rest of the stack on the wet ground. This he kinda placed on Elraisha's head, taking the chance to rub her wet hair with. "And keep that for the time being." Then both the rider and dragon started around the bowl again, using a different path to get to where the rider's weyrs were.

---

R'le weyr was much as it had been earlier in the day, only his riding gear was out of the way this time, and the leather pouch containing his knives was on an end table. There was still stuff littered around the room, mostly clothes. When R'le came in he made a 'tsk' sound and started kicking his clothes to the edges of the room. "This place is kinda messy, sorry. wasn't exactly set on cleaning after all that stuff out in the jungle." He placed the stack of towels and clothes on his bed, which was relatively neat. The rider then took a deep breath then sighed as he sat on his bed next to the clothes. "Well that was crazy. Better hope I don't get a cold for a while."

Idiots don't get colds.

R'le laughed once, then motioned around to the room. "So this is my place. Feel free to get comfortable."

[Jay Kitten]

It was a bit difficult for her to figure out what was happening, or what she had even really done wrong. She didn't feel like she had done anything wrong, but according to that Healer man, she had. Humans... She didn't really like humans. Why had he given her strange cloths anyway? She was obviously wearing clothing. And she had told her to get dry like he was going to make her if she didn't. This was the problem with civilized society! They always acted so strange. Her mother had taught her manners, not blunt rudeness.

But soon a rather fast-paced R'le approached the girl, and she blinked twice, her face lightening from the scowl it had been in just a moment ago. Elraishsa's eyes took on a more puppydog-esque appearance as she watched the male near her, and when he mentioned they should be leaving, she took the hint and got out of dodge, heading across the grounds with the man. But now, she was noticeably on edge as her eyes kept darting about, and she occasionally dropped low with a hand on the ground and did some strange little hops in a circle to check out her surroundings. Those piercing amber eyes were searching the darkness for any sign of more human life. An uneasy feeling settled within her.

But as soon as Elraishsa stood back up, the feeling was gone, as she found her head attacked by a soft cloth. Just a cloth, that was all this was. Not those weird rags she had been handed before. What protective value would clothing like that offer, anyway? As her head was rubbed, she grumbled quietly, a noise that sounded much like a deeper version of a feline's purr. But she got the point; this one was for drying. She began to rub it around in her hair, careful not to block her vision as she walked, still looking around every so often, occasionally glancing over to R'le.

---------------------------------------------------

If R'le had thought the attack on the Healer was a surprise, he certainly could get a kick out of the look on her face as they moved through the tunnels and into his weyr. In the tunnels, she was shivering again, and a strange mixture of disgust, fear, and intrigue worked it's way across her face. But once they got into his weyr, the previous two emotions vanished from her visage, and instead it was replaced by a sense of wonder as the doorway opened into his little cave.

"Cave... Not so different," Elraishsa said, and grinned a toothy smile, tossing her towel back to R'le, whom surely would notice the leftover blood now stained it's surface. She of course was referring to the fact that they both lived in caves, though, and in fact his was quite a suitable one. If she could get a place more like this, then she would certainly be set on a living area for a very long time indeed. But of course, she figured the reason it was so large and open and nice was because of the fact that there was a dragon nesting here. Perhaps it was because of Quiorith that it was this way? She didn't quite understand Weyr society.

"Mess...? What is mess?" she questioned the Rider, having never heard the word before. It was hard to be messy when you lived in a jungle.

"--Hope you are not sick." This sentence caused her voice to lighten just a bit, out of the usual rough and low and into a more light, smooth tone. Concern, perhaps?

[Shoki]

R'le smirked a little bit at Elraisha' reaction. It certainly beat most of his friends' opinions on the place. Not that he minded that they ragged on his messy habits. It was more fun that way. Still, he kept forgetting that she wasn't used to anything in a Weyr, and there fore had to stop assuming she did. Like with the Healers.

"Yeah I guess that's true." He caught the towel, giving it a scowl. She certainly had given that man what for, but it certainly would be easier on him if she didn't lash out so quickly. Considering their previous conversation, it seemed that she had reason for what she did. He didn't know what it was yet.

As she spoke again R'le head snapped up. He stared at her for a bit, trying to figure out if she was serious or not. It seemed like she was so he thought about it for a second and tried to explained. "A mess means that things aren't in place. Or not neat basically. Much like my hair most days." It was an apt example, his hair had been left to dry of its own accord from the afternoon and was very frizzy. He kept forgetting to comb it out.

"Ah, I just meant I'll have to steer clear of that healer bad there so I better not get sick. I doubt I'll get sick. More worried about you though. Running through the rain. Need another towel? I grabbed a few." He motioned to the stack, himself getting up to put his knife away. He grabbed the pouch off the end table and pulled out the leather case with the rest of his knives. He dried the edge of the knife against his pants but realized the leather around the handle would take longer to dry so he began to undo it. "So. What do you want to talk about while we wait for the rain to stop?"

[Jay Kitten]

The female tilted her head as the man gave her a rough explanation of what a "mess" was, and she seemed content with the explanation. It was a strange word, for sure, but she didn't mind that he knew something she didn't. She understood that she hadn't exactly grown up in civilized society. But at the example with his hair, she produced a small, almost animalistic giggle, covering her mouth with her hand. It was about then that Elraishsa realized she was dripping on his floor. She hissed at her own feet and moved to her tiptoes, backing into a place that was more suitable for water to drain from the weyr.

As he offered another towel, though, she shook her head. "My hair is not a mess," she stated. It was already dry, why would she need to dry it again? It was then that she seemed to break another rule in Weyr society, and she began to remove her clothing, seemingly without care. Comfortable in one's own skin was one thing, but this was still a bit beyond that, as she removed practically everything but the loincloth and strap-leathers that covered her more private areas. Her furs and leathers were then laid out in a lump near the weyr ledge to dry on their own. Her spear was leaned up against R'le's table, and the rest of her things- packs with small morsels and her two knives- were placed on the surface.

She turned to R'le, her thin, muscled body still dripping with rainwater left over from her clothing. Her hair had fallen back into it's usual wavy look, only slightly shinier from the water, rolling over her bare shoulders to spill onto her tanned skin. She adjusted the interlaced strips of leather that served as her top, so that it wouldn't reveal anything she didn't want revealed, and rose an eyebrow at R'le.

"I am fine. Sickness is rare for me. You... You were at that clearing," Elraishsa began, using more words than was common for her, something that even R'le had only ever experienced very rarely.

"I saw a body. I saw your knife. I saw dragons before..." The concern was obvious in her voice now, as she crossed her arms over her chest, leaning her hip against the table. "You are unharmed. I am unharmed. What happened?" Curiosity was back. She was like a feline.

"I... I ran. I was worried. Thought you were hurt. Was not me this time, should only ever be me." Her words seemed a whole lot like a joke, and while there was humor in them, she did not laugh or even smile. But it seemed as though she was serious about being the only one allowed to hurt him, in her words. Perhaps it was because she knew she wouldn't kill him? That much was true, if she had wanted to he would have already been dead. There were several chances where all it would have taken was simply pouncing on him and ripping his throat out with her pointy teeth... A gruesome though for sure, so she shook it out of her head.

"I am not aware... Aware of what happens in this Weyr you are showing me." There it was, a small hint that maybe she hadn't come here only for R'le's sake. It seemed she had been seeking information as well. Information that only R'le could give her, currently. If there was something in her jungles, she would need to know, right?

[Shoki]

R'le grinned in response to Elraisha's giggling. well it seemed like she got the meaning then. Of course the next moment she used it incorrectly so maybe not. It was nice that she appreciated his example, but R'le was not going to be ready for what the jungle woman did next.

The man was still undoing the leather around his knife when he glanced up to see he taking off her clothes. R'le immediately snapped his head up, accidentally getting his finger around the sharp portion of the knife. The pain made him drop the knife, but his face was less expressing the psychical pain he felt and more wide eyed disbelief. If he hadn't been thinking on the lines of her lack of knowledge of a Weyr moments ago his reaction might have been more severe. As it was he stares very intently at his knees while speaking slowly.
"Just for future reference, in general, one does not just strip to their underclothes in front of others. Unless...uh never mind." R'le put the cut finger into his mouth, reaching for a towel as his face generally got red. He silently cursed his skin for betraying his embarrassment so easily, as he wrapped his finger in the towel and pressed it into place for the time being. There were certainly things about this situation he could appreciate. She was certainly a good looking one, but that was really beside the point. He felt like a bad guy here and he hadn't even done anything, but thoughts were getting away from him. He shook them away and spoke quietly.
"Just could you please put something on? Or whatever. I'll be fixing this anyway." R'le hoped, with every fiber of his being, that no one needed him tonight. He did not need to try and deal with an explanation of what was going on right now. The cloud dragon was oozing amusement, though he did appreciate the situation. If anyone asked him, they would be told that it was late and R'le was asleep.

So with his head down, he grabbed his throwing knife again, tugging on the leather with his free hand and stabilizing it with the towel and his other hand. His black hair was long enough that it would handily block his peripheral vision. He didn't want to stare at he like this and if he took one to many idle glances... Fortunately the conversation turned elsewhere and he listened intently. She had come this far for an answer to her curiosity, he intended to let her in on what he knew. That had been his plan anyway.

"This is what I know. I met a group of people in the jungle earlier. They were in a camp, and claimed to be searching for a clutch of eggs from a RougeWing. This was in the morning. It bothered me, but it took a while for me to understand that. So I went back and told the Weyrwoman what was going on, and that there were people in the valley. They weren't supposed to be there without permission so we got a group to investigate." He paused and said lightly, "That was why you saw dragons. We had to get the small ones, where I landed only ones as small as Quiorith could land. The bigger ones couldn't land." He shrugged a little, not sure if it mattered to her about the dragons too much. He continued though. "So we went to check it out. It was completely cleared out by the time we got there, and the bodies were already in a grave. We don't know what happened there. Don't even know who they were." R'le eyes were firmly on his work, but his face was in a grimace. He didn't like that they hadn't figured out who the dead people were. It clawed at him. Still, he tried to lighten up a little bit and added, "Oh, and I missed whoever was scurrying in the bushes when we got there. D'gan called me out on jumping too quick on that one. Ah well, I don't think we had much hope for talking it out anyway. Still, he's a good guy that one."

R'le stopped what he was doing, organizing his thoughts. "Had you seen them before? Those people in the jungle? We don't even know who they were. I was thinking maybe you had a clue."